Pepe's Towing in Los Angeles reports asphalt collapses where loaded semitrailers are parked with the landing gear down. On hot days the concentrated load of the landing gear sometimes punches through the asphalt.[1]

This is why truck dock areas are usually paved with concrete.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBrULmCGJfc

> But of course, this was done in response to past serious crashes that occurred because the asphalt melted. So, it's sort of a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario for the organizers.

Well, not entirely. You always have the option of repaving the roads with cobblestone or something.

Maintenance is expensive, profits are now!

It's funny you mention that, since I mentally associate Union Pacific with the worst of US rail disinvestment. They're the ones that were patient zero for the "precision scheduled railroading" brainworm that led all our railroads to downgrade track and lengthen trains to insane lengths[1]. Or at the very least, they were at the top of Amtrak's delay-shaming list until a few years ago[0] when they somehow improved???

...anyway, I'm now genuinely wondering how the hell rail in such an awful state can still maintain the correct gauge for trains to run on!?

[0] https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...

[1] Salt Lake City is trisected by Union Pacific freight rail. We have some of the largest city blocks in North America, but they're still not long enough to avoid a single stopped Union Pacific train blocking multiple crossings for hours on end. If you want to really, REALLY hate trains, move to the west side of SLC.

Also, talk to your politician about the Rio Grande Plan.

I think the safety officer meant that white paint prevents the rail from heating up. The heating of rails contributes to problems with derailment. If the heat isn't a contributor, that heat is one less thing you have to fight (as in account for).

But the photo caption paraphrases him and says that the white paint fights (as in prevents) the heat, which uses similar words but a different logic to it (but the same overall meaning).

If I've got that right, then I think the blame lies on whoever wrote this article for making it confusing.

You are misreading. Basically the white paint is "fighting the sun's heat".

Why would electrification prevent track from warping due to heat from the sun?

Yes, they're called "high-rail" or "road-rail" vehicles. They have rail wheels that can be lowered down to drive on tracks or raised up for road use.

Why couldn't this also help with continuous-welded rail?

Your own video points out that it's still prone to trade-offs: rail breaks in the cold are better than buckling in the heat, but what if you could reduce the high point with white paint so you could expand the practical temperature range?

We have like 220,000 miles of railroad. We do have nice things: a working freight railroad system that helps reduce transit costs.

Derailers are common and are placed where people are working on tracks so a runaway car will go off the tracks instead of hitting the workers.

   Do NOT use where speeds exceed 5 m.p.h.

this is tackling regular natural derailment incidents not terrorism

OK, but a heatwave isn't going to buy a derailer

> Why paint the sides of the rails? Well you can paint the tops, but it tends to gum up the wheels and get worn off.

Tops of rails are already pretty shiny for any mainline track seeing a couple dozen trains a day. I'd bet they are more reflective than white paint could be. And the paint would be gone after the first train passes through anyways.

They rust pretty quick, but with regular use it doesn't build up much since it's constantly being worn off from the wheel friction.

The top of the rail is already white!!!

It's just polished, so that it is reflective.

If you sanded it with your 180 grit paper, you would get the scattering which appears white.