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Monday 4 April 2016

Effects of Eating Breakfast as Your Only Meal

Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but it's only one of several that everyone needs to function at peak levels. Skipping most of the day's nutrition can and will have myriad adverse effects, not just on your health, but also on your job or school performance. If you're considering having breakfast as the sole meal of the day, keep in mind that the risks far outweigh whatever short-term benefits you might experience.


Effects of Eating Breakfast as Your Only Meal
Spinach and egg on toast for breakfast. Photo Credit Lilechka75/iStock/Getty Images

Malnutrition

Your body needs calories to function, but it also needs the nutrients in food to keep you as healthy as possible. It's virtually impossible to pack all the day's nutrients into one meal. You might try to replace the lack of nutrients with supplements, but keep in mind that they are not as effective as the nutrients found in food. In addition, falling short on key nutrients such as protein, zinc, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium dramatically increases your risk of conditions such as anemia, osteoporosis and even brain damage.
Damaged Metabolism
Breakfast is intended to kick-start your metabolism at the beginning of the day. Any snacks and meals later are intended to keep it humming and keep hunger at bay. If you stop eating after breakfast, your metabolism goes into "starvation mode," slowing dramatically and drawing on your body's stored energy. Moreover, leaving your metabolism idle for most of the day means that over time, it will slow permanently. When and if you decide to resume normal eating habits, you will gain weight quickly because your metabolism is unaccustomed to breaking down food on a regular basis.

Cognitive and Psychological Problems

Eating regular meals ensures that the brain receives enough glucose to function properly and support neural processes. When you leave your brain without glucose for most of the day, you will experience a range of negative side effects, such as memory loss and extreme difficulty concentrating. You might also experience dramatic mood swings and damage your brain's ability to tell the difference between hunger and satiety.

Blood Sugar Spikes

When you eat, your body breaks the food into two parts: fat and energy. The fat is stored, while the energy goes into the bloodstream in the form of sugar to service your organs and keep you going. You might give your body a jump-start in the morning, but skipping the rest of the day's nutrition will cause a serious drop in blood sugar. You will feel sluggish, tired, irritable and jittery, likely damaging your work or school performance. In addition, regular blood spikes and drops put you at serious risk of developing diabetes.
www.livestrong.com

COMPOSITE ORDER

The composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order. In many versions the composite order volutes are larger, however, and there is generally some ornament placed centrally between the volutes. The column of the composite order is typically ten diameters high, though as with all the orders these details may be adjusted by the architect for particular buildings. The Composite order is essentially treated as Corinthian except for the capital, with no consistent differences to that above or below the capital.


Capitals, San Barnaba, Venice, 1776


Capitals of the classical orders, here boosted to six by adding a "modern Ionic" (middle row, right). A typical Composite capital is at bottom row, right.
The composite order is not found in ancient Greek architecture and until the Renaissance was not ranked as a separate order. Instead it was considered as an imperial Roman form of the Corinthian order. Though the Arch of Titus, in the forum in Rome and built in 82 AD, is sometimes cited as the first prominent surviving example of a composite order, the order was probably invented "a little before Augustus's reign, and certainly well-developed before his death, the very time when the Roman version of Corinthian was being established."


Unlike the Composite capital, this Ionic capital has a different appearance from the front and sides.
With the Tuscan order, a simplified version of the Doric order, also found in ancient Roman architecture,but not included by Vitruvius in his three orders, the Composite was added by Renaissance writers to make five classical orders. Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554) published his book I sette libri d'architettura in 1537 in which he was the second to mention the composite order as its own order and not just as an evolution of the Corinthian order as previously suggested by Leon Battista Alberti. Leon Battista Alberti in his De re aedificatoria (English: On the Art of Building) mentions the composite order, calling it "Italic".


