2.

0 THE RAILWAY CROSS SECTION

There are eight main elements of a railroad cross-section: (1) formation, (2) ballast,
(3) crossties (sleepers), (4) rails, (5) tie plates, (6) fastenings, (7) rail anchors, and (8) rail joints.

2.1 FORMATION
The formation is a very important constituent of the track. Its function is to distribute the very
intense bearing pressure of the wheels on the rails, over a sufficient area of the comparatively
soft natural ground underneath in order to ensure that there will be no continual deformation.

The railway formation is generally either on an embankment or in a cutting.

Fig. 2.1 –
Schematics
of a
railway
cross-
section

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Fig. 2.2 - Diagram showing cross-section of track railway alignment

The following are typical cutting characteristics of railway formation

(i) Catchment drain at the top of cutting
(ii) A mound between catch drain and the sides of the cutting
(iii) Side slopes which are usually made as steep as the nature of the soil will allow
(iv) A side drain at the side of the formation
(v) A formation, which is about 3.66m wide.
The formation material performs the following functions:
(a) Bear the load transmitted through the ballast.
(b) Facilitate drainage of water coming from top.
(c) Prevent ballast from sinking into the soil.
(d) Provide a smooth graded surface in which ballast and track may be safely provided.

2.2 BALLAST
Track ballast is a key structural element of the railroad permanent way. Its prime function is to
transmit and distribute the wheel loadings from the base of the sleepers to the subgrade at
pressures that will not cause subgrade failure. In addition, ballast also serves to:
a. anchor the track, preventing longitudinal and transverse track movements under
dynamic train loadings,

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 b. provide immediate drainage of the permanent way under the sleepers, and
c. provide a road material that inhibits vegetation growth and minimizes dust.

Materials that can perform satisfactorily the required functions of ballast include open graded
materials such as crushed stone, washed river or pit run gravel, and furnace slags. Material grain
sizes vary from 38 to 45mm.

Ballast Ballast

SUB-BALLAST

Where ballast material is expensive or in short supply, or where subgrade strength is sufficiently
low that excessive depths of ballast would be required, a layer of sub-ballast frequently is used.
Material for the sub-ballast layer of the permanent way can be a less openly graded material
meeting less stringent quality requirements.

The depth of ballast may vary from 150 to 750mm or more depending on:
(1) wheel loads, (2) traffic density; (3) speed, and (4) the type and condition of the foundation.

The thickness of the sub-ballast may also vary.

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Fig. 2.3 – Ballast sections

2.3 SLEEPERS or CROSSTIES

These may be steel, timber, or concrete, with the primary purpose of transferring the imposed
load from rail traffic and distributing it to the ballast below.

Sleepers or cross-ties

(A) FUNCTIONS OF AN IDEAL SLEEPER

(i) Should be able to hold the rail to the required gauge (i.e standard width between rails)
(ii) Should provide a firm and even support to the rail.

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 (iii) Should transfer load from the rails to a large area of the ballast.
(iv) Should absorb the vibration and blows of the moving loads by acting as an elastic
medium between the rails and ballast.
(v) Should provide stability to the permanent way (i.e. rail track).
(vi) Should provide for easy replacement of rail fastenings.
(vii) Should permit track insulation for electrified sections.
(viii) Should maintain track alignments (both horizontal and vertical).

(B) QUALITIES OF AN IDEAL SLEEPER

An ideal sleeper should:
(i) Be strong enough to maintain proper gauge.
(ii) Be strong enough to provide adequate bearing area for the rail.
(iii) Have weight for stability and at the same time, it should not be too heavy to pose
handling and transportation problem.
(iv) Not be easy to dislodge from its position
(v) Be possible to fix and remove rails from the sleeper, comparatively
(vi) Have adequate strength to bear heavy stresses
(vii) Have adequate area of contact between ballast and sleepers.
(viii) Have good design such that tamping or packing below it does not damage it.
(ix) Possess capacity to be insulated from rail, if track circuiting is required.

(C) TYPES OF SLEEPERS

Among different types of sleepers are the following:
1. Wooden sleepers
2. Steel trough sleepers
3. Concrete sleepers
4. Cast iron sleepers
5. Pre-stressed concrete sleepers
6. Pre-stressed concrete blocks

In the Nigerian railway system, the wooden (timber), steel trough and concrete sleepers are the
types of sleepers in use.

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(D) WOODEN or TIMBER SLEEPERS
Advantages of timber sleeper
1) It is cheap and easy to manufacture.
2) It absorbs vibration and shocks
3) It is easy to handle
4) It is an ideal bearing surface for rails where the formation is yielding.
5) .

Disadvantages of timber sleeper

1) It has short life span due to decay and vermin attack.
2) It is difficult to maintain proper gauge.
3) It is susceptible to damage by fire.

Fig. 2.4a: Timber sleepers before laying Fig. 2.4b: Timber sleeper laid on track

NOTE: Wooden sleeper should ideally be treated with both preservatives and coating materials
for protection against weathering and splitting (from cracks) while in service.

