US2034046A - Method of reforming rail joint bars - Google Patents

Description

March 17, 1936. G, LANGFORD 2,034,046

METHOD OF REFORMING RAIL JOINT BARS Filed March 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 George Icmg d' March 17, 1936.

G. LANGFCRD 2,034,046

METHOD OF REFORMING RAIL JOINT BARS Filed March 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 17, 1936.

G. LANGFORD METHOD OF REFORMING RAIL JOINT BARS Filed March 18, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet m im. i Q m m m [Ia/@251:- George L afigfwti,

March 17, 1936. G. LANGFORD METHOD OF REFORMING RAIL JOINT BARS Filed MarchlS, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Ms. W, tees I I porationofIllinois-.- tucaao mmhf I, .8. am M1 57? 7 Claims. (cites- 169'), I

This invention' relates to Joints, particular to a method of reforming joint-bars whereby bars of one type are made into .b a'rs: or

a type difierent from the original;

Although'the jointbars-are only a }'sm al 1 part of a railroad track, their initial I'cost con-. sidered as a matter of prime importance by rail road purchasers, One type of bar may be better. than another, but if it costs more than another this fact is,a strong deterrent to itsfpurchase and use. The manufacturer is therefore often confronted with the problem of producing 'a" bar more suitable than another without increased cost, or at least .within arestricted' range of .cost' acceptable to railroad purchasers. Q It is now generallyunderstood byfirailroad users that ordinary joints wear ,mostly at their top centralportion, and that as the jointwears it must be bent into the rails at center totake up wear 'andymaintain a tight fit. "Howe er, laterally rigid ,toelessi or I-beam bars are com-- ing into veryextensive user Such barsicannot be bent in, readily at center by bolt tensi'omfan'd this invention is in part concernedwith thelproduction of yarious types of laterallynrigi'd bars designed to overcome this .diiiiculty' of unbalf anced joint wear, and totproducethem accurately within thelimited range of cost;., Q

There are yvarious difficulties to be overcome. The finished barmusthav e, a :very accurate'ecntact or fishing fit with the rail ,'Ifheymust also pass exacting tensile and bend tests when cold. Practically all joint bars are now made of high carbon ;st eel, hardened by: quenching them while hotin oil, and it has been found that their temperature at the time of quenching must be quitelow, otherwise they-'willbe'co'me too hard and brittle to withstandthe-coldlbend test. This temperature ofnot more than 750 degreesueentrigrade is generally considered low for-rreformingror forging under pressuregto insure flow of metal althoughnot too ,low'fo'r more localized operations such as bending,

punching :and slotting. These gust-namedoperations'may be defined as distinct from'forging in not causing flow of metalweo changetthe cross-sectional shape and notrequiring the relatively high-pressure necessary for forging;

Animportant object of my invention is to reform a'high carbon bar at the. low temperature required for successful heat treatment} It might be thought that the forging heat could be high andthen quenching oftherbar-deiayedun- "til its temperature be low enough tofiavoid too much hardness. I find however that bars, so

Thereare'other objects and advantages which. may be learned' from the follow'ing description made, although of the right 'hardness, are usu ally'brittle andbreakwhen 'subjected to the cold bend test. I also that the initial heat is really "the "determining factor; If forged 'ata 'temperature not over 'ISOjdegrees centigrade and; 5

quenched proniptlyafter forging, the bar .al-' though"hard"-wil1-be' tough-"enough"to pass the, oold bendtest. It has become apparent that; the" forging temperature the main consideration inf secu'ringgood physical qualities in the? 10 finishedbar," and that a "high carbon barv bei ;-J-; forged at "too high a temperature, delay in; oilquenching will-not"rectify the damage done by:

too high initial heatingf-The damage can be.

