When a detector car finds an internal rail flaw or a rail breaks, the track crew cuts out the bad piece and installs a plug, a replacement length of rail joined with joint bars or field welds. The plug must match the existing rail's section and wear, and in welded track the crew adjusts for temperature so the rail stress stays right. A fresh plug often carries a slow order until it is welded and inspected.
Detector car found a transverse defect at MP 118, the section crew's putting in a plug this afternoon.
Also heard as
- plug rail
- rail plug
Related terms
Pull-apart
A break in the rail, usually at a joint or weld, caused by the rail shrinking in extreme cold.
Ribbon rail
Long strings of rail welded together end to end and laid without bolted joints.
Slow order
A temporary speed restriction on a stretch of track because of its condition, heat or work in progress.
MOW
Maintenance of way: the department and crews that build and maintain track, bridges and roadbed.