Re: Wodonga SG Sleeper Replacemant

["Stephen Devenish" <johnnyr@bigpond.com>]

To add a bit more to this thread, the trak lok are being installed along the
line with the push in studs.  These studs allow the existing double shoulder
plate to be converted to a resilient fastening base plate with out any
modification or even removal.  The trak Lok (or Rex Lok) and then installed
with a lock spike holding the plate in place on the sleeper.  I walked from
Tottenham in a down direction and noticed approx 10% of the clips had fallen
off or had not even been applied.  Now before everyone who knows I work for
another railway contractor starts saying that I suffering from sour grapes,
I'm not.  The problem is not the contractor but the clip and method of
fastening.  I talked to Pandrol who are one of the main suppliers in the
world for resilient fastenings and they told me about a few inside truths
with the oppositions fastens, sour grapes again? No, here is the story:

ARTC called for tenders to install resilient fastenings on the north east
line, the contract wanted the cheapest method of replacement, they also
wanted the supplier to install the fastenings.  I don't know why they would
ask this as it is not normal railway practice, obviously the price that ABB
put forward for this job was too high.  The project was part of the capital
works for ARTC and was included in the maintenance tender.  To cut along
story short, Pandrol decide not to tender for the work as the contract had
some real big penalties for failing to achieve effective fastening and the
ability to increase the axle loading and speed after application of the
resilient fastenings.  They also told me that the Trak lok have been found
to be ineffective in a number of countries when the push in shoulder is
used.  Past experience has been seen that when tamping is carried out the
Trak Lok love to spring off and head for the bush.  Well soon the line will
require tamping and I wouldn't like to be the one putting all the clips back
on.  Pandrol are hard enough to get on, let alone find the push in shoulder
and the clip then put the whole thing on.

Oh well time will tell, but one thing is true, for the last say 100 years
Victoria has been very strict on the fastenings used so as to minimise the
numbers of systems and tools required, now thanks to our new mates for SA we
have another fastening to contend with.


--
Stephen Devenish

Notagunzel <notagunzel@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
2jAk4.42$nM4.3078@nsw.nnrp.telstra.net">news:2jAk4.42$nM4.3078@nsw.nnrp.telstra.net...
> Freight_man <freight_man@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:86pger$r5p$1@news1.mpx.com.au...
>
> > Sleeper replacement ratio 1 in 5 , but Colemans, who have the
> > contract are also removing the dog spikes and another metal 'j' bracket,
> > that I forget its name. They are replacing them with a spring flat clip
> > which is placed over the  foot of the rail and secured through the top
> with
> > a short spike which locks under the foot of the rail. Some of these
clips
> > are not holding very well. Today on the Pilot I counted more than 60
clips
> > unattached between the Wodonga Creek and the Albury end points at the
Coal
> > siding.
> > I sure hope that it is faulty installation and not the clip itself.
> > Installation problems can be solved.
> > This clip has already been fitted between Albion and Broadford, although
> the
> > Pandrol clips were left where ever they were installed.
>
> Between the down end of Somerton Loop and the down? end of Broadford loop,
> there are pandrol clips, these went in at the same time as the 60kg rail
> (installed by Barclay Mowlem with IIRC One Nation cash)
>
> The TrackLok (sp?) fittings have been installed basically everywhere else
on
> the NE SG.  From my observation, there have been quite a few sleepers
where
> the dogs have been pulled out, but the TrackLok stuff hasn't been fitted,
> these missed sleepers are all fairly stuffed, so I expect they will remain
> that way until the next cyclic tie renewal gang sleazes thru.
>
> --
> Mr Notagunzel.
> Rail Transportation Connoisseur
> notagunzel@bigfoot.com
> (Regrets to announce there will be no further moves at
> http://www.geocities.com/nota_gunzel
> until further notice is issued from this office)
>
>