GB2152117A - An apparatus for securing stock rails or guide rails in points - Google Patents

Abstract

The base plate (3) for the rail (1) supports a slide chair (8) for the points tongues and a clamping plate attachment (4 to 7) on the outside of the rail foot (2). In a recess (10) which extends beyond the inside of the rail foot (2) on the lower side of the slide chair (8) is a substantially U-shaped spring clip (17) which may be inserted on the side chair for holding down the rail foot (2). The free ends (19) of the legs (20) of the spring clip (17) are secured by a notch connection (14) with bosses of the slide chair (8) when the spring clip is in a relaxed state and a hump-like boss (21') is located in the recess (10) on the lower side of the slide chair (8), a boss which acts as an abutment for the spring clip when the latter is tensed. In the spacing (22') between the boss (21') and the inside of the rail foot (2) is provided a further hump-like boss (21'') on the lower side of the slide chair (8), a boss which has a very small clearance (26) with respect to the upper side of the clamp clip when the clamp clip (17) is braced normally, but this clearance is overcome with the formation of a shortened lever arm (22'') on the spring clip (17) when the rail (1) is subjected to tilting stress. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFiCATION An apparatus for securing stock rails or guide rails in points The present invention relates to an apparatus for securing stock rails or guide rails in points, which apparatus has a base plate for the rains, on which is positioned either a slide chair for the points-tongues which are assigned to the stock rails or a check rail trestle for the check rails which are assigned to the guide rails and which has a clamping plate attachment or a clamping clip attachment or clamping attachment on the outer side of the rail foot of the stock rail or the guide rail.The apparatus comprises, moreover, a substantially U-shaped spring clip for holding down the rail foot on the side of the slide chair or the check rail trestle which may be inserted into a recess on the lower side of the slide chair or the check rail trestle, and which extends beyond the inside of the rail foot, and when the spring clip is under tension the free ends of the legs thereof are secured by a catch connection with stops of the slide chair or the check rail trestle. The recess on the lower side of the slide chair or check rail trestle or the spring clip on the upper side thereof have a hump-like boss which acts as an abutment when the spring clip is tensed.

The slide chair or the check rail trestle may be welded with the base plate. However, this may also be a slide chair plate or check rail trestle plate which has been cast or forged in one piece.

Apparatus of this type for securing rails in points are, for example, known from DE-AS 2,000,482, DE-AS 2,153,534 and DE-AS 2,409,1 38 patents as a so-called inner stock rail- bracing (ISRB). With fundamentally the same structure, these apparatus may be used for securing rails in points as a so-called inner guide rail bracing (IGRB). The inner guide rail bracing (IGRB) is only distinguishable from the inner stock rail bracing (ISRB) in that a trestle for the check rail is positioned on the base plate for the rail instead of a slide chair for the points-tongue.

In the course of the last century, apparatus of this type have been used more and more in modern railway tracks for securing rails in points, apparatus which work according to the system of the inner stock rail bracing and guide rail bracing. It has emerged that particularly in the case of the inner stock rail bracing, the guiding force may be reduced by more than 40% in comparison with the known outer, rigid stock rail bracings on account of the shock absorbing effect of this system. Consequently the wear on the rails of the points-tongues and also on the wheels of the rolling stock is in turn substantially reduced. It has moreover emerged that the maintenance costs of the latter may be substantially reduced by the apparatus for securing rails in points and that in spite of this the life span of the tongue apparatus may be considerable prolonged.Finally, the improved shock absorption of these securing apparatus substantially improves the comfort of passengers, because the rolling stock make no jerky lateral accelerations as they enter the tongue apparatus.

