- Standard: GB, DIN, ISO, ANSI/ASTM, B7, BS, JIS etc
- Surface: Plain, black painting or upon customer requirement
- Packing: bulk in carton, then on pallet, or according to customers
The railroad tie plate is also called the railroad base plate, or bearing plate in the railway. It’s a metal plate, that serves as a crucial rail fastener, which mainly aims to fasten rail tracks to make the railway keep in right track gauge and ensure the safety of trains and passengers, or the operating machinery and personnel by fastening railroads, dispersing pressure, reducing friction and damage, and enhancing the railway’s stability.
Usually, tie plates are installed through the holes in the tie plate by railroad spikes (including dog spikes and screw spikes), to fix between the foot of a flat-footed rail and a wooden railway sleeper.
The railroad tie plates’ under the railroad base part normally show a sloping taper shape which is typically “one in forty”(or 1.4 degrees) to establish the inboard cant of the railway. There are one or two shoulders on the top surface of the railroad base plate used to fit against the rails’ base edge.
Railroad tie plate uses application
Railroad tie plates are all suitable for either wooden, concrete, or steel rails, and our tie plates can be made to fit various rail sections, i.e. UIC 60 rail, UIC 54 rail, RN 45 rail, 90 A rail, etc. Our tie plates follow AREMA, UIC, BS, and other standards.
Specification of railroad base plate
| Model | Application | Material | Unit Weight | Export Destination |
| 115RE Tie plate | AREMA 115RE rail | Q235 or QT400-15 | 10.6kg/pc | USA |
| 132/136RE Tie plate | AREMA 132RE rail AREMA 136RE rail | Q235 or QT400-15 | 11-12kg/p | USA |
| 115D Tie plate | AREMA 115D rail | Q235 or QT400-15 | 28.8kg/pc | USA |
| 100-8B Tie plate | AREMA 100-8B rail | Q235 or QT400-15 | 26kg/pc | USA |
| S49 Tie plate | S49 rail | QT450-10 QT400-15 Q235 | 7.57kg/pc |
| Model | Application | Specification | Material | Standard | Unit Weight | Export Destination |
| TYPE-D | Subway tie plate | 1/4″*8″*19-1/2″ | Hot-rolled carbon steel | ASTM-A36 | USA | |
| H.R.1020. | ||||||
| TYPE-19-A | Subway tie plate | 1/4″*8″*19-1/2″ | Hot-rolled carbon steel | ASTM-A36 | USA | |
| H.R.1020. | ||||||
| 01-63-14 | Subway tie plate | 20# | 4.53kg/pc | USA | ||
| 01-63-13 | Subway tie plate | 20# | 5.65kg/pc | USA | ||
| Base Plate | GB38kg rail | Q235 or | 8.5kg/pc | |||
| QT400-15 | ||||||
| QT450-10 |
Types of railroad base plate
Single shoulder tie plates
Single shoulder tie plate is a relatively traditional tie plate, it has one single shoulder positing on the outside (field side) of the rail, used for fitting in the rail, and the other side is a plane, which makes it easy to install and maintain.
Single-shoulder tie plates have a strong commonality. They are suitable for various railroad widths, either standard railroad widths, narrow gauge, or wide gauge. The rail base width needs to be provided by customers.
They are also applied to various rail lines, including subway and light rail systems, high-speed rails, and other light and medium-load railways.
Generally, they are used for rails weighing from 56lb to 100lb. Besides strong commonality and convenience in installation and maintenance, they also have great stability and relatively low costs, so they are still widely used.
Double shoulder tie plates
Nowadays, the double shoulder base plate is commonly used. Compared with single-shoulder tie plates, double-shoulder base plates carry heavier and show larger braced force. Generally, they are used for rail that is larger than 100lb.
Just as its name, the double-shoulder base plate has two shoulders spread out on both sides, helping to fix the rail tightly and providing larger lateral support and stability. There is always a groove design on the plate surface to increase friction with the railroad sleeper surface.
According to the customer requirements, there are 2-hole, 4-hole, 5-hole, 6-hole, 8-hole, etc. shapes of double-shoulder base plates are accessible.
Hook twin tie plates
The hook twin tie plate is a currently advanced railroad fastener, which is widely used in modern railway construction.
Different from ordinary railroad tie plates, hook twin tie plates have no shoulder design but add a hook-like structure. There are also some reserved holes for spikes or bolts on the surface, but both ends of the hook twin tie plates aren’t tapered.
They have the same functions and missions as the single-shoulder tie plates and the double-shoulder base plates-fix railroads on their right position.
However, they are not used in the separate railroad body but for the frogs, guard rails, and behind the heel of railway switches. These track intersections always need extremely solid fixations to avoid unnecessary railway movement occurring during rack switching. Hook twin tie plates happen to be perfectly possible of this requirement by providing the extra fasten from the hook.
Another difference is that hook twin tie plates always need to be used in pairs to provide enough support.
Under the hook twin tie plates, there are three normal-type classifications: type L, type LR, and type H. The typical types are 3/4” and 1” thick AREMA standard hook twin tie plates, which are also the most popular types by customers in North America in the order we received:
For 3/4″ hook twin tie plate: L23, L27, L31, LR23, LR27, LR31, H23, H27, H31.
For 1” hook twin tie plate: L29, L33, L37, LR28, LR32, LR36, H29, H33, H37, H41.
We have completely modern technology and advanced equipment. Each year, we can arrive at 1000MTS production capacity.
Base plates for KPO fastening systems
Base plates for KPO fastening systems are a type of tie plate specially designed for KPO fastening systems. In appearance, the whole plate part is horizontal to ensure touching with the sleeper surface tightly and providing a stable basis. Every plate has guide slots and bolt slots in the accurate position used to install other parts of KPO fastening systems, such as KPO clamp, bolt, etc.
