INTRODUCTION TO THE INVENTION
The invention relates to improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper for railway
track for zero load / zero restraint on rail. This invention also relates to an
improved rail fastening assembly comprising said liner.
The improved liner is used in fastening of rail in railway track on girder bridge
track on non-ballasted concrete bed, track on open deck bridge so that the rail
has zero restraint on longitudinal movement of rail due to thermal variations.
The sleepers used to constitute railway track can be of steel, structural steel
(e.g. steel channel sleepers, H-beam etc.) concrete or of wood.
The said fastening system, with minor modification, can be used to provide toe-
load on rail.
The improved fastening system by minor modification can also be used for
track circuiting.
Further the improved fastening system of the present invention can also be
used, by minor modification, to provide anti sabotage property to the fastening
system.
KNOWN ART;
Track on wooden sleepers;
For zero restraint on rail laid on wooden sleepers, the rail is held to wooden
sleepers on bridges by rail screws. There is nominal gap between the rail foot
and the head of rail screw or alternately the head of rail screw just touches the
rail foot so that the rail is free to move longitudinally.
Track on steel / structural steel sleepers;
For zero restraint on rail the known art of holding rail to the steel channel
sleeper on bridges consists in placing the rail on a steel bearing plate rigidly
fixed to the steel channel sleeper and rail in turn is fastened to the bearing plate
with a steel clip and bolt & nut arrangement.
Yet another way of holding rail to the steel channel sleeper on girder bridge
with zero restraint on rail is by way of rail fastening assembly deploying
'Special Liner' and the manner of its use as per Indian patent No. 200495 dated
03.06.1999 of the applicants.
Track on concrete sleepers;
The known art of holding rail to concrete sleepers for zero restraint on rail is
with steel cover-plate which has a lip part which over-rides the adjacent rail
foot with a gap between the insulator on rail foot and the lip. The cover-plate is
disposed over the cast-in-shoulder (insert) embedded in the sleeper. A special
Elastic clip is used to keep the cover-plate in position.
Yet another way of holding rail to concrete sleeper with zero restraint on rail is
by way of a rail fastening assembly deploying 'Special Liner' as per patent No.
200495 of the applicant wherein a housing / recess is formed on top surface of
either side of cast-in-shoulder for accommodating the curved portion of the
special liner.
DRAWBACKS OF KNOWN ART FOR ZERO LOAD / RESTRAINT ON RAIL
The known art of holding rail on wooden sleeper suffers from the drawback
that it is non-elastic and prizes up and gets loosened under traffic.
On steel channel sleeper, the arrangement of holding rail to sleeper with mild
steel clip and bolt-nut in real sense is not with the zero load on rail. Due to the
vibrations the bolts get loosened frequently and require repeated attention for
maintenance and safety of track. The system consists of large number of parts
taxing the inventory.
As regards system arrangement by way of use of 'Special Liner' of patent No.
200495 dated 03.06.1999 the section of the curved portions connecting the toe
resting and heel resting portions of the special liner at either end is to be within
certain limits for effective functioning.
With respect to its usage on in service pre-stressed concrete sleeper creation of
housing / recess into the sleeper surface technically is not warranted but
requires additional work on the sleeper and is also cumbersome. Further the
heel resting portion of the special liner during fitment may infringe with the
heel of the insert and therefore shall not bear uniformly on the sleeper top.
OBJECTS OF INVENTION
The object of this invention is the design of an improved version of special
liner which serves the same purpose as the special liner of patent No. 200495
dated 03.06.1999 and is devoid of the drawbacks of the special liner mentioned
above.
Another object of this invention is its usage with minor modification so as to exert load / restraint on
rail at the required locations on the same bridge or in any stretch of track as per requirement
Another object of the invention is its usage by minor modification for insulation in track without
sacrificing the primary function of providing zero restraint on rail
Yet another object of the invention is its usage by minor modification to achieve anti sabotage
property from the system without sacrificing primary function of the fastening system i e zero restraint
on rail.
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION.