Experience in practice has shown that these known systems of inner stock rail bracing and guide rail bracing suffer from disadvantages, in that undesirable breaks still occur in clamping clips and plates and the slide chairs and guide rail trestle plates still loosen. But while the loosening of the slide chair is, for the most part, determined by the system, the plate breaks occur after the plates have been installed for a certain time particularly at heavily used points, such as at inner and outer curve points, which are subjected to intense centrifugal forces. Breaks in the clamping clips due to over-loading are, however, caused by the very frequent tilting of the rails.These overload breaks result from the fact that the antioverload device or anti-tilt device which is assigned to the inner stock rail and guide rail bracings is positioned about 1.5 mm vertically above the rail foot and the rounding curve of the slide chair gib. The lever arm which acts thereupon is thus the same as in the case of normal bracing. When the rails strike the antioverload or antitilt device, the bracing of the clamping clip is thus increased in a linear manner, corresponding to the force-displacement diagram, such that clamping clip breaks may occur.

So that the vertical deviation does not become too large when the rails tilt, it is known to reduce the vertical spacing between the rail foot and the anti-overload or anti-tilt device. It has been shown however that as a result of this, it is considerably more difficult to lay rails, and in particular to lay the curved stock rails, and that reducing the spacing between the anti-overload or anti-tilt device and the rail foot causes spot stresses ont he slide chair or on the check rail trestle at the beginning of the gib which overlaps the rail foot, and these stresses may have an adverse effect on the beginning area of the welding seam at the transition from the base plate to the slide chair or the check rail trestle.To reduce problems which are caused by this, when welding the whole plate, which is intended to reduce tension and improve the structure in the area of the welding seam, it is normally annealed because this may prevent, to a greater or lesser extent, the welding seam from rupturing. Subsequent to the annealing operation, the whole plate must, however, be realigned and this occasions great expense.

An object of the present invention is to provide a typical apparatus for securing rails, and not only stock rails but also guide rails in points, an apparatus which, without using very complicated technology, not only prevents the slide chairs and check rail trestles on the base plates from loosening but also reliably prevents breaks of the base plates and the clamping clips.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for securing rails, in particular stock rails or guide rails, in points, comprising a base plate for the rail having a slide chair or trestle for the points-tongue or the check rail arranged thereon, a clamping plate attachment or a clamping clip attachment or clamping attachment on the outside of the rail foot of the stock rail or guide rail and a substantially U-shaped spring clip for holding down the rail foot on the slide chair side or the check rail trestle side and which may be inserted into a passage on the lower side of the slide chair or in the check rail trestle and which extends beyond the inside of the rail foot, the free ends of the legs of the spring clip when the spring clip is in a relaxed state being secured by catch connections with stops of the slide chair or the check rail trestle and the passage on the lower side of the slide chair or in the check rail trestle and/or on the upper side of the spring clip having a humplike boss which acts as an abutment when the spring clip is tensed, and wherein a further hump-like boss is provided in the spacing between the first boss and the inside of the rail foot on the lower side of the slide chair or in the check rail trestle or on the clamping clip, the said further boss having, when the clamping clip is normally braced, a very small clearance with respect to the upper side of the clamping clip and/or with respect to the support plane of the slide chair or the check rail trestle.

These measures give rise to the essential advantage that on tilting out of the normal bracing, the main stress falls on a relatively small cross-section area of the slide chair plate or the check rail plate, and when the rail tilts the point of impact of the force moves into the substantially larger cross-section area of the slide chair or check rail trestle, with the result that this produces not only a substantially reduced stress on the critical cross-section of the slide chair or check rail trestle but also on the clamping clip.It is moreover advantageous that a characteristic line of force displacement is produced for an inner stock rail bracing (ISRB) or an inner guide rail bracing (IGRB) which have the characteristics according to the present invention, a characteristic line which has, in comparison with the characteristic line of force-displacement of the known structures, not only one progression kink but two progression kinks of this type, and this has a positive effect on the size of the bracing height, without the permissible tension of the clamping clip being exceeded. This means that the bracing force is more than three times that of the structures which were known hitherto, and this is achieved, in particular, by shortening the force lever arm.

