Rail clip with deformable attachment lugs

A rail mounting assembly is disclosed including clip members which is some cases have formable portions for effecting engagement with a base plate to retain the clip member in position on a crosstie with the base plates on opposite sides of the rail being connected by an anchor means extending internally of the crosstie. Another aspect of the invention involves clip members and base plates having engageable serrated surfaces clamped together by a bolt received in a threaded anchor in a concrete crosstie so that loosening and subsequent tightening of the bolt permits the adjustment of the clip members with respect to the radial base flange and another embodiment in which a clip is held in position by a bolt in the anchor member in the crosstie with the clip having a coined surface canted at an angle to accommodate rail tilt and sawtooth serrations engaging the bolt head for preventing loosening of the bolt member.

This invention is in the field of rail mounting and retaining assemblies 
for providing a supportive connection of a railway rail to a concrete 
crosstie. 
Concrete crossties have gained ever increasing acceptance by the railroad 
industry in recent years and a wide variety of devices for mounting and 
connecting rail members to such concrete crossties have been proposed in 
the numerous patents issued in this field. The substantial number of 
patents which have been issued attest to the difficulty of solving the 
problems inherent in the mounting of rails on concrete crossties. One of 
the primary problems in rail systems using both concrete crossties and 
wooden crossties is due to the vertical movement of the rails which 
results in a pumping action of the tie members if the flange of the rails 
is immovably fixedly connected to the supporting tie. It has consequently 
been recognized that the rails should be permitted a degree of vertical 
movement within maximum limits in order to lessen the undesirable vertical 
crosstie movement. Other problems of the prior known rail mounting systems 
include lack of reliability, excessive cost in fabrication and 
installation. 
Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a new and 
improved railway track mounting system. 
A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a new and 
improved track mounting system by means of which rail members can easily 
be connected to concrete crossties with a minimum of labor. 
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved 
system for mounting rails on concrete crossties which is reliable and 
trouble-free and which can be fabricated and installed at a minimum cost. 
Achievement of the foregoing objects is enabled by the embodiments of the 
invention in which gage and field base plates are respectively affixed to 
the upper surface of a concrete crosstie on opposite sides of the rail 
which rests upon a resilient pad positioned between the base plate 
members. The base plates are provided with an aperture which permits a 
connection of a gage clip and a field clip to retain the rail in position. 
The gage clip and field clip include a lip flange which overlies the rail 
flange and a foot plate which rests upon the base plate and is connected 
thereto. The foot plate includes deformable portions which are urged into 
engagement with one or more sides of the opening in the base plate and are 
restrained in position on the base plate following such engagement. In one 
embodiment, the foot plate is of V-shaped configuration having an apex 
positioned above the base plate and having a lock hook extending 
downwardly into the aperture in the base plate. Upon the application of a 
downward force to the apex of the foot plate, the foot plate is 
permanently deformed with an outer edge engaging a fixed abutment on the 
top surface of the base plate to forcefully urge the lock hook into 
engagement with an edge of the aperture in the base plate to place the 
foot plate in a compression stress condition between the fixed abutment 
and the edge of the plate so as to fixedly position the clip with respect 
to the base plate. 
Another significant aspect of the invention resides in the provision of an 
anchoring means extending between the two base plates on the interior of 
the concrete crosstie to provide a firm anchoring of the base plate 
members. 
In another embodiment, the deformable means on the clip comprise deformable 
lug means which extend downwardly through the opening in the base plate 
and which are bent outwardly by a special tool in an access opening 
beneath the base plate in the concrete crosstie so as to effect a 
permanent deformation of the retaining lugs to maintain the clip in 
position on the base plate. 
Yet another aspect of the invention resides in the employment of a base 
plate having an upwardly facing series of sawtooth type linear serrations 
which engage the downwardly facing similar array of serrations on the 
bottom of a planar portion of a clip member. The clip member includes a 
flange overlying the base flange of a rail and the clip can be moved to an 
adjustable position and held in position by a bolt extending downwardly 
through apertures in the clip in the base plate to tighten the facing 
serrations and maintain the clip in a fixed position with respect to the 
base plate. 
Another aspect of the invention resides in the attachment of a clip to a 
supporting base plate by means of a bolt extending downwardly into an 
anchor in the concrete crosstie. The upper face of the clip is provided 
with a coined area that is canted with respect to the clip in accordance 
with the desired rail tilt.

