|
SLEEPERS 1065mm GAUGE SPECIAL
CONCRETE SLEEPERS1435mm GAUGE CONCRETE
SLEEPERS1065mm GAUGE TURNOUT
SLEEPERS1435mm GAUGE TURNOUT
SLEEPERSRAIL FASTENING SYSTEMASSOCIATED RAILWAY
PRODUCTS
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Early development |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958: | South African Railways (SAR) awards Grinaker trial orders for concrete sleepers. All 30 000 of the Vagneaux sleepers produced for SAR are accepted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1959: | Grinaker secures its first major contract for 550 000 of the one million concrete sleepers required by SAR. The sleepers are supplied from Grinaker’s new Brakpan factory. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962: | Grinaker obtains licenses to produce the Swiss Thosti-BBRV prestressed monoblock sleeper and starts converting its production from twin-block to monoblock sleepers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966: | Grinaker pioneers the use of concrete sleepers in mining, with the design of a sleeper for 610mm gauge and 5 ton axle loads. (Currently the range includes more than 25 sleeper types for different gauges, axle loads and rail sizes.) |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968: | Grinaker’s first international project. It involves the construction of a factory in Malawi to manufacture 160 000 sleepers for the Lilongwe-Blantyre-Nacala rail link. Further international activity sees the spread of licensees in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Seventies |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970: | Grinaker’s second South African factory is established in Durban, initially to manufacture siding and main-line railway sleepers. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973: | Over a period of two years 1.7 million heavy-haul sleepers are produced in a specially built factory at Saldanha Bay
for the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975: | Grinaker’s third factory is established in Virginia to service mines on the Free State gold fields. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Eighties |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981: | A sleeper factory is built in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, and is contracted to produce 1.68 million sleepers over a five year period for the Richards Bay coal line. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983: | A sleeper factory is established at De Aar to service railway requirements for the western sector of the country. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984: | Grinaker acquires Durabon, which in addition to factories in Nigel and New Germany, comes with substantial precast concrete capabilities. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988: | Grinaker acquires Candac Precast’s Westonaria factory where concrete sleepers for 1:20 and 1:12 turnouts, and stacker reclaimer sleepers for the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, are developed. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nineties |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991: | Development and supply concrete electrification masts for use on Transnet’s overhead track equipment (OHTE). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995: | Development and supply of prestressed concrete retaining wall elements for the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998: | Development and supply of Durasafe to Metrorail. Supply and commission a sleeper plant for Murray & Roberts to produce 150 000 sleepers in Zimbabwe for the new Bulawayo to Beit Bridge railway line. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999: | Development of low-profile and signal sleepers for Transnet. | ||||||||||||||||||||
New Millennium |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000: | Development of a rail transition beam for Transnet. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001: | Kimberley-De Aar line electrified using INFRASET electrification masts. INFRASET establishes sleeper factories in Tsumeb, Namibia and in Kafue, Zambia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002: | INFRASET secures the first contract to replace the timber sleepers on 80 Turnouts using the Universal Concrete Sleeper and dowel system. Development of the CMA (Concrete Manufacturers Association) award-winning 1:7 Double Slip for Metrorail Services. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003: | Development of flat sleeper (no rail seat inclination). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004: | Development of a new check-rail sleeper for Transnet. Turnout timber sleepers replaced by Universal Concrete Sleepers using the newly developed Infrabolt Fastening System. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005: | INFRASET assists Herso SA of Argentina in establishing a sleeper factory in Buenos Aires to produce sleepers under licence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006: | Concrete Manufacturers Association award for Universal-Infrabolt Fastening System. Development of a new generation level crossing. Development of the 1:9 60E1 Tangential Concrete Turnout Sleepers. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007: | INFRASET wins the Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction as well as the Fulton Award for the Universal-Infrabolt
Fastening System. INFRASET is awarded the contract for the supply of the first 1 435mm gauge concrete open line sleepers and Turnout Sleepers to be used on the new high speed passenger line between Johannesburg and Pretoria. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008: | Development of the 1:12 60E1 Tangential Concrete Turnout Sleeper. INFRASET supplied the first low vibration track (LVT) blocks for use in the tunnels and viaducts on the high-speed passenger line between Johannesburg and Pretoria. |