The welding seams of the whole plate which is produced in weldingcomprising a base plate slide chair or comprising a base plate and a check rail trestle are no longer subjected to stress at points at the beginning of the seam, but over a longer length, and primarily subjected to shear-tensile stress. In this way, it is possible not only to prevent the plate from breaking but also to prevent the welding seams from rupturing due to their being subjected to overstress. It is no longer necessary to anneal the welding seams and thus the re-alignment of the total plates is also no longer needed and therefore the production costs are considerably reduced.

The hitherto weak transition points in slide chair plates or check rail trestle plates which were cast or even forged in one piece are avoided and the main stress is transferred to the larger cross-section area.

One particular advantage is that the vertical spacing between the rail foot and the gib of the slide chair or check rail trestle which overlaps the rail foot may be double that of the conventional structure, that is from 1.5 mm to 3 mm and thus curved stock rails may be easily and quickly laid even at points which have a small radius. On account of the new location of the anti-overload and anti-tiltdevice, the lever arm on the clamping clip substantially shortens when the rail tilts, and it is impossible for clamping clip breaks on the inner stock rail bracing or the inner guide rail bracing to occur, as the permissible tension is not increased in spite of a substantial increase in the rail foot bracing.

Preferably the spacing ratio of the two hump-like bosses to the inside of the rail foot is from 1:0.25 to 1:0.5. Further, the spacing of the first boss from the inside of the rail foot is preferably about 70 mm, while the spacing of the second boss is preferably about 20 to 30 mm. The clearance between the second boss and the surface of the clip is preferably from 0.3 to 0.5 mm. It has been shown that as a result of this a structure may be designed in which the tilt holding-down force for the rail may increase by more than 3-fold in comparison with the normal bracing, without the permissible tension in the critical crosssection being exceeded. Even if as a result of this the directional force of 5000 kp was to be produced when the points are straightened, as is only very rarely the case, the yielding point of the clamping clip is not reached.

From a structural point of view, it has proved particularly effective for the bosses on the slide chair or in the check rail trestle to run as transverse webs over the total width of the recess or of the passage.

In a further embodiment, the clamping clip on the upper and lower side thereof has a hump-like boss which extends, adjacent the loop section, as a transverse web over the two legs of the clamping clip. The clamping clip may have, at a spacing from the boss on the lower and upper surface thereof, in each case a support surface for the boss on the lower surface of the slide chair or the check rail trestle. This gives rise to the advantage that even in the case of slide chair plates or check rail trestle plates which have already been laid, the effect of ISRB and IGRB may be improved and the durability thereof may be increased by replacing the clamping clip.

Embodiments of the invention are now described in detail, by example only, below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows an inner stock rail bracing according to the invention, in a state of normal bracing; Fig. 2 shows a top view of the inner stock rail bracing according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows, true to scale, the partial area which is of an inner stock rail bracing, the rail being subjected to a tilting stress, and thus the anti-overload or anti-tilt device is in operation; Fig. 4 shows an inner guide rail bracing according to the present invention, in a state of normal bracing, seen in the longitudinal direction of the rail; Fig. 5 shows a top view of the inner guide rail bracing according to Fig. 4;; Fig. 6 shows, about true to size, the relevant area of a guide rail bracing according to the present invention on a rail which is subjected to a tilting stress, and the anti-overload or anti-tilt device in an operational state; Fig. 7 shows a lateral view of Fig. 8; and Fig. 8 shows a top view of the relevant partial area of a clamping clip which will subsequently be inserted into an inner stock rail bracing or guide rail bracing which is already present.

The stock rail 1 with the rail foot 2 thereof positioned on a base plate 3 in the apparatus for securing stock rails which is shown in Figs. 1 to 3, and the stock rail is conventionally secured by bolts or the like onto a sleeper.

A rib 4 is located on the base pnate 3, against which the rail foot 2 rests. A clamping plate 7 may, for example, be pressed onto the section of the rail foot 2 which is adjacent to the rib 4, by means of a tightening screw 5 and a nut 6.

