Question

What are sleepers?

Answer 1

Hint: Sleepers are boxes made up of wood. It was used by the British first in India, in their ensuring a varied and strong transportation network. This transportation network proved vital to them during the 1857 revolt. Sleepers are an integral and important part of this transportation network.

Complete Answer:
Sleepers are wooden boxes put across railway tracks which hold the tracks in position. They hold the iron tracks on their positions when trains move over them.
The sleepers are made of beech and oak. The trees are cut in winter and are sorted as well as stored for around six to twelve months in an open area. Crack prevention plates are attached to the front side of the planks. After that, the surface is treated and holes are drilled for the planks to be attached to the tracks. In order to guarantee sufficient durability, the sleepers are impregnated at this point. A material called Creosote is utilized in this process which meets with strict safety requirements and is continuously subjected to quality checks.
The wooden sleepers are highly adaptable. They can be fitted in all types, widths and lengths of tracks. These wooden planks can be used for different types of ground conditions and they lie very well for all types of gravel.
These planks can be used very well for long tracks, in stations, marshalling yards, tunnels, metal bridges as well as point systems.
In case of derailment of trains, these wooden sleepers don’t break despite being struck by metal wheels. Even if derailment occurs, the width of the tracks does not change and the track system remains open to traffic.

Note: Due to the modernization of wooden sleepers manufacture and great interest in natural and alternative materials, wood remains a highly preferred option with a tradition of being for more than 150 years in railway construction.