Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
  • E01B9/00—Fastening rails on sleepers, or the like
  • E01B9/66—Rail fastenings allowing the adjustment of the position of the rails, so far as not included in the preceding groups
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
  • E01B9/00—Fastening rails on sleepers, or the like
  • E01B9/02—Fastening rails, tie-plates, or chairs directly on sleepers or foundations; Means therefor
  • E01B9/28—Fastening on wooden or concrete sleepers or on masonry with clamp members
  • E01B9/30—Fastening on wooden or concrete sleepers or on masonry with clamp members by resilient steel clips
  • E01B9/303—Fastening on wooden or concrete sleepers or on masonry with clamp members by resilient steel clips the clip being a shaped bar
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
  • E01B9/00—Fastening rails on sleepers, or the like
  • E01B9/38—Indirect fastening of rails by using tie-plates or chairs; Fastening of rails on the tie-plates or in the chairs
  • E01B9/44—Fastening the rail on the tie-plate
  • E01B9/46—Fastening the rail on the tie-plate by clamps
  • E01B9/48—Fastening the rail on the tie-plate by clamps by resilient steel clips
  • E01B9/483—Fastening the rail on the tie-plate by clamps by resilient steel clips the clip being a shaped bar

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an adjustable railway rail fastening assembly and methods for use therewith.
• the need to do this comes principally from three sources; firstly, to allow for less accurate and therefore cheaper construction of the base slab, the final adjustments of the rail head level being made through the fastening; secondly, to allow for subsidence of the slab or the ground beneath it; and thirdly, to allow sections of new rail to be inserted into lengths of worn rail in the case of a break or defect without the need to grind the head of the new rail down to match the head of the worn rail .
• a baseplate to which the rail is fixed is provided almost entirely to allow for the possibility of rail height adjustment, shims being placed under the baseplate to adjust the height of the rail. This is an expensive option, and it is desirable to find ways in which the need for a baseplate on slab track might be avoided.
• the rails must be clamped down to keep them from moving or buckling. All spring clips used for anchoring the rail down require some kind of fixture against which they can react. In some cases this is provided by a nut and bolt, in other cases by a component of nominally fixed geometry which is usually referred to as a shoulder. Whichever of the two fastening methods is employed, if the rail is to be raised up from its lowest nominal position, this will be done by placing shims of the required thickness under the rail foot (to save cost the lowest position is usually the nominal position so that the shims are not required unless adjustment is required) .
• the fastening height relative to the fixed base can be adjusted to some degree while maintaining a given clamping force by tightening the nut or screw used to a lesser or greater extent.
• the range of adjustment possible in this case may be severely limited by the allowable moment which can be applied to the bolt or screw without fatigue failure. This moment results from the component of the lateral forces which are generated on the track and applied to the fastener through the rail foot, and increases as the rail is raised higher above the base and the moment arm is increased.
• fastening systems with screw threads have a number of disadvantages which mean that they are not favoured by many railways.
• US 4470543 has means for providing height adjustment which comprise a rotatable core, having an eccentric hole for receiving a centre leg of a spring rail clip, which plugs into a round hole in the centre of an enlarged shoulder. Rotation of the core within the shoulder causes the height of the centre leg relative to the rail foundation to be adjusted.
• this is not a particularly efficient means of providing adjustment, since the shoulder and core must be quite large even for modest adjustment ranges.
• an anchoring device for retaining a spring rail clip in a railway rail fastening assembly, the device comprising an anchoring stem part, fixed to a rail foundation when the device is in use, and a clip-retaining head part, engageable with the said anchoring stem part, for retaining the spring rail clip, the height of the rail clip relative to the rail foundation being determined by the position of the clip-retaining head part of the device relative to the anchoring stem part thereof, wherein adjustment of the position of the said clip-retaining head part relative to the said anchoring stem part is effected by translational movement of the clip-retaining head part.
• Such an anchoring device allows easier height adjustment whilst avoiding the drawbacks of the Gray arrangement.
• a clip-retaining head part and an anchoring stem part for use in such an anchoring device .
