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How is the loading of rails effected and which means of transport can be employed?

» Loading is effected by magnets or, in special cases, with tongs.
Transport can be done, in accordance to the rails length, by train, lorry or ship.

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How are 120 metre rails loaded and transported?

» Using two cranes coupled together, up to 45 x 60E1 rails or 54 x 54E/41 are loaded in three layers with a total weight of up to 350t on an assembly of 8 SAMMS wagons

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What is the address for collecting material and what are the loading times at TSTG?

» The collection address for trucks is:

TSTG Schienen Technik GmbH & Co. KG, Werk Bruckhausen
LKW-Abfertigungstor der Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG
Hoffsche Str. / Tor 6
47139 Duisburg Beeckerwerth

Tel: 0203-52-40643

Loading times:

There are different loading times for each loading zone. It is thus advisable to contact the sales logistics department in good time after receiving the advice of production.
See contacts for maps and loading zones.

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Why is the rail web so narrow?

» For the purposes of reduction of weight, the profile of the rail was limited to the minimum necessary to carry a train.

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Why are there so many different steelgrades in track and what are they?

» According to the European rail standards the steel grades are named after their hardness, measured in Brinell [HB], the perlitic standard steel grades are R200, R220 and R260. For tracks with higher axle loads or curves steel grades with up to 370HB are developed and used. Also bainitic steel grades with up to 430HB are newly developed.
On the basis of the normal perlitic steel grades, special head hardened steel grades are produced with a special temperature treatment to achieve a higher hardness in the head and a very fine perlitic structure but also normal hardness and structure in the web and the foot.
Steel grades with higher hardness are used in tracks where wear is a problem, the standard grades are used in normal tracks. Grade R200 and R220 are normaly used in tracks of urban transport lines, specially with grooved rails. These steel grades have a lower carbon content , so that their hardness is lower. That allows the welding of the running surface.

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Where are the rails delivered to?

» Our customers include national and international railway companies, transport services, private railways, manufacturers of switches and crossings, construction companies, traders. 

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Where does the word 'Vignol' come from?

» In 1836, Charles Vignoles (GB) brought flange rails from America to England. These rails soon pushed all other existing rails from the market and today still remains the leading section.

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What happens to temperature expansion with seamlessly welded rails?

» Here only the fastening from sleeper to sleeper need be considered. The sleeper attachments have the function of fixed bearings which prevent the rails moving. In addition the tracks are fastened at a mean temperature, the so-called distortion temperature. This temperature lies between the maximum and minimum occuring temperature to which the track is subjected. Thus the strongest temperature fluctuations are minimised.

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What does the stamping on the rail mean?

» Rolling stampings in the web of the rail give information as to manufacturer, the year in which it was rolled, the profile and the rail grade. If required by the customer, customer-specific information can also be shown.

TSTG 09 60E2 =_¯¯ 
Producer: TSTG Schienen Technik GmbH, Duisburg 
Year of production: 2009  
Section: 60E2 (Vignol rail with a weight approx.. 60 kg/m according to European Standard EN 13674-1) 
Steel grade: R260 [HB] (900 N/mm² tensile strength)

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Why are there so many different types of rail?

» In the structure of a rail we distinguish between and flange rails as well as tongue rails, full rails and grooved rails. Flat bottom rails/flange rails are the traditional symetric rails, tongue and full rails are required for the manufacture of crossings and switches (these include the so-called guide rail structure) and grooved rails are employed in mixed traffic (rail traffic and individual trafic) e.g. tramways, port areas, railway crossings. 

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In which lengths can the rails be supplied?

» Depending on the , rails can be supplied in rolled lengths up to from 3 – 120 metres. In the welded variants, lengths up to 360 metres are supplied to the Deutsche Bahn AG

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How long do rails last?

» This is strongly dependent on the area of application. In normal service, i.e. in passenger and goods traffic, one can expect a lifetime of ca. 35 years with good maintenance. However, in some cases rails must be replaced with much shorter service lives if their wear tolerance has been reached. This occurs mainly on lines with large inclines and heavy loads.

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How is rail bending carried out? 

» In a bent condition, we supply mainly rails for local traffic to be installed in small radii ex works. Rails for long distance tracks are supplied in straight lengths and installed in the respective radii on site. As the radii on long distance tracks are as a rule greater than 300m, pre-bending in the sense of plastic deformation is not necessary. For local transport, rails in as rolled and head hardened condition are bent on a roll bending facility to any required radius ready for installation.

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Which welding applications are employed today?

» Rails are welded together by aluminothermic welding, flash-butt welding or even welding with electrodes. Manual welding with electrodes is used for repairs.

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Do buckles and bends resulting from rolling have any effect on the final straightness?

» No, buckles and bends resulting from the rolling process have no effect on the final straightness as after cooling, the rails are passed through roller straighteners at temperatures below 50°C. This procedure guarantees the straightness of the rails.

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What happens to rails with surface defects?

» Rails with surface defects are recognised  by automatic and manuel inspection. They are then, depending on the type of defect, either processed e.g. through grinding, or shortened to remove the defect part.

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