US2186967A - Repaired railroad rail - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 16, 1940. H. s. GEORGE 2,136,967

REPAIRED RAILROAD RAIL Original Filed Nov. 10, 1936 F/G.Z. F/ ifi. F754. Baa-.5. F766.

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Patented Jan. 16, 1940 I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REPAIRED RAILROAD RAIL Harry s. George, New York, N. Y,

Original application November 10, 1938, Serial No.

110,045. Divided and this application February 9, 1938, Serial No. 189,484

12 Claims. (Cl. 238148) This invention relates to repaired railroad rails, supplied from the mill possess a hardness far i. e., to rails which have the tread surfaces'thereshort of that necessary to resist plastic flow, of battered at the ends but which-have been reusually amounting to about 275-280 Brinell. conditioned to provide a smooth-riding joint by Furthermore, the hardness of rail ends built up a building up the tread surface to a sufficient exby former methods likewise is neither uniform tent to assure that the wheels of the railway rollnor adequate, usually ranging from 250-300. ing stock will pass smoothly from one rail to the I have also found that by restricting the width next. of the strip to about to 1 /2 inches, that is to Before describing the invention in detail, cersay to a width less than three-quarters of the tain facts will be set forth pertaining to the dewidth of the head of the rail, I am enabled, as 10 forming action of the wheels on the rails, together hereinafter explained, to build up worn treads with a brief discussion of the prior art relating of any length and to attain a substantially unito the repair and reinforcement of rails which form hardness of the deposited metal sufficient have been subjected to such action. to greatly reduce and even to prevent plastic The tread of a new rail is crowned, but the flow, without the necessity of subsequent heat transverse contour of a car'or locomotive wheel treatment, the depositing operation itself being in good condition forms a straight line having an inherently of a hardening nature. upward slope from the flange. The rail is usual- Formerly, in the case of built up treads longer ly canted. As a consequence of these conditions than approximately three inches, the requisite the line of contact between the wheel and the rail hardness has not been attained throughout the 20 tread when the latter is new lies between the cendeposited metal because the methods hitherto in ter and the outside edge of the rail. This line use have been inherently softening. or rather strip of contact gradually widens be- By making the built up strip of metal of less cause of abrasion and plastic flow until, after sevwidth than three-quarters of the Width of the eral years of service, it occupies practically the rail throughout at least the major portion of its 25 full width of the rail head. length, and such major portion being of a width When and where the wheels contact the rail ,which can be conveniently deposited by an opertread at an edge (as along a side under some cirator of ordinary skill at a single pass, it is poscumstances, and always at the rail ends) the rate sible to cause the deposited strip to be built up of plastic flow of the rail metal is more rapid, continuously from-end to end without objection- 30 and projecting fins of metal are formed in a ably reheating any portion of the deposited metal manner similar to the familiar mushrooming which has cooled below the critical temperature of a hammer or chisel head. This lateral deand without undue retardation of the cooling formation is accompanied by a depression of the rate. By depositing the metal progressively from tread below the general level and, where it occurs one end to the other of the battered surface under 35 at rail joints, results in rough riding. The batrepair and by restricting the heat input, the detering, which originates at the rail extremity and posited metal may be caused to cool naturally, and which is most severe in that region, is gradually at a rate suflicient to induce a suitable hardening, extended along the rail from the end so that it is and without objectionable reheating and may,

4 likely to extend after a time for a distance of therefore, be caused to have aBrinell hardness of 40. many inches. any desired value, including any value in the It is a customary operation in track mainterange 330-350, within very close limits, say five nance to build up the battered areas at the joints points, by controlling such variables as the width by applying a coating of metal over the battered of the strip and the rate of application, as heresurface either by the electric or the oxy-acetylene inafter described. process, so as to cover the entire battered area. The above discussion on hardening presupposes The present invention will be discussed in conthat the added metal as well as the rail is of suitnection with the oxy-acetylene process, but it is able composition, as hereinafter explained. not restricted to that process. In accordance with the present invention, a

