# Railroad track: diamond-shaped rails between main tracks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2000, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883 "2000-04-12T19:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/1 "2000-04-12T19:11:00Z")
What are these for? I got a 1993 calendar with a photograph of a section of track in Vermond, in a covered structure; inside the main track was a piece of rail shaped like a diamond or the big “O” on the Olympia beer label. Outside the main tracks were separate sections of track like a pair of parentheses. The whole thing couldn’t have been more than fifteen feet from end to end. What is this for?? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Breckinshire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@Breckinshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breckinshire)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/2 "2000-04-12T19:15:00Z")
Some kind of switching device, maybe? I really have no idea. Just a WAG. BTW, that was my very first mention of a “WAG”. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/3 "2000-04-12T19:23:00Z")
> [@](#): > > a WAG. 😕 What’s a “wag”? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/4 "2000-04-12T19:38:00Z")
I would suggest maybe updating your calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Breckinshire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@Breckinshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breckinshire)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/5 "2000-04-12T19:49:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by dougie\_monty: > \*\* > 😕 > What’s a “wag”?\*\* I wish to God I knew. But I think I was using it the right context. I was hoping no one would ask. ---
**Author:** ![Delta-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/6 "2000-04-12T19:54:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by dougie\_monty: > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > a WAG. > > 😕 > What’s a “wag”?\*\* ## Wild Ass Guess The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. [Delta-9 Home Page](http://www.delta9studio.com) ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/7 "2000-04-12T21:00:00Z")
My guess, WA or not, would be that the track was for some type of tram or trolley, not a regular train track. The section you saw would be the place where the tram car could be turned around to go back in the opposite direction. The “parentheses” might be places where a car could be sidelined for a while. ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/8 "2000-04-12T23:10:00Z")
OK, 'fess up - who got that train track pregnant? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2000, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/9 "2000-04-13T08:53:00Z")
Didn’t Cecil cover this in MOTSD? * * * “His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad, His hair is as dark as a blackboard, I wish he was mine, he’s really divine, The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.” ---
**Author:** ![Vestal\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5e9695/32.png) [@Vestal\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vestal_Blue)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/10 "2000-04-13T16:03:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Delta-9: > \*\* Wild Ass Guess > \*\* But if you have data to back it up, it’s a SWAG. ( _Scientific_ WAG. * * * VB I’ve performed a complete diagnosis of your car. It’s broken. - A Wally original! ---
**Author:** ![drollman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f04885/32.png) [@drollman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drollman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2000, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/railroad-track-diamond-shaped-rails-between-main-tracks/15883/11 "2000-04-13T16:45:00Z")
The inside rails could also be a “re-railer”. They’re usual on the tracks close to sharp curves and on over-passes. * * * My fate keeps getting in the way of my destiny.