Watch the video: Railroad workers thaw points with fire.
Burning rails no longer worry anyone in freeze-stricken Chicago. If the thermometer falls below freezing in the USA, in many places the points are “set on fire”, so to speak, to prevent them from freezing. In Germany this is mostly done electrically, in the United States it is also possible to use gas or kerosene-powered burners. Trainspotter put this video online. In Chicago, the winters are freezing, snowy, and windy. That’s why train operator Metra fires his points regularly.