Several Accessories and Equipments Easily Overlooked on the Railroad

In railroad structure, rail fastening system is a means of fixing rails to railroad ties or railway sleepers. The terms rail anchors, tie plates, chairs and track fasteners are used to refer to parts or all a rail fastening system. Various types of fastenings have been used over the years. AGICO Rail is the leading manufacturer, supplier and exporter engaged in offering our customers a wide range of railway fasteners. Durability and efficient performance of our product range have increased its demand in the market. Our railway fasteners are made from high grade raw materials. We also offer customized solutions to the clients. While, there are several accessories and equipments easily overlooked on the railroad. Today, we will enumerate the easily overlooked railroad accessories. 1. Rail Clamp
Rail clamp is a temporary rescue device widely used in railway works departments and the reinforcement of the welded or damaged parts of steel rails. In the emergency situations where the rails break, in order to allow the trains to pass normally, the corresponding type of rail clamps can be directly installed on the rails. They will help allow the trains to pass normally at a lower safe speed. There are 43 type, 50 type, 60 type and 75 type rail clamps corresponding to different rail types. 2. Rail Anchor
When the train runs, it often generates longitudinal forces acting on steel rails to make them move longitudinally and sometimes even move together with railway sleepers. The longitudinal movement is called rail creeping. Rail creeping generally occurs in the range of main line of a double-track railway, at the direction of heavy train of a single-track railway and the braking range on a downhill track and in a station entrance. Rail creeping often leads to uneven track seams, skewed railway sleepers, etc., which are destructive to railway tracks and possibly cause vehicles derailment and endanger the driving safety. Therefore, the effective measures must be taken to prevent rail creeping. Rail anchor and anti-creeping brace are usually used to prevent it. 3. Insulated Gauge Rod
The insulated gauge rod is used to connect two steel rails at the bottom of the rails with a rod to increase the lateral stability of the rails and improve the rails’ ability to maintain the gauge. Some railway lines have track circuits, and the gauge rods are separated by the insulated parts. 4. Rail Fishplate
Rail fishplate (Rail joint) plays a role in the joint of the track. The fishplate is a connecting fastener used for the connection between the rails. The use of fishplate requires less labor than the rail welding works. The installation is simple and quick. And the fishplate and fish bolt are used together. The fishplate is provided with screw holes in its middle part. On upper and lower sides along the horizontal axis of screw holes are provided with an upper working surface contacting the lower part of the rail head, and a lower working surface contacting with the upper part of the rail base. The back of the working face extends upward to form a transition section higher than rail surface. The transition section forms a middle high along the length direction of the fishplate and has a low arch bridge at both ends. The above-mentioned bridge-shaped fishplate has a simple structure, which can reduce the impact of the wheels on rail joints, increase the continuity of the longitudinal deformation of the rail at the joints and improve the smoothness of train passing. 5. Rail Brace
In some track sections, the components are installed on the outside of the rails in order to resist the lateral force of train wheels effectively. Rail brace is generally installed on the outer side of the outer one of small radius curve rails to prevent excessive lateral force of the rail from causing excessive lateral displacement of the rail when the train passes the curve section. Ordinary rail braces are used more on wooden sleeper tracks. Rail braces are also installed on the outside of basic rails at most of turnouts to increase the lateral stiffness of the rails. There are often many shapes of rail braces manufactured. 6. Rail Switch
Rail switch is a switching device for a turnout, including basic rails, point rails and a switch mechanism. It is used to convert the turnout, lock the turnout and reflect the position of the turnout. When a train moves from one track to another or if it wants to enter a maintenance yard or factory, special arrangements must be made on the track to guide the wheel rim to enter the designated track smoothly. This arrangement is called a turnout. The turnout mainly includes a group of switches, a frog, two guard rails and a row of railway sleepers. One set of switch consists of two movable switches, a set of slide plates, and a turning bar and the corresponding signs.