The presentation include basic introduction about Sleepers, Ballasts, Track Fitting & Fastenings. The presentation is made according to KUK syllabus.For any query feel free to drop a line in my inbox amanbathla710@gmail.com.

1. Aman BathlaAman Bathla
(A.P.)(A.P.)

2. Review of Syllabus
Unit –Unit – II
Part -Part - IIII

3.  Sleepers are the members laid transverselymembers laid transversely under the rails
which are meant to support the rail over them & transfer the
load from rails to ballast.
RAILWAY SLEEPERS

4. Functions of Railway Sleepers
 Maintain Alignment of track
 Hold the Rails to Proper gauge
 Distribute load over large area of ballast
 Absorb vibrations caused by the train
 Maintain proper super elevation on curves
 Provide overall stability to the permanent way.

5. Requirement of Ideal Sleepers
CAN BE EASILY REMOVED, REPLACED, PACKED & LIFTED
WHEN REQUIRED
DURABLE
MAINTAIN CORRECT
GAUGE
MODERATE WEIGHT
RESIST IMPACT & VIBRATIONS
LESS MAINTENANCE COST
GOOD HOLDING CAPACITY
PROVIDE GOOD TRACK CIRCUITING
HIGH SCRAP VALUE

6. Types of sleepers

7. Wooden Sleepers
 Wooden Logs of Hard wood such as Sal & teak and soft
wood such as Chir & Deodar.
Requirements:
Well seasoned
Free from all type of defects
Suitability
Every section of Rails
Any gauge of Track
All type of ballast

8. Wooden Sleepers: Advantages

9. Wooden Sleepers: Disadvantages

10. Metal Sleepers
 Made up of concrete can either be made up of Reinforced
concrete & Pre-stressed concrete sleepers.
Requirements:
Bear tensile & compressive stresses
Packing of ballast not disturbed
Track circuiting is possible
Provide sufficient grip
Suitability
Every section of Rails
Any gauge of Track
All type of ballast

11. Type of Metal Sleepers

12. Metal Sleepers: Advantages

13. Metal Sleepers: Disadvantages

14. Concrete Sleepers
 Made up of concrete can either be made up of Reinforced
concrete & Pre-stressed concrete.
Requirements:
Moderate Weight
Resist Impact & Vibration
Suitability
Fast & Heavy Traffic
Ideal track for elastic fastenings

15. Type of Concrete sleepers

16. Concrete Sleepers: Advantages

17. Concrete Sleepers: Disadvantages

18. Sleeper density
 Number of Sleepers used per rail length.
 Expressed as M+1, M+2, M+3 etc.
Where M is the Length of Rail in meters
The No. varies according to axle load, speed, type &
section of rails etc.
 In case of LWR/CWR, this is expressed in the terms of No. of
sleepers per Km length.
For India, Number of sleepers per Rail length varies as M+4 to
M+7.

19.  Ballast is the granular materialgranular material packed under & around the
sleepers to transfer loads from sleepers to the ballast.
Component: BALLAST

20. Functions of Railway Ballast
 Distribute load uniformly on ground or subgrade.
 Holds sleepers in correct position
 Provide good drainage
 Prevents growth of weeds
 Make the track elastic to some degree

21. Requirement of good Ballast
STRONG
CLEAN
DURABLE
STABLE
NO HARMFUL EFFECTES ON RAIL &
SLEEPERS
ECONOMICAL
PROVIDE GOOD DRAINAGE

22. Type of Railway Track Ballast

23. Size of Ballast
 Best size of Ballast used varies from 1.9cm & 5.1cm with
reasonable proportion of intermediate sizes.
 Size of Ballast depends upon
Types of sleepers
Location of the Track
Types of Sleepers & Location of Track Ballast Size
Wooden sleepers 5.1 cm
Steel sleepers track 3.8 cm
Under Switches & crossings 2.54 cm

24. Section of Ballast
 Consists of Two Dimensions
Width of Ballast Section at the foot level of Rails
Depth of Ballast Section below the sleeper
 The width of Ballast varies from 38 cm to 43 cm.
 Minimum depth of Ballast (Db) =
Sleeper spacing (S) - width of sleeper (W)
2
(S)(S)
WW 2Db2Db WW
DbDb

25. Quantity of Ballast
 Ballast Required per meter length
 Depends upon Various factors
Type of Gauge
Type of Sleepers
Alignment of the Track (on Curves quantity of ballast is
slightly more.
Gauge Type of Sleepers Recommended Quantity of Ballast
B.G. Wooden & Metal Sleeper 1.036 cubic meter per meter run
M.G. Wooden & Metal Sleeper 0.71 cubic meter per meter run
N.G. Wooden Sleeper 0.53 cubic meter per meter run

26. Track Fittings & Fastenings
 All the fittings Which is used to keep the rails in the proper
position & to set the point & crossing properly.
 Important fittings commonly used in permanent way are
 Fish Plate  Bolts  Keys
 Spikes  Chairs  Plates

27. Fish Plates
At every rail joint, two fish plates on either side are provided to
maintain the continuity of the Rails.
Functions
Used in Rail Joints to Maintain the continuity of the rails
To allow for any expansion or contraction of the rail caused
by temperature variations
Maintain the correct alignment of the line horizontally &
Vertically.
Requirements
Permit free expansion & Contraction
Supports underside rail & top of foot
Easy to replace
Resist vertical & lateral bending

28. Bearing Plate
 Provided in between the flat footed rails & The wooden
sleepers.
 Made up of steel , Cast Iron etc.
Functions
Protect sleeper from sinking & Damage
Distribute load over large area
Help fastening to remain in position
Not used in case of B.H. & D.H. rails
since there are chairs.

29. Spikes
 Used to fix rails, bearing plates & chairs to wooden sleepers

30. Dog Spikes
 Resemble with the dog ear, generally used for holding the
flat footed rails to a wooden sleepers.
Advantages
Cheapest
Easy in Fixing & removing from sleeper
Maintain a better gauge
Disadvantages
Due to wave motion, spikes are
slightly are driven out of the sleepers
cause creep in the rail.

31. Screw Spikes
 Tapered screw with V-threads, head is circular with square
projection.
Advantages
Holding power is more
Resist lateral Thrust
Strong
Disadvantages
Costly
Gauge Maintenance is difficult

32. Round Spikes
 Head either cylindrical or hemispherical & have blunt end.
 Used for fixing chairs of Bull headed Rails to wooden
sleepers
 Used for fixing slide chairs of Point & Crossing
 Have limited Use
Also Known as Rough Spikes

33. Elastic Spikes
 Have special head & are provided with a steel spring
 Head absorbs the wave motion without getting loose.
 Provide better grip
 Reduce wear & Tear of Rail
 Reduce Creep of Rail also
Most commonly used in U.K.
3-spikes per Baseplates are used

34. Bolts
 Used for connecting fish plates to the rails at rail joints,
bearing plates& chairs to wooden sleepers etc.

35. Chairs
 For holding Double-headed & Bull-headed rails to fix to the
sleeper by round spikes Cast Iron chairs are Used.
 Stock & tongue Rails are rest on special type of Chairs
Named as Slide Chairs

36. Keys
 Small tapered pieces of timbers & steel used for fixing rails to
sleepers.
 It is used to fix Double & bull headed rails to chairs.

37. Do you have Any Question?