Metal Sleepers

Metal sleepers use widely in the modern construction of railway tracks. The Metal sleepers are of cast iron and steel. In these various types of Metal sleepers, the sleeper which is economic uses in the construction of railway tracks.

Cast iron is widely engaging than steel because of its less tendency to corrosion. Metal sleepers use widely because of the shortage of wooden sleepers and its long life properties.

Types of Metal Sleepers

There are many Types of Metal Sleepers using in the construction of railway rail tracks. The following types are as follows,

Cast iron Sleepers and

Steel Sleepers

Cast iron Sleepers

The Cast iron sleepers are using widely in the construction of railway rail tracks. Cast iron are of many types as follows,

• Bowl or Pot sleepers
• Plate sleepers
• Box sleepers
• C.S.T-9 sleepers
• Rail Free Duplex  sleepers.

The main reason to use metal sleepers replacing wooden sleepers are because of growing scarcity of wooden sleepers.

Steel Sleepers

The following types of  Steel Sleepers are as follows,

• Key Type
• Clip-Bolt Type
• Spring Type

Requirements of Metal sleepers

• Metal Sleeper should bears the compression and tensile stress acting on it.
• It should be of low manufacturing cost and low maintenance.
• It should provide proper grip on the rail track
• And provide ballast to prevent dislocation of track due to vibrations and shocks cause by heavy loads.
• Sleepers must be economical.
• t should be easier to handle during the maintenance operations like lifting, packing, removal, and replacement.
• The weight of sleepers should not be too heavy or too light.
• It should have a moderate weight for ease of access.
•  And capable to resist shocks of rails because of a fast-moving load with vibration.
• It should have a proper spacing between two sleepers for ease of maintenance for removal and replacement.
• Sleeper to design in a way that they should not push out easily due to moving loads.
• A sleeper to provide with anti-theft qualities.