Lectut CEN 307 PDF CEN 307 Sleepers

CE 307
Railway Engineering and Airport

Planning
Sleepers
Dr. Indrajit Ghosh

Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Sleepers
Members of track laid transverse to rail
Rails are supported and fixed

Transfer load from rails to ballast and formation
Other names
Railroad tie
Railway tie
Crosstie
Sleepers - Functions
Hold rails in correct gauge and alignment

Provide firm and even support to rails
Act as an elastic medium between rails and
ballasts
Absorb blows and vibrations caused by moving

loads
Provide longitudinal and lateral stability to

Permanent Way
Transfer load to wider area of ballast
Provide means to rectify track geometry during
service life
Sleepers - Requirements
Minimum initial and maintenance cost
Easy maintenance and adjustment of gauge
Fixing and removing of rails should be easy
Moderate weight
Easy to handle
Sufficient bearing area
Ballast under it should not get crushed
Able to resist shocks and vibrations
Track circuiting must be possible
Anti-sabotage and anti-theft qualities
Track circuit
Track circuit (Shunting the circuit)
SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper
Used to be most common and ideal sleepers
Now not seen much anywhere
Except on bridges and at turnouts, and on branch

lines and at remote locations
Why for bridges and turnout still?
Can be cut and sized very easily on site
To fit peculiarities of the particular stretch of track
Lighter compared to concrete sleepers, provide

additional damping for vibrations
Useful on bridges
Advantages:
Cheap and easy to manufacture
Easy handling without damage
Absorbs shocks and bears a good capacity to

dampen vibrations
Retains packing well
Suitable for track circuiting
Suitable for yielding formations, bridges, ash pits,

etc. (with / without stone ballast)
Correction to alignment is easy
Suitable for both CF and EF
Disadvantages:
Shorter life due to decay, wear, attack of

vermin
Minimum service life (12-15 years)
Maintenance of gauge is difficult
High maintenance cost
Susceptible to fire hazards
Excessive creep
Scrap value is negligible
Size and bearing area

Gauge
Size (cm)
Bearing area per

sleeper (m2)
BG
275 x 25 x 13
0.4650
MG
180 x 20 x 11.5
0.3098
NG
150 x 18 x 11.5
0.2090
Bridges, Points and Crossing
25 cm x 15 cm
25 cm x 18 cm
Two Categories
Durable type
No treatment is required
Can be laid directly on track
Service life
BG -19 years, MG 31 years
Produced from timbers such as
Teak
Sal
Nahor
Rosewood
Anjan
Two Categories
Non-durable type
Treatment is required before placement
Service life
BG - 12.5 years, MG 15.5 years
Made of wood of trees such as
Chir
Deodar
Kail
Gunjan
Jamun ..
Two Categories
Untreated
Comprised of all sleepers made of wood from

naturally durable species
Designated as U sleepers
Treated
Consist of rest of the sleepers
Termed as T sleepers
Treatment of sleepers
Heat and Pressure treatment process
Preservative is forced into wood
Creosote, Furnace oil
Different methods of pressure treatment
Full cell (Bethell) process
Empty cell (Ruefling) process
Empty cell (Lowry) process
Treatment plants
Dhilwan (Punjab), Naharkatia (Assam),

Clutterbuckganj (UP), Olvakot (Kerala)
Seasoning
Seasoned to reduce moisture content
In order to make treatment is effective
To be treated by pressure treatment
Moisture content in sleepers should not be more

than 25%
Seasoning
Methods:
Artificial seasoning in Kiln
USA and advanced countries
Boulton or boiling under vacuum process
Unseasoned wood is treated with heated preservative
Remove moisture content
Air seasoning (adopted in India)
Sleepers are stacked in yard
Enough space is provide for air circulation
Seasoning
Methods:
Air seasoning
One and Nine method
Close crib method
Open crib method
Composite Sleeper Index
Use to determine the suitability of particular

timber for use as a sleeper
Mechanical strength
CSI = (S + 10H) / 20
Where,
S and H are general strength and hardness figure at
12% moisture content, respectively
Minimum CSI prescribed on Indian Railways:
Track sleeper
Crossing sleeper
Bridge sleeper
54
94
102
CSI values of some well known timber

