Hello....

Sorry for the stupid question I'm about to ask, but I've never seen one like this, I do have one in my freezer though :) I found this item at a yard sale this weekend, and a search of it says its some type of Railroad Thermometer.

Any idea what or how it was used?

My guess is to measure the temp of the track in the summer or winter?

It's used to measure the temperature of rail during the installation of continuous welded rail (CWR) or, on occasion, stick rail too. Without going into the details, CWR is laid at some pre-determined temperature so that it doesn't "buckle" (develop a sun-kink) under traffic. Stick rail is normally laid with no gap between rails at temperatures of 85 degrees or above, and with varying gaps below 85. The thermometer is placed on the web of the rail shaded from direct rays of the sun.
Nice find.

Ok, so I was kinda sorta right :)

Thanks.....paid a $1 for it. Has the magnets on the back and came with a leather pouch.

That's cool. I never heard of those before.

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... px?id=1379


I never thought about the effects of heat on rail either.

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-tra ... eat-2013-7



Here's one on ebay. You got a good deal on yours.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264980303049?h ... SwSqJf24A1

Its amazing how much steel rail grows. The published rate is 0.00000686 feet per degree of temperature change per foot of rail, so basically a 33 foot stick of rail experiencing a 30 degree warming, grows 0.00679 feet / 0.081 inches (~5/64"), or 13 inches per mile...