Downtown Quartzite EarthCache
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This EarthCache is located near the historic Richmond Railroad
Depot on Main Street in Richmond, Kentucky. This is an active rail
line owned by CSX Transportation so please stay off of their
property and observe from a safe distance.
The listed coordinates will take you a parking lot at a former gas
station at the corner of Main Street and South Estill Avenue in
Richmond. A little further away is the still-used double mainline
track over which millions of tons of freight roll every year. On
the other side of the tracks is a small blue metal building that is
an office for CSX Railroad. A little further away next to the
office is a blue and white building that was once the busy Richmond
railroad depot. The depot no longer serves passengers and has
fallen into disrepair over the years. It is now used only for
storage.
The Historic Richmond RR Depot
Railroad Ballast
The term ballast came from the crushed rock that was once used as
“ballast” to add weight to sailing ships. Railroad ballast,
however, is the crushed rock used by the railroads to form the base
on which the railroad ties and the track is then laid. The ballast
forms a solid base that can withstand the massive weight of the
trains but also allows for drainage. It also deters the growth of
vegetation and allows for track maintenance to be performed easily.
Over years of trial and error, the railroad industry discovered
that angular stones with diameters of between 28mm and 50mm were
best suited for ballast duty. Rocks bigger than that compromise the
strength of the foundation while ballast smaller than that fails to
drain efficiently.
Quartzite Ballast
Ballast is mined from quarries for purchase by the railroads and
is usually granite, quartzite, trap rock, dolomite or limestone.
The rock used must be strong and able to “lock” together well to
prevent erosion due to the elements and resist breakage under the
weight of the passing trains. Do to the weight of large quantities
of ballast, railroads typically try to obtain it from a quarry near
to where they plan to use it. After spreading their ballast, it
must be periodically cleaned to allow proper drainage and to make
sure it is supporting the load evenly. Every few years, busy
railroads will replace the ballast under their tracks or add more
ballast to the existing base. While the tiny rocks under your local
railroad tracks may seem insignificant, they play a role nearly as
important as the rail itself.
Kentucky Ballast
Being somewhat of a railfan myself, I have visited the trackage of
nearly all of the different railroad companies in Kentucky. Most of
the new ballast that railroads are spreading in Kentucky is
quartzite. The mainline portion of the railroad line you are
visiting for this EarthCache was recently reballasted with
quartzite rocks. Crushed granite is also sometimes used on rail
lines in Kentucky so there may be some granite mixed in with the
quartzite.
Quartzite
Not to be confused with the mineral quartz, quartzite is a hard
metamorphic rock that was originally sandstone. The massive heat
and pressure of tectonic compression combined the quartz sand
grains and quartz silica cement into quartzite over millions of
years. Quartzite is typically white to grey in color but can be
somewhat pink to red depending on the amount of iron oxide that is
present (this is especially common in the US Midwest). Pink
quartzite is sometimes called “Pink Lady,” “Tiffany Pink,” or “Pink
Starburst.” Quartzite is very tough and weather-resistant which
makes it a good choice for ballast duty.
To log this Earthcache you must post a picture of yourself or your
team (I don’t accept pictures of hands) with the tracks and
historic Richmond Depot in the background. PLEASE NOTE: The Depot
and tracks should be far behind you, please stay in the parking lot
and do not trespass on CSX property. Please don’t log the smiley
until you have a picture READY TO POST and email me the answers to
the following questions:
1. What is your elevation when standing at the posted
coordinates?
2. What different colors of quartzite do you see along the
tracks?
3. Why does quartzite make good railroad ballast?
WH1266FD at "Downtown Quartzite"
Pictures must be posted and you must answer the questions to get
credit for the cache. Photos must include faces, not just hands. If
these requirements are not met, your log may be deleted. I am no
geologist. Information from this Earthcache was gathered from books
and internet sources that are available to the general
public.
Sources:
http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/dietr1rv/quartzite.htm
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/
http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Rocks/quartzite1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartzite
http://geology.csupomona.edu/alert/metamorphic/quartzite.htm
http://www.westkentuckynrhs.org/pdf/0207.pdf
http://saltthesandbox.org/rocks/quartzitepink.htm
Additional Hints
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