Catch rail

Catch rails on a truss bridge with the roadway below

Fang rails , also Beischienen , guide rails , forced rails , guard rails or derailment protection , fachsprachlich guides , commonly anxiety rails are, the sections of the metal profiles within the rails extend a track. After a derailment , they should stop the wheels of the derailed vehicle and guide it so that it does not swerve sideways from the track.

Catch and guide rails

Truss bridge with fixed track rails (near Tarragona, Spain)

Guided tours are necessary if there are components close to the track that can be damaged or destroyed by derailed vehicles. This can e.g. B. be load-bearing elements of bridges or platform halls, for example in truss and tied arch bridges with an underlying carriageway. They are also required for old deck bridges, the components of which are not sufficiently stable for derailed wheel sets or which are not sufficiently wide.

In the past, separate edge profiles were used as safety rails, today the same profiles are used for guides as for travel rails. In the case of modifications, the removed running rails are often used as catch rails. The distance between runways and catch rails in the section to be secured is usually 180 millimeters. At the beginning and at the end of a safety rail section, the rails are brought together as inlets in the middle of the track. If installation in the track is not possible for reasons of space, for example in points, the guides are arranged outside in a comparable manner.

In the past, which can still be seen in many places in the Spanish broad gauge network today, catch rails with significantly smaller groove widths were installed. Complemented by run-on plates and curved inlets, they act as track rails that guide the derailed wheel sets back onto the track. Their use can prevent consequential damage better, but the subsequent identification of a vehicle that has re-entered and automatically re-entered in order to subject it to the necessary investigation may be difficult or even impossible. In mining operations with poor track conditions due to the system, single rails are still common.

Guardrails

Guardrail on the inner rail of an arch

Guard rails are used to guide the wheel sets in tight arcs. For this purpose, they are installed in the focal area of switches and crossings parallel to the inner rail at a distance of 50 to 60 mm, comparable to wheel guides. You thereby reduce the forces acting on the outer rail and thus reduce its wear and tear. The disadvantage is the increasing running resistance due to the rear surface guidance.

Protective rails

Guard rails are used to stiffen the track frame and, if necessary, to protect against derailments. For this purpose, they are arranged parallel to the running rails at a distance of about 80 mm.

literature

Joachim Fiedler: Railways. Planning, construction and operation of railways, S, U, light rail and trams. 5th edition. Werner Verlag / Wolters Kluwer Germany, Munich / Unterschleißheim 2005, ISBN 3-8041-1612-4 , pp. 106f.
Volker Matthews: Railway construction . 8th edition. Vieweg + Teubner , Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-8348-1291-9 .

Web links

Commons : Safety rails on bridges - Collection of images

Commons : Guardrails - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

^ Rolf H. Pfeifer, Tristan M. Mölter: Handbuch Eisenbahnbrücken . DVV Media Group, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7771-0378-5 , p. 272.
^ ^A ^b Volker Matthews: Bahnbau . 8th edition. Vieweg + Teubner , Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-8348-1291-9 , chap. 11.8 Special forms of the superstructure.

[1] Rolf H. Pfeifer, Tristan M. Mölter: Handbuch Eisenbahnbrücken . DVV Media Group, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7771-0378-5 , p. 272.

[Matthews-2] A ^b Volker Matthews: Bahnbau . 8th edition. Vieweg + Teubner , Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-8348-1291-9 , chap. 11.8 Special forms of the superstructure.