US3338521A

US3338521A - Railway rail and fastening assembly

Info

Publication number: US3338521A
Application number: US624026A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sanson Leopold Stewart
Original assignee: Lockspike Ltd
Current assignee: Lockspike Ltd
Priority date: 1967-03-17
Filing date: 1967-03-17
Publication date: 1967-08-29
Anticipated expiration: 1984-08-29

Description

Aug. 29, 1967 RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Filed March 17. 1967 1.. s. SANSON 3,338,521-

United States Patent Office 3,338,521 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 3,338 521 RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Leopold Stewart Sanson, Sutton, England, assignor to Lockspike Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Mar. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 624,026 11 Claims. (Cl. 238349) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial Number 552,625, filed May 24, 1966.

This invention relates to a railway rail and fastening assembly.

According to the invention, there is provided a railway rail and fastening assembly comprising a wooden railway sleeper or tie, a flange-footed rail extending crosswise over the sleeper or tie, an anchorage member fixed with respect to the sleeper or tie and affording a horizontal passage which is closed at the top and open at least at one end and extends beside the rail and substantially parallel thereto, a fixed unyielding surface which, as seen from the rail, is disposed outward of said passage, and a railway railfastening member comprising a length of resilient metal having, progressing from one end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion in the form of a substantially straight leg which projects into said one end of said passage, then a second portion, then a third portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on one side of the axis of said first portion, then a fourth portion, then a fifth portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on the opposite side of said axis, said third and fifth portions bearing one upon the top of the rail flange and the other upon said surface and one of said second and fourth portions having a part which crosses and lies above a part of the other of these portions.

Said fixed unyielding anchorage member.

The anchorage member may be a cast iron or rolled steel or pressed steel base plate which lies on the sleeper or tie and extends underneath the rail and has on one side of the rail a part in which said passage is formed and has on the opposite side of the rail a similar part in which a similar passage is formed and into which projects the first portion of another railway rail-fastening member similar to the one mentioned above. The base plate may be held on the sleeper or tie with screws or spikes.

The words sleeper and tie are synonymous and only the former word is used in the following description.

The term retaining member is also used in some places in this specification to denote the anchorage member.

The rail-fastening member may be of one or the other of two basic shapes. The first, which may for convenience be called a left-hand rail-fastening member, comprises a length of resilient metal of rod form which is bent so as to have, progressing from one end of the length of surface may be a portion of the metal to the other, a first portion Which constitutes a substantially straight leg, then a second portion, then a third portion, then a fourth portion and then a fifth portion, these portions being such that the rail-fastening member can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end .of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in a westerly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion, the construction being such that when the rail-fastening member is in said particular position and is viewed from above the third and fifth portions appear to be on opposite sides of the axis of the first portion. The second form of rail-fastening member which may for convenience be called a right-hand rail-fastening member, comprises a length of resilient metal of rod form which is bent so as to have, progressing from one end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion which constitutes a substantially straight leg, then a second portion, then a third portion, then a fourth portion and then a fifth portion, these portions being such that the rail-fastening member can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in an easterly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion, the construction being such that when the rail-fastening member is in said particular position and is viewed from above the third and fifth portions appear to be on opposite sides of the axis of the first portion.

The fourth portion, after extending upwardly and substantially in a westerly direction (in the case of a lefthand rail-fastening member) or upwardly and substantially in an easterly direction (in the case of a righthand rail-fastening The fifth portion of both a left-hand and a right-hand rail-fastening member may extend, from the fourth portion to the other end of the length of metal, substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially to the north.

By using :above the word substantially in relation to certain directions, we intend to embrace also cases where the true direction departs by as much as 30 on either side from the indicated direction.

The rail-fastening members are preferably made from spring steel and they are preferably made from rods of member) may extend downwardly.

circular cross-section at least A inch in diameter and, in most cases, at least 1 centimetre in diameter.

Examples in accordance with the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a side view of a wooden railway sleeper with a rolled steel base plate on it,

FIGURE 2 shows a plan view of one shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 shows a side view of a left-hand railfastening member, taken as indicated by the arrow III in FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 4 shows a side view of the same rail-fastening member, taken as indicated by the arrow IV in FIG- URE 3,

FIGURE 5 shows a plan view of the same rail-fastening member, in the attitude in which it is used, and also shows the directions north, south, east and west, and

FIGURE 6 shows a view, corresponding to FIGURE 5, of a right-hand rail-fastening member.

FIGURES 1 and 2 show a flange-footed railway rail 1 resting on a rolled steel base plate 2 which is placed on the top of a wooden railway sleeper 3, the rail being crosswise with respect to the sleeper. The base plate is secured to the sleeper by screws (not shown) passing through holes 4 or by spikes. On each side of the rail, the base plate is formed with an upwardly projecting rib 5 and the rail is seated between these ribs and located by them. Horizontal passages 6 are formed under the ribs and they extend beside the rail and parallel to it, the full width of the base plate, and they are closed at the top and open at both ends. On each side of the rail there is also a fixed unyielding surface being part of the upper surface of the base plate, which surface, as seen from the rail, is disposed outward of the passage 6 which is on that side of the rail. One of these surfaces is marked 2A in FIGURE 2.

side of what is Referring now to FIGURES 3 to 5, the numbers 21 to 25 respectively denote the first, second, third, fourth and fifth portions, mentioned above, of a rail-fastening member but the numbers 22 and 24 have sufiixes to indicate different parts of the second and fourth portions. The first portion 21 is a straight leg and is shown in FIGURE 5 in a horizontal position extending south to north, the end of the leg which constitutes one end of the length of metal being the southern end. Proceeding from the first portion 21 to the third portion 23, the second portion extends upwardly and to the north at the part marked 22A, upwardly only at the part marked 22B, upwardly and roughly to the south-east at the part marked 22C, horizontally and roughly to the south-east at the part marked 22D, downwardly and roughly to the south-east at the part marked 22E, downwardly only at the part marked 22F and downwardly and to the north at the part marked 22G. The third portion 23 is very short and horizontal and, proceeding from the second portion 22 to the fourth portion 24, it extends in a northerly direction. The fourth portion 24, proceeding from the third portion 23 to the fifth portion 25, extends upwardly and to the north at the part marked 24A, then upwardly and to the west at the part marked 24B, then horizontally and to the West at the part marked 24C, then, in the part marked 24D, downwardly first slightly to the north of west, then to the north-west and then to the north. The fifth portion 25 extends horizontally towards the north and terminates at the other end of the length of metal.

