Improvements in Railway Rail Joints and in Means for Rolling the Rails therefor.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Sept., 1899-Accepted, 21st Oct.,
1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Rail Joints and in Means for Rolling the
Rails therefor.
I, ALFONSO DERAY GATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at No. 515,
Prospect Street, in the City of Cleveland, County of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio,
United States of America, Manufacturer, 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:
My invention has reference to railroad rails, and the object of the invention is
to provide a rail with overlapping or mitred extremities so fashioned that all the
usual fish-plates, splicing-bars, union-chairs, and like devices for connecting the
rails and strengthening the joint are wholly dispensed with, and the rail is
adapted to be rolled into shape for use as shown.
My invention, therefore, consists in a rail which contains within itself all
the essential requisites of connection or union with the connecting rails, without
the auxiliary elements usually employed to tie up and re-inforce the joints, in
conjunction with the associated advantage of rolling the rail to a finish and
ready for the track as it leaves the rolls in the mill.
Having reference to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation
of two united ends of my improved rails, and Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3
is a cross section on line 3, 3, Fig. 2, looking to the right and showing formations
beyond the immediate cross line, and Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 4, 4, Fig. 2,
also looking to the right. Fig. 5, Sheet 2 is a plan view of one end section of a
rail alone, with cross sections thereof at both extremities to show the formations
on the lines where taken and numbered Fig. 5ª and Fig. 5b, respectively. Fig. 6,
is a plan view of what may be considered the same end piece seen in Fig. 5, or
the meeting end of the next rail, and the extremities of which are mainly like
those seen in section in Fig. 5.
Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the end section seen, say, in Fig. 6, and corre-
sponding to the right hand end section of rail in Fig. 1, where two end sections
are united. Three cross sections, Figs. 7", 7b, 7°, are shown in connection with
Fig. 7 to disclose the construction on the intermediate lines where taken, a, a,
y, y, and z, z, respectively. Fig. S is a side elevation of a rail end section just
reverse of that shown in Fig. 7, and Fig. 9 is an end elevation looking along the
line of the rail and showing the elevation and lateral development thereof at its
fullest points. This accounts for the shaded lines at the right side of the figure. .
Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view looking down in plan on a line corre-
sponding to 10, 10, Fig. 1, and disclosing the peculiar formations of the over-
lapping parts of the two sections.
Fig. 11 is a sectional elevation of a pair of rolls with an end of a rail between
them, the section line of the rolls corresponding to line a, e, Fig. 11ª. Fig. 11"
is a cross section on line y, y, Fig. 11.
Fig. 12 is similar view to Fig. 11, but showing the end of the rail about half
way through the rolls, and Fig. 12" is a cross section on line z, z, Fig. 12.
As already indicated, three fundamental and paramount considerations enter
into the production of this rail, and without any one of which the rail is a failure.
Price S17

page_text: These are, first, its peculiarity of construction, which enables it to be rolled to
a finish and not require hand or machine work to finish its extremities. Secondly,
its self contained coupling or connecting elements, forming an essential part of
the rail itself, and dispensing with all fish-bar and other separate pieces to bridge
the joints. Thirdly, the development of a rail having these distinguishing
features and advantages with a long mitre joint which gives the effect practically
of a continuous rail.
Having these several points in view, reference may now be had to the accom-
panying illustrations, particularly, Sheet, 2, in which the invention can be
studied in its details. It will be understood that both ends of the rails are alike
in all features of construction, except in minor points of adaptation, so that a
description of one will help to understand both, and like features in both have
the same reference characters unless clearness demands different characters. In
the several figures, A and B represent all the ends of rails shown, either in
separate view or united.
These rails are purposely designed to preserve the popular and favorite pattern
of what is known as the "T" rail, with a head or tread a, side flanges, b, at the
bottom or base, and web, c, and for the purposes of this description it may be
assumed that these features are exactly like the Trail in common use in so far as
the body of the rail is concerned and up to the mitred ends in which my invention
resides.
