Improvements in Railway Rails.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 17th Mar., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Rails.
We, CHARLES HENRY JENNE, of Indianapolis, in the County of Marion, and
State of Indiana, Inventor, and THE MECHANICAL AND DEVELOPEMENT COMPANY,
a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the State of
New York, U.S.A., with its principal office at No. 23 Park Row, New York,
in the County of New York, and State of New York, U.S.A., by Henry Burden
McDowell its President, do hereby declare the nature of the invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
My invention has relation to railway rails for use generally where rails are
usually employed, and has for its objects first, to produce a simple, reliable, and
efficient rail which, while compounded or composel of a top and bottom section,
may be easily and accurately rolled or manufactured; second, to insure a smooth
and unyielding track or way which may be laid with equal facility as the ordinary
rail now generally in use, and which may be as easily repaired or replaced when
necessary; third, to obviate jolting at the joints or abutting ends of the treads or
heads and to prevent noise; fourth, to render the improved rail practically
continuous for any length desired; fifth, to obviate the use of fish bars or fish
plates, and sixth, to provide convenient and effective means for securing the rails
upon the road bed and the sections thereof one with the other.
To accomplish these objects, and to secure other and further advantages in the
matters of construction, application and use, my improvements include not only a
new and useful rail, but certain minor features of construction, and particularly of
invention, all as will be herein first fully described and then pointed out in the
claims.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1, is a side view, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing a
railway rail constructed in accordance with my invention and involving my
improvements;
Fig. 2, a top view of the same, showing also the manner of applying the noise
deadening strips or packing when desired;
Fig. 3, a cross sectional elevation upon a plane through line x-x of Fig. 1,
showing also the application of spikes for securing the rail to the tie;
Fig. 4, a cross sectional elevation representing the application of screws through
both parts of the rail and into the tie and a sheet of sound deadening material
interposed between the upper and base sections, and
Fig. 5, a similar cross-sectional elevation showing a slightly modified construction
of rail.
In all the figures, like letters of reference wherever they occur indicate
corresponding parts.
A represents the head or ball of the rail, and B the single vertical web on which
the same is sustained, affording, height and consequent stiffness thereto in a vertical
direction. The base or foot of this web is preferably composed of two diverging
inclined members, C C, terminating in narrow horizontal foot pieces D D, as best
indicated in the cross sections, the head, the web, and the base of the web being
in one piece. When of the form shown, the upper part of the compound rail inay
be rolled without difficulty. The figure of the channeled foot formed by the two
members CC may be varied in accordance with the weight of the rail to be
produced and with other conditions; thus the crown may be more or less

page_text: rounded, or more or less truncated, and the side thereof; may be extended more or
less so long as the channeled feature is preserved and other conditions of the
invention observed.
The base plate of the compound rail is represented at E. It is of rolled metal
also, and may be casily and cheaply produced of such figure as to correspond with
the formation of the foot of the top section and to receive all of said foot affording
a close bearing therefor. As shown in the drawing however, it is made with an
upwardly profecting longitudinal tongue of an inverted V shape in cross-section,
but in practice this tongue will of course be formed of the proper shape to fit the
channeled foot of the upper part or section whatever the shape of that channeled
foot may be. The marginal ledges shown at ee only contribute stiffness in accordance
with their depth and might be omitted. The under or bearing face of the base
plate is preferably made flat and rests directly upon the cross ties, one of which is
shown at F.
The base plate is laid upon the ties in sertions as are ordinary rails. a tie being
placed under each joint and forms, when once in position. a continuous and
practically a permanent way. The upper portions are then appl ed to the base in
sections, but so as to break joints therewith, the joints of the base being disposed
at such points as to come midway, or approximately so, of the joints of the top
sections whereby to hold up the ends of such top sections and insure a perfectly
smooth track.
In the ends of the base plate sections through the upwardly projecting longi-
tudinal tongue are formed perforations a a, the openings being shown as a trifle
elongated to admit of movement to correspond with any slight variations due to
expansion and contraction, but these perforations may be round and fit the bolts,
in which case the ties will yielt enough to accommodate the movements
The inclined members of the foot of the top section forming the walls of the
channeled portion thereof are perforated at suitable points near their ends, as
at bb, and these perforations are preferably elongated. The parts being in place
and ready to be secured, lag or other equivalent form of screws, cc, may be
employed for the purpose. which, passing through perforations, band a, enter the
tie, and thus not only hold the part together but hold them securely down to
the tie.
In addition to the fastenings at the ends of the base plate sections thus described,
the rails will be secured to the ties by spikes, d d, as is usual, with the rails now in
use, the heads of the spikes reaching over the margin D D, as shown, and holding
the parts firmly in place.
The abutting ends of the top sections are preferably cut at an angle substantially
as shown, so that when in use the wheels of the vehicle riding thereon cannot
entirely leave one sect on before it bears upon the next, but the straight or square
or any other form of the joints, may be employed with the other features of my
improvement if desired.
I secure the top section firmly to the base pieces, especially in the region of the
joints, by the use of bolts, ff, which, passing through holes formed through the
walls of the channeled foot, enter threaded perforations formed in the tongue on
the base pieces and are turned tightly down. This in effect makes of the
compound rail a practically continuous one throughout its entire length or throughout
any portion thereof that may be desired, and the construction enables me to dispense
with the use of fish bars or fish plates, thereby obviating the necessity of perforating
the web. Moreover as the upper and under sections break joints with one another,
the ends of the upper sections receive a firmer bearing and are more securely held
with the upper surface of their cross joints at the same level than is the case when
the ordinary fish plate is employed. while the ends of the under sections being
disposed at points intermediate the ends of the upper sections, the weight of the
vehicle when passing thereover is supported by the upper sections, and the cutting
of the ties, and injury to the road bed at these points by the ends of such under
sections, are thereby obviated. The fish plate may of course be employed in

