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IRS will be in Kansas City in a few weeks for the 2026 AREMA Conference at Booth 1107!Come find us! We love catching up ...
08/25/2026

IRS will be in Kansas City in a few weeks for the 2026 AREMA Conference at Booth 1107!

Come find us! We love catching up with our railroad people.

🚂 AREMA 2026
📍 Booth 1107 (come on, you can remember that 😉)

American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA)

08/20/2026

We started with the frog, a vital piece of the turnout and one of the most abused components on track. But let's zoom out to the whole turnout.

A turnout has a big job. It provides greater flexibility to the rail network by allowing trains to move from one track to another without the need for an entirely new track. But its flexibility is complex.

A turnout is a system. Its components depend on each other, working together to handle the tremendous shifting forces created as a train moves through.

So when one component wears, it changes how those forces are distributed, putting additional stress on all the components.

So you've got this chain reaction:

One component wears ➡️ forces shift ➡️ all components experience additional stress ➡️ wear accelerates ➡️ maintenance needs increase...

07/30/2026

Railroad frogs don't have to be high maintenance, but what does that actually look like in the field?

This frog went from needing 2 to 3 repairs each month to none for an entire year.

It was one of the most high-traffic frogs on CSX Southeast Welding Manager Doug Monday’s territory, handling up to 10 million gross tons per month. But with repairs needed 2 to 3 times every month, a full frog replacement was being planned.

That changed when Doug used FrogTuff welding wire for what was expected to be the frog’s final repair before replacement.

The results were unexpected.

The frog didn’t need a repair the next month, or for many months after that.

At the 1 year mark, after more than 70 million gross tons, the frog had less than 1/8 inch of wear. A frog that could have required 30 repairs in that time required none.

Long-lasting frog repairs don’t just reduce wear. They reduce maintenance time and burden on crews, and help extend the service life of one of the most costly track components.

That’s what turns a high-maintenance frog into a low-maintenance frog.

🛒 Interested in FrogTuff wire? It's in stock on our website.

Postalloy

07/23/2026

Railroad frogs are some of the most heavily abused components on track, making them one of the most high-maintenance components.

Each heavy train passing subjects the frog to repeated harsh impact. As the wheel flanges cross the flangeway, the wheels drop and slam into the opposing rail edge with immense force, creating metal fatigue and a lot of wear.

Frog wear is expected. The challenge is when a high-traffic frog starts wearing aggressively and requires constant repairs, taking up valuable maintenance time, resources, and track time.

The goal isn’t to eliminate frog wear. That’s impossible. The goal is to make frogs as low-maintenance as possible by extending their service life through long-lasting frog repairs.

📽️ The video shows FrogTuff welding wire being used to repair a frog💥

FrogTuff is a high-alloy austenitic manganese steel open-arc welding wire designed for high-traffic frogs. It produces high-strength deposits that are crack-free, ductile, and work-harden under load. These properties create repairs that better withstand repeated impact and reduce the need for constant repairs.

Long-lasting frog repairs → Fewer repeat repairs → Longer frog service life → A low-maintenance frog

Postalloy

07/09/2026

Answer in caption...

Railroads traditionally used jointed rail, connecting shorter sections of rail (about 39 feet long) with joint bars and small gaps left between them.

This solved two major problems:

1️⃣ Shorter sections of rail were easier to move and install.
2️⃣The gaps gave the rail room to expand as temperatures increased.

But, every joint then became a weak point.

Each time a heavy train passes over a rail joint, that extra impact batters the steel, wearing down the rail and surrounding components faster at each location.

This impact also creates additional load on the ballast. Even freight cars experience more stress with "rocking and rolling" as they pass over jointed rail.

All of this created a cascade of maintenance issues and increased costs across the rail network.

That is why modern railroads moved toward continuously welded rail (CWR). By eliminating many of those joints, railroads dramatically reduced the wear and maintenance associated with jointed rail.

The tradeoff? CWR must be installed correctly and actively monitored. Rail stressing, rail neutral temperature, ballast condition, and regular inspections all play a critical role in maintaining CWR.

06/26/2026

Some questions came up about the “why” behind our last rail buckling video.

Rail buckles can happen fast, but the conditions that lead to them usually don't.

When temps rise, rail expands. In continuously welded rail, there are no gaps to allow for that expansion, so force builds inside the rail. If force becomes greater than what the ballast, ties, and fasteners can hold, the track abruptly warps or buckles. Some call it a “sun kink”.

Most common contributing factors:

1 . Rail was not properly stressed during installation (installed below rail neutral temp and not pulled to correct length for ambient conditions).

2. Weak ballast and poor ballast profile

3. Unchecked tight or closing gaps at joints, switches, and transitions

4. Restricted movement at joints, lack of lubrication

***Video shows Enerpac rail puller destressing rail. The goal is to stretch the steel to match its target Stress-Free Temperature (SFT) aka Rail Neutral Temperature to reduce risk of future buckling.***

Summer rail maintenance tools, including rail pullers, are available on our website.

06/24/2026

Rail buckling is what happens when high summer heat makes continuously welded rail expand too much, creating massive internal forces that suddenly warp the track.

This can occur if the rail is not properly stressed during installation, or if CWR temp goes beyond the rail neutral temperature, since CWR has no gaps, so heat expanded rail has nowhere to go.

Ballast maintenance is critical here since ballast is the main structure that opposes movement, followed by ties and fasteners.

When ballast is weak, wet, or insufficient, resistance is reduced so it takes less thermal force to move the track.

Some ways to reduce the risk of rail buckling:

🪨 Correct weak ballast and restore ballast profile
📏 Inspect rail gaps near joint bars and transition points
🛠️ Destress rail upon installation
⚪ Paint rail white to reduce heat absorption
💦 Maintain lubrication at joint components to allow rail movement

What other practices have you seen railroads use to combat heat-related rail buckling?

06/11/2026

Tunnel maintenance happens overnight in the transit system.

We're riding along with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority - MBTA welding crew doing some thermite welds on the Blue Line, working through the night while the system is quiet.

Tunnel maintenance requires portable, low emission tools built for confined spaces.

03/26/2026

Spring inspection season.

Winter shifts the track more than you think. Things settle and spread, and don’t always look wrong until you inspect closer to realize something is actually off enough to cause trouble.

This is where track gauges become so important.

On track, it’s quick tests with gauges to catch what the eyes miss making sure everything is still where it should be.

Our Green Level Board is a track level and gauge combined. One inspection tool that measures track gage, guard check gage, guard face gage, flangeway, track elevation and inspects switch points as well.

No flash, no fuss. Just the confidence of, “Are we good, or not?”

To learn more or browse other important track gauges for your spring inspections on our website➡️ https://industryrailway.com/search?type=article%2Cpage%2Cproduct&q=gauge

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