rectified "onlyf by reheating to the suitable lower temperature? and when" oil-quenching 'p'romptly. fihe great care required to secure proper heat treatmentmiakes "the" proper reforming 'ofthigh carbon: bar'sextreinel'y difficult; In: the past therehas'been very little or this 'difliculty for the reason that most of the old worn bars reformed l were i ofiBesseiner, sometimes open= hearth; but usually of 10w carbon steeiwhich could be'forged at, relatively temperature's, and were not madeltoolh'ard b'y prompt'oil quenchingt Butin recent I yearsfworn bars-"ofhigh" carbon open hearth steel have begun to appear in volume, and their successful reforming has become-a serious problem for they must be forged ata relatively' 'low: temperature, otherwise 'they will betoolbrittle wh'enfini'shed. At arelatively low 2 temperature, the? metal flowsvery reluctantly, requiring 'great'iricrease' o'f reforming pressure to secure the desired flow.

'Q'Ihejmain, obiectoi'myv invention'is to mal re practicalthe' reforming of high-carbon rail joint bars at' aj low temperature ordinarily considered too low forfo new make-the steel flow under Another object" is to" avoid complicated and 40 inaccurate'reforming means. I i I Y sti 'ia he obj kit is to so change bars or i ,one fishing} type tobars" of other fishing types as to eifeofla-material reduction in the .area: of

and from theidrawings in which: .-,-s, c

iFiB'flll-G 1 is -an"in'sideviewof the, topmember of a bar illustrating-a method of the prior art;

" Figure 2 is a s'e'ctionalview :taken substantially mi-manna 2 ofFigurel; I l

Figure 3 is'an' isometricinner side view of a of af type having a reduced top fishing surportion,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1, illustrating a method of the prior art for producing the bar of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a plan view of a die groove used in the method of Figure 4;

Figure '7 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 'I-l of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an inside view of the top member of a bar being subjected to the preliminary step of the method of my invention;

Figure 9 is an end view of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is an end view of a bar and associated forming means, illustrating a variation of preliminary step of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is an end view of a bar after it has been subjected to the preliminary step of my method, showing variations of the preliminary step of Figures 9 and 10;

. Figure 12 is a plan of a die groove employed in the final step of my invention;

Figure 13 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line I 3-13 of Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a view similar to Figure 12, but showing a modification of the die groove for producing crowned bars;

Figures 15-18 are isometric inner side views of bars with various types of fishing surface made in accordance with the method of my invention;

Figure 19 is an end view of a bar having various features produced in accordance with the method of my invention;

Figure 20 is arf end view of a bar undergoing a preliminary step of a reforming method of the prior art;

Figure 21, also an end view, shows the final step of reforming in accordancewith the prior art, after employing the preliminary step of Figure 20;

Figure 22 is an end view of a bar showing the final step of the method of my invention as distinguished from that of Figure 21.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending applications, Serial No. 742,190, for Rail joint, filed August 30, 1934, and Serial No. 742,191, for Method of making rail joint basis, filed August 30, 1934.

The method of this invention is directed to the reforming of worn bars and alsoto the reforming of new bars, the reformed bar being of a different fishing surface type than the original bar from which it is made.

In the prior art, my Patent No. 1,659,776, issued February 21, 1928 shows a method of forcing the inside extended portions of a bar outwardly to restore the worn fishing surfaces. The low carbon laterally flexible angle bars figured were generally worn for a much greater length of their central portion than later used bars with ribbed or reinforced top members. These latter were of more laterally rigid type, not readily bent in at center by bolt tension totake up wear and therefore worn for a shorter central length. The method of my Patent No. 1,808,468, issued June 2, 1931 is directed to the reformation of the central portion of a worn surface by concentration of reforming pressure on the worn part and reliefs from pressure on the unworn parts. The reliefs from pressure are so directed on selected surfaces each side of the worn central and so combined longitudinally with the concentration of pressure on the worn part, as to eflect an accurate restoration of the entire fishing surface without distorting the bar section or throwing the central portion of a fishing surface out of accurate alignment with the end portions.

