Rail fastening system constructed to allow pre-assembly of a rail clip and shoulder

Abstract

A rail fastening system including a cast shoulder and an elastic rail spring clip for applying a holding force to an insulator and a rail. The spring clip includes a pair of compressible arms for exerting a rail hold down force and a substantially horizontal base portion for application to the cast shoulder. The cast shoulder includes an anchoring portion, a receiving portion including converging opposing sides angled to define a throat having a width less than a decompressed width of the spring clip arms, and notches on the sides adjacent to the throat. In practice, the spring clip is applied to the cast shoulder such that two spring clip arms contact and move along the converging sides causing the spring clip arms to be compressed by the sides. When the arms move beyond the throat, the arms spring outwardly into the notch. The notch provides a catch that prevents any backward migration such that the elastic rail spring clip and the cast shoulder can be pre-assembled at a remote location, requiring less labor at the rail installation site.