I have found that a Brinell hardness of 350 repaired rail section is provided having a raised 50 on the rail tread is sufiicient to prevent batter strip of hardenable metal (that is, raised with reunder the heaviest wheel loads, and that a somespect to the laterally adjacent battered area, but what lower hardness, say in the range of 330-340, at the same general level as that of the tread) is sufiicient to practically eliminate plastic flow which is of not more than three-quarters the under the average tramc condi ions. as width of the rail head throughout the major por- 55 tion of its length and which stands above the laterally adjacentbattered tread area to carry the load across the battered joint. Such a strip is hereinafter referred to'as a causeway strip.,

Such a repaired joint has the advantage of economizing repair metal since not more than three-quarters of the battered area is built up as a rule, and generally substantially less than half the battered area is built up. The advantages of reducing the width of the strip of added metal increase as the width decreases to an as yet undetermined minimum width. Tests are now in progress to determine the minimum and the optimum widths of strip under various traflic conditions. In some instances I have even caused repair strips to be applied, which were substantially less than one inch wide, and these strips, which have now been in main line service for more than a year, do not at the present time show any signs of inadequacy or of deterioration. Besides economizing metal, the application of a repair strip in accordance with the present invention also makes possible a corresponding economy of welding gases and a similar economy of the welders time. Extensive operations have shown that the cost of joint repair per inch has been cut approximately in half.

Besides the advantages of economy heretofore pointed out, it may be definitely stated as a fact, based on extensive observations, that rail joints repaired by the application of causeway strips as above indicated are more durable, and therefore more satisfactory in service, than rail joints repaired by the best known prior practices. Such causeway strips will provide smooth riding for longer, periods than any rail repaired by prior methods.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

40 The present application is a division of my pending application Serial No. 110,045, filed November 10, 1936, for Rails and processes for producing same.

The novel process of rail repair involved in the present disclosure is disclosed and claimed in my said parent application and is not claimed herein. In the present application the claims are confined to the repaired rail forming the product Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in end elevation illustrat ng certain features and principles connected with rail construction and conditions of use which will serve to facilitate an understanding of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a pair of abutting rail heads at a rail joint having worn tread areas at their ends built up according to former methods by a sequence of adjacent beads or strips;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 represent similar joints built up in accordance with various practices comprehended within the present invention; and

Fig. '7 illustrates diagrammatically the characteristic temperature changes occurring at a given point on a rail tread built up by 1) former processes, and (2) the present invention.

As a basis for understanding the present invention, the conditions imposed" by the rail construction and by the traflic which the rail bears, as well as the prior art practice, will first be discussed briefly.

In Figure 1 It indicates the rail. tre d, W the the tread surface suitably prepared to receive it,

all by well known precedures. Usually, a layer of metal about A; inch thick or less is applied. The width of the puddle is usually about to 1 /2 inch, depending upon the apparatus and the skill employed. Worn tread surfaces, at the time they are built up, are usually about 5 to 10 inches long and, because it has heretofore been considered necessary to cover the worn area completely-and build it up to the general level of the rest of the tread, previous methods have necessitated the application of several beads as the deposits are termed, adjacent to each other (see Fig. 2). The beads have been deposited either in continuous succession, or with an intermission to permit a certain amount of cooling of the metal first applied, as in the methodof my copending application Serial No. 688,333, now U. S. Patent No. 2,075,810. InFigure 2 the several beads are numbered in the order of their application.

The chief object of my previous invention was to produce a satisfactory hardness at the extreme end portion of a built up tread over three inches in length, for I had found that, in general, where such built up treads exceed that length,

' too much heat is put into the rail to admit of a sufliciently rapid rate of cooling to produce the desired hardness.

The former practice as diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 2 causes the reheating of much of the previously deposited metal, because of the disposition of the successive beads adjacent to one another. Some parts are reheated above the critical range, and, if the subsequent rate of cooling is sufficiently rapid, are hardened to certain degree, though usually insufficiently to prevent plastic flow; the major portion, however, is usually reheated to a high temperature but somewhat below the critical temperature (see Figure 7, curve I). Such reheating below the critical temperature is known in heat treating as drawing or tempering and has a softening effect, which reduces the resistance of the metal so treated to abrasion and plastic deformation.