Reference is initially made to FIG. 1 of the drawings which illustrates a 
concrete crosstie 10 supporting a conventional railway type rail 12 having 
a base flange 14. Crosstie 10 has a recess 16 in which a resilient rail 
supporting pad or cushion 18 formed of elastomeric material such as 
rubber, plastic or the like is provided to provide support for the flange 
14 of the rail and to protect the crosstie from damage to rail movement in 
an obvious manner. Alternatively, the recess 16 can be dispensed with and 
pad or cushion 18 can rest upon the top surface of the crosstie if 
desired. 
A gage clip 20 is mounted adjacent the flange 14 on the gage side of the 
rail 12 and a field clip 22 is mounted on the field side of the rail 
adjacent flange 14 in a manner best illustrated in FIG. 2. Gage clip 20 
and field clip 22 are of identical construction and are respectively 
supported on and retained in fixed position with respect to the crosstie 
10 by means of an apertured gage base plate 24 having an elongated 
aperture 25 and an apertured field base plate 26 having an elongated 
aperture 27. 
A bridging anchor member is embedded in the crosstie 10 and includes 
longitudinal connector rods 28 of generally flattened V-shaped 
configuration welded on their opposite ends to the lower faces of the 
apertured gage base plate 24 and the apertured field base plate 26 with 
the longitudinal connector rods 28 having a transverse anchor rod 29 
welded at their apex and being embedded in the concrete crosstie member 10 
during formation of the tie. Additionally, another U-shaped side anchor 
member 30 is welded to the upper surface of the apertured gage base plate 
24 and includes side anchor leg portions 32 joined by an abutment portion 
34 which constitutes the portion of the rod member welded to the upper 
surface of the apertured gage base plate 24. Similarly, a U-shaped side 
anchor member 40 has an abutment portion 42 welded to the upper surface of 
the apetured field base plate 26 and side anchor leg portions 44 extending 
downwardly into the concrete crosstie 10. 
Concrete crosstie 10 is provided with clearance recesses 46 and 48 
respectively beneath the apertured gage base plate 24 and the apertured 
field base plate 26 and which are in alignment with the openings 25 and 27 
respectively as best shown in FIG. 2. The crosstie is formed with the 
parts in the positions shown in FIG. 2 so that upon hardening of the 
concrete forming the crosstie, the connector rods 28 etc. are firmly 
embedded in the crosstie and the gage base plate 24, field base plate 26 
and abutment portions 34 and 42 are fixedly positioned so as to be 
incapable of any movement. 
Gage clip 20 and field clip 22 are of identical construction which will be 
understood from the following discussion of the gage clip 20 which 
consists of an upper overhanging lip flange 50 having a lower surface 51 
spaced above the upper surface of the base flange 14 of the rail. A 
vertical side flange 52 extends downwardly from the lip flange 50 and is 
connected to a U-shaped foot plate 54 having a canted side edge 56. A 
curved lock hook 58 extends unitarily downward from the lower edge of the 
vertical side flange 52 in an opening 60 in the U-shaped foot plate 54. 
Prior to mounting on gage base plate 24, the U-shaped foot plate 54 is in 
the form of two generally planar components bent along an apex 62 as shown 
in FIGS. 3 and 4 so that the U-shaped foot plate bulges upwardly. The 
field clip 22 is identical to the gage clip 20 with the same components of 
the field clip having the same numerical designators as the corresponding 
components of the gage clip. 
The above-discussed components are assembled by initially positioning the 
base flange 14 of the rail on the rail supporting pad or cushion 18 and a 
positioning of the rail clips in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3 with the 
lock hooks 58 extending downwardly through the openings 25 and 27 in the 
base plates 24 and 26. The clips are then struck a blow or subjected to a 
steady pressure as indicated by the arrow 64 in FIG. 3 by means of a heavy 
sledge or pressure applying means so that the U-shaped foot plates of the 
clips are bent about their apex 62 downwardly to provide a fixed but 
removable holding connection of the clip by orientation of the components 
of the U-shaped foot plate 54 in a horizontal plane as illustrated in FIG. 
2. The deformation of the U-shaped foot plate of the gage plate 20 results 
in engagement of the canted side edges 56 with the abutment portion 34 of 
the anchor member to force the foot plate 54 downwardly with the lock hook 
58 being forced beneath and in forceful engagement with the edges of 
aperture 25 in the apertured gage base plate 24 so that the clip 20 is 
locked in position. The field clip 22 is locked in position in exactly the 
same manner as the gage clip. Openings 46 and 48 are then filled with tar 
or other protective material to prevent the accumulation of water or other 
material in the opening which might have a corrosive effect on the clip 
and its mounting means. Therefore, it will be seen that the embodiment of 
FIGS. 1 through 4 can be rapidly assembled with a minimum of tools and 
effort so as to provide a rail free rail mounting as illustrated in FIG. 2 
in which the rail is permitted a substantial amount of limited movement 
but which will be restrained from excessive movement. 