• the device desirably comprises means for inhibiting relative vertical movement between the anchoring stem part and clip-retaining head part thereof when engaged.
• Such means may be provided on mutually-contacting surfaces of the anchoring stem and clip-retaining head parts and preferably comprise interlocking elements such as serrations.
• the size of the serrations is preferably chosen so as to ensure that, when the device is in use, the variation in clamping force of the spring rail clip on the rail is as small as possible with each step change in position of the said clip-retaining head part relative to the anchoring stem part.
• the height of the rail relative to the foundation can be adjusted in infinitely small steps, this height being determined by the thickness of the shims placed beneath it .
• the reason for making the size of the serrations small is to restrict the variation in toe load which will result from the step changes in height of the clip-retaining head part.
• the device preferably comprises wedge means, located between respective mutually- opposed portions of the said anchoring stem part and the said clip-retaining head part when the device is in use, for urging the said anchoring stem and clip- retaining head parts together.
• wedge means located between respective mutually- opposed portions of the said anchoring stem part and the said clip-retaining head part when the device is in use, for urging the said anchoring stem and clip- retaining head parts together.
• at least one of the said mutually-opposed portions of the anchoring stem part and the said clip-retaining part is provided with means for cooperating with means provided on the said wedge means .
• Such means may comprise respective regions having interlocking elements, preferably vertical serrations.
• the length of the serrated region provided on the one mutually-opposed portion of the clip-retaining head part may be shorter than that provided on the wedge means .
• the clip-retaining head part may be configured to retain any one of a number of different clip types, for example the PANDROL FASTCLIPTM rail fastening clip (which is approximately M-shaped in plan - see EP-B-0619852) or the PANDROL SAFELOKTM rail fastening clip (see US 4313563).
• the clip-retaining head part When the clip- retaining head part is shaped so as to retain an M- shaped rail clip, the clip-retaining head part desirably comprises a pair of spaced-apart clip-retaining walls for receiving and retaining the legs of such an M-shaped rail clip when the clip is in use, the said anchoring stem part being located between the said clip-retaining walls when the device is in use.
• a clip-retaining head part suitable for one type of spring rail clip may be replaced by another clip-retaining head part which is configured so as to be suitable for retaining spring rail clips of a different kind.
• a method of altering a rail fastening assembly using an anchoring device embodying the first aspect of the present invention wherein the clip-retaining head part of at least one of the anchoring devices in the rail fastening assembly is replaced by another clip-retaining head part which is configured so as to be suitable for retaining a spring rail clip of a different kind to that of the first-mentioned clip-retaining head part.
• the device may be provided with means for locking the anchoring stem part and the clip-retaining head part together during transportation and/or installation, thereby facilitating handling the device. Furthermore, if the clip-retaining head part is designed so as to be able to retain clips in a pre-assembly position (in which the clip does not bear on the rail) , installation of the assembly is made even easier.
• the clip-retaining head part of the anchoring device preferably carries a side post insulator for electrically isolating the clip-retaining head part from a railway rail when the anchoring device is in use .
• a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using an anchoring device embodying the present invention, which carries such a side post insulator, wherein the said side post insulator is replaced by another side post insulator having an overall thickness, at a part which is to lie between a railway rail and the said clip- retaining head part of the anchoring device, which differs from that of the first-mentioned side post insulator, whereby lateral rail position adjustment may be achieved.
• the side post insulator may be replaced by another side post insulator having an overall thickness, at a part which is to lie between a railway rail and the said clip-retaining head part of the anchoring device, which differs from that of the first-mentioned side post insulator.
• small lateral adjustments may be provided for by side post insulators of varying thickness, allowing the position of clip toe contact on the rail foot to vary.
• a method of adjusting lateral rail position in a rail fastening assembly using an anchoring device embodying the present invention wherein the clip-retaining head part of at least one of the anchoring devices in the rail fastening assembly is replaced by another clip-retaining head part having an overall thickness, at a portion lying between the rail foot and the anchoring stem part of the device, which differs from that of the first-mentioned clip-retaining head part.
• the said clip-retaining head part may be replaced by another clip-retaining head part having an overall thickness, at a portion which is to lie between the rail foot and the said anchoring stem part of the device, which differs from that of the first-mentioned clip-retaining head part.