(E) STEEL TROUGH SLEEPER

Characteristics
➢ It consists of rolled steel plate of about 12mm thickness formed into a trough shape with
rail seats canted to 1 in 20.
➢ In order to retain the ballast, the ends are flattened out in the shape of a spade.

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 ➢ The weight of standard steel trough sleeper varies from 35kg to 81kg with an average life
span of 50 years.

Steel sleeper Rail Steel sleeper

Advantages of a Steel Sleeper

1) It is not susceptible to fire
2) It cannot be attacked by fungus
3) It has longer life
4) It maintains gauge and level more satisfactorily
5) Its manufacturing is simple

Disadvantages
1) It is unsuitable for track circuited area
2) It cracks at rail seat during maintenance
3) It is liable to corrode and rust, and sometimes get cracked.

(F) CONCRETE SLEEPER

With the development of concrete technology, the usefulness of concrete sleepers was examined.

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 Concrete sleeper (Stacked) concrete sleepers

The advantages and disadvantages of concrete sleepers are stated below.

Advantages
1) Being heavy, it improves the track modulus (i.e. modulus of track elasticity).
2) On account of its flat bottom, it is very suitable for modern tracks.
3) It is free from fire hazard
4) It has long life
5) It is suitable for mass production
6) It is suitable for track circuiting

Disadvantages
1) Because of its heavy weight, handling and transportation are difficult
2) It has no scrap value
3) It suffers heavy damage during derailment

2.4 RAILS
Rails are continuous girders which carry the axle loads and they are made of high carbon steel.

Functions of Rails
i) They provide a smooth and uniform surface to bear the heavy wagon loads transmitted
through the axles.
ii) They can withstand lateral stresses due to (train) braking operations and thermal
stresses.
iii) They transmit the load to the formation through sleepers and the ballast.

Rail Sections
• Rail sections come in standard lengths of 11.7m, although continuous welded rail can
also be used.
• Rail section is designated by its standard classification number as well as by its weight
per meter length (e.g. 40 kg/m (80.6 lb/yd).

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 • Rail section weight per meter length is arrived at by linking the weight of the rail in
tonnes to that of the locomotive axle load in tonnes to an empirical value of 1/510.

Example
If the axle load of locomotive is 23 tonnes, the corresponding rail section would be
2300/510 kg/m = 45 kg/m. This should be the minimum weight per metre length. This value is
now multiplied by factor of safety, usually 1.22 – 1.33. Using a factor of safety of 1.33, the
required rail section weight per meter length = 45 x 1.33 = 59.85 (say 60 kg/m).

Rail Cross-Section
The common cross-sections of rails are
i) Bull-head rail section
ii) Flat-footed rail section

In the bull-head cross-section, the top and bottom sections are kept identical. The rationale
behind it was that the life of rails could be increased by inverting the rail and re-using it.

In the flat-footed (or flat-bottom) cross-section, the rail has a characteristic inverted T-shape.

Fig. 2.5a: Bull-head track Fig. 2.5b: Flat-bottom track

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Bullhead (BH) track uses small rail of bullhead section, which is similar to I-section. It is
supported in heavy chair castings, and held in place by means of wooden or spring steel keys
which engage in the rail web (see Fig. 2.5a).

Flat-bottom (FB) track uses heavier rail similar to an inverted T-section. It is supported on
baseplates and held down with clips or spikes which bear on the rail foot (see Fig. 2.5b).

Bullhead is the traditional "steam era" track used in the UK until the early 1950s. From that time,
main running lines have been progressively replaced with flat-bottom track, but a lot of bullhead
track still remains in loops, sidings and yards.
Here are some close-ups:

2.5 TIE PLATES

The rail is laid on tie plates that are secured to the wooden sleepers/crossties by spikes or other
fastenings. A tie plate is shown in Figures below.

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Tie plates have three principal functions:
1. To prevent damage to the wood sleepers/crossties by distributing the wheel loads over
a larger area.
2. To help hold the rail to proper gauge.
3. To partially offset the outward lateral thrust of the wheel loads by tilting the rails
slightly inward.
Tie plates are typically 7 to 8 in. wide, 10 to 14 in. long, and 9/16 to 1 in. thick.
NOTE: Special rubber, neoprene, or plastic pads sometimes are placed between the tie plates
and sleepers/crossties to provide softer-riding track and reduce tie wear.

2.6 FASTENINGS
The devices used to connect rails and sleepers together to form the track are known as fastenings.
Where wooden sleepers are used, fastenings are used to firmly anchor the tie plates to the sleeper
to prevent destructive abrasion from plate movement.

Fastening Rail Fastening Rail

Several types of fastenings may be used including common cut spikes, spring spikes, screw
spikes, compression clips and clamps. See the figures below.

