Year: 1898

page_text: I, SARAII MATHILDA SCHAMHL, of Fairman, Illinois, Gentlewoman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
The object of this invention is to provide a railway sleeper which will be strong,.
light, will last a considerable time and be more simple in construction than those
sleepers of the kind at present made.
The invention comprises a suitable length of sheet metal, preferable galva-
nized wrought iron-formed with side flanges which project upwardly at right"
angles. The rails cross the flanges at right angles and at the places where the
rails and flanges meet, a chair is bolted thereto, said chair being formed with
suitable flanges for the purpose. The rail rests also on cross stays which extend
between the flanges beneath the rails. When single headed rails are used, they.
may be secured to the cross-pieces by clamps which extend over the lower flanges
of the rail and are bolted to the side flanges.
The under side of the sleeper may be formed with incisions in such manner.
that when the flanges are bent upwards, that portion of metal enclosed by the.
incisions extends outwardly from the bottom surface of the sleeper at right angles
thereto in such a way as to project into the bed of the railway and tend to prevent
movement of the sleepers.
TY J
1000
R. RAINSFORD,
Agent for Applicant.
I, SARAH MATHILDA SCHMAHL, of Fairman, Illinois, U.S.A., Gentlewoman, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
1:
The object of this invention is to provide a metallic railroad sleeper which will
be comparatively light and the parts so disposed and braced as to present a strong
and durable structure that will properly support the rails to withstand the jars
which come upon the same in use. To this end the railroad sleeper is made up,
preferably, of galvanized iron bent to form bottom and side pieces, the edges of.
the latter being (in one form excepted) recessed to receive the rails, which are
held in place by chairs or retaining plates or clamps, and rest upon braces or

page_text: supports which are bolted to the side pieces of the sleeper, a cross-piece being
secured to, or other means formed integral with the under side or bottom of the
sleeper to assist in making a secure engagement with the road bed.
In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification; Figure 1 is
a perspective view of a railroad sleeper constructed in accordance with one form
of my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of an alternative form, and Fig. 3
is an end view thereof. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of yet another
alternative form, and Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the same.
Referring to the drawings by numerals, my improved sleeper comprises a sub-
stantially U-shaped body of which 1 designates the bottom, from which the side
pieces 2, 2, extend upwardly at the edges thereof. The metal of which the sleeper
is preferably made is galvanized iron, as it possesses certain qualities which will
add to the strength and durability of the sleeper. For instance, it is not affected
by rust. The side pieces 2, 2 are provided with recesses 3 which receive the rails,
and below said recesses, preferably on the inner sides, are bolted angle-iron braces
and supports 4, presenting a cross-support piece on which the rails rest, the said
support having depending end flanges through which the retaining bolts pass.
In order to hold the raus in positive engagement with the sleeper, I provide
certain retaining plates or clamps 5 which have bevel ends, which overlie the base
flanges of the rail and bear thereon, the said plates being held securely in position
by transverse bolts 6, which extend across the sleeper from one side piece to the
other. It will be observed that each side piece of the sleeper is provided with
plates at opposite ends of the recesses which receive the respective rails. Upon
the bolts 6 which secure the retaining plates in place, are mounted tubes 7, of a
length to bear between the retaining plates at opposite sides of the sleeper; said
tubes forming braces which prevent the side pieces from bending inwards; the
heads of the bolts and nuts on the opposite ends preventing a spreading movement
of the side pieces with respect to each other.
In connection with a railroad sleeper constructed as herein before described, I
provide the same with a cross piece 8, which is attached to the underside of the
said sleeper at the central portion thereof, or, as shewn in Figs. 2 to 5, the bottom
of the sleeper may be severed to form a tongue 9 which is bent downwards to
engage the road bed to prevent movement of the sleeper thereon. If desired the
part of the sleeper between the side pieces could be filled with ballast or com-
position to assist in holding it in place.
In Figs. 2 and 3 the braces or supports 4 are shewn level with the upper edges
of the side pieces 2 and adapted to have the chairs 10 bolted thereto, said chairs
being designed to retain double headed rails 11. The supports may be
strengthened by a web 12 indicated by broken lines in the drawing.
In Figs. 4 and 5 the supports 4 are shewn below the upper edge of the side
pieces of the sleeper, which are recessed as indicated at 3 and as in Fig. 1. In
this form, the chairs 10 are provided with flanges 13 which are bolted to the side
pieces 2 as shewn.
From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings,
it will be apparent that I provide a metallic railroad,sleeper which will be cheap
in construction and thoroughly braced to withstand the requisite pressure or
weight.
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) A railway sleeper formed of preferably galvanized sheet metal, with
recessed vertical parallel side flanges integral with the bottom, in combination
with through-bolts connecting said side flanges, sleeves on said bolts intermediate
said flanges, parallel rail clamping bars on the through-bolts at the opposite ends
of the sleeves and the side flanges of the sleeper, and clamped by said sleeves and
through-bolts against the side flanges of the sleeper, and angle-iron braces or

page_text: supports extending from one side to the other under the recesses in the flanges
in the sleeper, and depending tongues for preventing endwise movement of the
sleeper, all substantially as described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto
annexed.
(2) A railway sleeper formed of sheet metal, preferably galvanized, parallel
side flanges integral with the bottom of the sleeper, braces or supports bolted to
and uniting the side flanges and rail chairs bolted to the braces or supports, and
depending tongues for preventing endwise movement of the sleeper all sub-
stantially as described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto annexed.
(3) A railway sleeper formed of sheet metal, preferably galvanized, parallel
side flanges integral with the bottom of the sleeper, braces or supports bolted to
and uniting the side flanged above the supports, rail chairs resting on said sup-
ports, and having flanges which are bolted to the side flanges of the sleeper, and
depending tongues for preventing endwise movement of the sleeper all sub-
stantially as described and illustrated in the drawings hereunto annexed.
Dated this 25th day of February 1899.
R. RAINSFORD,
Agent for Applicant.