• larger lateral adjustments may be provided for by additionally supplying alternative shoulder heads of differing geometry, such that the dimension between their serrated back face which bears on the serrated face of the stem and their front face against which the side post insulator bears varies.
• Three sizes of shoulder used in the correct combinations would allow for lateral rail position adjustment in three steps without variation in clip toe contact point relative to the rail foot.
• the said clip-retaining head part may be fastened to the said anchoring stem part, for example by means of a bolt.
• Figure 1 shows a railway rail fastening assembly incorporating an anchoring device embodying the present invention
• Figures 2a to 2d show respective views of an anchoring device embodying the present invention, Figures 2a and 2b showing front perspective views respectively with and without a rail fastening clip installed and Figures 2c and 2d showing rear perspective views respectively with and without a rail fastening clip installed;
• Figures 3a to 3c show respective front, side and plan views of part of the anchoring device of Figs. 2a to 2d;
• Figures 4a to 4c show respective front, side and plan views of another part of the anchoring device of Figs. 2a to 2d, and Figure 4d shows a plan view of a combination of the parts shown in Figs. 3a to 3c and Figs. 4a to 4c;
• Figures 5a and 5b show respective perspective and cross-sectional views of an alternative embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5b being a section through the centre line of the assembly in a vertical plane perpendicular to the axis of the rail;
• Figure 6 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;
• Figures 7a to 7c show respective front, side and plan views of a further part of the anchoring device of Figs. 2a to 2d;
• Figures 8a and 8b show respective plan and side views of the anchoring device of Figs. 2a to 2d;
• Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchoring device of Fig. 2d taken through a vertical plane parallel to the rail axis; and Figures 10a to 10c are schematic diagrams showing how anchoring devices embodying the present invention may be used to achieve a change of track gauge .
• a rail fastening assembly embodying the present invention the rail, which sits on a resilient pad, is secured by a pair of fastenings, each of which consists of an M-shaped spring rail clip, a rigid anchoring stem part which is fixed into the base and a rigid adjustable shoulder or clip-retaining head part which retains the M-shaped spring rail clip.
• Each fastening of the assembly is provided with two electrical insulator parts (side post and toe) which separate the rail from the clip and anchoring device.
• the anchoring device has a locking part which retains the shoulder to the stem. After the locking part has been loosened or removed, the adjustable shoulder (clip-retaining head) can be moved vertically up and down in relation to the fixed (anchoring) stem part.
• the locking part is reapplied once the adjustable shoulder is in its correct vertical position.
• the adjustable shoulder part interlocks with the stem, and is held in place by the moment caused by the unbalanced forces applied to it by the spring clip when it is engaged.
• the locking part prevents rotation of the adjustable shoulder relative to the stem under the action of this moment .
• Serrated faces are provided on the two interlocking faces to promote high friction. The serrations are as small as possible to allow as small a variation in clamping force as possible with each step change in shoulder position.
• FIG. 1 shows a railway rail fastening assembly comprising a flange-footed railway rail 1, supported by a concrete rail foundation 2, and a pair of rail fasteners comprising respective spring rail clips 3 and anchoring devices (or shoulders) 4.
• Each anchoring device 4 carries a side post insulator 5 for electrically isolating the anchoring device from the adjacent rail.
• the rail 1 is cushioned by a rail pad 6 located between the foot of the rail and the underlying rail foundation 2.
• Each spring rail clip 3 carries a toe insulator 7 for electrically isolating the clip 3 from the rail .
• the anchoring device 4 will now be explained in more detail with reference to Figures 2a and 2b, which show perspective views of the anchoring device 4 from the side ("front") which will be closest to the rail when the anchoring device is in use, respectively with and without the spring rail clip 3 installed therein, and Figures 2c and 2d, which show corresponding perspective views of the anchoring device 4 from the side ("rear") which will be furthest from the rail when the anchoring device 4 is in use.
• the anchoring device 4 comprises an anchoring stem part 40, a clip-retaining head part 41 on which the side post insulator 5 is located, and a tapered wedge 43.
