US2530021A

US2530021A - Rail anchor

Info

Publication number: US2530021A
Application number: US65000A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard A Mclaughlin
Original assignee: Poor and Co
Current assignee: Poor and Co
Priority date: 1948-12-13
Filing date: 1948-12-13
Publication date: 1950-11-14
Anticipated expiration: 1967-11-14

Description

NQW 14, 195(1) R. A. MCLAUGHLIN 2,530,02i

RAIL ANCHOR Filed Dec. 15, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Nov. 14, 1950 RAIL ANCHOR Richard A. McLaughlin, Canton, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Poor & Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application December 13, 1948, Serial No. 65,000

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in rail anchors of the general class which grip the base portion of a railroad rail and abut against a vertical face of a crosstie.

A principal object of the invention is to provide, in a rail anchor made from a bar of T- shaped or other configuration in cross section having a horizontal flange for engaging the rail and a vertical flange for abutting against the crosstie, a tie-abutting surface of large area which will have full surface contact against a vertical face of a crosstie when the latter is provided on its top surface with a tie plate arranged in close relation to or projecting beyond the plane of said vertical face of the crosstie.

Rail anchors of the above class, as now made of T-bar configuration in cross section, contain highly advantageous featuresin that the metal of the device is uniformly balanced and distributed at opposite sides of a central rigidifying rib and thereby provides maximum strength for the amount of metal used and also balances the bending strains imposed on the hot metal during the manufacture of the anchor device. The central rigidifying rib also serves to provide the required strength at the rail gripping jaw end of the anchor and provides a surface of large area for pressing against a vertical face of an adjacent crosstie when the rail is subjected to creeping pressure. However, in order to obtain the full advantage of the wide tie-abutting face, the tie plate must be so positioned on the crosstie as to permit one of the T-shaped anchor bodies to overlie the top face of the adjacent crosstie sufficiently to allow the said central rib to bear flat against the adjacent vertical face of the crosstie.

The present invention is directed to certain improved structural features which, when incorporated in an anchor device of the above general class, will permit such anchor to be applied to a railroad rail in a position to bear against a vertical face of an adjacent crosstie without regard to the position of the tie plate on the crosstie.

While the above problems have been discussed in connection with an anchor device made from T-bar stock, it is present in any known anchor made from a metal bar having a horizontal flange for engaging the rail and a vertical flange for abutting against a vertical face of a crosstie.

The solution of the above problems have been difficult, because of the fact that such anchor devices are made from a metal bar of fixed cross section, as distinguished from a casting or special forging, since the configuration of the bar is fixed and cannot be readily altered without affecting the strength of the anchor device or the area of its rail gripping surface.

According to the present invention, the anchor device herein shown is made from a rolled metal bar of angular contour so as to provide a hori- Zontal flange for engaging and gripping the base portion of a rail and a vertical flange for abuttin against a vertical face of an adjacent crosstie. The metal stock used for the present anchor device is preferably T-shape in cross section, so that all advantages of this specific section are retained in the anchor device which are incident to the provision of the central rigidifying rib and the uniform distribution of metal at opposite sides of said rib. One end of the bar is bent into hook form to provide rail gripping surfaces which engage the upper and lower surfaces of one base flange of the rail. The other end of the bar is offset upwardly to provide a locking shoulder adapted to grip the other edge of the rail base, when the anchor is driven transversely of the rail to its applied position. The central rigidifying rib provides maximum reinforcement for the hook shaped jaw portion of the anchor and the portion of the said rib which extends beneath the rail base is offset laterally whereby the outer face thereof projects a short distance beyond the adjacent side face of the rail engaging portion of the bar. In addition to the outward pressing or offsetting of the said rib it is severed from the main body of the bar along the upper edge of the offset portion, so that it can be pressed outwardly witha minimum number of bends (one at each end) and also can be pressed out a greater distance beyond the side face of the rail gripping portion of the anchor without unduly thinning or stretching the metal at the bends. The said offset portion can be severed along its upper edge from the rail engaging portion of the anchor device for substantially the full width of the rail base, since the line of severance does not extend around the bend of the hook and since the portion of the rib which-remains attached to the main body of the anchor device will provide sufficient strength and rigidity to the under-rail portion of the anchor device.

- It is, therefore, a specific object of the present invention to provide an improved rail anchor device having the constructions and providing the advantages above described.

One approved form of a rail anchor constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the base portion of a railroad rail supported on a tie plate and an underlying crosstie and showing a rail anchor constructed in accordance with this invention applied to the base portion of the rail in a position to bear against a vertical face of the crosstie.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view through the base portion of the rail showing a front face view of the improved rail anchor device and portions of the rail supporting structures, and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the rail anchor device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and illustrating its tieabutting portion engaged with an adjacent crosstie.