Another significant aspect of the invention resides in the fact that the 
abutment portions 34 and 42 respectively provided on the base plates 24 
and 26 provide for an accurate positioning of the clip members mounted on 
the base plates which is highly resistant to outward movement of the clip 
with respect to the rail flange 14 so as to provide a great amount of 
lateral stability and resistance to lateral rail movement. 
FIGS. 5 through 9-B illustrate a second embodiment of the invention in 
which the clip members are permanently deformed to effect a fixed 
connection to the crosstie member. In this embodiment, the concrete 
crosstie 10 is provided with a downwardly extending recess in its top 
surface in which a rail supporting pad or cushion member 18 is provided in 
the same manner as the first embodiment for supporting a rail 12 having a 
base flange 14. Identical rail clip members 70 are attached to the 
crosstie on the gage and field side of the rail to provide for a limited 
amount of rail-free movement within controlled limits. However, the 
invention is not limited to use with crossties having recesses since 
crossties having a flat upper surface can also be employed to support 
cushion 18 etc. 
Clip members 70 each comprise a unitary metal member having a lip flange 71 
which overlies the base flange 14 of the rail with a vertical side flange 
72 extending downwardly from the lip flange and merging into a foot plate 
74. Foot plate 74 has two downwardly extending deformable lugs 76 between 
which an opening 78 is provided. It will be observed that the clips 70 
have a portion of reduced thickness 79 at the juncture of lugs 76 and 
vertical foot plate 74; however, this feature, while desirable, is not 
essential to the invention. 
Identical metal anchors each having side plates 82 and an upper horizontal 
base plate 84 are embedded in the crosstie 10 adjacent the sides of the 
recess in which the pad 18 is provided. Base plate 84 has a central 
aperture 86 of rectangular configuration which is positioned over a 
clearance opening 88 in the crosstie. 
Prior to mounting in the anchor members 80, the clip members 70 are as 
shown in FIGS. 8 and 9-A with the deformable lugs 76 extending downwardly 
in a parallel manner. After the rail has been positioned on the pad 18, 
the clip members are positioned on the base plate 84 as shown in FIG. 9-A 
with the parallel deformable lugs 76 extending downwardly into the 
clearance opening 88. A spreader tool consisting of first and second 
levers 90 pivotally connected by pivot pin 92 is positioned so that the 
lower ends of levers 90 extend downwardly into the clearance opening 88. 
The lower ends of the levers ae provided with protrusions 94 so that 
movement of the upper ends of the levers 90 in the direction of the arrows 
in FIG. 9-B bends the deformable lugs 76 around beneath and into forceful 
engagement with the edges of the opening 86 in the base plate 84 with the 
permanent deformation of the lugs 76 providing an instantaneous and 
permanent attachment of the clip member to the base plate 84. Upon return 
of the lever members 90 to the position illustrated in FIG. 9-A, the 
spreader tool can be removed from the opening so as to provide the 
construction illustrated in FIG. 7. The opening 88 is then filled with tar 
or other similar protective material in the same manner as openings 46 and 
48 of the first embodiment to prevent the accumulation of water or other 
material in the opening which might have a corrosive effect on the clip 
and mounting means. 
FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate another embodiment of the invention in which a 
concrete crosstie 10 is provided with a recess opening in which a rail pad 
18 supports a rail member 12 having a base flange 14 in the manner of the 
previous embodiments. A tubular threaded anchor 100 is embedded in the 
concrete crosstie on opposite sides of the rail base flange 14, only one 
of which is illustrated, and includes an axial threaded bore 102 into 
which a locking bolt 104 having mating threads can be positioned. 
A base plate 106 is positioned over anchor 100 and includes a flat portion 
108 having longitudinally extending linear sawtooth type serrations 110 in 
its upper surface and a downwardly extending curved positioning lug 
section 112 along one edge. The concrete crosstie is recessed to matingly 
accommodate the curved positioning lug section 112 as best shown in FIG. 
10. 
