Common types of railway accessories

Trains are a very important means of transportation. Many people have seen and ridden railways and trains, but know little about railways. In fact, railways are composed of various accessories and equipment. As the railway flourishes, so do the railway accessories and equipment. In order to ensure the safe operation of trains, current railway accessories and equipment must have higher strength, better toughness and better fatigue resistance. What types of railway accessories are there?

1. Connectors. Since railways are composed of various accessories and are a combination of components, various connectors need to be used. The part that connects the two ends of the two rails is called a joint. The part that connects the rail and the sleeper is called the intermediate joint, which is what we call a fastener. The joints allow the wheels to roll smoothly on the rail joints and allow the front and rear rails to work in harmony. Fasteners can well combine the rails and sleepers to form a rail frame, allowing the two rails to maintain the correct relative position; the fasteners provide sufficient pressure to prevent the rail from overturning and prevent the rail from moving longitudinally.

2. Subgrade usually refers to the ballast (ballast) cushion layer laid under the binding and on the surface of the subgrade. Its main function is to support the sleepers and distribute the huge load on the upper part of the sleepers to a uniform subgrade surface, thus greatly reducing the deformation of the subgrade. The ballast is a small piece of granite with a diameter of 20~70mm. There are gaps and friction between the blocks, allowing the track to maintain good elasticity. Once the ballast loses elasticity, the load on the reinforced concrete sleeper will increase significantly compared with the normal state.

3. Turnouts are line connecting devices that transfer vehicles from one track to another. They are usually arranged at a large number of stations and marshalling yards. It is precisely because of the switches that the transportation capacity of this railway line can be fully utilized.