EP0996789A1

EP0996789A1 - Resilient railway rail fastening clips and associated rail fastening clip anchoring devices

Info

Publication number: EP0996789A1
Application number: EP98932355A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Barry Marshall; Brian George Conroy
Original assignee: Pandrol Ltd
Current assignee: Pandrol Ltd
Priority date: 1997-07-15
Filing date: 1998-07-02
Publication date: 2000-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 2018-07-02
Also published as: GB0109250D0; WO1999004094A1; EP0996789B1; AU8229398A; TW489844U; GB2358034A; CN1158429C; CN1264448A; GB2358034B; BR9815505A

Abstract

A resilient railway rail fastening clip, for fastening a railway rail to an underlying foundation, of the type having an anchoring leg (21) whereby the clip is retained by a rail fastening clip anchoring device (400), has means for resisting unauthorised disengagement of the clip from such an anchoring device (400) comprising first locating means (21c), provided on the said anchoring leg (21) at a region spaced from a free end A thereof, for cooperating with second locating means (404) provided inside the housing (402) of such an anchoring device (400) when the anchoring leg (21) of the clip is inserted therein.

Description

ESILIENT RAILWAY RAIL FASTENING CLIPS AND ASSOCIATED RAIL FASTENING CLIP ANCHORING DEVICES

The present invention relates to resilient railway rail fastening clips and associated rail fastening clip anchoring devices .

A common system for fastening a railway rail to an underlying foundation, such as a concrete or wooden railway sleeper, comprises a pair of anchoring devices secured to the foundation on either side of the rail when it is in position, which devices retain the anchoring legs of respective resilient rail fastening clips which bear down on the rail. Such an arrangement is disclosed in GB 1510224, which relates particularly to a railway rail fastening clip (known as an "e"-clip) comprising (in one version) a rod of resilient material bent so as to have, proceeding from one free end of the rod to the other free end thereof, firstly a straight anchoring leg, secondly a reverse bend portion, thirdly a portion beside the anchoring leg forming a "heel", fourthly another reverse bend portion and finally another portion beside the anchoring leg forming a "toe". This version of the clip is referred to hereafter as a "right-handed" clip. In another version, referred to hereafter as a "left-handed" clip, the clip is a mirror image of a

"right-handed" clip, made such that the anchoring leg may be inserted into the opposite end of the anchoring device .

The "e"-clip, and its predecessor the "PR" -clip disclosed in GB-861473, provide safe and secure rail fastenings and have become very widely used. However, in some areas of the world it has been known for thieves or vandals to remove the clips from the anchoring devices, which is obviously undesirable. In order to prevent such unauthorised tampering with such rail fastenings the present applicants suggested in GB-2085057B providing on the "heel" portion of the clip a step for butting up against a stop provided on an exterior portion of the anchoring device past which the heel of the clip is driven when installed in the anchoring device. This arrangement was such that the clip could not be removed so readily from the anchoring device by an unauthorised person. Moreover, the increased force required to extract clips from such assemblies also helps to resist any tendency for clips which are installed in assemblies which have become worn over time to become displaced. However, such an arrangement has not proved completely effective as it has been found that, although resistant to attempts to remove the clip by hammer blows alone, the clip can still be removed if a crowbar (or even a rock) is first used to lever the heel of the clip away from the stop on the anchoring device. The applicants therefore wish to provide a more secure rail fastening assembly than that disclosed in GB-2085057B. According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a resilient railway rail fastening clip for fastening a railway rail to an underlying foundation, the clip being of the type having an anchoring leg whereby the clip is retained by a rail fastening clip anchoring device, the clip having means for resisting unauthorised disengagement of the clip from such an anchoring device, wherein the said means comprise first locating means, provided on the said anchoring leg at a region spaced from a free end thereof, for cooperating with second locating means provided inside the housing of such an anchoring device when the anchoring leg of the clip is inserted therein.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a rail fastening clip anchoring device for retaining a resilient railway rail fastening clip according to the first aspect of the present invention, which anchoring device comprises a housing having a passageway therein for receiving the said anchoring leg of the clip, wherein second locating means are provided inside the passageway for cooperating with the said first locating means provided on the said anchoring leg of the clip.

