US1966868A - Rail joint and rail joint fastening - Google Patents

Description

July 17, 1934. E, c L 1,966,868

RAID JOINT AND RAIL JOINT FASTENING Filed Dec. 28. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Tigil July 17, 1934. c. NEAL 1,966,868

RAIL JOINT AND RAIL JOINT FASTENING Filed Dec. 28. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fm emor Affor ey Patented July 17, 1934 RAH; JQIN'IPANDRAILt J OINFD FASTENING Ernest .0. Neal, C'oquille, Oreg., assig'nor to Bail,-

way Track-Joint Corporation, Goquille; 0reg'., a eorporationcfi Oregon Application December 28, 1931, Serial No. 583,463

8 Claims; 7 (Cl: 238"244) My United States Patent application filed-herewithis related to my United States Patent application filedrespectively on this date, upon the following invention: a-method of assembling rail joints, filed December 28,1931, Serial No. 583,462.

My rail joint isprimarily comprised ofthree.

elements, abase member, a splice member and wedge. Each joint is comprised of a set of. each of these units of three parts placed on the oppositely-disposed sides of therail ends and secured thereto by fastening bolts.

My invention relates to track joints, or spliced joints for rails used primarily as railroad rails.

The primary object of my invention is to provideatrack joint placeable at the. abutting ends ofrailroad railsthat will make thespli'ce at the: joint as strong asv the intermediate sections of the rail.

A'further object of my invention consistsin providing a track joint that will remain tight and develop its full strength without the sagging of the.

rail at the joint when used in actual railway: use and where trains are in constant. operation over the rails.

A-further object of my invention consists in providing a track joint for railroad rails-that may bemaintained in prime operating condition with practical freedom from adjustment and repair.

A further object of my invention consists in providing a track joint that will maintain the rail ends in desired spaced relationship at all times.

A2 further object of my invention consists in providing a track joint that will prevent. tight steel developingbetween the railends.

A further objector"v my invention consists in providing a track joint that will prevent the creeping: of the rails Astill further object of my invention consists in'providin'g a track 'joint'that will formthe rails into a continuous girder; and that will forma trackajoint of the same rigiditynnd'strength as the intermediate part of a the rail.

.A further object of my invention consists in providing a track joint that willadapt itself to the wave action of the rails when used in heavy train traffic and that will remain tight and in full strength at all times.-v 7

A; stillfurther objectof my invention consists inprovidinga track joint where'the use, of lock ,washersand other devices are practicallyclimb nated.

, A.further object of my'invention consists in providing a track joint that may be periodically tightened through theuse ofasledge or. track mall and be; aecomplished by inexpensive-help.

A further object of my invention consists, in providing atrackajoint that successfully prevents the chipping oii :of the rail endsdue. to tight steel and battered rail ends due to excessive space.

Aifurtherobject'of invention consists in;

providing: a trackjoint that prevents the forming. of low-joints attire rail ends.

With these and incidental .objectsgin View; t e;

invention consists in certain-features, of con: struction and combination ofiparts, the-essential elements of which :are set zforth' in the. appended claims,. and a; preferred ,fOlIlllOf embodiment of which is hereinaftershown with: reforenoeioihfi drawings. which accompany and ,form a port: of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig; 1 is aperspective, side'view ofa track: joint inwhioh mynew; and'improved splicebar is-used for the making of the. splice atthe-rail ;end.

Fig. 2: is;.a=.perspective; side-viewof thc ends of vthe' rail at the-joint andillustrating. the; base barin place-upon the base ofthe flange of the. rail.

Fig; 3.-is a-perspective, side View, ofrthe .wedge thatis to: be placed withinthe longitudinal recess disposed upon the upper suriacegof-thebase bar.

Fig. 4 islla perspective, side view; of the splice bar.

Fig. his a side view of the completed joint-in place;

Fig. dis a perspective, side view; of ;the base of'the joint; that ispto be used. uponrelatively heavy railroad :ra-il sections.

w Fig. '7 is asectional; perspective; end view: of one-ofrmynewand improved splicesainplace at the joint end of the rail;

Fig; 8 is a sectional end view of one of my new and improved joints in place upon the rail.

Like reference. characters refer tolike parts throughout the several views.-

My inventioniscomprised primarily of a set of three units, a base bar 1; a wedge. 2', and a splice bar 3: The base-bar is adapted to fit and to conform to the upper surface of one'side of thebase 4 of the rail'5:v A. ledge 6;runs-longi-. tudinally of the underside of the outer edge of the base bar 1. Alongitudinal'groove 'l'is disposedilongitudinally of the topside of the'base bar. Upwardly extendinglegs 3- and 9 are disposed at. theoppositely disposed sides of the longitudinal ggroovefl. The inner-walls 10,.and 11 v of the legs are disposed substantially at. right anglesto the base ofthe groove-'7 andare substantially disposed parallel to each; other. The bottom groove "71 uniformly. slopes from oneend of the base bar to the other end of the base bar relative to that of the base 12.

