The text describes the role of track ballast in railway tracks. Track ballast, a collection of crushed rocks or stones, is crucial for the functioning and safety of railway tracks. It serves several purposes:
1. **Holding Sleepers in Place**: Track ballast ensures that the sleepers (railroad ties) in place do not move longitudinally or laterally when heavy trains roll over them. Without track ballast, the sleepers might give way under the constant pressure of passing trains.
2. **Load Distribution**: The jagged shape of the stones in the track ballast allows them to interlock with each other, distributing the immense load exerted on the sleepers and track evenly.
3. **Vibration Dampening**: Track ballast absorbs the vibrations caused by a moving train, providing a cushioning effect that enhances passenger comfort.
4. **Drainage**: Track ballast prevents water clogging or the accumulation of water on or around the sleepers, ensuring that railway tracks don't get flooded by rains.
5. **Preventing Vegetation**: Track ballast helps to prevent vegetative growth around the tracks, which could compromise the structure and strength of the railroad track.
6. **Noise Absorption**: The crushed stones in the track ballast offer a larger surface area than a flat plane, facilitating noise absorption.
7. **Minimizing Heat Expansion**: During the summer season, railway tracks tend to expand due to heat. Track ballast helps keep this heat expansion to a safe minimum, ensuring the efficacy and safety of the track.
Despite appearing to be a random set of stones, track ballast is a critical component of the railway industry, affecting millions of lives worldwide. It requires regular maintenance and cleaning, and sometimes the stones are replaced with a new set of crushed stones.
1. The stones that lie in the railway tracks are collectively called track ballast.
2. Track ballast constitutes the track bed upon which sleepers or railroad ties are laid.
3. The thickness of the track ballast usually ranges between 25 and 30 centimeters.
4. Track ballast usually consists of crushed rocks or stone.
5. The stones in the track ballast have a characteristic shape, size, and texture. Their surface is not smooth and their edges are jagged.
6. These rocks interlock with each other, which allows them to stay in place when trains roll over them.
7. Railway tracks are made of steel and other metallic parts that are prone to corrosion and rusting.
8. The primary reason behind the existence of track ballast is to protect the railway track.
9. Track ballast holds the sleepers in place so that they don't move longitudinally or laterally when heavy trains roll over them.
10. Track ballast also helps in load distribution. The jagged stones in the track ballast interlock with each other, distributing the immense load exerted on the sleepers and track evenly.
11. Track ballast absorbs the vibrations caused by a moving train, adding to the comfort of passengers riding in the train.
12. Track ballast is important for drainage. It prevents water clogging or the accumulation of water on or around the sleepers.
13. Track ballast also prevents vegetation around the tracks. The stones in the track ballast greatly contribute to keeping out vegetation that could compromise the structure and strength of the railroad track.
14. The crushed stones in the track ballast offer a larger surface area than a flat plane, greatly facilitating noise absorption.
15. Track ballast helps keep the heat expansion of railway tracks during the summer season to a safe minimum, ensuring the efficacy and safety of the track.
16. Track ballast not only protects the railway track and its sleepers from the forces of nature and the stress of a moving train but also adds to the overall comfort of passengers.
17. Track ballast requires regular maintenance and cleaning. Sometimes the stones are replaced with a new set of crushed stones.
18. There are also machines called ballast cleaners that specialize in cleaning track ballast, reducing the amount of manual labor required.