HISTORY OF A CLIP
Modern rail fastenings haven’t been around as long as you might think. Until the Second World War rails were fastened to wooden sleepers with steel spikes, whose design hadn’t changed significantly since the advent of steel rails. Spikes, driven in by hand, gradually loosened over time as the motion of trains passing pulled them away from the sleeper. It was as recently as 1958 that Norwegian rail engineer Per Pande-Rolfson patented a clip – the classic Pandrol clip that we recognise today. The distinctive design was as innovative as it was aesthetically striking: it used the inherent elasticity of steel to absorb both lateral and vertical forces, keeping the clip in place indefinitely with minimal maintenance. The global rights to the product were bought by the Elastic Spike Company (rebranded as Pandrol in 1972), which branded it the PR Clip. The reason it will be instantly recognisable to so many Rail Express readers is that it was adopted as a standard fastening by BR in 1966. Pandrol clips have been employed on railways across the world and are familiar to generations of rail travellers. Railway modellers seeking high level accuracy (particularly those who build their own track) are keen ensure they have authentically shaped clips on their track – see Rail Express Modeller page M31.