Broadly this method is one directed not merely to the restoration of the worn central portion of a fishing surface but to the maintenance of the relatively unworn end portions in relation to the central portion so as to insure an accurately restored fishing surface throughout its length.

The central wear of a fishing surface is not merely a matter of depth. It is usually rough, rounded or changed in angle. The end portions wear differently, sometimes little or not at all. As a rule they retain their smoothness and angularity, so that as compared with the central portion, little pressure is required to reform them, the problem as regards them being one of maintaining them in their relatively unworn condition in accurate alignment with the central portion. The method is one of transition from the complete restoration of a worn central part to the maintenance of the two unworn end parts, done in a manner to insure accurate alignment of the end parts in respect to the central part, and therefore accuracy of the fishing surface as a whole.

Metal is very reluctant to fiow at low temperatures of not over 750 degrees centigrade, and so much greater reforming pressure is required per unit of fishing surface length than at higher temperatures. To compensate for this I first heat the bar to a low temperature and then shorten the fishing surface length very materially by means of a preliminary bending operation which requires very little pressure. It merely deflects, tilts or otherwise withdraws substantial lengths of a fishing surface out of the plane of rail fishing surface contact so as to provide rail clearances thereby greatly shortening the length of fishing surface as a whole. The reduced fishing surface length only is then subjected to a second and reforming or forging operation, the clearance lengths being relieved of pressure and being maintained as clearances by the same means which relieves them of reforming pressure, thereby greatly reducing the area of fishing surface to be reformed. By this method the reforming of bars at low temperatures ismade simple, accurate and practical. Its material distinction from the prior art is that a fishing surface is greatly reduced in area before being subjected to reforming pressure. It further differs in not utilizing'all of the unworn parts of a fishing surface as parts of the finished structure. The unworn parts are changed very materially and in such a manner as to produce a type of fishing surface in the reformed bar different from the original. This change of fishing surface is an essential factor in the reformation of the bar as a whole. It insures accuracy with a minimum of reforming pressure, making it not merely possible but commercially practicable to reform highcarbon bars at a low temperature suitable for heat treatment but generally considered too low for forging.

An example of the prior art of reforming is disclosed in my Patent No. 1,808,468 issued June 2, 1931. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is an inside view of the top member l of a rail joint bar. Fig. 2 is an end sectional view taken at 2-2 on Fig. 1. Only the top member of the bar is considered because it usually received far more wear in service than the fishing surface of the top member I is divided This is illustrated graphically in Figs.

for convenience of explanation into a central length C, two end lengths E and two intermediate lengths I. The wear of an ordinary bar is shown as being greatest for the central length C, then tapering into part of the intermediate lengths I, the remaining parts of Iand the adjacent end lengths E having comparatively little wear. To restore the top fishing surface as a whole, the worn central part C and adjacent parts of I are forced by reforming pressure to move upward to the surface indicated by the two dotted lines,

and at the same time the relatively unworn surupward movement of the top surface inFig. 2,

pressure is applied on the opposite surface as shown by the small arrows whose centroid of pressure is denoted by the larger arrow Pi. This latter is indicated in Fig. 1 by the line of arrows,

. the amount of pressure lessening as shown by a shortening of the arrows each side of the central portion of the bar toward the ends. This method of graduating the reforming pressure may be effected variously. The greatest pressure at center may be applied over several surfaces, such as P2 as .well as at Pl or also over a third surface, thepressure over one of these additional surfaces lessening or even discontinuing toward the ends of the bar so as to maintain the relatively unworn' endportions of the fishing surfaces. Figs. 1 and 2 are intended merely as diagrammatic explanations of the method whereby a worn top fishing surface as a whole is restored by maintaining the relatively unwom end parts in combination with a restoration of the worn central part. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the reforming pressure on the intermediate surfaces I is graduated in proportion to wear and to the amount of restoration required. At that part of I which is adjacent to C, metal is moved considerably upward, but at the part of I nearest E there is as a rule relatively little upward movement of metal. This method of the prior art does not necessitate any change of fishing surface type.

