US1478715A - Composite tau rail - Google Patents

Description

\ H. M. LOFTON COMPOSITE T-RAIL Filed May 24 1921 Patented Dec. 25, 1923.

UNITED STATES HERBERT M. LOFTON, GHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

COMPOSITE T RAIL.

Application filed May 24, 1921. Serial No. 472,086.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HERBERT M. LorroN a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chattanooga, county of Hamilton, and State of Tennessee, have invented an Improvement in Composite T Rails, of which the following is aspecilication.

My invention has for its object the construction of rails for steam and other railways which shall provide a composite strucf ture comprising base and head sections or parts detachably bolted together whereby the head sections may be replaced when worn; and in which further, the said head sections break joints with the joints of the base sections so as, in effect, to provide a substantially continuous rrail not dependent upon fish plates or chairs to insure a union of successively arranged rail sections.

My object is further, to so firmly support the head sections upon the continuous base structure wherever said head portions are to be abutted, vthat there is no possibility for vertical looseness; and the object is also to provide the abutting joint of thek head sections as an oblique division, so that objectionable pounding of the trucks wheels is obviated.

My object is further, to overcome the danger of breaking of the'rail as a whole, a cause of serious accidents in the usual type ofT rails, this danger being prevented by the composite construction, wherein any weakness in one part is taken care of by the strength of the other part.

My object is also to provide a construction of rail which will enable complete replacement of the head portions thereof, upon which the main wear comes, with a minimum disturbance of the road-bed and loss of time. By the use of my improved rail construction, it will only be necessary to unbolt one head section at a time for replacement, this process being carried on progressively and occupying only twoor three minutes per section.

With the above and other' objects in view, the nature of which will be' more fully understood from the description hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel construction of composite T rail, as hereinafter more fully described and defined in the claims.

Referring' to the drawings.: Fig'. l is a. cross section of my improved composite rail taken on line 1 1 of Fig. 3; Fig. 21 is a cross section of the same on line 2-7-2' of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my improved rail withl portions removed to show the beginning and ending of one complete base portion thereof; Fig. 4l is a similar elevation but with the rail `turned 'around to show the other side; Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 6 isa perspective view of f a portion of the base of the rail; Fig.-7 is a transverse cross section of a modificationof vmy improved composite rail; and Fig. 8 is tion and taken at a position which would correspond to line 8 8 ofFig. 3.

My improved composite rail comprises the base part 1- and kthe head part` 2 which are bolted together by transverse bolts?) extending through overlapping web kportions of said parts, and moreover, thejoints between the successive head portions 2 are staggered or arranged alternately with the joints between the successivey base portions, as will be clearly understoood by reference to the joints 1l in the head portion `2 and l2 in the base portion l, (Figs. 3 and 5).

Referring more particularly to the cross section shown in Fig. l, it will be seen that the base portion lof thek rail comprises foot flanges and a vertical web la very similar to the lower portion of an ordinary T rail section. The web la, however, extends upn ward and at itsy top is laterally flanged at 7a to one side of a`Y vertical line through the center of the web and at a lower level Vthe web is shouldered to the othersideof `the center line, as yindicated at 10, which, in the preferred construction, Koccurs `lengthwise of the rail approximately half way betweenfthe base andr head of the rail structure. The head 2 of the rail is provided' with a downwardly extending web 21 located immediately to one side of a verticalline through.` the head, and to the other side ofthe center line the head is notched or cutaway along its length, so that it snugly fits the lateral flange 7a of'theweb of the base part, the plane of the joint 7 between the head and said flange being preferably slightly inclined downward and inward'. The downward extending web 2 of the headportion is just deep enough to snugly reach the shoulder 10 ofthe base web and rest thereon. This downwardly extending web 2 is provided with a lon:- gitudinal contacting surface 9 at' its upperor head portion for contacting with theu-pper edge of the web la, whereas the web la, adjacent to the shoulder 10, is provided with a vertical longitudinal contacting surface 8 which directly receives the lower part of the web 2a. This construction provides a longitudinal shallow space between the parts 8 and 9 and transversely of which the bolts 3 extend for clamping the webs of the base and head parts together; and the slight yieldingV capacity, by reason of this clearance space, permits a slight springing of the metal and more positive contacting at the parts 8 and 9. It will also be noted that the facing or bearing stri 9 on the head part occurs where it is esirable to give greater strength to the web, that is, where it extends downward from the head and similarly, the provision of the facing or bearing strip 8 on the web la gives greater metal adjacent to the shouldered portion, and this increases its strength at this vit-a1 point. In practice, it will suffice for the bolt-s 3 to be spaced approximately 16.9 inches apart along the length of the rail, except at the ends where the two head portions abut, and at those places adjacent to where the two base portions abut, at which two places the spacing may be approximately six inches apart and nine inches apart respectively. Y

