US2161276A - Toy elevated or trestle railroad - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1939. J, BONNETT TOY ELEVATED OR TRESTLE RAILROAD Filed June 1o, 1957 TOR lNvEN n -onneH' ATTORNEYS 63 Z4 Joh level railroad. with a more particularized object of the invention 5 ,25 vent separation of said sections, aswell as to pre- Fig' 2 is a Section taken in elevation in the L'25 40 the bottom track is preferably interlocked with the System is Continued to any desired extent and 4U Patented June 6, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics TOY ELEVATED OR TRESTLE RAILROAD John Bonnett, Girard, Pa., assigner to Louis Marx & Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 10, 1937, Serial No. 147,440

19 Claims. (Cl. 23S-10) This invention relates to toy railroads, and more A further object of the invention is to provide particularly to a toy elevated or trestle railroad, an elevated station for the elevated track with an especially such a railroad adapted to be used in appropriate stairway extending from the floor combination with an ordinary ground or floorlevel to the elevated platform. In accordance The primary object of the invention is to genthe platform is preferably formed of a single erally improve toy railroads. A more particular piece of sheet metal, and is provided with means object resides in the provision of an elevated or for detachably attaching the same to any of the trestle railroad, and more especially, a trestle or trestles so that the station may be located at any support unit adapted to receive and support ordidesired point along the track, and at either or both n, nary toy railroad track sections. A further obsides of the track. The simulated stairway is jectfof .the invention is to provide the trestle or provided with interlocking parts detachably consupport with appropriate holding means for locknecting the Same 'GO the StfOIl platf'm ing the track sections to the trestle. More specif- To the accomplishment of the foregoing and ically, I provide the trestle with a first set of such other objects as will hereinafter appear, myflf, holding means which may, for convenience, be invention consists in the trestle and elevated platcalled .clips, and which receive and hold the form elements and their relation one to the other track sections against sideward or lateral moveand 'G0 the tOy track SQCOHS, 3S hereinafter are ment on the trestle. I further provide the trestle more particularly described in the specicaton 20 with a second set of holding means or interlocking and SOllght t0 be dened in the Claims- The SPEC- 20 members which may, for convenience, be called fcaton iS ELCCOmpaned by a drawing, in which: hooks, said hooks preferably being so disposed Fig. 1` is a perspective view of a portion of a twoand dimensione@ as to engage and hold the adjalevel track system with an elevated station emcent end ties of two track sections in order to prebodyng features 0r the present invention? vent longitudinal movement of the sections relaplatre 0f the une 2-2 0f Fgl;

v tive to the trestle. An ancillary object is to so Flg- 3 1S a fragmentary SeCtOI1 thlOugh the top design the aforesaid holding means as not to com of the trestle taken in the plane of the line 3-3 of tact or short-circuit the insulated third ran of the Fig- 2 an? track Sections' Flg. 4 1s a fragmentary section showing the 30 Stm another Object is to make it possible to attachment of the stairway to the platform, this readily combine the elevated railroad with an Sectton bemg taken in the Plane 0f the lille 4-5 ordinary or oor-level railroad disposed subja- 0fF1g21 v cent the elevated railroad. In this way two levels ,Referrmg to the drawing trl@ elevated 0r treste of track may be provided with trains running on mur/ay ,Ompnses a plurality 0f Conventional 35 each of the tracks, thus heightening the interest track Sectlons l2 't tn d t6 Connected end t0 end of the toy railroad system and making it possible and supported Orl 9 Series of elevated Supports 0r to race one train against another. In accordance trestls |8- Whue, only, a fragment 0f the rallwith further features andobjects of the invention, road 1s Shown m F1g l 1t Win be understood that the trestles like the top track, and to this end each preferably. employs Curved as Wen as Straight trestle O1. Support is preferably provided with a track sections 1n order to form a sultable closed bottom piece extending across the trestle on the system so that trains may be Operated thereqn door, said'bottom piece being provided with clips gmtnuly' kIt vtu asqbehundetsttod Zitat tm and hooks for appropriately anchoring the bottom Lg' l e me Sec lon 15S Own m l s en 1re y 45 track in position. The bottom piece is preferably Whereas only the end portlons of the track Sec* tions I2 and I6 are shown. It will be observed lnterlocked w1th the trestle wlthout the use of rivets, screws, solder or like fastening means, the that the trestles I8 are dlsposed at the pomt of f b connection of track sections, and this is desirable par@ Slmply cmg. Sprung together and bemg not only to support the track sections at their readily detachable, 1t bemg unnecessary to use the Weakest point, but also to interlock and hold the v bottom piece when n0 bottom track is employed. same together, as wil be subsequently described. In this Way the Standadzed DTGStle may be'llSed Each of the supports or trestles I8 is preferably for either a single track or double track railroad formed of a single piece of heavy gauge sheet system. metal. A strip of metal is used and is bent to 55 inverted U-shape, thus forming a top 20 and side forated at 25 to facilitate permanently mounting the trestles as by the use of screws, nails or the like. The feet 24 are, however, preferably made sufficiently extensive in area to make it unnecessary to use attaching means where it is preferred not to do so. To this end and also to improve the appearance of the trestles, the legs 22 are tapered, being substantially wider at the feet 24 than at the top.

