US1659730A - Flangeway and rail guard for highway crossings of railroads - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 21, 1928'. 1 ,659,730

. P. E. GERHARD FLANGEWAY AND RAIL GUARD FOR HIGHWAY CROSSINGS 0F RAILROADS Filed June 10, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Y ulElfier ATTORN EY Feb. 21, 1928. 1,659,730

P. E. GERHARD FLANGEWAY AND RAIL GUARD FOR HIGHWAY CROSSINGS OF RAILROADS Filed June 10. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL EUGENE GERHARD, OF LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO LEBANON STEEL FOUNDRY, 0F LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

-IELANGEWAY AND RAIL GUARD FOR HIGHWAY CROSSINGS OF RAILROADS. 7

Application filed. June 10, 1927. Serial No. 197,774.

This invention relates to fiangeway and rail guards for highway crossings of railroads.

The objects of this invention are toproduce guard sections that may be made of castings, forgings, pressed steel, stampings or from rolled sections and to devise them, as hereinafter described, for installation n highway crossings in such manner as to promote track safety and also to prevent d sruption of the guards and paving mater al by ,road vehicles travelling transversely across the track rails and guards at highway crossings. 1

In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and illustrating the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a highway cross ing having an assemblage of track. rails, fiangeway guards, track rail guards and bracket braces, a portion of the pavlngmaterial being omitted for greater clearness.

Fig. 2 is a transversesection at l1ne 2-2 of Fig. 1 of'what is shown in Flg. 1, the paving material being partially shown in place.

Fig. 3 is an elongated elevation, partly n section, of the left hand end port on of Fig. 2 and shows a track rail between a flange way guard which is inwards of the track rail, and a track rail guard WlllClllS outwards of thetrack rail, and portionsofthe bracket braces. v

Fig. 4 is an inward side elevation of a portion of an intermediate fiangeway guard section in endwise alignment and contact with an end section; the view also showinga pair of tongues, one integral with the web of each guard section, in assembla e with the arms of a cross-headed bracing diracket the neck of which is shown in section between opposed edges of the tongues.

Fig. 5 is a typical perspective elevation of an intermediate guard section, a therewith assembled end section, the tongues and the cross-headed bracing bracket; the lower end of the bracket being shown spiked to a crosstie.

In the drawings, A (Figs. 2 and 3) indicates the fiangeway guards and their safe location inwardly of, spaced apart from and out of metallic, electric current conducting relation to a track rail. In Figs. 2 andv 3, B indicates a similar location of a track rail ted ends.

guard, at the'outer side of each track rail. P indicates paving material which is usually of some plastic material which has hardened or set in position. Each fiangeway guard A and also each track rail guard B are preferably made up of intermediate sections in joint forming contact at their abut These intermediate sections are located between right and left hand end sections.

The track rails 1 are shown mounted on rail plates .Zspiked to crossties, in the form of. track rail supports shown. desired, practical means of supporting the track rail may be used. 'The crossties or trackrail supports are herein indicated by 3.

The lntermediate cross sections of the fiangeway guards and also of the track rail guards are indicated by 4; and theright and lefthand end sections of both the flangeway guards and of the track rail guards are indicated by 5. By making the end sections rights and lefts, they are readily alignable with the intermediate sections.

I In some installations, though infrequently, asingle intermediate section will be practicable; but as highway crossings over railways are usually of considerable width and the tendency is to increase their widths, it is generally desirable to use a plurality of ill-- termediate sections rather than one long intermediate section in each guard; intermediate sections of great length being diificult to handle.

Each flangeway guard A'is located inwardly of and spacedly apart from the inward side of atrack rail, there being two fiangeway guards for each pair of track rails. A flangewayfi for the flanges of car and'locomotive wheels is thus obtained between adjacent, spaced apart sides of each track rail and the flangeway guard provided for it.

