Railway track

Railway track (CwthE and UIC terminology) or railroad track (NAmE), also known as permanent way (per way) (CwthE)^[1] or "P way" (BrE^[2] and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers (railroad ties in American English) and ballast (or slab track), plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable, low-friction surface on which steel wheels can roll. Early tracks were constructed with wooden or cast-iron rails, and wooden or stone sleepers. Since the 1870s, rails have almost universally been made from steel.

^ W. S. Ramson, ed. (1988). The Australian National Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 473. ISBN 0195547365.
^ Iain Ellis, ed. (2010). Ellis' British Railway Engineering Encyclopaedia. lulu.com. p. 291. ISBN 978-1-4461-8190-4.

[1] W. S. Ramson, ed. (1988). The Australian National Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 473. ISBN 0195547365.

[2] Iain Ellis, ed. (2010). Ellis' British Railway Engineering Encyclopaedia. lulu.com. p. 291. ISBN 978-1-4461-8190-4.

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