In order to stiffen and rigidify the rtrestle structure, the side edges of the, top 20 and legs v22 are preferably bent inwardly vto form the stiffening flange 28. Relatively large openings 35 may be punched out of the legs 22 of the trestles in order to more closely simulate the appearance yof real structural steel members.

The track sections are preferably locked in position on each trestle, and to this end the tres- .t-le is provided vwith means to Vprevent lateral and longitudinal movement of the track. Locating lugs' 132 which may for convenience be called clips are struck upwardly from top 2G and are so spaced as to just receive the track sections therebeween with a Ysnap fit, as will be evident from inspection of Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. It will be noted that the clips 32 are reversely bent somewhat and this shape taken together with the vnatural resilience of the metal, makes it possible to spring the track sections into position on top of the trestle.

To prevent longitudinal movement of the track sections and also to lock the successive sections together, the trestle is provided with means `34 best vshown in Fig. 3, for engaging the inner edges `36 of the end ties 38 of track sections l2 and I4. The members 34 may for convenience be .called hooks. It is important to note that these hooks are depressed to a level substantially lower than that of the Vtrack rails in order to come beneath the ties 38. This result is preferably attained by depressing the center portion 4i) of the trestle top 2.8, as is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for if this is done there is adequate protection against accidental contact between the center or third rail ofthe track section and the trestle. The substantial clearance therebetween is indicated by the space 42 in Fig. 2. It should also be noted that the engagement of hooks 34 with ties 88 is such as to prevent grounding of the third rail, the ties being, of course, insulated from the third rail and the hooks being protectively received within the ties.

Each trestle may, if desired, be provided with a bottom piece or cross member 44. These are struck from heavy gauge sheet metal and are provided with upwardly struck clips 46 and depressed hooks 48 much like those used on the top 2li of the trestle. The construction will be clear from inspection of Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. It

should be noted that while the main end portions 5D of the cross member rest directly on the floor and are intended so to do, the center portion 52 is elevated somewhat from the floor, specifically by an amount equal to the height of the ties 54 of the track sections 55 and 58 forming the lower level of the railroad. The track sections for the upper and lower level are, of course, identical in l construction and dimension and are interchangeable. In Fig. 1 only a fragment of each of the two sections is shown, the section 58 being cut away in order to expose the clips 46 and hooks 48 on bottom piece 44.

The elevation of the center portion 52 makes it possible to depress the same at 68 so as to provide a substantial clearance between it and the third rail of the track. Moreover, this helps depress the hooks 48 to a level such as to t beneath the ties 54.

The bottom pieces 50 are detachably connected to the trestles I8. Specifically, the ends of the bottom pieces are shouldered and provided with projecting tongues 52. These tongues are dis .placed upwardly somewhat in order to come just above the feet 24, as is best shown in Fig. 2. The legs 22 are slotted at their lower ends to receive the tongues 62, and the parts may be assembled by simply inserting one tongue 62 in its mating slot and .then springing the legs 22 apart until the opposing leg slips over the adjacent tongue 62. The legs spring together until they bear against the .shoulders at the inner ends of the tongues.

The elevated railroad may be provided with a simulated station or platform '64, and a stairway lf3.6 may be used to extend from the floor to the platform 64. The platform is preferably formed of .a single piece of heavy gauge sheet metal, the end edges being bent upwardly to form simulated rails S8. The outer edge is bent upwardly to simulate rails 18, there being a space therebetween at which the stairway 66 is tted.

