How much do you know about these common railway accessories?

Railways are composed of various accessories and equipment, and driven by the vigorous development of railways, railway accessories are also constantly developing. Among the many railway accessories, the following ones are relatively common, so how much do you know about them?

1. Connecting parts, because railways are composed of various parts, and the combination of parts requires the use of various connecting parts. The parts that connect the two ends of the two rails are called joint connectors; the part that connects the rail and the sleeper is called the intermediate connection part, that is, the fastener. The joint joint allows the wheels to roll smoothly on the rail joint and keeps the two rails front and rear working in harmony. The fasteners connect the rails and sleepers to form a track frame, allowing the two rails to maintain the correct relative position; the fasteners provide sufficient pressure to prevent the rails from overturning and prevent the rails from moving longitudinally.

2. Track bed usually refers to the stone ballast (ballast) cushion laid on the roadbed below the sleepers. Its main function is to support the sleepers and evenly distribute the huge load from the upper part of the sleepers to the subgrade surface, 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, giving the track a certain elasticity. This elasticity can not only absorb the impact and vibration of the vehicle, but also enable the train to run smoothly. It also greatly improves the working conditions of rolling stock, rails, sleepers and other components, and extends the service life. Once the elasticity of the ballast is lost, the load on the reinforced concrete sleepers will increase by 50 to 80% compared with the normal state.

3. Turnouts. Turnouts are line connection equipment that allow rolling stock to transfer from one track to another. They are usually laid in large quantities at stations and marshalling yards. With turnouts, the passing capacity of the line can be fully utilized. Even if it is a single-track railway, by laying switches and building a branch line that is larger than the length of the train, the trains can be diverted in opposite directions.