What colour are railway rails?

In the early days, railway tracks were made from iron, but cast iron was considered to be too brittle and wrought iron too soft, so in the end, it was decided to manufacture the rails from steel. Steel can take on many colours, although we generally think of it as being silver, different manufacturing techniques can leave steel with the slightest hint of colour that can be anything from blue to yellow. So what colour are railway rails?

The manufacturing process of railway rails initially involves steel being heated to 1650 degrees centigrade so it can be poured. As it cools, the steel is stretched, chopped and shaped into rails. During the process, the steel is reheated several times to temperatures of between 200 and 400 degrees centigrade to keep it pliable. In that temperature range, steel takes on many colours including brown, purple, blue and grey and if cooled quickly enough, some of those colours can be locked in, but it is worth mentioning that the newly formed rails are not cooled especially quick so it's unlikely that any locked in colour will be evident to the naked eye.