Thus, a clip embodying the first aspect of the present invention, housed in an anchoring device embodying the second aspect of the present invention, can in a manner which is simple and reliable, but not readily apparent, increase the force required to remove the clip from the anchoring device, thus reducing the risk of unauthorised removal and increasing the security of the fastening. Unlike the assembly disclosed in GB-2085057B, in the present invention the means for resisting unauthorised disengagement of the clip are provided out of sight, within the housing of the anchoring device, so that it is far less obvious to an opportunistic thief or vandal how the clip may be removed. Indeed, if any attempt were made to remove a clip embodying the present invention from an anchoring device embodying the present invention using a crowbar, or a rock, such as have been used in the past, this would cause the clip to be held even more securely within the anchoring device.

The clip to which the invention is applied is preferably, but not essentially, an "e"-clip or "PR" clip. It should be noted that there is no need to make any adjustments to the overall shape of such clips, for example to lengthen the anchoring legs thereof, in order to apply the invention thereto.

The stress in a clip of the "e"-clip or "PR" -clip type when installed is high (perhaps 75%-80% of the maximum stress on the clip) at the position where an anti-vandal feature has conventionally been provided on the clip. Accordingly, the step positioned on the "heel" of a clip, such as disclosed in GB 2085057 B, may (depending on the size and shape of the step provided) raise the maximum stress in this area above that anywhere else on the clip, and therefore become one of the critical factors in clip performance. In contrast, the stress is. negligible near the end of the anchoring leg, so the stress concentration effect of providing first locating means on the anchoring leg of the clip is of no consequence.

Preferably, the first locating means comprise an abutment surface, such as the inclined face of a recess, in which case the second locating means comprise a projection. Alternatively, the second locating means may comprise an abutment surface, such as an inclined face of a recess, in which case the first locating means comprise a projection.

The angle of inclination of the inclined face with respect to the longitudinal axis of the anchoring leg/passageway is desirably in the range from 20° to 90°.

The angle at which the abutment surface slopes largely determines the force required to withdraw the clip from the anchoring device. On some railways clip removal machines are used to extract conventional clips from the anchoring devices. Thus, if such machines are to be used with clips embodying the first aspect of the present invention, from anchoring devices embodying the second aspect of the present invention, the angle of the abutment surface slope must be selected so that, although higher than with conventional fastening assemblies, the force required to extract the clip is such that during machine extraction no damage occurs to the machine or the fastening components. In these circumstances a fairly shallow angle, for example 30°, is appropriate. If a greater deterrent to vandals or thieves was required, the abutment surface slope should be steeper (for example, greater than 40°) , but conventional clip removal machines could probably not be used to extract such clips.

A purpose-made tool could be used to apply downwards pressure to the free end of the anchoring leg of the clip visible at the end of the passageway in the anchoring device housing, so as to disengage the first locating means on the anchoring leg of the clip from the second locating means provided inside the housing, and simultaneously to pull the clip free of the anchoring device . Use of such a tool would be facilitated if the housing is such that at least a part, other than the end face, of the free end of the anchoring device of the clip is exposed when installed in that housing.

With conventional clips, such as "e" -clips and "PR" -clips, it can be difficult to ensure that the clip is installed in the correct position; if it is driven too far into the housing then, instead of there being contact between the top of the anchoring leg and the inside of the anchoring device, there may be a contact between another part of the clip and the anchoring device. This unintended change in contact can lead to undesirably high "toe" loads and stresses in the clip.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a resilient railway rail fastening clip for fastening a railway rail to an underlying foundation, wherein the clip has thereon stop means, for engaging cooperating means provided on a rail fastening clip anchoring device, whereby overdriving of the clip into the said anchoring device is prevented. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a rail fastening clip anchoring device for retaining a resilient railway rail fastening clip embodying the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the device has cooperating means for engaging the stop means on the said clip. Thus, a clip embodying the third aspect of the present invention can be correctly positioned within the housing of an anchoring device embodying the fourth aspect of the present invention.