A slide chair 8 for a points-tongue is located on the opposite side of the stock rail 1 on the base plate 3, a slide chair which overlaps the adjacent-inner section of the rail foot 2 with a spacing therebetween. The base plate 3 and the slide chair 8 may be welded together. The possibility also exists of producing these as a single casting or forged part.

The slide chair 8 and the base plate 3 define a recess 10 which extends over the total length of the slide chair 8. A recess 1 2 is located at the end of the slide chair 8 which is remote from the rail foot 2, a recess which is delimited by lateral webs 13, each of which have, on the inside thereof a notch 14 with support stops 1 5. The notches 14 are raised with respect to the base plate, so that there is a gap 16 between them and the base plate 3.

When it is relaxed, a spring clip 1 7 may be inserted through recess 1 2 into recess 10 of the slide chair 8, so that the loop section 1 8 thereof slides onto the inner part of the rail foot 2 near the end region 11 of recess 1 0. In this position of the spring clip 17, the ends of the legs 20 of the clip lie in the area below the notches 14, from where they may be pushed out inwards under the notches 14 and then lifted in an upward direction into the notches 14 with the aid of a lever-tool which is supported against the lateral webs 1 3. The loop section 1 8 is supported on the upper side of the rail foot 2, while the legs 20 move towards the upper peripheral surface 21 of recess 10 of the slide chair 8.The upper peripheral surface 21 of recess 1 0 of the slide chair 8 is provided in a hump-like boss 21', which runs, according to Fig. 2, as a transverse ridge across the total width of recess 10. This boss 21' lies at a spacing 22' from the peripheral edge 23 of the slide chair 8 which is facing the inner section of the rail foot 2, which spacing is preferably aoout 70 mm. A gib 24 which is integrally formed onto the front end of the slide chair 8 overlaps the inner part of the rail foot 2 from this peripheral edge 23, with a clearance such that the smallest vertical spacing 25 between the lateral covering surface of the rail foot 2 and the adjacent transition curve from the gib 24 to the slide chair 8 is about 3mm.

When the legs 20 of the spring clip 1 7 are being levered into the notches 1 4 of the slide chair 8, the surface of the said legs comes into contact with the boss 21', while the other points thereof remain at a spacing from the upper peripheral surface 21 of the recess 10 in the slide chair 8. As the ends 1 9 of the legs 20 are moved into the notches 14, the legs 20 are subjected to bending stress and thus force the loop section 1 8 with great holding force onto the inner section of the rail foot 2.

The support stops 1 5 on the lateral webs 13 cooperate with the faces of the leg ends 1 9 to prevent the spring clip 1 7 from moving in a longitudinal direction and consequently sliding off the rail foot 2 as a result of vibrations and/or on account of the horizontal force components of the bracing force. The lateral surfaces of the support stops 1 5 cooperate moreover with the sides of the leg ends 1 9 in such a wax that the spring clip 1 7 does not need to be checked in front of its loop Section 1 8 in the direction of the rail foot 2.Since if the spring clip 1 7 undesirably tried to slide up onto the rail foot 2, both legs 20 would try to move closer by a certain extent along the longitudinal centre of the spring clip 17, an extent which is greater than the narrowest spacing between the legs 20, the obliquelytying lateral surfaces of the support stops 1 5 prevent such an undesirable displacement.

At a spacing 22" from the peripheral edge 23 of the slide chair 8, on the upper peripheral surface 21 of recess 10 of said slide chair, is located a second hump-like boss 21", the spacing 22" being about 20 to 30 mm and thus having a ratio to spacing 22' of the first hump-like boss 21' of from 0.25:1 to 0.5:1.