species:
Sal
Teak
Deodar
Fir
Chir
112
82
63
58
54
SleepersTypes: Steel Sleeper
Steel Trough Sleeper
Non-availability of durable timber
Domestic and architectural use of timber
Poor life of wooden sleepers in tropical region
Environmental concern
Supreme court verdict
Phasing out of
wooden sleepers
Approx. weight
BG 81 kg
MG 35 kg
Average life
About 40-50 years
Acceptable sleeper for use in LWR
Lateral stability
Adaptability for use along elastic fastenings
Advantages
Longer life
Better lateral rigidity
Free from decay, fire hazards, vermin attack
Good scrap value
Lesser damage during handling & transportation
Less maintenance problems
Easy to maintain gauge
Disadvantages
Liable to corrosion
Unsuitable to track circuiting
Becomes centre bound due to sloping ends
Rail specific design
Develops cracks at rail seat
Rolled steel plate, 2

mm thick
Pressed into suitable

trough shape
Rail seat canted to 1

in 20
Ends flattened out to

retain ballast

Steel Trough
Sleeper - types
ST sleeper with
pressed-up lugs
ST sleepers with
loose Jaws

ST Sleeper with pressed-up lugs
ST Sleeper with pressed-up lugs
Lugs or jaws are pressed out of plate itself
To accommodate foot of rail and key
Several maintenance problems
Give way due to
Movement of keys
Vibrations and impact of moving loads

ST Sleepers with Loose Jaws
ST Sleeper with loose jaws
Another design to handle this defect
Two holes are punched into either side of plate
To accommodate specially designed loose jaws
Rails are held with the help of two standard keys
Driven into loose jaws
SleepersTypes: CI Sleeper
CI Sleeper
Advantages
Lesser corrosion
Lesser liable to crack at rail seat
Easy to manufacture
High scrap value
CI Sleeper
Disadvantages
Gauge maintenance difficult
Lesser lateral stability
Unsuitable for track circuiting, mechanical

maintenance
Susceptible to breakage
Types
CI Pot Sleeper
Consists of two hollow bowls or pots
Circular or elliptical shape

Placed inverted on ballast section
Connected by a tie bar
With the help of cotters and gibs
Gauge can be adjusted ( 3 mm)
Rail is placed on top of pots in a rail seat
Provided with a cant of 1 in 20

With help of a key
CI Pot Sleeper
CI Pot Sleeper
Types
CI Pot Sleeper
Main drawback
Fittings are hidden

Inspection and maintenance is difficult
Not suitable for curves sharper than 4o on BG
Obsolete now
Not being manufactured by Indian Railways now
CI Pot Sleeper
Cast Iron Sleeper - Types
Plate Sleeper
Consists of
Rectangular plates (865 mm x 305 mm)
Projecting ribs under plates
305 mm side parallel to rails

Provide lateral stability
Plates are held in positions with tie bars
Same kind of connections as in pots
CST-9 Sleeper (Central Standard Trial 9)
9th of the series produced by Central Standard

Office
Being extensively used by Indian Railways
Combination of pot, plate and box sleeper
Consists of
Two triangular inverted pots on either side of rail seat
A central plate with projected keel
A box on top of plate
CST-9 Sleeper
Two plates are connected by tie bar
Rails are held to sleeper by two-way keys at each

rail seat
With the help of four cotters
On the side of gauge face
Gauge can be adjusted ( 5 mm)
CST-9 Sleeper
Shows limitations in their use on modern tracks with

speed higher than 120 kmph
Packing become loose under vibrations
Keys tend to be loose and drop out
Advancement
CST 10, 11, 12, 13
SleepersTypes: Concrete Sleepers
Advantages
Being heavy, lend strength and stability to track

Suitable for LWR due to resistance to buckling
Maintain gauge, alignment and cross level
Track circuiting is possible
Corrosion, damage due to pests, fire hazard not

possible
Longest life - 50 to 60 years
Poor conductor of electricity
Matching of rail and sleeper renewal
Better mechanical maintenance

Use of local resources for mass production
Disadvantages
Handling and laying difficult
Cost increase due to use of mechanical

handling procedure
Heavy damages during derailment
No scrap value
Not suitable for beater packing
Beater packing
Peak end is used for loosening ballast core
Blunt edge is used for driving ballast under

sleepers
Mono Block PCS
Trapezoidal section
Cant 1 in 20 for 175
mm on either side of
center line of rail
Initial prestressing of
steel
28 days crushing
strength
100 kg/sq. cm
525 kg/sq. cm
Pandrol clips provided
Mono Block PCS
a) PCS-12 for 52 Kg
Rails
b) PCS-14 for 60 Kg
Rails