The stop means may comprise an abutment surface, in which case the cooperating means comprise a projection. Alternatively, the stop means may comprise a projection, in which case the cooperating means comprise an abutment surface . The abutment surface may be provided by a face of a recess, which is desirably inclined with respect to the direction of installation of the clip by an angle in the range from 35° to 90°. The preferred angle is about 90°.

If the clip is of the type having an anchoring leg whereby the clip is retained by the anchoring device, the said stop means may be provided on the anchoring leg and the cooperating means may be provided inside the housing of the anchoring device .

With a view to avoiding the problem of overdriving in a clip embodying the first aspect of the present invention, or an anchoring device embodying the second aspect of the present invention, the recess (constituting the first or second locating means as the case may be) may have a further inclined face, oppositely-inclined to the other inclined face, the angle of inclination and position of which further inclined face are configured so as to prevent overdriving of the clip into the anchoring device. The angle of inclination of the further inclined face with respect to the longitudinal axis of the anchoring leg/passageway is desirably in the range from 35° to 90°, and is preferably about 90°. The foot of the further inclined face may be spaced from the foot of the other inclined face by a desired distance.

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A shows in plan view a prior art resilient railway rail fastening clip;

Figure IB shows a part sectional side view of a railway rail fastening assembly incorporating the clip of Figure 1A; Figure 2 shows a sectional end view of parts of a resilient railway rail fastening clip and anchoring device embodying aspects of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a sectional side view of parts of another resilient railway rail fastening clip and anchoring device embodying aspects of the present invention;

Figure 4 shows a sectional view of parts of a further railway rail fastening clip and anchoring device embodying aspects of the present invention; Figures 5A, 5B and 5C show respective part cross- sectional side views of the embodiment of Figure 4 for use in explaining how the clip might be removed from the anchoring device;

Figure 6A shows an end view of part of yet another rail fastening anchoring device embodying aspects of the present invention, and Figure 6B shows a partial cross-setional view taken on the line A-A in Fig. 6A; and

Figure 7A shows a side view of part of a railway rail fastening clip embodying aspects of the present invention for use with the anchoring device of Figures 6A and 6B, and Figure 7B shows a partial cross-sectional view taken on the line A-A in Fig. 7A. The prior art resilient railway rail fastening clip 10 shown in Figure 1 is a type of "e"-clip. The clip 10 is made by bending a metal rod so as to have, proceeding from one end A of the rod to the other end B, a substantially straight first portion or anchoring leg 11, then a second reverse bend portion 12, then a third portion 13, then a fourth reverse bend portion 14, and finally a fifth portion 15. When the clip 10 is in the configuration shown, such that the lowermost points on the third and fifth portions are in the same plane and the clip 10 is viewed from directly above or below that plane, the third and fifth portions appear to lie on opposite sides of the first portion 11.

Although not shown in this application, the so-called "PR" -clip is of a similar shape.

Both the "e"-clip and the "PR" -clip may be retained, such that the "toe" of the clip (either the third portion 13 or the fifth portion 15) bears on an adjoining rail, by a cast metal rail fastening clip anchoring device or shoulder 100 such as shown in Figure IB. Only one of the pair of anchoring devices 100 which would be used in the rail fastening assembly is illustrated in Figure IB. The anchoring device 100 is secured to a rail foundation, in this case a concrete sleeper 2, by means of a leg 101 embedded in the concrete. The leg 101 is joined to a housing 102 of the anchoring device 100, which housing 102 has a passageway 103 therethrough. A rail 1 having a foot la is positioned on a cushioning rail pad 4 between the pair of shoulders 100 and a rail insulator 3 is placed on the rail foot la. The anchoring leg 11 of the rail clip 10 is then driven into the passageway 103, deflecting the clip 10 such that the "toe" portion of the clip (in this case the fifth portion 15) exerts a desired force on the foot la of the rail 1 through the rail insulator 3. The "heel" portion (in this case the third portion 13) of the clip 10 comes to rest on a ledge portion 104 of the housing 102. An upper surface of the anchoring leg 11 is held in contact with the roof of the passageway 103.

