Timber (wooden) sleeper, it is a kind of wooden sleeper. For the railway system, the railroad timber sleepers are an infrastructure. It is a support for the steel rails.
In general, the timber sleepers lay on the ballasts, and the steel rails are fixed on these railway timber sleepers so that ensuring the safety of the train. On the other hands, the timber sleepers hold the steel tracks at the right position and keep them in a correct gauge. What’s more, the railway sleepers could reduce the vibration of the rails to some degree.
Characteristics of Timber (wooden) sleeper
Wooden sleepers are the first one used in railway and still being used now.
Advantage of Timber (wooden) sleeper
With good elasticity and insulation, they're lightweight and easy to connect with rails, convenient for transportation, laying and maintenance.
Disadvantage of Timber (wooden) sleeper
Wooden sleepers are vulnerable to mechanical damage with the feature of non-refractory and non-corrosive. They have a short service life but with high costs.
Chinese national standard for Wooden sleeper
In China, normal wooden sleepers that can be used for standard railroad are Type I and Type II. The end of Type I sleeper is a rectangle with the length of 2500mm, the width of 220mm and the height of 160mm.Other types of wooden sleepers can be designed according to the needs.
Its short service life is mainly because of corrosion, mechanical damage and cracking. In order to extend its service time, China’s railway institute requests the wooden sleeper need to be treated with anticorrosive processing.
Standard for the failure of wooden sleeper
Corrosion – losing pressure bearing capacity and cannot hold nails.
Broken – cannot maintain the gauge
Thickness – less than 140mm
