An Improved Means of Attaching Rails to Corrugated Longitudinal Sleepers.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 22nd Feb., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Means of Attaching Rails to Corrugated Longitudinal
Sleepers.
I JOHANN PHILIP EDMUND CHARLES STROMEYER Engineer to Lloyd's Register
35 Strawberry Hill Road Twickenham 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 crests of corrugated longitudinal railway sleepers should be partly sheared,
and pressed in such a manner that two hooks or projections, L, L, Fig. 1, 2, 3, 10
which should point towards each other, are formed at the centres of each crest. The
distance between these two projections should be less than the width of the foot of
the rail which is to be placed under them, and the under surfaces of the projections
are to be formed so, that the upper surfaces and the edges of the foot of the rail find
a good bearing surface when pressed up against them (see Fig. 10).
The cavity under one projection L of each crest should be deeper than the
thickness of the foot of the rail and under the other one L¹ it should be more than
twice as deep, and this projection L¹ should be formed, like two steps of a stair
turned upside down. (see Fig. 10). The distance from the lower cavity of this
projection to the extreme edge of the other projection should be greater than the
width of the foot of the rail. This arrangement will permit of the rail being
tilted into the cavities under the projections and it will not be necessary to draw it in
lengthways.
When it has been placed in its proper position the foot of the rail is pressed
upwards against the two projections on each crest by means of wedges W W,
Fig. 1, 2, 3. which are driven into all the hollows of the corrugations and under the
rails. Consequently the foot of the rail rests on the wedges W and these rest on the
hollows of the corrugations, so that the under surface of the foot of the rail does not
come in contact with any part of the sleeper and is therefore not subject to excessive
wear and tear. The bearing surface is very much increased and the unsupported
parts of the rail very much decreased.
The wedges W W under the rail can be made of wood where lightness and
elasticity are desired, or they can be made of harder, heavier and less perishable
material, such as cast iron, where wood is unsuitable or where greater weight is
desired.
In order to guard against the wedges slipping back, the upper surface of the
corrugated sleepers should be made with small transverse ribs (see Fig. 1).
Instead of holding the rails down by means of stepped projections L, L' forming
part of the crests of the corrugations, this can be done by means of stepped
hooks H, H', Fig. 4, 5, 6. fitted into holes in the crests of the corrugations or by
means of stepped caps C, C¹, Fig. 7 8 9 riveted or bolted to these parts.
This invention is intended to apply to those longitudinal railway sleepers in which
the direction of the corrugations is transverse, that is, at right angles to the length of
the rails.
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:
The combined use of wedges W under the feet of railway rails and placed in the

page_text: caps (above and round the edges of the rails and attached or forming part of
the crests of the corrugated railway sleepers, and also the use of transverse ribs on
the upper surfaces for the purpose of attaching rails to corrugated longitudinal
railway sleepers.
Dated this 97th day of Danmhan 1000