Rail Fastening System

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.A Rail fastening system is a means of fixing rails to railroad ties (UK sleepers) for the construction of a railroad (UK railway) track. The terms rail anchors, tie plates, chairs and track fasteners are used to refer to parts or all of a rail fastening system. Various types of fastening have been used over the years. There are several methods used to fasten rail to wooden sleepers. The worldwide standard type of rail used today is flat-bottomed rail (Vignoles rail), which has a flat base and can stand upright without support. A flat-bottomed rail has a cross-section like that of an upside-down 'T' and is usually held to the sleeper with a tie plate (baseplate), a metal plate attached to the sleeper; although for lower cost construction flat bottom rails can be laid directly onto the sleepers.

Pagina's: 156, Paperback, VDM Verlag