US71417A - Improved bailkoad-rail - Google Patents

Description

V substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

SACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 71,417, dated Noaember 26, 1867.I

IMPROVED :RAILROAD-RAILl` @tin tigrhule referrer tu in vtigen trtttrs tant uur making uut nf tige tame KNOW ALL MEN :BY THESE PRESENTS: y y

That we, GEORGE V. SHEFFIELD and BYRON WnIroonis,-of the city and county of Worcester, and Common-` wealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Rails;` and we do` GEORGE v.V SHEFFIELD AND BYRON W-iurconn, 0F WORCESTER.; Mas-y' hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference benghadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of Vthis speciiication in which- Figure 1 represents a. perspective view of two sectionsof our improved rails as they` appear when spliced or connected for use.-

Figure `2 represents a longitudinal central section en line A B, iig. 1, and Figure S represents across-section on' lineC D, fig. 1.

To enable those skilled in the art to which our invention belongs tomake and use the same, we will proceed i to describe it more in detail.

The nature of our invention consists, rstin a new form of rail,- the form being 'shown in'igs.`1` and 2; l and our inventionveonsists, second, in a new and improved mode of fastening or splicing the rails, as will be hereafter explained. Y

In the drawings, the parts marked A A. are the surfaces which receive the tread of the wheel, and them p depressed part B is the part through which the spikes or bolts are passed to fasten the rail to the sleepers. Our rail is rolled with a central groove, C, and has two elevations or ti'eadsD D forsupporting the wheels 'of'the 1. l cars, the wheels running upon the surfaces AfA. lThe base of the rail may be` rolled with slightly-projecting i sides, as seen at a a, g. 3; and, if preferred in any case, to make the rail `light, V-shaped grooves may be i rolled in the bottom or base of the rail, as shown in dotted lines, fig. 3. The rails are connected by means of a 1 splice-piece, E, rolled or otherwise formed to fit the groove C, the ends being depressed, as seen at-b b, so that theheads c c of the bolts ci d shall fall below the surfaces A A of the rails D D. `The holes in the base B of the` 3 rails, through which the bolts dd pass, are made oblong to admit of'the proper' expansion and` contraction of the rails. The bolts d cl may bc held in place by nuts e e, or by any other suit-able means. The centre part i of the splice E extends up high enough to receive the tread of the wheelsas they pass fromftheend of one rail i vto that of the next, thus preventingr all injury to the ends of the rails, while, at the same time, forming, in fact,

a continuous and even surface for the passage of the wheels, which renders the motion of the cars very uniform and easy. After the rail D on one side has been worn out, the entire rail may be reversed, and the other side i or rail D used.

By the construction of our rail, the trcad of the wheel can be brought down quite near to the sleeper, i v thereby rendering the strain upon the rail much less, and insuring a incre uniform and easy motion to the cars.-

The groove C may be of any desired width and depth te receive the splice E, which is retained in place very i perfectly by the sides of the rails D-D. The flange Vof the car-wheel does not, of course, run in the groove C,

but on the inside of the inner rail D, precisely as in ordinary railways. i The primary' object we have had i`n view has been to produce a safer, more economical, and,`in every respect,

better rail than has heretofore been used on steam-railways. The rail is cheaper and more economical in the end by being made in two partsD D, each of which constitutes in itself-a tread for the wheels, so that,`wl`1en .i

the one tread becomes worn or otherwise damaged, the rail can be reversed, so as to bring the other tread to I take the place` of the rst. Moreover, the construction of the rail admits of the bolts and spliccs being pla-ccd i within the groove C, wherethey are held securely and tightly, and protected from injury. The rail is thus, in

reality, for-med of two separateand distinct rails, each perfect in itself, but having their bases united "by the part B. Agroove, as it may be-called, is thus formed between the two; but this groove is ntenmded toreccivc the splices and bolts, and for no other purpose.

44The broad base of the rail gives it great stcadiness and additional strength, and admits of its being L `employed to very great advantage in place of thc ordinary rail.

Having described4 our'improvcd railroad-rail, what we claim therein aus new and of our invention, and desire w tosecure by Letters Patent, is

Il. A reversible double rail for railways, made substantially as herein shown and sot forth, and for the pur,

poses speciiied.v

` 2. The combination, with the lends of two rails, as described, of the central splice or connecting-piecc lE,-

.GEORGE V. SHEFFIELD. i vBYRON WHITQOMB. Witnesses:

Tnos. H. Denen, D. L. MILLER.

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