Is Bull Head Rail Still Being Made?

[John_Miles]

I was sitting on the 15.30 Birmingham to Cardiff (actually it originates at Nottingham) today when the bull head rail on the centre road caught my eye. One of the advantages of being a modeller is that in idle moments on trains you can study the prototype. On the web of the rail there was something written. It took me a few seconds to find a piece of rail on which I could read the text but when I did, I found it said CORUS plus the usual stuff about BS etc.. I thought the use of new bull head rail ceased in the 1950s and to find it has been made in the recent past was a surprise. When did  the manufacture cease or is it still being made and why?

[Mark Saunders]

It was being made at Workington before its closure and I assume that manufacture would have been transferred to either Skiningrove or Scunthorpe. There was a new bullhead point installed at Potland Burn opencast disposal point about four years ago!

 

Mark Saunders

[jamie92208]

I think that it's still used on certain tightly curved layouts such as sidings and ones that need check rails so I presume that t will still be manufactured.

 

Jamie

[woodenhead]

Didn't the illustrious Capt Kernow take some pictures of newly installed bullhead in the West Country a couple of years back?

[Southernman46]

Simple answer to the OP is yes, very much so..................

[roythebus]

Yes, LU still uses bullhead in tube tunnels, it's easier to replace than flat bottom rail.

[CloggyDog]

I did an LU voluntary P-Way course a couple of years back and I recall the course leader mentioning that, while BH rail was still produced, it was in limited runs once or twice per year.

 

LU was one of the few remaining buyers of new BH at the time and it was becoming more economic to switch to FB wherever possible, hence the ongoing relaying of much of the LU network with FB - within the past year or so, FB has been used on the southern section of the Circle/District, Bakerloo at Paddington, Padd - High St on the Circle and quite a bit of the Met. And, of course, the newest new bits (Jub extension) was predominatly FB.

[Grovenor]

 

Yes, LU still uses bullhead in tube tunnels, it's easier to replace than flat bottom rail.

However tube tunnels have been relayed with FB on an ongoing programme for what must be about 10 years now.

Keith

[Pacific231G]

Several companies such as Ryder still supply it though I notice that it's no longer listed on Tata's website.

 

I don't know the current figure but in 2007 RFF were reporting that 1400 kms of the French national network were still laid with "double champignon" rail. I assume that those were route kilometres. This was mainly almost entirely on lightly used lines (<20 trains a day) some of which still had track from before SNCF took over in 1938. I don't think they were buying any new DC rail but the state of some of it became a bit of a national scandal following the derailment of a passenger train in 2006 and the PW department's practice of repairing broken rails by cutting out damaged sections and welding in short sections of rail was banned for passenger lines.

[martin_wynne]

I notice that it's no longer listed on Tata's website.

 

BS95RBH still listed under "Special rail sections" here:

 

 http://www.tatasteelrail.com/static_files/StaticFiles/Rail/Rail%20Technical%20Guide%20EN.pdf

 

Martin.

[Bernard Lamb]

I did an LU voluntary P-Way course a couple of years back and I recall the course leader mentioning that, while BH rail was still produced, it was in limited runs once or twice per year.

 

 

When I was using various grades and sizes of RHS some were only produced by one mill in Europe at roughly nine month intervals. If you wanted any at the wrong time it attracted quite a premium on the black market. Once or twice a year for some steel sections would seem to be quite normal.

Bernard

[The Stationmaster]

I think that it's still used on certain tightly curved layouts such as sidings and ones that need check rails so I presume that t will still be manufactured.

 

Jamie

Check rail (of a rather special section) can be used with flatbottom rail on sharp curvature - some has recently been laid not too far away from here.  A couple of pics below - note the track level picture was taken from a public foot crossing -  (click on the pictures to enlarge them)

 

 

[Captain Kernow]

Didn't the illustrious Capt Kernow take some pictures of newly installed bullhead in the West Country a couple of years back?

Yes, the whole of Exeter Riverside Yard was relaid with new bullhead, both plain line and new pointwork.

[Arthur]

 

The rolls will exist, if the demand is there they'll roll it. Changing rolls over is non productive mill downtime so infrequent changes and long runs are the goal. Sufficient steel to the required specification needs to be made available.

 

Of course, if you're prepared to pay a premium for a short run, they'll take your money.

[Pacific231G]

BS95RBH still listed under "Special rail sections" here:

 

 http://www.tatasteelrail.com/static_files/StaticFiles/Rail/Rail%20Technical%20Guide%20EN.pdf

 

Martin.

Interesting Martin. Special rail sections isn't one of the categories in their main website so you'd need to know exactly what you want but I guess that would apply to products like conductor rail as well. Was BS95RBH a fairly universal standard for British Railways' BH rail?

