Railway Track Components | #Sleeper | #Ballast | #Joint | #fastening system | #Joggled Fishplate

Summary

This video explores the intricacies of railway tracks, focusing on key terms like 'railway gauge', which is the distance between tracks. It explains the role of sleepers or cross ties, which support the rails and maintain gauge, and ballast, the crushed stone beneath the tracks that bears load, facilitates drainage, and prevents vegetation growth. The video also delves into rail fastening systems, including fish plates for joining tracks and their variants like joggled fish plates for emergency repairs and protection against defective welds.

Takeaways

• 🛤️ The track on a railway is also referred to as the 'permanent way'.
• 📏 The distance between the two tracks on a railway route is known as the 'railway gauge'.
• 🏺 The wooden or concrete supports for rail tracks are called 'sleepers' in British English or 'cross ties' in American English.
• 🔩 Sleepers are rectangular and laid perpendicular to the rails to support and space the rails correctly.
• 💠 Ballast, the stones beneath the track, forms the trackbed and supports the sleepers, facilitating drainage and preventing vegetation growth.
• 🔗 The 'rail fastening system' includes railway fasteners that secure the steel rail to the railway sleeper.
• 🔗 A 'fish plate' is used to join two rail tracks without welding, allowing for expansion due to heat.
• 🔩 There are four bolts that hold the tracks together at the fish plate.
• 🛠️ A 'joggled fish plate' is a special type of fish plate designed to accommodate weld collars for protection and emergency repairs of welded joints.
• 🚆 The ballast holds the track in place, absorbs noise, and helps distribute the load as trains pass over it.

Q & A

What is the term used for the tracks on a railway?

The term used for the tracks on a railway is 'permanent way'.

What is the distance between two tracks on a railway route called?

The distance between two tracks on a railway route is called 'railway gauge'.

What are the wooden or concrete supports for rail tracks known as?

The wooden or concrete supports for rail tracks are known as 'sleepers' in British English and 'cross ties' in American English.

What is the purpose of sleepers in a railway track?

Sleepers hold the rails upright, keep them spaced to the correct gauge, and transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade.

What is the term for the stones beneath the track?

The stones beneath the track are called 'ballast'.

What is the primary function of ballast in a railway track?

Ballast bears the load from the railroad ties, facilitates drainage of water, and keeps down vegetation that might interfere with the track structure.

How does ballast help with the stability of the track?

Ballast holds the track in place as trains roll over it, absorbs noise, and helps maintain the track's stability.

What is a rail fastening system?

A rail fastening system is a group of railway fasteners that are used to fasten steel rail to railway sleepers.

What is a fish plate and what is its purpose?

A fish plate is used to join two different rail tracks without welding, allowing for expansion and contraction due to temperature changes.

What is a juggled fish plate and how does it differ from a regular fish plate?

A juggled fish plate is a specially designed fish plate with convexity in the center to accommodate a weld collar, used to protect defective welded joints and for emergency repair of weld failures.

How many bolts typically hold up the tracks together at the joining of the track?

There are typically four bolts that hold up the tracks together at the joining of the track.