US3055590A - Support for railroad rails and method of making - Google Patents

Description

J. C. MITMAN Sept. 25, 1962 SUPPORT FOR RAILROAD RAILS AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed NOV. 10, 1960 b 11 12 11 TL E.

INVENTOR.

! JOSEPH C MITMAN BY MM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,055,590 Patented Sept. 25, 1962 flice 3,055,590 SUPPORT FOR RAILROAD RAILS AND METHOD OF MAKING Joseph C. Mitman, Bronxville, N.Y., assignor to American Creosoting Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 68,449 3 Claims. (Cl. 238287) The present invention relates to improvement in supports for mounting railroad rails. More particularly, it pertains to a support combining a wood rail tie and plate and the method of making the same.

Until the present time, plates have been inserted between the nail and the wood tie and held in place by the rail spike, or in some cases by additional spikes holding the plate in position on the tie. This arrangement has not been satisfactory because, during service, movement occurs between the plate and the tie which results in undue mechanic-a1 'wear and abraison and thereby cuts down the service life of the tie.

To overcome this unsatisfactory condition, an adhesive could be used and was tried for additionally anchoring the plate to the wood tie. However, it was found that the usual commercial adhesives, although fairly eifective with untreated wood tie and plate, were not completely satisfactory with wood ties which are preserved against attack by microorganisms by treatment with creosote and coal-tar preservative chemicals. Many of the commercial available adhesives are either incompatible or non-adherent to creosote or other coal tar preservative used as irnpregnants. Since the wood tie must be useful for many years of service, untreated wood ties are out of the question. With some adhesives, loss in bond strength and deterioration sets in after prolonged service, but before the end of the useful life of the tie. Hence, with ties previously treated with creosote or coal-tar solutions in the usual manner prior to attachment of the plate, the use of an adhesive ineffective to achieve long service life adhesion would not solve the problem for attaining a longer useful life of the tie and plate. On the other hand, by gluing the plate to the tie prior to creosote preservative treatment, it would be difiicult if not impos sible to effect adequate penetration of the preservative in the most critical area of the tie; namely, the area on the tie directly below the plate surface.

The absence of preservative in this area to permit attack by micro-organisms would obviously render this method of anchoring wholly unsatisfactory.

The present invention provides a novel means for utilizing a commercially available adhesive to improve the rail support of wood tie and plate while at the same time providing adequate penetration of creosote or coaltar preservative in the critical area on the tie, directly below the plate surface, by providing passageways which permit the desired penetration into the tie by the preservative.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a support combining a wood tie and a plate adhesively bonded thereto with passageways or channels in the tie below the plate which permit preservatives to penetrate the tie area under the plate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of preparing such support of wood tie and plate with the tie provided with channels for penetration by preservative in the area below the plate and extending into the body of the tie.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support for mounting railroad rails of the character stated, which is simple in design and economical to manufacture with available equipment.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention, accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the article possessing the features, properties and the relation of elements, which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the support of the present invention with the rail secured thereto;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the support showing adzed surfaces at the rail positions to receive the plates with grooves cut across the faces of the surfaces;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view with passageways drilled through the tie from the base to the adzed surface.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG URE 1 shows a section of a railroad tie 10 with an adzed surface 11 cut in the top of the tie to receive the plate. This surface has been provided with channels 12 running across the tie (FIGURE 2). A plate 13 is bonded with adhesive 14 to the tie at the adzed surface and over the channels 12. The rail 15 is secured to the plate and tie with spikes 16.

Suitable commercially available adhesive compositions which may be used for adhesive bonding layers include phenolic resin adhesives,'epoxy resin adhesives, polysulfide or Thiokol base resin adhesives and di-isocyanate adhesives, all of which exhibit low shrinkage, cure at relatively low temperature (room or slightly elevated temperature), are unaffected by solvents, oils and chemicals and require no special surface preparation to provide high bond strength.