If desired, the fourth portion 24 need not have the descending part 24D but could continue horizontally to the fifth portion 25. The fifth portion 25 could extend, proceeding away from the fourth portion 24, towards the south instead of towards the north, in which case the part 24D would be modified to give a smooth transition from the part 24C to the portion 25.

The shape of the right-hand rail-fastening member will be apparent from what has been stated above and from FIGURE 6, in which parts corresponding to those 4 shown in FIGURES 3 to 5 bear the same reference characters. The parts 22C, 22D and 22E extend roughly towards the south-west, proceeding away from the first portion 21, and the parts 24B and 24C extend in substantially an easterly direction, proceeding away from the third portion 23.

Two right-hand or two left-hand fastening members as described above can be used to hold the rail shown in FIGURES 1 land 2 to the base plate. The first portion 21 of one fastening member is driven into one end of one of the passages 6 and the first portion 21 of the other fastening member is driven into the opposite end of the other passage 6, i.e. the fastening members are driven in opposite directions. Alternatively, one right-hand and one left-hand fastening member may be employed, in which case the fastening members are driven in the same direction into the passages 6. Either the portions 25 of the fastening members bear upon the top of the rail flange and the portions 23 upon the surfaces 2A, or the portions 25 bear upon the surfaces 2A and the portions 23 upon the top of the rail-flange.

The base plate could be wider, wide enough to accommodate one fastening member driven into each end of each passage 6. It could be made of cast iron and could have upstanding projections, corresponding to the ribs 5, and passages of circular cross-section passing through them, corresponding to the passages 6. The passages could each be open at one end only, in which case the fastening members are driven into the open ends.

When the complete assembly of the sleeper, the base plate, the rail and the fastening members is viewed from above, the third portion 23 and the fifth portion 25 of each fastening member appear to be on opposite sides of the axis of the first portion 21 of that fastening member. One of the second and fourth portions of each fastening member has a part which crosses and lies above a part of the other of these portions. In the illustrated cases, the second portion 22 has a part 22D which crosses and lies above a part 240 of the fourth portion 24, but instead a part of the fourth portion 24 could cross and lie above a part of the second portion 22.

I claim:

1. A railway rail and fastening assembly comprising a wooden railway sleeper or tie, a flange-footed rail extending crosswise over the sleeper or tie, an anchorage member fixed with respect to the sleeper or tie and affording a horizontal passage which is closed at the top and open at least at one end and extends beside the rail and substantially parallel thereto, a fixed unyielding surface which, as seen from the rail, is disposed outward of said passage, and a railway rail-fastening member comprising a length of resilient metal having, progressing from one end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion in the form of a substantially straight leg which projects into said one end of said passage, then a second portion, then a third portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on one side of the axis of said first portion, then a fourth portion, then a fifth portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on the opposite side of said axis, said third and fifth portions bearing one upon the top of the rail flange and the other upon said surface and one of said second and fourth portions having a part which crosses and lies above a part of the other of these portions.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said railway rail-fastening member is such that it can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in a westerly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said fourth portion, after extending upwardly and substantially in a westerly direction, extends downwardly.

4. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein said fifth portion extends, from the 'fourth portion to the other end of the length of metal, substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially to the north.

5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said railway rail-fastening member is such that it can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the 6 north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in an easterly direction and crosses the passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, wherein said fourth portion, after extending upwardly and substantially in an easterly direction, extends downwardly.

7.- An assembly according to claim 5, wherein said fifth portion extends, from the fourth portion to the other end of the length of metal, substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially to the north.

'8. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the anchorage member is a base plate which extends beneath the rail and on both sides thereof and is secured to the sleeper.

9. An assembly according to claim 8, wherein the base plate is formed with two upwardly projecting ribs which extend parallel to the length of the rail and between which the rail is seated.

10. An assembly according to claim 9, wherein the passage mentioned in claim 1 is underneath one of the ribs.

11. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fixed unyielding surface mentioned in claim 1 is part of said anchorage member.

No references cited.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A WOODEN RAILWAY SLEEPER O TIE, A FLANGE-FOTTED RAIL EXTENDING CROSSWISE OVER THE SLEEPER OR TIE, AN ANCHORAGE MEMBER FIXED WITH RESPECT TO THE SLEEPER OR TIE AND AFFORDING A HORIZONTAL PASSAGE WHICH IS CLOSED AT THE TOP AND OPEN AT LEAST AT ONE END AND EXTENDS BESIDE THE RAIL AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL THERETO, A FIXED UNYIELDING SURFACE WHICH, AS SEEN FROM THE RAIL, IS DISPOSED OUTWARD OF SAID PASSAGE, AND A RAILWAY RAIL-FASTENING MEMBER COMPRISING A LENGTH OF RESILIENT METAL HAVING, PROGRESSING FROM ONE END OF THE LENGTH OF METAL TO THE OTHER, A FIRST PORTION IN THE FORM OF A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT LEG WHICH PROJECTS INTO SAID ONE END OF SAID PASSAGE, THEN A SECOND PORTION, THEN