The Five Orders illustrated by Vignola, 1640
Form of the Capital
The Composite is partly based on the Ionic order, where the volutes (seen frontally) are joined by an essentially horizontal element across the top of the capital, so that they resemble a scroll partly rolled at each end. Despite this origin, very many Composite capitals in fact treat the two volutes as different elements, each springing from one side of their leafy base. In this, and in having a separate ornament between them, they resemble the Archaic Greek Aeolic order, though this seems not to have been the route of their development in early Imperial Rome.
Equally, where the Greek Ionic volute is usually shown from the side as a single unit of unchanged width between the front and back of the column, the Composite volutes are normally treated as four different thinner units, one at each corner of the capital, projecting at some 45° to the facade. This has the advantage of removing the necessity to have a different appearance between the front and side views, and the Ionic eventally developed bending forms that also allowed this.
The treatment of details has often been very variable, with the inclusion of figures, heraldic symbols and the like in the capital. The relationship of the volutes to the leaves has been treated in many different ways, and the capital may be distinctly divided into different horizontal zones, or may treat the whole capital as a single zone. The composite order, due to its delicate appearance, was deemed by the Renaissance to be suitable for the building of churches dedicated to The Virgin Mary or other female saints. In general it has been since been used to suggest richness and grandeur.
Example
Gallery Variations

Notes

  1. ^ Henig, Martin (ed), A Handbook of Roman Art, p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, ISBN 0714822140.
  2. ^ Henig, Martin (ed), A Handbook of Roman Art, p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, ISBN 0714822140.
  3. ^ Zampa, P. L'ordine composito: alcune considerazioni, 1978, pp. 37–50
  4. ^ Buonincasa, C. Architettura come dis-identità, 1978

References

  • Buonincasa, Carmine (1978). Architettura come dis-identità. Bari: Dedalo librerie.
  • Zampa, Paola (1993). L'ordine composito: alcune considerazioni. Reggio calabria: Dipartimento Patrimonio Architettonico e Urbanistico.

- Wikipedia 

How to Cook Shrimp With Vegetables

Shrimp is a tasty seafood option that is also low in fat and calories. Adding shrimp to vegetables is a nutritious way to include protein in your meal as well. One of the most common ways to cook shrimp and vegetables together is in a stir-fry. Your stir-fry should include several types of vegetables, fresh shrimp and your choice of sauce. Served with steamed brown rice, shrimp with vegetables is a healthy way to increase your intake of fiber, protein, vitamin A and potassium.

How to Cook Shrimp With Vegetables

Shrimp cooks very quickly, making it a convenient food even on busy evenings.Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images

Step 1

Heat the olive oil in a large wok set over medium-high heat.

Step 2

Add the onions, ginger and garlic and saute for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3

Add the carrots, celery, red bell pepper and snow peas. Saute the vegetables for seven to eight minutes, or until they are beginning to get soft.

Step 4

Add the raw shrimp to the wok and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to medium low.

Step 5

Cook the shrimp with the vegetables for five minutes, or until the shrimp has turned bright pink in color.
Step 6


Whisk the dry sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl until well-incorporated.

Step 7

Pour the sauce over the shrimp and vegetables and heat for three to four minutes, or until bubbling and slightly thickened.

Step 8

Serve the shrimp with vegetables immediately over steamed rice.

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
New potatoes and carrots not only complement each other well, but also cook quickly together in the microwave. You can steam them in a little bit of water to create an easy and nutritious side dish that pairs well with beef, roasted chicken, fish and a variety of other main courses. The addition of a few herbs and spices can dramatically change the flavor of the carrots and potatoes. Use baby carrots and chunked potatoes and you'll have dinner on the table in no time.

Step 1

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Pour rinsed baby carrots into a microwave-safe dish.

Step 2

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Wash your new potatoes under running water to remove dirt and debris. Chop your potatoes into rough 2-inch chunks. Leave very small new potatoes whole. Aim for a mix of potato chunks that are roughly the same size, whether chopped or whole, as the size of new potatoes varies.

Step 3

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Add the potatoes to the dish with the carrots. Toss the carrots and potatoes together with your hands or a spoon until mixed.

