US3700167A

US3700167A - Rail fastening assemblies for railroad tracks

Info

Publication number: US3700167A
Application number: US81251A
Authority: US
Inventors: Brian Michael Jennings; John Walter Albert Ager
Original assignee: Costain Concrete Co Ltd
Current assignee: Costain Concrete Co Ltd
Priority date: 1969-10-17
Filing date: 1970-10-16
Publication date: 1972-10-24
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-24
Also published as: CA920561A; GB1275966A

Abstract

A rail fastening assembly for fastening rails of a railroad to concrete ties comprises metal shoulders cast directly into a concrete tie during its manufacture on opposite sides of each rail seat and rail clips secured in housings in the shoulders and bearing on the foot of each rail to fasten the rail to the tie. In order to provide for shimming between the rail and the tie to raise the rail and reduce a vertical curve in the track caused by bumps, for example, due to frost-heave, a channel-shaped retainer is slid between the foot of the rail and the tie into a position between the clip retaining shoulders and the shims are located between the foot of the rail and a resilient pad disposed in the bottom of the channel-shaped retainer. Bracing rods are welded to the outside surfaces of the upright walls of the retainer adjacent the top edges and bear on the shoulders to resist outward deflection of the channel side walls. An insulator is interposed between the upright walls of the retainer and the rail foot and has an extension resting on the top of the rail foot underneath the clip.

Description

United States Patent Jennings et al.

[54] RAIL FASTENING ASSEMBLIES FOR RAILROAD TRACKS [72] lnventors: Brian Michael Jennings, Upminster; John Walter Albert Ager, London,

both of England [73] Assignee: Costain Concrete Company Limited,

London, England [22] Filed: Oct. 16, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 81,251

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 17, 1969 Great Britain ..5l,227/69 [52] 0.8. CI ..238/349, 238/281 [51] lnt. Cl. ..E0lb 9/48 [58] Field of Search ..238/281, 349, 287, 304-309, 238/279, 282, 264-270, 306

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,549,090 12/1970 Toyama ..238/281 3,587,965 6/1971 Newton ..238/349 2,057,963 10/1936 Maney ..238/304 3,565,336 2/1971 Eisses ..238/287 51 Oct. 24, 1972 Primary Examiner-Arthur L. La Point Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorney-Roylance, Abrams, Berdo & Kaul [57] ABSTRACT A rail fastening assembly for fastening rails of a railroad to concrete ties comprises metal shoulders cast directly into a concrete tie during its manufacture on opposite sides of each rail seat and rail clips secured in housings in the shoulders and bearing on the foot of each rail to fasten the rail to the tie. In order to provide for shimming between the rail and the tie to raise the rail and reduce a vertical curve in the track caused by bumps, for example, due to frost-heave, a channelshaped retainer is slid between the foot of the rail and the tie into a position between the clip retaining shoulders and the shims are located between the foot of the rail and a resilient pad disposed in the bottom of the channel-shaped retainer. Bracing rods are welded to the outside surfaces of the upright walls of the retainer adjacent the top edges and bear on the shoulders to resist outward deflection of the channel side walls. An insulator is interposed between the upright walls of the retainer and the rail foot and has an extension resting on the top of the rail foot underneath the clip.

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RAIL FASTENING ASSEMBLIES FOR RAILROAD TRACKS The present invention relates to railroad tracks and, more particularly, to rail fastening assemblies for fastening rails to the ties or sleepers. Specifically, the invention is concerned with providing an arrangement for use with Pandrol and similar rail fastening assemblies, such as are used on concrete ties, for enabling the use of shims between the rail and the ties to raise the rail by small increments for reducing a vertical curve in a track caused by bumps, for example, produced by frost-heave.

The Pandrol rail fastening assembly for concrete sleepers consists essentially of two steel or maleable iron shoulders which are cast directly into the sleeper during its manufacture on opposite sides of each rail seat. At each seat, the rail rests on a resilient pad between the two shoulders which give a precise and robust lateral location. The rail is then secured by Pandrol rail clips driven into the housings in the shoulders. When insulation is necessary for track circuiting purposes, an insulator of hard nylon or similar material is interposed between the shoulder and the edge of the rail foot. An extension of this insulator rests on top of the rail foot underneath the clip.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide means for use with Pandrol shoulders cast into concrete ties which can provide for a relatively large amount, for example, 1 inches, of shimming under a rail, and for gauge retention at all rail levels. It is another object to provide such means which permits electrical insulation of the rails.

According to the present invention, where a rail is fastened to a tie by a Pandrol or similar clip fastening, in order to provide for shimming to flatten or sweeten a vertical curve produced by a bump in the track, a channel-shaped retainer for shims is inserted between the foot of the rail and the tie in a position between the clip-retaining shoulders. This retainer preferably includes bracing means disposed on the outer surfaces of its side walls, at or adjacent the top thereof, and arranged to bear on the shoulders to resist outward deflection of the channel side walls.

