Questions You Should Know about Railway Materials

11 Apr.,2024

 

Answer to 12 common questions of railway materials

Aug 10, 2018

Railway track system is made up of rail track, railway sleeper, rail base, rail fasteners, railway switch, and other equipment. The track structure is that lay a track bed on the roadbed, and lays the sleeper on the track bed, and lay rail track and railway switch on the sleeper. Generally, there are railway fasteners like rail bolt, joint bar, rail clips, and rail spike between rail and rail, rail and wail switch, rail, railway switch and sleeper.

About rail track

1. What is the role of the rail?

A: The rail guide the direction in which the locomotive is walking, directly bearing the giant pressure from the vehicle, and transmit to the foundation under the track, to provide the least resistance to the rolling of the vehicle.

2. What are the types of rail track?

A: In China, the type of rail track is expressed in terms of the approximate weight per meter. At present, GB standard railway rails is divided into light rail, heavy rail and crane rail. Common sizes include 22kg, 38kg, 43kg, 50kg, 60kg, 75kg, etc.

For international standard, AREMA, ASEC, BS, UIC, DIN, JIS standard rail track are typical. Hot-sale models include UIC 54&UIC 60, 115RE, 136RE, BS90A, BS100A, and etc.

About rail joint

1. What is a rail joint?

A: The rail joint, also known as rail fish plate, is the fastener that connects two rails together with fish bolts.

2. What are the types of rail joint?

A: It is divided into two types: common rail joints and pointed rail joints. According to the use, Common joint include common joints, conductive joints, frozen joints, insulated rail joints.

The point rail joint is composed of a point rail and a bending base rail and it is used on a large steel bridge and continuous welded rail.

3. How many components does the fish bolt have?

A: The fish bolt consists of bolts, nuts and washers.

4. How many types of joint bolts degree? What is the diameter?

A: GB standard fish bolts are divided into 10.9 and 8.8. The diameter of 10.9 bolts is 24mm. The 8.8 bolts are available in diameters of 24mm and 22mm, and the nuts are all grade 10. 75kg, 60kg, 50kg rail fish bolts are all 24mm, 43kg and 38kg rail fish bolts are 22mm in diameter.

About railway sleeper

1. What is the role of the railway sleeper?

A: The rail sleeper is also called railroad tie, and used to maintain the position, direction and gauge of the rail track and distribute the forces evenly to the track bed.

2. How many types of wooden sleeper are used in the railway? What about the size and the specification?

A: There are three types of railway sleeper used in railways, Class I, Class II, and class Ⅲ. Besides, there are switch tie for railway switch and bridge tie for bridge section. Its specifications as follows:

 
Models Types Length Top width Bottom width Thickness Common railway sleeper I 250 16 22 26 II 250 15 20 14.5 Switch tie   260-480 18 24 16 Bridge tie   300 20 20 22   300 20 24   300 22   26   320 22 22 28   320 24 24 30   340 26 24 30   420-480 20
20 20 22   20 24   22 26   22 28   24 30
 

3. How many types of rail fastener used for railway sleeper? What about size and specifications?

A: The fasteners for railway sleeper mainly include railroad spike and railroad tie plates. Size and specifications as follows: 

Rail track models
(kg/m)
Tie plate Types Length
(mm) Width
(mm) Thickness
(mm) Gradient Railroad spike quantity Weight
(kg) 60 Double-shoulder 310 180 16.5/20.5 1:40 5 6.73 50 Double-shoulder 290 180 16.5/19.8 1:40 5 6.04 43 Double-shoulder 290 180 16.5/19.4 1:40 5 5.85 38 Double-shoulder 270 170 15.5/18.4 1:40 5 4.99
Rail track models
(kg/m)
Railroad spike Types Length
(mm) Head height
(mm) section
(mm) Weight
(kg) 60 standard 145 20 16 0.378 50 standard 145 20 16 0.378 43 standard 145 20 16 0.378 38 standard 150 18 14 0.281


4. What are the requirements for the laying of railway sleeper?

ADifferent types of sleepers must not be mixed. The same type of sleepers should be laid in a continuous manner. As for the junction of different sleepers, such as the rail joint, there must be more than 5 railway sleepers in same type before and after the rail joint. The wooden sleepers need to be treated with anti-corrosion treatment.

About rail fastening system

1. What is rail fastening system combined of?

A: Rail fastening system is made of rail clips, dog spikes, screw spike, threaded flat washers, double-spring washers, tie plate, iron seats, insulation rail pad and other parts.

2. What does the elastic clip of the Type I rail fastener made of? How many models? Specifications? Where is the rail fastening system placed?

A: The rail clip is made of 13mm spring round steel and is "W". The model is divided into type A and type B.

Size: Type A: Length 129mm, width 74mm, diameter 13mm

         Type B: Length 129mm, width 68mm, diameter 13mm

Type A is used for the intermediate fasteners of the rails, and Type B is used for the joint fasteners of the rails.

You may also like:

    The decisions to build streets or highways at grade-level with the tracks were not made by the railroads but by the owners of the roadways crossing the track at any given location. In most cases that is a city or county.

    When most communities built roads across rail lines, they had the option of building an overpass or underpass over, or under, the track. Most chose the less expensive option, which was to build the road at grade level with the tracks. Unfortunately, that leaves motorists in potential conflict with trains.

    One of the great benefits of the federal interstate system is that there is not a single at-grade rail crossing on it. We are very much in favor of cities, counties and states pursuing similar improvements in public mobility for their roads and highways.

    BNSF has a program to help eliminate crossings on our track, which actually pays communities to close crossings. Communities are free to use those dollars as they see fit.

    In addition, in cases where construction of an overpass or underpass results in the closure of a crossing with gates and lights on it, the railroad involved is obligated by the federal government to pay for a portion (5 percent) of the construction of that overpass or underpass.

    However, the decision to pursue such projects must be made by the owner of the road involved, not the railroad.

    Questions You Should Know about Railway Materials

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