Step 4

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Add a small amount of water to the dish. Avoid adding more than 3 tablespoons per pound of vegetables as you just want to steam them, not boil them.

Step 5

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Stir in fresh herbs, spices, salt, pepper or other flavors.

Step 6

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Poke a tiny hole in the center of the plastic wrap to let steam escape.

Step 7

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes. Check the potatoes and carrots for tenderness with a fork. Give them a quick stir and re-cover with plastic wrap. Cook on high at 2- to 3-minute intervals, checking after each interval for tenderness.

Step 8

How to Cook New Potatoes & Carrots in the Microwave
Photo Credit Rafael Suarez/Demand Media
Let the dish rest, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes.

Different Ways to Cook Carrots

Raw carrots make a nutritious snack and play a starring role on a vegetable tray, but you can also cook them in a variety of methods. Many cooking techniques emphasize the natural sugar in the carrots, creating a brown, caramelized outside on the vegetable. The cooked carrots give you new side dish options and work well in various main dishes.
Different Ways to Cook Carrots
A small bowl of roasted baby carrots. Photo Credit Paul_Brighton/iStock/Getty Images

Stir-Fried

The stir-frying method cooks small pieces of carrot to a tender texture with crispy browned areas, depending on how long you cook them. You can cook the carrots with other vegetables as part of a stir-fry meal, or stir-fry the carrots by themselves and serve as a side dish. If you don't own a wok pan, simply heat oil in a regular skillet. Add carrot slices to the hot skillet and stir them frequently as they cook. Add stir-fry sauce or soy sauce if you want extra flavor.

Boiled

Using a pan of salted, boiling water is another method of cooking carrots. Baby carrots work well for boiling because they are small in size. You can also cut up larger carrots into coils or chunks. Place the carrot pieces into the water once it is boiling. The carrots should take between five and 10 minutes, depending on the size of the carrots. Check one of the carrots by pulling it from the water and cutting into it with a fork.
Steamed
Steaming uses hot water, but the carrots don't go directly into the water. Instead, they sit in a steaming basket that is just above the water. As the pan heats, the water creates steam that filters up through the basket to cook the carrots. The steaming method takes between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the size of the carrot pieces. Check the carrots frequently so they don't overcook and become mushy.

Roasted

Roasting takes place in the oven and produces crispy, browned carrots with lots of caramelized spots. This method enhances the carrot's sweetness. Use baby carrots, or cut large carrots into thin, 2-inch sections. Toss the carrot pieces with 2 tsp. of olive oil. Season the pieces with your favorite dry spices, such as oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Spread the carrots on a baking sheet with a rim so that the carrots are in a single layer. Roast the carrots for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Flip the carrots two or three times during the roasting so they brown evenly.

Grilled

Large carrots work on the grill for a smoky, charred finish. Skinny carrots work best because they will cook faster, but you can also cut thicker carrots in half or in quarters to make them smaller. Lightly coat the carrots in olive oil and season as desired. Indirect heating works best for the carrots for the first 15 to 20 minutes. Once the carrots are tender, move them directly over the heat source for two to three minutes to lightly char the vegetables.
www.livestrong.com

Side Effects of Not Eating Breakfast

Overview

The wise saying, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” has been spoken by countless moms throughout the ages. It has been whispered in the ears of school children on early-to-rise mornings for centuries, yet the depth of understanding as to why breakfast is so important has only been brought to light in recent years. The side effects of not eating breakfast negatively impact weight, hormonal health, memory, cognition and mood.
Side Effects of Not Eating Breakfast
Eating breakfast affects you in only positive ways. Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Obesity