These ends have a comparatively long vertical bevel or mitre face, 2, running
at an inclination across the length of the rail and having the full extension seen
in elevation, Fig. 8, where it is shown. as traversing the head of the rail from 2ª
to 2", and the flange from 2 to 2b. This line is perfectly straight vertically and
longitudinally as seen in several views, the same as if it had been cut across with
a saw after the ends of the rail were united.
Projecting beyond this bevel relatively about as shown in Fig. 8 is the tongue 3
of the web of the rail, which is essentially a prolongation of the web and also
something more as we shall see, but holds the flange of the base at the same
width to its extremity and retains also part of the head a shown in the rib a',
which runs along its top from the declivity a² to the end of the tongue. This
declivity represents the feathered end or extremity of the mitre across the head a,
as seen in several views.
Having in mind now the three points of a vertical mitre joint, self contained
interlocking parts, and a rolled formation, the features about to be described will
be more clearly understood both as to their own peculiarities and their association in
the rail. The first of these features is the gradually deepening head portion
toward the end of the rail, seen in elevation, Fig. 7, running from right to left
and extending from about the point a to the declivity a². This increase in
depth is on the outside of the rail, and gradually narrows also the depth of the
web c at the expense of which the head is deepened, but this contributes strength
while it holds a formation that can be rolled.
Incident to this deepening of the head a, at one side down upon or over the
web e is the deepening or thickening of the web e itself laterally on the same
side as plainly seen in Fig. 10, and also the total side deflection of tongue 3 from
the median line of the web wholly outside thereof, as also seen in this figure.
That is the median line of the web being indicated by a, a, Fig. 10, the web cat
the point of its greatest depth 5 or 5b in said figure, is deflected on a quick
inclination entirely outside said median line, as seen at g and g¹. This throws
the tongue 3 into a parallel plane with the normal line of the web, of which it is
practically a continuation, and in position to lie flat against the web of the next
rail.
This deflection and reduction of the web produces a depression on this side
which is matched by the deepest point in the web of the next rail, B, so that
what may seem the weakest point in one rail is matched by the strongest point
in the other. But through all this I necessarily preserve a formation that can be

page_text: rolled to shape and without sacrificing the other essential principles of perfect
construction.
The third feature of the three here associated with a common object is the
gradual deepening of flange b on the same side as the other two enlargements,
and extending from about the point 64, Fig. 7, to 65, where the tongue 3 is rabbeted
on its underside as seen at 66 to receive the matching part 68 of the other rail,
Fig. 1.
Now referring to cross section Fig. 3, where the two rails A and B are shown
as united, the aggregate of these three several special developments is disclosed
in the shaded portion indicated by m, Fig. 3, and corresponding in appearance
exactly to the cross section of the rail B at that point. This view in Fig. 3 is
of course obtained out of the prolongation of Fig. 2, looking down along the side
of the rail to the point 4, 4, or point 5 in Fig. 10, which is at the summit of these
formations and their natural point of vanishment in this view.
One of the results of the foregoing construction is the production on the
extremity of the rail itself of a tongue, 3, which, in the organization develops
at last as a fish-bar integral with the rail and adapted to take its place between
the head a and flange to fill up the measure of both at both its upper and lower
edges like an ordinary fish-bar, as seen in Fig. 3. Six several bolts C are shown
here as connecting the two rails, and the construction of the joint is such as will
now clearly appear, that this is materially the strongest part of the rail, and that
as we approach the middle of the joint where all the enlarged formations culminate,
the strength is also greatest, as seen in the very compact re-enforced cross
section, Fig. 4.
The bolts C are the only parts not of the rails themselves, and inasmuch as the
rails are united with three bolts on each side of the center of overlap, and the
overlap or mitre is projected on an intersection at once so gradual and strong,
there is no occasion to employ chairs or other special supports or connections of
any kind whatsoever, and this part of the rail takes its place directly on the cross
ties just the same as any other part. Evidently, also, by reason of the long mitre
the tread is as even at the joint as at any other part of the rail, and cannot become
otherwise.
