US1420168A - Rail tie plate - Google Patents

Description

J. T. WALKER.

RAIL TIE PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN;.3, 1922.

1,420, 1 68., PatentedJune 20, 1922.

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RAIL TIE PLATE.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented June 2d, 1922.

Application filed January 3, 1922. Serial No. 526,682.

ToaZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES T. Milken, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lafo'llette, in the county of Campbell and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rail Tie Plates, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying draw- 111g.

My improvement relates particularly to tie plates placed between railway track rails and wooden ties, the plates being secured to the ties with spikes.

The object of my invention is to provide a tie plate which permits sidewise adjustment of the rail to maintain the track gauge without moving the tie plate, in order that the plate may remain well secured to the tie.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved tie plate, looking parallel to the length of the track, a rail being shown in section on the plate;

Fig. 2 is a view of the same plate, looking toward the right of Fig. 1, a part being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the plate and a part of the rail, a part of the tongue being broken away;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the same plate,

Fig. 5 is a detached plan of a filling or wearing member;

Fig. 6 is an upright section on the line, 6-6, of Fig. 4c, the plate having been turned right side up;

Fig. 7 is a reduced perspective of the same plate;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line, 8-8, of Fig. 2, looking toward the right;

Fig. 9 is a detail view of filling or wearing members of three sizes.

Referring to said drawings, A is the body of the plate. On the lower face of the plate are horizontal ribs. B. Said ribs are of zigzag or indirect form, in order that they may be longer and adapted to make more extended engagement with the upper face of the tie.

On the upper face of the plate, between the middle and one of the end edges of the plate is a tongue, E, which rises from the plate and is then directed horizontally toward the middle line of the plate. The height of said tongue is suflioient to admit a part of the foot of the rail, R. Between said tongue and the adjacent end edge of the plate are three spike holes, C, only large enough to permit driving an ordinary railway track spike through them into the tie. Near the opposite end edge of the plate are a spike hole, C, and a spike hole, D, the hole, G, being the same in size as the holes, C, at the other end of the plate, while the hole, D, is elongated parallel to the length of the plate and perpendicular to the length of the rail, R, and reaching at least as far as the space to be occupied by the foot of the rail when it is first set. Beneath the tongue is a base, F, extending parallel to the length of the tongue and to the length of the rail, said base being a thickening of the plate to give the plate additional strength and to make an eX- tended bearing on the upper face of the tie, with a view to reducing tendency to crush or wear away the upper face of the tie by downward-pressure through the outer part of ti e foot of the rail. the part of the rail which is engaged beneath the tongue, E.

The tie plate is to be secured to the upper face of the tie and to remain so secured as long as the plate remains in service on said tie. For this purpose, ordinary railroad spikes are to be driven. through the spike holes, C. Driving these spikes will tend to press the ribs, B, into the surface of'the wood of the tie, making an engagement which will tend to give the plate stability on the tie. The lengthening of said ribs by making them zigzag or indirect increases such engagement.

"When the rail, R, is in position on the plate, the outer edge of the foot of the rail having been put under the tongue, E, a spike is driven into the elongated hole, D. close to the foot of the rail, so that the head oi the spike will engage the upper face of said foot. Then said spike serves to hold the rail against movement away from the tongue, B. As is well known in the railway service, there is relatively small tendency to movement of the track rail inward or toward the middle of the track, the major sidewise force exerted on the rail being outward. Hence the major sidewise force is to be resisted by the tongue, E, and sidewise movement of the tongue is resisted by all the spikes, C.

To maintain the gauge of the track-the distance between the heads of the rails-I have made provision for adjusting the rail sidewise relative to the tongue. For this rail is secured as it was'before.

purpose filling or wearing members, G, are placed between the upright part of the tongue, E, and the adjacent edge of the foot of the rail, R.

Before the plate is secured to the tie, it is put into position to properly space the rail from the opposite companion rail with no space at all bet-ween the upright part of the tongue and the adjacent edge of the foot of the rail or with only enough space to admit between said parts a thin filling or wearing member, G. The latter is the preferable course, because then wear exerted by the adjacent edge of the foot of the rail will reduce said filling member and reduction and subsequent weakening of the tongue are pre vented. This is an important practical feature; for if the upright part of the tongue were thus Worn and the p ate thereby weakened, there would be danger of said tongue breaking and allowing the adjacent rail to move outward, which would involve track spreading, an accident which it is important to avoid. When such a filling or wearing member has become too much worn for further service, it may be replaced by another such member, and that requires only small sacrifice.

If the outer edge of the foot of the rail or the inner side of the head of the rail become worn to such extent as to widen the gage to an objectionable extent, the filling member then in position between the tongue and the foot of the rail may be replaced by a thicker member. For this, it is only neces sary to draw the spike from the long hole, D, after which the rail may be moved sidewise toward the middle of the track to free the old filling member and allow putting into its place one that is thicker. After the new filling member has been put into position, the rail is again moved horizontally outward until it bears against the new fill ing member. Then the spike is again inserted through the elongated spike hole, D, of the plate and into or near the socket which it previously occupied in the tie. T lips the 1g. 9 shows three filling or wearing members of different thicknesses. These are only for illustration. It is to be understood that any number of such members of any desired thicknesses may be made and used by the track men as needed for the proper spacing of the rails from each other.

To keep said members from working endwise, they are made as long as the upright part of the tongue and their ends are provided with laterally-directed heads, G1, which over-lap the ends of the upright part of the tongue.

From the foregoing it will now be better understood that there is advantage in making adjustment between the rail and the tie plate and leaving the tie plate immovable on the tie. It will be understood that the spikes will hold better if their seating in the wood is not disturbed, and the engagement of the ribs, B, in the wood of the tie will last longer if those ribs are allowed to remain in the channels which they form in the wood when the tie plate is first put into position.

I claim as my invention,

1. The combination of a tie plate having a tongue adapted to receive the outer edge of the foot of a track rail and having spike holes located far enough away from V the space on which the foot of the rail is to be seated to avoid engagement of the rail by spikes set in said holes and said spike holes being of size to receive ordinary spikes and said plate having an elongated spike hole reaching to the position to be occupied by the inner edge of the foot of the rail, andxa filling or wearing member adjoining said tongue in position to receive the outer edge of the foot of therail, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a tie plate having a tongue adapted to receive the outer edge of the foot of a track rail and having spike holes located far enough away front the space on which the foot ofthe rail is to be seated to avoid engagement of they rail by spikes set in said holes and said spike holes being of size to receive ordinary spikes and said plate having an elongated. spike hole reaching to the position to be occupied by the inner edge. of the foot of the rail, a filling or wearing member adjoining said tongue in position to receive the outer edge of the foot of the rail, and said filling or wearingmemher having heads over-lapping the ends of the upright part of the tongue, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, this 29th day of December, in the year one thousand nine hundred and twenty-one.

J AMES T. lVALKER.

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