Each intermediatesection of a flangeway guard is formed with a lengthwise extending head 6, an inward portion 'a of the head slanting upwardly and merging in a lengthwise extending, horizontal head extension (1' (Fig. 3) which projects inwardly of the web of the section. The web terminates at its foot in a lengthwise extending, horizontal, inwardly extending base flange 7 provided with a row of spike holes 8 for spikes Any other '9 by which the base flange is anchored to the track rail supports or crossties 3. The web is indicated by 10. It slants upwardly in a direction away from the upper surface of its base flange to the surface a; that is, in the direction of a side of the adjacent track rail. The head extension (1 and the base flange 7 project in the same directions and the outward surface of the web, forms an obtuse angle with the upper surface of its base flange. The base flange web and head are integral. Extension 11 is also a flange.

The track rail guards B are also made up of endwise aligned and abutted, intermediate sections located between therewith aligned, right and left hand sections.

The intermediate sections of the flange way guard A in its entirety are identical one with, another; the intermediatesections of the track rail guard B in its entirety are identical one with another, and the intermediate sections of the flangeway and track rail guards are identical one with another except for the heads of the track rail intermediate sections which instead of having the flared or slanting surface a between the web 10 and head extension at has only a horizontal extension 5, as shown at the left hand of Fig. 3.

The right and left hand end sections of the flaneeway guard A are identical one with another, and the rightand left hand end sections of the track rail sections B are identical one with another. All the end sections are formed with the free end portions 11 of their heads slanting downwardly (Figs. 1, a and 5) and these'downwardly slanting portions 11 also flare laterally each in a direction away from the adjacent track rail side, as shown in- Fig. 1.

In View of these similarities, the webs of all the sections, both intermediate and end, are indicated by 10, their base flanges by 7 and their heads by 6. The base flanges of the sections of the track rail guard B are provided with fastener or spike receiving holes 8, similarly to the base flanges of the flangeway guard sections, and are spiked to the rail supports or crossties by spikes 9.

It is to be understood that the track rails are sometimes located directly on the crossties without intervention of rail plates 2. It is a feature ofthis invention to locate all the sections of the flangeway guards and all the sections of the track rail guard out of metallic contact with the track rails, and they are herein shown out of such contact for the important purpose of preventing short-circuiting of railway electric safety signal currents. The base flanges? are shown out of contact with the rail plates 2, being spaced apart therefrom and the sides of all the guard sections are spaced apart from and out of contact with the track-rail and usual- 1y associated members, as sufficiently illus trated in Fig. 8.

margins after the sections are rolled into the1r cross sectional contours. The bends of the tongues are indicated by 12 and the upper ends of the tongues are indicated by 13. The tongues project away from'the websides with which they are integral over the base flanges and form cross-head, arm" receiving spaces 14:. That vertical edge 15, of preferably each tongue which is adjacent an abuttable end of a guard section, is reduced in width so that each tongue is narrower above its bend than it is at its bend 12, (Fig. 4). The butt points formed between the abutted, aligned ends of the sections are indicated by 16 and each clear space 17 which is formed between the'opposed edges of each iiXgO adjacent tongues is in line with a joint bracket are positioned in each clear space '14 between web ends and the opposed walls of upwardly projecting tongues (Fig. 5.), the cross-head spanning the adjacent joint 16. The cross-head, between its ends, has an integrally projecting shank 19 the neck portion rail support spacedly apart from the guard rail sections opposed to the cross-head.

The tongues 11 are preferably somewhat longer than the vertical dimension of the cross-head arms 18 and so that in an installation the free ends 13 of the tongues may be hammered over the upper surfaces of the cross-head arms and lock the cross-head detachably in place.

