Improvements in Tram-way Rails and Supports therefor.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Sept., 1887
Specification Accepted, 7th Oct., 1887.
Improvements in Tram-way Rails and Supports therefor.
We, DE WITT CLINTON CREGIER, and CHARLES TYSON YERKES, both of
Chicago, in the County of Cook, and State of Illinois, in the United States of
America, Engineers, 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 improvements in tram-way rails and supports therefor, in
which there are two contiguous tramways, one for the car wheels, and the other for
wheels of ordinary vehicles, which rails have at regular and uniform intervals, spike
holes at the centre of width of the tramway for ordinary vehicles, and are secured to
stringers conforming to the angle of the rails by headed spikes driven through said
holes into the stringers.
In the form of rails above referred to, the spike heads are exposed to the action and
wear of vehicle wheels passing over them, and are frequently destroyed to such an
extent as to render them no longer useful, and prevent their removal from the
stringers to such a degree that only a larger sized spike that could not pass through
the perforation in the rail can be tightened in such enlarged recess.
As a result of all this, the rail must be entirely removed, cut, and then shifted so
that none of its series of spike holes will register with the recesses of the removed
spikes, or with the spikes from which the heads have been broken, and driven flush
with the face of the stringer, and after such shifting, a piece of rail must then be
inserted to supply the place of the piece cut from the rail, and this necessitates
frequent and expensive repairs, and a serious interruption of traffic on the street.
A more serious objection however to this commonly used rail is the enlargement of
the spike holes therein by friction between the spike and rail caused by a lateral strain
against the car-wheel tram-way of heavy vehicles, when turning in or out from the
track, which lateral strain not only produces such an enlargement of the holes that
the spike head loses its gripping force, but frequently loosens the spike in the stringer,
because of the leverage of the rail on the spike, owing to the location of the spike
between the centre of width and inner edge of the rail and rails having their perfora-
tions so worn, are commonly condemned and their places supplied with new rails.
rather than spend the time and incur the expense of supplying and fitting varying
sizes of spikes necessary to further utilize the rails.
The general object of the invention is therefore to avoid the objectionable features

page_text: referred to, and which result in the commonly used rail and to increase the strength
and wear of the rail, and also to isolate the spike head from contact with vehicle
wheels, and at the same time to reduce the leverage of the rail on the spike to a
minimum without any substantial change in the form of outline, or contraction in the
working surface of our rail from the rail now commonly used.
The prime object of our invention however is to strengthen a tramway rail so as to
materially promote its resistance against deflection, and to do this without modifying
the form of the wearing faces of the commonly used tramway rail, or materially adding
to the cost of production of such rail.
Finally to provide an effective and desirable construction of chair, stringer, or other
support for our improved rail.
These objects are attained by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawing in
which :-
Figure 1 illustrates a transverse section through the preferred construction of rail
and support, embodying the invention.
Figure 2, a longitudinal section of the same, and
Figure 3, a transverse section through a rail and its support, embodying a modified
form of the invention.
Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
drawing.
A, designates, a street car rail having two tramways, one tramway B, of which is
for the car-wheel, and the other tramway C, for the wheels of ordinary vehicles, said
tramways being contiguously joined by a web D, and provided with a channel or
groove E, extending longitudinally of the rail, and therefore parallel with the
tramways.
The side walls of the channel are formed by the opposing walls of the tram-way,
and the bottom of the channel, by the web D, in which at regular intervals are a
series of holes, through which bolts or spikes are passed and secured or driven into
the rail support.
As shown, the channel E, is of such a depth that the end of the bolt or the head of
a spike securing the rail to its support will not project above and preferably below the
face of the tram-way D, whereby said bolt end or spike head are isolated from contact
with vehicle wheels.
When spikes to the exclusion of bolts are used for securing the rail to its support,
and it is desirable to have the channel E, of minimum width, of such a width that the
narrowest vehicle wheels cannot catch or wedge in the channel, a T spike F, shown in
Figure 3 may be used, that is to say, a spike the head of which has considerable
length on both sides of the spike and a width corresponding substantially to the
diameter of the spike, but it will be no departure from the invention to increase the
width of the channel to a width corresponding to the width or greater than vehicle
wheels, and to use broad headed spikes, for in such construction after driving the
spikes, the channel may be filled with concrete, cement, iron or steel borings, or
turnings, asphalt, or any other material suitable for filling purposes, although in any
case the filling may be omitted, and fastening devices of any kind employed without
a departure from the invention embodied in the form of the rail.
The channel F, preferably formed in the rail at substantially the centre of width
thereof, for the purpose of relieving the bolt or spike fastening device from any
leverage on the part of the rail, but in considering the invention broadly, as a novel
means of isolating a bolt end or spike head from contact with vehicle wheels, and as
a means for avoiding the objections necessarily following such contact the invention is
not limited to the location of the channel centrally, for the channel may be at any
other point so long as it does not obstruct the free passage of the car wheels, and the
wheels of other vehicles along the tram-way, or materially diminish the strength or
durability of the rail.
The important feature of the invention however is the strengthening of old and
well known forms of rails, as well as the new form above described, so as to resist
deflection throughout their entire length, and to this end such rails are provided with