Two Block RCCS
Sleepers - Comparions
Mono-block vs. Two-block concrete sleepers
Mono-block sleepers give better longitudinal

and lateral stability to track
Mono-block sleeper being monolithic concrete
mass found to have longer working life
Two-block has tie-bar which is weak and

comparatively shorter life due to corrosion
Two-block sleeper requires less capital

expenditure for its manufacture
Ordinary vs. Prestressed reinforced concrete

sleeper
Sleepers - Comparions
Mono-block vs. Two-block concrete sleepers
In case of mono-block sleeper, cracks

developed due to overstressing is likely to
close down upon return to normal condition
Mono-block sleeper is more likely to become
centre-bound unlike two-block
Gauge can be affected in two-block sleepers
as tie bars get deformed during derailment
and rough handling
Two blocks are not likely to rest on ballast
similar to the rails
Affect alignment and gauge
Sleepers Density
Definition
Numbers of sleepers per rail length
Noted as (M+x)
Where
M rail length
x number (4 to 7)
Sleepers Density
Depends up on
Axle load
Speed
Rail section type
Sleeper type and strength
Ballast cushion type and depth
Formation nature
Sleepers Spacing
Spacing of sleepers at Fish Plated track

RAIL
d
RAIL
b
Intermediate
1st
shoulder
1st
shoulder
Intermediate
sleeper
sleeper
sleeper
sleeper
2nd
shoulder
sleeper
Joint sleeper
2nd
shoulder
sleeper
Sleepers Spacing
Spacing of sleepers at Fish Plated track

Spacing of sleeper (in cms)
Wooden
Between joint sleepers (a)

Between joint sleeper and
First shoulder sleeper (b)
Between first shoulder sleeper
and second shoulder sleeper (c)
for SD (M+4)
for SD (M+7)
Between intermediate sleepers (d)
for SD (M+4)
for SD (M+7)
Metal
30
38
61
61
70
64
72
63
84
68
83
68
Sleepers Spacing
Spacing of sleepers on Welded track
Spacing of sleepers in cms

No. of
Sleepers (per km)
Spacing c/c in cm
1660
60 (LWR)
1540
65 (LWR), 66 (SWR)
1310
78 (SWR)

Lectut CEN 307 PDF CEN 307 Sleepers

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lectut CEN 307 PDF CEN 307 Sleepers

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CE 307

Railway Engineering and Airport

Dr. Indrajit Ghosh

Members of track laid transverse to rail

Rails are supported and fixed

Hold rails in correct gauge and alignment

Absorb blows and vibrations caused by moving

Provide longitudinal and lateral stability to

Minimum initial and maintenance cost

Easy maintenance and adjustment of gauge

Fixing and removing of rails should be easy

Sufficient bearing area

Ballast under it should not get crushed

Able to resist shocks and vibrations

Track circuiting must be possible

Anti-sabotage and anti-theft qualities

Track circuit (Shunting the circuit)

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Used to be most common and ideal sleepers

Now not seen much anywhere

Except on bridges and at turnouts, and on branch

Why for bridges and turnout still?

Can be cut and sized very easily on site

To fit peculiarities of the particular stretch of track

Lighter compared to concrete sleepers, provide

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Cheap and easy to manufacture

Easy handling without damage

Absorbs shocks and bears a good capacity to

Retains packing well

Suitable for track circuiting

Suitable for yielding formations, bridges, ash pits,

Correction to alignment is easy

Suitable for both CF and EF

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Shorter life due to decay, wear, attack of

Minimum service life (12-15 years)

Maintenance of gauge is difficult

High maintenance cost

Susceptible to fire hazards

Scrap value is negligible

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Size and bearing area

Bearing area per

Bridges, Points and Crossing

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Can be laid directly on track

BG -19 years, MG 31 years

Produced from timbers such as

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Treatment is required before placement

BG - 12.5 years, MG 15.5 years

Made of wood of trees such as

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Comprised of all sleepers made of wood from

Consist of rest of the sleepers

SleepersTypes: Wooden Sleeper

Heat and Pressure treatment process

Preservative is forced into wood

Creosote, Furnace oil

Different methods of pressure treatment

Full cell (Bethell) process

Empty cell (Ruefling) process

Empty cell (Lowry) process