Improvements relating to Cross Ties or Sleepers, and to Means for Securing the Rails thereto.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Mar.. 1895-Accepted, 27th Apr.. 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM ROBINSON SMITH, of Third and
Philadelphia Streets, Rolling-mill Man, THOMAS CHARLES RANSHAW, of
No. 415, Russell Avenue, Blank-book Maker, and ALBERT FILLMORE BEACH,
of No. 424, Bakewell Street, Rolling-mill Man, all in the City of Corrington,
in the County of Kenton and State of Kentucky, and JAMES LAWRENCE
BIRMINGHAM, of No. 168, West Ninth Street, in the City of Cincinnati,
County of Hamilton, and State of Ohio, Printer, all in the United States of
America.]
Improvements relating to Cross Ties or Sleepers, and to Means for
Securing the Rails thereto.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 consists in so combining a metallic cross-tie or sleeper with a rail
as to afford a very rigid or immovable track which is entirely free from fish-plates,
spikes and the like, the details of this construction being hereinafter more fully
described.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of the improved railway-track, the centre of
the tie being broken away, and the fasteners of one of the rails omitted.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the said track.
Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse section of a rail and its fasteners.
Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse-section of one of the metallic-ties, said
section being taken on the line Z-Z, of Figure 3, and the rail being seen in
elevation, and
Figure 5 is a sectional plan of the underside of a fastening cramp, which is
shown in the act of being attached to a tie; the lower plate of this cramp being
broken away to expose a pair of lugs.
The metallic cross-tie that supports the track is composed of a base-plate A,
side-flanges B, B', outer abutments C, C, D, D¹, and inner lugs E, E, F, F, the
lugs being perforated at e, as seen in Figure 2, to admit a square bolt G, that
carries a non-rotatable cramp consisting of an upper plate H, and a lower plate H¹,
these two members, H, H³, being shaped like jaws that grasp the rail-base, and
a chair I, that assists in supporting the rail K. This cramp, H H', fits snugly
between the side-flanges, B, B', of the tie; but the lower plate H' is cut away, as
seen at in Figures 4 and 5 to clear the end flanges 11, 111 of the chair I which
flanges rest upon the base-plate A. 1, Figures 3 and 5, represent lugs or ribs
projecting from the under side of the upper plate H, for the purpose of engaging
with notches k' in the rail-base, which base fits between the upturned lips i, 1, of
the chair I. The inner lip, of each chair must be cut away, as seen at 11, in
Figures 1 and 3, to allow the lugs h¹, to enter the notches k¹, but by cutting away
both the outer and inner lips, as above described, there will be no necessity for
inserting the chair I within the tie in any special manner.
The square bolt G, which is usually secured in place by a split ping, seen in
Figures 1 and 4, has a keeper J applied to it, said keeper being of the bell-crank
shape represented in Figure 2, and adapted to engage with a notch k, in the rail

page_text: base. The vertical arm of this keeper is carried down a suitable distance, on the
outside of the tie-flange, and then terminates with a short lateral-bend j, that engages
with a slot in said flange, by which arrangement shifting of said keeper J is
effectually prevented.
For ties of ordinary width, one of these keepers will be sufficient, for each rail,
but for wider ties, to support the abutting ends of a pair of rails, I prefer to
employ two of these bell-crank keepers J as represented in Figure 1.
In laying the improved railway-track, the various chairs I, are first properly
placed within the trough-shaped ties A, and then the rails K are seated in the
recesses L between the abutments C¹ and lugs E. The cramps H, H' are then
inserted between the flanges B, B' and the keepers J applied to the exteriors of
said flanges, after which the bolts G are passed through the cramps and keepers,
and secured in place by the pin g, or otherwise.
The rails are thus rigidly secured to the ties A, the stout abutments C, C', D, D',
preventing any outward shifting of the tracks, while the cramps H, H', secure
them against upward and inward movement, and the keepers J, by engaging with
the base-notches k, hold said rails against longitudinal play. This longitudinal
shifting of the rails is further guarded against by causing the lugs or ribs " of
the cramps to engage with the notches k', of the rail-bases.
It is preferred to have the longitudinal bore 1, of the cramp slightly out of line
with the holes e, of the tie-flanges B, B' as seen in Figure 5, in order that the act
of driving a tapering key G', through said bore will wedge said cramp toward the
rail a limited distance, after which operation the bolt-proper G is forced in until it
gradually displaces said wedge, and thus secures the rail in place; but previous to
this application of the cramp, thin filling pieces, or washers, may be inserted
between it and the rail to compensate for any possible wear and tear of the track.
It will thus be seen that this construction of track entirely dispenses with
fish-plates and their objectionable bolts and nuts, and as the cross-ties are wholly
metallic, the use of spikes is obviated.
Finally, in a modification of the invention, the chairs I may be omitted, and the
cramps be arranged to grasp nothing but the rail-base.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination, in a railway-track, of a metallic cross-tie, having upturned
side-flanges; a chair fitted within said tie, and a non-rotatable cramp that grasps
said chair and the base of the rail; thereby dispensing with fish-plates, bolts and
spikes, in the manner described.
2. A railway-track consisting of rails rigidly secured to metallic cross-ties by a
system of non-rotatable cramps fastened between side flanges of said ties; and
bell-crank keepers attached to the exteriors of said flanges, as herein described.
3. A railway-track consisting of rails rigidly secured to metallic cross-ties by a
system of non-rotatable cramps fastened between side flanges of said ties, and
keepers attached to said flanges and engaged with notches in the rail-bases, as herein
described.
4. A rigid railway-track consisting of the metallic cross-ties A, having
abutments C, C, D, D', lugs E, E, F, F', and perforated side flanges B B₁, and
rails K, resting upon said Hanges, in combination with a system of non-rotatable
cramps H, H' that grasp the rail bases, as herein described.
5. The combination, in a railway-track, of a metallic cross-tie, having upturned
side-flanges B, B', a rail K, supported upon said flanges, and having its base
notched at k¹, and a non-rotatable cramp H H', fitted between said flanges B, B,
and having a downwardly projecting lug that enters said notch k¹, all as herein
described.
6. A rigid railway-track consisting of the metallic cross-tie A, having upturned
side-flanges B B¹; a chair I, having upturned lips i, i¹, and downturned end-

page_text: flanges I, which flanges rest upon the base-plate of said tie; a rail K carried
by said chair; and a non-rotatable cramp H, H', fitted between the tie-flanges B, B₁
and grasping said chair and the rail base, for the
purpose described.
Dated this 12th day of March 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.