Question about reused old track section.

[bryanjobe]

Good day all,

I've recently been getting into a little history of our local train lines here in Austin Texas and found something interesting last week.
There is a defunct spur line running to one of our power stations here that still has sections of tracks intact that I was checking out last weekend.
The track is labeled Carnegie 1902, and from what I've learned is that it was made in 1902 by the Carnegie steel mills.

This spur line was laid sometime in the early 70's and seems to have fallen into disuse in the 90's (researching aerial photos)

So my question is this, assuming these tracks were possibly used on another line, pulled up and reused here?

Thanks

Bryan

 

[bnsf971]

Yes. Railroads were early adopters of salvage and recycling.

 

[bcp]

As long as it is not worn out, the rail (not track) would be used somewhere else in the system after being replace by heavier rail on main lines. Or it may be sold to another railroad. As trains got heavier and faster, heavier rail is needed. Rails may be used in several places during their lifetime, starting on main lines, then secondary lines, then branch lines, then sidings.

Bruce