US1743824A - Railroad tie - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 14, 1930. M; LEVINE.

RAILROAD TIE Filed Feb. v5, 1929 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 14, 1930 PATENT" MORRIS LEVINE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD T0` DAVID A. WEILL AND ONE-THIRD TO MORRIS WACHTEL, BOTH OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

RArLRoAn Tru App1cation 1ed February 5, 1929. Serial No. 337,541.

The present invention relates to railroad ties and more particularly to sectional ties and method of making.

A substantial part, if not all, ofthe railroads in this country have rails laid upon wooden ties, the ties being approximately eight feet long. It is common knowledge that these ties are relatively expensive and that they become more expensive yearly due to the decrease in the available lumber supply. Various types of substitutes have been attempted, such as cement, steel and the like, but for various reasons have been unsuccessful. In some cases, there was not suticient resilience to provide a smooth roadbed, in other cases the substituteswere too expensive. In addition, the roadbeds have to be inspected constantly to determine the worn or burned ties no longer useful and these have to be replaced. These replacements and inspections increase substantially the upkeep of the roadbeds for railroads.

rlfhe present invention aims to overcome theV above diiiiculties by providing a railroad tie Iadapted to be manufactured from wood give greater wear and a more perfect roadbed. i Another object of the invention is to provide a method of making railroad ties fromV wood which would otherwise be wasted. y, Another object of the invention -is to proivide a sectional tie having the surface ofthe respective sections heat treated to increase the weather resisting properties thereof.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of theY illustrative embodiment about to be described Y or will be indicated in the appended claims,

and various advantages not referred to herein has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a perspective view of a completed tie;

Fig. 2 is an end view, showing another form of tie;

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the plates which are adapted to be wrapped around the sections of the tie to hold -them in position;

Fig. l is a detailed view of a slightly different form of plate adaptedto be used at curves and similar places on the roadbed to provide additional support for the rails.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of a rail attached to several ties;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of heat and pressure to the sections of the tie;

Fig. 8 is a detailed illustration of a preferred form of bolt for holding the rail in position; and

Fig; 9 is a detailed sectional view illustrat-ing a preferredv form of tie composed of branches from trees with the bark thereon.

In the manufacture of the present type of railroad tie, certain types of treesare cut down and made into proper lengths for the formation of ties. The longitudinal sawing of the trees to make the ties 'may be done in the vicinity of the lplace where the trees have stood or the logs may be shipped to some` central milling plant for the sawing operation. l In either event, there is a considerable waste of material due to thesawing operations and to the loss of the parts of the tree which are not used. Ties are made only from the very best part of the tree, that is, the trunk. The limbs and lap of the tree are permitted to rot in the Woods. TheV present invention contemplates the use of the limbs and the lap of the tree without substantial waste of material. i

By making the tie in sections it is possible to utilize any size or shape of lumber and ascombine with the shapes of the otherpiecesof lumber forming one or inoreties. compressing operation may be performed with the bark on the limb or after it has been removed. The pressure reduces the bark to a state where its tendencyto absorb water is-greatly minimized. In addition,the present invention. contemplatesthe application of heat to the external surface ofthe various sections, to harden thesurface and to render itA resistant to Aweather conditions, thereby eliminating the use of cliainicals for this purpose. While -theabove method has inherent advantageous characteristics other than those described herein,;nevertheless the illustrated embodiment is peculiarly adapted to the above method.

Referringmore particularly to the drawings, there is shownin Fig. 1 a railroad tie havingy aplurality of sections 1 ofsuch size and number as to forma railroadtie of proper size. In Fig.- 1 the number of sections is shown as six, whereas inFig,.2 a slightly different form of tieshows `four sections. The sections shown in each of these figures may be *madefrom-,branches of; trees or theilike.

lVhile the varioussections can, ofl course, bel

secured. together in any suitable manner,the preferred embodiment, illustrated. in Fig.v 3, is a strap or metallic blank?) having a-central part 4l adapted to lit, on the upper side of the tie withwa' pair ofa-pertures: -5 thereiny adapted to receive suitable bolts or spikes 6 for securing Vthe rail in position. Theends of the blankex'tendf from diagonally opposite sides ofthe centralY part and-f are :adapte ed to bebent downwardly around ai section of the tie, as shown in;y Fig. 1.- Preferably,-

the members 7 are of suflicient lengtghto permit them-tol extend down one side and over the bottom ofthe tie, withl the free end bent upwardly overa part of the :outer side of the. tie, as shown at 9.v Suitable apertures 10` may be formedr in the membersV 7 to permit nails vor spikes to be driventherethroughtosecure thevarious sections ofthe tie rigidly@ in position; p

Tn-Figure 4, a blank differingslightlyfroin that in Fig. 3 is shown. This blank 1s provided with a strip of metal 12-punched from ofthecupwardlybent parti 12 andthe inf.

wardly extending portions will fit into the side of the rail to brace the rail against slipping and also against turning over under the pressure exerted by the train *moving thereover. rlhe various sections of the tie give greater resilience than a one piece tie affords. This gives a smoother roadbed and permits the compression of the sections into the proper shape without increasing the rigidity of the tie materially.

