Improvements in Railway and other Spikes or Nails.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Mar., 1899-Accepted, 6th May, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway and other Spikes or Nails.
WC, EDWARD FIELD, and FRANCIS SANDERS MORRIS, Engineers, and GEORGE
CARR GLYN, Gentleman, all of 4, Trafalgar Square, London, W.C., 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:.
11
This invention has reference to railway and other spikes or nails of the kind
having divided shanks, which, as they are driven into a railway sleeper or other
body, are caused to spread or bend outwardly, either owing to their own shape, or
by wedges provided for the purpose, or both, and the object of the invention is to
so construct such spikes or nails as to facilitate their subsequent withdrawal, in
case of need.
For this purpose, such a spike or nail, (hereinafter called a spike), is composed
of two readily separable parts slightly connected by a nicked head, or even made
separate and each comprising half or approximately half of the head as well as a
shank or fang, these parts when made separate being adapted to fit one another
so as together to constitute the spike whose separate parts in order to prevent them
sliding one on the other, have their abutting surfaces in the head portions
thereof formed with interlocking devices, such as a projection or projections and
a recess or recesses to fit one another, or, as the equivalent, made roughened or
ribbed, or equivalently formed.
The general formation of the spike in other respects may be varied to suit
different requirements. The improved spike may be driven into a railway sleeper
or other body, after the same manner as an ordinary spike or nail so that, whilst
its said parts retain their original positions longitudinally relative to one another,
the spike will hold after the manner of an ordinary one, but when it is desired
to withdraw the spike from the sleeper or other body, this can be effected by
extracting one of its said parts at a time.
To this end, when necessary, a cold chisel or equivalent instrument is inserted
into the nick of the head or between the two halves or parts of the head and is
sufficiently driven to divide the connecting portion or to move apart the two
separately made main parts of the spike in such wise as to allow the projection
or projections of one such part to clear the recess or recesses of the other.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows, in side elevation, a spike according
to this invention, applied to the fixing of a railroad chair to a transverse sleeper
or tie, the chair and the sleeper or tic being shown partly in elevation and partly
in section. Figs. 2 to 9, inclusive, are to a larger scale.
Fig. 2 shows, partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section, the im-
proved spike made with a nicked head integral with and forming a slight con-
nection between the two shanks.
Fig. 3 is a corresponding view of the upper part only of a modified form of spike
made in two separate pieces with interlocking means, namely, a curved, approx-
imately wedge-shaped projection on the inner face of the one piece, and a corre-
sponding recess in the inner face of the other piece.
Fig. 4 is a similar view of the upper part of a spike in which the interlocking

page_text: means consist of a slight rectangular projection on the inner face of one half, which
engages a corresponding recess in the inner fac: of the other half.
Fig. 5 is a like view of a modification in which as interlocking means, each
half of the spike has on its inner face an inclined projection and a recess adapted
to receive a projection of the other half spike.
Fig. 6 is a like view, showing another modification of interlocking means, in
which a couple of projections of bevelled-tooth form on the inner face of the one
half spike enter corresponding recesses in the face of the other half of the spike.
Fig. 7 is a like view, showing the inner faces of the respective halves of the spike
head finely ribbed or roughened, for interlocking.
Fig. 8 is a like view, showing the inner faces of the respective halves of the
spike head somewhat more coarsely roughened, for interlocking.
Fig. 9 illustrates a convenient method of ensuring the simultaneous and equal
driving of the component parts of the improved spike or nail.
The rail, chair, key, and transverse sleeper or tie, as well as the wedge repre- 1
sented in Fig. 1, are all of known construction, and are shown only in order to
illustrate, by way of example, one of the numerous applications of the improved
spike.
In Figs. 1 and 2, the head is one solid piece made integral with the two shank
portions a, so as to form for only a short part of the length of the spike a solid
connection between its two halves, and the head is made with a nick 68, the
slit between the shanks extending up to the underside of the head, and the
nicking arranged in the same plane as the slit a between the two shanks a
so that, by means of a cold chisel or equivalent instrument, the connection l'ean,
when the spike is in use as shown in Fig. 1. be readily severed, thus separating
the two shanks a, whereupon they can be separately withdrawn as already men-
tioned.