While it is not'necessary to employ splice bars o-r fish-plates for uniting the head portions of the rail end to end, because of the fact that they are so thoroughly united with the web` of the base portions and the latter constitute all the support adjacent to the joints 1l that is necessary, nevertheless, as the base portions rest upon the wooden ties and are, therefore, subjected to more or less uneven strain, they have their abutting ends united by means `of splice bars which are indicated at 4 and 5 in Fig. 2, and also shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The splice bars 4 are of relatively short height, so that they terminate adjacent to the shouldered portion l() of the vertical web of the base part l, whereas theY splice bar 5 is of the full height of the web 1a and abuts under the lateral projecting portion 7 a at the top and rests directly upon the foot ange at the bottom, these splice bars 4 and 5 being respectively clamped in position at opposite sides of the rail by the transverse bolts 3a and denitely and positively connect the ibase portions l oi the composite rail in permanent continuous union, and which is maintained even though the head portions be replaced.V As shown in Fig. 2, the bolts 3 are made somewhat longer at they places where the splice bars 5 come, so that they may extend not only through the two webs of the rail proper, but also through the splice bar 5, and in this manner stiften the upper parts of the webs la where they abut, and thus provide a more firm support for the rail head 2. It

will now be seen that immediately above the joined ends of the base parts l of the rail sections, the head portions 2 are continuous, whereas, immediately below the abutting ends ll of the head portion 2, the base portion l of the rail is continuous, the joints in the two instances coming at diiferent'places along the rail; and because the head portion is continuous immediately above the junction portion l2 oi' the base sections, very little strain will come upon the rail joints or" the pern'ianent or lower sections. in fact, the strain at this point would be so relatively small that the splice bars will keep the permanent section of the rail in permanent alinement at its joints without any additional bridge plates or other accessories. By reason of the fact that the joint il of the head sections comes over a solid part of the permanent or base section and that further the joint is cut diagonally (Fig. 5), the result is that the joint in the renewable sections is supported firmly from below the head and the web and thus prevented from bearing down or giving way at this place, the diagonal joint permitting the wheels to pass noiselessly and without jar in travelling over the joints. In the case oi' great lengths of rail sections, provision is lmade for expansion and contraction where such is necessary in climates of considerable varying temperatures, and `this may be accomplished by making the bolt holes slotted or oblong Vin the lower or permanent section, following the ordinary practice in such matters.

The general proportion of the head, web and base of my improved composite rail approximates closely to the general cross section of the standard T rails, (with the exception that the overlapping web portions give somewhat greater width at the upper half of the web than is customary in the standard rails), and this is desirable, because the frogs and switches of the roadbed would be constructed of solid rails as is now commonly, done and, therefore, proper splicing connections with them may very readily be secured by employing splice bars 5 which may be employed not only on one side, but upon both sides of the rail, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to the construction shown in F'g. 7, it will be seen that it approximates the construction shown in Fig. l, except that the web 2aM of the head portion is made higher and the shoulder 10 of the web portion la is formed adjacent to the footV flange, so that the two webs la and 2a areoi1 approximately the same height and are bolted together by the bolts 3 at a point somewhat lower down than in Fig. l. Furthermore, in this construction, l prefer that the cross section of the webs shall be somewhat tapered, web la being tapered upwardly and web 2a tapered downwardly, but in which i railroads in cities.

the horizontal cross section at the bottom is somewhat greater than the corresponding cross section Aat the top. In this construction, the splice bars 5 would be used as in the previous case, but it would not be necessary to employ the splice bar 4, as the lower part of lthe flange 2"L would answer in lieu thereof.

