An Improved Railway Tie or Sleeper.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 19th Apr., 1890.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Railway Tie or Sleeper.
We, SAMUEL BRYAN JEROME, Inventor, of 234 Broadway, and GEORGE EDWARD
STEVENS, Mining Engineer, of 50 Broadway, both in the City and State of New
York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 our invention is to provide a railway cross-tie or sleeper which shall
be of light weight and cheap, and also possess the requisite strength and be elastic to
permit the track to yield under passing trains in a manner not greatly different from
the common wooden ties or sleepers.
In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar
letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shell which we use in constructing our new tie
or sleeper. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the complete tie, or sleeper,
showing rails secured thereon; and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on
the line,, of Fig. 2.
In making our new railway-tie or sleeper we take a sheet of metal, iron, steel, or
other suitable material say about one-sixteenth of an inch thickness and of the proper
length, and by means of dies and tools bend or draw the plate to form the shell A, and
the edges are locked or riveted together to retain the shell always at the exact size
and shape desired. The shell may be made by drawing the iron or steel in the form
of a tube or cylinder, and by means of suitable dies and tools shaped to the form and
size required, preferably square in cross-section. The interior of the shell thus
made will be packed with shredded wood, (excelsior,) or with dried grass, straw,
sawdust, or any other suitable material, as shown at B, to have any required degree
of density, securing all necessary strength for support of track and load. A small
proportion of sand may be used with the packing, if additional weight for the ties
or sleepers is desirable.
The upper surface of the shell will be pierced with holes a, a, through which the
bolts or spikes b, b, will be turned or driven to secure the rails C, C, in exact position
upon the tie or sleeper.
Under the upper surface of the shell is placed a strip of wood, D, of suitable
dimensions say six feet long, three inches wide, by two inches deep--which is held
in position by the interior packing, B, and by the bolts, screws, or spikes 6, which are
turned or driven into the strip D, which will hold the rails firmly and securely in their
proper place.
The ends of the shells A will be filled for a short distance--say two or three inches-
with a suitable block, E, of wood, plastic cement, or other material to prevent water,
moisture, and the action of the atmosphere from injuriously influencing the interior
of the shell or the packing of the same.
The exterior of the tie or sleeper will be coated with a heat, water, and oxygen-
proof paint, securing prolonged service and durability of the tie or sleeper, and the
packing B may be creosoted or otherwise treated to prevent it from decay. The tie
or sleeper made as described will have a slight degree of compressibility, over-
coming the tendency incident to the ordinary timber tie of becoming loosed in the
road-bed.
The inherent elasticity of the tie or sleeper will compel an immediate return to its
normal power and height when the load is removed. The elastic element is available
and of great value in frozen ground or in absolutely solid road-bed, obviating the jar
and the hammering unavoidable when the ordinary unyielding ties or sleepers are in
NGO #HON a hard and rigid road-bad

page_text: The elastic quality of the tie or sleeper will greatly prolong the service and the
durability of the road-beds and of rolling-stock, besides immensely increasing the
comfort of passengers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :
1. A cross-tie or sleeper having a shell and elastic packing with an interior strip of
wood, as described, and for the purpose specified.
2. A cross-tic or sleeper having a shell with elastic packing and with a strip of
wood, also having the ends sealed, as described, and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 18th day of March 1890.
HERBERT J. ALLISON,
Agent for the Applicants.