Due to the upward inclination of the web of each guard section, at each side of a track rail, in the direction of the track rail; and

due to the described form and position of the bracket braces with their cross heads against the webs above the base flanges and with the downward slant of the bracing bracket'shanks to their bases which are anunease chored to the erossties, a very powerful and durable bracing construction of the upstanding guard sections is effected. The practical importance or strong and durable bracing and construction of the guard sections. involves safety factors and the construction described prevents accidental upward displacement of guard section ends one above another. Such displacement or tendency to displacement is due to vibrations in the vertical direction of the track rails and movement of track rail supports often occurring in roadbed construction;

Under all circumstances, the fiangeway guards and track rail guards and also the paving material are subject to thrusts and vibrations, shocks and strains by vehicles travelling over the crossings, crosswise of. the railway track and said guards. As shown in the upper portion of Fig. 1, the bracing brackets, tongues and base flanges of the fiangeway guards are. covered by paving material P in which the bracket braces for the fiangeway guards, together with their horizontal bases are embedded and by which they are heavily loaded down in place. Similarly the projecting ends of the erossties, base flanges of the track rail guards, tongues, cross-heads, and bracket braces for track guards, at each outer side of the track, when its fiangeway guards are covered, are protected and weighted down by the paving extending away from each side of the track. Other paving material is located in spaces 5? and 5, but at a level below the rail head, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

This application, in respect to certain claims, is a continuation in part of my application Ser. No. 161,265, filed Jan. 15, 1927, on which Patent No.'1,654,279, issued on October 11, 1927.

A function of the upwardly convergent webs of a flangeway guard and a track rail guard, one at each side of a track rail, is to hold the paving material at each side of the track rail firmly in place, this being the more necessary because of the relatively narrow width of such paving material to the broader mass of pavlng material at the outer sides of the track rail guards and between the fiangeway guards. The clear space 5 formed before the paving is laid is customarily filled with paving material up to the top of the track rail. T

The spaces between the tongues and the webs from which the tongues spring form sockets in which the arms of the cross-headed bars are received. Such sockets have a horizontal extension in the direction of a section and are also open at their tops. As above indicated the guard sections may be formed by a rolling operation. i

My invention may be embodied in diflerent forms than those shown without departure from it.

' What I claim is:

1. A metal flangeway and track rail guard having a web and. a therewith integral, horizontal base flange, an end of the web being formed with an integral tongue projecting laterally away from the web.

2. A metal flangeway and track rail guard having a web and a therewith integral, horizontal base flange, an end of the web being formed with an integral tongue projecting laterally away from the web; the base flange and tongue projecting from the same side of the web, the web extending upwardly from the base-flange, the tongue extending upwardly from a lower portion of the web and the side ofthe web from which the tongue projects being at an obtuse angle to the upper side of the base flange.

3. A metal fiangeway and track rail guard having a web and a therewith integral, horizontal base flange, an end of the web being formed with an integral tongue projecting laterally away from the web; the base flange and tongue projecting from the same side of the web, the web extending upwardly from the base flange, the tongue extending upwardly from a lower portion of the web and the side of the web from which the tongue projects being at an obtuse angle to the upper side of the base flange; and the web having a head projecting from the side provided with the tongue.

l. The combination of track rail supports; a track rail; a flangeway guard spaced apart from said rail, out of electric current conducting relation thereto and fixed to said supports; the fiangeway guard comprising an intermediate section and right and left hand end sections, each section having a having their ends closely opposed and their webs being separately formed with an upstanding tongue projecting from the side of the web from which the base flange projects, and the opposed edges of the tongues being 'spaced' apart for connection with a cross-headed bracket neck; and a crossheaded bracket the arms of which are located between said tongues and webs and the neck of: which extends through the space between opposed tongue edges; the bracket shank extending downwardly beyond the base flange and having a base fixed to a track rail support spacedly apart from said sections and out of electric current conducting relation to said track rail.

5. The combination of track rail supports;

a track rail; a flangeway guard spaced apart tending web, said sections being aligned and having their ends closely opposed and thelr webs being separately formed with an upstanding tongue projecting from the side of the web from which the base flange projects, and the opposed edges of the tongues being spaced apart for connection with a crossheaded bracket neck; and a cross-headed bracket the arms of which are located between said tongues and webs and the neck of which extends through the space between opposed tongue edges; the bracket shank extending downwardly beyond the base flange and having a base fixed to a track ra1l support spacedly apart from said sections and out of electric current conducting relation to said track rail; said tongue projecting above the upper edges of the bracket arms and being bent over such upper edges to anchor said arms in place.