A diagrammatic construction is shown in Fig. 7 for shaping and heat vtreating the respective sections. -While any type of apparatus may be usedfor this purpose, there is shown in the drawing a combined bed and sideplate 14: wherein is placed the material 17 to be compressed into sections. A movable horizontal compressing member 15, together witha movable vertical compressing member 16 compresses the section intothe desired form.k Any suitable heating means such as superheated steam or gas jets (not shown) may be used for furnishing heat to the bed plate and compressing members vfor the purpose of heat treating the Vouter surface of the sections during the compressing process. The sections may be compressed individually or in groups, as desired.

Preferably, the respective sections are placed in suitable holders after the shaping operation and the blanks 3 are fitted thereabout and secured thereto-to hold them iimly in position. However, it will be understood that the sections or branches may be first assembled, and thereafter reduced to the proper` size by, applying pressure to thev group. There is no necessity for all of the sections` being alike and, hence, limbs or pieces of lumber of various sizes may be made into different sized sections, several of which are adapted to complete a tie. i

-Vhile any-suitable means may be utilized forsecuring the rail to the tie, a preferred forni of bolt 2O is shown-iii Fig. 8. This bolt issuiiicientl-y long to extend through the tie. The upper end-is provided with relatively large threads 21 adapted to receive a nutf22 serrated at its bottom 24 for engagement with tliebase of the rail. A projection 25 vextends from the end of the bolt substantially smaller than the bolt to receive a lock nut 26 recessed and serrated at its bottom, as shown at 27 and 28 respectively, and threaded to the smaller threads29. By means of the nut 22 a very secure grip is obtained onthe rail and by means ofy the nut 26 and the smaller lthreads 29, a secure lock isvattained which prevents the nut 22 from becoming loose.

In Fig. 'p9, there isV shown a sectional view of a tie formedof branches 30 of trees which have been compressed'substantially Vto their the corners being slightly rounded. By forming the sections in this manner, less compression is required to shape them and the compressive forces may be smaller.

It Will be seen that the present invention provides a construction which may be readily manufactured from Waste material, thereby decreasing its cost. The resulting tie has excellent Wearing properties and inherent resilience adapted to provide a smooth roadbed requiring less inspection and less replacement of ties. Further, the ties may be utilized in present types of roadbeds Without necessitating changes therein. By utilizing the present method a substantial saving may be made.

As various changes may be made in the above embodiment Without departing from the spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter herein isto be interpreted a's illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A railroad tie comprising the combination of a plurality of sectional members formed from the branches of trees and shaped to fit together to compose a railroad tie, and a band of metal adapted to be Wrapped about said sectional members` to hold them in place and to furnish means for securing a rail to the tie.

2. A railroad tie comprising the combination of a plurality of sectional members compressed into shape to lit together and to form a tie, and means for securing said members together, said means being adapted to lit under a rail, and having a part cut and bent out of the plane of said means to lit against the rail to hold it in position.

3. A railroad tie comprising a series of sections, said sections having their exterior surfaces subjected to a relatively high temperature to improve the Wear thereof, and means for securing said sections together.

4f. A railroad tie comprising the combination of a plurality of sections heat treatedto render the exterior surfaces thereof resistant to Weather and pressed into the proper shape to combine With other sections in forming a tie.

5. A railroad tie comprising the combination of a plurality of sections, each of said sections being pressed into proper shape to fit with other sections, the external surfaces of said sections being heat treated to increase the Wear thereof, and means extending about said sections to hold them in position.

6. A railroad tie formed from Wood Which has been compressed into the desired shape, and the external surface of which has been heat treated to increase the Wear thereof.

7. A railroad tie comprising a plurality of pieces comprising the branches of trees, the cross-sectional dimensions of each branch being substantially less than the cross-sectional dimensions of the tie.

8. The method of making railroad ties Which comprises pressing a plurality of branches from trees into shapes adapted to form a tie, and securing said branches together in their proper relation.

9. The method of making railroad ties which consists in heat treating the external surfaces of the tie to increase the Wear thereof. Y

10. The method of making railroad ties Which consists in shaping a series of sections to adapt them to be assembled in proper relation to form a tie, heat treating the external surface of said sections, and securing the sections together in proper relation to form a tie.

1l. The method of utilizing the laps and branches of trees in vmaking railroad ties which comprises shaping the tree branches to fit With other branches, assembling said shapedbranches and binding said branches together to form a railroad tie.

MORRIS LEVINE

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