Where no shims are required, a normal Pandrol or similar rail fastening assembly may be used. Moreover, the normal rail clip is sufficiently resilient to enable approximately /1 inch of shimming to be used under a rail so that where the required shimming does not exceed this amount the invention need not be employed. However, where the shimming exceeds 1 inch the retainer of the invention is placed under the rail with the resilient pad sandwiched between the two. The retainer itself provides a certain amount of shimming and, where further shimming is necessary, this is placed between the resilient pad and the rail. This shimming may be in the form of hardwood strips. The resilient pad is placed under the rail in the normal manner for standard track. However, once the retainer is brought into use the pad must be moved to a position above the retainer so as to avoid movement of the retainer relative to the rail fastening.

Gauge insulators may be disposed between the side walls of the channel retainer and the edges of the rail foot. Two types of insulator are required, one for standard use, wide enough to take up the space occupied by the retainer and another type for use with the retainer. When the retainer is used, it will be necessary for the Pandrol or other rail clips to work over a greater range of deflection than the conventional clip which can provide for 0 to V4 inch shimming without straining the clip. It is therefore proposed to provide, for example, three other forms of the clip which will enable ranges of shimming from five-sixteenths to eleven-sixteenths inch, to 1 1/16 inches and 1% to 1% inches.

The retainer may be constructed as a combination of a retainer and the summation of the first, say, five-sixteenths inch of shimming. As the rail foot will be above the level of the fastening shoulder when the shimming equals 1% inches the bracing means is provided at the top edges of the retainer to transmit the horizontal loads from the rail to the shoulder. The retainer may, for example, be formed from five-sixteenths inch thick steel sheet and have short lengths of ii inch diameter mild steel rod welded adjacent the top outer edges for bearing on the shoulders of the fastening.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view, in the longitudinal direction of the rail, of a normal Pandrol rail fastening assembly,

FIGS. 2 and 3 are views, taken in the same direction as FIG. 1 but on an enlarged scale, of one half of a Pandrol fastening assembly incorporating the invention, and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the assemblies of FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring to FIG. 1, a normal Pandrol rail fastening assembly for fastening a rail 1 to a concrete tie 2 comprises two malleable iron shoulders 3 cast into the concrete tie on opposite sides of the rail seat 4 and clips 5 secured in housings 6 in the shoulders disposed parallel to the rail. The rail rests on a resilient pad 7 of rubber or other suitable material disposed on the rail seat and gauge insulators 8 are interposed between each shoulder 3 and the edge of the rail foot 9. Each in sulator has an extension 10 overlying the upper surface of the rail foot and lateral projections 11 engaging opposite ends of the adjacent shoulder to prevent longitudinal displacement of the insulator. The two clips have portions 5a driven into the housings from opposite directions and portions 5b which press on the upper surface of the rail foot through the insulator extensions 10 and are urged into contact with the rail foot by further clip portions 5c which bear against the shoulders.

Where a small amount of shimming (not exceeding approximately A inch) is required, this may simply be inserted between the rail foot 9 and the pad 7. Where a greater amount of shimming is required, a shim-cumgauge retainer according to the invention is disposed between the rail and the tie. One embodiment of such a retainer is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings. The same references are used in these figures to indicate similar parts to those shown in FIG. 1. Thus, referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, prior to fitting of the Pandrol clips, the channel-shaped retainer 12 is slide under the rail 1 into a position between the two shoulders 3. The retainer comprises a horizontal bottom or base portion 13 and vertical side walls 14 which project upwardly on opposite sides of the rail. Welded along the outer surfaces of the side walls 14 adjacent the top edges thereof are metal rods 15 which bear against the shoulders 3 to brace the side walls against horizontal deflection and transmit horizontal loads from the rail to the shoulders. The resilient pad 7 is disposed on the base portion 13 between the rail and the retainer so as to avoid movement of the retainer relative to the rail fastening. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the retainer may be the only shimming required, in which event the rail simply rests in the retainer on the resilient pad 7. On the other hand, further shimming 16, as shown in FIG. 3, may be inserted between the rail and the resilient pad to raise the rail by a required With with the embodiment illustrated, the rail can be raised to a maximum height of 1% inches above its normal level.

After the appropriate amount of shimming has been inserted, gauge insulators 17 are disposed between the side walls 14 and the edges of the rail foot 9 and the rail clips 18 are driven into the housings 6 to fasten the rail. The gauge insulators 17 are of similar construction to the insulators shown in FIG. 1 and include a portion 10 extending over the upper surface of the rail foot and lateral projections 11 which, in this case, engage opposite ends of the retainer side walls in order to prevent longitudinal displacement of the insulators. However, the insulators 17 are of smaller width than the insulators 8 of FIG. 1 because of the width of the side walls of the retainer. The rail clips 18 used with the retainer are of similar shape and construction to the clips 5 of FIG. 1. However, because of the shimming, and the amount of variation in this shimming which is permitted by the invention, different sizes of clips are required, as previously mentioned, and the size of clip 18 is selected in accordance with the amount of shimming used at a particular rail fastening.