The peculiar shape of the rail is seen from another point of view in cross
section, Fig. 9. Here again we have a prolongation view, but the immediate end
and the further view are in a sense separated to disclose the deflection and practical
separation of the tongue, 3, from the other part. The line of vision is on the
axial line of the rail, so that here we see the off-set shown in the flat surface 2 of the
mitre, Fig. 9, the mitre surface a in the head, and the mitre surface a8, and all
losing themselves in the normal proportions further back. This makes the end
of the tongue plus its outside shadings back to its start, stand out alone in the
portion marked 3.
I have described the tongue 3 as a continuation of the web of the rail deflected
and developing practically in the form and service of a fish-bar, but it will be
noticed that there is a distinct departure from the relationship of the fish-bar
as ordinarily known by reason of the entire separation of the two tongues, 3, so
far as opposite relationship is concerned. In my rail the tongues come on
opposite sides at wholly different cross sections and without overlapping at any
point, as is probably most plainly seen in Fig. 10.
In the rail thus constructed there are certain distinct features having their
correspondence, necessarily, in the rolls by which they are produced and which
may now be traced in said rolls. Thus the mitre seen in full length on the
flange of the rail from 2b to 2b, Figs. 5, 6, and 8, is fashioned by roll A¹ between
the points 2 and 2b, Figs. 11 and 12; the mitre on the head of the rail from
2 to 2, Fig. 8, is formed by roll A¹ between the points 2 and 2*. Figs. 11 and 12;
the flat surface across the rail between 5 and 5b, Figs. 8 and 10, is formed between
points 5 and 5b. Figs. 11 and 12. but the entire mitre is a continuous operation
embracing all these features.

page_text: Now, a further feature is a deflection of the end of the rail which projects
beyond the mitre. This starts from the middle of the flat space between
lines 5 and 5b, Fig. 10, where the median line of the rail is shown by line a, c.
Here the two rails alike. begin their deflection from the normal, so that their ends
lie parallel to but wholly outside the median line. Practically these outside
portions are a continuation of the web of each rail, with slight continued portions
part way of the head and the flange in the feathering out of the bevel or mitre,
as seen in Fig. 8.
To produce all these several effects, roll A¹ has, first, a gradual swell from its
starting point at 2, Fig. 11, to 2b, further around, crossing the normal radius
line N midway between points 5" and 5b inward the full depth of the deflection
which the web c of the rail is to receive. This swell determines the mitre from
end to end.
In this gradual swell there is, first, a rib 2, which gradually narrows and grows
more shallow corresponding to the decreasing depth and lateral thickening of
the web of the rail until the rib is lost at the flat space 5", 5b. From this flat
space there begins a groove or channel which provides room for the deflected
web and the tongue 3 which is a continuation thereof. So that on one side of
the flat space, 5, 5b, we have a rib 2, and on the other a groove h, and the rib
narrows to deepen the head and flange as before described, Fig. 7, and gets more
shallow to thicken the web, Fig. 10.
In roll B¹ the formations co-operate in the foregoing and fashion the opposite
side of the rail. Here the outer edges or portions b, b, of the roll run on normal
radius line N until said line is left in roll A' and the swell begins. Then the
roll 13 leaves the normal radius also and gradually recedes therefrom as A¹ swells
out. Between the side edges b, b, of the roll is a rib h which gradually narrows
in width to allow the deepening in head and flange of the rail, Fig. 7, and also
diminishes in depth to thicken the web, Figs. 10 and 12, while it also retires from
the normal radius with the other portion of this roll at its sides to promote the
side deflection of the web before described. The lines or points 2º, 2º, in this roll
mark the space within which the deflection of the web occurs, as clearly seen by
deviating line 3° between 2 and 2º, Fig. 11. The normal proportions of the rail
in cross section are clearly seen in Fig. 11"; and the effects of the rolling are
shown in the further cross sections, Figs. 5, 7, 7, and 12".
