Holding the line: Track fasteners use a variety of shapes and materials to solve a wide variety of problems while doing their basic job of holding the track together

Railway Track and Structures, June, 2001 by Tom Judge

The finest rail steels, the best crossties, the most-pristine rock ballast only add up to a huge scrap pile without the uniting effects of modem fasteners. Besides holding everything together, fasteners can help deal with electrical problems or work to reduce noise and vibration.

ATP: Track plate

Advanced Track Products, Inc., developed a new track plate for SEPTA's light rail and the new light-rail system in Tampa, Fla. The rail is insulated from the plate by an insulating pad and shoulders at the rail base, while the plate is further insulated from the support surface by a pad under the plate and insulating bushings at anchor bolts. The double-insulating barrier deals with serious concerns about reducing stray current.

ATP's Acoustical Loadmasters are mounted on twin bridge timbers directly fixed on steel beams of the bridge to maintain very similar track modulus (stiffness) to the neighboring at-grade ballasted track.

"Installation provides uniform ride quality over the bridge and reduces ballast maintenance at bridge approaches because there is no appreciable difference in modulus," Bill Osler, general manager, said.

He continued: "Our heavy-axle DF, Acoustical Loadmaster, providing track modulus similar to ballasted track, is now available without cant (vs. 1:40) and/or with five-inch (vs. six-inch) rail base. Independent tests on the current design exceeded the test equivalent of 4.5-billion gross tons under 40-ton axles between 40 and 60 mph.

"Also, we hay just completed a total revision and updating of our Product Manual for trackwork engineers, railroad contractors and rail properties," he said.

The Acoustical Loadmaster has been installed in a railroad tunnel servicing the Panama Canal.

Huck: RamBolt [TM]

Huck Fasteners' newest rail-application product, the RamBolt [TM], continues to get positive response from customers, noted Randy Walters, public relations director.

"The design a vantage is that it never needs retorquing or other maintenance," he said. "The RamBolt costs more than traditiona1 rail crossing fasteners, but it lasts. We've seen the fastener perform in high-traffic areas for up to three years without replacement or even maintenance. When you consider the materials and manpower costs of replacing competitive fasteners the RamBolt proves to be the cost-effective choice."

The RamBolt has been standardized for all Canadian Pacific Railway diamond crossings purchased during the past three years. Most of these diamonds were originally manufactured by Progress Rail Services or BC-NACO. CPR is also testing RamBolt in 100 frogs, 60 of which are installed and in service, with the rest due for completion. These are #13, 136-pound and #13 115-pound crossing frogs.

Nord-Lock: Locking washers

Nord-Lock, Inc., locking washers have been used on European railways, but they are new or North American railway use.

"In the past year, we've had a lot of new applications on the car and locomotive side as well a few on the track side, said Keith Massey, factory representative. "The very beginning of our track applications was in frog fastenings. CSX Transportation is conducting a test in West Virginia on the busiest crossing on a primary coal line."

Current research includes the test at CSXT. In northwest Indiana, ABCNACO rcently installed a new diamond on the SouthShore. The railroad is using Nord-Lock's locking washers to see how they hold up.

"These washers are maintaining the advertised clamp load," Massey said. "We've done testing on virtually every kind of fastener available and nothing holds better than our washers. We have test results to prove that. There're cost savings involved, there's quality assurance involved and there's safety involved. We excel in all of those areas. At this point, we want to let the product prove itself. We know it will. It's just a matter of people trying it."

NorFast: Handling change

"As the need for change in the railway industry evolves, so do the products marketed by NorFast Inc.," said Clyde Carter, marketing manager. "We continue to see NorFast tie plate sales increase as more and more railroads look for solutions to gauge widening, cant, plate cutting, track buckling and pull-aparts in curves.

"At NorFast, our focus is on supplying products that save the railroads money in the long run by producing tie plates and clips that do not require the assistance of gauge rods or rail anchors," Carter noted. "Many of our products have been purchased for high-degree mainline curves where the performance demands of our tie plates are superior to any other plate on the market. Some locations where NorFast plates have been installed have seen more than 100 mgt without as much as 1/8-inch gauge widening from plate movement. Rail wear has also been reduced significantly."

NorFast is currently ramping up production scheduling for 2002 in anticipation of an increase in demand for tie plates from Class 1 and Class 2 railroads and to satisfy current orders.

"We see future business being governed by the railroad's desire to maintain competitive performance levels," Carter said. "NorFast's goal is to become a key player in helping railroads become more competitive through the provision of products that will save them money through long-term dependability and reduced maintenance over the long haul."