Track Accessories Structure: Sleepers, Fishplates and Fastenings
1. The Role of Sleepers
Sleepers play a vital role in rail lines: they support the rails, maintain their position, and transmit the enormous pressure of the rails to the roadbed. They are divided into wooden sleepers and reinforced-concrete sleepers.
In China, the sleepers currently used on rail lines are mainly wood and prestressed concrete sleepers, and by purpose they are divided into sleepers for general lines and turnout sleepers used exclusively in turnouts.
- Wood sleepers offer elasticity and easy spike anchorage;
- concrete sleepers offer long life, high stability and low maintenance, and are standard for main lines.
2. Fishplates (Joint Bars) and Bolts
Fishplates, also called joint bars, are made of the same steel as the rails. Their cross-section is shaped to match the rail web - the angled bearing surfaces wedge precisely against the rail-head and rail-base transition zones on both sides of the web - so that the pair of fishplates clamps the two rail ends firmly together. To strengthen the connection, track bolts, washers and springs are integrated into the assembly.
Track bolts apply clamping pressure through the nuts, tightly gripping the rail ends between the fishplates. To prevent nuts from loosening under train vibration, spring washers are added. Bolts are usually made of high-strength carbon steel with a moderate diameter, so as not to over-weaken the rail web and fishplate holes. Some countries also fit nylon sleeves around the bolts - this both damps vibration and further prevents loosening.
3. Ballast Bed and Fastenings
The ballast bed is an important part of the railway line, laid with graded crushed stone (or pebbles, sand and furnace slag on lower-category lines). These materials provide stable support for the track and effectively disperse train loads over a large area.
As the key connection between rails and sleepers, fastenings play a vital role: with the ballast bed as support, fastenings connect the rails to the sleepers, reducing shock and providing cushioning. Fastenings must have not only sufficient strength and durability, but also a certain degree of elasticity, so that rails and sleepers remain effectively connected during long-term service, rail movement is prevented, and buffering and shock absorption are provided as trains pass - reducing the accumulation of residual deformation in the line.
Get a Quote for Railway Track Accessories
Railway track accessories such as sleepers, fishplates, bolts, rail clips, pads, and other fastening components work together to maintain rail position, track gauge, load distribution, and overall track stability. GNEE RAIL supplies railway track accessories in different materials, dimensions, and configurations according to rail profiles and project requirements.