• FIG. 3a, 3b and 3c show the anchoring stem part 40 in more detail.
• the anchoring stem part 40 has a top portion 400, which extends above the level of the concrete foundation 2 when in use, and a bottom portion 401, which extends into the concrete foundation 2 during use so as to secure the anchoring stem part 40 thereto.
• the bottom portion 401 has a tapering portion 402 situated immediately below the top portion 400 and, below the tapering portion 402, a leg 403 ending in a portion 404 having a part 404a of increased diameter, to resist removal of the anchoring stem part 40 from the concrete foundation 2, and a free end portion 404b shaped so as to aid insertion into the concrete foundation 2 and resist extraction once the concrete has set.
• the top portion 400 comprises a pair of spaced-apart upstands 405 connected at their bottom edges by a base member 406, which adjoins the bottom portion 401, and at their top edges by a reinforcing (cross-bar) portion 407, which is provided to add strength to the top portion 400.
• the upstands 405 are set in from the ends of the base member 406. Defined between the front of the upstands 405 is an opening 408.
• One face of the top portion 400 has serrated regions 409a and 409b, which extend respectively along surfaces 405a of the upstands 405 and over parts of the base member 406.
• There may be a further serrated region 409c (not shown) for example extending approximately midway between the serrated regions 409a and 409b, below the opening 408.
• the size of the opening 408 between the serrated regions 409a and 409b is smaller than the size of an opening 408a at the rear of the upstands 405 owing to the presence of a low wall 406a extending upwards from the base member 406 between the front of the upstands 405.
• the wall 406a has a wide notch 406b midway along it.
• the clip- retaining head part 41 has two spaced-apart clip- retaining walls 410, which extend parallel to one another and have on mutually-opposed faces respective rail clip engaging portions 411.
• the clip-retaining walls 410 are joined together by an elongate member 412 which extends between bottom corners of the walls 410. At each such corner of the walls 410 there are formed respective slots 410a.
• the elongate member 412 is tapered in thickness such that it is thicker adjacent one clip-retaining wall 410 then the other. Approximately midway along the inner face of the tapered elongate member 412 is a serrated region 412a.
• the clip-retaining head part 40 also comprises a front portion 413 comprising a wall 414 which has a substantially smooth outer face.
• the wall 414 has portions 414a and 414b which serve to retain the side post insulator 5.
• Extending above the wall 414 are two spaced-apart walls 415a, 415b, which are joined together at their top ends by a reinforcing rib 417.
• a further serrated region 416c may be provided, for example approximately midway between the serrated regions 416a and 416b.
• a shelf 418 extends from the top of the wall 414.
• the shelf 418 has a projection 418a midway along it projecting in the plane of the shelf 418.
• an aperture 419 Between the upper parts of the walls 415a, 415b, the reinforcing rib 417 and the shelf 418 there is defined an aperture 419.
• the spacing between the clip engaging portions 411 is just sufficient to allow the clip-retaining head part 41 to be placed over the top portion 400 of the anchoring stem part 40.
• the serrated regions 409a, 409b (409c) can be placed in engagement with the serrated regions 416a, 416b (416c) respectively at any desired vertical position therealong.
• height adjustment of the assembly may be achieved by interlocking the anchoring stem part 40 and clip-retaining head part 41, using the serrated regions 409a, 409b, such that the clip retaining head part 41 is at a desired height with respect to the concrete foundation 2, and placing shims under the rail pad 6.
• the serrated regions 409a, 409b may be omitted and a tapered wedge 50 provided.
• the tapered wedge 50 is driven into the gap between the underside of the reinforcing portion 407 of the anchoring stem part 40 and the top of the reinforcing rib 417 of the clip-retaining head part 41.
• the reinforcing rib 417 extends under the wedge 50 and reinforcing portion 407 in this embodiment so as to allow the wedge 50 to be locked in place.
• the parts 40 and 41 may be kept in contact by means of the tapered wedge 43 which, once the parts 40 and 41 are in the desired configuration, may be inserted into a gap between the rear of the anchoring stem part 40 and the elongate member 412 of the clip-retaining head part 41.