According to this invention there is provided an improved metallic special liner for use in fastening rail
to sleeper comprising;
a) a heel resting portion.
b) a toe resting portion
c) the heel and toe resting portions joined at ends named herein as the front end and the
rear end, the front and having a curved segment, which can be trough-like (U shaped) or
arch-like (inverted U)
d) there being provided a recess in the middle, between the said heel resting portion, toe-
resting portion and the two end portions to adopt the shoulder, anchoring device for the
elastic rail dip in the assembled condition and
e) said toe- resting portion being adopted to over-ride the adjacent rail foot in the assembled
condition and
f) the heel resting portion optionally having a hollow underneath its top as required, the top
with hollow beneath it being supported at ends across the length of the shoulder in
assembled condition.
Further according to this invention there is also provided an improved rail fastening assembly with
zero restraint on rail for fastening rai to steel sleeper comprising.
a) a metallic canted bearing plate having a pair of inverted 'U shaped metallic shoulders
rigidly fixed at its top surface a dist ince apart as per requirement of rail,
b) a pair of improved metallic liners wherein the shoulder is adopted into recess in the
middle of liner and the toe resting portion of the liner is adopted to over-ride the adjacent
rail foot in the assembled condition.
c) a pair of elastic rail fastening dips each, in the assembled condition having one end
(central teg) driven into the U portion of the shoulder and disposed above the curved
segment at the near end of the said liner,
d) the heel portion of the dip bearing down on the heel-resting portion of the said liner,
e) the toe portion of the said dip pressing down on the toe-resting portion of the said liner
which is adopted to over nde the rail foot and the arrangement being such that there is a
gap between the rail foot and the toe resting portion of the liner and the rail foot
remaining free from restraint of the toe load of the dip
\ccording to this invention there is provided yet another fastening system with zero load/ zero
estraints on rail laid on concrete sleepers integrated with cast-in-shoulders/ inserts comprising -
(i) a pair of improved liners as herein desaibed wherein the shoulder is adopted in the
recess in its middle and the toe-resting portion of the liner is adopted to over-ride the
adjacent rail foot in the assembled condition.
(ii) a pair of elastic rail dips each In the assembled condition having central leg of the clip
driven into the eye of the shoulder and disposed below the curved segment of the said
liner
(iii) the heel portion of the said dip tsears on the heel resting portion of the said liner, and,
(iv) the toe portion of the said dip pressing down the doe-resting portion of the said liner
which is adopted to over-ride the rail foot; the arrangement being such that,there is a
gap lietween rail foot and the toe-resting portion of the liner and the rail foot remaining
free from load/ restraint due to toe-load of the said dip.
BRIEF STATEMENT OF DRAWINGS.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 illustrates txiefly half sedional view of the conventional manner of fastening of rail to wooden
sleepers.
Fig. 2 illustrates briefly half sedional view of the conventional manner of fastening a rail (o a steei
channel sleeper
Fig 3 illustrates briefly the manner of fastening of rail to steel channel sleeper
as per our invention more fully described in our patent No. 200495.
Fig 4 illustrates briefly the manner of fastening a rail to a concrete sleeper with
embedded inserts of FIG 7 as per art known from study of literature.
Fig 5 illustrates the recess/housing in the top surface of a concrete sleeper for
accommodating curved portion of special liner of FIG 6 as per our invention
more fully described in our patent No. 200495.
Fig 6 illustrates briefly the cross section of the special liner as per our patent
No. 200495.
Fig 7 illustrates briefly the cross-section of the conventional cast-in-shoulder
(insert) which is embedded in concrete sleeper as in FIG 5 constituting
shoulder in the assembly.
Fig 8 illustrates briefly a plan view of the improved special liner of this
invention.
Fig 9 illustrates a view from the direction of arrow 'A' in figure 8 where the
curved segment in the rear end of liner is U-shaped or trough like.
Figure 9A illustrates the view from the direction of arrow 'A' of figure 8 where
curved segment in the rear end of liner is arch shaped.
Fig 10 illustrates the isometric view of Fig 9 and Fig 8.
Fig 11 illustrates the isometric view of figures 9A and figure 8.
Figure 12 illustrates a fastening system using the improved liner of figure 10 or
figure 11 on canted bearing plate rigidly fixed to steel sleeper.
