RAILWAY OR TRAMWAY RAIL AND RAIL FASTENING SYSTEM

Abstract: A railway or tramway rail fastening system includes a shell (2) and a resilient fill (4) within the shell for holding a rail (1), the shell having an inner profile open channel form to receive the rail, the inner profile being shaped to hold firmly, through the fill (4), the head and base region and/or an intermediate portion of the rail. The arrangement is such that pinch points are produced which hold the rail in place.

Description: RAILWAY OR TRAMWAY RAIL AND RAIL FASTENING SYSTEM This invention relates to a railway or tramway rail fastening system including a rail and a shell for holding a railway or tramway rail . According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a railway or tramway rail fastening system, comprising a shell and a resilient fill within the shell for holding a railway or tramway rail having a head, a web and a base region, and the shell having an inner profile of open channel form to receive the rail; characterised in that the inner profile of the shell at its upper, open side and at its lower, base side is shaped to hold firmly, through the fill, the head and base region, respectively, of the rail. The inner profile of the shell between its base and the open side is preferably narrowed so as to form a detent or pinch point through which the base region of the rail has to be passed upon insertion of the rail into the shell to retain the rail. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a railway or tramway rail fastening system, comprising a shell and a resilient fill within the shell for holding a railway or tramway rail of substantially symmetrical form having head and base portions joined by an intermediate portion of greater girth; characterised in that the shell has an inner profile of open channel form to receive the rail and the inner profile of the shell intermediate its upper, open side and its lower, base side being shaped to hold firmly, through the fill, the intermediate portion of the rail. The fill can be of stiff and strong but resilient material such as an elastomer. The fill can be bonded to the shell and/or to the rail or can be provided as a sheet for forcing into the shell upon insertion of the rail or can be poured, cast or sprayed into the space between the shell and rail. The inner profile of the shell can be straight or curved in the lengthwise direction thereof to match a given longitudinal or vertical straightness or curvature respectively of the rail to be held in the shell. The inner profile of the shell can be pre-profiled to match the given longitudinal straightness or curvature of the rail to be held in the shell. This pre-profiling can be achieved by applying bending forces to the shell, which forces can be applied within the inner profile and/or against the exterior of the shell . The material of the shell is preferably stiffer than the elastomer inside it and can be of sheet material or pulltruded, extruded, moulded or cast, for example of polymer concrete, sheet metal, fibre-reinforced thermosetting resin or of fibre- reinforced thermoplastics. The rail itself could be used to provide the required support and bending forces to the shell. Alternatively, individual formers, e.g. short lengths of rail ' or rail profiled material, can be located inside and/or outside of the shell to provide the required bending forces and alignment during installation. Preferably, the shell is laid and/or set in a supporting bed or slab of, for example, concrete or asphalt. A railway or tramway track will comprise two such shells located side-by-side and can be formed as a unified slab construction. Alternatively, the two shells can have a tie piece between them. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a railway or tramway rail fastening system including at least one shell with resilient fill, the or each shell being essentially as defined according to the first or second aspect of the invention and the or each shell having a rail held firmly therein by the combination of fill and shell. The rail may be substantially symmetrical in cross section so that when its head becomes worn the rail can be removed from the shell, inverted and replaced in the shell to provide a second head for use. The two rails of a track can also be changed over one for the other. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of laying a railway or tramway rail using a shell with resilient fill essentially as defined according to the first or second aspect of the invention and causing a rail to be held firmly therein, the rail being held securely in position by the combination of fill and shell. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a railway or tramway rail, the rail having a longitudinal profile including a bulged portion when viewed in cross-section, said bulged portion acting as a detent when inserted into a surrounding fastening system essentially as defined according to the first or second aspect of the invention to hold the rail in place. The bulged portion may be in intermediate upper and lower regions of the rail or the bulged portion may be in a lower and/or upper region of the rail. This enables ease of rail replacement with minimum disruption to the remainder of the system. The overall cross-section of the rail maybe substantially rectangular and the sides of the rail maybe provided with not just one bulged portion but two or three bulged portions, extending from the head of the rail towards its base, so as to provide a ribbed formation along the sides of the rail. With such a configuration, a webless and/or footless rail is effectively produced, thereby allowing more side wear allowance and less frequent rail change, whilst reducing corrosion sensitivity and stresses within the rail. This comparatively simple cross-section with no web allows ultrasonic testing of the whole rail in a satisfactory manner and not just the head of the rail as at present. This is intended to avoid checking delays by identifying flaws before they cause an unplanned delay. Such a cross-section is also intended to reduce sensitivity to inherent or load-generated