Rocks, lots of rocks, railroad rocks!

by Scott Loftesness on December 31, 2009
In Hidden Menlo,Transportation
 

Railroad ballast - Menlo Park

RoadbedStockpile 2 27Dec2009 Rocks, lots of rocks, railroad rocks! Along the railroad tracks that parallel Chilco Street in Menlo Park is a large supply of rocks – railroad ballast to be precise.

Ballast is used as a bed for railroad tracks and provides track stability, drainage and support for trains. Wikipedia notes that “a good ballast should be strong, hard-wearing, stable, drainable, easy to clean, workable, resistant to deformation, easily available, and reasonably cheap to purchase.”

About a year ago, Caltrain announced that it would begin receiving railroad ballast at the site which it would use for ongoing maintenance and future construction projects.

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