The spike commonly used to fix the rails on wooden sleepers is :

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Question

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JKSSB JE Civil Jal Shakti 5 Dec 2022 Official Paper (Shift 1)

Answer 1

Explanation :

Types of spikes in railway:

Railway spikes are an important part of railway fasteners. Railroad spikes are used to fix steel to sleepers, or to fix steel rails and rail tie plates together.
Rail spikes are widely used in railway construction and maintenance, and the price is cheap. Although it is a small accessory in the railway system, its role cannot be ignored.

Generally, track spikes are divided into four types: Rail Dog Spikes, Screw Spikes, Fang Bolts, and Spring spikes.

1. Rail dog spike

Rail dog spike is also called cut spike. They are usually designed to have large nails with offset heads. Their main function is to fix the railway track and rail tie plate on the wooden sleepers. Dog spikes are mainly used for light rails

2. Screw Spikes

Screw Spikes have the same function as dogs, which is to fix the rails on the sleepers. Compared with dog spikes, Screw Spikes have threads.
Therefore, it has a stronger fixing ability and is often used in combination with spring washers. Screw Spikes are more expensive than dog spikes, and the production process is more complicated.
It is generally used for heavy rails or turnouts with high track gauge requirements. Screw Spikes can also be used with railway dowels embedded in concrete sleepers. Screw Spikes are indispensable for fixing bolts on modern cement sleeper railway lines.

3. Railway Fang Bolts

These are also called track bolts. They are usually inserted into the holes of the sleepers. They are designed with a fan-shaped nut, which can then grasp the lower surface of the sleeper, thus ensuring that there is no room for movement of the entire assembly.
This design means that the anti-loosening bolts are more resistant to movement on the railway, which is a major problem considering that most trains weigh several tons. They are more reliable than screw spikes and dog spikes, so they are usually used in weaker positions (such as switch tie plates).
They are also commonly used to fix guide rails during sharp turns.

4. Spring Spike

The spring spike is made of round or square spring steel with many patterns. The clamping part has a certain elastic deformation, which greatly reduces the vibration of the guide rail, so it is called a spring spike.
When the sleeper is deformed under stress, it can still maintain sufficient clamping force on the fasteners, and its tensile and thrust resistance are higher than ordinary ones.