Watch the video and answer the questions.

1) What is a piece of equipment known as a Sperry Roller Search Unit or “a Walking Stick” used for?

2) What can happen if inspection is not carried out at the right frequencies?

Speaking

Work in small groups. Think of questions you would like to ask a person who works as a principal track engineer like Brian Whitney from videos 9 and 10. Brian Whitney who works for Network Rail tells viewers about his job, types of degradation, a piece of equipment known as a Sperry Roller Search Unit or “a Walking Stick” and preventive maintenance of rails.

One of you has the role of a principal track engineer. Do the interview.

 

Video 13

Exercise 1. Discuss these questions with your partner.

1) What are the reasons of replacing the rail?

2) What operations are used to replace the rail?

Exercise 2. Put the sentences in the correct order.

1) Liquid steel pours into the mould ([məuld] форма) fusing the rails together.

2) The mould and excess weld metal is removed.

3) Following inspection, the new rail is ready to be used.

4) A crucible (тигель) containing iron oxide with specific alloying elements and volatile aluminium powder is placed on the mould.

5) A mould is assembled around the two rail ends to be joined.

6) The chemical reaction generates a huge amount of heat that melts the constituents to form liquid steel.

7) The defective rail is cut out.

8) The stripped weld is profiled to exactly match the rail profile and produce a smooth finish.

9) The rail ends are heated before welding.

10)The replacement section of rail is brought in and lowered into place.

Exercise 3. Now watch the video and check your answers.

Exercise 4. Watch again and complete the text with the words from the box.

a) inspection b) track c) chemical d) replace e) welding f) high speed g) steel h) vehicle i) curves

Eventually, however, it will be necessary to 1)……… the rail. The primary reasons are the number or severity of defects, wear or corrosion. Some rails can last up to 40 years if on a straight piece of 2)………. But on the 3)……… of a 4)……… line or where the rail is affected by road salting the lifespan can be reduced to less than a year. Typically, if a relatively short section of rail needs to be replaced, this will be done at night to minimise the disruption to traffic. In this instance, a corroded level crossing rail is being removed and replaced. The defective rail is cut out and then removed from the site using a road-rail 5)………. Once clear, the replacement section which has been cut to the required length is brought in and lowered into place. This will be attached to the existing line using an aluminothermic weld. First the rail is clamped and hauled into position and a mould is assembled around the two rail ends to be joined. The rail ends are heated before 6)……… to prevent the rail 7)………becoming brittle if it is allowed to cool too quickly. A crucible is placed on the mould. It contains iron oxide with specific alloying elements and volatile aluminium powder which causes the 8)……… reaction that reduces the iron oxide into steel. The chemical reaction generates a huge amount of heat that melts the constituents to form liquid steel which pours into the mould fusing the rails together. The mould and excess weld metal is removed while it is still hot. The stripped weld is then profiled to exactly match the rail profile and produce a smooth finish. Following 9)………, the new level crossing rail is ready to be used as part of the network.

Word list

1.	anchor ['æŋkə]	противоугон
2.	ballast bed ['bæləst]	балластный слой
3.	bolt	соединять, стягивать болтами
4.	buckle ['bʌkl]	прогибаться
5.	clip	клемма
6.	concrete ['kɔŋkriːt]	зд. железобетонный
7.	continuous welded rail	бесстыковой путь
8.	creeping	угон (пути)
9.	crosstie / tie (USA) [ʹkrɔstaı] / [taɪ]	шпала
10.	current ['kʌrənt]	ток
11.	curve [kɜːv]	кривая
12.	fasten ['fɑːsn]	крепить
13.	fishplate (ан.)	стыковая накладка
14.	fittings	скрепления
15.	gauge [geɪʤ]	колея, ширина колеи
16.	guide [gaɪd]	направлять
17.	join [ʤɔɪn]	соединять
18.	joint	стык
19.	layer	слой
20.	main line [meın laɪn]	магистраль, главная линия
21.	maintain [meɪn'teɪn]	содержать
22.	pad [pæd]	подкладка
23.	passing train	проходящий поезд
24.	permanent way (UK) ['pɜːmənənt]	верхнее строение пути
25.	prevent [prɪ'vent]	предотвращать
26.	require [rɪ'kwaɪə]	требовать
27.	sand	песок
28.	screw [skruː]	шуруп
29.	sleeper (UK)	шпала
30.	smooth [smuːð]	плавный
31.	spike [spaɪk]	костыль
32.	subgrade [ʹsʌbgreıd]	земляное полотно
33.	support [sə'pɔːt]	опора; поддерживать; служить опорой
34.	track	путь
35.	track circuit ['sɜːkɪt]	рельсовая цепь
36.	traffic	движение
37.	transfer	передавать
38.	vehicles ['vɪəklz]	зд. подвижной состав
39.	welded welding	сварной, бесстыковой сварка
40.	wooden	деревянный

Reading

Text B