US1058967A - Manufacture of track structures for railways and the like. - Google Patents

Description

R. A. HADFIELD. MANUFACTURE OF TRACK STRUCTURES FOR RAiLwAYs AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED 0011.2, 19 07. RENEWED SEPT. 27 1912. 1 1,058,967, Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

WITNESSES:

UNITED sTAfifiENT- OFFICE;

nonnn'r ABBOTT HADFIELD, or SHEFFIELD, ENGLAN MANUFACTURE OF TRACK STRUCTURES TOR RAILWAYS AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Apr. 15,1913.

Application filed October 2, 1907, Serial No. 395,65}. Renewed September 27, 1912. Seria1-No;'722,763.

structures, including points and crossings and other articles, of material which has much greater durability and safety than the track structures now commonly employed and usually made as built-up work from ordi nary carbon steel rails Y According thereto, track structures are built up from suitably'shaped pieces "of for ed manganese steel, preferably of the kin known as Hadfields Era manganese steel, (made by Hadfields SteelFoundry Company Limited of Sheffield). The required pieces of manganese steel may be of the desired track structure, subjecting the said parts to a toughening process, grinding the ends or other portions of the said parts where necessary, into the complete and finished shapes either after or before the toughening process, punching the necessary holes for bolts, or other fastening means or' attachments, and finally assembling and bolting or otherwise securing the several parts together to form the desired track structure.

My invention is shown in the drawing herewith, in which 1 indicates a frog and 2 2 the two rails of a switch operated by a' swiitch of any usual construction as indicated at 4 4 are the ties and at 5 are indicated in dotted lines the rails of usual construction.

The invention may conveniently be carried into practice as follows :I. first "cast ingots of Hadfields Era manganese steel,

preferably in the manner described in the specification of former Letters Patent grant-,-

.poses and it has for objectto produce track,

produced by casting such steel into ingots,-

the shrinkage heads or risers of the'ingots being preferably fed inthe manner described in the specification of my pending applica- 3 tion for Letters Patent Serial No, 316,451, filed May 12, 1906; The ingots are then, if deslred, removed while hot, by which term I mean at any suitable temperature which does not'allow the ingot'to cool down to a dangerous point at which they may break through contraction. Or, if the ingots are allowed to go cold, I carefullv reheat them by first heating them very slowly, so that the expansion which takes place will not break them. This is' important as manganese steel is a very bad conductor'of heat, and in this case 1t is necessary to carry out the heating very gradually, until thetem perature of the ingots has reached. about a dull red. The ;1ngots are then further heated, it may be more quickly up to a temperature of from about 850 C. to 1000 C. (eight-hundred and fifty degrees to one thousand degrees centigrade), varying according to the size and -nature of the ingot. They are then forged into billets which are reheated, say

.to about the temperature just mentioned,

and rolled into rails or other shapes, of suit able lengths. Or theingots may be rolled direct, into rails or other shapes of' suitable length, that is to say without the intervention of previous billeting. It is necessary to use great care to see that the ingots are uniformly heated or they cannot be'satisfactorily rolled. The reduction of the ingot into rails'or shapes should take placemore gradually than ordinary steel ingots. The rails or other shapes when rolled into suitable lengths, are preferably cut hot into the desired lengths. In some cases where an oblique section is required, the rails or shapes can be sawed-to such section while hot. In other cases the rails'are ready for v the further necessary treatment, which can, if desired, be effected while they are still in the heated condition, or, if they are allowed to cool, after being reheated, and which treatment consists in sub ect1ng the ends or other parts of such rails to a forging, pressing, or other squeezing-treatment wherebythey are caused to assume approximately the finished shape desired for the production of lot the various taper or other sections and configurations necessary for the production of the required point crossing or" other track structure. The parts thus produced are preferably then subjected to the required toughening process such as described in my said former specifications, after which the ends or other portion of the parts are ground into the complete and finished shape in quired and an elongation of whichit is necessary to prepare them. The toughening process may be carried out after this finishing process, but usually I prefer to first toughen the parts. Holes of the reshape for bolts and fish-plates or other fastenings or attachments are punched in the parts. The whole of the parts to form the required track structure are then -My special track work is far superior to ordlnary steel castings, or even cast manganese "steel, because the articles are practically quite sound'and free from flaws. The whole of the material is thusv produced of the best stel, having a high tenacity of say about 50 to 60 (fifty to sixty) tons per square inch,

forty five percent.) the material being nevertheless so hard that it cannot be drilled or machined. The section tested was about 1000 (1,, forging to 45% (thirty to 1 eight inches long. There is thus obtained forged track work having exceptional durability and safety.

at I claim is 1. The herein described process of pro ducing structures from manganese steel, which consists in casting the steel into ingots, reheating the ingots very gradually and uniformly to about a dull red heat if the ingots have cooled, then heating the ingot uniformly to from about 850 C. to about 1000 C., then gradually rolling into the shape of rails.

2. The herein described process of producing structures from manganese steel, which consists in casting the steel into ingots, maintaining the ingots hot or reheat- .ing to about a dull red heat very slowly and uniformly,.then reheating the entire ingot uniformly to from about 850 C. t-oabout into billets, then gradually rolling into. rails.

Signed at 28 Hertford street, Mayfair, London, England this twenty ninth day of An ler, 1907.

ROBERT ABBOTT 'HADFIELD.

Witnesses:

JOHN IVM. CROWLEY, JOHN H. HALLATT.

Images