US830026A - Railroad-track construction. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906. V. UEDELHOPEN.

RAILROAD TRACK CONSTRUCTION. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 29. 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFTGE.

RAILROAD-TRACK CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

Application filed June 29, 1905. Serial No. 267,550.

To all whom it may concern:

Be, it known that I, VALENTIN UEDEL- HOFEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lakeside, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Track Construction, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in railroad-track construction, and has for its object a railroad construction that will be practically continuous, avoiding all open joints.

A further object is a track construction in which the upper or wearing surface of the rail may be quickly removed and a new top section substituted Without disturbing the track.

A further object is a track construction which will prevent the creeping of the rail.

Among further objects of my invention are to provide a track construction of such a nature that soft-wood sleepers may be efl'ectively used, tie-plates may be eliminated, noise, especially on elevated structures, may be lessened, lighter or heavier treads may be substituted without disturbing the track construction, and danger of accident from broken rails may be eliminated.

These and such other objects as may hereinafter appear are attained by my device, an embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my rail and joint with a portion of the splicebar broken away. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 represents a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Like letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figiu'es of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, A represents the base-rail,B B the top rail, and C a splice-bar comprising an upper chord c, a lower chord c, a depending flange c and a depending lug 0 The base-rail A comprises a lower member or plate a, a vertically-proj ecting flange a, preferably in the center, and a pair of small upwardly-projecting flanges a a on either side of the central flange a, forming a groove D on either side of the verticallyprojecting flange a. The top rail B B comprises a top section b and depending flanges or bearing-strips b adapted to fit into the grooves D. The flanges or bearing-strips b extend downwardly, forming a slot E therebetween, adapted to receive the verticallyprojecting flange a of the base-rail, and the flanges or bearing-strips b are concaved on their outer surfaces to receive the convexlyformed splice-bars C.

F represents a tie-plate comprising a flat sheet of metal adapted to extend from tie to tie, if desired, having spike-holes at suitable distances and provided with an opening G,

adapted to receive the downwardly-dependmg lug c.

H H represent bolts and nuts adapted to secure thesplice-bars and rails together, and I I represent spikes holding the combined rail, splice-bar, and plate to the ties J J Referring to the assembling and operation of the parts of my device, when the combined rail and joint only are used without the use of a tie-plate the base-rail is first laid on the ties in proper position. The top rail is then fitted 011 the ruqwardly-extending flange a, care being taken to break joint with relation to the upper and lower sections. The upper rail is preferably out diagonally or scarfed, so that when the parts are fitted together the rail-tread will be continuous, olferiug no break to the tread of the wheels when trains are passing over the track, since the ends'of the tread-rail are supported by the continuous rail-base, the ends of the base coming, preferably, about midway between the ends of the tread-rail, and vice Versa. Consequently the rail structure is continuously rigid, and there is no pounding of the joints, and therefore the noise resulting therefrom is practically eliminated, the wear upon the ties which ordinarily results under joints is avoided, and the constant repair of the road-bed where it is pounded under the railjoints is eliminated.

The parts may be so proportioned that the entire bearing strain of the trafiic will be borne by the downwardly-depending flanges 1) 12 thus preserving the top of the flange o from wear. This makes it easy when the tread-rail is worn sufliciently to require re-- newal or when a heavier tread-rail is required to substitute new sections therefor, whereas if the top part of the flange a were subjected to a wearing or pounding it would in a sense become distorted, rendering it difficult to slip the tread-rail section in place.

It is a well-known fact that many railroad accidents are attributable to broken rails, and in a great majority of cases the break in the rail occurs near the joint, and the joint itself is the primary cause for such fracture. The necessary space allowed between abutting rails to take care of the contraction and expansion leaves at most seasons of the year an open space or a space filled with a shim which in no way takes the place of the piece left out, whereas with my improved inven tion, inasmuch as the tread-rail and the base rail are separate from each other, but are securely fastened together, .a break in the tread-rail or in the base-rail is of no immediate moment, as the parts cannot become displaced because thereof, and the rail-surface remains substantially continuous and properly supported. The constant pounding of the wheels against the opposite ends of the joints, with the occasional extra pounding caused by flat wheels, soon loosens the tie or ties adjacent to the joint. When tie-plates are used extending from one tie to another, this of course lessens the danger; but in the end both ties are loosened, and the same result occurs. This constant pounding, espepecially in frosty weather, is very apt to break off the rail either a few inches or a foot or so from the end. By the use, however, of my improved rail construction the oints between the base-rail and the joints between the tread-rail are always several feet apart, making, so far as the entire construction is concerned, a continuous rail. In addition thereto the scarflng of the top rail diagonally of the track renders it absolutely impossible to have any open joint for the wheel to pound against. The bolt-holes through the splicebars are preferably elongated in order to accommodate the ordinary contraction and expansion and to render it easier to lay the track.