6. The combination of track rail supports; a track rail; a flangeway guard spaced apart from said rail, out of electric current conducting relation thereto and fixed to said supports; the flangeway guard comprising an intermediate section and right and left hand end sections, each section having a horizontal base flange and an upwardly extending Web, said sections being aligned and having their ends closely opposed and their webs being severally formed with an upstanding ton 'ue projecting from the side of the web from which the base flange projects, and the opposed edges of the tongues being spaced aparti'or connection with a crossheaded bracket neck; and a cross-headed bracket the arms of which are'located between said tongues and webs and the neck of which extends through the space between opposed tongue edges; the bracket shank extending downwardly beyond the base flange and having a base fixed to a track rail support spacedly apart from said sections and out of electric current conducting relation to said track rail; and at the outward side 01' the track rail, a track rail guard of substantially the same construction and in non-electric current conducting location as said flangeway guard; and a cross-headed bracket of the construction aforesaid, having its cross arms between tongues of its sections and their webs, the cross headed brackct being anchored to a track rail support on the outward side of the track rail guard.

7. In the combination of claim 4, paving material between the flangeway guards, covering and embedding the base flanges of the fiangeway guards, said tongues and bracing brackets. v

8. In the combination of claim 5, paving material covering and embedding the base flanges of the track rail guards, their tongues and the therewith connected bracing brackets.

9. In flangeway guard construction, the combination with a pair of endwise aligned guard sections each of which is provided said brace having a free end fastenableto a railway track member.

10. The combination in a flangeway guard, of two endwise abutting sections each having an upstanding web provided with an edge recess, the recesses facing one the other; and the adjacent end portions of the sections each having a lengthwise extending socket; and a bracket brace having a cross-head and a shank, the ends of the crosshead fitting in said lengthwise extending sockets and an adjacent portion of the shank passing through said opposed recessesv in the section webs; and means for anchoring the bracket to a stationary portion of the track structure.v

11. In metal flangeway and track rail guard construction,- the combination of endwise alined and opposed guard sections each having an upwardly extending web and each web havinga tongue laterally projecting from a web side, the opposed edges of the tongues being spaced apart; with a crossheaded bracing bracket having arms located in the spaces between the tongues *and section webs; a neck portion of the bracket extending through the space between the tongue edges and'the bracket having an end anchored to a railway track member.

12. In metal flangeway and track rail guard construction, thecombination of endwise aligned and opposed guard sections each having an upwardly extending web formed with endwise opposed, lengthwise 7 extending, end socket forming walls each for reception of an arm of a cross-headed bracing bracket; with a cross bracing bracket the arms of which are held by the socket forming walls, the bracket having aneck portion extending between portions of said walls and downwardly to its under end; the

latter being anchored to a track member.

13. In metal flangeway and track rail guard construction, a lengthwise and cross sectionally, rolled and shaped guard, having an integral tongue extending upwardly and laterally extruded from the web and forming the wall of a socket for reception of a bracing member. 7 1 r 14. In metal flangeway and track rail guard construction, the combination of a pair of approximately parallel, lengthwise extending guards and a track rail, one guard being spaced apart from the inward side of a track rail and the other guard being spaced apart from the other side of the track rail, each guard having an upwardly extending web and the webs converging upwardly in the direction of the head of the track rail; and paving material between each side of the track rail and a thereto opposed guard web.

15. In metal flangeway and track rail guard construction, the combination of aligned guard sections the ends of which are to the other, a device constructed to inter- 16 lock with said socket walls.

16.'In metal flangeway and track rail guard construction, a guard member formed with an opening in combination with a rigid device having a portion extending in the 5.

direction of the length of said member and in contact therewith, and another portion through said opening and engaging a wall of said opening.

Signed at Lebanon in the county of Lebat anon and State of Pennsylvania this 31st day of May A. D. 1927.

PAUL EUGENE GERHARD.

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