The method of the present invention necessitates the production of a bar of altered fishing .type made preferably from a rolled bar of ordinary fishing type. Fig. 3 is taken as an example. This bar has a. top central fishing surface CF and two end fishing surfaces EF, formed by two intermediate rail clearance surfaces IF. As can be seen, the total length of ordinary fishing surface is greatly shortened by the intermediate clearances IF. A method of producing this bar is disclosed in Disbrow Patent No. 1,855,946 issued April 26, 1 932. This method is illustrated by Figs. 4 and 5, these being inside viewsof the top member as in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Disbrows method, the reforming pressure is directed upon the intermediate portions of the top fishing surface, the centroid of pressure being shown by the arrow P3 in Fig. 5. This centroid of pressure is longitudinally distributed according to the arrows in Fig. 4, which depress intermediate portions of a fishing surface so as to form rail clearance surfaces IF, and to cause-the metal thereby displaced to flow longitudinally, as indicated by the arrows G, toward the center, so as to raise and restore the worn central surface to CF. Dies under a press are the means employed to carryout this method, and the form of dies must necessarily be as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

Fig. 6 is a plan of that part of the die which receives the top member and top fishing surface of the bar. The corresponding companion die part is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7. A is the die wall opposite the fishing surface die wall. Surface A is smooth longitudinally. The surfaces CD and ED are depressions in the die wall and correspond to the bar fishing surfaces ,CF and EF respectively in Fig. 4. The die surfaces ID are projections in the die wall, and correspond to the depressions IF in the top fishing surface of Fig. 4. The die projections ID serve to indent the bar's fishing surface and force the displaced metal to fiow longitudinally inward to fill the central depression in the die wall and thereby restore the central fishing surface.

In the application of this method to the reforming of high carbon bars at low temperatures, there is the difiiculty of securing sufiicient longitudinal fiow of metal from intermediate portions of a worn fishing surface to the central worn portion. A die such as that of Fig. 6 is very difficult to make and to maintain as it becomes worn from use. The ordinary fishing surfacedie wall is made in a planing machine and this is the simplest and most accurate way of 11:; .11 it. To make such a die wall as in Fig. 6. the surf ID must be planed first and may be planed accurately, although the intermediate clearance surfaces do not require such accuracy- However the surfaces CD and ED must. be made very accurately, for these correspond to the rail contacting surfaces. But CD and ED being undercuts or depressions are very difficult to machine to any degree of accuracy.

The method of the present invention avoidsthis difiiculty. The die groove which includes a fishing surface wall is entirely different from that of- Fig. 6. It causes no appreciable longitudinal flow of metal, and the type of bar is changed before, not during, the process of reforming by a preliminary operation, and the changed type then becomes an essential factor in a final or reforming operation.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate the preliminary step of my invention. Like Figs. 1 and 4, Fig. 8 is an inside view of the top member i of a bar. Fig. 9 is an end view of the same, 3 is the upper die of a bull dozer at the bottom of its stroke forming the intermediate clearances 1B. The inner, under surface of the top member of the bar is unsupported and tilts or bends downward at IH because of the pressure applied on the opposite surface'at 1B. This is a simple and direct operation which requires very little pressure. In a worn bar, the change by pressure is greatest on that part of IF which is nearest the end, because there the fishing surface is more worn than on that part of IF which is nearest the center. This is the reverse of whathappens in the method of Fig. 1, furthermore the bar member is not confined so as to result in a flow of metal and merely bends at its intermediate portions under the bulldozing pressure.

This bending may be simplified by the method shown in Fig. 10. This is an end view showing the bar held in an inclined position by a bottom support 6. The bull-dozing die 4 is shown at the bottom of its stroke. It is applied to intermediate portions only of the bar, and the intermediart-amass the right or to the left, or how the inner or=outer extended parts of a top or top and bottom member may be depressed or tilted.

