Improvements in Railroad and similar Spikes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Sept., 1890-Accepted, 25th Oct., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railroad and similar Spikes.
I, SAMUEL CHILDS HILL of Washington, in the District of Columbia, United
States of America, Real Estate 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 railroad and similar spikes.
The object is to produce a railroad spike which can be made as readily and as
cheaply as the ordinary straight spike, which can be driven more easily and with
greater certainty than the ordinary spike without mashing the wood that ordinarily
makes it more porous or spongy and liable to take in water to rot it, and without the
danger of contortion or breaking of the spike which will drive in an outward
direction under a blow vertically directed thus affording an increased resistance to
lateral displacement; and which at the same time will always hug the flange, will
remain uiore firmly imbedded and will hold a rail or other object with greater tenacity,
standing lateral strain, giving greater resistance to lateral pressure and vertical
vibratory motion, and presenting an elasticity by its configuration which will
obviate the usual danger of breakage from the strain to which spikes are generally
exposed.
In the accompanying drawings;-
Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of the improved spike showing the same ready to
be driven.
Fig. 2 is a view showing the improved spike in elevation driven into position the
rail and tie appearing in cross section;
Fig. 3 is a view showing the old spike in position.
In practice where railroad spikes have been made straight they have been difficult
to drive with certainty into position after they have been driven it having generally
been necessary to give a lateral blow from outward to the head, to cause it to take
over the flange of the rail more firmly. Besides such spikes are readily loosened
by the vibratory motion of the rails incident to the passing of cars, this loosening
making the spike directly less efficient in holding the rail in place and indirectly
less efficient by allowing water to get into the well made by the spike and thus rot
the wood. Where spikes have been made curved, they have been of a configuration
which rendered them difficult to drive, and in driving, difficult to prevent from being
bent or curved out of shape.
The present spike has a wedge or chisel point formed by a plane upward and
outward inclined surface on the side which in use will be the inside and a plane
surface on the opposite side has a convex curve on the inside or side which in use will
be nearest to the rail from the top of the wedge upward to near its upper part below
the head, and from there continuous with it a concave curve to the under part of the
head. On the opposite side or side which in use will be farthest from the rail the
shank has from the top of the wedge upward, a concave curve upward to near its
upper part and from there continuous with it, a convex curve to the head corre-
sponding with the concave curve on the opposite side. The spike has a rounded
projecting head; but just below the head at the throat it is somewhat enlarged, the
enlargement being in continuous curve with the inside concave curve on the under
portion of the head.
In the drawings A indicates the improved spike having a head B throat B' and
chisel point or wedge C, a indicating the convex curve on the side which in use will
be the inside, a' the concave curve on the inside, a³ the concave curve on the side of
the shank which in use will be the farthest from the rail and at the convex curve
thereon.

page_text: The spike will be made in a die and with the same number of blows as the ordinary
spike the only difference being that the mould will conform to the desired configura-
tion of the new spike. The wedge end may be made afterward by suitable pressure
as by rolling. By provision of the wedge not only can the spike be better driven but
by having the inside surface of this wedge plane instead of rounded as in some cases
heretofore, the spike is not tilted out from the start causing it to dip.
The spike has all the advantages enumerated under the statement of the objects of
the invention.
To drive the spike start the point three-eighths of an inch from the flange of
the rail in an upright or straight position so that the first bulge in the spike will
graze the flange. After that it will assume proper position automatically when
driven hugging the flange during the remainder of its length. The last blow given
it will drive the throat and head most firmly to the flange. Highly satisfactory tests
have been made by driving a spike six or eight times into new white oak ties and the
result was that the driving did not injure the spike nor change its shape in
the least.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. The improved spike shown and described with suitable head and a shank
provided with a chisel end or wedge such as C the shank having the convex curve a
from below upwards on the side of the spike which in use will be the inside merging
into a concave curve a² continuous with it, a concave curve a³ from the top of the
wedge from below upward on the side which in use will be the outside and merging
into a convex curve a continuous with it and an enlarged throat all for the purposes
set forth.
2. The improved spike substantially as specified.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.