A primitive type of railway track constructed by laying thin, flat strips of iron on top of continuous wooden beams. The iron strap provided a hard running surface for the wheels, while the wood carried the load. This design was notoriously dangerous because the iron straps could curl up under the weight of a train and pierce through the wooden floors of passing cars.
Heard on the job
The museum crew is laying a short section of strap rail to show how the pioneer lines were built.
Insider tip
The loose ends of these iron straps that curled upward and impaled cars were universally feared by early trainmen, who called them snakeheads.