What are the ways to fill the flangeways--if you bother?

There are rubber flangeway filler strips available. Here's an example: http://www.itsrailroadrubber.com/RailroadProd.html#anchor_flang
Scroll down the page a bit to view.

Can you expound a little more on the application and what your objective is? Are looking for a collapsible flangeway that does not pose a tripping hazard for pedestrians?

Rob Gardner

I have seen square plastic tube used to fill flangeways.

At other locations I have seen cut-to-size or glue-to-size wood used to fill flangeways.

Are we talking about inside a display building, an outside display with track in the pavement, a pedestrian area which sees occasional movement (once/twice a day or less) or a crossing?

We just discussed this a little more than a year ago:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39642&p=250524&hilit=flangeway+filler#p250524

Thanks for reminding me--and for the link. My experience with the collapsible rubber fillers is that they break down with repeated use. I am looking for something for rather infrequent use indoors.

We're not really talking about a flangeway filler here. We're talking about preventing a flangeway in some form of embedded track from becoming a tripping or maybe the railhead becoming a slipping hazard for unsuspecting visitors who have not had "Do not step on the rail!" drilled into them since infancy. On a public crossing the flangeway will be built up as far as possible but still has to leave room for the flange. Girder rail such as that used for some street and industrial trackage will have the flangeway filler built in. The filler's real purpose is to prevent water and debris from building up in the confined space, not eliminate the tripping hazard.

What I might do here is visit the local hardware store and pick up a roll of indoor/outdoor heavy duty carpeting with a rubber backing. Laid across the track this will cover both the flangeway and the railhead and provide the additional benefit of visually defining the walkway.

Michael, you are thinking along the same line I am. My untested inclination is to get some spray polyurethane gap-filler foam and spray into the flangeway, trim to roughly level, and cover with carpet. This would be for a high foot-traffic/low rail-traffic situation, such as in a visitors' center. Pulling the carpet back and gouging out the foam would seem to not be a big deal.

The problem I've seen with most everything else is that it doesn't stay in place. The rubber inserts seem to collapse after a few passes with a rail vehicle. and they don't really present an even surface.

I should think that wood fillers would be just fine if covered with a mat or runner. Roll the mat up, set the fillers on the floor inside the gauge, and you have flangeways, and you don't even have to pick up crumbs. I would maybe paint the wood fillers yellow or red, so if someone is walking by when they are out they don't trip on them.

The biggest problem I can foresee with wood is it can warp and twist, but good clear pine or fir ripped from wider plank should be pretty stable, especially if painted.

For mat, if the typical carpet mat is too skimpy, you can always try the interlocking "comfort mat" for concrete shop floors. One type I'm familiar with is about 5/8" thick, black with tapered ramped edges molded in yellow. Check the McMaster Carr catalog for ideas, although there are likely places with better pricing for bulk sales.

I've noticed they use a mix of steel and PVC pipe (perhaps what they had available or was cheapest at the time) that fits in the flange ways inside the roundhouse at the B&O museum. It at least fills in the gap and reduces the tripping hazard. Carpet could be used over that if desired.

Bob