In each of the forms illustrated in section in Figs. 3 to 8 inclusive, the spike
is composed of two parts, each comprising a shank portion a, and a head portion b,
the latter being provided with a projection or a recess adapted to receive such
projection (Figs. 3 and 4), whereby the two halves or separable parts of the spike
are engaged with one another, so as, when driven, to move simultaneously; or
cach part may, for the same purpose, be equivalently formed with both a pro-
jection and a recess, or projections and recesses, the projection or projections c
of the one, being adapted to engage in the recess or recesses of the other (Figs. 5 ;
to 8 inclusive).
C
As already stated, the parts are to be put together so as to constitute, as
represented in the drawings, a compound spike, and by reason of the engagement
of the one part with the other, may, when so placed together, be driven by hammer-
ing, after the manner of an ordinary spike or nail.
In some cases it will be convenient when driving the spikes to use a device
resembling a cupping tool and held by a hazel-rode or equivalent, the blows of
the hammer then of course being delivered on to the top of the device d (see
Fig. 9). In order that the fangs may, when the spike is driven into a wooden
sleeper or tie or other like body, spread outward so as to afford a better hold,
whether a separate wedge f (Figs. 1 and 2) be used, or not, the lower ends of the
shanks or fangs are or may he at the inner side thereof (Fig. 2) curved or bevelled
or equivalently formed so as to gradually become of less and less cross sectional
area, and to terminate in a more or less sharp edge g, or, in some cases, the shanks
or fangs may, at their lower ends, be pointed.
In Figs. 1 and 2, the inner sides of the lower ends of the shanks or fangs are
shown serrated or ribbed, and the reparate wedge f is shown with its two
inclined sides correspondingly serrate or ribbed, so that before inserting the
lower end of the compound spike into a hole bored to receive it, the serrated
or ribbed wedge f can be inserted into the spike sufficiently to be (after insertion
into the hole) securely held between the serrated shanks or fangs, whilst the spike
is driven until the bottom of the wedge f reaches the bottom of the hole into

page_text: which the spike is being driven, after which, as the spike is further driven, its
serrated shanks or fangs will take an outward and downward course, accentuated
by the presence between the shanks or fangs of the serrated wedge f. The serra-
tions or ribs on the inner sides of the fangs should be so formed and arranged,
as in the example shown, that they will not engage one another but can slide past
one another, when either half of the spike is being withdrawn, the said serrations
or ribs engaging the serrated or ribbed wedge so as to be held down thereby under
ordinary circumstances but the said serrations moving over the wedge when the
corresponding half spike is being intentionally withdrawn, the wood of the sleeper
in the latter case yielding sufficiently to enable this to be done.
It is to be understood that we do not claim broadly the conjoint use of two fangs
and an interposed wedge.
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. A spike or nail comprising two separable parts, each with a shank or fang,
these parts being connected only by an integral head (Figs. 1 and 2) or made
completely separate and adapted to fit one another, so as, together to constitute
the spike or nail, the head portions of the two parts in the latter case being
provided with interlocking devices (Figs. 3 to 8 inclusive) adapted to prevent the
one part sliding on the other, substantially as described.
2. In a compound spike or nail of the kind referred to in the preceding claim,
the combination of two shanks or fangs connected together at their upper ends by
a head made integral with the said shanks or fangs and formed with a nick
in its top arranged in the same plane as the slit which divides the said shanks or
fangs, substantially as hereinabove described with reference to and shown in
Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings annexed for the purpose specified.
8. A spike or nail made in two easily separable slightly connected or separate
but interlocked parts as referred to in Claim 1, and with the end of each shank or
fang curved or bevelled and serrated or ribbed at the inner side, in combination
with a
correspondingly serrated or ribbed wedge adapted to be inserted between
and held by the said curved or bevelled serrated or ribbed surfaces of the shanks
or fangs, substantially as hereinabove described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of
the drawings annexed for the purpose specified.
Dated this 25th day of March 1899.