Obesity and its ensuing complications -- such as diabetes, infertility and heart disease -- are some of the biggest concerns of the 21st century. Skipping breakfast may increase your risk of obesity or make it harder to lose weight. The Weight-control Information Network reports that if you eat breakfast you are less likely to overeat throughout the rest of the day. Since you fast overnight while sleeping, forgoing breakfast adds to this fasting period and may disrupt blood sugar balance and insulin output. Skipping breakfast may also trigger bad eating habits throughout the day, as cravings ensue and quick-fix fast foods are often sought out. Furthermore, eating breakfast boosts your metabolism and increases your energy throughout the day. A study in the August 2013 issue of the "British Journal of Nutrition" reports that when you do not eat breakfast, your energy is reduced and physical activity levels decline.
Menstrual Irregularities
Skipping breakfast is often a common occurrence in the lives of college students running late for class. An August 2010 survey study, published in the journal “Appetite,” notes that female college students who consistently skipped breakfast had more menstrual irregularities. These dysfunctions included the severity of painful menses and irregular menstrual bleeds. No difference was found in premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, symptoms, but the breakfast skippers also suffered more consistently from constipation. Women of college age are still undergoing what the article called “post-adolescent maturation,” and skipping breakfast negatively impacts this growing stage.

Lowered Cognition

Healthy eating initiatives across the nation have advocated for children eating breakfast before school. In fact, many schools open early to serve breakfast for children who may not be served this important meal at home for whatever reason. A Centers for Disease Control report on guidelines for school health programs states that skipping breakfast negatively impacts a school-aged child's ability to effectively problem-solve. Students who consumed breakfast tested higher in standardized test scores, were absent less from school and were more on time to class.

Bad Mood

A large percentage of the population is self-categorized as "moody morning people." A moody temperament is noted to improve when breakfast is consumed, according to a 2002 BBC News World Edition article. The article survey noted that 26 percent of people experienced large improvements in mood when changes were made in diet, such as consuming breakfast regularly.

Physical Side Effects

Not eating breakfast increases your risk of hypoglycemia or low-blood sugar. This condition can bring on physical symptoms such as shakiness, dizziness, weakness, headaches, tingling and a rapid heart rate, according to the National Institutes of Health.
www.livestrong.com

RAILROAD TIE

railroad tie/railway tie/crosstie (North America), or railway sleeper (UK and Australasia) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge.
Wooden ties are used on many traditional railways. In the background is a track with concrete ties.
Railroad ties are traditionally made of wood, but pre-stressed concrete is now also widely used, especially in Europe and Asia. Steel ties are common on secondary lines in the UK; plastic composite ties are also employed, although far less than wood or concrete. As of January 2008, the approximate market share in North America for traditional and wood ties was 91.5%, the remainder being concrete, steel, azobé (red ironwood) and plastic composite.
Coarse aggregate is the standard material for track ballast, which provides drainage and resilience. On lines with lower speeds and axle-weights, sand, gravel and even coal ash from the fires of steam locomotives have been used.
Up to 3,000 ties are used per mile of railroad track in the US, 2,640 per mile (30 per 60 ft rail) on main lines in the UK. Rails in the US may be fastened to the tie by a railroad spike; iron/steel baseplates screwed to the tie and secured to the rail by a proprietary fastening system such as a Vossloh or Pandrol are commonly used in Europe.
Types


Stone block from the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway.

Stone Block

The type of railroad tie used on the predecessors of the first true railway (Liverpool and Manchester Railway) consisted of a pair of stone blocks laid into the ground, with the chairs holding the rails fixed to those blocks. One advantage of this method of construction was that it allowed horses to tread the middle path without the risk of tripping. In railway use with ever heavier locomotives, it was found that it was hard to maintain the correct gauge. The stone blocks were in any case unsuitable on soft ground, such as at Chat Moss, where timber ties had to be used. Bi-block ties with a tie rod, are somewhat similar.

