Starting with The Name of Almighty ALLAH, The

Most Beneficent and The Most Merciful.

Transportation Engineering
Sir Ahmed Faraz Abro

Group Leader: Ali Hyder Chandio

L-13CE-56
GROUP MEMBERS
Kashif Morio
L-13CE-45
Shahroz Bhatti
L-13CE-51
Waqas Soomro
L-13CE-55
Muhammad Ibrahim
L-13CE-57
0rangzeb Chandio
L-13CE-66
Widad Kaka
L-13CE-73

Contents
Basic Components of a Railway Track
Types of Rails
Usage of Different Types of Rails

Basic Components of a Railway

Track
First of all defining a railway track, A railway
track is a permanent way for the movement of
trains or locomotives. It enables trains to move
by providing a dependable surface for their
wheels to roll.
There are mainly five components on which a
railway track is based.

They are..

Formation
Sleepers
Rails
Ballast
Fittings and Fastenings

DIAGRAM

1.Formation
It is the base or foundation of the track.
It provides a level surface, where ballast rests.
It takes the total load of the track.

2.Sleepers
Sleepers hold the rail together in a proper
position.
Help in maintaining and providing proper gauge.
It also transfers the load of locomotive to the
ballast load.
It also helps in enhancing the correct line and
level of rail
They are of 4 types; Wooden, Steel, Concrete,
Cast Iron Sleepers

Wooden Sleeper

Concrete Sleeper

Steel Sleeper

3.Rail
These are steel girders.
They are placed end to end to provide a level
and continuous surface for movement of
locomotive.
These are basically shaped as I-beam.
They give smooth movement to the wheels.
They also transmit the wheel load over sleepers.

Rail

4.Ballast
Ballasts forms a track bed of broken stones,
gravel, sand etc; over which the sleepers are
laid.
They hold sleepers in position.
They also provide a uniform level surface.
They also facilitate drainage of water.
They also transfer loads to a larger area of
formation.
They are of 7 types; Broken stone, Gravel, Ash,
Moorum, Kanker, Broken brick Ballasts.

Ballast

5.Fittings and Fastenings

The devices used to connect rails with sleepers
in order to form a track.
They provide a grip between rails and sleepers.
These absorb vibrations and shocks generated
when the locomotive moves on the rail.
These hold the rail in a correct position, level
and alignment.

Fitting and fastenings types are..

1. Fish Plates
2. Fish Bolts
3. Chairs
4. Keys
5. Bearing plates

All in one Diagram

Bearing plate

TYPES OF RAILS
Rails are the steel girders placed end to end to
provide a leveled and continuous surface for the
easy movement of the locomotive.
There are 3 types of rails
1. Double Headed Rail
2. Bull Headed Rail
3. Flat Footed Rail

1. Double Headed Rail

In late 1830s, double headed rail was used.
The supposed advantage behind this rail was
that when the head became worn, the rail could
be turned over and re-used. (because of having
the same dimensions)
This in practice, was not very successful
because the chairs caused dents in lower
surface.

Normal Sketch of a Double headed rail

2. Bull Headed Rail

Bull headed rail is similar to double headed rail
except that the profile of head of the rail is not
the same as that of foot.
Heavy amount of metal is used in the head of
bull-headed rail.
It was a very expensive method of laying track.
Heavy cast-iron chairs were needed to support
it.

Cross section of BullHeaded Rail

3. Flat Footed Rail

It is basically T-Section Rail.
To remove the drawback of other two types,
Charles Vignoles introduced this rail in Britain in
1839.
It is also known as Vignoles Rail.

Flat footed Rail

USAGE OF DIFFERENT
TYPES OF RAILS
DOUBLE HEADED RAIL
As rails were mainly on the head, it was thought
that double headed rail could be inverted after
one side head had worn out as the dimensions
of both the head and foot were of same profile.
In late 1830s, this type of rail was used by
United Kingdom (London and Birmingham
Railway).
In practice, this form of recycling was not very
successful as the chair caused dents in lower
surface.

 BULL-HEADED RAIL
It was the standard for the British railway system
for mid-20th Century.
Bullhead rail is similar to double-headed rail
except that the profile of head is not as same as
that of foot. It was not possible to flip use it so,
there was no longer benefit of reusability.
Heavy cast iron chairs were needed to support it
because, head had much bigger profile than the
foot.

 FLAT-FOOTED RAIL
Charles Vignoles introduced this rail to the
Britain (London and Croydon Railway) in 1836.
It has a wider base than the head.
They have more lateral strength.
The no. of fastenings is few.
The most world widely used rail is the flat-footed
rail.