The rail and sleeper are aligned using a lever called a Pansetter®, which fits into the eye and the profile of the rail. Sometimes it becomes necessary to use two, one of which is obviously removed before the clip is put in place.
A quick lesson in Pandrol® clip fastening (with vital pics missing!). Concrete sleepers have 'eyes' cast in them, which the clips are pulled into. Firstly, rubber pads are placed on the sleepers between the eyes before the rail is laid. Then, a plastic spacer, referred to as a 'biscuit', is placed between the foot of the rail and the eye on the sleeper. This spacer is what gives the gauge to the track.
The rail and sleeper are aligned using a lever called a Pansetter®, which fits
into the eye and the profile of the rail. Sometimes it becomes necessary to use
two, one of which is obviously removed before the clip is put in place.
Typically, I have no pics of the clips being inserted with the Panpuller® tool. This
is basically a claw which fits with a jaw over the top of the clip and the end of the
handle against the eye. It is then used to pull the clip into the eye, which causes
it to push down on the 'biscuit' and hold the rail in place
Sometimes however, when using second hand sleepers and clips, subtle persuasion is
required....
This is the first panel of concrete sleepered track on the spur, so a little getting used
to the techniques required was involved
No-one notices Martin subtly putting a kink in the track behind them.....