On the other hand the height of the second boss 21" in comparison with the upper peripheral surface 21 of recess 10 is measured in such a way that when the spring clip 1 7 is normally braced, as is shown in Fig. 1, a spacing 28 of from 0.3 to 0.5 mm is maintained between the upper surface of the spring clip 1 7 and boss 21" in the area of the loop section 1 8. In this way it is ensured that the normal bracing of the spring clip 1 7 is only based on the fact that the loop section 1 8 thereof is supported on the inner section of the rail foot, the leg ends 1 9 of both clip legs 20 being accommodated in the notches 14 and the middle area thereof finding an abutment on the first boss 21'.Should the stock rail 1 be subjected to tilting stress by the effect of, for example, the centrifugal force of a track vehicle which is travelling thereon, as is shown by arrow 27 in Fig. 3, the inner section of the rail foot 2 lifts itself from the base plate 3. Thus a bending force is exerted on the loop section 1 8 of the spring clip 17, which, when the initial stress increases in the spring clip 17, causes said spring clip to bend in an upwards direction around the first boss 21' and thus brings the loop section 18 into contact with the second boss 21". At this moment the bending lever arm of the spring clip 1 7 is shortened to the distance 28 and thus to a fraction of the bending lever arm which is provided for normal bracing.This results in the tilt holding-down force which acts against the tilting movement of the stock rail 1 being substantially increased with respect to the force which is produced for normal bracing, without the spacing 25 between the inner section of the rail foot and the gib 24 being substantially reduced. In this way the tilting movement of the stock rail 1 is completely elastically absorbed by the spring clip 17, because the loop section 18 of said spring clip has adequate clearance, even in the area of the gib 24, towards the upper peripheral surface 21 of recess 10, as is clearly shown by Fig. 3.

It also becomes clear from Fig. 3 that the increased tilt holding-down force of the spring clip 1 7 is not only applied to the base plate 3 at individual points, that is not only at the beginning of the connecting welding seam betweent he slide chair 8 and the base plate 3, but is distributed to a greater extent over a longitudinal area 30. The length 30 of the connecting area between the slide chair 8 and the base plate 3 which mainly serves to transfer the force is, thus, determined by a 90 angle, the vertex of which lies on the support point for the spring clip 1 7 which is formed by the second boss 21" and thus the normal plane through this support point corresponds to the bisector of the 90 angle, as is clearly seen from Fig. 3.

The partial section of the loop part 1 8 which in itself still acts as a spring after it has contacted the second boss 21" is designed in such a way that the tilt holding-down force thereof increases by more than three times, for example to about 4,000 kp, when a spring range of about 8 mm is demanded, with respect to the spring force which is produced in normal bracing, without this causing the permissible tension in the critical cross section of the spring clip 1 7 to be increased.Thus the recess 10 of the slide chair 8 at the end area 11 thereof is dimensioned such that the loop section 1 8 of the spring clip 1 7 does not even come into contact with the recess if the inner section of the rail foot 2 comes into contact with the lower side of the gib 24 in the area of the rounding curve of the peripheral edge 23. This is not only the case in welded structures but also for embodiments of slide chair plates and guardrail trestle plates which have been cast and forged in one piece.

The drawings in Figs. 4 to 6 show an inner guide rail bracing-lGRB-which has fundamentally the same structure as the inner stock rail bracing--ISRB -which is shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

The guide rail 31 with the rail foot 32 thereof is also positioned in this instance on a base plate 33, which is secured by bolts to a sleeper.

A rib 34 is provided on the base plate 33, against which the rail foot 32 rests. A clamping plate 37 may be pressed onto the section of the rail foot 32 which is adjacent to the rib 34 by means of a tightening screw 35, which is anchored in the rib 34, and a nut 36.

A check-rail trestle 38 for a check-rail 39 is located on the base plate 33 on the opposite side of the guide rail 31. The check rail trestle 38 has two cheeks 38' and 38" which are welded at a distance from each other and which are positioned symmetrically about a vertical plane on the base plate 33. Between the faces there is a free passage 40, which narrows towards the rail foot 32 to a gap 41.

