[Trending Now] Did You Ever Wonder Why Railway Tracks Have Stones? READ HERE!

From the first ever train to the most modern ones, to movies and first hand experiences of train rides, one thing was consistent--the rocks on the rail road. But have you ever wondered what are they for? Well, if you're going to look it at a logical perspective, if they're there to somewhat secure the train, engineers would have used a more stable platform like concrete or asphalt than these loose rocks.

But did you know that despite how unstable these rocks may seem, they actually keep the railroad tracks stable and are the most cost-efficient to do the job. These rocks are called track ballast and they keep the tracks securely in place.

Railroads, due to its diverse locations can get affected by hear, cold, ground movement, and weeds. These can make the tracks brittle and dangerous in the long run. But this ballasts protect the track from those elements and keep them in place. They also prevent tracks from sliding as their irregular shapes allow them to activate an interlocking mechanism to fit to each other. Construction workers pack the tracks tightly with these ballasts, followed by wooden beams and add more rocks. Trains have to go a little slower than usual on new tracks to help the rocks get settled first. 

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Source: TNP , Elitereaders