That's frickin' weird to see, man...
The news this morning reported that it was so cold in Chicago that the train operators were setting the tracks on fire with kerosene-soaked ropes.
I don't know that the exact details there are correct. The video below shows the operators in Alaska using a product call FireSnake. Their website says...
80M010 is based on a special alcohol blend modified with cellulose thickeners and enhanced with special fibers for maximum heat output. Upon combustion, the special fiber material used in this product releases nitrogen, water and carbon dioxide
....
FireSnake® is a smokeless, easy to use, safe replacement for the old repair method of diesel rope.So apparently the old version is diesel-soaked rope, and now there's a 'better' commercial product.
Either way, the issue that's relevant for us at hand is that metal contracts when it's cold. That means if it's cold enough, the train tracks will actually contract and separate from each other. To repair the lines, the workers need to first get the tracks to expand enough to join. Then they can do the repair.
Hot metal = expand...cold metal = contract/shrink
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