What types of welding are used for rails?

18-07-2019

Principally two types of welding are used for rails. One is Flash Butt Welding, and the other is Alumino-Thermic Welding, also known as Thermit(e) welding. A third kind of welding, known as Gas Pressure welding, is used much less often, and a fourth kind, Metal Arc Welding, is very rarely used. In Flash Butt Welding, a strong electric current is passed through the metal body of the rail in the vicinity of the spot which is to be welded, and the resistance of the rail to the current results in localized heating which melts the metal. No additional material is added, and the parent metal of the rails itself forms the material of the weld. About 25mm to 35mm of the rail length is consumed in

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What indications do signals show and what do they mean?
June 21, 2019

The most common indications shown by various signals are the following: Stop This requires a train to stop dead and not pass the signal except under special instructions or emergency procedures. (Stop signals may be passed after halting and waiting in automatic block territory – usually 1 min. during the day & 2 min. during the night.) This

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What are the systems of colour-light signalling used by IR?
June 21, 2019

There are three systems of colour-light signalling in use. (In IR terminology, the term Multiple-Aspect Colour-Light signalling includes both 3- and 4-aspect signalling, and 2-aspect signalling is usually treated as a variant of 2-aspect semaphore signalling. Hence the classification below is not the same as IR's.) Two-aspect colour-light

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What are drooping signals?
June 21, 2019

In single-wire transmission, heat causes the transmission wire to stretch or shrink, and this can result in an incorrect indication of the signal aspect. For instance, the most restrictive aspect may end up being below the horizontal in upper-quadrant signalling on a hot day - this is termed a drooping signal when the angle is more than 5 degrees.

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Why are multiple aspect signalling systems used? What was wrong with the older systems which had two aspects?
June 21, 2019

Multiple aspect signals, by providing several intermediate speed stages between 'clear' and 'on', allow high-speed trains sufficient time to brake safely if required. This becomes very important as train speeds rise. Without multiple-aspect signals, the stop signals have to be placed very far apart to allow sufficient braking distance, and this

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Where are railcars or railbuses operated?
June 21, 2019

Historically, many sections have seen railcar or railbus service in India. There have been several imported models used, and also homegrown versions which are often literally buses or truck bodies placed on rails. In recent years, many sections have seen the introduction of railbus or railcar services. This recent program of adding railbus or

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WRs’ Mumbai area EMU numbering and classification
June 21, 2019

WR EMUs are numbered differently, identified by 3-digit numbers identifying the rake and a letter (e.g., 'C') added to distinguish the individual coach in the EMU rake. (Contrast this with CR's use of '72', '70', '76' prefixes.) 'A' : Trailer coach, 'B' : Motor coach, 'C' : Driving trailer coach Hence a 3-coach formation could be something like

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