US717845A - Railroad-rail. - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

WILLIAM H. HAIGHT, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO'ALEXANDER CAMPBELL; OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

RAI LRoAD-RAiL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,845, dated January 6, 1903.

Application led March 18, 1901.' Serial No. 51,585. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM H. HAIGHT, of Minneapolis, Hennepin county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Rails,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railroad-rails.

As usually constructed the outer flange or base portion of a rail soon becomes more or less embedded in the ties on the outside of the track. This may result in part from force exerted on the inner side of the rail by lateral pressure of the Wind on a moving train,`.frorn oscillation,or from centrifugal force in rounding a curve, or from other causes 5 but Whatever may be the cause it demonstrates that the weight sustained by the rail is not evenly distributed on the ties and that the bearing or pressure on the rail is not altogether vertical, but rather to the side. Those sections oi' the track Where the rails have a tendency to dig or embed their outer flanges in the ties require constant attention, and even with the utmost care are the cause of many accidents that arise from spreading, turning, or breaking of the rails.

The object, therefore, of my invention is to provide a rail the use of which will prevent spreading of the tracks and turning or breaking of the rails, and thus eliminate the most common causes of railroad accidents.

The invention consists generally in providing a rail wherein the weight sustained thereby will be evenly distributed upon the ties.

Further, the invention consists in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a rail enivl'oodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar vie showing the inclined web. Fig. 3 is a section showing a web that is slightly curved in cross-section.

In the drawings, Fig. 1, I have shown a section of the lrail havingan inner flange A and a Wider outer flange B,that is extended or projected for a considerable distance beyond'the outside of the head of the rail. O is a Web extending vertically from the flanges A and B, comprising the base of the rail and carrying a head D, that forms the top of the same.

The figures of this drawing are adapted from the rail now in general use, the relative sizes of the parts being substantially the same; but I claim that the base should be considerably wider With respect to thev other dimensions than the base of the ordinary rail. The inside and upper bearing-surfaces of the top of the rail must necessarily conform to the tread and ange of the car-Wheels, and in this part of my rail I have made no substantial departure from the ordinary construction. The head of the rail, as shown in the figure, is set in over the inner flange of the base, so that the greater part of the rail-base is extended or expanded on the outer side of the rail. The center of a load being approximately at a point a little above the bottom of the car, perpendicularly to the center of the track, the direct bearing is theoretically ou a line drawn through the' center of the load to the upper inside corner of the rail and should, if extended, pass through the center of the base Where it bears upon the tie. These three points should be directly in line; but the center of the railbase can only be determined by experiments and 'extended tests. I have found, however, that the relative positions of the head and base of the rail should be such that even after years of wear the rail should have made uniform depressions in the ties upon each side of its base. This uniformity of depression can be accomplished only by distributing the Weight uniformly on the ties, and I have been able to attain this desired result by arranging the head or top of the rail so that it will be set in toward the inner side or flange of the rail-base.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modification in the arrangement of the web with respect to .the base and head of the rail which consists these figures, it will be understood that any other suitable construction may beemployed, if desired.

IOC

The outer corner E of the rail-head is roundl ed to eliminate as much of the surplus iron as possible and causing the force or pressure to be exerted on fibers of the iron that are located farther from the surface of the head, thereby preventing disintegration resulting from lamination and increasing the durability of the rail. As rails are now usually made the angles at the points represented by F, Gr, I-I, and I are rather abrupt or sharp, forming a short turn or corner, at which point the head of the rail frequently splits off from the web or the web becomes in a corresponding manner separated from the base. I have found that many railroad accidents are caused by a rail splitting or breaking in this manner, such accidents being usually referred to as resulting from a broken rail. To eliminate this kind of accident as far as possible and remove these Weak points from the construction of lthe rail, I prefer to provide wide curves where the plane surface of the web merges into the curved surface of the head, and these curves are described upon arcs of different radii, so that the points of the tangents upon each side of the web are upon different horizontal planes and are not in consequence opposite each other, so that there is no definite or distinct line of cleavage between the web and the head and base, and consequently any strain or pressure that in the ordinary rail is exerted at some iXed point, resulting in breakage and accident, will in my improved rail be evenly distributed and no one point subjected to any undue strain. In this connection I may state that the splice-bars or fish-plates connecting the ends of the rails should be rounded o n the edges where they have bearing upon the sides or webs of the rails to the end that shearing at the end of the rail may be prevented.

By employing a rail constructed substantially as described in the foregoing specification I am able to uniformly distribute the Weight of the load upon the base of the rail,

prevent the outer flange or edge from digging into the tie deeper than the inner edge, and obviate all possibility of the rail canting or turning on its base. The rounded outer corner E will cause the strain to be exerted on the fibers that lie deep in the head of the rail and prevent disintegration of the fibers on the surface and the consequent cracking off and wearing at this point of the head. There being` no definite dividing-line between the web of the rail and its head and base, there is consequently no danger of cracking or splitting at their points of union, and hence all accidents resulting from broken rails will be avoided.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentv l. A rail having a web whose surface on both sides merges into the surface of the head in wide sweeping curves, the points of union between the surfaces of said web and head not being distinct or definite or directly 0pposite each other whereby the load on the rail will be evenly distributed and concentration or strain on any one point will be avoided, substantially as described.

2. A rail having a web forming an obtuse angle with the inner part of the head, and an obtuse angle with the outer flange of the base, the outer part of the head being cut away from the normal T-head section,substantially as described.

3. A rail having a T-shaped head and an inclined web forming an inner angle with the plane of the head, and an outer angle with the plane of the base, both of which angles are greater than a right angle, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of March, 1901.

WILLIAM H. HAIGHT.

In presence of- RICHARD PAUL, M. C. NooNAN.

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