The retainer 12 is prevented from lateral displacement by engaging the shoulders 3 and is prevented from moving longitudinally out of engagement with the rail foot 9 by the rod braces on either side abutting the rail clips 18.

Whilst a particular embodiment has been described, it will be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a rail fastening assembly for fastening a rail of a railroad track to a tie, said assembly comprisingat least two housings located on the tie on opposite sides of the rail respectively and clip fastening means secured in each housing and bearing onthe foot of said rail to fasten it to said tie, a channel-shaped retainer located between said rail foot and said tie in a position between said housings for receiving shims to raise the rail, said channel-shaped retainer having side walls projecting upwardly on opposite sides of the rail, a base portion located beneath said rail foot and bracing .means disposed on the outer surfaces of said retainer side walls and bearing on said housings to resist outward deflection of said side walls.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which said channel-shaped retainer is formed from sheet steel and said bracing means comprises steel rods fixed respectively to the outer surfaces of the side walls adjacent the to ed est ere f.

3. "l he :om ination claimed in claim 1, including a resilient pad located between said retainer base portion and said rail foot, and gauge insulators disposed between said retainer side walls and the edges of said rail foot, said insulators having extensions resting on the upper surfaces of said rail foot through fwhich said clip means bear on said foot.

4. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which said retainer is constructed so that said base portion thereof has a thickness equivalent to the minimum amount of shimming for which said retainer is required.

5. In a rail fastening assembly for fastening a rail of a railroad track to a tie, said assembly comprising at least two housings located on the tie on opposite sides of the rail respectively and clip fastening means secured in each housing and bearing on the foot of said rail to fasten it to said tie, the combination of a channelshaped retainer located between said rail foot and said tie in a position between said housings for receiving shims to raise the rail, said channel-shaped retainer having substantially vertical side walls projecting upwardly on opposite sides of the rail, a substantially horizontal base portion located beneath said rail foot and rods secured respectively to the outside surfaces of said side walls adjacent the top edges thereof and hearing on said housings to resist outward deflection of said side walls, said retainer base portion being of such a thickness as to be equal to the minimum amount of shimming required for use of said retainer, a resilient pad located on the upper surface of said base portion, at least one shim located on the upper surface of said resilient pad between the pad and said rail foot, and gauge insulators disposed respectively between said side walls and the edges of said rail foot, said insulators having extensions resting on the upper surfaces of said rail foot beneath said clip fastening means and lateral projections at opposite ends thereof engaging opposite ends of said side walls to prevent longitudinal displacement of said insulators.

Claims

1. In a rail fastening assembly for fastening a rail of a railroad track to a tie, said assembly comprising at least two housings located on the tie on opposite sides of the rail respectively and clip fastening means secured in each housing and bearing on the foot of said rail to fasten it to said tie, a channel-shaped retainer located between said rail foot and said tie in a position between said housings for receiving shims to raise the rail, said channel-shaped retainer having side walls projecting upwardly on opposite sides of the rail, a base portion located beneath said rail foot and bracing means disposed on the outer surfaces of said retainer side walls and bearing on said housings to resist outward deflection of said side walls.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which said channel-shaped retainer is formed from sheet steel and said bracing means comprises steel rods fixed respectively to the outer surfaces of the side walls adjacent the top Edges thereof.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1, including a resilient pad located between said retainer base portion and said rail foot, and gauge insulators disposed between said retainer side walls and the edges of said rail foot, said insulators having extensions resting on the upper surfaces of said rail foot through which said clip means bear on said foot.

5. In a rail fastening assembly for fastening a rail of a railroad track to a tie, said assembly comprising at least two housings located on the tie on opposite sides of the rail respectively and clip fastening means secured in each housing and bearing on the foot of said rail to fasten it to said tie, the combination of a channel-shaped retainer located between said rail foot and said tie in a position between said housings for receiving shims to raise the rail, said channel-shaped retainer having substantially vertical side walls projecting upwardly on opposite sides of the rail, a substantially horizontal base portion located beneath said rail foot and rods secured respectively to the outside surfaces of said side walls adjacent the top edges thereof and bearing on said housings to resist outward deflection of said side walls, said retainer base portion being of such a thickness as to be equal to the minimum amount of shimming required for use of said retainer, a resilient pad located on the upper surface of said base portion, at least one shim located on the upper surface of said resilient pad between the pad and said rail foot, and gauge insulators disposed respectively between said side walls and the edges of said rail foot, said insulators having extensions resting on the upper surfaces of said rail foot beneath said clip fastening means and lateral projections at opposite ends thereof engaging opposite ends of said side walls to prevent longitudinal displacement of said insulators.