US761600A - Rail-fastening. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED'MAY 31, 1904.

' Y '0.B.NBUBAUER.

RAIL FASTENING.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 9. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

No. 7e1,e0o. v v I I Patented May 31, 1904. I

PATENT OFFICE.

CARL E. NEUBAUER, or 'oHIsHoLM'MINN soTA, ASSIGNOR or ONE- FOURTH TO MARTIN SWANSON AND CHARLES E OLSON, or orns.

* HoLM, MINNESOTA. I

.. f RAIL-FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,600, dated May 31', 1904.

Applicationjfiled- March 9, 1904.

T whom it, ma wma a I Be it known that I, CARL E. NEUBAUE'ma citizen of the United States, residing at Chisholm, 1n the county of St. Louis and State ,of

Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Fastenings, of which. the

following is aspecification.

I This invention relates to rail-fas'tenings of i the type set forth in my United StatesLetters Patent No. 719,950, and has'for'itsobject to prov de simple and effective meansv of this character which can be readily applied and which when in use serves to prevent with-- drawal of the-spikes forming part of the de-' vice.

The invention has for its further object to provide a rail-fastening which will not workloose by the vibration of the rails in the passage of trains thereon, but, on the contrary, will be aidedin vibration. Y I

The invehtionfurther aims to construct a rail fastening which shall be simple in con- 1 struction, strong,durable, eificien-t in its use,

1and comparatively inexpensive to manufacure. I

To these ends it consists of the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and=particularly pointed out in-the claims hereunto appended.

My improved rail-fastening includes a plurality of spikes each having a head which projects laterally from thespike and adapted to engagethe rail, each spike being further provided with a shoulder, which is'preferably' formed on the faceof the spike opposite to the laterally-extending. head, and a plate adapted to rest on thetie to sustain the rail and. having-slots to receive, the spikes, the

solid portion of the plate being adapted to en gage or be above the shoulders on the spikes. The spike ordinarily used for securing rails 1 to the ties has many inherent disadvantages,

keeping its positiorr by such Serial No. 197,257. '(No'modeh) once removed, theycan not be advantageously replaced in'the. same openings they originally occupied, owing to the fact that they cannot obtaina firm hold therein.- To obtain a firm hold on the-tie,they must be driven in a new place. -After this hasoccurred a number of times the tie becomes so full of holes that a firm hold cannot be obtained'by the spikes,- and these holes become a lodgingv place for water, and thereby cause thetietorot around the rails. Such ties, although otherwise sound, must be replaced bynew ones, which causes'a great annual expense for maintenance. Furthermore, ties made of soft Wood 1 cannot be used in -railways,-because a firm hold cannot beobtained in them by the spikes. My improvement does away with all these disadvantagesandprovides ameans whereby I the spikes can beheld in place and against spective view of the spike-holding plate, and v Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a spike.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the numeral 5 denotes part of a cross-tie, and 6 a portion of a rail adapted to be secured thereto, the'rail being of the form usually employed in railway construction and the tie being of wood, either hard or soft, for, as before stated, the spike is securely held against removal by means of the fasten ing even with ties made of soft wood. The spikes for securing the rail in place (indicated by 7 )are driven into the tie 5 until their heads engage the base of the rail. I

- In the form of invention illustrated in the drawings the fastening is shown as arranged for securlng the rail at a curve, there bemg three spikes employed 1n such a case, two on E the outside and one on the inside, to prevent the rail or rails from spreading at such point.