Wooden

A variant fastening of rails to wooden ties.
Historically wooden rail ties were made by hewing with an axe, called axe ties or sawn to achieve at least two flat sides. A variety of softwood and hardwoods timbers are used as ties, oak, jarrah and karri being popular hardwoods, although increasingly difficult to obtain, especially from sustainable sources. Some lines use softwoods, including Douglas fir; while they have the advantage of accepting treatment more readily, they are more susceptible to wear but are cheaper, lighter (and therefore easier to handle) and more readily available. Softwood is treated, while creosote is the most common preservative for railway ties, but more effective preservatives are also sometimes used such as pentachlorophenol, chromated copper arsenate and a few other preservatives. Sometimes non-toxic preservatives are used, such as copper azole or micronized copper New boron-based wood preserving technology is being employed by major US railroads in a dual treatment process in order to extend the life of wood ties in wet areas. Some timbers (such as sal, mora, jarrah or azobé) are durable enough that they can be used untreated.
Problems with wooden sleepers include rot, splitting, insect infestation, plate-cutting, also known as chair shuffle in the UK (abrasive damage to the tie caused by lateral motion of the tie plate) and spike-pull (where the spike is gradually loosened from the tie). For more information on wooden sleepers the Railway Tie Association maintains a comprehensive website devoted to wood tie research and statistics.
Wooden sleepers can of course catch fire; as they age they develop cracks that allow sparks to lodge so that they catch fire more easily.
Concrete
Concrete ties are cheaper and easier to obtain than timber and better able to carry higher axle-weights and sustain higher speeds. Their greater weight ensures improved retention of track geometry, especially when installed with continuous-welded rail. Concrete ties have a longer service life and require less maintenance than timber due to their greater weight, which helps them remain in the correct position longer. Concrete ties need to be installed on a well-prepared subgrade with an adequate depth on free-draining ballast to perform well. Concrete ties amplify wheel noise, so wooden ties are often used in densely populated areas.
On the highest categories of line in the UK (those with the highest speeds and tonnages), pre-stressed concrete ties are the only ones permitted by Network Rail standards.
Most European railways also now use concrete bearers in switches and crossing layouts due to the longer life and lower cost of concrete bearers compared to timber, which is increasingly difficult and expensive to source in sufficient quantities and quality.
Steel

Steel ties.
Steel ties are formed from pressed steel and are trough-shaped in section. The ends of the tie are shaped to form a "spade" which increases the lateral resistance of the tie. Housings to accommodate the fastening system are welded to the upper surface of the tie. Steel ties are now in widespread use on secondary or lower-speed lines in the UK where they have been found to be economical to install due their ability to be installed on the existing ballast bed. Steel ties are lighter in weight than concrete and able to stack in compact bundles unlike timber. Steel ties can be installed onto the existing ballast, unlike concrete ties which require a full depth of new ballast. Steel ties are 100% recyclable and require up to 60% less ballast than concrete ties and up to 45% less than wood ties.
Historically, steel ties have suffered from poor design and increased traffic loads over their normally long service life. These aged and often obsolete designs limited load and speed capacity but can still be found in many locations globally and performing adequately despite decades of service. There are great numbers of steel ties with over 50 years of service and in some cases they can and have been rehabilitated and continue to perform well. Steel ties were also used in specialty situations, such as the Hejaz Railway in the Arabian Peninsula, which had an ongoing problem with Bedouins who would steal wooden ties for campfires.
Modern steel ties handle heavy loads, have a proven record of performance in signalised track, and handle adverse track conditions. Of high importance to railroad companies is the fact that steel ties are more economical to install in new construction than creosote-treated wood ties and concrete ties. Steel ties are utilised in nearly all sectors of the worldwide railroad systems including heavy-haul, class 1s, regional, shortlines, mining, electrified passenger lines (OHLE) and all manner of industries. Notably, steel ties (bearers) have proven themselves over the last few decades to be advantageous in turnouts (switches) and provide the solution to the ever-growing problem of long timber ties for such use.
When insulated to prevent conduction through the ties, steel ties may be used with track circuit based train detection and track integrity systems. Without insulation, steel ties may only be used on lines without block signaling and level crossings or on lines that use other forms of train detection such as axle counters.
Hybrid Plastic/Composite Plastic