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Cut Spikes Spring Spikes Spring Spikes

Screw Spikes Compression Clips and Clamps

2.7 RAIL ANCHORS

Rail anchors are employed to reduce or stop the longitudinal movement of rails under traffic and
to control temperature-induced expansion of rails. Their main purpose is to hold the rail in a
fixed position with respect to the sleeper.

Sleeper Anchor Rail

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Without anchorage, rails tend to expand unevenly, and local concentrations of expansion forces
may cause the track to buckle or warp. This can result in twisted sleeper, tight gauge, and
broken welds at rail joints.

The rail anchor usually is attached to the base of the rail with one of its vertical surfaces bearing
against the side of the tie or tie plate, or both. Creeping pressures of the rail are transmitted to
the sleeper and ultimately to the ballast.

2.8 RAIL JOINTS

➢ A rail joint is the weakest part of the track.
➢ In order to provide provision for expansion and contraction of rails due to variation
temperature, certain gap is provided at each joint.
➢ This gap causes break in continuity of rails in horizontal as well as in vertical plane,
forming the weakest point of the track.
➢ This joint also causes severe blows to the passengers due to the moving of wheels over
this gap.
➢ These blows loosen the compaction of ballast under the sleeper bed and make the
maintenance of joints difficult.
➢ The fittings used to connect rails become loose and cause heavy wear and tear of the
track materials.

Rail joints are used to perform the following functions:

a. provide smooth continuity of alignment and surface where two rail ends meet and
b. transmit the wheel load from one rail end to the other.
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 • Rail joints, illustrated in Figures above consist of two steel members that fit on each side
of the rail and span the length between the two rails.
• These bars are typically 600 or 900mm in length and usually are held in place by bolting
through holes in the rail flange.
• The 600mm bars have four bolt holes, and the 900mm bars have six.
• Some railroads now use a glued or bonded insulated joint, in which the joint bars are
fastened rigidly to the rail by means of structural adhesives.

2.9 TURNOUTS

A) Turnouts and Crossovers

Railroad tracks intersect at turnouts, crossovers, and crossings.

Turnouts are curved sections of track that permit the diversion of trains from one track (main-
line track) to another (branch lines). Where the turnout provides an intersection with another
continuous parallel or non-parallel track, it is called a crossover.

At crossings, tracks intersect permitting movement of the train on one track across the alignment
of the other. Figure below shows schematic arrangements for the various types of railroad
intersections to be discussed.

Fig. 2.9a: Schematic of Simple Turnout

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Fig. 2.9b: Pic. of a Railway Crossing Fig. 2.9c: Picture of Railway Crossovers

B) Switches
The device, which determines the diversion of train movement through a turnout, is known as a
switch. A switch is designated as a left-hand or right-hand switch depending on the direction of
diversion of the train into the turnout.

Switches are relatively simple devices principally composed of switch rails, rods which hold the
points in their proper position and relationship, gauge and switch plates which support the switch
rails at their proper elevation, and heel blocks which effect a rigid joint at the head of the switch.

Some of the various types of switches in use include Stub switches, Tongue switches (used in
paved street locations and designed for slow-moving traffic), Spring switches and Split switches
(designed for high-speed movements).

Tongue Switch Spring switch

C) Frogs
The turnout frog is a device, which permits train wheels on one rail to cross the rail of a
diverging track. It performs two functions:

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 i. It supports the wheel over the intersection of the flangeways and
ii. It provides continuous channels for the wheel flanges.
The two principal frog types in common use are the rigid frog and spring frog.

Frog

2.10 SIDETRACKS and YARDS

Sidetracks or sidings are used to provide for meeting or passing trains and to permit cars to be
left alongside depot loading platforms, warehouse, and factories.

Sidetracks Sidings

Railroad yards provide shops and facilities for maintenance and repair of locomotives and cars,
housing for idle locomotives, storage tracks for temporarily idle cars, and facilities for receiving
and dispatching of passenger and freight trains.
A railroad freight terminal facility usually contains at least three components:
1. A receiving yard, where incoming trains are directed from the main line and stored
temporarily before being sorted and classified.

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 2. The classification yard, where cars are sorted and classified into blocks of common
destination.
3. The departure yard, where the sorted blocks of cars are made into trains and stored
while arrangements are made for main-line movement.

Factors that govern the length and width of yard include:

a. length and number of incoming and outgoing trains;
b. number of classifications to be made for through and local freight;
c. building area for roundhouse, shops, sub-stations, control towers, and other facilities;
d. storage tracks for temporarily idle cars.

General track arrangement should be such that main-line tracks do not pass through the yard.
Connections to the main tracks from forwarding and receiving tracks should be as simple and
direct as practicable. Curvature of tracks should not, in general, exceed about 12o30’. Tracks in
the yards should be spaced not less than 18 ft (6m) center to center.
Figure below shows a general scheme of yard layout.

Fig. 2.10: General Scheme of Yard Layout

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Without anchorage, rails tend to expand unevenly, and local concentrations of expansion forces
may cause the track to buckle or warp. This can result in twisted sleeper, tight gauge, and
broken welds at rail joints.

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