Improvements relating to the Permanent Way of Railways.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Apr., 1890-Accepted, 21st June, 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by MOSES WHITE OLIVER, of Lawrence, Massachusetts,
United States of America, Civil Engineer.]
Improvements relating to the Permanent Way of Railways.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
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 :-
The object of this invention is first to furnish a support for the common rail of a
railroad or railway in such a manner that the weight borne by a passing wheel shall
be distributed on two or more cross-ties, or on two or more parts of any kind of sub-
structure, and so that the said weight can never come wholly on one cross-tie or on
any one point of the sub-structure, and second, to make such support elastic, whereby
the railroad super-structure is made uniformly elastic within its own construction, and
the weight of the train is diffused over as great an extent of the sub-structure as
possible.
To accomplish these objects I place a sub-rail whose under side or bottom is straight
longitudinally, and whose upper surface or top is formed in regular and gradual
undulations longitudinally between the cross-ties or sub-structure and the common
rail, supporting said common rail directly by said sub-rail at intervals, all as herein-
after set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a railway rail embodying my invention.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same.
Fig. 3 is a similar section taken across a joint of a sub-rail.
Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section taken on line ax of figure 2.
Fig. 5 is a similar section taken on line y y of figure 3.
Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures.
A is a common railroad rail, B is my sub-rail, and C Care cross-ties constructed
as usual. The sub-rail B directly supports the rail A. This sub-rail is of uneven
thickness vertically and while its under side is straight, its upper side or surface is
gradually and regularly undulating longitudinally as shown, so that the rail A bears
on the sub-rail B at intervals, that is, at the summits only of the undulations, and not
continuously. The thickest or bearing portions or summits B¹ of the sub-rail are
situated between the cross-ties, while the thinnest portions B1 or valleys are next the
cross-ties so that directly over the cross-ties are open spaces between the common rail
and the sub-rail. It will be seen that there is no sudden thickening or thinning of
the rail as would be the case in a vertical or nearly vertical rise of the surface, but the
rise and fall of the surface are gradual and regular so that such surface is truly an
undulating one. By this means I accomplish a better distribution and diffusion of
the weight borne by each passing wheel upon the cross-ties or sub-structure, and
avoid the concentration of the whole of said weight upon each and every cross-tie, or
upon a single point of the sub-structure, as is the case with the common track
occasioning the depression of the cross-ties irregularly into the ballast and otherwise
disturbing and distorting the track so as to cause wear and tear to track and rolling
stock and requiring frequent "tamping up" of the cross-ties, and other repairing.
Again, by means of my improvement, I obtain a constantly uniform and beneficial
elasticity of the track within its own construction without necessarily depressing the
cross-ties unduly into the ballast. This cannot be obtained with the common track,
which has no beneficial elasticity except what is allowed by the yielding or depression
of the cross-ties or other sub-structure.
In carrying out my invention, I propose to secure the common rail, sub-rail and

page_text: t
sub-structure together in any suitable and practicable manner. In the drawing, at
the cross-ties, not adjacent to a joint in either rail, (see figures 1 and 4) lips E F
extend over the opposite flanges of the rail A, and are made integral respectively by
means of connections E F with base plates E" F" which extend under the rail as
shown betwen said rail and the cross-tie. The extensions E¹ F1 of the base-plates
may be secured to the cross-tic by spikes or bolts. The connections E F are
provided on their inner sides with projections or lodges. ef which rest upon the
surface of the sub-rail B which at that point does not touch the rail A. At the
sub-rail joints, see figures 3 and 5-and also at joints of the common rails if
desired fish-plates H I extend over the opposite flanges of the rail A and are made
integral respectively by means of connections H¹ I' with base-plates H" I which
extend under the rail as shown between said rail and the cross-tic. The
extensions H of the base-plates may be secured to the cross-tie by spikes or
bolts. The connections H¹¹ are provided on their inner sides with projections or
ledges hi which rest on corresponding steps formed in the sub-rail B. These
steps appear on the opposite edges of the sub-rail only when the surface of said
sub-rail rises from its lowest point, as will be seen by referring to figures 4 and 5,
in the former of which no step appears while in the latter the step is at its deepest
portion. Suitable bolts and nuts secure the fish-plates to the rail. The fish-
plates H I preferably extend from one cross-tie to that on the other side of the joint,
as shown in broken lines in figure 4.
In practice the joints of the rails A are placed at about the middle of the rails B
and the joints of the rails B at about the middle of the rails A, and cach of the
rails A being bolted to the joint-chair at the joints of the sub-rail, they are firmly
fastened to the cross-ties at about the middle of their length, so that contraction
and expansion takes place equally to and from this middle point. By the same
means "creeping" is effectually prevented.
By means of my invention, in which there is such distribution and diffusion of
weight and uniform elasticity of the track, the wear and tear of the road-bed,
bridges, track and rolling stock is reduced and in consequence the noise decreased,
conveyance made safer and more comfortable, and the cost of maintenance
diminished.
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. The combination with the ordinary rail as A, of a railway, of the supporting
sub-rail B itself supported by the cross-ties or sub-structure of the railway, the
bottom or under side of said sub-rail being straight longitudinally and the surface
or top being formed in gradual undulations longitudinally, whereby said sub-rail
becomes gradually thicker and higher from its thinnest or lowest points to its
thickest or highest points, and as gradually thinner and lower from its thickest or
highest points to its thinnest or lowest points, the rail A bearing directly on the
sub-rail at the highest points only of the latter, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination of the ordinary rail as A of a railway, of the supporting
sub-rail B itself supported by the cross-ties or sub-structure of the railway, the
bottom or under side of said sub-rail being straight longitudinally, and the surface
or top being formed in gradual undulations longitudinally, whereby said sub-rail
becomes gradually thicker and higher from its thinnest or lowest points to its
thickest or highest points, and as gradually thinner and lower from its thickest or
highest points to its thinnest or lowest points, said surface or top being provided
at its edges at all but its lowest points with the steps bb, substantially as described.
3. The combination with the ordinary rail A, sub-rail B B B and cross-ties C,
of the lips E F connections E' F', base-plates E" F" and extensions E Finall
made integral and said connections being provided with the projections or ledges e f
substantially as, and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: 4. The combination with the ordinary rail A, sub-rail B B B provided with
the steps bb, and cross-ties, of the fish-plates H 1, connections H' 1', base-
plates HI" and extensions Hall made integral and said connections being
provided with the projections or ledges h. i, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
Dated this 1st day of March 1890
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.