I have found that it is possible and feasible to deposit a single bead of any desired length longitudinally on a depressed rai'l tread area, as at a rail joint, without reheating any part of the bead that may have cooled below the critical range; and that the width of this bead and its rate of application may be utilized to control the amount of heat put into the rail and thereby to control the subsequent rate of cooling and the hardness of the deposited metal. Other factors that control the hardness are the apparatus, the size of the rail, the composition of the rod, and the technique of its application. In the present invention, by the proper adjustment of all these factors relative to one another, it becomes possible and feasible to impart sumcient hardness to the deposited metal to prevent plastic deformation. Compare the slopes (rate of cooling) of curves I and 2. F18. 7. through the critical temperature.

Among the variations in the technique of gas welding are the ways in which the coating may be hammered while hot and malleable. Such hammering is customary and universal and has two purposes, (1) to shape the coating to the contour of the rail and bring it to the general tread level, and (2) to improve the physical properties by compacting the metal, and by refining its metallographic or crystalline structure. Two methods of hammering are in common use. The first and oldest method comprises a preliminary hammering with a hand hammer followed by an operation known as fiattering". Flattering consists in placing on the coating a properly shaped metal shoe and hammering the latter. The second, more recent practice, comprises a preliminary hand hammering, as in the first method, followed by surface grinding, using a power driven grinding wheel.

Where flattering is employed, it is preferable in connection with the present invention, when the highest desirable degree of hardness is the objective, to dispense with the preliminary hand hammering and to apply the flatter to successive short increments of the strip (1. e., 2 to 3 inches in length) immediately after they have been deposited. I'he flattering should be performed expeditiously to complete the hammering operation on each increment of coating, and permit the application of the next increment to be begun before the coating has cooled below the critical temperature.

Variations in the technique of hand hammering have been practiced formerly, but the preferred method in connection with the present invention is essentially the same as that described above for flattering, namely, the hammering of short increments, and maintaining above the critical temperature that part of the deposits adjacent to the succeeeding increment, until the deposition of the latter has been started. The purpose of the preferred techniques, whether of flattering or hand hammering is to prevent the reheating to a high temperature below the critical temperature, of any part of the deposit that may have cooled substantially belowthe critical temperature.

Where the maximum desirable hardness is not required, then departures from the preferred practices of depositing and hammering are permissible.

I have found that to satisfactorily resist flow under the heaviest American wheel loads the built up strip should have a Brinell hardness number of at least 350 before service, the corresponding scleroscope hardness being about 50. After service the scleroscope hardness of the surface is increased by cold work to about 55-58. The hardness of the cold worked layer, while not correctly indicated by the Brinell test, corresponds to a Brinell number of about 375-400.

I have also found that in the alloys available and feasible for coating, and in fact in rail steel itself, a hardness greater than about 425 Brinell before service may be accompanied by an undesirable brittleness. I, therefore, consider the range of hardness most suitable for the purpose to be 350-425 Brinell before service, corresponding to a scleroscope hardness of -60. After service the most desirable scleroscope range is -65.

An important object of my invention is to provide a repaired rail tread having a hardness throughout the repaired area which lies within the preferred range, but it is to be understood that the above discussion relative to hardness is for guidance and not for limiting purposes, and

Per cent Carbon 50 Chromium 90-1. 10 Manganese i 90-1. 10 Silicon 40- (all percentages by weight) and the remainder principally iron.

Such an alloy is now commonly used for repairing worn rail ends,'but because prior processes are inherently softening in their nature and effeet, as already explained, rail ends repaired in the usual manner with this and similar alloys do not possess a uniform or sufiicient hardness but are as soft as the rail itself and often even softer (that is, in substantial portions of the built up areas).

One operator may put as much heat into the rail in making a deposit one inch'in width as another will for a 1 inch strip, assuming equal lengths of deposits. Consequently, it is advantageous and practicable, to vary the width of the strip, as well as the composition of the coating, in accordance with the personal characteristics of individual welders to control the hardness of a welders product, the only requirements being that the welder shall follow instructions as to the width of the strip to be applied, shall apply it at a reasonably uniform rate, and shall be furnished with customary and standard equipment operated at the usual gas pressures.