page_text: parallel girder webs G, see Figures 1 and 2 depending from the trams, which girders
project from, and preferably support their respective trams at a point next their inner
edges at which point the faces of the trams are subjected to the greatest strain,
for the reason that all car wheels are more or less cone shaped so that their tread have
contact with the rail next the inner edges of the car tram, and likewise vehicle wheels
by reason of their tendency to follow the inner wall of the car tram, will direct the
greater part of the weight of the vehicle at about the inner edges of the vehicle
tram.
The importance of and advantage gained in increasing the effectiveness and utilizing
the girders to their fullest extent upon the rail, by having said girders at the point
indicated, is not only the result of such location, but the strain upon the rail and
girders is best resisted by such an arrangement of the girders with reference to the
trams.
Both the rails shown in Figure 3, without the girders, or the rails shown in
Figures 1 and 2 with the girders, may be spiked or bolted to the ordinary form of
wooden or metallic stringer shown in Figure 3, but for supporting the girder rail a
metallic chair or stringer such as is shown in Figures 1 and 2 is preferably used.
This chair or metallic stringer may be secured to a cross-tie, a, or to a stringer b,
as desired, and by means of spikes or bolts, and so formed as to conform to and
receive the rails.
The upper edges of the chair or stringer afford centre bearings for the respective
trams, and are provided with flanges c c which project under and additionally support
the trams of the rails in which position the girders project downwardly to opposing
internal flanges d in the chair or girder, which flanges afford an impinging device for
the head of a bolt e, which projects upwardly and through the web D, of the rail, and
into the channel thereof, and is secured by means of a wedge key f or other suitable
fastening device.
By preference a T-bolt is employed so that the head may be passed between the
flanges d, of the chair or stringer and be locked against withdrawal by giving it a
quarter turn, it however being understood that a web g, prevents the bolt from
dropping through and causes the end of the bolt to project up into the rail channel
into position for inserting the wedge key or other locking device.
Before placing the rail in its operative position on the stringer, such bolts in numbers
corresponding with the perforations in the rail are first placed between the flanges and
turned to their operative position, after which the rail may be seated on its support as
soon as the bolts are made to register with the rail perforations.
Instead of wedge keys, lock nuts may be employed, in which case the channel is
necessarily made wider than for keys.
After once setting and securing in their operative position upon cross-ties or other
supports the metallic chairs or stringers above described, little or no skill is required
to place the rails in their operative position and secure them to the stringers, and this
may be done after the road bed is otherwise finished, so also a defective rail may at
any time be removed and replaced by a perfect one, without disturbing any portion of
the road bed or the stringers, or injuring or displacing the fastening device, whether
they consist of bolts or other fastening.
By attaining these results the rearing up of the road bed and the obstruction to
traffic on the road and on the street, is not only avoided, but a material saving in time
and expenses in the laying of rails and repairing the road, is effected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1st. A street car rail provided with a longitudinal channel parallel with the trams of
the rail, the bottom of said channel having spike or bolt holes therein, said channel
isolating the spike head from contact with vehicle wheels, substantially as described.
2nd. A street car rail provided with a longitudinal channel midway the total
width of the rail, and parallel with the trams thereof, substantially as, and for the
purpose described.

page_text: 3rd. A street car rail provided with a longitudinal channel between and parallel
with the double trams of said rail, the bottom of said channel having spike or bolt
holes therein, substantially as, and for the purpose described.
4th. A tramway rail provided with trams in differing planes, a connecting web, a
channel between said trams, girders contiguous with and projecting downwardly from
said web, in combination with a rail-chair or other support, substantially as
described.
5th. A rail provided with downwardly projecting girders parallel and contiguous
with the rail, in combination with a chair or other support, and devices entering the
channel between the trams for securing it to said chair or support, substantially as
described.
6th. A rail provided with two trams connected by a web, and having a channel
between and parallel with said trams, in combination with girders projecting from and
supporting said trams at a point next their inner edges, substantially as described.
7th. A rail provided with two trams in differing planes, and connected by a web,
and having a channel between and parallel with said trams, in combination with
girders projecting from and supporting both trams at a point next their inner edges,
substantially as described.