Ex. 8. Before reading the text make sure you know the phrases below. You can look them up in a dictionary

· perforated steel plates

· likelihood of the rails misaligning

· to exacerbatе the seriousness

 

Ex. 8. Practice the reading of the following phrases:

higher speeds are required, rail lengths, continuous welded rail, perforated steel plates, 66 ft long, 39 or 78 feet long, or 23.8 m long, 600 mm long, 1.97 ft long, oppositely-oriented, the rails misaligning with each other, a "clickety-click" sound, ride quality, the Hither Green rail.

 

Ex. 9. Read the text and translate it, using a dictionary, if necessary.

Text 1

JOINTED TRACK

Joining rails

Rails are produced in lengths and need to be joined end-to-end to make a continuous surface on which trains may run. The traditional method of joining the rails is to bolt them together using metal fishplates, producing jointed track. For more modern usage, particularly where higher speeds are required, the rail lengths may be welded together to form continuous welded rail (CWR). To make jointed track lengths of rail are bolted together using perforated steel plates. In the UK the rail length is usually 20 m (66 ft) long; in North America it may be 39 or 78 feet (11.9 or 23.8 m) long. Perforated steel plates are known as fishplates (UK) or joint bars (USA).

Fishplates are usually 600 mm (1.97 ft) long. They are used in pairs on either side of the rail ends and bolted together (usually four, but sometimes six bolts per joint). The bolts may be oppositely-oriented so that in the event of a derailment, only some of the bolts will be sheared, reducing the likelihood of the rails misaligning with each other and exacerbating the seriousness of the derailment. However, this technique is not applied universally: British practice is to have all the bolt heads on the same side of the rail. Small gaps are deliberately left between the rail ends to allow for expansion of the rails in hot weather. The holes through which the fishplate bolts pass are oval to allow for movement with expansion. Because of the small gaps left between the rails, when trains pass over jointed tracks they make a "clickety-click" sound.

Unless it is well-maintained, jointed track does not have the ride quality of continuous welded rail and is less suitable for high speed trains. However, jointed track is still used in many countries on lower speed lines and sidings. Jointed track is widely used in poorer countries due to the lower construction costs and the simpler equipment required for its installation and maintenance.

A major problem of jointed track is cracking around the bolt holes, which can lead to the rail head breaking. This was the cause of the Hither Green rail crash in July 1967, which caused British Railways to begin converting much of its track to continuous welded rail.

 

Text 2

Ex. 10. Copy and memorize the following terms.

Glossary

buckling -выпучивание железнодорожных рельсов butt weld - стыковой сварной шов butt welding - сварка соединением встык flash-butt welding - стыковая сварка оплавлением contraction -сжатие to fasten - скреплять; закреплять