When my construction is used in connection with the tie-plate F, the danger incident to creeping rail is still further lessened, as the downwardly-projecting lug c fits snugly within the opening in the plate, and as the plate and splice bars are firmly spiked to the ties,,as well as bolted together, it is absolutely impossible for any appreciable lineal extension of the track to occur. So, also, it will be seen that inasmuch as the recesses inthe tie-plate prevent the lateral as well as the longitudinal displacement of the splice-bars the coengagement between the splice-bars and the tie-plate serves to give further rigidity to the joint and to more efficiently clamp the downwardly-depending flanges of the tread-rail to the upwardly-extending flange of the base-rail, the clamping means or side bars being each thus held at least two points from lateral displacement, as shown in the section view in Fig. 3, the upper chords of the splice-bars being held by the clamping bolt and nut and the downwardly-projecting flanges being held by the lateral coengagement between the splicebars and the tie-plate. The efiiciency of this feature of my invention is due in no small degree to the shape of the tread-sections in cross-section. It will be noted that there is no overhanging portion in my pre ferred construction, but the sides of the top section b and of the depending flanges or bearing-strips b are in vertical alinement with each other, the flanges merely being slightly hollowed to receive the splice-bars when the splice-bars are used. Consequently I am enabled to make a long scarfed joint of the tread-sections of the rail, because the extreme points of the adjacent ends of the rails on the scarfed joint are directly supported by the depending flanges, whereas when the tread of the rail is made to substantially overhang the depending flanges such long scarfed joints are impractical, as they provide the rail with pointed ends which have no support and Which will therefore sag and break away. Because of the fact that with my construction the tread section may be made with a long scarfed joint it is entirely practical to secure such joints by several bolts, even without the use of splice-bars. In other words, with my structure of rail it is possible to make such a long scarfed joint that even without the use of splice-bars the joint may be sufficiently secured by bolts, so as to prevent the tapered ends of the rails from creeping ortraveling on each other. Consequently such a joint may be safely made with or without the use of splice-bars, thereby providing the smooth travel thereover of the car-wheels. The bolts will secure such scarfed joints together and to the base of the rails, and the abutting ends of the base-sections of the rails will further prevent any traveling of the rails with relation to each other, which otherwise might tend to result by the use of such scarfed oint, and at the same time the scarfed joints may be of sufficient length for this purpose because, as noted, the extreme tapered ends of the rails will have suflicient direct support. It will thus be seen that inasmuch as the rail-tread alone receives the principal wear it is practical, Without greatly-increased cost, to make my improved track construction with such a Width to the base-rail as may be desired, so that a sufficiently-broad bearing may be had in order to obtain the necessary support from a soft tie, which, as is known, is much less expensive and often stands the weather for a longer period than a hardwood tie, and the greater primary cost for such broader rail-base would be of minor importance because the original rail-base thus installed will outlast many successive treadrails which will be mounted thereon. So, also, as the demands of traffic require it the treadrail may be increased in weight from time to time, as desired, without disturbing the roadbed proper or the base-rail. In like manner since the rail-base does not need to be constantly replaced and may be of any width desired tie-plates may be eliminated, and, as previously noted, noise will be largely reduced, which is of particular importance on elevated structures, such as the elevated railways in cities, and repairs in the way of replacing rail-treads may be quickly made, which is also of importance in such situations Where trains follow each other at short intervals, and, as previously noted, the parts will be so united to each other and to the ties or sleepers that traveling of the rail will be prevented.

WVhile I have illustrated one embodiment of my invenion, I am aware that other forms are possible without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. A railroad-track construction, comprising a tie-plate and means for securing the same to a suitable base, rails comprising base members having an upwardly-extending flange and tread members having downwardly-extending flanges with concave outer surfaces and adapted to fit over the complementary base members, and means for uniting said tread-member rails to each other and for preventing the spreading of the flanges thereof, said means comprising splicebars having upper and lower chords, the upper chord having convex inner surfaces, means for clamping the upper chords of said splice bars against opposite sides of said tread members, and coengaging means between said splice-bars and said tie-plate adapted to further hold said splice-bars against the downwardly-depending flanges of said tread members.

2. A railroad-track construction, comprising a tie-plate and means for securing the same to a suitable base, rails comprising base members having an upwardly-extending flange and tread members having downwardly-extending flanges and adapted to fit over said base members, and means for uniting said tread-member rails and for preventing the spreading of the flanges thereof said means comprising splice-bars having upper and lower chords, and means for clamping the upper chords of said splice-bars against opposite sides of said tread member the upper chords of the splice-bars and the downwardlyextending flanges of the tread members being formed with interfitting curved contacting surfaces, said tie-plate being provided with recesses and said splice-bars being provided with downwardly-projecting flanges engaging the walls of said recesses, so as to confine said splice-bars against lateral displacement.

3. In a continuous track-rail, the combination with a series of base-pieces, said basepieces comprising a base, an upwardly-extending flange, a series of grooves, on either side of said flange, extending lengthwise of the rail, adjacent sections of said base-pieces abutting crosswise of the rail, a series of top sections adapted to fit over said upwardly-extending flange, the opposite ends of said top sections abutting diagonally, the upper and lower sections breaking joint and splice-bars embracing the sides of the top sections and extending in both directions beyond the extremities of the diagonal joint of the top sections.

V ALENTIN UEDELHOFEN. l/Vitnesses O. R. BARNETT, G. Y. DANKWARD.

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