Figure 13 illustrates a fastening system on concrete sleeper / slab using the
improved liner of figure 11 with embedded cast-in-shoulder / insert of Fig 7
and seen in figure 5.
Figure 14 illustrates a modification to the heel resting portion of the said liner
viewed from the direction of arrow B in figure 9 or figure 9A for application
particularly on concrete sleeper with inserts of Fig 7 and as seen in Fig 5.
Figure 15 illustrates an insulating lining sheath supplemented at the interfaces
of the toe-resting portion of the said liner and the rail foot in assembled
condition.
Figure 16 shows briefly a plan view of plate component used in figure 17
Figure 17 shows a modification of the system shown in figure 12 and applied to
Fig 13 also wherein a component of Fig 16 is used between rail flange and the
toe-resting portion of the liner.
Figure 18 is a sectional view of heel resting portion of improved liner of Fig 10
or Fig 11 showing a ridge embodiment.
Figure 19 is the part assembled view using the ridge embodiment of figure 18;
and
Figure 20 is another modification of figure 10 or of Fig 11 of its bottom
surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS;
From figure 1 it will be clear that for zero restraint on rail laid on wooden
sleepers the rail 1 is held to the wooden sleeper 2 on bridges by rail screw 3.
From figure 2 it will be clear that for zero restraint on the rail the known art of
holding rail 1 to the steel channel sleeper 4 on bridges consists of a bearing
plate 4A mild steel clip 5 with lip 5A over-riding on rail foot and the steel clip
is fastened to steel channel sleeper 4 with bolt and nut unit 6 via bearing plate
rigidly fixed to the sleeper.
From Figure 3 it will be clear that the rail is fastened to the steel charmel
sleeper on girder bridges with zero restraint on rail by way of rail fastening
assembly using the special liner 7 which is one of embodiments of invention of
our patent No. 200495.
From Fig 4 it will be clear that for holding rail to concrete sleepers (8) for zero
restraint on rail there is a steel cover plate 9 which has a lip 9A which over-
rides the adjacent rail foot. The cover plate lies over the insert which is same as
of Fig 7 and is held in position with a clip engaged into the insert.
From Fig 5 it will be clear that a housing / recess 11 is formed in the sleeper 10
on its top 16 on either end of the cast-in-shoulder or the insert for
accommodating the curved portion 12 of the liner shown in figure 6 of which
the heel resting portion 13 should infringe with heel 14 of the insert Fig 7 while
seating on surface 16 of sleeper 10 to make assembly of our patent No. 200495.
In Fig. 7, (14) is the heel resting portion of the conventional insert, (15) is the hole/eye for anchoring
the rail dip in assembly condition and 14A is the stem portion which is embedded in the concrete of
the sleeper
One embodiment of invention is an improved spedal liner shown in figures 8 and 9. of which figure 10
is the isometric view
Another embodiment of invention of the improved special liner is shown in figures 8 and 9A of which
figure 11 is the isometric view.
In both illustrations, it will be dear that the liner has a heel resting portion 17 and a toe resting portion
18, having a front end 19 and rear end 20 and with recess 21 in the middle to adopt the shoulder
anchoring device (for the elastic rail dip) and the said toe resting portion to over-ride the adjacent rail
foot (26) in the assembled condition FIGS. 12, 13. The heel resting portion of the improved special
liner may or may knot have hollow 23. Fig 14 below its top seen as view B of Fig. 9 9A and the top
above the said hollow 23 is supported at ends (24). Fig 14 to bear on the sleeper top/or on the top of
bearing plate rigidly fixed to sleeper as the case be
Th6 rear end which is the driving end for the elastic rail dip, has curved segment 22 just in front of the
hole/eye of the shoulder and the front end may not have the curved segment The curved segment
(22) is a trough FIG. 9 so that the central leg of the dip passes above it FIG 12 and it is an arch like
(22A) FIG 9A so that the central leg of dip passes below the arch FIG 13 to hook into the hole/eye of
the sfxjulder. in assembled condition Fig. 12, 13 the arch to rest against tfie face of the shoulder
between the apex of hole/eye.