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Concrete sleepers Concrete sleepers, the preferred choice both locally and internationally, have been used in South Africa for more than 50 years. With close ties to Abetong Teknik and Walter Bau over many years, INFRASET has been at the forefront of sleeper development. Concrete sleepers maintain their geometry regardless of the conditions in which they are placed – ensuring constant rail gauge and rail seat inclinations. Their weight, end-face design and large soffit area, ensure maximum ballast contact, reduced ballast pressure and excellent track stability. High-strength prestressed concrete The use of prestressed 60MPa concrete ensures that sleepers are able to withstand variable loading conditions. Moreover, small cracks which can appear through accidental damage close automatically, preventing the degradation of the reinforcing steel and any damage to the integrity of the sleepers. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Design INFRASET designs and supplies various types of prestressed concrete sleepers for main-lines and sidings. These support axle loads of 18.5 tons on sidings, 22.5 tons on main-lines and 30 tons on heavy-haulage lines. Some of the sleepers supplied by INFRASET are listed below: • Siding sleepers for light traffic conditions, low annual tonnages and speeds • Main-line sleepers for goods and passenger trains • Sleepers for heavy haulage conditions experienced on Iron Ore and coal export lines • Specialised sleepers for new turnouts ranging from 1:9, 1:12 and 1:20 • Universal Turnout sleepers which replace timber sleepers on existing turnouts • Sleepers for 1:7 double slips • Low-Profile sleepers used in areas with height restrictions such as tunnels and platforms • Transition Beam sleepers • Signal sleepers • Wing sleepers used in areas where increased lateral track stability is required • Checkrail sleepers • Stacker reclaimer sleepers. Apart from the axle loadings, there are many other factors which influence the satisfactory design of a sleeper and sleeper performance can be influenced by the following criteria: • Maximum train speed • Nominal track gauge • Maximum axle load • Minimum distance between wheels • Sleeper spacing • Rail type and rail condition • Quality and depth of ballast • Quality of formation • Minimum track radius • Maximum gradient • Signalled or non-signalled track (insulation) • Climatic extremes and exposure to coastal areas • Nominal cant of rails • Fastening to be used • Annual gross tonnage • Maintenance programme • Height clearance from top-of-rail to overhead power conductor • Minimum length and limits of cross-sectional dimensions of sleeper • Positive and negative rail seat moments • Positive and negative sleeper centre moments • Minimum rail seat fastening clamping force • Acceptable types of rail seat pads and attenuation requirements • Acceptable curing methods and additives • Rolling stock condition. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Research Its close association with Abetong Teknik of Sweden and Walter Bau of Germany enables INFRASET to remain at the forefront of prestressed concrete sleeper technology. These internationally recognised sources of technology represent more than 50 years of manufacturing experience and a commitment to quality, and guarantee sleepers which meet all the customers’ requirements. Technology is not only applicable to sleepers but also extends to advanced railway sleeper production systems and equipment. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Quality INFRASET’s concrete-sleeper factories are all SABS ISO 9001-2000 accredited and use aggregates which are alkali inert. Concrete sleepers are produced to strict production procedures, which ensure a quality product capable of many years service. All raw materials are sampled and tested according to prescribed sampling plans and procedures and cement supplies are accompanied with detailed test reports from the supplier. During the manufacturing process, pretensioning of the wire reinforcement, concrete consistency and workability, the positioning of cast-in components and reinforcement are all closely controlled. Close attention and monitoring of the heat curing process ensures adequate concrete strength for prestress transfer. The critical concrete sleeper dimensions are checked according to a sampling plan. The checked dimensions include rail-seat cant, rail-seat relative twist, cast-in component height, rail-seat flatness, overall distance between outer shoulders and rail seats, and wire reinforcement positions. One sleeper out of every 600 produced is randomly selected and then tested to ultimate loading. The crack load must be greater than the design crack load for the batch to be accepted. One sleeper from each production line is also tested daily to ensure that the minimum design criteria are met. These tests are carried out for rail seat positive moments as well as for centre negative and positive moments. All equipment used to measure or test is checked and calibrated at given periods in compliance with the measuring and testing equipment register. These checks and calibrations are traceable to an accredited calibration agency. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Handling Shape, weight and size are the factors which determine how prestressed concrete railway sleepers are handled and care is taken to ensure safety, avoid damage and promote optimal life spans during handling. Factory stacking areas comprise flat stable ground with correctly spaced and levelled plinths. This ensures that undue stress on sleeper stacks is avoided and prevents damage prior to despatch. Moreover, correctly sized stacking timber prevents direct contact between sleepers and allows loading equipment adequate access between layers. Loading and transport INFRASET factories have private sidings, ideal for loading rail wagons as well as road trucks. Its factories are equipped with highcapacity overhead cranes in addition to single and multiple sleeper-handling devices which ensure high loading rates. Loading is undertaken by qualified staff and stacking timber is provided so that customers can stack the sleepers on site, prior to installation. Care must be taken on site to use the correct handling equipment for off loading and sleepers should be stacked in a similar manner to that used at factories. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
