Improvements in Rail Bonds.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1896-Accepted, 23rd Jan., 1897
Improvements in Rail Bonds.
I, GEORGE HASKELL SCOTT, of 30 Channing Street, Worcester, in the County
of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Master
Mechanic, 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 relates to a device commonly known as a rail bond and employed
for electrically uniting the rails of an electric railway by connecting the rails.
together by means of an electrical conducting wire.
In the following description of my invention and the manner in which the same
is performed reference is made to the figures and reference letters in the accom-
panying drawings, which represent the method of uniting the adjacent ends of two
rails of a railway by a connecting wire having its ends attached to the rails by.
means of my improved rail bond; the drawings further represent in detail the
construction and application of my improved rail bond for the purpose of electrically
uniting the ends of rails which are adjacent to each other.
Fig. 1 represents in plan view a portion of two rails which are electrically
connected by conducting wires and one of my improved rail bonds in each rail; a
portion of said rails is shown in sectional view, the crown of the rail having been
removed in order to disclose the rail bonds.
Fig. 2 represents a portion of a rail with one end of the connecting wire
electrically connected with the rail by my improved rail bond, the rail and bond
with the end of the wire being shown in sectional view on the plane of the centre.
of the rail bond.
.
Fig. 3 represents a portion of a rail in horizontal sectional view on the plane of
the centre of the rail bond together with one end of the connecting wire and a
cylindrical copper sleeve having one end inserted in a tapering hole in the rail and
in proper position to be driven into the tapering hole in order to form an electrical
connection between the connecting wire and rail.
Fig. 4 represents a portion of a rail shown in sectional view on the plane of the
centre of the rail bond with one of my improved rail bonds inserted therein and
inclosing one end of the connecting wire; the wire and bond being shown in full.
Fig. 4 also shows by broken lines the position of the anvil block against
which the rail bond is driven for the purp se of upsetting the inner end of the rail.
bond and forming a flange against the inner side of the rail.
Fig. 5 represents a central sectional view of the cylindrical sleeve, shown in full
in Fig. 3, which is driven into the tapering hole in the rail and incloses the end of
the connecting wire.
Like parts are indicated in the accompanying drawings by like letters of
reference.
A, A denotes portions of two adjacent rails of a railway having a part of their
crowns removed showing the waist A 1 of the rails in sectional view. B denotes
a connecting wire electrically connected with the rails A, A by means of rail
bonds C, C which are duplicates of each other.
The rail bond C, C is formed by making a tapering hole D in
rail through which one end of the connecting wire B is inserted.
wire B is inserted in a cylindrical sleeve E of copper, or other
which is a good conductor of electricity.
the waist of the
The end of the
ductile material,

page_text: The sleeve E has a hole El which fits the end of the conducting wire
throughout the greater portion of the length of the sleeve; but is counterbored at.
its outer end, as at E 2, so as to slightly. enlarge the diameter of the hole E for a
short distance for the purpose hereinafter set forth.
The outer diameter of the sleeve E is slightly less than the diameter of the
tapered hole at its larger end but is greater than the diameter of the tapered hole
at its smaller end. The end of the conducting wire B is passed through the
tapered hole D into the rail and inserted in the hole E 1 of the sleeve E; the end
of the sleeve E is then inserted in the larger end of the tapering hole D, as shown
in Fig. 3, and the sleeve is driven through the tapering hole by blows applied
upon its outer end E 3. As the inner end of the sleeve E passes through the
tapering hole into the rail it is upset and turned over the side of the rail in the
form of a flange Feither by means of blows applied directly to the inner end of
the sleeve, or, as I prefer, by driving the sleeve against an anvil block made in
halves so as to inclose the connecting wire B and placed in the position indicated
by the broken lines G, Fig. 4; said anvil block having a, recessed face, as at G 1,
to properly shape the outer surface of the flange F 1. The outer end of the
sleeve will be upset by the blows required in driving the sleeve into place so as to
form a flange F 1 on the outer end of the sleeve overlapping the outer surface of
the rail, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4.
As the sleeve is driven through the tapering hole D it is compressed into a
conical form, as shown in cross section in Fig. 2, and the compression of the
sleeve will also compress the conducting wire B so as to reduce its diameter near
the smaller end of the tapering hole Ď thereby forming a contracted section or
waist in the conducting wire, as at H, Fig. 2.
The blows applied in driving the sleeve E into position are, also, received by
the outer end of the conducting wire B causing it to be upset and expanded at its
end so as to fill the counterbored section E 2, producing an enlargement of the end
of the conducting wire, as shown at 1, Fig. 2.
As the sleeve is driven into position in the tapering hole D its outer surface
slides over the surface of the tapering hole D so that the abrasion of the sleeve
against the surface of the tapering hole will secure a perfect electrical contact, and
the force required to compress the sleeve from a cylindrical to a conical form will
press the outer surface of the sleeve into close contact with the surface of the
tapering hole. The force required to compress the conducting wire B so as to
form the contracted waist H together with the force applied to expand the end of
the conducting wire B secures a perfect contact between the conducting wire B
and the inner surface of the sleeve E.
When the bond has been compressed in the manner described the sleeve E is
securely held from longitudinal movement by means of the flanges F, F 1 as well
as by the conical shape of the sleeve and the end of the connecting wire B is
held from longitudinal movement within the sleeve by the compression of the
waist H.
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 :
First. In a rail bond the combination with two metallic rails, each having a
tapering hole, of a conducting wire with its ends inclosed in cylindrical sleeves of
ductile material, with said sleeves driven into said tapering hole, whereby said
sleeves are compressed and crowded against said conducting wire to compress the
same as and for the purpose set forth.
Second. The combination with two metallic rails, each having a tapering hole,
of a rail bond consisting of a conducting wire, having its ends inclosed in sleeves
fitting said tapering holes and fitting the ends of said conducting wire, the ends of
said wire being compressed where it passes through said sleeves, as and for the
purpose set forth.

page_text: Third. In a rail bond the combination with a pair of metallic rails, each having
a hole passing through the waist of the rail, of sleeves of ductile material driven.
into said holes, with the ends of said sleeves counterbored to enlarge the hole
therein, and a conducting wire with its ends inserted in said sleeves and upset.
so as to fill the counterbored sections of said sleeves as and for the purpose set
forth.
Fourth. In a rail bond the combination with a pair of metallic rails, having
tapering holes D, of a conducting wire B, sleeves E, E filling said-holes, and having
flanges F and F 1, with the ends of said conducting wire compressed at. H. and.
inclosed in said sleeves, as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Twenty-fifth day of November 1896.
GEORGE HASKELL SCOTT.