KLP Hybrid Plastic Railroad Tie

Tie placer in Hyannis, Massachusett
In more recent times, a number of companies are selling composite railroad ties manufactured from recycled plastic resins, and recycled rubber. Manufacturers claim a service life longer than wooden ties with an expected lifetime in the range of 30–80 years, that the ties are impervious to rot and insect, attack, and that they can be modified with a special relief on the bottom to provide additional lateral stability. In some main track applications the hybrid plastic tie has a recessed design to be completely surrounded by ballast.
Aside from the environmental benefits of using recycled material, plastic ties usually replace timber ties soaked in creosote, the latter being a toxic chemical, and are themselves recyclable. Hybrid plastic railroad ties and composite ties are used in other rail applications such as underground mining operations, industrial zones, humid environments and densely populated areas. Hybrid railroad ties are also used to be partly exchanged with rotten wooden ties, which will result in continuous track stiffness. Hybrid plastic ties and composite ties also offer benefits on bridges and viaducts, because they lead to better distribution of forces and reduction of vibrations into respectively bridge girders or the ballast. This is due to better damping properties of hybrid plastic ties and composite ties, which will decrease the intensity of vibrations as well as the sound production.
In 2009, Network Rail announced that they were to begin replacing wooden ties with recycled plastic ones made by I-Plas ltd of Halifax, West Yorkshire, but then I-Plas went into insolvency in October 2012.
The Cable TV series Factory Made has a segment on the manufacture of plastic ties.
In 2012, New Zealand ordered a trial batch of "EcoTrax" brand recycled composite ties from Axion for use on turnouts and bridges.
In 2014 the KLP Hybrid Plastic Tie, by Lankhorst Engineered Products of Sneek, Netherlands, won the Privatbahn Magazin Innovation Award in the category Track and Infrastructure.
Fiberglass

Ties may also be made from fiberglass.

Non-conventional tie forms


Y tie track next to conventional track.
Y-Shapes Ties

An unusual form of tie is the Y-shaped tie, first developed in 1983. Compared to conventional ties the volume of ballast required is reduced due to the load-spreading characteristics of the Y-tie. Noise levels are high but the resistance to track movement is very good. For curves the three-point contact of a Y steel tie means that an exact geometric fit cannot be observed with a fixed attachment point.
The cross section of the ties is an I-beam.
As of 2006 less than 1,000 km of Y-tie track had been built, of which approximately 90-percent is in Germany.
Twin Ties

The ZSX Twin tie is manufactured by Leonhard Moll Betonwerke GmbH & Co KG and is a pair of two pre-stressed concrete ties longitudinally connected by four steel rods. The design is said to be suitable for track with sharp curves, track subject to temperature stress such as that operated by trains with eddy brakes, bridges and as transition track between traditional track and slab track or bridges.

Wide Ties

Concrete monoblock ties have also been produced in a wider form (e.g. 57 cm (22 in)) such that there is no ballast between the ties; this wide tie increases lateral resistance and reduces ballast pressure. The system has been used in Germany where wide ties have also been used in conjunction with the GETRAC A3 ballastless track systems.

Bi-Block Ties

Bi-block (or twinblock) ties consist of two concrete rail supports joined by a steel bar. Advantages include increased lateral resistance and lower weight than monobloc concrete ties, as well as elimination of damage from torsional forces on the ties center due the more flexible steel connections. This tie type is in common use in France, and are used on the high-speed TGV lines. Bi-block ties are also used in ballastless track systems.

Frames Ties

Frame ties (German: Rahmenschwelle) comprise both lateral and longitudinal members in a single monolithic concrete casting. This system is in use in Austria in the Austrian system the track is fastened at the four corners of the frame, and is also supported midway along the frame. Adjacent frame ties are butted close to each other. Advantages of this system over conventional cross increased support of track. In addition, construction methods used for this type of track are similar to those used for conventional track.

Ladder Track

In ladder track the ties are laid parallel to the rails and are several metres long. The structure is similar to Brunel's baulk track; these longitudinal ties can be used with ballast, or with elastomer supports on a solid non-ballasted support.

