Rail shoulder is cast in the concrete rail ties to fix the elastic rail clips. There are two types of rail shoulders available, the cast-in shoulder and the weld-on shoulder, both of which are used for the fixing of elastic rail clips.

Cast-in rail shoulder

The casting shoulders as the embedded part of the rail way fastening system are pressed in concrete sleeper and work together with the E clip to fasten the rail. The cast in shoulder is made by casting from 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).

Weld-on shoulder

The weld-on shoulder is used at the typical position of rail where the rail shoulder is weld on flat steel plate rather than the standard tie plate. The weld-on shoulder is produced by hot forging, according to AREA standard. The materials for weld-on shoulders production can be low or mid carbon steel, based on the customer’s requirements.

The above rail shoulder design is available for almost all rail sizes, with material made from low carbon steel.

Good to know

1. The weld on shoulder fastening makes the fabrication of rail retaining units on both steel sleepers and steel base plates possible when the E style of elastic rail clips are used for the fasting of the rail.

2. Even though the rail cast in shoulder are usually pressed in the concrete sleeper, it also can be welded on to longer length steel sleeper sections or bearers for use in the fabrication of switch and crossing layouts where vertical rail geometry is employed.

3. The welding ability of rail shoulders in particular position which is dictated by layout design makes rail shoulders much useful and cost effective.

4. Rail shoulder accessories used for specific rail sections should be adopted according to design criteria in order to achieve the correct elastic clip toe loading . And certain rail shoulders with milled weld area faces are provided to achieve a better weld integrity.