Posted By East Broad Top on 04/23/2008 11:21 AM
Code 332 rail scales to 4.5" in 7/8 scale, which is the equivalent of 60-pound rail. (90-pound rail is around 5.5" tall.) A good chart showing rail sizes relative to weight can be found
by clicking here. This reference is for S scale, so pay no attention to the equivalent rail codes they mention. To figure out the prototype size of the rail you're using, multiply the rail size by the scale (i.e., .332 x 13.7) to give you the inches the rail scales out to. Then just look on the chart to find rail that matches that size. There is some overlap in sizes vs. weights, as things like the web thickness, base width, etc. varied from one mill to the next.
Later,
K
What about 136lb rail with 1/4" loss? MOW uses this when blending in new milled rail into older rail that has been worn down. I guess that makes transition rail from 250 to 332 realistic...
A joking aside that's a great resource for modelers. Most modern mainlines are 136 or greater.