Improvements in the Construction of Tramway or Railway Rails in Combination with Cross Ties or Sleepers and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by ARTHUR JAMES MOXIAM, of Johnstown,
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America. Engineer.]
Improvements in the Construction of Tramway or Railway Rails
in Combination with Cross Ties or Sleepers and Apparatus
therefor.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of London, Chartered Patent 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 the construction of railway rails and cross ties in such a
manner that the pair of rail lengths and a number of cross ties connecting them
are rendered integral by being welded together by means of special apparatus
adapted to effect such welding as the rails and cross ties are laid.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a longitudinal section of a cross tie with
transverse section of the pair of rails before they are united to the cross tie.
Fig. 2 is a corresponding section shewing the rails united to the cross tie.
Fig. 3 is a plan.
The rail, which may have a head of any shape, such as that suited for a railway
as R, or for a tramway as R', is rolled originally, with the lower edge of its
web preferably beaded or otherwise thickened so as to stiffen the web and afford
additional metal where the weld is to be.
The tie T which, as shewn, has the form in section of an inverted trough but
which may be of other suitable section is rolled by rolls which may be recessed so
as to form at suitable intervals protuberances giving additional thickness of metal
for the welds, which, when completed, render the rails and cross ties integral.
These protuberances may however be made by stamping the tie after it has been
rolled plain.
Fig. 4 is a half transverse section and Fig. 44 a half end view of the apparatus
according to this invention for welding the rails and cross ties together;
Fig. 5 is a transverse section, and Fig. 6 shews the whole side view to a reduced
scale.
A wheeled truck A, adapted to run on rails R already placed with their ties T.
carries a number of bridge pieces B on which are obliquely mounted rollers,
adapted to run under the head of each of the rails r that have to be welded to
the ties t. Near one end of the truck A is fixed on each side of it a frame F
carrying a hydraulic cylinder to the plunger of which is attached a vertically
sliding clamp D provided with a handwheel E and screw whereby the clamp is
made to grip firmly the web of the rail r under the head. The tie which is to
be welded to is carried on a pair of blocks G which are adjusted to a suitable
level by setting screws H.
The jaws of the clamps D and the blocks or their upper parts are preferably
of copper, and are insulated from each other and from the rest of the machine
but are connected by conductors to a dynamo electric machine or other source
of electricity which may be carried ou the truck, through suitable transformers
supplying electrical currents of moderate tension but large quantity.
The currents in passing from the clamp D to the blocks G through the imperfect
contacts of the rail webs with the tie, heat those parts to a high temperature and
the rails being forced down by the pressure in the cylinder C while the parts
are so heated, become welded to the tie.
The welds to one tie having being thus effected the rails are advanced running
on the rollers until those parts where another tie has to be welded to them come

page_text: over the blocks G, whereupon the action is repeated. When the full lengths of
rails have their ties thus welded to them they are run off the truck and placed
in position and form a continuation of the road along which the truck advances
with fresh lengths of rails and ties to be welded and dealt with in their turn as
above described.
Although, in the above description, electricity is mentioned as the heating agent,
the method and apparatus can be employed when the parts to be welded are heated
by other means such as the flames of blow pipes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of a pair of railway or tramway rails with cross ties welded
to the rails, substantially as described.
2. The apparatus for welding pairs of rail lengths to successive cross ties, sub-
stantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 28th day of June 1892.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.