=11 top 'fishing surface at least; before reforming pressure is applied. f p V j next and final operation is preferably performed in dies under a press. The top member at least" of the bar has. been bent in places to produce intermediate clearances as in Fig. 8.

The final operation is directed to reforming the central and end fishing surfaces, and to maintaining the-intermediateclearances formed in therpreceding, operation. To accomplish these thingscI preferably employ a pair of dies, one of whichcontains a groove to receive the top mem ber and-included fishing surface. The plan view of such adie groove is shown fragmentarily in 'Fig.:12,-;Fig. 13 being a sectional view on line |3-'l3of Fig. 12. Compared with the similar view-Fig. 6 of the prior art it can be seen that ,thejfishing surface die wall D is smooth from end to end without the projections ID of Fig. 6. The opposite die wall has depressions IA in Fig. 12, whereas in Fig. 6 this wall is a smooth surface from end to end. The recesses IA in Fig. 12 correspond ,to the depressions IH of the bar of Fig. 8 andare; made so as to avoid reforming pressure .at 11-1; The recesses IA in the die serve an important purpose. When the depressions IH in the bar are made by the preliminary operation, they shorten the length of fishing surface to be reformed because of the recesses IA in the die wall of Fig. 12 which prevent pressure there and upward movement of metal when the bar is reformed. The depressions 11-1 in the bar of Fig. 3 are thereby maintained as they were first pressed in and there is no movement of metal to the fishing surface die wall at ID of Fig. 12, which parts are shaded indicating that there is no reforming pressure there upon 1B of the bar of Fig. 8. This fishing surface die wall is however smooth from end to end, therefore easily planed in to great accuracy. A most important object is thereby attained. It avoids the necessity of the complicated die surface of Fig. 6.

In Fig. 12, the die wall opposite the top fishing surface die wall is apparently a complicated one. However this surface is unimportant. It does not touch a fishing surface of the bar, and need not be very accurate, although the pressure surfaces 1 CA and EA may be planed to precision. Surfaces IH which are recessed to avoid pressure there are ly shortened fishing surface, made shorter by the intermediate clearances stamped in before the bar is reformed. Y I

Figure 14 is a modification of the die groove of Figure 12. It is made to produce a crowned bar out of an ordinary badly worn bar. This is merelyavariation of Figure 12 illustrating how the diewalls may be shaped to secure fiow of metal to restore the worn top central fishing surface into a crowned form. The end as well as the central portion'of a fishing surface may be raised to above normal fishing height and the central portion further raised for use on worn rails. The

method of my invention. IfFigure 15 be comdie groove of Fig.14'is' intended' toreceive' the pared with Figure 3,' made by the method of Figure 6, it will be noticed that there has been no longitudinal movement of metal or removal of metal from the top member. The overhanging portions of the top and bottom members are merely tilted downward, and without distortion of the web member. Figure 16 is another form other which may be produced by my method. The top member of the bar has intermediate portions tilted as in Figure 10 to provide clearances, leaving the top outer corner longitudinally straightif desired. Only part ofthe overhanging portionsof a top or bottom member may be depressed so as to provide only partial intermediate clearance with a fishing surface of reduced width, such as is shown at the end portion of Fig.'1'7.' Fig. 18 is still another producible form.

In Fig. 19, anend view of a'bar, intermediate clearances IF instead of being stamped in vertically, are made bylateral deflection. In the top member, lateral depressions are stamped in at 1K, and surfaces IL and 1M are deflected outward.

12K may then be considered as corresponding to the two intermediate bull-dozing surfaces IB of Fig. 8. IL'and IM would then correspond to'the depressed surfacesIH of Fig. 8. As'in Fig. 1-2,*the top fishing surface wall of the-die'groovewould be longitudinally smooth and free from projections. Instead of deflecting intermediate portions of the top member outward, they may be deflected greater length or area of theorigi nal fishing'curface. Instead of merely two, a'multiple of inter-- mediate clearances may be provided.