Although not shown in Figure 1A the anchoring leg 11 of the clip 10 may be chamfered at its free end so as to facilitate insertion of the anchoring leg 11 into the passageway 103 of the anchoring device 100.

The invention will now be described with reference to its application to an "e"-clip, although it can also be applied to any other form of resilient railway rail fastening clip having an anchoring leg whereby the clip is retained by an anchoring device.

Figure 2 shows an anchoring leg 21 of a rail fastening clip 20 embodying the first aspect of the present invention. The rail fastening clip 20 is not shown in its entirety, but other than its anchoring leg 21 could be similar to, for example, an "e" -clip, a "PR" -clip or the like. The anchoring leg 21 has a chamfer 21b at its free end A and, spaced from the free end A, first locating means comprising a detent or recess 21a having an abutment surface 21c. An anchoring device or shoulder 200 (not shown in its entirety) for retaining the rail fastening clip 20 has a housing 202 formed therethrough with a passageway 203. Inside the passageway 203, on the roof thereof, are second locating means comprising a projection 203a. The first and second locating means cooperate together to provide means for resisting unauthorised removal of the clip 20 from the anchoring device 200. The remainder of the anchoring device 200 could be similar to the anchoring device 100 shown in Figure IB. The detent 21a may be stamped onto the anchoring leg of the clip 20, during or after forming of the clip, and the projection 203a is formed during forming of the anchoring device 200.

The embodiments shown in Figure 3 differ from those of Figure 2 in that the rail fastening clip 30 (not shown in its entirety) has an anchoring leg 31 with chamfer 31b having first locating means comprising a projection 31a and the anchoring device 300 (not shown in its entirety) has a housing 302 with a passageway 303 formed on a roof thereof with second locating means comprising a recess 303a having an abutment surface 303b.

Upon insertion of -the anchoring leg 21 (31) of a clip 20 (30) embodying the present invention into the passageway 203 (303) of an anchoring device embodying the present invention, pressure either of the projection 203a on the anchoring leg 21, and in particular on the chamfer 21b, or of the roof of the passageway 303 on the projection 31a, causes the clip to be deflected downwards slightly until the anchoring leg 21 (31) reaches a point where the first and second locating means snap into engagement with one another (see Figure 4) .

For the purpose of deterring vandals and thieves the position and size of the locating means should be chosen such that significant displacement of the anchoring leg is required in order to remove the clip, but without permanent distortion of the clip resulting from such displacement.

It may be desirable to place the locating feature of the anchoring device adjacent to one end of the passageway or the other depending on whether a "right- handed" clip or a "left-handed" clip is to be used. However, if one wishes to be able to use an anchoring device with either a "right-handed" clip or a "left- handed" clip the feature may be positioned in the centre of the anchoring device. In this case, driving of the clip concerned would be more difficult because of the increased angle subtended by the top of the projection. Figure 4 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention, based on the embodiment of Figure 2 but having an anchoring device 400 having a modified housing 402, with passageway 403 and projection 403a. One end of the housing 402 is enlarged so as to allow one end of the passageway 403 adjacent to the projection 403a to be cut away so as to have a flared opening 404, whereby the upper surface of the free end A of the anchoring leg -21 is exposed to facilitate access thereto by a purpose-made clip removal tool (described below in more detail with reference to Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C) . It can be seen from Figure 4 how the projection 403a abuts the abutment surface 21c of the anchoring leg 21, thereby resisting removal of the clip. In contrast to some prior art clips, a clip 20(30) embodying the present invention can be formed such that it cannot readily be removed from an anchoring device 200 (300, 400) embodying the present invention by hammer blows applied in the direction R. Instead, in order to remove such a clip 20(30) it is necessary to deflect the anchoring leg 21(31) downwardly by applying pressure to the free end A thereof so as to disengage the projection 403a (203a, 31a) from the abutment surface 21c (303b) , whilst simultaneously driving the clip in the direction R.

