RAILWAYS

Track elements

Jarosław Zwolski, PhD CE

 Elements of pavement
• rails
• fastening
• sleepers
• ballast
 sleepers
spacing

rail ballast

fastening

sleeper
Typical cross-section of a
double track line

trackway

Typical cross-section of
a single track line

trackway
Standard steel
rail S60 type

head Rolling
edge

web

Producer mark

foot
 Bending Moment of
Mass Height Foot width Head width
Type characteristic inertia
kg/m H [mm] S [mm] G [mm]
Wx [mm3] Ix [mm4]
S49 49,43 240 x 103 1819 x 104 149 125 65,4
S54 54,54 262 x 103 2073 x 104 154 125 65,8
UIC50 50,18 253,6 x 103 1940 x 104 152 125 68,6
UIC54 54,43 279,19 x 103 2127 x 104 159 140 68,6
UIC60 60,34 335,5 x 103 3055 x 104 172 150 70,6
 cant

 Transfer of load from

vehicles to lower ON STRAIGHT SECTION
elements of the track.
 Provide a smooth and
hard running surface.
 Damping of vibrations
excited by vehicles. ON CURVED SECTION
 Guide wheel flanges
in 3D (on straight and
cant
curved sections).

ON STRAIGHT SECTION
Supported joint
a – wooden sleepers,
b – double steel pad,
c – 4-hole fishplate,
d – a gap between adjacent rails

Unsupported joint
1 – 4-hole fishplate,
2 – bolts and nuts,
3 – a gap between adjacent rails,
4 – single steel pad.
source: www.transportszynowy.pl
A modern trackwork uses long welded rail lengths to provide a better ride, reduce
wear, reduce damage to trains and eliminate the noise associated with rail
joints. The most often used method for welding rails is Thermite welding.
Legend:
1 - 6-hole fishplate,
2 - friction grip bolt (prestressing the
joint),
3 - washer,
4 - longitudinal insulation spacer,
5 - transversal insulation spacer
(shape of the rail profile),
6 - insulation bush on the bolt,
7 - epoxy raisin glue.
 Direct,
 Classic (K-type),
 Elastic (SB-3, Skl, Nabla, Pandroll-Fastclip, etc.)
 Keeps rails fastened to sleepers (transfer of
forces).
 Provides a proper slope of rail foot (1:20, 1:40) in
the transverse plane.
 Prevents the rail from longitudinal movement.
 Damps noise and vibration coming from rails.
 Direct fastening

the gauge - old, obsolete fastening type

- screws loosening causes
steel pad improper fastening of the rail

screw
wooden sleeper

rail

screw

steel pad
wooden sleeper

screw
 Classic fastening (K-type)

Disassembled K-type fastening:

1 – steel pad, 2 – poplar or rubber pad,
3 – rail, 4 – screw, 5 – bolt, 6 – frog,
7 – spring washer, 8 – nut, 9 – rib

- old, gradually withdrawn fastening type

- rails are rigidly bonded what causes transfer of vibrations,
- difficult method of assembly, impossible to automate
 Semi-elastic fastening (Skl-12 type)

- transition type
between K-type and
elastic type,
- enables use of
some elements of K-
type fastening,
- the spring clamp
enables semi-elastic
rail fastening and
damping vibrations,

1 – wooden sleeper, 2 – steel pad, 3 – screw,

4 – spring clamp, 5 – bolt, 6 – rail foot
source: www.transportszynowy.pl
 Elastic fastening (SB-3 type) - ensures proper electric insulation and
damping of noise and vibration,
rail - fast assembling and disassembling

Poliamide
rail
insulation pad

spring
clamp

PE-pad
anchor in a
plastic sleeve concrete
(embedded)
sleeper
 Elastic fastening (Nabla)

4 3
2

1 5

1 – concrete sleeper, 2 – PE-pad, 3 – screw,

4 – clamp, 5 – rail
 Pandrol’s Vanguard fastening

The principle of work:

Two side support brackets made of cast iron support the rail web from both sides. The rail
web is supported indirectly, with use of rubber pads and the foot isn’t supported.
Taking into account the large vertical movement of the rail (around 3 mm under 14 tonnes
of load) damping of vibration starts from 20 Hz. Allowable vertical load 30 kN.
 Cologne Egg fastening

The principle of work:

The rail is attached to an oval plate through a spring pad inserted into the body of
fastening base.
Vibration damping by 7 dB in the range 31.5-45 Hz and 18 dB in the range 63-80 Hz.
Low vertical load allowable – applicable in an light underground only.
Depending on material:
 wooden,
 concrete,
 concrete-steel,
 steel
 plastic/rubber.
 Transfer of load from rails to the ballast.
 Support of rails in horizontal direction (especially
on curved sections of track).
 Provide a constant gauge between rails.
 Maintain proper cant on curved sections.
 Damp vibration coming from the rails.
 Standard Length Volume
Cross Moment of Bending
Type section area inertia modulus
wooden [m] [m3]
[mm2] [mm4] [mm3]
sleepers IB 2600 0,0962 37000 6493 x 104 829 x 103
IIB 2600 0,0894 34400 6099 x 104 783 x 103
oak, azobe: 35-40 years,
beech: 22-25 years,
IIO 2600 0,0923 35500 6210 x 104 788 x 103
pine: 18 years. IIIB 2500 0,0770 30800 4711 x 104 647 x 103
IIIO 2500 0,0755 30200 4741 x 104 644 x 103
IVO 2500 0,0730 29200 4526 x 104 621 x 103

- easy to cut to the

required length,
- ensures proper
electric insulation and
damping of noise and
vibration
- require fungicide
chemicals (non-eco)
Depending on type of reinforcement:
 reinforced concrete,

 prestressed concrete.

