Railroad Thermite Welding is Mesmerizing to Watch!

Repairing railroad tracks is hardly a simple process, though after watching it up close, it’s definitely a cool series of events that have to be done to complete the task.

Starting with the saw in hand, the damaged or suspect section of track has to be cut away by the track workers. They remove the section by making two clean cuts on either side, after which they begin the process of filling in the gap that was left. In order to join the track back together, they have to basically fill in the gap by melting metal into the shape of the track and fusing it with the existing sections of track.

First up is creating a mold to properly shape the metal to the shape of the railroad track, then the workers fill in the gaps with a wet sandy concoction that helps keep the metal in the general shape needed. Then comes the fun part: breaking out the torch to heat everything to the melting point, which will allow the final step to do the trick and fill in the gap. When everything is nice and hot, the explosive compound Thermite is poured into the mold and basically a controlled explosion takes place, melting the metal and forming a new section of track.

After that, the mold is removed and the section is cleaned and ground down to make sure it properly aligns with the rest of the rail and won’t cause problems when thousands of pounds of railcar pass over it. This is a very specific and thorough process that has been refined over time to ensure the track will be as smooth as possible and as durable as needed for the years of daily abuse it will have to endure. Workers like these doing this hard work ensure the railways remain one of the safest modes of shipping in the world, with only a few incidents per year.