Are railroad spikes made of iron?

No, modern railroad spikes are not made of iron, but rather of low-carbon steel. While older spikes were made from wrought iron in the past, modern spikes are specifically made from low-carbon steel to prevent them from shattering when driven into ties and to allow them to bend without breaking.

• Steel is the standard: The term "steel" refers to an alloy of iron and carbon, with modern spikes containing a low percentage of carbon.

• Low-carbon content is key: This specific composition gives the spikes a degree of toughness and flexibility that is necessary for their function, as they must withstand being hammered in without breaking into sharp fragments.

• Historical difference: Older spikes, from before the widespread use of steel, were made of wrought iron.

Basically railroad spikes are made out of the following materials: Q235 carbon steel, Q 345B carbon steel, Q345D carbon steel, 45# (GB standard) carbon steel, 40Cr steel, 35CrMoA steel and 20MnTiB.

The differences of the material that used for making railroad spikes:

• Q235 carbon steel: it features in good plastic property, toughness and welding performance. It also has good cold pressing and bending. The Q235 carbon steel is always used for parts and welding structure application with average requirements.

• 45# carbon steel: it is the most used medium carbon steel. Good comprehensive mechanical properties. It is easy to crack in cold pressing. It is widely used for manufacturing moving parts with higher strength, such as gears, shafts, teeth, etc.

• Q345 carbon steel: Good comprehensive mechanical properties, good processing performance with cold and hot pressing. Good corrosion resistance. It is typically used in the welding structural parts with high loading, such as ships, boilers, pressure vessel, crude oil tank, bridge, power plant equipments, crane, etc.

• 40Cr steel: after conditioning, it has good comprehensive mechanical properties, toughness in low temperature impact. Poor welding property, easy crack. It is one of the most used steel. You can find this material in gears, shafts, worm, sleeve, pin, rod, screw, bolt, valve, etc.

Screw Spike

A screw spike, rail screw (or lag bolt) is a large (~6 in or 152 mm length, slightly under 1 in or 25 mm) metal screw used to fix a tie plate or fasten rail. Screw spikes are fixed into a hole bored in the sleeper. The screw spike has a higher cost to manufacture than the rail spike but has the advantage of greater fixing power; approximately twice that of a rail spike and can be used in combination with spring washers.

Dog Spike

Dog spike is used to fasten T-shaped railroad track to wooden ties that have an L-shaped head and a square shank. The bottom of the head is sloped to match the slope of the flange of a rail and the tip is wedge-shaped, not pointed. The wedge is driven into the tie across the grain, which means the wedge is parallel to the track.

GNEE RAIL can supply railroad spike with customization, as a professional railway fastener manufacturer, we also provide steel rail, rail joint bar, rail clip, rail pad, rail bolt and other part of railway fastening system.

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