An advantage of limiting the width of the bead is that it reduces the heat input, thereby increasing the subsequent cooling rate and, consequently, the hardness. If the rail head were coated its full width, even though only a single head were applied (if such were practically possible without reheating), the heat input would be so great as to materially retard the cooling rate and the resulting hardness.

As an example of the method, using a welding rod of the composition specified above, a uniform hardness of the coating amounting to 58-64 scleroscope, after service, is attained by applying a central strip 1 inches wide at a rate of one linear inch per minute on the tread of a rail weighing in the range, 100-130 pounds per yard.

A welder of ordinary skill can apply the aforesaid coating at the stated rate, with a single burner, hand operated torch consuming oxygen and acetylene, at a rate of about 80 cubic feet per hour, each.

By testing specimens of an operator's work from time to time, for any given welding rod, the necessary adjustment as to strip width or, alternatively the rate of application can be readily determined and hence by a proper control of these factors the production of repaired joints coming reasonably near to the most desirable hardness can be uniforming obtained.

The technique of the coating process is important chiefly because of its effect on the composition of the deposited metal. A flame adjusted to an excess of acetylene is preferable, and the metal is preferably applied according to the technique described in my previously patented selffluxing process of welding (U. S. Patent No.

1 1,973,341); wherein the base metal immediately adjacent the deposited metal preferably is maintained at a temperature several hundred degrees below its own melting point but above the melting point of the iron-carbon eutectic while being joined integrally to added metal. skillful operators, however, can apply the coating with a neutral flame, at the same time meltingthe base metal, without unduly affecting the composition of the deposited metal. But as thus practiced, there is danger on the one hand of loss of the essential elements in the rod by oxidation, and on the other hand of adding too much carbon from admixed rail metal.

An important precaution in any case is to refrain from operating too continuously with the inner cone of the flame (oxidizing in effect) buried in the molten deposit. Excessive working over the molten deposit with the flame depletes the essential hardening elements. The flame is preferably pointed almost vertically downward, but if inclined it should be directed ahead and not backward over the already deposited metal that has started to cool.

In case the application of metal is temporarily stopped to hammer the head, for example, after completing one rail end, care should be taken not to point the flame toward the finished deposit when the operation is resumed.

Although the essentials of the correct procedure for building up rail treads in accordance with the present invention have been specified above, it is neither practicable nor necessary to restrict the individual technique or minor manipulations.

The requirement that the hardness of the product shall fall within a specified range affords a ready means, not hitherto available be cause not applicable to former processes, of establishing a criterion of the quality of the product and controlling it, as will be understood from metallurgical considerations.

The built up tread may be finished smooth and to the proper level by hammering, grinding, or both, and the ends of the rails finished by crossslotting, as is customary. It is generally immaterial whether the marginal portions of the built up metal run along straight or irregular lines, it being unimportant from .the standpoint of service what angle the boundaries of the built up metal make with the adjacent'rail metal.

The surface of the hardened strip is preferably shaped to produce a central area thereon at a higher level than the marginal areas to cause the wheel to bear on the higher central level and thereby protect the lateral edges of the strip from concentrated loading and possible deformation. In Figure 1, S represents the central contact strip and the width thereof on the hardened strip whose sides slope to the lines on the rail at the extremities of the depressions D. The elevation of the contact strip S is the same as that of the rail tread intermediate of the rail ends.

When the present invention is practiced in the preferred form, that is, when the causeway strip, composed of the cited rod composition or its equivalent, is applied progressively and without the reheating of any part thereof, the resulting metallographic structure, of both the coating and the contiguous rail metal, as well as their hardness, serves to distinguish them from the prodnets of other processes. The coating is characterized by a crystalline structure typical of metal that has been heated to its melting point and thereafter cooled at a sufficiently rapid rate to induce a substantial hardening, while the structure throughout consists of sorbite or troostite, or a mixture thereof, without any pearlite or martensite. Even though pearlite, sorbite and troostite be considered as variations of the same structure, yet these variations are readily identifled, microscopically and otherwise.