Where the base bar is to be used on medium weight steel rails, bolt receiving depressions 13 are disposed in the upper surface of the upwardly extending legs. Where the base bar is to be used on relatively heavy railroad rails, these bolt receiving depressions 13 may be dispensed with.

The wedge 2 has a base 14 slightly less in width than the width of the longitudinal groove 7. The wedge is adapted for being placed within the groove '7. The wedge has parallelly disposed side walls 15 and 16 and a top surface 17. The top surface 17 of the wedge 2 lies in a single plane and the bottom surface 14 of the wedge 2 lies in a single plane, but the top surface 17 and the bottom surface 14 do not lie in parallel planes.

The wedge uniformly increases in cross sectional area from the thin end 18 to the thick or heavy end 19. When the wedge 2 is placed within the longitudinal groove 7, the upper surface 17 of the wedge and the lower surface 12 of the base bar will lie in parallel planes.

The splice bar 3 is primarily composed of a base 20, that is adapted to fit within the longitudinal groove 7 and to rest upon the upper surface of the wedge 2. The side walls 21 and 22 of the base of the splice bar 3 precisely fit within the longitudinal groove and precisely engage the inner surface of the upwardly extending legs 8 and 9. A ball 23 terminates the inner upper surface of the splice bar and a web section 24 connects the ball with the base of the splice bar. Bolt receiving holes 25 are disposed within the 5 splice bar through which the fastening bolts for the joint pass.

Lug receiving recesses 26 are disposed within the oppositely disposed sides of the upwardly extending legs of the base bar into which an outwardly extending projection 2'7, disposed upon the oppositely disposed sides of the splice bar, are made to engage. This precisely maintains the splice bar and the base bar in position relative to each other and to the rail and prevents the crawling, or the creeping of the one relative to the other and to the rail.

When the joint has been assembled upon the oppositely disposed sides of the rails at the joint and the fastening bolts 28 are placed therethrough, the inner surface 29 of the upwardly extending leg 8 is made to precisely engage within the fillet disposed between web 30 of the rail and the inner surface of the wedge.

' The top surface of the wedge when it is in place within the longitudinal groove forms a horizontal support for the splice bar and it lies in a plane parallel to the top surface of the head of the rail.

When the joint has been perfected and tightened upon the rail ends the space 32 disposed between the rail ends is determined and made to meet the requirements of temperature and track use. The wedges are then tightened to stress the web 30 of the rail, the upper surface 33 of the splice bar precisely conforms to the head angle 34 of the underside of the head of the rail. The side wall of the head of the rail, if projected downward, falls outside of a vertical center line of the splice bar. The inner side wall of the splice bar is parallel to the outer wall of the head of the rail when the splice bar is in position.

An anchor 35 is positioned upon the flanges of the rail and the thick end 19 of the wedge is spaced apart from the surface of the anchor substantially half the distance that the rail ends are spaced apart as illustrated at 32 in Fig. 2, an anchor 35 being placed at each end of the joint when in place.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form of embodiment herein shown and described, as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rail joint comprised of a base bar, a wedge and a splice bar adapted for being placed at either side of the ends of railway rails when the same are in place for being spliced, the base member having parallelly spaced legs that upwardly extend from the base to form a longitudinal groove therebetween, the metal forming the baseof the longitudinal groove being thicker at one end than at the other end, lug receiving recesses disposed in the oppositely disposed inner side walls of the upwardly extending legs, a wedge having diverging top and bottom walls adapted for placement within the longitudinal groove and a splice bar adapted for placement upon the wedge and between the parallelly disposed legs, said splice bar having bolt receiving holes dis: posed therein, and projections outwardly extending from either side, that are adapted for engaging within the recesses disposed within the inner side walls of the upwardly extending legs.

