A metal plate stands on a cross tie above an opening in the tie and a rail clip has a substantially straight leg which is driven into the opening, bears upwardly and is at most 2 mm. below a flat bottom of the plate. Second and third parts of the clip bear downwardly on the upper face of the rail flange and the upper face of the plate, respectively. This assembly may be made from an existing assembly in which a spike had its head overlying the rail flange and holding the rail down, the making of the new assembly including the step of forming the opening in the tie without moving the plate. A rail clip especially suitable for use in the assembly is made by bending a metal rod to a shape in which, when the substantially straight leg is horizontal and the lowest points on the second and third parts lie in a horizontal plane, a vertical plane, parallel to a vertical plane containing the axis of the leg, intersects both the leg and the third part, and the minimum spacing between the third part and the leg is 1/2 to 2 times the rod thickness.