Improvements in and relating to Wear Plates for Railway Sleepers.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Wear Plates for Railway Sleepers.
I, BENJAMIN REECE, a citizen of the United States of America, of No. 705
Phenix Building, in the City of Chicago, County of Cook, and State of Illinois,
one of the United States of America, Civil 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 :-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bottom or underside of a wear-plate
embodying my invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of such a wear plate.
Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the same.
Figure 4 is an end view, and
Figure 5 is a side elevation of a modification.
Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.
My invention relates to the construction of that class of devices commonly termed
"wear plates" and which are, in track laying, interposed between the tie and the
rail to prevent the rapid destruction of the tie by the vibration of the rail and the
consequent breaking of the fibre of the tie. whereby the tie becomes water soaked
and decays at the point of support for the rail.
In order to obtain the best results in the construction of wear plates, they should
be of such a character that they can be so applied to the tie as to have uniform
bearing thereon at the time of application, to avoid any subsequent rocking of the
plate which would tend to loosen the rail spikes and break the fibre of the tie; and
it is also desirable that they should be of such a construction as to prevent any
lateral movement or creeping of the plate, so that a solid and stable rail bearing is
obtained, adapted to sustain the concentrated weight and thrust imposed on the rail
by a passing train.
Heretofore, in the construction of this class of devices two general methods have
predominated, viz.: first, the formation of a wear plate with continuous ribs or
Hanges on its under surface and longitudinal therewith, said flanges adapted to
enter the tie parallel with the grain of the wood, thus separating the fibre without
injury thereto; and second, the formation of the wear plate with transverse
serrated flanges on its under surface, which flanges bisected the grain of the wood.
In the first construction, when the wear plate is driven home, there is always a
tendency of the plate to rock or vibrate on its transverse center, until such time as
the repeated blows of passing trains have settled the plate at its center, and such
rocking or vibration of the plate not only tends to loosen the spikes, but also to
part the fibre of the tie at the edges of the wear plate. It also prevents the proper
application of the spikes in the first instance.
As to the second construction, viz. the notched or serrated transverse flanges,
while intended to prevent the lateral movement or creeping of the plate on the tie,
they act to sever the fibre of the tie and increase the liability of the wood to absorb
moisture, with all the evils incident thereto.
These prevailing types of tie plates have also revealed fundamental defects, as
follows: where the plates have been made sufficiently light to preserve the
flexibility of the tie, they have been found too weak to resist the strains impinging
on the plate under the edges of the foot flange of the rail, which weakness tended
to bend, buckle, or break the plate immediately under the margin of the foot flange
of the rail. Where the tie and wear plate have been made sufficiently strong and

page_text: heavy to resist buckling and fracture on the line of contact with the edges of the
foot flange of the rail, the flexibility of the tie is lost, and the heavy chair acts as
an anvil to receive the blow of the moving load upon the rail.
The object of my present invention is to overcome these defects, and consists
primarily in providing a wear plate with a rib or ribs of V or other underneath
truss form beneath the margins of the foot flange of the rail, and adapted to truss
the rail at that point, which construction, while preserving the flexibility of the tie,
will at the same time afford ample stiffness and strength to overcome the tendency
of the plate to buckle and bend upward at the point of contact with the edges or
margins of the foot flanges of the rail.
A second feature of the invention resides in providing the wear plate on its under
surface with serrated longitudinal flanges or ribs, or flanges of unequal depth at
different points, whereby the wear plate will sink uniformly at all points under the
settling blows, and apply itself equally to the face of the tie, whereby all subsequent
rocking of the wear plate is obviated.
And I arrange the flanges on the under surface of the wear plate generally in
the line of the longitudinal axis of the plate, or so as to enter the tie substantially
in line with the fibre of the wood, but preferably somewhat obliquely to the said
axis, whereby the resiliency of the fibre of the wood is utilized to clamp the flange
and prevent the endwise movement or creeping of the wear plate, which construction
or its equivalent embodies one feature of my invention.
There are other minor features of my invention, all as will hereinafter more
fully appear.
I will now proceed to describe my invention more fully, so that others skilled in
the art to which it appertains may apply the same.
In the drawings, A, indicates the wear plate of general wedge form, or having its
wearing face, a, somewhat inclined to present the rail head properly to the tread of
the passing wheel, said incline terminating above in an abutment or shoe, a¹, against
which one flange of the rail impinges.
B, B, indicate flanges or ribs on the under surface of the wear plate, A, and at
right angles thereto, said flanges, (of which there may be any number according to
the width of the plate) standing at right angles to the plane of the wear plate and
extending longitudinally thereof so as to enter the tie substantially parallel with
the grain of the wood.
•
In order to avoid exposed "checks" (or separation of the fibre) in the tie, these
flanges are preferably less in extent than the wear plate, so that the ends of the
wear plate shall extend beyond or overhang the flanges, and said flanges are also
inclined at both ends as at b, b. In addition thereto, the longitudinal flanges are
serrated or reduced in width at intervals, as at 6' to form a series of entering
points, 63, which cause the plate to sink uniformly at all points under the settling
blow by which they are applied to the tie. Usually the serration or serrations of
the flange at, b, is not extended down to the plate, sufficient of the flange being by
preference left to form a bridge, C, which maintains the stiffness of the wear plate
and prevents the buckling thereof which might otherwise occur. It is also desirable
in order to facilitate the insertion of the flanges in the tie without injury to the
fibre, that the edges of the flanges should be bevelled, and if different sections of
the length of the flange (as for instance 1 and 2, Figure 3) are reversely bevelled
there will be a tendency of the said bevelled portions to spring in reverse directions
(see Figure 4 dotted lines) and this of itself will prevent the longitudinal movement
or creeping of the wear plate.
This effect can be increased by arranging the flanges, either in part or in whole,
slightly oblique to the longitudinal axis of the plate (see Figure 3) and in case two
or more parallel longitudinal flanges are used, one flange may be bevelled in one
direction, the rest in opposite direction, as indicated in Figure 1 of the drawing.
The bevel of each edge, in case of continuous flanges, is preferably on the
outside, so that the spring of the flanges is toward each other, thereby confining and