2. In a device of the class described, in combination with the adjacent ends of the rails of a railway track, of a base bar adapted to fit upon the upper surface of the flange of the rail, a lon-, gitudinal groove disposed within the upper surface of the base bar, lug receiving recesses disposed within the side walls of the longitudinal grooves, a wedge disposed within the longitudinal groove, the side walls of which precisely engage the side walls of the longitudinal groove, a splice bar adapted to rest upon and to engage the upper surface of the wedge when disposed within the groove, the upper surface of the splice bar adapted for engaging the fillet and the head angle of the under side of the rail head, bolt receiving holes disposed within the splice bar, and an anchor adapted to engage the base of the rail and to be placed in spaced relation with the thick end of the wedge.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a base bar and splice bar associated therewith, said base bar being adapted for engaging the top surface of the base flange of a railway rail, a ledge downwardly extending from the bottom surface of the base and adjacent the outer edge of the base and said ledge being adapted to positely disposed end of the longitudinal groove,

one or more recesses disposed in the oppositely disposed inner side walls of each of the legs to receive locating lugs extending outwardly from said splice bar, and bolt receiving depressions disposed in the upper surface of each of the legs.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a base bar comprised of a single piece and a splice bar associated therewith, the primary bottom surface of the base bar being adapted to engage directly upon the top surface of the base flange of a railway rail, a leg upwardly extending from the inner edge of the base and adapted to engage the fillet and the web of the rail, a second leg upwardly extending from the base to form a longitudinal groove between the respective legs, the bottom surface of the groove lying in a single plane, the depth of the metal disposed below the bottom surface of the longitudinal groove being thicker at one end of the groove than at the other end of the groove, one or more lug receiving depressions disposed upon the inner surface of each of the legs to receive locating lugs extending outwardly from said splice bar, a flange downwardly extending adjacent the outer edge of the base, said flange being adapted for lying parallel with the outer edge of the base flange of the rail and spaced therefrom when the base bar is in position upon the base flange of the rail, and bolt receiving depressions disposed in the upper surface of each of the legs.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a base bar adapted for being placed upon the top surface of the base flange of a railway rail, legs upwardly extending from the base of the base bar to form a longitudinal groove therebetween, the bottom surface of the longitudinal groove being inclined to the horizontal, a wedge adapted for being placed within the longitudinal groove and between the legs that upwardly extend from either side of the longitudinal groove, the top surface of the wedge lying in a horizontal plane when placed within the longitudinal groove, the wedge being substantially longer than the base bar, a splice bar adapted for being placed within the longitudinal groove and for resting upon the wedge, a Web disposed centrally of the base of the splice bar and upwardly extending therefrom, a ball terminating the inner, upper surface of the splice bar and adapted for precisely fitting the under side of the ball of the railway rail when placed in normal position therebeneath, bolt receiving depressions disposed in the upper surface of each of the legs of the base bar, bolt holes spaced apart and extending through the web of the splice bar, and lug receiving depressions formed on the inner surface of each of the legs to receive locating lugs extending outwardly from said splice bar.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a base bar, the bottom and inner surface of the base bar adapted for fitting and engaging the top surface of the flange of a railway rail and the inner surface of the Web of a railway rail, legs upwardly extending from the base bar to form a longitudinal groove therebetween, lug receiving depressions disposed upon the inner surface of each of the legs, the bottom surface of the longitudinal groove being longitudinally inclined to the horizontal, bolt receiving depressions disposed within the upper surface of each of the legs, a Wedge adapted for placement within the longitudinal groove, the top surface of the wedge lying in a horizontal plane when placed within the longitudinal groove, said wedge being longer than the base bar, and a splice bar, the base of which is adapted for being placed within the longitudinal groove and for resting upon the wedge, a web upwardly extending centrally of the base of the splice bar, a ball disposed upon the web of the splice bar, said ball being adapted for precisely engaging and fitting the under side of the ball of a railway rail when normally placed thereunder, lugs outwardly extending from either side of the base of the splice bar and adapted for engaging within lug receiving recesses disposed within the inner sur face of the legs of the base bar, and bolt receiving holes extending through the web of the splice bar.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a base bar having a longitudinal groove disposed in the upper surface thereof, a wedge adapted for being placed within the longitudinal groove, a splice bar adapted for being placed within the longitudinal groove and for resting upon the wedge, the base of the base bar and the ball of the splice bar being adapted for fitting the top surface of the flange of a railway rail and the bottom surface of the ball of a railway rail, respectively, the wedge being longer than the base bar and the splice bar, means for preventing a retractive movement of the splice bar relative to the base bar, and means for pre venting the retractive movement of the wedge relative to the base bar and the splice bar when the splice bar is fixedly positioned upon a railway rail.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of rail splices, each pair being comprised of a base bar, a wedge and a splice bar, means for securing each of the splice bars to a pair of rails at the rail joint, means for preventing the retractive movement of the splice bar relative to the base bar, and means for preventing the retractive movement of the wedge relative to the splice bar and the base bar.

ERNEST C. NEAL.

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