The spikes are held. against accidental with- Fig. 2 is a transverse sec-- drawal by a plate 8 of peculiar construction, which will now be described. This plate 8 is adapted to fit between the base of the rail and the cross-tie and is provided with, a plurality of slots 9, extending in the direction of the rail, and with auxiliary slots communicating with the latter, but extending substantially at right angles thereto and away from the rail. The slots thus form approximately L-shaped openings in the plate 8. The plate 8 is shown in the present case as provided with three of these slots, corresponding to the number of spikes used, two situated on the outside and one on the inside of the rail. The distance between the adjacent walls of the inner and outer slots is approximately equal to the width of the base of the rail for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. Each spike 7 is provided on that face opposite to the laterallyextending head at a distance about equal to the thickness of the plate 8 with a shoulder 10 of substantially wedge or steep bevel form, which tapers toward the point of the spike in order that when the spike is driven into the cross-tie the shoulder will not 'ofier material resistance to this operation. The upper end of the shoulder 10 is at a right angle to the axis of the spike. In securing the rail the plate 8 is first laid upon the tie. The rail 6 is then laid upon the plate so that the edges of its base-flange will be in alinement with the outer edges of the longitudinally-extending arms of the L-shaped slots 9, so that two of the slots will lie on the outside and one on the inside of the rail. The spikes 7 are then driven into the right-angular portions of the slots until their heads strike the flange of thebase of the rail, it being understood that such rightangular portions are of such a length as to accommodate the shouldered portions of the spikes. When the heads of the spikes strike the base-flange, the upper straight faces of the shoulders 10 will be flush with the upper faces of the ties. The plate 8 is then'moved longitudinally of the rail, so as to introduce those portions of the spikes between the straight faces and heads into those portions of the slots extending in the direction of the rails. Any suitable implement may be used for this purpose, and when the plate has reached the limit of its movement the solid portions thereof will lie over the straight faces oftheshoulders 10 of the spikes and effectually prevent the accidental withdrawal of the latter. To withdraw the spikes, the plate 8 must be moved in the opposite direction until the right-angular continuation of the slot 9 is over the shoulders 10 of the spikes 7, when the latter may be withdrawn by any suitable means.

I am aware that rail-fastenings have been made in which a locking-plate is adapted to slide transversely of the rail, and thereby prevent the spikes from being withdrawn, of which my rail -fastening, subject of United States Letters Patent No. 719,950, is an example; but I am not aware that a rail-fastening has ever been constructed in which a plate is adapted to slide longitudinally of the rail for securing the spikes in place, as herein set forth. A rail-fastening so constructed has all the advantages possessed by that set forth in my above-mentioned Letters Patent and has the further advantage, by reason of its movement in the direction of the length of the rail, of not being liable to slip out of positive engagement through the vibration of the rails in the passage of trains thereon.

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

1. In a rail-fastening, a plate having slots at opposite sides of the center thereof, each of said slots having a branch at one of its ends, said branches extending at an angle with respect to the main portion of the slot, the branches of the slots at one side of the center of the plate extending in an opposite direction to the branches of the oppositely dis'posed slots.

2. A rail fastening, comprising spikes adapted to be driven into a tie, each of said spikes having a shoulder, and a plate adapted to rest upon a tie and provided with slots arranged at opposite sides of the center thereof, each of said slots having a branch at one of its ends extending at an angle thereto, said branches adapted to permit the passage of the shouldered portions of the spikes therethrough, said plate adapted, when moved longitudinally of the rail, to have a solid portion thereof pass over the shouldered portion of each of said spikes.

3. A rail fastening comprising spikes adapted to be driven into a tie, each of said spikes having a shoulder, and a plate adapted to rest upon a tie and provided with slots arranged at opposite sides of the center thereof, each of said slots having a branch at one of its ends extending at an angle thereto, the branches of said oppositely-disposed slots extending in opposite directions, said branches adapted to permit the passage of the shouldered portions of the spikes therethrough, said plate adapted, when moved longitudinally of the rail, to have a solid portion thereof pass over the shouldered portion of each of said spikes.

4. In a rail-fastening, holdfast devices for retaining the rail in position, and a slotted plate shiftablein the direction of the length of the rail and adapted to removably secure said devices in position for retaining the rail.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL E. NEUBAUER. Witnesses:

MARTIN SwANsoN, JANE BATESON.

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