{"id":1724,"date":"2024-07-15T13:32:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T08:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/study.madeeasy.in\/?p=1724"},"modified":"2025-07-16T15:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T09:37:50","slug":"function-of-sleepers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/ce\/railway-engineering\/function-of-sleepers","title":{"rendered":"Function of Sleepers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The main functions of sleepers are as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-roman; text-align: justify;\">\n<li>It holds the rail to correct gauge and alignment.<\/li>\n<li>It gives firm and even support to the rails.<\/li>\n<li>It transfer the load in a uniform way from rails to area of ballast.<\/li>\n<li>It acts as an elastic medium between rails and the ballast to absorb the blows and vibrations of moving load.<\/li>\n<li>It provides longitudinal and lateral stability to the permanent way.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_1 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/ce\/railway-engineering\/function-of-sleepers\/#Note\" >Note:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/ce\/railway-engineering\/function-of-sleepers\/#Advantages-of-wooden-sleeper\" >Advantages of wooden sleeper<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/ce\/railway-engineering\/function-of-sleepers\/#Disadvantages-of-wooden-sleepers\" >Disadvantages of wooden sleepers<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Note\"><\/span>Note:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-roman; text-align: justify;\">\n<li>If rail sections are not being supported evenly and firmly, then they will sink into the ballast cushion.<\/li>\n<li>If sleepers are not elastic then the deformation will keep on increasing and finally<br \/>\nthe track will become irregular in shape.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wooden Sleepers<\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>It is the most ideal type of sleeper and with passage of time its utility has not decreased.<\/li>\n<li>There are two categories of wooden sleepers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-roman; text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Hardwood sleepers \u2192 Sal, Teak etc.<\/li>\n<li>Soft wood sleepers \u2192 Deodar, Chir etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Advantages-of-wooden-sleeper\"><\/span>Advantages of wooden sleeper<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-roman; text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Cheap and easy to manufacture,<\/li>\n<li>Very useful for heavy loads and high speed trains,<\/li>\n<li>Absorbs shocks and dampens vibrations properly,<\/li>\n<li>Can be handled easily without damage,<\/li>\n<li>Alignment can be corrected easily,<\/li>\n<li>Can be used with or without ballast,<\/li>\n<li>Most suitable for track circuiting, and<\/li>\n<li>Suitable in the areas having yielding formation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Disadvantages-of-wooden-sleepers\"><\/span>Disadvantages of wooden sleepers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-roman; text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Do not maintain the gauge accurately,<\/li>\n<li>Easily develop cracks with beater packing,<\/li>\n<li>Susceptible to fire hazards,<\/li>\n<li>It has lesser life due to wear, decay and attack by vermins, and<\/li>\n<li>Scrap value is low.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong> The size of sleepers for B.G, M.G. and N.G. as well as their bearing area per sleeper is as follows:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table class=\"table table-striped table-bordered table-condensed\" style=\"margin: 0 auto; width: 99%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th width=\"64\">Gauge<\/th>\n<th width=\"97\">Size (in cms)<\/th>\n<th width=\"217\">Bearing area per sleeper (in sq.ft.)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">B.G<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">275 \u00d7 25 \u00d7 13<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">5.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">M.G<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">180 \u00d7 20 \u00d7 11.5<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">3.33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">N.G<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">150 \u00d7 18 \u00d7 11.5<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\">2.25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Wooden sleepers required for bridges and points and crossings are of thicker section.<\/strong><br \/>\nviz. 10\u2033 \u00d7 6\u2033 or 10\u2033 \u00d7 7\u2033<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"btn btn-danger\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/study.madeeasy.in\/ce\/railway-engineering\/defects-in-rails\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&lt;&lt; Previous<\/a> | <a class=\"btn btn-success\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/study.madeeasy.in\/ce\/railway-engineering\/fish-plates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Next &gt;&gt;<\/a><br \/>\n<strong> Must Read: <\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/study.madeeasy.in\/subjects\/what-is-railway-engineering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>What is Railway Engineering?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The main functions of sleepers are as follows: It holds the rail to correct gauge and alignment. It gives firm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[463,2],"tags":[470,471,469],"class_list":["post-1724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-railway-engineering","category-ce","tag-advantages-of-wooden-sleeper","tag-disadvantages-of-wooden-sleepers","tag-wooden-sleepers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madeeasy.in\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}