Improvements in Railway Rails.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Rails.
1, PERCY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS, of 55 Chancery Lane, in the County of London,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communi-
cation to me from abroad by Robert Lowry Caldwell; of 42 Lindus Street, Cleveland,
Ohio, U.S.A., Inventor,) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to railway rails, and one of its objects is to construct. a
compound rail in which, when the rails are once laid, gauged and fixed upon the
sleepers, the base flanges need not be disturbed, nor need their fastenings be loosened
in order to permit the section which carries the ball to be removed when the tread
thereof has been worn by use, and a new section substituted and secured to the
permanently placed section.
Another object of the invention is to provide a compound rail composed of two
sections which are so shaped that they may be cheaply and conveniently formed
between suitably shaped rolls.
The improved rails also possess an advantage, inasmuch as the sections can be
arranged so that the extremities of the upper sections do not coincide with the ends
of the lower sections' thus obtaining greater strength and avoiding the use of fish-
plates.
Rails made in accordance with this invention consist of two sections or parts, an
upper and a lower one.
The lower part is formed with the usual foot or base adapted to be secured to the
sleeper, and has also the usual vertical web formed at its upper edge with a flange at
right angles thereto. The upper edge may be formed angular or be provided with a
longitudinal groove or channel to engage a longitudinal angular groove or rib, as
the case may be, on the upper section or part. At or near the angle where the
vertical rib meets the upper part of the base, said base is grooved or otherwise
adapted to receive the suitably shaped lower edge of the upper section or part.
The upper section or part is formed with the tread of the rail and the lower edge
of its web is suitably formed to engage the longitudinal groove or channel in the
lower part of the lower section.
It will be understood that when the respective webs of the two sections are fitted
and bolted together, the upper section will rest upon the lower section with the lower
edge of its web engaging the lower section near its base, and the under surface of
its tread engaging the upper edge of the web of the lower section.
The parts of each section where they engage each other can be shaped in any
practicable way to form an interlocking junction.
Dated this 30th day of June 1896

page_text: .
Improvements in Railway Rails.
I, PERCY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS of 55 Chancery Lane, in the County of London
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communi-
cation to me from abroad by Robert Lowry Caldwell of 42 Lindus Street, Cleveland
Ohio, U.S.A., Inventor,) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to an improvement in compound rails for railway tracks.
One object of the invention is to construct a compound rail substantially as shewn,
so that the base flanges which rest upon the ties are formed wholly upon one of the
sections, while the other section which carries the ball or tread portion of the rail
does not touch the ties, but is supported wholly by the other section. The practical
advantage of this construction is due to the fact that when the rails are first laid,
gauged and fixed upon the ties, said base flanges need not be disturbed, nor need
their fastenings be loosened in order to permit the section which carries the ball to be
removed, when the tread thereof has been worn by use, and a new section substituted
and secured to the permanently placed section.
Another object of the invention is to provide a compound rail composed of two
sections which are so shaped that they may be cheaply formed between suitably shaped
rolls.
The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described and pointed out definitely in the claims.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved compound rail;
Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the rail shewn in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar
section of a slightly modified construction; and
Figs. 4 and 5 are sections of alternative forms of my invention.
Referring to the parts by letters, A represents the supporting section, which
includes the vertical web a, and a base or foot at which extends to both sides of the
web. This foot is only part of the completed compound rail which bears upon the
ties. The plane of the inner face of the web cuts the base midway between the edges
of said foot. The flanges a may also be formed upon the upper edge of the
web a.
The tread carrying section B consists of a vertical web b and the ball or tread 61
on its upper edge. This ball extends on both sides of the web, and that part of
the ball which extends inwards from said web rests upon the top edge a² of the web a.
The said top edge is very slightly bevelled, and in that part of the ball which engages
with it there is a shallow slightly bevelled groove 62, wherefore a weight upon the
tread of the rail tends to draw the two sections toward each other. The lower edge
of the web b enters a groove a formed either in the base or in a lateral projection a
(Fig. 3) of the web near the base.' The outer lower edge 3 of the web is slightly
bevelled either in straight lines, as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, or in curved lines as shewn
in Fig. 3; and the surface of the groove a³, which engages with said bevelled
surface b, is correspondingly bevelled. The tread section B is therefore supported
at two points, viz., under the inner side of the ball, and at the lower edge of the web,
and at both points of support there are engaging inclined surfaces which cause the
rails to draw together. The rail sections are preferably placed so as to break joints,
as shewn, and they are secured together by transverse bolts or equivalent devices,
which, because of the described construction of the rail sections, are subject to very
little strain.
The chief advantage of the described construction is that when the rails have once
been laid, gauged and fastened to the ties, they do not need to be disturbed, nor need

page_text: their fastenings be loosened in order to permit the tread sections when worn to be
removed and replaced by new sections. Another advantage of the described con-
struction is that the sections being laid or put together so as to alternately break
joints thereby furnish an effective support of the ball or tread sections at the end
thereof. The sections in the shape described may be formed between rolls in the
usual way. The grooves a, a³, may be formed in the last pass through the rolls.
In the specific construction of the section A shewn in Fig. 3, said section is first
formed with an outwardly projecting rib, as shewn by the dotted lines; and said
rib is afterwards turned up, as shewn, by the last pass through the rolls to form
the groove a³.
Although I have herein described one form of my rail only, it will be readily
understood that slight modifications may be made in the shape of the parts without
departing from the nature of my invention.
In Fig. 4 I have shewn a section which can be more readily rolled than the form
afore referred to, and in which it will be seen that the supporting section is formed
with a square seat or shoulder c which engages a similar shoulder c' on the adjacent
section; the foot or tread of the rail being divided and made up of the two sections
as shewn. It will also be seen that the head of the rail fits a right angled recess or
groove in the supporting section.
In Fig. 5 I have shewn yet another alternative form which is similar to that last
described, except that the engaging shoulders are curved as shewn at d.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1) A compound rail consisting of the supporting section A having a web a, the
foot a', which extends on both sides of the web, and a groove a³, and the section B
having the web b, the lower edge of which enters said groove a³, the ball b', which
extends on both sides of the web, said ball having on the under side of its inner
portion a groove 62, which receives the upper end of the web a, and suitable devices
engaging with the webs for connecting said sections, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
(2) The hereindescribed modification of my invention substantially as and for the
purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings
hereunto annexed.
(3) The hereindescribed modification of my invention substantially as and for the
purposes herein before described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto annexed with
reference to Fig. 5.
(4) A rail composed of the two sections each formed to engage the other, all
substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and illustrated in the
drawings hereunto annexed.
Dated this 3rd day of April 1897.
PERCY R. J. WILLIS,
Applicant.