Rail spike, railway spike or railroad spike Dog Spike / Cut Track Spike / Screw Spike / coach screw

Rail spike, railway spike or railroad spike Dog Spike / Cut Track Spike / Screw Spike / coach screw

Rail spike, railway spike or railroad spike Dog Spike / Cut Track Spike / Screw Spike / coach screw

Rail spike, also called railway spike or railroad spike, is a large nail with an offset head that is used to ensure the correct position of rail gauge and to secure rails and base plates to rail ties in the railway. Dog spike is one of the primary types of railway spikes.


Dog spike is also named as cut track spike. Dog spike, as its own name suggested, it looks like a dog’s head because of its two lugs. Dog spike is mainly used to fasten wooden ties that have an L-shaped head and a square shank, and the underside of whose head is sloped to fit the top surface of the rail base. The bottom of dog spike’s head is sloped to match the slope of the flange of a rail and the tip is wedge-shaped, not pointed. The wedge is driven into the tie across the grain, which means the wedge is parallel to the track. A dog spike is functionally equivalent to a cut spike. The common track spikes are the 5/8”*6” and the 9/16”*5-1/2” for smaller rail sections, and they are usually secured in either 200 lb. kegs or 50 lb. kegs. Below are the pictures of rail dog spikes.

Rail spike, railway spike or railroad spike Dog Spike / Cut Track Spike / Screw Spike / coach screw

Technical Data of Railway Dog Spikes Offered
Dog Spikes 5/8*6" 9/16*5-1/2" Standard 3/8"*3-1/2" 1/2*3-1/2 & other kinds
Material A3,Q235, 45#,55#, etc
Surface According to customer needs
Standard According to customer's drawings or samples


Rail spikes provide a mechanical interlock that delivers more than twice the holding power of conventional hammered railway spikes. Rail spikes mainly includes dog spike and screw spike.

Dog Spike / Cut Track Spike

Dog spike , also called cut track spike, and as the name implies, dog spike looks like a dog's head, which is mainly used on T-shaped rails to fasten T-shaped railroad track to wooden ties that have an L-shaped head and a square shank. The bottom of the head is sloped to match the slope of the flange of a rail and the tip is wedge-shaped, not pointed. The wedge is driven into the tie across the grain, which means the wedge is parallel to the track. The square cross section gives a railroad dog spike much higher holding strength than a fastener having the same amount of metal but a circular cross section has; roughly speaking, about 50% more.

dog spike
Dog spike with the wedge driven across the grain will have about twice as much holding power as one driven with the grain. Early experiments showed that pulling out a 9/16” × 9/16” spike driven 4¼ inches into dry cedar required on average a force of 857 pounds. In seasoned oak, another experimenter needed 4281 pounds. Below is the technical data of dog spike.

Type all kinds according to drawings
Raw material Q235
Size 5/8* 6", 9/16*5-1/2", 3/8"*3-1/2, 1/2*3-1/2, 14*14*150, 16*16*165, etc.
Surface plain(oiled)


Screw Spike

Screw spikes are commonly used to fasten timber railway ties/sleepers; however, they can also be used in conjunction with plastic ferrules that have been cast into concrete ties/sleepers.

Rail spike, railway spike or railroad spike Dog Spike / Cut Track Spike / Screw Spike / coach screw

                                                                                                                                          Type Ss5, Ss 8, Ss25, Ss36, UIC864-1 Series, etc
Raw material Q235, 35 steel, 45steel, 40Mn2, 20 Mn Si
Grade 4.6, 4.8, 5.6, 8.8
Surface plain(oiled), black paint, color paint, zinc, HDG, etc


How to Fasten Dog Spike to Wooden Sleepers in Railway?


Dog spike is a large nail applied to securing the safety of rails and it is driven into the sleeper by spike maul with the edge against the resistance to loosening. With the function of keeping the rail in gauge, dog spike are various in types sizes to suit the most applications.

Railway Dog Spikes in North America


The market of dog spikes used in North America’s railway is promising. North America imports large numbers of dog spikes, especially the 5/8”*6” type dog spike, which enjoys a large demand in North America. This is mainly because that there are still a large number of fright rail lines with wooden sleepers.

Rail spike, railway spike or railroad spike Dog Spike / Cut Track Spike / Screw Spike / coach screw