An Improvement in Integrally Uniting a Rail and Support or other Iron or Steel Pieces.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 27th May, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Integrally Uniting a Rail and Support or other
Iron or Steel Pieces.
I, ARTHUR JAMES MOXHAM, of Johnstown, in the County of Cambria, and
State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Engineer, 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 :-
When pieces of iron or steel are integrally united by welding, such exposed
parts, as have been subjected to the welding heat are apt to present cracks which
may seriously weaken the structure.
My invention relates to means of providing against this evil, as I will exemplify
by describing the process, according to my invention, for integrally uniting a rail
and support for it, referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a rail and support shewn separate.
Fig. 2 shews them integrally united.
Fig. 3 shews a part of the rail and support in an intermediate state of the uniting
process, Fig. 4 shews a modification,
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a rail with supports united to it;
Fig. 6 shews a modification of the support.
The rail A is rolled with its web B formed at its lower edge with a groove,
hollow, or recess between two lips or flanges b'b' the support C has its web rolled
with its edge (on which there may be a bead c) so shaped that it can enter the
recess b. The edge or bead of C being inserted in the recess b as shewn in Fig. 3
the rail and support are pressed together, and a current of electricity is transmitted
through them transversely to the rail, this current being sufficient to raise the
parts in contact, that is to say the edge or bead c and the bottom of the recess b
to a welding heat, without highly heating the lips b' 6' through which no current
passes. The highly heated parts b and c become welded as they are pressed
together, forming an integral union of the rail and support, which is strengthened
by pressing or forging the lips 66 inwards so as to clamp the edge or bead between
them as shewn in Fig. 2. Obviously the web of the rail may have its edge or
bead inserted in a recess in the support as shewn in Fig. 4. In order to reduce
the area to be heated for welding, parts 9 9 of the edge or bead may be cut away as
shewn in Fig. 6.
Pieces of iron or steel, other than rails and supports, may obviously be
integrally united in the manner above described, whenever the one piece can be
made with a recess, hollow, or groove to receive the edge of the other piece, or a
bead formed thereon and the flanges of the recess can be pressed inwards to
clamp the edge or bead between them. By uniting pieces in this manner, the
flanges present externally metal which has not been raised to a welding heat and
therefore has no such liability to be cracked or otherwise weakened as metal which
has been heated to welding temperature.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The herein described process for integrally uniting a rail and support or other
iron or steel pieces by forming the one piece with a recess, hollow, or groove,
pressing into the recess the edge of the other piece or a bead formed thereon,

page_text: electrically welding the parts in contact, and pressing inwards the flanges of the
recess to clamp the edge or bead between them.
Dated this 25th day of April 1893
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.