Improvements in Railroad Ties or Sleepers.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railroad Ties or Sleepers.
I, JAMES NEAFIE, of Boonton, in the County of Sussex, and State of New
Jersey, United States of America, Railroad Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to secure economy in cost of construction,
increased efficiency, stability and durability of the ties or sleepers, and also to
facilitate the laying of the track rails, and to secure other advantages hereinafter
referred to.
Referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures,
Figure represents in side elevation a railroad tie, embodying my improvements;
Figure 2 is a top plan of the same, and showing also a rail and fasteners in
connection therewith;
Figure 2 is a similar view to that of Figure 2, showing a modification of the
fasteners;
Figure 3 is an end view of Figure 2, but showing the tie in cross section;
Figure 3 is a side elevation broken off and showing the track rail in cross
section;
Figures 4 and 5 show, in elevation and plan, respectively, a modified form of the
tie and Figures 6 and 7 another modification of the same.
In said drawing, A, designates the tie and B the track-rails seated thereon in
recesses formed to receive them.
In carrying out my invention, I form the tie in two parts or sections a, a, each
being composed of a plate of iron or steel having an upwardly projecting flange a¹,
and a downwardly projecting flange b, which, when the two plates are united by
bolts or rivets c, passing through said flanges b, form a box-shaped tie having at
the bottom a central longitudinal tongue or keel, b', which, when the tie is laid in
the road-bed or ballast, constitutes an anchor and effectually prevents the said tie
from moving longitudinally in the road bed, as will be obvious.
I also provide means to prevent the tie from moving laterally in the road-bed
which consists in forming transverse flanges, d, either at the opposite ends of the
tie or at the central portion thereof, as shown. These flanges are formed by severing
a portion of the flanges, b, from the body a, the required distance at the ends of
the tie, and returning the severed portions at right angles to the main or body
portion of the flange, as indicated in Figures 1 and 2, or at the central portion
of the tie in the same manner, as indicated in Figures 4 to 7 as will readily
understood.
I also provide an aperture, e, at the central portion of the bottom of the tie,
Figures 6 and 7, to admit the passage of the ballast therethrough, in order to
prevent the buckling of the ties, which is sometimes occasioned by the difference
in the degree of hardness or solidity of a road-bed at the centre and at the outer
edges.
It sometimes happens, owing to the nature of the soil in which a track is laid or
owing to a track being laid near to the edge of an embankment, that the edges of
the road-bed are inclined to wash out and undermine the ends of the ties, which
also tends to produce the buckling above referred to. The transverse flanges, at
the ends of the ties, serve to reduce or prevent this undermining of the ends of the
ties as well as to prevent the lateral displacement or movement of the ties on the
road-bed, as will be manifest.

page_text: The top edges of the ties are provided with recesses f, to receive the bottom of
the track-rails and effectually prevent any lateral movement or displacement of
said rails. I also provide suitable fastenings to hold the rails down, in their seats,
and effectually prevent any upward movement of said rails. Said fastenings, in
this instance, consist in clamps, g, adapted to engage the flanges of the rail and
having flattened shanks h, adapted to pass between the bottom flanges b, of the ties
and be firmly secured in position by means of the bolts and nuts, c, as will be
understood upon reference to Figures 2ª and 3; any other fastenings may however
be substituted for these if preferred. Ties thus constructed can be made much
more readily, and at less expense than any metal tie of which I have any knowledge.
The sections of the tie are so constructed, being both alike, as to be interchangeable
and in the event of a derailment of a train the men are enabled to readily remove a
tie, or a section of it from the road-bed should it get bent and restore it to its
proper shape and replace it or substitute a new one at but little loss of time or
expense, as will be obvious.
I have also provided for increasing or diminishing the width of the tie by the
insertion of fillers h, to adapt the tie for heavy or light traffic. By means of fillers
the ties can be increased in width throughout their length uniformly, or be made
wider at one end than the other so as to afford a greater or lesser bearing for the
rails as the circumstances of the case may require; the utility and importance of
which will be obvious to railroad engineers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two parts, each part being
composed of a horizontal member and two other members projecting in opposite
directions therefrom and at right angles thereto, the two parts being united
longitudinally by means of bolts or rivets and forming an open trough or box-like
structure with a central longitudinal flange or keel projecting at right angles from
the bottom thereof and constituting an anchor to prevent the tie from moving
longitudinally in the road-bed, as set forth.
2. A metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two sections, each being composed
of a horizontal member and two other members projecting in oppos te directions
therefrom, and at right angles thereto, the said sections being united longitudinally
by means of suitable fasteners, to form an open box-like structure or trough with
a central longitudinal flange or keel projecting at right angles from the bottom
thereof and transverse flanges intersecting with said central flange or keel, as
described, and for the purposes set forth.
3. A metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two sections, each being composed
of a horizontal member and two other members projecting in opposite directions
therefrom and at right angles therewith, the said sections being united longitudinally
by suitable bolts or fasteners to form an open box-like structure or trough with a
central longitudinal flange or keel projecting at right angles from the bottom
thereof and parted at the center, as shown, and for the purposes set forth.
4. A metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two sections, of the construction
described and united longitudinally to form an open box-like structure having a
central longitudinal flange or keel projecting at right angles from the bottom
thereof and parted at the center, as shown, and transverse flanges intersecting with
the aforesaid flange or keel at the extremities thereof, as described, and for the
purposes set forth.
5. A metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two sections constructed as
described and united longitudinally to form an open box-like structure having an
opening in the bottom thereof and a central longitudinal flange or keel projecting
at right angles from the said bottom and extending from the opposite extremities
of said opening to the end portions of the said structure, as described, and for the
purposes set forth.

page_text: 6. A metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two sections constructed and
joined together at the bottom, as described and forming an open or box-like
structure or trough having an opening in the bottom thereof, a central longitudinal
flange or keel projecting at right angles from the said bottom and extending from
the opposite extremities of said opening to the end portions of the said structure,
and transverse flanges intersecting with the said flange or keel, at the extremities
thereof as described, and for the purposes set forth.
7. A metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two sections each having a
horizontal member and two other members projecting in opposite directions and at
right angles therefrom, and united longitudinally as described, to form a box-like
structure or trough, open at the top and with a central longitudinal flange or keel
projecting at right angles from the bottom thereof, whereby the upper edges of
the opposite sides of the tie serve as double bearings or seats for the rails.
8. a metal railroad tie or sleeper composed of two sections constructed as
described and adapted to be united at the bottom longitudinally, as shown, the
combination of filling pieces, or wideners interposed between the united parts, and
means for securing the fillers and the said parts together, as described, and for the
purposes set forth.
9. A metal railroad tie or sleeper comprising therein two plates or bars and
united longitudinally, as shown, and means for securing them to one another, as
described and for the purposes set forth.
VELAS
JAMES NEAFIE.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.