In my PatentNo. 1,935,473 issuedNovember 14;,

1933, I show a method of reforming which in some cases includes a preliminary operation therein described. This preliminary operation may be distinguished from that of the present invention in that the latter isapplied differently and to give an entirely different result. The preliminary operation is shown in Fig. 20 which may be compared with Fig. 10, being similarly lettered to facilitate comparison. As can be seen from a comparison of Figs. 10 and 20, in the latter case, a fishing surface has rail head contactclearance stamped in forits entire length. The purpose of 20 is to alter'the top and bottom fishing surfaces and to rearrange the three bar members in relation to 'eachf-other sojthat the altered bar section will conform more closely to the cavity of a pair of dies-employed ina second or reforming operation'ilnstrated-in Fig; 21-. In Figures 20 and '21, the original bar is shown in dotted lines. Fig. 21 is an end'view of a pair of reforming dies'including a cavity of'the same shape as the section of ba'rtobeproduoed. It difiers'materially in contour from the original bar shown in dotted lines, and that is whythe preliminary operation of Fig. 20 wa s'us'ed to make the bar conform more closely tothe die cavity of Fig; 21,

and to produce out'of an ordinary head contact bar what is known in the art as a Head free" bar. Unlike the present invention, there is nothing to indicate that any portion of the top fishing surface of the bar is entirely relieved of reforming pressure or that the central portion is restored to at least its original rail head contact.

The method of Figs. 20 and 21 may be used as a part of the present invention. Instead of reducing the angularity 'of the top fishing surface as in Fig. 20 throughout the length of the bar so as to provide rail head clearance throughout the entire length of the bar, intermediate portions only may have the angularity of the top fishing surface reduced by tilting or deflecting in the preliminary operation. In the succeeding operation of Fig. 21, the die wall corresponding to the top fishing surface of the bar would be free of projections throughout its length, also instead of being reduced in angularity to IF, it would have greater angularity, and there would be intermediate recesses IA in the die so that the intermediate clearance portions of the top fishing surface would not be subjected to reforming pressure. This is shown more clearly in Fig. 22. The diewall CD and ED is continu ous throughout the length of the top fishing surface. IF represents the intermediate clearance surfaces of the bar which are relieved of reforming pressure by die recesses at IH. Intermediate clearances stamped in by the preliminary operation are thereby maintained as clearances and the reforming pressure applied to a much shortened fishing surface as has been previously described. In this particular case the central portion of the bar is made into a Full head contact type disclosed in my Patent No. 1,759,458 issued May 20, 1930. Referring to Fig. 21, this bar has not only the ordinary width of rail head contacting surface WI but in addition, width W2 of rail head fillet contact, so that the rail contact is about double that of either the head free or ordinary head contact bar. The intermediate clearances make the bar at those portions of head free type, although they may be of any type that provides rail clearance.

Obviously my invention produces a top fishing surface of altered type. Preferably the fishing surface is shortened by the use of intermediate clearances, but also it may be narrowed, the purpose being to materially reduce the area of the original fishing surface before it is reformed. Instead of merely shortening a fishing surface it may be narrowed wholly or in part throughout the length, the parts where narrowed being in all cases relieved of reforming pressure in the final operation, and being maintained as rail clearances.

In Fig. 20 the whole length of top fishing surface may be stamped to less angularity so as to provide rail head fillet contact only, but instead of then reforming in the die of Fig. 21 which subjects the top surface of the bar to reforming pressure, it is reformed in the die of Fig. 22 whose top fishing surface wall is more angularly inclined than the fishing surface of the bar, and is. relieved from pressure by supplementary reliefs from pressure on surface 1 or 8 so as to maintain the reduced angularity of the top fishing surface after it has been so reduced by the preliminary operation.

