Improvements in Rail Securing Devices.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Aug., 1893—Accepted, 16th Sept., 1893
Improvements in Rail Securing Devices.
A communication from JOHN LANG POPE, Gentleman, of Cleveland, in the County
of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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:-
This invention relates to improved means for fastening railway rails to their ties
or other supporting devices and for holding the rails together at the joints.
In the drawings,
.
Figure 1 is a plan view of a rail-joint provided with this improvement.
Figure 2 is an end view of the rail and the parts of the securing device.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line III-III of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a plan view of a modified construction.
Figure 5 is an end view of the parts of Figure 4; and
Figure 6 is a vertical cross-section on the line VI-VI of Figure 4.
Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each figure.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, 2, 3 are rails intended to be held together at the joint, 4 is a
railway tie and 5 are usual fish-plates. 6, 7 are plates on which the rail sits and
which have bevelled under faces resting upon correspondingly bevelled surfaces
upon the tie, the parts being so constructed relatively to each other that when the
rail bears upon the top of said plates, its weight and down-pressure of passing trains
upon it tend to draw the plates towards the middle line of the rail. 8, 9 are clips
or hooks which pass through registering slots formed in said plates and in the
surface of the tie. The outer sides of these slots are oblique so that the slots in
the plate (6 or 7) and the registering slot in the tie shall taper in respectively
opposite directions, and in each pair of said slots is set a double wedge 10 of which
the part fitting in the slot of the plate tapers in one direction to conform to the
taper of said slot, and the part fitting in the slot of the tie tapers in the opposite
direction. As the plates 6, 7 are urged inwardly by down pressure of the rail upon
them, the outer sides of their slots bear against the outer sides of the wedges, and
by reason of their inclination push the same lengthwise towards the wider end of
the slots in the plates. But this motion presses the lower parts of the wedges
toward the narrower parts of the slots in the tie, and thus causes the wedges to fill
the space between the outer edges of the slot in the tie and the backs of the clips
and thus to lock the clips, (the ends of which bear upon the flanges of the fish-plates
or rails and on the under side of the tie), and thus causes the clips to bind the rail
securely to the tie and the fish-plates to the rail with a force proportionate to the
degree of pressure exerted upon the rails. The plates 6, 7 are preferably long
enough to extend along the rails for a considerable distance, sufficient to span
several ties, and at each of said ties there is a set of securing devices illustrated in
the drawing.
The construction shown in the figures on the second sheet of the drawings has
been designed primarily with a view of affording means by which the joints may be
secured without the use of fish-plates. For this purpose, the inner edges of the
plates 6, 7, are formed with flanges 11 which project downwardly therefrom between
the ties and add to the joint the strength and support usually afforded by the fish-
plates. The joints of the rails may be located on the ties, as shown or between
the ties.

page_text: The advantages of the invention will be understood by those skilled in the art.
The device is simple, strong, easily applied, and occasions economy in the first
construction and maintenance of the railway.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of a railway rail and tie or other rail-support, a clip or hook
a wedge which acts lengthwise of the rail and automatic means adapted to actuate
the wedge lengthwise of the rail by down pressure upon the rail to press the clip or
hook against the rail; substantially as described.
2. The combination with a railway rail and tie or other rail support of a clip or
hook connecting these parts a bevelled plate adapted to be moved transversely by
downward pressure of the rail, and a wedge actuated by motion of the plate to bind
the clip; substantially as and for the purposes described.
3. The combination with a railway rail and tie or other rail support of a clip or
hook connecting these parts a wedge and means operatively connecting the wedge
and rail and causing downward pressure of the latter to actuate the wedge;
substantially as and for the purposes described.
4. The combination with a railway rail and tie or other rail support, of a clip or
hook connecting these parts a bevelled plate adapted to be moved transversely by
downward pressure of the rail and a wedge set in oppositely tapering slots in plate
and tie and movable longitudinally by transverse pressure of the plate; substantially
as and for the purposes described.
5. The combination with a railway rail and tie or other rail support, of clips or
hooks connecting these parts oppositely bevelled plates on which the rail sits which
plates are adapted to be moved inwardly by downward pressure thereon, and wedges
actuated by motion of the plates to bind the clips; substantially as and for the
purposes described.
6. The combination of a rail joint having fish-plates a tie or other support a clip
or hook bearing on a fish-plate to clamp it to the rail and tie and a wedge movable
in the direction of the length of the rail and bearing on the clip or hook to hold the
same in position; substantially as and for the purposes described.
.
7. The combination of a rail joint having fish-plates a tie or other support, a clip
or hook bearing on a fish-plate to clamp it to the rail and tie a bevelled plate
adapted to be moved transversely by downward pressure of the rail and a double
wedge bearing against oppositely inclined surfaces on the plate and tie and adapted
to be actuated by the plate to hold the clip; substantially as and for the purposes
described.
8. The combination of a railway tie or other rail-support having oppositely
bevelled faces and bevelled plates bearing thereon, and having downwardly-
projecting flanges between the ties; substantially as and for the purposes described.
9. In a rail-joint, the combination of fish-plates a tie or other rail-support a clip
or hook bearing on the fish-plate to clamp it to the rail and tie and a bevelled plate
adapted to be moved transversely by downward pressure of the rail to hold the
clips in place; substantially as and for the purposes described.
Dashi ch.1 1000
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
London, Nottingham, Liverpool, and Manchester,
Agents for the Applicant.