US1814239A - Concrete railroad tie - Google Patents

Description

July 14, 1931.

J. C. BUCKBEE CONCRETE RAILROAD TIE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 6. 1929 M mun- 2,, magi? llllllll w l w llll lllllll 1....|||||| H i Patented July 14, 1931 JOHN G. 'BUCKBEE, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS cornea-nan RAILROAD TIE Application filed December 5, 1929. Serial No. 412,079.

This invention relates to improvements in railroad ties and more particularly to ties constructed of reinforcedconcrete and of an improved design calculated to increase the stability of road beds and to improve operating conditions of railroads; generally. i

The function of ties inrailway constructionis too well known to require an extended discussion In brief, the ties are embedded 10 in the road bed at relatively short intervals and the rails laid along the ties and anchored by spikes. Tie plates are usually inserted between the ties and the rails together with some form'of anti-creeping device to prevent the rails from shifting lengthwise.

Assuming'a tie to be roughly eight feet in length and the standardfgauge of track to be approximately five feet between rail centers, it follows that the rails are supported 1% feet from" the ends of the ties and2 feet from the centers. Taking in'to consideration the fact that the center of a road bed tends I to remain compact and solid whilethe :outer edge portions tend to loosen and become soft under the action of passing"trains,'it follows thatthere exists condition of improper loaddistribution, considering each tie as a beam andthe road bed as the foundation, and the further fa'ctthat a tie not only supends than the center, but the foundation is less solid beneath the end portions of the rails'which support the greater portion of the load on the rails. Ihe result therefore 'i s that the trackway, i. e., the ties and rails,

tend rto balance Onjthe more solid central portion ofthe road bed unless this condition is overcome by continuous track' maintenanfce, that is, by tamping the ballast under 40 the ends of the ties. v f v V I WVith the continualincrease iii the weight of rolling stock used upon railroads, it be comes increasingly apparent that while the size of rails has been materially increased, the foundations upon which thefrails are laid have not kept pace, with the result that the problem of road'maintenanceis one of the major concernsof railway operation. It

at invention a needs which i ther tereg he hi fv pbje t 1ofjthei ntl departs rails.

,from the usual design by taking into ac;

deterioration over a long period ofQyearsl And finally, the object of the invention is to provide a practical and satisfactory anchorage for the rail upon'the tie, with the f provision for adjustment, in the width of rail flange or in the gauge of the track.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1 is a top plan View of the tie and rail anchorage assembly;

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of the tie with rails supported thereon;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tie;

Figure 4 is a view in cross section taken on line 44 of Figure'Z;

t Figure 5 is a view in end elevation of the tie; it

Figure 6 is an enlarged top plan view of c the rail anchorage assembly; 30 portsf'the railsfat points much nearer the I Figure 7 is a chor plate; and V Figure 8 is an enlarged detail view in vertical section taken on line 88 of Figure 6..

perspective view of the an- 0 Considering the tie as a structural memher, it is in. reality a reinforced concrete beam designed to meet the load conditions peculiar to its function as a support for The tie would be made in a mold or I form according to the usual practice in the .mixing and pouring of concrete and the in-' gredlents being selected and proportioned .to give the t1e the desired strength.

7 In its general dimensions and proportions, the tie is approximately 8 feet in length and of substantially square section throughout its central portion,although itsv heightis slightly greaterthan its width. [Theend portions ofthetie diverge or spread laterally to approximately twice the Width the area of the central portion lyingbetween the rails. In short, the primary purpose in the designing of thetie is to equalize the supporting values outside of therails with that between the rails. This does not mean that theareas need be exactly equalized or that the end portions need have a tapered conformation, but rather that the end portions be substantially widened so that the load distribution will be properly spread throughout the length of the tie. V

Thus,1as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the tie constructed of reinforced concrete has a central portion 1 of,"say, 6 inches in width and 7 or 8 inches in height. The widened end portions 2, 2 begin to widen outwardly at points inwardly from the center lines of the rails 3, 3'and just below the inside edge of the bottom flange of the rails, as shown in Figure 1,"and continue to points halfway between the rails and the ends of the tie where'the sides of 'the't iescontinue along parallel lines to the extreme ends.

The top ofthe central portion 1 of the tie is beveled or tapered slightlyalong its side edges for a depth of, say, 2 inches, this beveled top section la'heing prolonged to the extreme ends of the tie.

may be employed, the following is preferred: Extending the length of the tie and lying. in its central vertical plane are two straight rods 4t, 4;, one near the top and the other near its bottom. On either side of the center rods are two arched rods 5, 5,- the central portions of these rods extending through the central portion 1 of the tie on either side of the upper straight rod 4:, and thence inclineddownwardly, bringing their end portions along the bottom ofthe end portions of the tie and in the plane of the lower straight rod 4. v

For fastening the rails 3, 3,to the tie, the

following parts are preferably employedz Qhan'nel-shaped' tie plates 6, 6,'seat.upo'n the tie in inverted position beneath the rails, their side flanges fittin snugly-lover the beveled top section 1a thereof, thus securely holding it against transverse displacement or in. a directicn g ise of the rails.

V in its top surface near its apex.

If desired, cushions or pads (5a, of oiled felt or other materials may be inserted between the top of the tie and the plates to aid in absorbing the shock of passing trains and to give a better bearing of the tie plate on the tie.