Depending on shape:
 beam,

 block,

 slab.
 Standard
prestressed
concrete
sleeper
PS93/SB-3/1435/UIC60
source: www.kolbet.pl

Bunch of
SB-3 anchor prestressing bars

Technical data
Concrete: B60 - much better durability than wood,
Prestressing steel: 8 bars f7 mm
Consumption of f7steel: 6.10 kg
- worse parameters of noise and vibration
Mass: 320 kg damping (cracking),
Volume: 0.1224 m3 - reduces the cutting down of trees
Area of ballast support: 0.6805 m2
The most damaging vibrations occur in the classic joints and are caused by
wheels crossing the gap between adjacent rails. In this spot wooden sleepers
perform better than concrete ones due to a better damping coefficient and
better vibration resistance.
 Concrete-
steel block
sleepers

source:
http://www.railway-technical.com
Concrete- - provides continouos support for the track,
plate - very sensitive to bad subbalast condition
- impossible to exchange without demolition
sleepers
 Steel
sleepers

- low mass
- easy assembly
- recyclable
- suffer from rusting
- conduct electricity
 Steel
Y-shaped
sleepers
- more uniform load distribution,
- better dynamic performance,
- reduced volume of ballast required,
- lower acoustic emission.
 Plastic
composite
sleepers
source:
www.rti-railroad-tie.com

The 50+ year extended life span

of composite crosstie
provides significant cost savings.

Composite ties are completely compatible with wood tie rail systems. Unlike chemically
treated wood sleepers, composite railroad ties do not conduct electricity. They have
virtually no moisture content, and although they possess AREMA compliant strength.
They do not rely upon any conductive steel or concrete components for structural
strength as do some other composite sleepers. Composite ties are electrically non-
conductive thereby diminishing railroads' problems with stray current corrosion and
interference with proper track circuit and signalling operation. Composite crossties do
not require any pre-drilling of holes prior to spiking (cut or screw spikes) and do not/will
not crack or split during any type of conventional mechanical or manual spiking.
Ballast layer rests on a trackway (the upper surface of ground formation) formed in a
way to enable the removal of ground water and rain water which soaks trough the
ballast. The ballast is tightly compacted or tamped around the sleepers to keep the
track precisely levelled and aligned. The width and thickness of the ballast layer are
dependent on the line category.
The best material for ballast is crushed stone, produced from crushing hard rocks
resistant to crushing, scratching and atmospheric weathering, e.g. granite, porphyry,
basalt, gneiss and marble. The characteristic for crushed stone is that the grains of 30-
60 mm diameter have sharp edges which enable mutual blocking of their position and
keeping a proper profile of the track pavement. It is proved that resistance against
the horizontal movement of sleepers in
ballast made of sand is a half of that offered by
gravel ballast. After certain period of operation
ballast has to be cleaned from litter and natural
dirt: organic ground, leaves etc. Dirt can
diminish the effect of friction between grains.
 Load transfer from the sleepers (one wheel loads consecutively 3-5
sleepers only), spreading it through the ballast and transfer to the trackway
uniformly spread. Interaction between vehicles and the track should cause
elastic deformation only. Elastic ballast layer enables the calm running of
wheels and extends the sleepers durability.
 Fast soaking through and transport of precipitation water to the sides of
the trackway to keep the formation as dry as possible.
 Damping of impulses generated by wheels – the ballast should be an elastic
material with resilience characteristics.
 Keeping the sleepers in their position in 3D. The passing vehicle, besides
the vertical forces, loads rails with longitudinal forces (creeping) and
transversal forces e.g. by hunting of boogies or centrifugal force on curved
section s of the track.
For cleaning, devices called ballast cleaner
machines are used which process the gravel
integrating old and new material, builds it in
and tamps to the required geometry of the
track.
 0

Depth [feet]
2

3
0 1000 2000 3000 4000

Stress [psf]
 Allowable Intensity of
Allowable speed Allowable wagon
Track class locomotive axle traffic
[km/h] axle load [kN]
load [kN] [Tg/year]
0 200 221 140 up to 25
100 221 221
120 210 205
1 not specified
140 210 190
160 205 140
80 221 221
2 100 210 205 16-25
120 205 190
70 221 221
3 9-15
80 210 205
60 221 221
4 4-8
70 210 205
30 221 221
5 up to 3
40 210 205
Pavement construction standard describes minimal technical requirements for
construction materials for the given track class:
 type of rails,
 type of sleepers,
 type of fastening,
 maximum sleeper spacing
 minimum ballast layer thickness under the sleepers
as well as technical parameters of materials.
In every class a few construction standards can be used. Standards should be
used at the construction of new tracks, rebuilding and modernization taking into
account the track class required by operation conditions. The track qualified as a
specific construction class should be built with requirements of the given class or
higher.
 Construction standards for the track class 0
Minimum ballast layer
Maximum
Variant Sleepers thickness under the
Rail type sleepers Fastening type
No. type sleepers
spacing [m]
[m]
New UIC60
PS-93
0.1 for v>200 0,60 SB type 0,35
PS-94
km/h
New UIC60
for I/B, II/B Skl type
0.2 0,60 0,30
v>200 hard K-type
km/h

On Polish Railways the standard "D1 - Warunki techniczne utrzymania

nawierzchni na liniach kolejowych" proposes for every class from 2 to 6 variants.