As can be seen in Figures 5A, 5B and 5C, this may be achieved by using a specially-designed tool 70 having a tip 71 shaped such that it can be inserted into the flared opening 404 between the housing 402 and the upper surface of the free end A of the anchoring leg 21 of the clip 20 (Fig. 5A) . As the tip 71 of the tool 70 is pushed further into the flared opening 404 the free end A of the anchoring leg 21 of the clip 20 is gradually pushed downwards, releasing the detent 21a from the projection 403a, and comes into contact with a face 72 of the tool 70 (Fig. 5B) . The anchoring leg 21 is then pushed along the passageway 403 (Fig. 5C) .

As shown in the above-described embodiments, in which the first and second locating means comprise an abutment surface and a projection, either the clip or the anchoring device may have the abutment surface, but from the viewpoint of manufacture it is likely to be easier and more satisfactory to provide the clip with the abutment surface, by means of a detent for example, and the anchoring device with the projection.

Although embodiments of the present invention described above employ an anchoring device made by a casting process, the present invention may also be applied to a pressed steel anchoring device, for example as described below with reference to Figs . 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B, or to a rolled steel plate (not shown) . As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, a pressed steel anchoring device 500 has a housing 502 formed so as to have a passageway 503 therethrough. The roof of the passageway 503 is provided, at a position adjacent to but spaced from one end of the passageway 503, with second locating means comprising a projection 504 made by forming an indentation 505 on the top of the housing 502. The projection 504 can be seen more clearly in Fig. 6B, which shows a cross-sectional view of the top of the housing 502 parallel to the passageway 503. The shape and dimensions of the projection 504 are dependent upon the shape and dimensions of the abutment surface with which it is to cooperate. In a housing 502 of thickness 10mm, having a passageway 503 of length 70mm, the projection 504 may be formed at a distance of 45mm from one end of the passageway 503 so as to have a width of 5mm, a height of 2mm and a radius of curvature of 3mm.

Figures 7A and 7B show the anchoring leg 51 of a rail fastening clip 50 (not shown in its entirety) embodying the first and third aspects of the present invention, which clip is similar in many respects to the clips of Figures 2, 3 and 4. The anchoring leg 51 has a chamfer 51b formed at its free end A and, spaced a short distance from the free end A, a detent or recess 51a. The recess 51a has two abutment faces 51c and 51d, respectively extending downwardly and upwardly .(proceeding along the anchoring leg 51 away from the free end A) . In this embodiment the upwardly-extending face 51d is steeper than the downwardly-extending face 51c,^• in the example shown the angle of inclination with respect to the longitudinal axis of the anchoring leg 51 is about 30° for the downwardly-extending face 51c and about 90° towards the top of the upwardly-extending face 51d, the bottom of which has a radius of 1R.

In one embodiment of the clip shown in Figures 7A and 7B the recess 51a may be formed so that the edge nearest the end A of the leg 51 is 10mm therefrom and so as to be 12.5mm long (in the direction in which the leg 51 extends) and 2mm deep. The radius at the foot of the upwardly-extending face 51d is 1mm.

