Improvements relating to the Permanent Way of Railways.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 19th Nov., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Permanent Way of Railways.
I, ORVILLE MARSHALL KNOX, of No. 70 Broad Street in the Village of
Oneida, in the County of Madison, in the State of New York, United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 class of railroad ties which are composed of
metal.
The object of the invention is to simplify and cheapen the construction of the tie
and, at the same time, impart thereto superior stability and durability and provide
the said tie with lateral and longitudinal abutments on its underside so arranged as
to receive the pressure of the ballast tamped under the tie and thereby become
properly aligned to the track.
And to that end the invention consists in an improved construction of the cross-
tie as hereinafter described and set forth in the claim.
In the annexed drawing,
Figure 1 is a section of my improved cross-tie with the track rails mounted
thereon,
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same,
Figure 3 is a perspective inverted view of the tie, and
Figure 4 is a plan view of the blank of the nut-lock.
I form my improved cross-tie of a rolled metal bar preferably of steel, the body a
of which is flat and straight and of uniform width throughout its length and has
projecting from its underside a straight central longitudinal rib b which terminates
some distance from each end of the body a as shown in Figure 3 of the drawing.
The end-portions of the body I bend down gradually to vertical positions at their
bases, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, and the body a I perforate as shown
at cc for the reception of the bolts d d by which to fasten the rail-chairs e e and
splices eel to the top of the tie.
I preferably make the perforations square or angular and insert therein bolts
having correspondingly shaped bodies and thus effectually guard against the turning
of the said bolts in the tie. The screw-threaded upper ends of the bolts pass
through perforations in the bases of the chairs and splices e e¹ and are provided
with nuts n and jamb-nuts n', between which I interpose nut-locks consisting of
metal washers which are perforated to receive the bolts through them and are
slitted radially from the perforations out through the edges of the washers, the
portion on one side of the slit being bent down to engage the side of the nut
and
the other portion at the opposite side of the slit being bent up to engage the
side of the jamb nut. By that means the nuts are securely retained tightly affixed
to the bolts.
n,
It will be observed that the blank from which my improved cross-tie is formed
is easily produced in a rolling mill by passing a metal bar of proper size and heated
to the requisite temperature between rolls of the requisite shape, and the ends of
the longitudinal rib are easily cut away, and the end portions of the body a easily
bent down to gradually vertical positions as shown.
A tie of such material and of such shape possesses superior strength and durability
and at the same time presents on its underside abutments extending lengthwise of
the center of the tie and across the ends thereof, against which abutments is packed
the ballast introduced and tamped from opposite sides of the tie. The pressure
of the ballast against the longitudinal rib pushes the tie in a direction parallel with
the track, and, by forcing the tamping material against either of the end abutments,
Prins R17

page_text: the tie is forced to move laterally in relation to the track and is thus readily brought
into alignment therewith.
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. As an improved article of manufacture, a railroad cross-tie composed of a
rolled metal bar formed with the flat and straight body a of uniform width through-
out its length, and with the straight central longitudinal ribb terminating some
distance from each end of said body, the end-portions of the body being bent down
gradually to vertical positions at their bases, and the body being perforated for the
reception of bolts for securing to the top of the tie the rail-chairs and splices as set
forth.
2. The within described nut-lock consisting of a rectangular washer, slitted from
the eye through one side of the washer and having the portions at opposite sides of
the slit bent in opposite directions from the plane thereof, as set forth.
Dated this 16th day of September 1892.
ORVILLE MARSHALL KNOX.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.