Fastening rails to railroad ties

Various methods exist for fixing the rail to the railroad ties. Historically spikes gave way to cast iron chairs fixed to the tie, more recently springs (such as Pandrol clips) are used to fix the rail to the tie chair.

Other Uses


Stone block from the Scotch gauge, Ardrossan Railway, used to construct a loading dock.
In recent years, wooden railroad ties have also become popular for gardening and landscaping, both in creating retaining walls and raised-bed gardens, and sometimes for building steps as well. Traditionally, the ties sold for this purpose are decommissioned ties taken from rail lines when replaced with new ties, and their lifespan is often limited due to rot. Some entrepreneurs sell new ties. Due to the presence of wood preservatives such as coal tar, creosote or salts of heavy metals, railroad ties introduce an extra element of soil-pollution,into gardens and are avoided by many property owners. In the UK, new oak beams of the same size as standard railroad ties, but not treated with dangerous chemicals, are now available specifically for garden construction. They are about twice the price of the recycled product. In some places, railroad ties have been used in the construction of homes, particularly among those with lower incomes, especially near railroad tracks, including railroad employees. They are also used as cribbing for docks and boathouses.
The Spanish artist Agustín Ibarrola has used recycled ties from RENFE in several projects.
Wooden ties recycled as sculpturess at Northfield railway station.
In Germany, use of wooden railroad ties as building material (namely in gardens, houses and in all places where regular contact to human skin would be likely, in all areas frequented by children and in all areas associated with the production or handling of food in any way) has been prohibited by law since 1991 because they pose a significant risk to health and environment. From 1991 to 2002, this was regulated by the Teerölverordnung (Carbolineum By-law), and since 2002 has been regulated by the Chemikalien-Verbotsverordnung Chemicals Prohibition By-law), §1 and Annex, Parts 10 and 17.
Ballastless track
Ballastless track is designed such that no underlying ballast is required. The first such tracks were mountain railways (like Pilatus Railway, built in 1889) with rails attached directly to the mountain rock. From the late 1960s onwards, German, British, Swiss and Japanese railways experimented with alternatives to the traditional railroad tie in search of solutions with higher accuracy and longevity, and lowered maintenance costs.

Slab track, System "Rheda 2000", prior to concrete pouring.

Slab track, System "FF Bögl" on Nuremberg-Munich high-speed rail line.
This gave rise to the ballastless railway track, especially in tunnels, high-speed railway lines and on lines with high train frequency, which have high stress imposed on trackage. Paved concrete track has the rail fastened directly to a concrete slab, about half a meter thic, without ties. A similar but less expensive alternative is to accurately position concrete ties and then pour a concrete slab between and around them; this method is called "cast-in precast sleeper track".
These systems offer the advantage of superior stability and almost complete absence of deformation. Ballastless track systems incur significantly lower maintenance, costs compared to ballasted track. Due to the absence of any ballast, damage by flying ballast is eliminated, something that occurs at speeds in excess of 250 km/h (150 mph). It is also useful for existing railroad tunnels, as slab track is of shallower construction than ballasted track, it may provide the extra overhead clearances necessary for converting a line to overhead electrification, or for the passage of larger trains.
Building a slab track is more expensive than building traditional ballasted track, which has slowed its introduction outside of high-speed rail lines. These layouts are not easy to modify after they are installed, and the curing time of the concrete makes it difficult to convert an existing, busy railway line to a ballastless setup.
Slab track at St Pancras station.
Slab track can also be significantly louder and cause more vibration than traditional ballasted track. While this is in some part attributable to slab track's decreased sound absorption qualities, a more significant factor is that slab track typically uses softer rail fasteners to provide vertical compliance similar to ballasted track; these can lead to more noise, as they permit the rail to vibrate over a greater length.
Where it is critical to reduce noise and vibration, the concrete slab can be supported upon soft resilient bearings. This configuration, called "floating slab track", is expensive and requires more depth or heigh, but can reduce noise and vibration by around 80%. Alternatively, the rail can be supported along its length by an elastic material; when combined with a smaller rail section, this can provide a significant noise reduction over traditional ballasted track.
Notes