In the rail seat assembly FIG. 13, deploying the above improved spedal liner, FIG. 10 or FIG 11 and
in Fig. 13 deploying liner of Fig. 11, there is gap (25) between the bottom face of toe resting portion
(18) of the liner and the rail foot (26) thus relieving the rail from the toe load of the dip and the rail is
free from constraint.
Fig. 15 illustrates the mechanism of modification to said liners for track drcuifing where a lining (27)
made from insulating material is fixed / attached suitably with interface of the spedal liner with the rail
foot in assembled condition.
The improved liner is adopted to exert toe-load on rail by providing a filler steel component of FIG 16
to fill the gap (25) of FIG. 12 & of FIG 13. This filler plate is 1 to 2 mm more in thickness than the
gap (25). The usage of filler plate 26A is as seen in Fig 17 Yet 2nd embodiment of invention for
achieving load on rail is by way of use of improved spedal liner of FIG 10 or FIG 11 by minor
modification

FIG. 20 is the modification to the section of the improvised special liner of FIG. tO & FIG 11 with
respect fo its bottom surface The comer (30) at bottom of the liner directly under the heel resting
portion (17) has been rounded and the remaining surface (31) at the bottom is inclined upwards and
dimensions of the liner are so set that the lip (16) of the liner can rotate clockwise about (30) and can
touch the rail foot and its remaining bottom surface (31) does not touch the sleeper/ slab top or top of
bearing plate caring rail as the case be
The toe load of the clip is thereby transmitted to the rail foot through the tip (18) of the lined The
height of heel resting portion with respect to rail seat on sleeper /slab or bearing plate is set to
achieve the desired partial or full toe toad on rail
FIG. 18 is the longitudinal section a* the said improved special liner with ridge embodiment (28) on
the heel resfing portion (17) and located on the rear end of the liner The rail dip in its fitment
condition assumes position as shown in Fig 19
During application of the dip in assembly the heel of dip over steps the ridge (28) and then it fads
vertically down on lop surface. In cocnpletely driven condition, end face (29) of the heel of clip or a
bulge at the heel butts against the ridge (28) Unless the heel is lifted to the top level of the ridge, the
clip cannot be removed The lifting of heel of dip and its simultaneous removal is only possible by a
tool spedally meant for the purpose of removal (of the clip).
WE CLAIM;
1. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper comprising a heel resting
portion (18), a toe resting portion (17); said heel resting portion and said toe
resting portion being joined both at the front end (19) and the rear end (20);
said rear end being provided with a curved segment (22); said heel resting
portion (18) being provided with a recess portion at the middle and said toe
resting portion (17) being adapted with a shoulder anchoring device for elastic
rail clip in the assembled condition and said toe resting portion (17) being
designed to override the adjacent rail foot in the assembled condition.
2. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in claim 1 wherein
said liner is a metallic liner, preferably made of iron or steel.
3. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in claim 1 or claim
2 wherein shape of said front end (19) is selected from a trough like U or arch
like inverted U or a round hole.
4. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in claim 1 wherein
said heel resting portion (18) comprises a hollow underneath surface and a
predesigned top surface.
5. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in any one of
claims 1 to 4 wherein said liner is provided with a rear end which is also the
driving end for the elastic rail clip having a curved segment in front of the hole
of the shoulder of said elastic rail clip.
6. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in claim 5 wherein
the heel of said toe resting portion (17) is provided with a hollow portion, the
top of which is supported at ends disposed across at length of said shoulder in
assembled condition.
7. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in any of the
preceding claims wherein the curved segment of said liner comprises a U-
shaped trough to allow the central leg to pass over it in the assembled
condition.
8. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in any of the
claims 1 to 6 wherein said curved segment is arched shaped, preferably
inverted U-shaped so that the cenfral leg of said fastening clip passes under it in
the assembled condition.
9. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in claim 8 wherein
the bottom surface of said liner is horizontal.

10. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in any of claims 1
to 9 wherein said heel resting portion has a bottom surface which is plain and
inclined upward to match the slope of the rail flange and the bottom surface of
said toe resting portion is plain and horizontal.
