How were rails bent to be used for curved sections of the route?
As explained by Lynn Farrar and G.J. “Chris” Graves, this was done by hand in the 1860’s CPPR construction. The image below (detail of A.A. Hart Stereoview #333, “Curving Iron. Ten Mile Canyon”) shows a section of rail placed spanning across two ties which sit above the track (the two extra ties on top of the rails of the partially completed roadbed are being used to support the two ends of the rail being bent). The rail being bent is held in place by two wooden tools while being beaten into the curved shape by two men with a sledge hammers working near both ends of the rail (foreground, right). This bending is possible with 1860’s iron rail which is malleable (later steel rail was brittle and would break instead of bending). David Bain indicates that in the 1860s the UP had a steam-powered railbender machine. CPRR First Assistant Chief Engineer Lewis M. Clement, according to notes made by his daughter, Maude L. Clement, invented a machine to bend rails to the correct radius for curves