  1. ^ "M/W Budgets To Climb in 2008. Railway Track & Structures (New York, New York: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company) 104 (1): 18–25. January 2008. ISSN 0033-901. OCLC 1763403. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  2. a b Hay 1982, pp. 437–438
  3. ^ Crossties (Paterson, New Jersey: Railway Tie Association). March–April 2010. ISSN 0097-453 OCLC 156551. Missing or empty |title= (help).
  4. ^ Flint & Richards 1992, p. 92
  5. ^ "The Hedjaz Railroad. The Railroad Gazette 42 (23): 800. 7 June 1907. ISSN 0097-667. OCLC 15110419. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Polywood Composite Railroad Ties Fact.. Polywood Inc. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  7. a b c Grant (2005), p. 145.
  8. ^ Harper (2002), p. 742.
  9. ^ La Mantia (2002). p. 145.
  10. ^ La Mantia (2002). p. 277.
  11. ^ Cromberge, Peter (1 April 2005). "Polymer rail ties being tested for the mining industry. Mining Weekly. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  12. ^ Van Belkom, Aran (30 June 2015). Analysis and comparison of sleeper parameters and the influence on track stiffness and performance. Edinburgh, UK.
  13. ^ "Network Rail to replace wooden sleepers with recycled plastic". The Telegraph. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
References

  • Bonnett, Clifford F. (2005). Practical Railway Engineering. Imperial College Press. ISBN 1-86094-515-5.
  • Cook, J. H. G. (1988). Institution of Civil Engineers, ed. Urban Railways and the Civil Engineer. Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-1337-X.
  • Flint, E. P.; Richards, J. F. (1992). "Contrasting patterns of Shorea exploitation in India and Malaysia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries". In Dargavel, John; Tucker, Richard. Changing Pacific Forests: Historical Perspectives on the Forest Economy of the Pacific Basin. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-1263-8.
  • Grant, H. Roger (2005). The Railroad: The Life Story of a Technolog. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33079-4.
  • Harper, Charles A. (2002). Handbook of Plastics, Elastomers, and Composites (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-138476-6.
  • Hay, William Walter (1982). Railroad Engineering. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-36400-2.
  • Krylov, Victor V. (2001). Noise and Vibration from High-Speed Trains, Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-2963-2.
  • La Mantia, Francesco (2002). Handbook of Plastics Recycling. Rapra Technology. ISBN 1-85957-325-8.
  • Lancaster, Patricia J. (2001). Construction in Cities: Social, Environmental, Political, and Economic Concerns. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-7486-3.
  • Schut, Jan H. (2004). "They’ve Been Working on the Railroad",  Plastics Technology. Retrieved 2007-11-05.

Further Reading

  • Kaewunruen, Sakdirat (2008). Dynamic properties of railway track and its components, Chapter 5 in: New Research on Acoustics. Nova Sciences. ISBN 978-1-60456-403-7.
  • Oaks, Jeff (2006). "Date Nail Info". Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  • Remennikov, Alex M.; Sakdirat Kaewunruen (August 17, 2007). "A review on loading conditions for railway track structures due to train and track vertical interaction". Structural Control and Health Monitoring (Wiley & Sons) 15 (2): 281–288. doi:10.1002/stc.227.
  • Taylor, H.P. (August 17, 1993). "The railway sleeper: 50 years of pretensions, prestressed concrete". The Structural Engineer (Institution of Structural Engineers) 71 (16): 281–288.
  • Smith, Mike (2005). "Track used on British railway lines" Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  • Vickers, R. A., ed. (1992). Cost-effective maintenance of railway track. Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-1930-0.
  • Wood, Alan Muir (2004). Civil Engineering in Context. Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-3257-9.
External Links

  • Die Y-Stahlschwelle in der Schwei, Y sleepers in Switzerland - rack and normal railways.
  • Lankhorst Rail, Hybrid plastic railway ties

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