Railroad spur detail 1

[rlewistx]

I have an industrial facility that will have a railroad spur come into the building. The rail will be integral with the slab on ground, ie. slab butts up to rails, fork traffic over rails, etc. Are there details someone can share with me that shows how the rails and the slab on ground inter-relate, perhaps sub base detaisl, etc. I you don't have this, are you aware of any publications discussing this?

Thanks.

 

[whyun]

http://www.arema.org/eseries/scriptcontent/custom/e_arema/practical_guide.html

This publication is one I can think of that may contain suggested design methods for approach slabs.

 

[rlewistx]

Thank you for the information. I had looked at some of the sample chapters in the book earlier today. They didn't mention anything like I was looking for. Do you have a copy of the book? If so, can you tell me the section number that address this? I want to look it up in the table of contents.

 

[whyun]

I do not have a copy of the manual. I came across the reference when I was involved with a train maintenance facility a while ago.

AREMA has a publications section you may browse.

Internet seems to have more information on bridge approach slabs, but not many hits on train approach into the building.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Coal fired electric generating stations often face this situation with rail car unloaders - track (on a typical rail bed) suddenly crosses a reinforced concrete structure with deep (settlement-resistant) foundations. I have been involved in the design, construction, maintenance & updating of several of these structures. Surprisingly, this transition from soil to concrete is not a problem. The tracks just run onto the concrete structure with no with special rail joints or other consideration. The reason for this success has to do with two factors:

1. The trains are moving a very slow speeds (assume that this would apply in your application, also). As differential settlement occurs over time, it is very easy to detect that a problem is developing without increased danger of a "train wreck".

2. The "lifting" of tracks/ballast (on the traditional railroad bed) to correct vertical alignment is routine for the railroad maintenance crews.

The key to the success of this approach at an industrial facility is to have a responsible maintenance superintendent, who is aware of what to look for. Electric generating stations have such individuals - the coal handling system is of vital importance (no coal - no electricity).

Since railway lines need routine inspection & maintenance for numerous other reasons, suggest that the "Keep It Simple" principle is worth consideration.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

 

[rlewistx]

When you say "deep settlement-resistant foundations", would you be implying that the track structure should probably be supported in a pile foundation, almost like building a tressle bridge hidden below the surrounding slab?

Thanks for your insight!

 

[SlideRuleEra]

rlewistx - Sorry for not fully explaining. A rail car coal unloader is a large reinforced concrete pit in the ground, about 40 to 60 feet deep, with what amounts to a ground level railway bridge crossing the pit. The loaded coal cars are pulled over the pit and dumped by either turning railcars upside-down, one at a time, or by shaking the (upright) cars so that the coal falls out the bottom. Conveyor belts remove the coal from the bottom of the pit thru upward sloping tunnels to the ground surface. In our area (eastern South Carolina) this means that the bottom slab of the pit is sitting directly on rock - therefore, for practical purposes neither the pit, nor the tracks that cross it settle.

However the railway lines leading both to and from the pit are on "everyday" railroad bed and ballast - all the way right up to the edge of the concrete pit walls. Of course this means that this approach track & its bedding can (and do) settle. This is the type transition that I assume you are asking about. If so, in my experience, the differential settlement between the soil supported track and the concrete pit supported track is not a problem, for the reasons discussed above.

Hope this helps,
Best Wishes

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

 

[rlewistx]

Thanks for the clarification.

My condition will be a slab on ground with fork traffic loading rail cars with plywood type sheathing. The slab will be built around the rails. The construction would probably be simialr to a roadway rail crossing with a concrete approach slab.

 

[boffintech]

You may want to check with these guys:

Skeen Railroad Engineering
345 Parkway 575 Woodstock GA
770 928-9115