Page 16 - ICJ Jan 2023

TECHNICAL PAPER COLLECTOR’S EDITION

Concrete takes a hand in rebuilding railways

Across vast areas of Europe and Asia the railways are either severely damaged or
strained by war. Tracks have been torn up by high explosive or have deteriorated
through continual overloading.

Upon Britain, one of the world’s leading makers of railway material, falls much of
the burden of restoration and replacement. The building of the permanent way
involves a peculiar problem. The sleepers that carry the rails have always been
made of timber and timber is one of the materials in short supply. Inventors have
had to be called in to discover an adequate substitute.

Keyword: How a wartime technique has been Developed for Rebuilding Devastated and worn
tracks

A

s often happens, the substitute has proved to be no mere makeshift. It is a new

and valuable contribution to railway engineering. It involves the adaptation of the technique of
reinforced concrete to a new purpose.

The Indian Concrete Journal | November 2018 17