One practical advantage in the production of say, troostite, by direct, primary cooling, rather than by first producing the hard, brittle martensite and then tempering it is the obviation of the danger of producing heat cracks. Furthermore, the direct production of troostite is much simpler, more expeditious, cheaper, is more controllable, and results in greater uniformity, than the indirect method. In a word, the preferred method combines a controlled heat treatment with the welding operation.

Obviously, the factors which affect the structure and the hardness of the added metal, likewise influence the structure and hardness of the contiguous rail steel.

As a preliminary step in this method, I may grind a depression about -V inch deep to receive a strip of weld metal of more substantial thickness than has heretofore been provided, especially at the run-off of build up areas.

Although I have described a particular method,

of producing a pair of rails ends at a rail joint having a longitudinally extending hardened strip of metal built up above the battered tread, other methods of producing and controlling the hardness may be employed as, for example, by the application of a suitable heat treatment to the deposited metal as described below.

For hardening a longitudinal strip as on the tread of a rail at an end thereof, I may apply heat from a row of oxy-acetylene torches, suitably supported lengthwise over the rail, spaced at suitable distances so that the several areas heated by the individual flames join each other to form a continuous heated strip. After the striphas been heated quickly to a bright red temperature natural cooling will serve to harden the metal. As an example, I may space four oxyacetylene torches longitudinally over the center of a rail head with the tips one inch apart, that nearest the rail end being A, inch therefrom. The flames, adjusted to a neutral condition should point vertically downward, the tips of the inner cones being 4 inch approximately above the upper surface of the strip. The rate of combustion of each flame should be about eighty cubic feet per hour each of oxygen and acetylene. The flames should be oscillated or reciprocated about once per second transversely of the rail,

the ends of the tips moving a distance of about three-quarters of an inch on each stroke. The flames should be applied for about twelve to fifteen seconds. The rate of heat supply and the time of treatment can be readily determined by trial for the particular metal used as a coating and can be controlled by observing the color of the heated metal. Such hardening necessarily refines and hardens the rail steel immediately adjoining and underlying the coating.

* Some types of electrical connections across the rail joints, such as signal bonds, are brazed to the head of the rail in proximity to the rail ends. This is usually done prior to the building up process since the brazing operation would otherwise tend to draw the temper of or soften the hardened strip. If for any reason the signal bonds are applied after the rail ends have been built up, the hardness can be restored by a simple treatment, applying heat in approximately the same amount and manner as when applying the coating but preferably heating only to a bright red temperature.

It should be noted that the repairing of rail joints by the strip method as herein described provides a method which does not damage signal bonds already applied, whereas previous methods of repair which involve coating the entire width of the tread surface with the consequent heating of the rail metal throughout its width, frequently detaches the bonds.

The strip of deposited metal is preferably located about midway of the sides of the rail, see Fig. 3. The strip may be applied in either direction; for example, on a rail end it may start at the runoff, or point on the worn rail end most remote from the end edge or joint, and proceed across the joint to the other runoff; or, especially in the case of an open joint, it may be startedat the end edge of one rail and carried to the corresponding runoff, and this operation may be repeated in the opposite direction on the other rail end.

In the case of joints in which one or both ends are chipped extensively, it is preferable to build up the chipped ends first and then to proceed as above described.

The side boundaries of the built up strip may be straight or curved, and the width of the strip may be uniform or variable, as for example, wider at the ends than in the middle (see Fig. 6).

There are advantages in having'the strip extend obliquely with relation to the rail though generally in the direction of the length thereof. For example, such disposition of the strip increases the width of the contact between the wheel and the strip with relation to the actual width of the strip as measured at right angles to the side boundaries of the strip. For illustrations of this kind of construction attention is called to Figures 4 and 5. Generally, however, where the strip is one inch wide or more, there is little advantage in the above respect.

The central position of the causeway strip hras a decided advantage over a side position in most cases, because, among other reasons, where the wheel bears on the edge of a rail there is a much greater flow of tendency to mushroom" for a given hardness, than where the wheel bears in the center of the rail.

