General Information on Track Circuits - RGS Online

Railway Group Approved Code of Practice
GK/RC0752
Issue Two
Date December 1998
Page E6 of 52
6 Mechanised Track
Maintenance
7 Rail Drilling
<strong>General</strong> <strong>Information</strong> on Track Circuits
All equipment on the track must be installed clear of the tamping zones indicated
in Figure E3, except cross track orange pipe.
All sleepers may be tamped, except those on either side of Silec treadles and
point rodding.
Figure E3
E 6 R A I L T R A C K
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405
Tamping Zone
For conventional grades of rail steel, Signal Engineers use rail drilling machines.
They are preset to drill the two holes required accurately with no adjustment
necessary. Available drilling machines and attachments, together with the
Catalogue Numbers, are listed below:
Description Catalogue No.
Rail bond drilling machine, hand operated (single spindle) : 39/41822 *
Rail bond drilling machine, 110V/500W (twin spindle) : 86/43690 #
Rail bond drilling machine, petrol engine (twin spindle) : 39/41823 *
S & C drilling attachment, for use with 39/41823 : 39/200000
Flexible drive, 8 feet long, for use with 39/41823 : 39/54510
Notes:
Withdrawn Document
Uncontrolled When Printed
* The drilling machine fits over the rail and cannot be left in position whilst
trains pass.
# The drilling machine clamps to the underside of the rail and can be left in
position whilst trains pass.
At sites of heavy wear, particularly in S & C, The Permanent Way Engineer may
fit specially hardened steel rails which can only be drilled with special drill bits.
Whilst the Permanent Way Engineer permits drilling of 7.2mm holes for taper
pins by Signal Engineers, drilling of larger holes in hardened steel is a specialist
job to be undertaken by Permanent Way Engineering staff.
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