page_title: Railroad tie
section_title: Y-shaped ties
hierarchical_section_title: Railroad tie / Non-conventional tie forms / Y-shaped ties
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Y-Stahlschwellen und Stahlschwellen in normaler Bauform im Gleisbett, gesehen in Balingen
context_page_description: A railroad tie, crosstie, railway tie or railway sleeper is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge.
  Railroad ties are traditionally made of wood, but prestressed concrete is now also widely used, especially in Europe and Asia. Steel ties are common on secondary lines in the UK; plastic composite ties are also employed, although far less than wood or concrete. As of January 2008, the approximate market share in North America for traditional and wood ties was 91.5%, the remainder being concrete, steel, azobé and plastic composite.
  The crosstie spacing of mainline railroad is approximately 19 to 19.5 inches for wood ties or 24 inches for concrete ties. The number of ties is 3,250 wooden crossties per mile for wood ties or 2640 ties per mile for concrete ties. Rails in the US may be fastened to the tie by a railroad spike; iron/steel baseplates screwed to the tie and secured to the rail by a proprietary fastening system such as a Vossloh or Pandrol which are commonly used in Europe.
context_section_description: An unusual form of tie is the Y-shaped tie, first developed in 1983. Compared to conventional ties the volume of ballast required is reduced due to the load-spreading characteristics of the Y-tie. Noise levels are high but the resistance to track movement is very good.  For curves the three-point contact of a Y steel tie means that an exact geometric fit cannot be observed with a fixed attachment point.
  The cross section of the ties is an I-beam.
  As of 2006 less than 1,000 km (621 mi) of Y-tie track had been built, of which approximately 90 percent is in Germany.
caption: Y tie track next to conventional track
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