The Importance of Ballast

Ballast is literally the cornerstones of the railway bed and it's likely any of us has thought about it. but without them, the uk network cannot function. how are they maintained? and what have tamping machines got to do with it?

[@Ruvi5000]

Thank you! As a railway worker I did not know why it was called ballast! In German we just say "Schotter" which is a general term for filling material, or specifically "Gravel", so I did not know about the history of the ships at all! Thank you so much

[@peteryoung4957]

Thank you Dawn, I learnt a lot from your video about ballast. It's something I've always taken for granted.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

The trackbed is the source of most of the suspension for trains. In the steam days the locomotive's axles could not move much rue to the cylinders, so to get a smooth ride you heeded a resilient track bed. In modern times where higher speeds are required a firmer trackbed is needed, but this means that traditional short wheelbase wagons have to be handled wi5h greater care. There are stories of such wagons bouhcing off such lines at a much lower speed than such wagons were rated for.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

The orange tile roofs of Whitby arrived in Whitby as ship's ballast.

[@jamesneilsongrahamloveinth1301]

What does the ballast sit on? Does it just sit on earth? Surely, as the ground moves and the consistency changes with the weather, the ballast sitting on top of it is going to move too, affecting the positioning of the sleepers and the integrity of the rails? The idea of high speed trains relying on such a primitive arrangement is kind of scary . . .

[@TenShine1productions]

I work track maintenance for private sidings
It's a good day when we can rent a tamper otherwise we have to use hand held tampers by robel. They can be ok at times 😂

[@radiosnail]

Would love to know the approximate date of when ballast was first used.Nevertheless, very interesting.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Rounded stones were used by cheap-skate railway companies. These railbeds were quickly replaced.

[@ludgatecircus15]

Genius? No. Genius is particle physics.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Rounded stones were used by cheap-skate railway companies. These railbeds were quickly replaced.