Cutting a railway line

[aidank]

I have to take down an old shed.

Railway lines were used as the shed pillar. I want to cut them off at ground level.

Angle Grinder and SS disk I guess is the best approach.

 

[hotponyshoes]

9" with a slim cutting disc.
Support the rail somehow so it doesn't pinch the blade.
Then a 7" cubitron flap disc to take the stump flush to the floor.

 

[gaz1]

becareful you will trap the blade and that blade will shatter

and you can also use the old railway as an anvil as well

 

[northwest]

You may find that they are hard going, I have cut a couple up, hard work and I was on a bench. Absolute minimum a 9" grinder I would say.

 

[Barking Mat]

Gas cutting torch.

 

[RWD3M]

Claymore?

 

[cheb]

No1 det cord should do it nicely.

 

[RWD3M]

No1 det cord should do it nicely.

Yeah, you're quite right, I was perhaps overthinking!

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Assuming it's used track, the underside will be much softer than the work hardened 'topside'. Cut most of the way through from the 'bottom' and the last bit may actually snap off with a BFH.

 

[BrokenBiker]

use a cold chisel, be a man

joking aside, i would want a 9" grinder and someone to apply a bit of pressure to push the rail away as you cut to prevent pinching the cutting disc, those things are fierce when they let go

 

[Agroshield]

How deeply are they embedded into the ground? And how much concrete surrounds the column?

 

[Pete.]

A 9" grinder and normal steel cutting discs will do the job especially if you're only doing a handful of cuts. Start from the fat end of the rail because you're gonna need new discs to get the depth of cut. So cut way at the first one then when your cut depth gets so far that a half-worn disc will no longer reach the cut use that disc to start a new one then go back to the first when you fit a new disc. This way you getting the most ise out if your discs.

I would not advise using ultra-thin discs on a 9" grinder Ive seen that done once by a couple of guys cutting up cast iron gas mains in a tunnel invert and they love to explode. These two guys were geordie dock workers and even they packed in doing it coz of the risk.

 

[fizzy]

If rail is so hard to cut it would make great security bars for windows

 

[Erie Fred]

Assuming it's used track, the underside will be much softer than the work hardened 'topside'. Cut most of the way through from the 'bottom' and the last bit may actually snap off with a BFH.

The technique I was told by a scrapper friend, was to nick the top surface, snap the rest off.
Maybe ours are hard all the way thru.

 

[aidank]

How deeply are they embedded into the ground? And how much concrete surrounds the column?

they are standing for 50years, before my time, probably down 2ft 6

 

[addjunkie]

they are standing for 50years, before my time, probably down 2ft 6

Remove shed, pecker on a digger and just lift out with a machine!

Track makes superb gate posts and fencing strainers.

 

[Mick Annick]

The Prime Minister’s country house is surrounded by a fence made of rail track.

 

[johnik]

Claymore?

video or it didnt happen

 

[MoreWellie]

those things are fierce when they let go

Not to mention damn heavy so maybe use an engine crane or similar to hold the cut off piece up

 

[BrokenBiker]

Not to mention damn heavy so maybe use an engine crane or similar to hold the cut off piece up

I meant the disc...if you have someone pushing the post away from you and there are no obstructions it's going to get to a point where it just falls away, then when it on the ground you finish the cut off needed