Marine railways are used to lift ships out of the water for launch, storage, or repair. They consist of tracks and a cradle, and can be powered by electricity, steam, or animals. They have weight limits and are found in shipyards, portals, locks, and private property.
A marine railway is a set of tracks used with a cradle to lift ships out of the water. There are various uses for marine railways, and they can be found in places such as ships and shipyards, portals, locks, and some private property. There are various ways in which a maritime railway can be designed and operated, and some facilities have reached historic status, having been in continuous operation for a long time.
It may be necessary to move boats in and out of the water for a variety of reasons. A launch is one of the best known, as the boats are ceremoniously lowered into the water when completed. Boats also sometimes need to be taken out of the water for storage or repair. Sea railways can also be used to move boats over locks and gates. Casual boaters who live on the water can use a marine rail to move their boats in and out of dry storage.
The marine railway consists of a set of tracks or posts on which a cradle is mounted. In the water, a ship is allowed to settle into the cradle, and winches are then operated to lift the cradle out of the water along the tracks. Marine railways can operate on electric power, steam, or even the power of working animals, depending on where they are located. In a location such as a naval shipyard, tracks may be split on dry land to allow people to route boats to various locations in the shipyard for storage and repair.
Marine rail systems, like other boat lifts, generally have a maximum weight rating. Ships that are too heavy cannot be moved on the marine railway because they may damage the tracks or the cradle. System designers generally try to anticipate needs, assuming that ship and vessel traffic in the area is likely to grow, in which case it makes sense to design a robust system that will exceed current needs.
Seeing a sea railway in operation can be very interesting. Shipyards typically announce launches, allowing members of the public to celebrate the launch of a new ship, and may also notify the public when ships or vessels of particular interest will be moving through the shipyard. People who live near a shipyard are in an ideal position to see the sea railway in operation when necessary.
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