The preceding description has been drawn primarily to the reformation of the top member of a bar by deflecting portions of the top memher so as to reduce the original rail contacting area of its included fishing surface. The top fishing surface is the most important part of the bar. Because of the comparatively narrow rail head, the top fishing surface is limited as to width and wears faster at its central portion than does the bottom fishing surface. The method of my invention is therefore drawn to the reformation of the top fishing surface, but this may also include a reformation of the bottom fishing surface. In all cases the top fishing surface is first reduced by various forms of deflection and not by any substantial removalof metal. This may include a reformation of the bottom fishing surface with or without a preliminary reduction of area of the bottom fishing surface, but in any case the top fishing surface at least is reformed according to my invention as has been described.

My invention is applicable to all types of bars that I am familiar with, including what are known in the art as crowned, incurved, head free, flexible, continuous and various other types. These general types may be combined with various reduced fishing surface types, some of which I have described. Such combinations will produce various effects, and all of them may be produced by my method, whose main element of novelty is the reformation of a bar by a reduction of the original rail contacting area of at least the top fishing surface, and then a reformation of the reduced fishing surface.

What I claim is:-

l. The method of reforming the top fishing surface of a high carbon rail joint bar, consisting in reducing the original rail contacting area of said fishing surface, then subjecting the reduced rail contacting area only of said fishing surface to reforming pressure while the bar is at a temperature below 800 degrees centigrade, the remaining area of said fishing surface being maintained as a non-rail-contacting area, and the bar then being hot quenched in a cooling medium.

2. The method of reforming the top fishing surface of a rail joint bar, consisting in heating the bar and deflecting portions of said fishing surface so as to substantially reduce theoriginal rail contacting area of said fishing surface, then subjecting the reduced rail contacting area only of. said fishing surface to reforming pressure, with means provided to maintain the deflected portions of said fishing surface as non-rail-contacting surfaces, and then hot quenching the bar in a cooling medium.

3. The method of reforming the top fishing surface of a rail joint bar,consisting in heating the bar and deflecting portions of said fishing surface and its included member so as to substantially reduce the original rail contacting area of said fishing surface, and without deformation of the web member of the bar, then subjecting the reduced rail contacting area only of said fishing surface to reforming pressure, with means provided to maintain the deflected portionsof said fishing surface as non-rail-contacting surfaces, and then hot quenching the bar in a cooling medium.

4. The method of reforming a rail joint bar, consisting in heating the bar and deflecting portions of at least the top fishing'surface so as to substantially reduce the original rail contacting area of said fishing surface, then subjecting the reduced rail contacting area only of said top fishing surface and the bottom fishing surface to reforming pressure, with means provided to maintain the deflected portions of said top fishing surface as non-rail contacting surfaces, and then hot quenching the bar in a cooling medium.

5. The method of reforming a worn fishing surface of a rail joint bar, consisting in heating the bar and subjecting intermediate portions each side of the central portion of said fishing surface to pressure so as to defiect said intermediate portions of said fishing surface and its included bar member transversely, then subjecting the remaining portions only oi said fishing surface to reforming pressure so as to first cause a flow of metal to raise and restore the central portion of said fishing surface and then to re- I store the end portions of said fishing surface in alignment with said restored central portion, said depressed intermediate portions of said fishing surface being maintained as non-rail-contacting' surfaces, and then hot quenching the bar in a cooling medium.

6. The method of reforming a fishing surface of a rail joint bar, which comprises reducing the original rail contacting area of said fishing surface, subjecting the reduced area only of said fishing surface to reforming pressure, the remaining area of said fishing surface being maintained as a non-rail-contacting area, and hot-quenching the bar in a cooling medium.

7. The method of reforming a fishing surface of a steel rail joint bar, which comprises heating the bar to a temperature suitable to its carbon content for proper heat treatment, subjecting portions of a rail contacting surface of the bar to pressure so as to deflect said portions out of the plane of rail contact, thereby substantially reducing the original area of said rail contacting surface, and subjecting the remaining portions only of said original rail contacting surface to reforming pressure while relieving said deflected portions of said original rail contacting surface from said reforming pressure.

GEORGE LANGFORD.

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