The VANGUARD system delivers an assembly with both very low
vertical stiffness and minimal rail roll and delivers exceptional vibration
reduction performance at a much lower cost than floating slab.
In the VANGUARD assembly, the rail is supported under the head and in the web with rubber wedges, leaving the foot of the rail suspended. The rubber wedges are held in place by cast-iron side brackets which
are in turn attached either to a shoulder cast into a concrete sleeper or block, or to a baseplate fixed to the track base using either bolts or screwspikes.
The baseplate system can be used on slab track, timber sleepers or on steel or concrete bridges.
The VANGUARD system is available in two different versions - as a baseplate assembly, or as a cast-in assembly. Both offer the same low stiffness and consequent high vibration attenuation capability. The choice as to which to use depends mainly on the preferred method of installation.
The very high level of vibration attenuation achieved with the system can be used to control ground vibration - for instance from trains running in tunnels, or to reduce the noise emitted from vibration of structures such as bridges or viaducts.