defects or manufacturing defects such as inclusions and fractures. In addition, the comparatively wide head provides a greater bearing area for the wheel and the wider, and therefore more solid, webless cross-section permits sliding expansion joints to be more robust. Finally, it is well known that noise is generated by passage of the trains on webbed rails and with the proposed cross- section, the webless rail is expected significantly to reduce noise output. In all cases, the shell can be split if required in the region of its base to enable insertion below an existing rail. In a further development, at least one seal in the form of an elastomeric strip may be wedged between the shell and the rail in a region where there is no fill in order to give further support to the rail. For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a railway or tramway fastening system, Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a shell with its fill in accordance with the second aspect of the invention defined above, Figure 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view of another profile which the shell can take to accommodate a modified flanged rail, Figures 4, 5 and 6 are diagrammatic sectional views illustrating three possible approaches to the supply and manufacture of the system, and Figure 7 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a preferred profile of rail to be received in the shell of Figure 2, and Figures 8 and 9 are views similar to Figure 2 showing two further possible profiles of rail and shell. Figure 1 shows, by way of example, a railway rail 1 held in a shell 2 set in a bed or slab 3 of concrete. The shell 2 has an inner profile of open channel form to receive the rail 1 and the inner profile of the shell at its upper, open side and at its lower, base side being shaped to hold firmly through the intermediary of a resilient fill 4 the head 1A and base region IB of the rail 1. The inner profile of the shell 2 between its base and its open side is narrowed so that the inner profile of the resilient fill at 5 forms a pinch point through which the base IB has to be passed upon insertion of the rail 1 into the shell 2. This narrowing means that the rail 1 must be effectively sprung into the shell as a type of snap-action/detent effect. Removal of the rail for replacement or inversion requires a similar spring snap- action to be overcome. As Figure 1 shows, the rail 1 is substantially symmetrical to allow for such inversion. It will be noted that one wall 2A is lower than the other wall 2B to allow for the passage of the flange of a wheel of a railed vehicle, whilst maintaining support for the head 1A of the rail on both sides. The lengthwise profile of the shell 2 is arranged to follow the longitudinal profile of the rail to be laid therein, whether the rail is straight or curves in horizontal and/or vertical planes . The required profile of the shell 2 can be achieved in a number of ways. For example, a shell 2 containing its layer of fill 4 can be taken and set to the correct curve (and cant in the case of a track with parallel rails) using inserts in the form of short lengths of rail or wood, for example, of the same profile as the final rail. The inserts such as the dummy rail pieces can have rods connected to them so that the inserts can be twisted, for example, to achieve the desired curvature of the shell or can be raised or lowered for vertical and horizontal alignment . The material of the shell 2 is thereby twisted and the surrounding concrete material 3 is then poured and allowed to set, thereby maintaining the shell in its formed alignment profile. Protrusions 6 can be provided to ensure bonding of the shell with the concrete and so that the shell 2 can be gripped externally by temporary lifting grips (not shown) engaging with the protrusions 6 so that the pre-profiled shell can be moved to the location where it is to be incorporated in the concrete. To enhance bonding of the shell to surrounding concrete and/or the shell to the elastomer fill, the shell surface (s) can be given a roughened texture. Another possibility would be to apply external bending forces to the shell 2 to achieve the required profile and level of cant, in which case the fill 4 can be provided later inside the shell. This system lends itself to the formation of either slip- formed, in situ, or precast slab track, where for example slabs of concrete five metres long are manufactured and incorporate parallel shells 2, which are then taken to site and the rails are inserted after installation of the slabs. The rails could be inserted at the point of manufacture if an economic length can be transported. On site, the rails can be welded together, dowels or other joiners can be used to join the pre-cast slabs accurately and grout holes or grout "tubes a manchete" can be made in the slab to provide vertical alignment adjustment during installation and/or operation. For railway track replacement, where at present ballasted track is in place, where there is for example a 600mm depth of ballast, the top 300mm of ballast could be taken out and could be recycled, with even the concrete sleepers being crushed to provide concrete for its slab track or to form a firm bed and the slab track as described above could be laid on top of the crushed concrete . The regions 7 in Figure 1 either side of the web of the rail could be part of the solid steel rail or could be filled with rubber or another polymer material which can be but need not be bonded to the rail and/or shell. It will be appreciated that with the present system the rail is physically squeezed into the shell and is sprung into place, whilst the head 1A is held and at the same time resilience offered to the rail is maintained to its base IB, there being a constant and even base region area which is resiliently supported by the shell itself. The thickness of the elastomer can be controlled to give the correct resilience at all locations whilst keeping resilient material costs to a minimum. The shells 2 of a track form barriers to spurious electrical connection between the rails and a good rough surface and positive mechanical