US866250A - Rail-joint. - Google Patents

Description

PATBNTED SEPT. 17, 1907 J. E YORK. RAIL JOINT.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 1. 1005.

FIG. 3(

INVENTOR:

)MJ l 16.

JAMES E. YORK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed July 1, 1905. Serial No. 267,916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Limits E. Yonx, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail- Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention aims to provide certain improvements in rail joints and ties which provide a firm bearing for the ends of the rails, which can be very cheaply manufactured of old rails, and which have various other advantages referred to in detail hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a joint showing the ti es in cross-section; Fig. 2 is a cross-section through the joint on the line 2-2; Fig. 3 is a cross-section of a rail through the tie fastenings showing the lower part of the tie in elevation. Fig. 4 illustrates a modification.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the ties A are preferably of the approximately I-beam shape shown, and which may be readily manufactured from old rails by my improved system of lateral rolling described in my application No. 236,354 filed December 10, 1904. The ends of the rails B are connected by means of fish plates 0, flanged or otherwise, and of any usual or suitable shape, the center of the joint being between the two ties. The rails may be connected with the cross ties in any suitable manner, as, for instance, that shown in Fig. 3, where a fastener E is provided, having a lug F fitting into a transverse groove Gr on the head of the cross tie, and held in place by means of a bolt H, such fastener having its tapered end overlapping the base of the rail.

According to the present practice, the fish plates 0 are usually relied upon to support the abutting ends of the adjacent rails, such fish plates being ordinarily of sufficient length to rest upon the two adjacent ties. As is well-known, however, the ends of the rails are subjected to a very heavy stress in use, which results in the downward bending of the adjacent ends, and a rapid flattening of one or both of such ends. It has been the usual practice to tamp the adjoining ties to compensate for this depression of the rail joint; but as the wear and deflection become excessive, tamping becomes no longer effective to true the joint. It is necessary in such cases to replace the rail or remove a part of its end.

According'to my present invention, I aim to prevent to a large extent this springing and flattening of the rail end by providing a support for the rail joint, which is preferably so proportioned that each joint will have the same bending moment as the rail itself, such support being designed to avoid a relative movement of the abutting ends of the rails, ,as the car passes over them so that the wheels of the rolling stock pass from one rail to the next without bending the top bearing surface of one rail below the level of the next adjoining one, thus preventing the excessive wear of the latter.

My invention also includes means for adjusting such support so that the precise degree of rigidity may be given to the joint, and so that the slight wear which occurs in use may be easily and accurately compensated for without tamping the ties. The support is preferably formed to engage the under faces of the two adjoining rail ends, and is preferably connected with. two adjacent ties, means being provided for adjusting the support in a vertical direction relatively to the ties, such means preferably involvinga relative movement of the ties themselves toward or from each other.

In the drawings, I have shown certain modifications of my invention, the first of which I will describe with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. In this construction, I provide a bridge or support D, which is connected with two adjacent cross ties A, and which at its middle engages the under faces of the two rail ends B. The connection between the bridge D and ties A is such that it permits a vertical adjustment of the bridge. Preferably such adjustment is provided for by forming inclined surfaces upon the ties and bridge, so that as the ties are moved toward each other the bridge is raised. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the web of the bridge is provided at each end with a projecting portion L, which is slightly inclined upwardly, and provided with a hole through which a fastening pin M may be passed. The tie A is provided with a hole N slightly larger than the projecting portion L of the bridge, and also has an inclined face, as appears from Fig. 1. Also, the end portions of the lower side of the bridge D are provided with inclined faces 0, and corresponding inclines P are formed on the lower flange of each tie upon which the inclined faces 0 of the bridge rest. The ends of the bridge are fastened snugly in place by means of washers Q and R and the pin M, and by varying the thickness of the washers, the bridge may be accurately adjusted in a vertical direction. The washers may be formed so that they are laterally detachable to permit their ready removal and replacement. Any other means may be provided, however, for adjusting the bridge. Preferably the parts are so constructed that the bridge acts as a tension member for preventing the lateral separation of the two cross ties, and also as a brace to prevent the lateral approach of such ties.

