The shoulder is cast in the concrete sleeper and is used to fix the spring clips and rails. According to different production processes, the shoulder can be divided into cast shoulder and welded shoulder. Both shoulders have the function of fixing the spring clips and protecting the spring clips from being stolen. As a professional rail fastener manufacturer and supplier, Gnee Rail provides high-quality shoulders that meet various standards.
The cast shoulder is an embedded part of the rail fastening system, pressed into the concrete sleeper and assembled with the E-type fastener to fix the rail. The raw material we use to produce the cast shoulder is cast iron, such as GB/T 1348-1988, NF EN 1563(1997), ISO1038, DIN 1693, JIS G5502 (2001), KS D 4302, GOST 7293(1985) or BS EN 1563(1997). The mechanical properties and chemical composition of the rail cast iron shoulder are shown below:
| Product | Rail shoulder | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Application | UIC54 | UIC60 | 115RE, ,50kg rail, 60kg rail,BS80lbs, BS100lbs, ect. |
| Material | |||
| Name | QT500-7 | QT450-10 | QT400-15 |
| Standard | GB 1348-88 | GB 1348-88 | GB 1348-89 |
| Chemical composition(%) | C:3.60-3.80 | C:3.40-3.90 | C:3.50-3.60 |
| C:3.60-3.80 | Mn:0.2-0.5 | Mn:≤0.5 | |
| Si:2.50-2.90 | Si:2.70-3.00 | Si:3.0-3.2 | |
| P:≤0.08 | P:≤0.07 | P:≤0.07 | |
| S:≤0.025 | S:≤0.03 | S:≤0.02 | |
| Tensile Strength | ≥500 Mpa | ≥450 Mpa | ≥400 Mpa |
| Yield Strength | ≥320 Mpa | ≥310 Mpa | ≥250 Mpa |
| Elongation(%) | ≥7 | ≥10 | ≥15 |
| Hardness | 170~230HB | 160~210HB | 130~180HB |
| Metallographic organization | ferrite + pearlite | graphite + ferrite + pearlite | ferrite |
| Surface | plain (oiled) | ||
When using E-type resilient rail clamps to secure rails, welded fixings on the rail shoulders make it possible to fabricate rail fixtures on rail sleepers and steel base plates.
While cast rail shoulders are usually embedded in concrete sleepers, they can also be welded to longer rail sleeper sections or load-bearing beams for turnout and crossing layouts with vertical track geometry.
The ability of rail shoulders to be welded in specific locations is determined by the layout design, making rail shoulders very useful and cost-effective.
Rail shoulder accessories for specific track sections should be used according to design criteria to achieve the correct resilient clamp toe load. And some rail shoulders are provided with milled weld area faces for better weld integrity.
