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Plateway AI simulator
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Plateway AI simulator
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Plateway
A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later.
Plateways consisted of L-shaped rails, where the flange on the rail guides the wheels, in contrast to edgeways, where flanges on the wheels guide them along the track.
Plateways were originally horsedrawn but, later on, cable haulage and small locomotives were sometimes used.
The plates of the plateway were made of cast iron, often fabricated by the ironworks that were their users. On most lines, that system was replaced by rolled wrought iron (and later steel) "edge rails" which, along with realignment to increase the radius of curves, converted them into modern railways, better suited to locomotive operation.
Plateways were particularly favoured in South Wales and the Forest of Dean, in some cases replacing existing edge rails. Other notable plateways included the Hay Railway, the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, the Surrey Iron Railway, the Derby Canal Railway, the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, the Portreath Tramroad in Cornwall, and lines at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire.[citation needed]
The plates of a plateway generally rested on stone blocks or sleepers, which served to spread the load over the ground, and to maintain the gauge (the distance between the rails or plates). The plates were usually made from cast iron and had differing cross sections, depending on the manufacturer. They were often very short, typically about 3 feet (0.9 m) long, able to stretch only from one block to the next.
The L-section plateway was introduced for underground use in about 1787, by John Curr of Sheffield Park Colliery. Joseph Butler, of Wingerworth near Chesterfield, constructed a line using similarly flanged plates in 1788. A leading advocate of plate rails was Benjamin Outram, whose first line was from quarries at Crich to Bullbridge Wharf on the Cromford Canal. The early plates were prone to break, so different cross sections were employed, such as one with a second flange underneath. Some lines later introduced chairs to support the plates on the blocks, and wrought iron plates, increasing the length to 6 feet (1.8 m) and, later, 9 feet (2.7 m), spanning several sleeper blocks
In 1789, on a line between Nanpantan and Loughborough, Leicestershire, William Jessop used edge rails cast in 3-foot (0.9 m) lengths, with "fish-bellying" to give greater strength along the length of the rail. However, after he became a partner in Benjamin Outram and Company (Butterley Iron Works) he designed the Surrey Iron Railway and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway as plateways, though between these (in 1803) he designed the Ruabon Brook Tramway as using edge-rail.
Plateway
A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later.
Plateways consisted of L-shaped rails, where the flange on the rail guides the wheels, in contrast to edgeways, where flanges on the wheels guide them along the track.
Plateways were originally horsedrawn but, later on, cable haulage and small locomotives were sometimes used.
The plates of the plateway were made of cast iron, often fabricated by the ironworks that were their users. On most lines, that system was replaced by rolled wrought iron (and later steel) "edge rails" which, along with realignment to increase the radius of curves, converted them into modern railways, better suited to locomotive operation.
Plateways were particularly favoured in South Wales and the Forest of Dean, in some cases replacing existing edge rails. Other notable plateways included the Hay Railway, the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, the Surrey Iron Railway, the Derby Canal Railway, the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, the Portreath Tramroad in Cornwall, and lines at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire.[citation needed]
The plates of a plateway generally rested on stone blocks or sleepers, which served to spread the load over the ground, and to maintain the gauge (the distance between the rails or plates). The plates were usually made from cast iron and had differing cross sections, depending on the manufacturer. They were often very short, typically about 3 feet (0.9 m) long, able to stretch only from one block to the next.
The L-section plateway was introduced for underground use in about 1787, by John Curr of Sheffield Park Colliery. Joseph Butler, of Wingerworth near Chesterfield, constructed a line using similarly flanged plates in 1788. A leading advocate of plate rails was Benjamin Outram, whose first line was from quarries at Crich to Bullbridge Wharf on the Cromford Canal. The early plates were prone to break, so different cross sections were employed, such as one with a second flange underneath. Some lines later introduced chairs to support the plates on the blocks, and wrought iron plates, increasing the length to 6 feet (1.8 m) and, later, 9 feet (2.7 m), spanning several sleeper blocks
In 1789, on a line between Nanpantan and Loughborough, Leicestershire, William Jessop used edge rails cast in 3-foot (0.9 m) lengths, with "fish-bellying" to give greater strength along the length of the rail. However, after he became a partner in Benjamin Outram and Company (Butterley Iron Works) he designed the Surrey Iron Railway and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway as plateways, though between these (in 1803) he designed the Ruabon Brook Tramway as using edge-rail.
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