The bridge D may be economically constructed of an old rail, with the head J thereof forming the lower edge of the bridge, and the original base K the upper edge thereof. Preferably the bridge is slightly arched on its upper surface, so that it engages the under side of the rails only at or immediately adjacent to the joint.

In Fig. 4, I have illustrated a modified form of adjusting means, which consist of bolts S secured to the ends of the bridge by stirrups T, such bolts passing through the webs of the cross ties, and being adjusted by nuts U, as shown.

In applying my improved rail joint, the bridge D is adjusted to such position that the ends of the rails are firmly supported thereby, such adjustment being made by suitable washers Q and R, in connection with the pin M, or by screwing up the nuts U to the desired extent. During such adjusting movement, the cross ties A in the construction shown will be moved slightly toward each other, but other means of adjusting may be employed which do not involve such movement. Preferably the bridge D is so proportioned that the bending moment of the jointis substantially the same as that of the body of the rail. It the ordinary fish plates are used, such plates will be of suflieient strength to resist substantially onethird of the bending stress, and in this case I prefer to so form the bridge D that it will resist the remaining two-thirds of such stress. It will be understood, however, that such bridge may be so proportioned as to relieve the fish plates of any supporting action, in which case such plates need only be employed for the purpose of resisting the lateral separation of the rail ends. Should the ends of the rail be distorted from their true positions in any manner, as by being pressed down by the rolling stock, the joint may be readily brought into true position by adjusting the bridge to compensate for the distortion. 'This may also be done it the ballast has worked out from beneath the ties, although in such case it is preferable to eventually retalnp the ties, using the adjusting means as a temporary expedient. It will be observed that either rail may be raised by adjusting only one end of the bridge so as to incline it slightly at the central bearing point, thus enabling the slightest wear or flattening of either rail to be accurately compensated for.

I do not wish to be limited to the particular constructions herein shown and described, as many modi- Iications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. I

lhe pro vision of a transverse groove G is not claimed in the present application, but it is not to be understood that 1 thereby waive my right to claim the same in a separate application.

What I claim is:

1. In a rail joint, the combination with two rails having abutting ends, of a bridge connected to two adjacent ties, and means for separately adjusting said ends.

2. In a rail joint, the combination of two rails having abutting ends, a bridge supported at its ends and supporting the ends of said rails, and means for adjusting said bridge to move either of said rail-ends.

3. In a rail joint, the combination of two ties or the like, means for supporting a rail connected with such ties, and means for vertically adjusting said supporting means, acting by a relative horizontal movement of said supporting means and said ties.

4. In a rail joint, the combination of two ties or the like,'n1eans for supporting a rail connected with such ties, and means for vertically adjusting said supporting means, acting to move said ties toward each other.

5. A rail joint including a bridge, in combination with metal ties and means for attaching the end of the bridge to a tie, said means permitting vertical adjustment of said bridge.

(3. A rail joint including a bridge adapted to pass through suitable openings in the ties.

7. A rail joint including in combination a bridge and a tie, the former having an inclined projection and the latter having an opening, said projection adapted to pass through said opening and to be adjusted therein to raise or lower the bridge.

8. A rail joint including in combination a bridge having at its end an inclined face 0, and a tie having an inclined portion P upon which said inclined face 0 is adapted to rest, and means for adjusting said bridge toward and from the tie, whereby it is lifted by the engagement of the inclines O and P.

9. A rail joint including a bridge vertically adjustable at its ends and arched so that its intermediate portion only engages under the ends of the rails.

10. A rail joint including a bridge having a central web and wider upper and lower edge portions, vertically adjustable at its ends and arched so that its intermediate portion only engages under the ends of the rails.

11. A tie for use in connection with rail joints, having a web with an aperture N therein in combination with a bridge having an end passing through said aperture.

' In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in

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