• the wedge 43 is formed, approximately midway along it, with a serrated region 431 having vertical serrations which engages with the similar, but shorter, serrated region 412a formed on the face of the elongate member 412 which opposes the anchoring stem part 40.
• the wedge 43 is inserted into the slots 410a in the clip-retaining walls 410.
• the gap between the two can vary, so that the position of the wedge 43 varies laterally to take up whatever gap exists on a particular assembly with given dimensions .
• the wedge 43 is kept in place by the rail clip 3 when it is driven into the anchoring device 4.
• Various patterns of serrations on the wedge 43 and elongate member 412 are possible.
• the wedge could be made from cast iron or plastic.
• FIG. 6 which shows an alternative embodiment, an anchoring stem part 40A and a clip-retaining head part 41A are bolted together by a bolt 60, which passes through an oversize hole in the clip-retaining head part 41A thereby ensuring that lateral loads are transferred through it into the anchoring stem part 40A and not into the bolt 60.
• the bolt 60 serves two functions, preventing movement of the clip-retaining head part 41A relative to the anchoring stem part 40A in the vertical direction, replacing the serrations 409a, 409b, and also in the lateral direction, replacing the wedge 43.
• the clip-retaining head part 41 shown in the Figures is intended to receive an M-shaped rail clip of the kind disclosed in European Patent No. 0619852.
• Such a clip is installed in the anchoring device 4 by inserting the outer legs of the M-shaped clip into passageways 440 (shown in Figure 9) defined by lower surfaces of the clip-engaging portions 411 and the clip-retaining walls 410 of the clip-retaining head part 41 and the upstands 405 of the anchoring stem part 40.
• the lower surfaces of the parts 411 are shaped so as to deflect the outer legs of the M-shaped clip downwardly as the clip is driven into the device, the inner U-shaped rail-bearing portion of the clip, lead by the projection (ledge) 418a, passing through the opening 408a, the opening 408 and the aperture 419 until the clip comes to bear on the rail 1.
• the anchoring stem part 40 and clip retaining head part 41 can be locked together by the wedge 43.
• Each clip- retaining head part 41, 41' cooperates with an anchoring stem part 40 secured to the underlying rail foundation.
• G As shown in Fig. 10a, the larger clip- retaining head parts 41' are placed on the "field" (outer) side of the rails 1.
• the gauge has been increased to G + x by swopping over the clip- retaining head parts 41, 41' of one of the rail fastening assemblies (on the left-hand side) such that the larger of the two clip-retaining head parts 41' is now on the "gauge" (inner) side of the left-hand rail 1.
• Fig. 10a the gauge has been increased to G + x by swopping over the clip- retaining head parts 41, 41' of one of the rail fastening assemblies (on the left-hand side) such that the larger of the two clip-retaining head parts 41' is now on the "gauge" (inner) side of the left-hand rail 1.
• the gauge has been increased further to G + 2x by additionally swopping over the clip-retaining head parts 41, 41' of the other (right-hand) rail fastening assembly such that the larger of those two clip-retaining head parts 41' is now on the "gauge" side of the right-hand rail 1.
• lateral adjustment of the assembly could also be carried out, by the same means, in order to allow for wider tolerances in the construction of the base slab, and/or to make adjustments following settlement or movements in the base slab, and/or to make adjustments following the exchange of one rail section for another of a different foot width.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Railway Tracks (AREA)
• Clamps And Clips (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=10856296

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (5)

Families Citing this family (9)

Citations (6)

• 1999
  • 1999-06-29 GB GB9915220A patent/GB2351515B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2000
  • 2000-06-08 KR KR1020017016841A patent/KR100715581B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-06-08 EP EP00937084A patent/EP1190142B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-06-08 DE DE60019286T patent/DE60019286T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-06-08 WO PCT/GB2000/002235 patent/WO2001000930A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 2000-06-08 AU AU52375/00A patent/AU5237500A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-06-08 JP JP2001506326A patent/JP4190183B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-06-16 TW TW089111830A patent/TW517128B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-01-10 HK HK01100237A patent/HK1030033A1/xx not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (6)

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