In the embodiments described earlier the face of the recess which abuts the projection to resist disengagement of the clip is substantially vertical, and hence it would be difficult to remove the clip in the normal manner. However, in the embodiment of Figures 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B the downwardly-extending face 51c is inclined at a fairly shallow angle. Clearly such a clip still offers greater resistance to unauthorised withdrawal than clips not having any locating means, but the resistance offered is less, since less force is required to move the abutment face 51c over the projection 504. Nonetheless, in this case the force required is still sufficient to prevent clips 50 from becoming displaced from worn anchoring devices 500 in service.

The abutment face 51c has a steeper angle of inclination, preferably greater than 40°, when greater resistance to withdrawal is desired. The angle of inclination of the upwardly-extending face 51d can also be varied, but in the embodiment of Figures 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B it has been chosen so as to provide a stop which comes up against the projection 504 when the clip 50 is driven into the anchoring device 500, thereby ensuring that the clip 50 cannot easily be driven beyond its nominal installed position in which the clip sits in its intended working position. In particular, by providing at an appropriate position a suitably steep upwardly- extending face 51d, for example at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the anchoring leg 51 in the range form 35° to 90°, the clip driving force required increases sharply when the clip reaches the correct position, thus preventing overdriving of the clip.

A clip embodying the present invention, provided on its anchoring leg with a detent, for example as shown in Figure 2 (rather than a projection such as shown in Figure 3) , can be used with existing anchoring devices, not embodying the present invention, thereby allowing the railway to maintain stocks of only one type of clip, which can be used with additional benefits in anchoring devices embodying the invention, but also without disadvantage as compared to conventional clips in existing anchoring devices which do not embody the invention.

In assemblies which have been designed to offer the maximum resistance to extraction, and in which the shape of the anchoring device has been modified so as too allow a special tool to extract the clips, a further advantage is also envisaged where corrosion of clips in anchoring devices is a problem. If corroded, prior art clips cannot easily be removed from the anchoring devices, but if an anchoring device having a cut-away portion such as shown in Figure 4 is used, downwards pressure could readily be applied to the free end of the anchoring leg of the clip, breaking the adhesion between the clip and the anchoring device more easily. This would be most advantageous if the anchoring device is of the type having a passageway with a D-shaped (rather than circular) cross-section, since this provides more space into which the anchoring leg of the clip can be deflected.

Claims

1. A resilient railway rail fastening clip for fastening a railway rail to an underlying foundation, the clip being of the type having an anchoring leg whereby the clip is retained by a rail fastening clip anchoring device, the clip having means for resisting unauthorised disengagement of the clip from such an anchoring device, wherein the said means comprise first locating means, provided on the said anchoring leg at a region spaced from a free end thereof, for cooperating with second locating means provided inside the housing of such an anchoring device when the anchoring leg of the clip is inserted therein.

2. A clip as claimed in claim 1, comprising a rod of resilient material bent so as to have, proceeding from one free end A of the rod to the other free end B thereof, a substantially straight first portion constituting the said anchoring leg, then a second portion bent through approximately 180┬░, then a third portion beside the said first portion, then a fourth portion bent through approximately 180┬░ and finally a fifth portion beside the said first portion, the configuration of the clip being such that , when the clip is in an orientation in which the lowermost points on the third and fifth portions are in the same plane and the clip is viewed from directly above or below that plane, the third and fifth portions appear to lie on opposite sides of the said first portion.

3. A clip as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the said first locating means comprise an abutment surface.

4. A clip as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the said abutment surface is provided by an inclined face of a recess .

5. A clip as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the angle of inclination of the said abutment surface with respect to the longitudinal axis of the said anchoring leg is in the range from 20┬░ to 90┬░.

6. A clip as claimed in claim 5, wherein the said angle of inclination is about 30┬░.

7. A clip as claimed in claim 5, wherein the said angle of inclination is greater than about 40┬░.

8. A clip as claimed in any one of claims 4, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the recess has a -further inclined face, oppositely-inclined to the inclined face of claim 4, the angle of inclination and position of which further inclined face are configured so as to prevent overdriving of the clip into the anchoring device.