page_text: addition to the other features, but its presence will generally be found superfluous.
With the screws made use of to hold the parts together and down to the ties,
proper locking means may be employed whereby to prevent such screws from
becoming loose, such, for instance, as lock nuts, but these are not essential and may
also be omitted.
In addition to the bolts f, clamps, hh, passing beneath the base plate and
hooking over the lower margins of the top section may be employed. These can
be moved to any point or points between the ties, and will insure the security of
the union between the top and bottom sections, even though the bolts should
become loosened, but they are not absolutely necessary and need not be employed.
On elevated structures, and in other situations where it is desired to obviate
noise, interpose between the upper and lower sections, so as to overlay the
upwardly projecting longitudinal tongue on the lower section, a strip, G, of non-
conducting material, as, for instance, lead, asbestos, or other preferred substance,
as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, of the drawings.
The formation of the base and the foot are such as to easily accommodate and
firmly hold this strip in place, while its presence will in no way detract from the
security of the rail.
In Fig. 5 of the drawing I have shown a rail of a slightly modified construction.
In this form of rail, the parts are the same as those shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the
drawings, with the exception that the upwardly projecting tongue is somewhat
reduced in width at its base, and the screws f¹, instead of passing down diagonally
into the tongue of the base plate E and being screw threaded therein, as is the
case with the screws f of those figures, they pass horizontally through the
members C C and through said tongue, and receive nuts on their free end, by
means of which they are securely held in place and the parts of the rail firmly
bound together.
The improved railway rail, as will be readily understood, can be easily adapted
to either light or heavy traffic. It is especially advantageous where high speed is
attained and where continuous smoothness, solidity and security are requisite or
desirable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a compound rail of the type commonly known as a Trail, the combination
with the upper section comprising the ordinary head and ball, the single vertical
web and the channeled foot or base, and the upper section constructed with a plate
to rest upon the ties and with an upwardly projecting longitudinal tongue adapted
to enter and fit the channel in the foot of the upper section, of screws passing
through the walls of the channel of the upper section and engaging with holes
formed in the tongue on the under section whereby the under section is adapted to
receive and support the entire foot or base of the upper section, and the sections
are fixedly secured together, substantially as described.
2. In a compound rail of the type commonly known as a Trail, the combination
with the upper section comprising the ordinary head or ball, the single vertical
web, and the channeled foot or base, and the under section consisting of a plate
adapted to rest upon the ties, formed to fit the channel in the foot of the upper
section, and adapted to receive and support the said entire foot or base, of the
screws passing through said foot, through the under plate and entering the tie,
substantially as described.
3. In a compound rail of the character herein set forth, the combination with
the upper section comprising the channeled foot, the single web, and the head or
ball sustained thereon, and the lower section constructed with a plate to rest upon
the ties and with an upwardly projecting longitudinal tongue adapted to enter and
fit the channel in the foot of the upper section, of a sound non-conducting strip or

page_text: packing interposed between the sections and overlaying the upwardly projecting
longitudinal tongue on the under section, substantially as described.
4. In a compound rail of the character herein set forth, the combination with
the upper section comprising the channeled foot, the single web and the head or
ball sustained thereon, and the lower section constructed with a plate to rest upon
the ties and with an upwardly projecting longitudinal tongue adapted to enter and
fit the channel in the foot of the upper section, of a sound non-conducting strip or
packing interposed between the sections and overlaying the upwardly projecting
longitudinal tongue on the under section, and screws passing through the walls of
the channel of the upper section and engaging with holes formed in the tongue on
the under section, substantially as described.
5. The combination, with the under section consisting of a base adapted to rest
upon the ties, and provided with an upwardly projecting longitudinal tongue which
is wider at its bottom than at its top, and the upper section constructed with the
usual head and tread, and with a channeled base which is adapted to fit the
upwardly projecting tongue of the under section and extend outwardly on each side
thereof to and into engagement with marginal flanges upon the outer edges of such
under section, of a series of ties upon which the under section rests, and spikes the
head of which extend over, and engage with, the base of the upper section to hold
the rail to the ties, substantially as described.
6. In a compound rail of the character herein set forth, the combination with
the upper section comprising the channeled foot, the single web, and the head or
ball sustained thereon, of the lower section or foot plate adapted to receive and
sustain said upper section, the securing bolts passing through the said foot and
entering threaded openings provided for them in the base plate, and clamps for
engaging with the sections, substantially as described.
Dated this 30th day of January 1894.
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.