Ever Wondered Why There's A Ton Of Crushed Stones ... - WittyFeed

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Ever Wondered Why There's A Ton Of Crushed Stones Between Railway Tracks? DIY Travelling via railways is always fun as you get to see amazing landscapes throughout the journey, it could be the river or huge meadows filled with greenery, but not to forget the railway tracks. They’re always covered with pieces of stones, be it anywhere, they’re always there. Everyone loves crossing the tracks but walking on those crushed stones is not a cakewalk.   It has been clearly said that crossing a railway track can be highly dangerous. As a matter of fact, 1 out of 200 people doing this loses their life, yet still, we do it anyway. I am sure many of us have crossed a railway track at least once in our lives, but it still involves way too much risk which isn’t really worth taking.   Coming back to the point, have you ever wondered the reasons why these pebbles are kept on the track? If not, let us find out on these points below.

Did it ever strike your mind?

These tonnes of crushed stones between the train tracks are called ballast. It is basically used to form the track bed on which the railway sleepers are kept. Track ballast is used to pack the sleepers from each side to make the track steady. They are made out of broken stones, gravel, sand, brick ballasts, cinder, etc.

These tons of crushed stones between the train tracks are called ballast.

The crushed stones are meant to keep the wooden rail ties in place.

These wooden sleepers help to keep a firm hold of the tracks.

But these stones are not smooth, they have sharp edges so that the wooden beams don't slide over each other.

The stones help to facilitate ground movement, weight variance and also allow the rain water to drain through the tracks.

These crushed stones form the base of the ground, which makes the ground rise higher thus protecting the tracks from getting flooded.

It also inhibits the growth of weeds and vegetation that would quickly take over the

track.

If a ballast is badly fouled, the clogging will reduce its ability to drain properly; this, in turn, causes more debris to be sucked up, causing more fouling.

Therefore, keeping these crushed stones is extremely important.

An appeal: Don't play with your life by crossing those tracks!