At the end 42 of the passage 40 which is remote from the foot rail 32, two rear abutments 43 are joined to the cheeks 38' and 38" of the check rail trestle 38 respectively, each of which has a notch 44 with support stops 45 on the inside thereof. The notches 44 are raised with respect to the base plate 33, as can be clearly seen from Fig. 4, so that there is a spacing 46 between them and the base plate 33. When relaxed, a spring clip 47 may be inserted under the notches 44 into the passage 40, the loop section 48 thereof sliding onto the inner section of the rail foot 32 in the narrowest area 41 of the passage 40. In this position of the spring clip 47, the ends 49 of the clip legs 50 are located in the spacing 46 below the notches 44.With the aid of a lever-tool which may, for example, be resting against the lateral webs 43, the legs may then be pushed out inwards under the notches 44 and subsequently lifted up into said notches 44. The loop section 48 is supported on the upper surface of the rail foot 32, while the legs 50 are lifted and come into contact with the lower surface of a transverse web 51', which is inserted between the cheeks 38' and 38" of the carrier trestle 38.

By moving the ends 49 of the legs 50 into the notches 44, the legs 50 over the transverse web 51' are subjected to bending stress and consequently force the loop section 48 with considerable holding force onto the inner section of the rail foot 32.

The support stops 45 on the rear abutments 43 thus cooperate with the faces of the leg ends 49 and prevent the spring clip 47 from being pushed in a longitudinal direction and sliding off the rail foot 32 due to vibrations and/or the horizontal force components of the bracing force. Even in this case, the lateral surfaces of the support stops 45 cooperate with the outsides of the leg ends in such a way that the spring clip 47 does not require an additional check in front of the loop section 1 8 towards the rail foot 32.

The transverse web 51' is inserted in the check rail trestle 38 or the lateral cheeks 38' and 38" thereof in such a way that it has a spacing 52' from one peripheral edge 53 of the check rail trestle 38, an edge which is laterally next to the inner section of the rail foot 32. The spacing 52' is preferably about 70 mm. Adjoining peripheral edge 53, the check rail trestle 38 or the lateral cheeks 38' and 38" thereof have a gib 54, which overlaps the inner section of the rail foot 32 with a clearance 55 which is at least 3mm.

At a spacing 52" from the peripheral edge 53, the check rail trestle 38 or the cheeks 38' and 38" thereof are provided with a further transverse web 51", the spacing 52" preferably being from 20 to 30 mm. The transverse web 51" is arranged and designed in such a way that when the spring clip 47 is normally braced, the web is at a spacing 56 from the upper cover surface thereof, namely a spacing of from 0.3 to 0.5 mm.

Both lateral webs 51' and 51" are preferably designed as part of one cast part 51, which is inserted between cheeks 38' and 38" and is welded thereto.

Should a horizontal force be exerted on the guide rail 31 in the direction of arrow 57 in Fig. 6, then the guide rail 31 has a tendency to tilt with respect to the base plate 33, as is shown in Fig. 6. The inner section of the rail foot 32 then acts on the loop section 48 of the spring clip 47 and moves said spring clip firstly around the support point of the lateral web 51' with a lever arm 59 until, as it stress increases, it comes into contact with the second transverse web 51". A considerably shortened lever arm results at the loop section 48 of the spring clip 47, and consequently the tilt holding-down force which is produced by the spring clip 47 rapidly increases to a value which is at least three times greater than the spring force which is exerted by the normal bracing of the guide rail 31.Even in this case, the force which is exerted via the loop section 48 of the spring clip 47 at the second lateral web 51" is not exerted at isolated points, but is exerted over a relatively large longitudinal area 60 of the welding seams in the base plate 33 which connect the cheeks 38' and 38" of the check rail trestle 38 to the base plate, as is shown by the 90 angle which is drawn in Fig. 6, the vertex of which lies at the support point of the lateral web 51", in such a way that the median thereof forms the normal plane to the base plate 33. This is also the same for the slide chair plates and check rail plates which are cast or forged in one piece.