Referring now to the drawing: The base portion of a railroad rail is designated by the reference numeral [0. H designates an ordinary wood crosstie and I2 designates a metal tie plate secured to the upper face of the crosstie. The tie plate does not form any part of the present invention and, consequently, may be of any conventional form. It is shown herein as being of a width corresponding to the width of the crosstie, but this relative width of the tie plate and the crosstie may vary so that in some cases the Width of the tie plate is substantiall less than M;

the width of the crosstie and in other cases the width of the tie plate may be equal to or greater than the width of the crosstie. The tie plate is also a form provided with shoulders l3l3 which are spaced apart to provide a rail seat and also function as abutments for the opposite vertical edges of the rail base. The plate is secured to the top surface of the crosstie by means of driven spikes I i-44a, the latter of which projects over the upper surface of the rail base, at opposite sides of the rail to retain the rail in its proper position.

The rail anchor device comprises a bar of T-shaped cross section which extends across beneath the rail and engages the bottom surface thereof. One end of the bar is bent into hook form to provide an upper jaw I 5 for engaging the inclined upper surface 16 of the rail base and a lower jaw l! for engaging the bottom surface of the rail base near the longitudinal edge thereof. The other end of the bar is offset upwardly, as indicated at 18, to provide a locking shoulder which engages over the vertical edge IQ of the rail base when the anchor is in its operative position. The lateral arms 2il2l of the T-shaped bar provide the upper and lower jaws |5I1 and the main body portion 22 with rail engaging surfaces of a desired width to resist all turning strains thereon when the lower portion of the anchor is pressed against an adjacent crosstie or is held by the ballast against retrograde movement. The rigidifying rib 23 extends around the hook portion of the anchor so as to rigidify the rail engaging jaws. This rigidity is sufficient to provide a firm frictional grip on the rail, but there is suflicient resilience in the metal to compensate for variations in thicknesses of rail bases. The portion of the said rib 23 which extends beneath the rail is severed along a horizontal line 24 and the portion 25 is bent laterally of the anchor body so as to provide a tie-abutting face 26 which projects a slight distance beyond a side face 21 of the rail anchor body. The

bends

28 and 29 which connect the offset portion 25 which the anchor body may be formed relatively sharp without undul stretching or thinning the metal at the bends and thereby makes it practical to form the offset portion 25 with a length which extends in lengthwise contact with a side face of the crosstie for a greater distance than would otherwise be possible if long and sweeping bends were required. The slitting of the rigidifying flange along the line 24 makes it practical to provide the tie bearing face 26 of maximum width. The portion 30 of the rigidifying rib which remains attached to the lateral arms 2ll2l provide suificient reinforcement of the anchor body together with the attachment of the ofiset portion with the body at the bends 28-49.

In applying the anchor device to a railroad rail the hook portion of the anchor is hooked over one flange of the rail base It and is driven transversely of the rail base until the locking shoulder l3 snaps up into engagement with a vertical edge face 59 of the rail base. The anchor device is applied to the rail base at a location whereby a tie-abutting surface 26 will bear firmly against the vertical face of the crosstie.

When the anchor device is in its applied position the position of the tie bearing surface is relative to the side face 2'! of the anchor body is such that the vertical tie abutting face of the anchor will bear against a vertical face of the crosstie even though the tie plate may project a slight distance beyond the adjacent vertical face of a crosstie.

While the invention shown herein is illustrated in connection with a specific form of anchor device, to-wit, an anchor device made from T-bar stock, the specific form of anchor device shown is merely illustrative and is not intended as a limitationv I claim:

A rail anchor comprising a bar T-shaped in cross-section, including a relatively wide verti cally disposed central rib extending the full length of the bar and horizontal arms at opposite sides of the central rib, bent at one end into hook form with the horizontal arms of the T defining the inner surfaces of the hook and providing relatively wide flat faces for gripping the 7 top and bottom surfaces, respectively, of one base flange of the rail with the said vertical rib extending around said bend and to the end of the hook to provide vertical reinforcement therefor and the body being formed at its other end with shoulder means for engaging the vertical edge portion of the other base flange of the rail; a portion of the vertically disposed rib underlying the horizontal arms beneath the rail base being slit lengthwise of the body adjacent said hori- 1 zontal flanges and the metal beneath the slit pressed outwardly from its original plane to provide a relatively long and wide tie abutting surface whose vertical plane is located outside the vertical side planes of said horizontal arms and the said horizontal arms providing a chord for restraining transverse and lengthwise flexing of the outwardly pressed portion of said vertical rib.

RICHARD A. MCLAUGHLIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Warr June 10, 1941