 

I think one of the problems the French RFF (now apparently called SNCF Réseau) may have is a wide variation in rail section as this is very old track. I don't know how much of the 1400 kms of track laid with bullhead that they were reporting in 2007 has now been replaced (or the lines closed ) but there are fairly recent reports of upgrading projects including the re-opening of the metre gauge Blanc-Argent in Jan 2013 following a year's closure for upgrading that included the replacement of the remaining bullhead. The heritage group who have very succesfully preserved the long closed southern section of the line intend to keep their double champignon track and even restore sections that had been relaid with Vignoles 

SABA Ecueille southern throat

[martin_wynne]

Interesting Martin. Special rail sections isn't one of the categories in their main website so you'd need to know exactly what you want but I guess that would apply to products like conductor rail as well. Was BS95RBH a fairly universal standard for British Railways' BH rail?

 

Hi David,

 

Yes. The 95lb/yd bullhead rail section was revised* in June 1922 (BS95R, i.e. with R suffix) and hasn't changed since -- for over 90 years now.

 

Not all companies used it in the early days, some preferring their own sections. But for over 60 years now it has been the universal bullhead rail in the UK.

 

*The 1922 revision was to make the head 1/32" deeper and the foot 1/32" less deep than the previous BS95 rail section.

 

regards,

 

Martin.

[Siberian Snooper]

Check rail (of a rather special section) can be used with flatbottom rail on sharp curvature - some has recently been laid not too far away from here. A couple of pics below - note the track level picture was taken from a public foot crossing - (click on the pictures to enlarge them)

 

DSCF8407.jpg

 

DSCF8412.jpg

Hi Mike

 

Any idea what the yellow things are on every fourth sleeper, please.

[martin_wynne]

Any idea what the yellow things are on every fourth sleeper, please.

 

I believe they are metal anchors having wings buried in the ballast to help prevent the wooden sleepers moving endways. The track is adjacent to a platform, so its relative position is important. Lighter wooden sleepers have been used (instead of heavy concrete) so that the special check chairs can be more easily screwed onto them.

 

There was a recent RAIB report where stock collided with a platform edge because the track had shifted sideways, so this is probably being given extra precautions on recent renewals.

 

Martin.

[The Stationmaster]

Hi Mike

 

Any idea what the yellow things are on every fourth sleeper, please.

They are creep anchors to prevent lateral movement of the track.  NR seem to be rather keen on them in this part of the world and they feature on some of the new trackwork at Reading (which has some tight curvature in places).  Their use at the location in my photo (Twyford) strikes me as rather odd as there are only a few dmu movements over it everyday and the previous bullhead track lasted for many years, including under loco hauled trains, with no apparent problems and - definitely in recent years - relatively infrequent (by old standards) inspection and maintenance.

 

Maybe an experienced PerWay man such as Southernman46 can shed more light on the modern day need for these things when we seem as a railway to have managed fairly well without them for rather a lot of decades?

[Reorte]

I posted some new-looking bullhead track photos here a while ago:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/96460-turnout-detail-photos/

 

There are quite a few of those track anchors on the Buxton line where it curves tightly to join the main line at Edgeley Junction, in (I think) concrete sleepers although I could well be wrong on that. The amount of white painted railsides through Davenport as well suggest some issues with track not staying as it's supposed to be in that area.

[Jeff Smith]

Check rail (of a rather special section) can be used with flatbottom rail on sharp curvature - some has recently been laid not too far away from here.  A couple of pics below - note the track level picture was taken from a public foot crossing -  (click on the pictures to enlarge them)

 

DSCF8407.jpg

 

DSCF8412.jpg

I also note the use of two (Pandrol) clips per base of differing colour on the outside of the running rail adjacent to the check rail in the top picture.

[John_Miles]

Thanks for all the answers. Just goes to show there is always more to learn - or is it that I shouldn't make assumptions?

[The Stationmaster]

I posted some new-looking bullhead track photos here a while ago:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/96460-turnout-detail-photos/

 

There are quite a few of those track anchors on the Buxton line where it curves tightly to join the main line at Edgeley Junction, in (I think) concrete sleepers although I could well be wrong on that. The amount of white painted railsides through Davenport as well suggest some issues with track not staying as it's supposed to be in that area.

I would have thought that glued ballast might be a better idea although of course the problem is that it can't be tamped - but it seems to have worked at paddington for the best part of 20 years.

[BG John]

I would have thought that glued ballast might be a better idea although of course the problem is that it can't be tamped - but it seems to have worked at paddington for the best part of 20 years.

That must involve vast quantities of PVA, water and washing up liquid, and a massive eye dropper

[Trog]

Check rail (of a rather special section) can be used with flatbottom rail on sharp curvature - some has recently been laid not too far away from here.  A couple of pics below - note the track level picture was taken from a public foot crossing -  (click on the pictures to enlarge them)

 

DSCF8407.jpg

 

DSCF8412.jpg

 

UIC33 the fitting is adjustable so the rail can be packed out to cancel out any wear.