While I have illustrated and described in detail certain advantageous embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that such illustration and description is not to be construed in a limiting sense but that it is my purpose to claim the invention broadly in whatever form its principle may be utilized.

I claim:

1. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered end area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered surface and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip being of suflicient width to take the wear and weight of railway wheels passing thereover, but of substantially less width than the rail head throughout at least the major portion of the length of the strip whereby the heat employed in the uniting of said strip to said rail may be controlled to. permit the strip to cool rapidly enough to cause the strip metal when cooled to be more resistant to plastic deformation than the rail metal, but slowly enough to cause the strip metal when cooled to be non-brittle, and being composed throughout of metal which is more resistant to plastic deformation than the rail metal.

2. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered end area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered surface and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip being of suflicient width to carry the wheel load but of less width than the rail head and spaced inward from both side boundaries of the rail head, and being composed throughout of metal which is more resistant to plastic deformation than the rail metal.

3. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered end surface and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip being of sufficient width tocarry the wheel load but of substantially less width than the rail head throughout at least the major portion of its length and being composed throughout of hardenable metal in condition to assure a scleroscope hardness throughout of at least 60 when it has been cold worked by service.

4. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip of suflicient width to carry the wheel load extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered end area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered surface and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip having a width less than three-quarters of the width of the rail head throughout the major portion at least of the length of the strip, and being composed throughout of metal which is more resilient to plastic deformation than the rail metal.

5. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip of sufficient width to carry the wheel load extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered end area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered surface and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip being not wider than can be conveniently deposited by an average torch welder as a single bead and being composed throughout of metal which is more resistant to plastic deformation than the rail metal.

6. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip of sufficient width to carry the wheel load extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered end area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered surface and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip being of sumtantially less width than the rail I head throughout at least the major portion of its length, and being composed throughout of metal which has a Brinell hardness of at least 350.

7. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip of sufiicient width to carry the wheel load extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered end surface and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by Welding, said strip being of substantially less width than the rail head throughout at least the major portion of its length and being composed throughout of metal which has a Brinell or equivalent scleroscope hardness of at least at least the major portion of its length and being composed throughout of metal which has a Brinell or equivalent scleroscope hardness, before service, of not less than 330 or more than 350.

9. A repaired rail having a battered end portion depressed below the general tread level and having a coating of hardenable steel alloy joined integrally with the top surface of the battered rail end, said coating comprising a longitudinal causeway strip of sufficient width to carry the wheel load substantially harder throughout than the rail and not wider than three-fourths of the width of the head of the rail, and having a metallographic structure throughout, characteristic of metal deposited in such a narrow strip progressively and substantially continuously, and allowed to cool naturally from a molten condition to atmospheric temperature without having been subsequently reheated to an extent sufiieient to draw the temper of the deposited metal.

10. A repaired rail having a battered end portion depressed below the general tread level and having a coating of hardenable steel alloy joined integrally with the top surface of the battered rail end, said coating comprising a longitudinal causeway strip of suflicient width to carry the wheel load, substantially harder throughout than the rail and not wider than three-fourths of the width of the head of the rail, and having a metallographic structure throughout, characteristic of metal deposited in such a narrow strip progressively and substantially continuously, and allowed to cool naturally from a temperature above the critical temperature to atmospheric temperature without having been subsequently reheated to an extent sufiicient to' draw the temper oi the deposited metal.

11. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip of sufficient width to carry the wheel load extending substantially longitudinally over a portion of the battered end area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered surface, and integrally united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip being of substantially less width than the rail head throughout at least the major portion of its length and being composed principally of troostite throughout. v 12. In combination, a railway rail having a battered end portion thereof depressed below the general tread level, and a single causeway strip of sufficient width to carry the wheel load extending substantially longitudinally from the rail end over a substantial portion of the battered end area and above the level of the laterally adjacent battered surface and integraly united with the battered end portion of the rail by welding, said strip having a width less than three- ,quarters of the width of the tread surface throughout the major portion at least of the length of the strip, and being composed throughout at least the major portion of its length of metal which is more resistant to plastic deformation than the rail metal.

HARRY S. GEORGE.

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