The epoxy resin adhesives are available in the form of relatively low molecular weight polymer of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A which on addition of 01-20% of polyfunctional primary aliphatic amines as curing agent such as diethylene triamine or diethylamino propylamino cure rapidly at room temperature within a few hours to provide a strong moisture resistant bond. A broad variety of other amine curing agents may be used including, tertiary aliphatic amines, aromatic polyamines, and cyclic amines such as piperidine, triethylamine, dimethyl amino methyl phenol and tridimethyl amino methyl phenol, etc. may be used for 24 hour cures or for curing at slightly elevated temperature (60 C.). The epoxy resin or monomer of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol may be applied at solid with amine curing agent incorporated therein or in inert volatile organic solvent, e.g., benzene, toluene, etc.

Thiokol adhesives which may be used are based upon liquid polysulfide polymer. As disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,466,963, the preferred polysulfide liquid polymers, such as Thiokol LP-2 and LP-3, are composed of aliphatic hydrocarbon units connected by di,tri or tetrasulfide links, and are obtained by condensation of organic dihalide and aqueous sodium polysulfide. The liquid polymer may be formulated with an equal amount of epoxy resin such as Epon 828 and amine curing agent,

e.g., triethylene tetramine to furnish an adhesive coating curable at room temperature in 24-72 hours or at Fahrenheit in 1 hour.

A quick setting room temperature active phenolic resin adhesive which can be used and is preferred for use at room temperature is prepared by making a novolak or resin type from resorcinol andformaldehyde at molar ratio of formaldehyde to resorcinol of less than 1 to 1,

using an acid catalyst such as p-toluene sulfonic acid and utilizing additional paraform aldehyde or other aldehyde source (hexa-methylene tetramine) as curing agent.

A suitable di-isocyanate adhesive which may be used combines a polyol such as polyethylene glycol molecular weight 400, polypropylene glycol molecular weight 750, monoglyceride of lard fatty acids, heat dimerized castor oil, etc.'with a polyisocyanate such as 2,4 tolylene diis'ocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate, tri-phenylmethane tri-isocyanate, etc., the isocyanate ingredients added in excess to give a chemical bonding action due to' the action of the isocyanate on the wood of the rail tie. Conveniently; the ingredients are added from inert anhydrous organic solvent such as dry toluene. About .1-3% of tertiary amine, e.g.,' triethylamine is added to the solution as catalyst and permits a tight bond to be obtained at room temperature on an overnight cure.

Each of the foregoing types of adhesives may be modified with adhesion promoters, fillers, accelerators, driers, etc. For example, butadiene acrylonitrile rubber may be milled in with the phenolic resin adhesive and rubber accelerator added if the cure is to be made at elevated or vulcanizing temperature. Silica fillers may be added to any of the adhesives, Fungus proofing agents and "germicides may also be added. Vinyl acetate polymer or vinyl formal polymer or both may be added to the phenolic resin or to the epoxy resin. Polyarnide resins such as made from dimerized fatty acids may be added to the epoxy resin adhesive. Aluminum metal dust clay, glass fibers, powdered alumina and other fillers may be used to extend the adhesive. Low molecular weight polyesters and alkyd resins, both types having free bydroxyl functionality may be added to the diisocyanate adhesive. 1 v

Irr s'ome ca'ses the tie plate 13 is armed directly to the top of the tie'without an adzed surface as in shownherein. Since the adz'ed surface is. primarily for the purpose of levelingany unevenness in the tie and equalizing the positions of the two rails which will rest on the tie, it will be' seen that such adzed surface may not be necessary and likewise has no bearing on the present invention, If the adzed surface is omitted, the channels and passageways shown herein are made in the tie in the area where the plate and railwill be mounted.

