Re: Why Wooden Sleepers are better. Was [NSW] CityRail Delays Friday

[matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au (Matthew Geier)]

In article <38E1A0B6.D62FF2F@fastlink.com.au>,
The Railway Rasputin II  <bob@fastlink.com.au> wrote:
>The main south has some steel sleepers and we were all amazed when we
>saw them. A close look revealed a rubber "biscut" acting as insulation
>for the track circut.
>
>I have often thought of different ways of making sleepers whilst trying
>to control the jack hammer when I was packing.
>The steel sleepers look roughly    __I___________I__      
>				  /                 \ (cross section)
>
>My thought was to have a bottom welded to the sleeper or similar 
>and hollow inside.  		   __I___________I__
>				  /_________________\

 The bottom plate would take too much stress, and if it didn't bend or
outright break the first time a train ran over it, the stress it would
be under would make it corrode far faster.
 What you need is a SOLID steel sleeper. Probably weigh in more than
concrete :-) Actually solid steel would be no good either - it would tend
to bend. you need the U cross sections for strength.