Referring to Fig. 8, the construction there shown is similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2, with the exception that the head section 2 of the rail is flanged at one side to provide the ordinary grooved construction, such as is employed by street and other The vertical height of the rail is also shown as somewhat greater than that of the standard T rail, in conformity with the general electric raliroad practice in street railways. The section which is taken for Fig. 8 being that indicated by the dotted line 8-8 of Fig. 3,

shows the cross section at the same place' as would correspond to Fig. 1 and with the splice bar construction shown at the rear, substantially corresponding to what is indicated in Fig. 2.

While I have indicated the joints 11 and 12 as being spaced uniformly apart, along the length of the railway, it is manifest that it would suffice that the joints 11 were displaced in respect to the joints 12 to the extent of 3 or 4 feet, so that each section was immediately associated with the abutting portion of the other section. If this positioning of the joints is carried out, it is then apparent that the intermediate bolts 3 uniting the webs of the sections 1 and 2 might be substituted by rivets, the overlapping connecting portions of the webs adjacent to the splice bars 5 alone being united by bolts 3 and 3, though the use of rivets would not permit the free replacement of the head portions as conveniently as by the use of bolts.

Aside from the general advantages arising out of the special construction of my improved composite rail, there is another important advantage found in the fact that the head or renewable section, being of much lighter Weight than that of a complete rail, permits the same `to be made of' a higher grade of steel, thus prolonging the life of the same and adding greater safety on account of the additional strength secured thereby. f

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible of modi- Letters Patent, is z- 1. A composite rail structure comprising a base section having an upwardly extending web provided at its top with a lateral ange portion to one side of theweb and at a lower level yprovided* with a lateral shoulder at the other side of the web, combined with a head section having a downwardly extending web resting upon the shoulder and fitting upon the top of the web and lateral flange-thereof of the base section, the said sections being positioned longitudinally so that the end of one section projects beyond the end of the other section, and transverse yfastening devices extending through the flanges of the two sections for *securing them firmly together, and wherein further the abutting base sections are directly united by bolts which pass through the splice bars and base flange alone whereby the base sections may be secured together end to end before applying the head section.

2r. rlhe invention according to claim 1, in which the splice bar on that side of the base sections to which the web of the head section is applied extends only part way up between the base and head of the rail structure, and in which further the bolts which extend through the web of the head section adjacent to the splice bars also extend through the splice bar at the opposite side of the base section, so that at the. abutting junction of each pair of base rail sections, the web of the head section is directly bolted to the webs of the two abutting base sections by bolts extending through and clamping the splice bar last mentioned tightly in position.

4 3. A plurality of abutting composite rail structures, each comprising a base section having oppositely directed foot flanges and an upwardly directed web provided with a longitudinal lateral shoulder at one side thereof, and a head section having a downwardly extending web resting upon the shoulder and fitted against the side face of the web of the base section, and so positioned that the head and base sections overlap each,

other 4longitudinally considered, transverse fastening devices ext-ending through the flanges of said basefand head sections for detachably securing them together, a splice barv connected wholly to the webs of the base sections and bolts extending through the webs of the base sections and said splice bar and positioned out of contact with the head sections for uniting the base sections end to end independent of the head sections.

4. The invention according to claim 3, wherein the upper ends of the webs of the base sections are provided with lateral flange portions and the splice bar which is connected Wholly to the base sections is arranged below the'web of the head section, and in Which the side of the base section opposite to the splice bar above referred to is provided With a'second splice bar secured in position upon the base sections by the first mentioned bolts, said last mentioned splice bar having a height to extend upwardly greatly above said first mentioned Vsplice bar and supporting the top lateral fiange portion of the base sections and located in transverse alinement With said first mentioned splice bar and having its upper part also arranged in transverse alinement With a continuous part of the head section, and bolts extending through the Webs of the base and head sections and upper part of the last mentioned splice bar, said bolts arranged above the lateral shoulder and at a level higher than the iirst mentioned splice bar. u

A base section for a composite rail having an upright longitudinal Web portion provided at the bottom With opposite :toot iianges and at the top With a lateral shallow fiange portion Wholly to one side and presenting a horizontal upper surface, and further having the other side of the web provided with a longitudinal shoulder at a considerable distance below the top of the Web portionand sharply projecting laterally beyond the surface of the Web and forming a longitudinal iiat upper surface, and the web provided with transverse holes spaced apart along the length' of the base section, part of which are above and part beloW the laterally projecting shoulder.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

HERBERT M. LOFTON.

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