IMPROVEMENTS IN SPIKES FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPIKES
FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by
James Pliny Perkins, of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, State of Minnesota,
United States of America, Merchant, and Charles Carroll Jones, of the same
Place, Gentleman.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th August 1880.
WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SPIKES FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES."
[A communication from abroad by James Pliny Perkins, of Minneapolis, Hennepin
County, State of Minnesota, United States of America, Merchant, and Charles
Carroll Jones, of the same Place, Gentleman.]
The object of this Invention is to furnish spikes so constructed that they will not
split the ties into which they are driven, will not make a larger hole than they
fill, can be readily and accurately driven, will hold securely, and will be economical
of stock in their manufacture.
According to this Invention the spike is made with a head projecting in front
and slightly at the sides in the usual manner. The upper part of the spike for a
distance a little greater than the thickness of the rail flange is made square, and
the lower part of the spike is made triangular, and has the three sides concaved
longitudinally, the said triangular part being so formed that one of the said
concaved sides will be upon the rear side of the spike and in the same general
plane with one side of the squared part, while the other two sides will replace or
cut off the angles of the square part and converge upon the forward side to a
central edge, leaving inclined or wedge shaped shoulders at the lower end of the
square part. The point of the spike is made wedge shaped and with the longer bevel
upon the forward side, so that the tendency when the spike is driven will be for
the point to run back, slightly drawing the head forward against the rail flange.
With this construction the spike will accurately fill the hole formed by itself
while being driven, and will leave no openings around it for water to enter and
rust the spike and rot the wood, causing the spike to become loose. With this
construction also, one of the flat sides of the triangular part being upon the rear side
of the spike, the spike will not be liable to be pushed back or away from the rail by
the pressure of the said rail.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd February
1881.
WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPIKES FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER PURPOSES."
A communication from abroad by James Pliny Perkins, of Minneapolis, Hennepin
County, State of Minnesota, United States of America, Merchant, and Charles
Carroll Jones, of the same Place, Gentleman.
The object of this Invention is to furnish spikes so constructed that they
will not split the ties into which they are driven, will not make a larger hole than
they fill, can be readily and accurately driven, will hold securely, and will be
economical of stock in their manufacture.
The Invention consists mainly in a spike having a squared portion just beneath
the head, and a triangular portion below this, with one of the sides of the triangular
portion in the same plane with one side of the square portion, and with the other
two sides of the triangular portion replacing or cutting off the angles of the square
on the other side. It also consists in constructing the spike with a head projecting
in front and at the sides, a square upper part, a triangular lower part having
grooved sides and meeting the square upper part with inclined shoulders, and
having a wedge shaped point, as will be hereinafter fully described.
In the accompanying Drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improvement;
Figure 2 is a side elevation; Figure 3 is an end view; and, Figure 4, a cross section
through line x-x, of Figure 1.
A represents the spike, which is made with a head B projecting in front and
slightly at the sides in the usual manner. The upper part of the spike A, for a
distance a little greater than the thickness of the rail Hange, is made square, and
the lower part D of said spike is made triangular, and has the three sides concaved
longitudinally, as shown in Figure 4 of the Drawing, the said triangular part being
so formed that one of the said concaved sides will be upon the rear side of the
spike A and in the same general plane with one side of the squared part, while
the other two sides will replace or cut off the angles of the square part and converge
upon the forward side to a central edge, leaving inclined or wedge shaped
shoulders E at the lower end of the square part C. The point F of the spike A is
made wedge shaped and with the longer bevel upon the forward side, as shown in
Figure 2, so that the tendency when the spike is driven will be for the point F to
run back slightly, drawing the head B forward against the rail flange. With this
construction the spike will accurately fill the hole formed by itself while being
driven, and will leave no openings around it for water to enter and rust the spike
and rot the wood, causing the spike to become loose. With this construction also,
one of the flat sides of the triangular part D being upon the rear side of the spike A,
the spike will not be liable to be pushed back or away from the rail by the pressure
of the said rail.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I would observe that I do not claim broadly a triangular spike, nor
broadly a spike having a head projecting to one side, but what I clain as the
Invention to be protected by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. A spike having a squared portion just beneath the head and a triangular
portion below this with one of the sides of the triangular portion in the same
general plane with one side of the square portion, and with the other two sides of
the triangular portion replacing or cutting off the angles of the square part, as
described.
2nd. A spike A constructed substantially as herein shown and described, with

page_text: the head B projecting in front and at the sides, the square upper part C, the
triangular lower part D having concaved sides, and meeting the square upper part C,
with inclined shoulders E and a wedge shaped point F, substantially as herein
shown and described.
3rd. A spike, having its head projecting to one side, and its body constructed
with a square upper part C and a triangular lower part D having concaved sides
meeting the sides of the square part with inclined shoulders E, and having a wedge
point with a longer bevel on the front side, substantially as herein shown and
described.
4th. A spike, having its head projecting to one side, and having a wedge point
with a longer bevel on the same side with the head, as and for the purpose
described.
5th. A triangular spike, having one side straight and a head that is flush with
this side, but projecting over the angle of the triangle on the other side, as shown
and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-second day of February, A.D. 1881.