Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
  • E01B5/00—Rails; Guard rails; Distance-keeping means for them
  • E01B5/02—Rails
  • E01B5/04—Grooved rails
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
  • E01B7/00—Switches; Crossings
  • E01B7/28—Crossings

Definitions

• the present invention concerns rails for railways and tramways. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• the rails for a railway are I-beams supported by transverse sleepers on a bed of ballast on a prepared base. where a road crosses a railway, the surface of the road is level with the tops of the rails, and the space between the rails is then built up.
• These rails are so-called high profile rails.
• For street railways a similar high profile rail is usually used.
• tramways used a so-called phoenix rail which is generally an I-beam but with a groove for the train wheels formed in the upper flange. To install such a rail in a road, .
• a snag with panel systems is that the panels have a tendency to settle or rock unless the sub-soil is very firm; this is resisted in the East German system by the rigidity of the phoenix-type track.
• the rails are subjected to the loading of trains along the track, loads due to traffic crossing, and loads on curves and at rail intersections. Where loads are too large for the panel systems, it is possible to use transitional sections to traditional phoenix constructions but it is desirable to keep such phoenix constructions to a minimum.
• One aspec of the present invention provides a rail comprising a bar portion having a wheel groove in the surface that will be uppermost in use characterised by a pair of flanges extending integrally from that bar portion to spread the wheel loading on the bar which flanges are at the top of the said bar portion.
• Another aspect of the invention provides a rail comprising a bar portion having a wheel groove in the surface that will be uppermost in use characterised by at least one flange towards that grooved surface extending integrally sideways from the bar portion.
• a further aspect of the present invention provides a roadway having inserted in it a rail characterised in that the rail has integral bar and flange portions with the bar portion recessed in the roadway and each flange portion, overlying the road way on either side of the bar portion.
• a yet further aspect of the present invention provides a rail comprisingabar portion havinga v.heel groove in the surface that will be uppermost in use characterised by a pairof flanges extending integrally from that bar portion towards the top of the bar portion.
• the present invention provides a roadway having such a rail installed in it, the flanges being recessed into the roadway.
• Figure 1 is a section of a rail fitted in a roadway
• Figure 2 is aperspective view of a pair of rails fitted in a roadway
• Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a rail inter ⁇ section. DESCRIPTION OF AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
• Figure 1 illustrates on a large scale a rail 11 recessed into a shallow recess 12 in a roadway 1 or other suitable surface.
• the recess can be for example 4 centimetres deep and 10 centimetres wide, the rail has a central bar portion 15 which is generally a regular trapezium in section but with a groove 16 for a vehicle wheel in the wider surface which in use is the uppermost surface of the bar portion.
• the rail can be of steel, iron or another material rolled, extruded or otherwise fabricated into the squat T-shape illustrated.
• the recess is preferably cut out by suitable cutters such disc or other cutters cutting the edges of the slot-like recess with a plane or other cutter removing the material remaining between the original cuts.
• suitable cutters such disc or other cutters cutting the edges of the slot-like recess with a plane or other cutter removing the material remaining between the original cuts.
• a pair of rails will normally be used and the recesses can be cut using ganged cutters to ensure correct spacing.
• the recess is generally rectangular in section and is partially filled with a suitable material 18 so when a rail is inserted in the recess the rail can be settled into the material "18.
• Cross ties not illustrated can be provided at intervals to form gauge defining devices and these can be recessed below the surface.
• the rail can be secured in place by mechanical or other means such as an adhesive bond which preferably has a degree of resil ⁇ ience such as is provided by Corkelast. It is possible 5 to provide ribs or a shallow groove in the underside of each flange to improve still more the sealing properties of the adhesive and the resistance of the rail to sideways displacement.
• the rails can be welded or otherwise joined end-to-end to form a continuous track and can be C laid under tension to avoid thermal expansion problems, whilst it might be possible to use a single flange on one side of the rail, this would entail cutting the recess accurately to that vertical loading was taken both on the flange and the base of the rail to avoid the 5 rail tending to twist.
• the width of the flange or each flange would be large enough bearing in mind the load bearing capacity of the substrate to avoid excessive settlement.
• Figure 2 shows a pair of rails installed in a roadway.
• the space between the rails 11 is built up to the level of the rails by a thin layer of tarmac 20 or other road 5 facing material. It would be possible to recess the flanges slightly in the road surface so that they are substantially flush with the road way and then merely fill the seam alongside the flanges with tarmac or the like. It would also be possible to have the flanges 0 slightly down from the top of the rails with the top of the rails flush with the roadway with the tarmac or other material on top of the flanges to minimise the amount of metal exposed.
• Figure 3 illustrates a junction piece which would 5 be cast or otherwise formed -and comprises two rails 21 and 22 crossing at an angle with the grooves in the two rails extending across the central intersection 23. Where more complicated arrangements are involved such as junctions, special provisions might be made such as the provision of sections of conventi ⁇ nal phoenix tracks but a suitable adaptation of Figure 3 is possible.
• the present invention is mainly for use where road vehicles and track vehicles share road space. Such situations arise where there are tramways or light urban railways.
• the invention can be used even when such tramways or urban light railways run on segregated tracks and even for mainline railways.
• the roadway in which the rails are laid can be made of heavy concrete or stone slabs or panels or even on a continuous concrete bed laid in situ; with such concrete roadways there would have to be expansion joints but the recesses can be formed during manufacture or laying wet concrete.
• the recesses can be formed by a slip-form paviour or other machine.
• the low profile rail according to the present invention offers advantages due to the reduction in rail height over traditional railway track especially when a track is being adapted for electrification or gauge conversion since it would not be necessary to lower an existing track bed possibly exposing wall foundations in existing tunnels.
• the rails can be used for signalling or electric power supply if the rails are insulated. However it is probably not possible to supply sufficient power to • drive a vehicle in this way but only to use the rails as a return path and then it would be desirable to bond the rails to a low resistance earth cable at intervals to avoid earth leakage currents inter ering with other services.
• the cross-section of the rails depends on the use.
• the groove is shaped to suit the intended traffic and can for example not only engage those wheels supporting a vehicle but also steering wheels which engage the groove and transmit steering information to the supporting wheels.
• the central bar portion would be deep enough to provide an adequate groove and typically would be about ⁇ centimetres deep with 4 centimetres recessed in the road ⁇ way, and would be typically 10 centimetres wide with, the flanges extending further out y sufficient distance bearing in mind the substrate load-bearing capacity to suspend the rails from the roadway so the vertical and horizontal loading on the rails is taken on the upper surface of the roadway without appreciable settlement unlike the previous systems wherein the vertical loading was taken to the bottom of the rails.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Road Paving Structures (AREA)
• Leg Units, Guards, And Driving Tracks Of Cranes (AREA)
• Platform Screen Doors And Railroad Systems (AREA)
• Chain Conveyers (AREA)
• Machines For Laying And Maintaining Railways (AREA)
• Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
• Road Signs Or Road Markings (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

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• 1990
  • 1990-08-28 CA CA002065235A patent/CA2065235C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-08-28 WO PCT/GB1990/001325 patent/WO1991002843A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1990-08-28 JP JP2512416A patent/JP2900090B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1990-08-28 DE DE69018265T patent/DE69018265T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1990-08-28 ES ES90913355T patent/ES2073033T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-08-28 AU AU63367/90A patent/AU636389B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1990-08-28 AT AT90913355T patent/ATE120506T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1990-08-28 EP EP90913355A patent/EP0489100B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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