A rail clip 114 is provided to be mounted on the longitudinally extending 
linear serrations 110 of the flat portion 108. It should be understood 
that the rail clip 114 can be either a gage clip member or a field clip 
member since they are identical. The clip members 114 each include an 
overhanging lip flange 116 and a downwardly extending vertical flange 118 
unitarily joined at its lower edge to a foot plate 120. The lower face of 
foot plate 120 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending 
sawtooth type serrations 122 which are engaged with the mating 
longitudinally extending linear serrations 110 of the flat portion 108 of 
the base plate 106. It will be observed that the vertical portions of the 
serrations 122 face the vertical portions of the serrations 110 as shown 
in FIG. 10 so as to prevent outward movement of the clip member to the 
left as viewed in FIG. 10. Clip member 114 also has an elongated slot 126 
of elongated configuration which permits adjustment of the position of the 
clip member toward or away from the base flange 14 of the rail when bolt 
104 is loosened with subsequent tightening of the bolt serving to hold the 
clip in its adjusted position. 
FIG. 10-A illustrates another embodiment of the invention employing the tie 
fittings and components of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3 in 
conjunction with clip mountings employing serrated surfaces in the manner 
of the embodiment of FIG. 11 and a coined surface for retaining a bolt in 
the manner of the embodiment of FIGS. 13 etc. Specifically, the tie 10, 
base plate 24 and the abutment portion 34 are identical to the same 
elements as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4. An intermediate base plate 
146 rests on the upper surface of base plate 24 and is provided with an 
aperture through which a T-head bolt 147 extends. The T-head bolt 147 is 
received in the clearance recess 46 but engages side walls of the recess 
so that it is held against rotation when a nut 148 on the upper end of the 
bolt is tightened. The nut 148 retains a clip member 149 in position and 
engages a coined surface identical to surface 138, 139 etc. of FIGS. 13 
and 14 and which surround the aperture in clip 149. 
It will be observed that the clip 149 and the intermediate base plate 146 
have engaging serrated surfaces which engage in the same manner as 
surfaces 110 and 122 of the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 and the clip 
member 149 is also provided with a slotted aperture to permit its 
positioning inwardly or outwardly with respect to the rail flange 14. The 
rear edge 151 of plate 146 is canted to engage and extend below abutment 
portion 34 so as to be fixed against lateral movement. 
FIGS. 12 through 14 illustrate variations of the previous embodiment in 
which the rail clip member and base flange are combined with the resultant 
composite member 128 illustrated in the left portion of FIG. 12 and in 
FIG. 14 including an overhanging lip flange 130, a downwardly extending 
vertical flange 132 and a flat foot portion 134 having a central aperture 
136. The upper surface of the foot portion 134 is coined in a circular 
surface 138 to receive the bottom face of the head of a bolt 104. The 
coined surface 138 includes a plurality of radial sawtooth like serrations 
139 which engage the lower surface of the bolt head to prevent rotation in 
an unlocking direction after the bolt head has been tightened in position. 
The edge of the clip member 128 comprises a curved positioning lug 140 
received in a mating opening in the concrete in exactly the same manner as 
the curved portion 112 of the previously discussed embodiment. It will be 
observed that the coined surface 138 is canted downwardly on the left side 
of the clip member in varying amounts in different clips to present a 
plane in which serrations 139 are provided to engage the under surface of 
the bolt head about its entire periphery to accommodate different degrees 
of rail tilt. The anchor 100 is always provided with its axis in a 
vertical plane and by varying the amount of tilt of the coined area 138 it 
is possible to accommodate various crosstie and rail configurations in 
which the rail tilt with respect to the axis of the tie varies over a 
substantial range. 
The clip member 150 on the right side of FIG. 12 is identical in structure 
to the clip member on the left side of the rail but does not use the 
downwardly extending curved positioning in that the edge of the clip is 
simply bent upwardly at 152 as shown in the drawings. Otherwise, the clip 
on the right side of FIG. 12 is identical to the clip member on the left 
side of the same figure and the corresponding parts bear the same 
numerical designators. 
Numerous modifications of the subject invention will undoubtedly occur to 
those of skill in the art. For example, it would also be possible to 
initially form the foot plate 54 of the first embodiment in flattened 
planar form with the lock hook 58 eliminated so as to simply have a 
central opening in the plate. The plate could then be bolted in position 
by a T-head bolt having its head positioned in the clearance recess 46 in 
the manner of the embodiment of FIG. 10-A. Similarly, a clip could be held 
in position by a bolt threaded into an elongated nut plate positioned in 
the recess 46 with the bolt head engaging the upper surface of the clip to 
retain same in position. Another possibility would be to use a threaded 
bolt having a lower hook edge engageable with the under face of the gage 
base plate 24 and held in hooked engagement therewith by means of a 
compressible slug of wood or the like engaging a canted end surface on the 
lower end of the bolt. The upper end of the hook bolt could be threaded to 
receive a nut to clamp a clip member on the upper surface of the base 
plate. Therefore, it should be understood that the spirit and scope of the 
invention is to be limited solely by the appended claims.