page_text: compressing the intermediate fibre, while the fibre to the outside of the flange
retains its normal position. The confining and compressing of the intermediate
fibre, especially in the case of the oblique arrangement of the flanges, renders the
support of the plate more solid and is of material advantage at that portion of the
plate immediately beneath the outer flange of the rail where is concentrated
the weight and thrust of a passing train.
Furthermore, the flanges upon the underside of the plate co-act with the plate
and inclined rail seat so as to reinforce the plate and prevent its buckling at the
foot of the incline without destroying the desirable flexibility of the plate, which
would result if the plate was thickened up to support the increased strain at
said point.
In order to ease the wear plate and obviate any tendency of the marking or
checking of the rail which might induce fracture thereof at such point, and also to
avoid any tendency of the plate to imbed in the tie to the injury of the fibre, the
wear plate is slightly bevelled along its longitudinal edges, as at s¹, s'.
The varying depth of the flange not only prevents the rocking of the plate on
its transverse center, but if the bridge sections, C, are retained, they maintain the
rigidity of the plate as effectively as if a flange of equal depth throughout was
employed.
The wear plate hereinbefore described may be employed either with or without
rail spikes (as indicated in dotted lines S-S, in Figure 3) or other suitable
fastenings in manner well known to those skilled in the art.
There are several methods of forming the construction hereinbefore set forth,
but in practice I have found it satisfactory to cast the same, forming it of malleable
iron or steel, or other suitable metal, and in this instance the construction can be
conveniently changed by forming the shoe or abutment, a straight to permit an
easy draft, or should it be desired to retain the overhanging ledge, a core print will
be found useful.
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 :-
1. A wear plate for railway ties provided on its underside with a longitudinal
rib or ribs formed with an underneath trussed portion beneath the margin of the
foot flange of the rail and adapted to truss the plate at that point, substantially as
and for the purposes described.
2. A wear plate for railway ties provided on its under face with a rib or ribs
of V or other underneath truss form beneath the margin of the foot flange of the
rail, said rib adapted to truss the plate at that point, substantially as and for the
purposes described.
3. A wear plate for railway ties provided with one or more serrated longitudinal
flanges, the different sections of said flange or flanges having reversely bevelled
edges, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
4. A wear plate for railway ties having one or more longitudinal flanges composed
of entering points connected by bridges of less width than the flange at the entering
points, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
5. A wear plate for railway ties having one or more obliquely arranged serrated
flanges, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
6. A wear plute for railway ties having on one face an inclined rail seat, and on
the other face a rib or ribs formed with an underneath trussed portion beneath the
margin of the foot flange of the rail, substantially as and for the purposes
specified.
7. A wear plate for railway ties having on one side a rail seat, and on the
opposite face one or more serrated flanges obliquely disposed to the longitudinal
axis of the plate, substantially as and for the purposes described.
8. A wear plate for railway ties having on one face an inclined rail seat, and on

page_text: the opposite face one or more serrated flanges arranged obliquely to the axis of the
plate, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Dated this 27th day of December 1892.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.