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. As a new article of manufacture, a railroad rail having a mitred end and a
tongue projecting beyond said end and located laterally outside the plane of the
web and parallel thereto, and the head and the flange on the outer side of the
rail opposite the said mitre formed with gradually increasing depth and the web
thickest where said mitre begins thereon, substantially as described.
2. A railroad rail having its end formed with a long vertical mitre and a
tongue having its base in said mitred portion and projected in a plane parallel
to the web of the rail, and the said web thickened laterally on its outside near
the middle of said mitre and tapered on its opposite side from said thickest point
to the immediate base of the tongue, substantially as described.
3. The rail substantially as shown and described, having a vertically and trans-
versely, mitred end and the head and flange on the outer side of said end gradually
deepened toward each other over the web, and a tongue projecting beyond said
mitred end and having portions of the head and flange of the rail continued
thereon, the said tongue being outside the plane of the web from end to end,
substantially as described.
4. A railroad rail having a tongue at its extremity outside the plane of its
web and parallel thereto and provided with bolt holes, and a vertical straight
bevel across the end of the rail at the base of said tongue, and the web, flange,

page_text: and head of the rail deepening uniformly with each other in cross section toward
the base of the tongue to the point where the said bevel begins on the web of the
rail on its inside, and the deepening of the head and flange continuing past this
point, substantially as described:
5. A pair of rails having each a tongue parallel to and outside the normal line
of the web and engaged between the head and flange of the opposite rail, and the
web of each rail deflected bodily to one side of its normal line at the base of said
tongue and gradually thickened up to the point where the lateral deflection begins
and tapered thence to the tongue, and bolts through said webs and tongues
locking the rails together, substantially as described.
6. In railway rails, a rail having its end finished with a straight vertical bevel
and the web of the rail gradually thickened as the bevel is approached to increase
its strength, and having a tongue projecting beyond the bevel and wholly at one
side of the normal plane of the web, substantially as described.
7. A railway rail having its ends formed with a straight transverse bevel and
the head of the rail gradually deepened down upon the web of the rail opposite
said bevel, and having a tongue projecting beyond said beveled end, and having
the flange of the rail continued on one side thereof, substantially as described.
8. The rail, substantially as described, having its end finished with a straight
transverse bevel and a tongue projected beyond said bevel and the flange on the
base of the rail opposite said bevel gradually deepened toward the beveled off
extremity of the rail at the base of said tongue, substantially as described.
9. The two rolls substantially as described, one of said rolls constructed to
produce a longitudinally inclined mitre on the end of a rail and the other to
thicken the web of the rail and at the same time deepen the head and the flange
of the rail over the thickened side of the web, and both of said rolls formed to
produce a tongue on the end of the rail extending beyond its mitred portions and
having a flange at its bottom and a head at its top and located wholly outside the
normal vertical plane of the web, substantially as described.
10. A set of rolls for forming mitre jointed rails, one of said rolls having a rib
on its periphery gradually diminishing in depth and gradually narrowing toward
its vanishing point, and having a plain space across its periphery next to the said
vanishing point and a gradually deepening groove next to said even space, said
roll formed with a swell in the portion embracing said groove, substantially as
described.
11. In a set of rolls for forming a mitre on and deflecting the end of a rail to
one side of the median line of the rail, one of the said rolls constructed to produce
the mitre and the two rolls to throw the web of the rail which extends beyond
the mitre parallel to but bodily at one side of the web behind the mitre, sub-
stantially as described.
12. In rolls for mitreing and deflecting the ends of rails, a roll having a
gradually diminishing rib on its periphery and a plain surface extending across
the face of the roll at the vanishing point of said rib and a portion of the roll
next beyond said plain surface extending outward beyond the normal radius of
the roll and having a gradually deepening groove, in combination with a com-
panion roll having a gradually diminishing and retiring rib opposite the said rib
and groove, respectively, in the first named roll, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of August 1899.