9. A clip as claimed in claim 8, wherein the angle of inclination of the said further inclined face with respect to the longitudinal axis of the said anchoring leg is in the range from 35┬░ to 90┬░.

10. A clip as claimed in any one of claims 8 or 9, wherein the foot of the said further inclined face is spaced from the foot of the said inclined face of claim 4 by a desired distance.

11. A clip as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , wherein the said first locating means comprise a projection.

12. A resilient railway rail fastening clip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2, or Figure 3, or Figure 4, or Figures 5A, 5B and 5C, or Figures 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B, of the accompanying drawings .

13. A rail fastening clip anchoring device for retaining a resilient railway rail fastening clip as claimed in any preceding claim, which anchoring device comprises a housing having a passageway therein for receiving the said anchoring leg of the clip, wherein second locating means are provided inside the passageway for cooperating with the said first locating means provided on the said anchoring leg of the clip.

14. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 13, for use with a clip as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein the said second locating means comprise a projection.

15. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 13, for use with a clip as claimed in claim 11, wherein the said second locating means comprise an abutment surface .

16. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the said abutment surface is provided by an inclined face of a recess.

17. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the angle of inclination of the said abutment surface with respect to the longitudinal axis of the said passageway is in the range from 20┬░ to 90┬░.

18. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the said angle of inclination is about 30┬░.

19. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the said angle of inclination is greater than about 40┬░.

20. An anchoring device as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the recess has a further inclined face, oppositely-inclined to the inclined face of claim 16, the angle of inclination and position of which further inclined face are configured so as to prevent overdriving of the clip into the anchoring device.

21. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the angle of inclination of the said further inclined face with respect to the longitudinal axis of the said passageway is in the range from 35┬░ to 90┬░.

22. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 20 or 21, wherein the foot of the said further inclined face is spaced from the foot of the said inclined face of claim 16 by a desired distance.

23. An anchoring device as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 22, wherein the housing is such that, when the clip is installed in the device, at least a part, other than the end face, of a free end of the anchoring leg of the clip is exposed to allow pressure to be applied thereto by a purpose-made clip removal tool.

24. A rail fastening clip anchoring device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2, or Figure 3, or Figure 4, or Figures 5A, 5B and 5C, or Figures 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B of the accompanying drawings.

25. A resilient railway rail fastening clip for fastening a railway rail to an underlying foundation, wherein the clip has thereon stop means, for engaging cooperating means provided on a rail fastening clip anchoring device, whereby overdriving of the clip into the said anchoring device is prevented.

26. A clip as claimed in claim 25, wherein the said stop means comprise an abutment surface.

27. A clip as claimed in claim 26, wherein the said abutment surface is provided by a face of a recess.

28. A clip as claimed in claim 26 or 27, wherein the said abutment surface is inclined with respect to the direction of installation of the clip by an angle in the range from 35┬░ to 90┬░.

29. A clip as claimed in claim 25, wherein the said stop means comprise a projection.

30. A clip as claimed in any one of claims 25 to 29, wherein the clip is of the type having an anchoring leg whereby the clip is retained by the anchoring device, the said stop means being provided on the said anchoring leg and the said cooperating means being provided inside the housing of the said anchoring device .

31. A rail fastening clip anchoring device for retaining a resilient railway rail fastening clip as claimed in any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein the device has cooperating means for engaging the stop means on the said clip.

32. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 31, wherein the said cooperating means comprise a projection.

33. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 31, wherein the said cooperating means comprise an abutment surface.

34. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 33, wherein the said abutment surface is provided by a face of a recess.

35. An anchoring device as claimed in claim 33 or 34, wherein the said abutment surface is inclined with respect to the direction of installation of the clip by an angle in the range from 35┬░ to 90┬░.

36. An anchoring device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 35, wherein the clip is of the type having an anchoring leg whereby the clip is retained by the anchoring device, the said stop means being provided on the said anchoring leg and the said cooperating means being provided inside the housing of the said anchoring device.