Thursday, December 27, 2007

Old Rail Never Dies

Blog no. 27 brings a lesson in recycling ...

I suppose you could say, "Old rail never dies. It gets reused."

Several feet of old railroad rail, presumably salvaged from the Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad, were fashioned into an iron retaining wall. The wall supports the built-up roadbed around a culvert. This retaining wall won't rust away soon.

Maintenance of way crews fabricated the wall from discarded rail. Railroad mechanics were masters at reusing old materials laying around the shop. It fit their operating model to scrimp, save and repair everything without spending a dime.

I'd say this wall, when amortized over the years, this wall will cost less than a penny per year!

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