interlocking can be provided where appropriate to ensure good concrete/shell bond and shell/elastomer bond. Figure 2 illustrates a variation in the profile of the shell 2 and fill 4 to receive a reversible rail of the form shown in Figure 7 which has identical head and base regions 1A, IB joined by an intermediate bulged portion 1C. Accordingly, the portions 2A and 4A of the shell and fill, respectively, intermediate the open end and the lower, base side of the shell are correspondingly bulged or flared. The rail of Figure 7 is therefore snapped into position, the central bulged portion 1C having overcome the restraint of the entry into the shell at its open end. The actual rail illustrated in Figure 2 is of the same form as that shown in Figure 1, to illustrate the point that both profiles of rail can be accepted by this particular profile of shell and fill with the rail still being satisfactorily held firmly in place. Figure 3 illustrates a different form of shell with its fill of elastomeric material and shaped to accommodate a flanged rail with the flange and web being illustrated at IB and 1C. Since the shell and its polymer provide adequate support and resilience for the rail along the whole of the underside of the flange IB, the flange is not so wide as would normally be the case with conventional railway rail only supported on sleepers. Figure 4 diagrammatically illustrates how the system can be pre-manufactured and delivered to site ready for setting down. Here, the shell 2 is delivered with its fill 4 already encasing the rail 1. Figure 5 illustrates the rail 1 with the layer of fill 4 already bonded to it. In this case, the shell 2 is already cast in its concrete base or slab and the rail with its fill coating is forced into the pre-aligned shell. Figure 6 shows that the fill 4 can be initially bonded to the inner profile of the shell 2 and then can be delivered to site for subsequent rail insertion. Reverting to Figure 7, the profile of rail illustrated there can also be the profile utilised, along with the shells, in the variations illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6. In practice, the shell 2 can be set in the concrete either by pre-alignment as described earlier, with the concrete poured about the shell or the concrete can be poured and the shell can be vibrated down in it. The fill 4 can be poured or otherwise coated and bonded on the shell and/or rail or it could be in the form of, for example, a rubber sheet which can be arranged to straddle the open side of the shell and be forced into the shell at the time of insertion of the rail. Figures 8 and 9 illustrate profiles of rail which are developed from the cross-section of rail illustrated in Figure 7. It will be noted that both the more squat form of rail shown in Figure 8 and the form of rail shown in Figure 9 are provided with ribbed configurations along their sides, into which can be fitted one or more profiled elastomeric gaskets or seals 8 in order to give further support to the rail. The method of assembly in this case could follow the steps of providing the shell 2, dropping the elastomeric base fill 4 into the base of the shell 2, dropping/forcing the rail 1 onto the fill 4 and inserting the seals 8, firstly by inserting one profiled seal 8 on one side of the rail, then pulling the rail sideways to compress that seal 8 to allow space for insertion of the second seal 8 finally releasing the rail which then achieves the desired position. The present system has the benefits of easy installation and easy replacement with no loose fittings thereby requiring little inspection as compared with conventional railway track. It has a higher performance, not least in holding the head of the rail steady, whilst maintaining the required vertical resilience up and down and laterally, reducing noise pollution and enhancing safety. It permits automatic rerailing in the event of derailment, nominal inspection, maintenance or faults to reduce delays to traffic. The reversible rail has the benefit of cost, time and material savings . Regarding the elastomer fill 4, the thickness of it can be controlled to give correct vertical and lateral resilience at all locations whilst keeping material costs to the minimum and the shell provides a barrier to highly alkaline concrete which will serve to protect the elastomer. The shell 2 also serves to protect the elastomer during shipping and handling and also provides protection against the forces required to align the rail, e.g. when the system is gripped by utilising the shell which accordingly avoids gripping or compressing the elastomer fill 4. The whole system in its various forms can also be used for tramway rail.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A railway or tramway rail fastening system, comprising a shell (2) and a resilient fill (4) within the shell (2) for holding a railway or tramway rail (1) having a head (1A) , a web (1C) and a base region and the shell having an inner profile of open channel form to receive the rail; characterised in that the inner profile of the shell (2) at its upper, open side and at its lower, base side is shaped to hold firmly, through the fill (4) the head and base region (1A, IB) , respectively, of the rail (1) . 2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the inner profile of the shell (2) between its base and the open side is narrowed so as to form a detent or pinch point through which the base region (IB) of the rail (1) has to be passed upon insertion of the rail into the shell to retain the rail. 3. A railway or tramway rail fastening system, comprising a shell (2) and a resilient fill (4) within the shell for holding a railway or tramway rail (1) of substantially symmetrical form having head and base portions joined by an intermediate portion (1C) of greater girth; characterised in that the shell (2) has an inner profile of open channel form to receive the rail (1) and the inner profile of the shell intermediate its upper, open side and its lower, base side being shaped to hold firmly through the fill (4), the intermediate portion (1C) of the rail. 4. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3 , wherein the fill (4) is an elastomer. 5. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fill (4) is bonded to the shell (2) and/or the rail (1) . 6. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fill (4) is sheet material. 7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner profile of the shell (2) is pre-profiled to match the given longitudinal straightness or curvature of the rail (1) to be held in the shell. 8. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the material of the shell is stiffer than the fill (4) and has been formed out of sheet material, by pulltruding, extrusion, moulding or by casting. 9. A railway or tramway rail fastening system including at least one shell (2) with resilient fill (4), the or each shell being formed according to any one of the preceding claims and the or each shell having a rail (1) held firmly therein by the combination of fill (4) and shell. 10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the rail is substantially symmetrical in cross-section. 11. A method of laying a railway or tramway rail (1) using the shell (2) with resilient fill (4) according to any one of the preceding claims and causing a rail (1) to be firmly held therein, the rail being held securely in position by the combination of fill and shell. 12. A method according to claim 11 and further comprising inserting at least one elastomeric, profiled seal (8) between the rail (1) and shell (2) in a region where there is no fill (4) . 13. A railway or tramway rail, the rail having a longitudinal profile including a bulged portion when viewed in cross-section, said bulged portion acting as a detent when inserted into a surrounding fastening system according to any one of claims 1 to 10 to hold the rail in place. 14. A rail according to claim 13, wherein the bulged portion is in intermediate upper and lower regions of the rail or is in a lower and/or upper region of the rail. 15. A rail according to claim 13 or 14, that is substantially rectangular in cross-section. AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 15 November 1999 (15.11.99); original claims 1, 2, and 3 replaced by new claims 1 and 2; original claims 4-6 and 12-15 amended; and renumbered as claims 3-5 and 11-14; original claims 7-10 renumbered as claims 6-9 (3 pages)] 1. A railway or tramway rail fastening system, comprising a shell (2) and a resilient fill (4) within the shell (2) for holding a railway or tramway rail (1) having a head (1A) , a web (1C) and a base region and the shell having an inner profile of open channel form to receive the rail, the inner profile of the shell (2) at its upper, open Bide and at its lower, base side being shaped to hold firmly, through the fill (4) the head and base region (1A, IB) , respectively/ of the rail (1) ; characterised in that the inner profile of the shell (2) between its base and the open side is narrowed BO as to form a detent or pinch point through which a region of the rail (1) has to be passed upon insertion of the rail into the shell to retain the rail. 2. A railway or tramway rail fastening system, comprising a shell (2) and a resilient fill (4) within the shell for holding a railway or tramway rail (1) of substantially symmetrical form having head and base portions joined by an intermediate portion (1C) of greater girth, the shell (2) having an inner profile of open channel form to receive the rail (1) and the inner profile of the shell intermediate its u / open side and its lower, base side being shaped to hold firmly through the fill (4) , the intermediate portion (1C) of the rail; characterised in that the inner prpfile of the shell (2) between its base and the open side is narrowed so as to form a detent or pinch point through which a region of the rail (1) has to be passed upon insertion of the rail into the shell to retain the rail. 3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fill (4) is an elastomer. 4. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the fill (4) is bonded to the shell (2) and/or the rail (1) . 5. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fill (4) is sheet material. 6. A Qystβm according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner profile of the shell (2) is pre-profiled to match he given longitudinal straightneeε or curvature of the rail (1) to be held in the shell. 7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the material of the shell is stlffer than the fill (4) and has been formed out of sheet material, by pulltruding, extrusion, moulding or by casting. 8. A railway or tramway rail fastening system including at least one shell (2) with resilient fill (4) , the or each shell being formed according to any one of the preceding claims and the or each shell having a rail (1) held firmly therein by the combination of fill (4) and shell. 9. A system according to claim 9, wherein the rail is substantially symmetrical in cross-section. 10. A method of laying a railway or tramway rail (1) using the shell (2) with resilient fill (4) according to any one of the preceding claims and causing a rail (1) to be firmly held therein, the rail being held securely in position by the combination of fill and Bhall. 1 . A method according to claim 10 and further comprising inserting at least one elastomeric, profiled seal (8) between the rail (1) and shell (2) in a region where there is no fill (4) . 12. A railway or tramway rail, the rail having a longitudinal profile including a bulged portion when viewed in cross-section, said bulged portion acting as a detent that cooperates with the detent of the shell (2) when inserted into the surrounding fastening system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 to hold the rail in place. 13. A rail according to claim 12, wherein the bulged portion is in intermediate upper and lower regions of the rail or is in a lower and/or upper region of the rail. 14. A rail according to claim 12 or 13, that is substantially rectangular in cross-section.

Inventors: PENNY CHARLES, PENNY, CHARLES
Applicants: PENNY CHARLES, PENNY, CHARLES
Application year: 1999
Main classification: E01B9
IPC codes: E01B3, E01B9