The inner stock rail bracing-IBAV-ac- cording to Figs. 1 to 3 and the inner guide rail bracing-IFAV -according to Figs. 4 to 6 may be particularly advantageously used in conjunction with highly stressed outer and inner curve points, which are subjected to a very high excess centrifugal stress. By using the elastic anti-overload or anti-tilt device which are achieved by the above-mentioned arrangement, welded and cast plates may be prevented from breaking in the critical crosssection area thereof. In addition overstressing of the spring clips is counteracted. Welding seams are no longer overstressed at isolated points and consequently the cross-section thereof may be optionally reduced in size.

The front partial area, which is essential ior the invention, of the clamping clip 67 is shown in Figs. 7 and 8, a clamping clip which is particularly suitable for use in points where slide chair plates or check rail trestle plates which have only one hump-like boss 21' or 51' are already laid.

This clamping clip 67 with the loop section 68 thereof and the two legs 70 is not only symmetrical about a vertical plane, but also about a horizontal plane. Next to the loop section 68 thereof, the clamping clip has in each case on the upper and lower side thereof a hump-like boss 71", which extends in a web-like manner over the two clip legs 70.

At a spacing 72 from the boss 71", the clamping clip 67 has, moreover, on the upper and lower side thereof in each case a level supporting surface 71', which acts as a contact area for the boss 21' or 51' on the lower side of the slide chair surface 8 or of the check rail trestle 38.

It has proved advantageous if the spacing 72 between the boss 71" and the level support surfaces 71' is about 50 mm. On the other hand the height of the boss 71" should be calculated such that when the clamping clips 67 are braced normally there should be a spacing of from 0.3 to 0.5 mm between them and the lower side of the slide chair 8 or of the check rail trestle 38.

Claims (8)

1. An apparatus for securing rails, in particular stock rails or guide rails, in points, comprising a base plate for the rail having a slide chair or trestle for the points-tongue or the check rail arranged thereon, a clamping plate attachment or a clamping clip attachment or clamping attachment on the outside of the rail foot of the stock rail or guide rail and a substantially U-shaped spring clip for holding down the rail foot on the slide chair side or the check rail trestle side and which may be inserted into a passage on the lower side of the slide chair or in the check rail trestle and which extends beyond the inside of the rail foot, the free ends of the legs of the spring clip when the spring clip is in a relaxed state being secured by catch connections with stops of the slide chair or the check rail trestle and the passage on the lower side of the slide chair or in the check rail trestle and/or on the upper side of the spring clip having a humplike boss which acts as an abutment when the spring clip is tensed, and wherein a further hump-like boss is provided in the spacing between the first boss and the inside of the rail foot on the lower side of the slide chair or in the check rail trestle or on the clamping clip, the said further boss having, when the clamping clip is normally braced, a very small clearance with respect to the upper side of the clamping clip and/or with respect to the support plane of the slide chair or the check-rail trestle.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spacing ratio of the two bosses to the inside of the rail foot is from 1:0.25 to 1:05.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacing of the first boss from the inside of the rail foot is about 70 mm, while the spacing of the second boss from the inside of the rail foot is from 20 to 30 mm.

4. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the clearance between the second boss and the adjacent contact surface of the clamping clip is from 0.3 to 0.5 mm.

5. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hump-like bosses on the slide chair or in the check rail trestle run as transverse webs over the total width of the recess or of the passage.

6. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the clamping clip on the upper and lower side thereof has a hump-like boss which extends, adjacent the loop section, as a transverse web over the two clamping clip legs.

7. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the clamping c1 ip,at a spacing from the boss on the upper and lower surface thereof, has in each case a support surface for the hump-like boss on the lower surface of the slide chair or the check rail trestle.

8. An apparatus for securing rails, substantially as herein described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.