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A fishplate joins two lengths of track. A fishplate, splice bar or joint bar is a metal connecting plate used to bolt the ends of two rails into a continuous track. The name is derived from fish, [1] a wooden reinforcement of a "built-up" ship's mast that helped round out its desired profile. [2] The top and bottom faces taper inwards along ...
A breather switch, expansion joint, or adjustment switch is an intentional gap in railway tracks to allow for thermal expansion in long sections of otherwise unbroken rail. . They are placed between very long sections of continuous welded rail or at the transition from continuous welded rail to jointed track, and commonly in the vicinity of bridges, viaducts and tunnels where the ...
After new segments of rail are laid, or defective rails replaced (welded-in), the rails can be artificially stressed if the temperature of the rail during laying is cooler than what is desired. The stressing process involves either heating the rails, causing them to expand, [36] or stretching the rails with hydraulic equipment. They are then ...
Stressing is a rail engineering process. It is used to prevent heat and cold tension after installation of continuous welded rail (CWR). Environmental heat causes CWR to expand and therefore can cause the fixed track to buckle. Environmental cold can lead to the contraction of the fixed railway track causing brittleness and cracks.
A rail fastening system is a means of fixing rails to railroad ties (North America) or sleepers (British Isles, Australasia, and Africa). The terms rail anchors, tie plates, chairs and track fasteners are used to refer to parts or all of a rail fastening system. The components of a rail fastening system may also be known collectively as other ...
A right-hand railroad switch with point indicator pointing to right Animated diagram of a right-hand railroad switch. Rail track A divides into two: track B (the straight track) and track C (the diverging track); note that the green line represents direction of travel only, the black lines represent fixed portions of track, and the red lines depict the moving components.
Long welded rail was hard to install manually. An early demonstration of mechanised track-laying with two 600 ft (180 m) lengths of long welded rail took place on the Fighting Cocks branch in 1958. The two lengths were loaded on ten wagons, attached to the existing track by a steel rope and drawn back at 30 ft/min (9.1 m/min).
Rail transport. A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighter rails, meant for lower speed or less heavy traffic, and few, if any, signals.