11. An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper as claimed in any of claims 1
to 10 wherein the bottom surface of the heel resting portion has a straight and
inclined surface starting from the bottom end to the heel resting portion which
is rounded off.
12. An improved rail fastening assembly comprising-
a. a metal bearing plate (4A) having a pair of metallic shoulders (15A) both
rigidly attached to said bearing plate at a distance apart;
b. a pair of improved liners (27) wherein said toe resting portion is adapted to
override the adjacent rail foot (26) in the assembled condition and the curved
segment of the liners is adapted to be in the front of an eye (15) of the shoulder
which is the anchoring device for rail clip;
c. a pair of elastic rail clips each in the assembled condition having one end
constituting the central leg driven into the eye / hole of the shoulder and
disposed above the curved segment of the said liner (Fig 10)
d. the toe portion 'T' of the said clip pressing down on the toe-resting portion
of the said liner which is adopted to over-ride the rail foot, and the heel 'H' of
the clip bears on the heel-resting portion of the said liner (e), the arrangement
being such that there is a gap (25) between the rail foot (26) and the toe-resting
portion (18) of the liner and the rail remains free from the restraint due to toe-
load of clip which load in turn is transferred to the bearing plate (4 A) fixed to
sleeper (4).
13. A rail fastening assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the sleeper is
concrete sleeper (10) or slab integrated with insert (14) having eye / hole (15)
same as of Fig 5 for zero restraint on rail comprising
i. a pair of improved liners (27A) as claimed in 2 to 5 and 7 to 9
wherein the toe resting portion (18) of the liner is adopted to override
the adjacent rail foot (28) in the assembled condition while the arch
like curved segment of the liner is adopted to be in front of the eye
(15) in the insert;
ii. a pair of the elastic rail clips each in the assembled condition having
one end constituting the central leg driven into eye of the insert and
disposed below the curved segment of the said liner;
iii. the toe portion 'T' of the said clip pressing down on the toe-resting
portion of the liner which is adopted to over-ride the rail foot; and
the heel portion 'H' of the clip bears on the heel resting portion of
the said liner;
iv. the arrangement being such that there is a gap (25A) between the rail
foot and the toe-resting portion of the liner and the rail is thus
relieved of the restrained due to load of the clip; the load being
transmitted to the sleeper top.
14. An improved rail fastening assembly as claimed in Claims 12 and 13
wherein said toe-resting portion of the liner is modified by providing an
electrical insulating sheath (Fig. 15) on the interface with the rail to provide
insulation between rail and shoulder.
15. An improved rail fastening assembly as claimed in Claims 14 wherein if
desired to provide load on rail there is provided a filler steel or nylon plate 1 to
2 mm thicker than the gap to fill the gap between the rail surface and the over
ridding portion of the said liner (Fig. 17).
16. An improved rail fastening assembly as claimed in any of Claims 12 to 14
wherein the comer at the bottom surface of the liner, directly under the heel
resting portion is rounded off and the remaining surface at bottom is inclined
upwards such that the toe resting portion of the liner is adopted to rotate
clockwise about the said rounded comer and can touch the rail foot and the
load of the clip is transmitted on rail.
17. An improved rail fastening assembly as claimed in any of claims 12 to 16
wherein the liner is replaced by a modified liner provided with a ridge
embodiment (28) on heel resting portion (17) of the liner (Fig. 18) located on
the rear end of the liner and a suitable clip is used.
18. An improved rail fastening system arrangement / assemblies for fastening
rail to a sleeper substantially as herein described with reference to the
accompanying drawings and modifications as per claims 14 to 17 as per
requirement.

An improved liner for fastening rail to sleeper comprising a heel resting portion
(18), a toe resting portion (17); said heel resting portion and said toe resting
portion being joined both at the front end (19) and the rear end (20); said rear
end being provided with a curved segment (22); said heel resting portion (18)
being provided with a recess portion at the middle and said toe resting portion
(17) being adapted with a shoulder anchoring device for elastic rail clip in the
assembled condition and said toe resting portion (17) being designed to
override the adjacent rail foot in the assembled condition.