'The manufacturer of the support can prepare the adz ed surface and grooves shown in FIGURE 2 in a single operation by using adzing knives so shaped and arranged as to cut grooves in the tie surface at the same time as the surface is being cut. Thereafter, the plate is bonded to the tie and the tie is ready for treatment with a suitable conventional preservative such as creosote, coal tar, organic mercury compounds, chlorinated phenols, chlorinated parafiins and other preservatives such as petroleum derivatives or combinations of these derivatives. The grooves under the tie plate permit lthe preservative to penetrate the area directly under the tie plate surface so that the entire tie is fully treated throughout. Such treated ties with the plates bonded thereto are then delivered to the railroads for setting in the road bed and affixing of the rails by spiking.

In FIGURE 3 there are holes 18 drilled through the tie from the bottom face to the top face in the area where the plate and tie are to be mounted. Similarly, as in FIGURE 2, the preservative flows through the tie and impregnates the area beneath the plate.

In preparing such supports the manufacturer first defin'es the area on the ties where the rails are to be i mounted. If necessary to level the rails, the tops of i the ties are adzed in such areas to provide a flat surface for each rail, At the same time or in a separate operation passageways or grooves are cut in the ties to permit penetration of the preservative to the areas where the plates and rails are to be mounted. Thereafter, the rail plates are adhesively bonded to the tie in the predetermined areas. The tie is then treated with creosote and coal tar solution or some other preservative to inhibit deterioration. In this treating operation the preservative flows through the passageways or grooves and completely impregnates the tie, including the areas beneath the rail plates. Such tiefislrio'w ready for use by the railroads, which place the ties in the roadbed, mount the rails on the plates, and-secure the rails in position by driving spikes through the plates and into the ties.

Thus it will be apparent thatthe herein disclosed invention provides a new and useful support for mounting railway rails and an improved method of making it. It is particularly adapted to permit impregnation of a tie with preservative where the new technique of adhesively bonding the rail plate to the tie 'is employed and provides a means 'of using that technique which otherwise might not be possible.

Since certain changes in carrying out the above method, and certain modifications in the article'which embody the invention, may be'made Without departing from its scope, it is intended that'all m'a'tt'er contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described,and all statements of the scope of the invention Which, as a matter of'language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and'desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of mounting a rail plate support on wood railway ties which consists essentially of the steps of providing a level surface of wood tie, for mounting the rail plate support, said level surface constituting a shelf on the tie, cutting a passageway in said' shelf below the face of said shelfto extend'to another surface of the tie and thereby provide a channel'to the outside of the tie below the tie plate for the flow of preservative to the cut areas of said tie, adhesively bonding a metal rail plate to the tie on said shelf by interposing between the wood shelf and metal undersurface of the plate an adhesive selected from the group consisting of phenolic resin adhesive, epoxy resin adhesive, polysulfide adhesive and diisocyanate adhesive, to'provide an adhesive layer of high strength, low shrinkage and room temperature curing characteristics whose bond strength between metal and wood is unaffected by solvents, .oils and chemicals present in the preservative and flowing a preservative over the shelf and through said channel to impregnate the freshly cut areas of wood.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein said passageways are cut in the form of horizontal grooves in the shelf of the wood tie extending to opposite sides of the tie and transverse to the length of the tie.

3. The method defined in claim 1 wherein said passageways are cut in the form of vertical channels extending from the shelf surface directly downwardly from the sur face'to'the bottom of the tie.

References Cited in the file of 'this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 332,097 Mathieu Dec. 8, 1885 2,389,464 Snyder Nov. 20, 1945 2,575,558 Newey Nov. 20, 1951 2,602,785 Wiles July 8, 1952 2,690,876 Snyder Oct. 5, 1954 2,690,879 Snyder Oct. 5, 1954 2,707,694 Standring May 3, 1955 2,743,058 Snyder Apr. 24, 1956 2,920,990 Been et' a1. Jan. 12, 1960 2,967,161 Hart Jan. 3, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 848,143 Great Britain Sept. 14, 1960

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