Embedded in the tie just beneath the tie i plates 6, 6 are anchor plates 8, 8 consisting of hollow metal castings of a general U- shape, with their top faces lying flush with the topfaee of the tie. As shown in Figure 7 each casting has two parallel hollow Jarms 7a, 7a,having pairs of T-slots 7b, 7?) extending longitudinally from opposite sides of rectangular openings 70, disposed cen' trally of the arms. These arms are -connected integrally at one end by a tapered housing 8 having a rectangular opening 8a This open ing is elongated slightly in a direction transversel'y'of the casting, and extendingin- Also integral with the anchor plate 'and depending from the central portion of each 'wardly therefrom and in line with its end of the arms 7a, 7a thereof are cylindric'an-,

chors 9, each having an enlargement 9a at its lower'endandaxial passages 97) communicating with the interior of the'hollow arms- 7a at their upper ends. As shown in Fig" Figure 8, the anchor plates 7 H are covered-by the tie plates '6 with the eX- The tie is preferably reinforced by' steel, rods or bars embeddedin the solid concrete, andalthough' any method of reinforcing ception of the tapered end portions 8, which project beyondthe outer end of each tie ure 8,"these anchors are of sufficient length to extend downwardly through the tie with" the bottom flange thereofj Moreover, these i bolt holesregister with the T slots 7]), 7b in the anchor plate "7'? beneath. I Thus before the rails' arelaid, four rail bolts 10 arefitted. into each anchor plate-by inserting their head ends into the large central opening 7 c in each arm 7a and then sliding them 'outwardly to the ends of the T-slots.' The through the bolt holes in the tie plates 6 as thesameare fitted onto the tie, 'and'then after the rail has ibeen'j laid in placefclips 11 are mounted on the projecting ends of the bolts overlappingthebottom flange of the rail and nuts 7; To complete.

a c threaded ends of the bolts are then inserted 12,12 lastly applied and .tighteneddownj. 1 1 f he "raillan'chorage a 'ra'ilf brace is" preferably added to the assemb1y,i. v

the same being applicable to either one or both rails, to each tie or to ties at various intervals apart, depending on the requirements at any given point along the road bed. The brace is designed to serve both as a support on the outside of a rail and as an adjusting member to permit lateral shifting of the rail.

The rail brace consists of a cast metal shoe 13, having a head. 13a shaped to fit snugly against the side of the rail between the head and the bottom flange and a tapered extension 13?) projecting laterally beyond. the edge of the bottom flange of the rail and bearing upon the tie plate 6. The shoe 18 has a backing member 14 consisting of a block of metal having a curved or hookshaped projection 14a at its lower end adapted to be inserted through the opening 8a in the extended end portion 8 of the anchor plate, with itsend projecting laterally into the cavity below said opening. The main portion of the block projects above the anchor plate and along its outer face is an integral lug 146 which seats upon the outer edge of the anchor plate and thus holds the backing block against displacement. Mounted in the backing block is a set screw 15 extending horizontally therethrough and turning in a nut 16 which seats in a recess 16a formed in the inner face of the block. The end of the set screw bears against a vertical abutment face at the outer end of the shoe 13, while its opposite end extends beyond the outer face of the block and is provided with a square head 15a, and adjacent thereto is a check nut 17.

The rail brace may be omitted as a part of the rail anchorage, in fact, the anchor plate 7 may be designed without provision for receiving the backing block 14 and thus serve only as retainers for the rail bolts. However, to avoid the necessity of providing more than one type of tie, it is preferred to use the same anchor plate for all ties and omit the rail brace where not needed.

It may be explained in connection with the anchor plate that provision for drainage is considered desirable in view of the possibility of water accumulating and freezing in the hollow interior sections, with the possibility of rupturing the casting.

And finally, it is to be noted that a continuous V-shaped groove 18 extends entirely around the sides and ends of the tie, midway between the top and bottom. The pur-' pose of this groove is to permit the use of tongs or other mechanical equipment for handling and laying the ties.

Having disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. A railroad tie comprising a beam of' reinforced concrete having a relatively narrow top section extending throughoutits length, inverted channel-shaped tie plates Seating Over said p ction at the PQ Ilts of rail support, anchor plates embedded in said tie beneath said tie plates, each comprising a hollow casting provided in its top wall with slots extending transversely beyond the edges of therail flange and having enlarged entrance openings beneath said prising a beam adapted to support the rails at points inwardly from each end and having a relatively narrow top section with beveled sides extending the length of the tie, tie plates seating over said top section at the points of rail support, and rail anchoring members embedded in the top face of the tie beneath said tie plates, and comprising hollow castings having integral tubular extensions through said tie.

3. A railroad tie comprising a concrete beam adapted to support the rails at points spaced inwardly from the ends thereof, anchor plates embedded in the top surface of said beam beneath the points of rail support, and each consisting of a hollow casting provided in its top wall with an opening lying beneath the rail flange, slots extending laterally from said opening beyond the edges of said rail flange and a separate opening adjacent one edge of said rail, rail bolts adapted to be inserted into said slots and a rail brace including a block having a portion insertable in said last mentioned opening.

Signed at Chicago, 111., this 3rd day of December, 1929.

JOHN C.- BUCKBEE.

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