Improvements in Railway Spikes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 30th Sept., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Spikes.
We, SMITH HERBERT BRACEY, and FRANK HAYDEN BLODGETT, both of
450 W. Madison Street, Chicago, County of Cook, State of Illinois, United States
of America, Gentlemen, 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 improvement in spikes of the class employed in railway
construction for fastening the rails to the ties; the object being to provide a spike
of a construction which will render it particularly strong and durable, and capable
of fastening the rails and ties together with greater firmness than has been possible
with spikes hitherto provided, thus contributing to greater safety in railway
traffic.
In the drawing
Figure 1 is a broken view in transverse section of a railway tie, and flange
portion of a rail, the rail being secured to the tie by means of the improved
spike;
Figure 2, a view in elevation of the outer side of the spike;
Figure 3, a top plan view of the spike; and
Figure 4, a section taken on line 4 of Figure 2, and viewed in the direction of the
arrow.
A is the railway tie, and B the rail. The spike C is of the form shown, having
a preferably rectangular shank t, tapered at one end to afford the driving point t¹,
and formed at its upper end with a head s. The head at its inner under side is
shaped to afford a surface ¹ adapted to conform more or less to and fit over the
flange of the rail when the spike is driven into it. At the head, on the outer side
of the spike, is a shoulder r, provided with a short downward-extending, tie-
penetrating lip. The plane of the under surface of the shoulder r is below
that of the surface s', whereby, when the spike is driven to cause the surface s¹
to engage the flange of the rail, the under surface of the shoulder will rest upon the
tie, and the lip will be driven into the wood, as shown. In the outer face of the
spike is a longitudinal, preferably concave, groove, nearly the width of the spike,
and extending from the under surface of the shoulder part way down the driving
point t'.
In practice the tendency of rails to spread apart under pressure of the trains
passing over them, makes it necessary that the spike shall be capable of withstanding
enormous lateral strain, the strain being exerted more especially against the head-
portion of the spike. The shoulder r, besides thickening and strengthening the
head-portion of the spike, serves, by its engagement with the tie, as a stop to
increase the resistance against outward bending of the spike under lateral pressure
of the rail. It frequently happens, in driving a spike into place, that after its rail
flange engaging surface has come into contact with the rail, additional blows are
given to the spike, causing the part which engages the rail to be bent upward, with
the result of producing a fracture at the head of the spike. When thus fractured,
the head-portion of the spike is weakened, and is liable to be broken off under
lateral pressure of the rails. The shoulder in the present spike will prevent
fracture of the head-portion under the blows mentioned by cushioning them, as
were, by the hearing it finds at its expanded portion against the surface of the tie,
and by preventing the further penetration of the spike into the wood under such
blows. Moreover, the penetration of the lip into the tie, if it be provided, as it
preferably is, affords, as it were, an anchor against the displacement of the head
under lateral outward strain. The groove 9 operates as a guide for the spike as it
[Price 8d.1
?'

page_text: penetrates the tie, and is thus an additional safeguard against straining of the spike
as it is driven into place. Moreover, the concavity increases the area of the
gripping-surface at the outer side of the spike.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A railway spike, having its head provided, at the inner side, with a rail-flange
engaging surface on one plane, and on the opposite side with a shoulder affording a
tie-bearing surface, extending to a plane below that of the said rail-flange engaging-
surface, and having its shank provided with a groove in its outer face.
2. A railway spike, having its head provided, at the inner side, with a rail-flange
engaging-surface on one plane, and on the opposite side with a shoulder affording a
tie-bearing surface extending to a plane below that of the said rail-flange engaging-
surface, and a downward-extending, tie-penetrating lip on the said shoulder, the
spike having its shank provided with a groove in its outer face.
Dated this 17th day of April 1893
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.