Specification of railroad base plate for KPO
| Model | Customized according to the drawing |
| Surface | Plain-oiled, oxygen black |
| Product Type | Sand casting, Hot Forging |
| Packing Details | fumigating free wooden box |
| MOQ | 3000 Plece/Pleces |
| Supply ability | 500 Ton/Tons per Month |
| Delivery | within 20 working days |
| Type | Dimension | Holes | Incline | Rail | Weight (Kg) |
| Rph 1/160 | 345/285/127/160×15/13 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | S 49/S 54 | 7,86 |
| Rp 01/01/160 | 345/285/127/160×15/13 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | S 49/S 54 | 7,70 |
| Rph 1/210 | 345/285/127x210x15/13 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | S 49/S 54 | 10,55 |
| Rph 1/210 | 345/285/127x210x15/13 | Ø 36,3 (2x) | 1:40 | S 49/S 54 | 10,55 |
| Rph 1/210 FVZ | 345/285/127x210x15/13 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | S 49/S 54 | 10,69 |
| Sph 1 (a) | 345/350/127x410x15/13 | Ø 26 (8x) | 1:40 | UIC 60 | 20,60 |
| Rph 6/160 | 370/310/152x160x15/13 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | UIC 60 | 8,44 |
| Rph 6/210 | 370/310/152x210x15/13 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | UIC 60 | 11,32 |
| SZ 60 | 370/350/152x420x15/13 | Ø 26 (8x) | 1:40 | UIC 60 | 22,73 |
| Rph 11 Ü | 664/554×160 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | S 54 | 15,37 |
| Rph 13 Ü | 690/570×160 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:40 | UIC 60 | 15,27 |
| Rpo 5 | 345/285/127x160x15/13 | Ø 26 (4x) | 1:20 | S 49/S 54 | 8 |
Rail tie plate for E-clip
Rail Tie Plates for E-clip are tie plates specially designed for the E-Clip Railroad Fastening System. The tie plates have specially designed grooves to place and fasten the E-clip rail clips, ensuring. Usually, they also have texture on the rail tie plate surface to add friction.
| Material | QT450-10, QT400-15, QT500-7 |
| Hardness | 170-240HB |
| Standard | GB/T6414-1999; UIC-864-1, ABNT NBR-6916, AREMA |
| Tension Strength | ≥500 Mpa |
| Yield strength | ≥350 MPa |
| elongation | ≥7% |
| nodularity | ≥85% |
Other types of rail sole plates
We still sell other types of rail sole plates, such as continuous sole plates, which are suitable for heavier cranes or heavy-duty applications needing consistent support. They always need advanced total planning for the continuous sole plates’ design, layout, production, and installation.
| Length | Varies between 150 and 300 mm |
| Width | Varies between 150 and 500 mm |
| Thickness | Varies between 12 and 50 mm |
| Material | S235JR, S275JR, S355JO |
| Anti-corrosion | Blackened, coated, hot-dip galvanized, double-sided system |
Railroad tie plate function
- Fix the railroads: Railroad tie plate fixes railways on the railroad sleepers tightly, preventing railway lateral or vertical movement occur during the train in motion, ensuring the stability of the railway position, and protecting the rails’ geometrical shape.
- Keep track gauge: The designs in the railroad tie plates such as fixing slots, clamps, etc. can keep the right distance between two rails, preventing traffic accidents caused by track gauge change.
- Disperse pressure: Railroad tie plates distribute the pressure of the train through the rail to the railroad sleepers. Prevent rails and sleepers wear, extending its service life.
- Prevent railroad sleepers' wear: Railroad tie plates form a protective layer between the rails and sleepers, reducing direct abrasion of the sleeper (especially for wooden sleepers).
- Shock absorption and damping: Some railroad tie plates have shock absorption and damping capacity, and when the train is passing, they can absorb the shock and impact, providing riding comfort, and reducing the rail structures’ dynamic stress.
Why choose us
As a professional and veteran manufacturer of railroad fasteners, AGICO has advanced technology and complete production equipment. We have been certified by ISO 9001/2008 and have a large production output capacity. We offer various sizes and types of railroad tie plates with high quality and service.
Our railroad tie plate types are complete, such as single shoulder tie plates, double shoulder base plates, hook twin tie plates, or other special types of railroad tie plates that need to be custom. We can also produce railroad tie plates in line with different areas or country’s standards, such as AREMA, UIC, EN, GB, etc.
Over the years, our products are widely exported to the USA, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, the UK, India, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, etc., and have received numerous favorable reviews. We are committed to providing the best super quality and competitive price products.
How to choose railroad tie plate material
Generally, railroad tie plates are made of either cast iron, forged steel, or alloy steel.
Cast Iron: Cast iron is a traditional material. It has good durability, and it’s economical but relatively heavy. Railroad tie plates made of cast iron are widely used in low and medium-stress ordinary railways or some non-important parts in subway and light rail systems.
Forged steel: Railroad tie plates made of forged steel are high-strength, have high wear resistance, and good consistency, which promises the internal organization structure is uniform, and the performance is more stable. They are especially suitable for heavy haul and high-speed rails. Correspondingly, their price is relatively higher.
Alloy steel: The advantages of alloy steel are high strength, high corrosion resistance, high wear resistance, good heat resistance, and flexibility.
They can adjust the alloy ingredient to custom performance according to the concrete requirements. Railroad tie plates of alloy steel material are suitable for special environments requiring high wear resistance, good heat resistance, or high corrosion resistance, such as coastal areas or hot areas. They are also applied to high-performance demand railways and some key structures, such as heavy haul, high-speed rails, or rail fasten positions of key structure positions of ridges and tunnels.