The stairway 56 is also preferably formed of 1a single piece of heavy gauge sheet metal, it being z flanged at its side edges to form simulated rails l2 and the bottom being incised to form a series of individual steps '14, each of which is twisted to bring the same to horizontal position. In order to facilitate this twisting of the steps they vare preferably reduced at their ends to relatively small necks or connections l. At its bottom end the stairway is provided with a relatively enlarged foot or -base 18 which rests flat on the oor. The stairway and platform are preferably detachably connected together lby appropriate interlocking means. In the present case the upper ends of the side anges or rails 12 are Iprolonged and reversely bent to form shoulders and tongues 82. Tongues 82 are received in mating slots at the inner edges of rails 10, as is best shown in Figs. l. .and 4. Inasm-uch as the parts are made to t together snugly, it preferably being necessary to spring the stairway rails 'l2 slightly together in order to fit the same between the platform rails 10, the parts are securely anchored together when assembled, as indicated.

The platform 64 may, if desired, be permanently secured to a special platform supporting trestle. However, in accordance with the present invention, the platform is preferably detachably connected to the trestle, and the trestles are made uniform so that the platform maybe connected to any one of the trestles. Moreover, the trestles are made symmetrical and the platform may therefore be placed at either side of the track and in fact, two platforms and associated stairways may be mounted on a single trestle, one on each side of the track, although only a single platform is shown in the drawing.

Specifically, in the present example of the invention, the edge of the platform nearest the track is provided with a projecting tongue 84 of substantial dimension, this tongue being shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The tongue has a width such as to be received in the opening 86 which is cated as to be received in an opening 90 provided at each end oi the trestle; The unused openings 90 are clearly shown in Fig. 1, While the manner in which the detent 88 is sprung into theused opening 90 is best shown in Fig. 2. Detent 88 holds tongue 84 securely in place and the latter prevents the outer portion of the platform from tipping downwardly. The detent 88 is preferably bent somewhat in order to obtain some camming or spring action when the partsfare put together. It will be manifest that with this construction the platform may be placed at either side of any trestle, and the station may accordingly be conveniently located at any desired point along the track after the'track has been set up.

It is believed that the construction and operation and mode of assembly and use, as well as the vmany advantages of my improved railroad toy, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. The upper railroad may be used alone or together with the lower railroad, in

which case the bottom pieces 59 are preferably kil added to the trestles IB. The elevated platform and stairwayare detachably connected together and vare detachably connected at any desired point along the railroad on any of the standardized trestles. While I have shown a relatively short platform adapted to be mounted on a single trestle, it will be understood that the platform may, if desired, be elongated in a direction parallel to the track and provided with two sets of mounting means just like thatrdisclosed, thus adapting the same to be mounted on two trestles.

Itwill be apparent that while I have shown and. described my invention in the preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosedy without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the follow ing claims.

I claim: f

1. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal iianged at its ledges to give the saine a rigid kchannel-shaped section, said strip being bent to form an inverted U, the top of said tre.,- tle being provided. with means to receive yand locate the rails of a toy track section, the legs of said trestle diverging to increased spacing at the bottom and each leg increasing in width toward the bottom, the lower ends being turned to form flat feet of substantial area, and said feet being perforatedrto receive attaching means.

2. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal bent to form an inverted U, the top of said trestle being depressed at the middle to clear a third rail and saiddepressed middle portion being provided with a pair of outwardly rprojecting hook'members so disposed as to engage and hold the adjacent endties of two track sections in order to prevent separation of said sections, the ends of the wheel-bearing rails of said sections resting directly on the top of the trestle.

3. A trestle or support'for elevated toy railroad trackage, the top of said trestle being provided with a pair of upwardly struck clips dimensioned to detachably receive the rails of a toy track section therebetween, said top being depressed at the middle to clear a third rail vand said depressed middle portion also being provided with a pair of outwardly projecting hook members so disposed as to engage and hold the adjacent end ties of two track sections in order to prevent separation of said sections.

4. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a single strip of sheet metal flanged at its edges to give the same a channel-shaped section, said strip being bent to form an inverted U, the top of said trestle being provided with a pair of upwardly struck clips dimensioned to receive the rails of a toy track section therebetween, said top also being provided with a pair of outwardly projecting hook members so disposed as to engage and hold the adjacent end ties of two track sections in orderl to prevent separation of said sections, said clips and hooks being formed integrally with said trestle.

5. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal bent to form an inverted U, and a bottom piece, the ends of said bottom piece being shouldered and provided with projecting tongues received in mating slots near the bottom of the support or trestle, the legs of said support being resiliently yieldable to permit the same to be momentarily spread apart and sprung over the tongues, the parts being thus held in assembled relation.

6. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal bent to form an inverted U, the top of said trestle being provided with means to receive the toy track section, and a bottom piece provided with means like the top to receive a track section, the ends of said bottom piece being shouldered and provided with projecting tongues received in mating slots near the bottom of the support or trestle, the legs of said support being resiliently yieldable to permit the same to be momentarily spread apart and sprung over the tongues.

'7. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal flanged at its edges to give the samev a channel-shaped section, said strip being bent to form an inverted U, the top of said trestle be'- ing provided with a pair of integrally formed upwardly struck clips dimensioned to detachably receive the rails of a toy track section therebetween, and a separate bottom piece provided with integral clips like the top of the trestle, the ends of said bottom piece and the bottom of said support being matingly interlocked.

8. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal flanged at its edges to give the same a channel-shaped section, said strip being bent to form an inverted U, the top of said trestle being provided with a pair of outwardly projecting hook members so disposed as to engage and hold the adjacent end ties of two track sections in order to prevent separation of said sections, anda separate bottom piece provided with hooks like vthe top of the trestle, the ends of said bottom piece and the bottom of said support being matingly interlocked.

9. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal flanged at its edges to give the same a channel-shaped section, said strip being bent to form an inverted U, the top of said trestle being provided with a pair of upwardly struck clips dimensioned to receive the rails of a toy track section therebetween, said top also being provided with a pair of outwardly projecting hook members so disposed as to engage and hold adjacent end ties of two track sections in order to prevent separation of said sections, and a bottom piece provided with clips and hooks like Cil the top of the trestle, the ends of said bottom piece being shouldered and provided with projecting tongues received in mating slots near the bottom of the support or trestle, the legs of said support being resiliently yieldable to permit the same to lbe sprung over the tongues.

10. A toy station for a toy elevated railroad system, said station comprising an elevated support adapted to receive and hold a toy track section, a platform mounted on said support at one side of the position assumed by the toy track section, and a simulated stairway extending from the floor level up to said elevated platform, said platform being formed of sheet metal and having lsome of its side walls flanged upwardly t0 simulate a railing around the platform, said stairway being formed yof sheet metal the side edges of which are flanged upwardly to simulate a railing and the center portion of which is shaped to simulate a series oi steps.

11. A toy station for a toy elevated railroad system, said station comprising an elevated support adapted to receive and hold a toy track section, a platform mounted on said support at one side of the position assumed by the toy track section, and a simulated stairway extending from the floor level up to said elevated platform, the stairway comprising a strip of sheet metal incised in a transverse direction within the edges of the strip, the pieces of metal between the incisions being twisted to form steps, the upper end of said stairway and a part of said platform being 'provided with mating interlocking means for detachably connecting the stairway to the platform.

12. A toy station for a toy elevated railroad system, said station comprising an elevated support adapted to receive and hold a toy track section, a platform mounted on said support at one side of the position assumed by the toy track section, and a simulated stairway extending from the floor level up to said elevated platform, rsaid platform having some of the side edges turned upwardly to simulate a railing around the platform, said stairway having side edges which are turned upwardly to simulate a railing and the center portion of which is incised and bent tov simulate a series of steps, the upper end of said stairway and a part of said platform being provided with mating interlocking means for detachably connecting the stairway to the platform.

1'3. A toy station for a toy elevated railroad system, said station comprising an elevated support comprising a strip of sheet metal flanged at its edges to give the same a rigid channel section, said strip being bent to form an inverted U, the top of said support being provided with integrally formed clips adapted to receive and hold a toy track section, a platform mounted on said supp-ort at one side of the position assumed by the toy track section, and mating means on said support and on said platform to detachably mount the platform on the support.

14. A toy elevated railroad system comprising a plurality of trestles or elevated track supports,

track sections mounted on said track supports and supported thereby, a simulated station platform, and means to detachably interlock the platform with any desired one of the trestles.

15. A toy elevated railroad system comprising a plurality of trestles or elevated track supports,

track sections mounted on'said track supports and supported thereby, a simulated station platform, means to detachably interlock the platform with any desired one of the trestles, and a stairway leading from the oor level to the platform, and means to detachably connect the stairway to the platform.

116` A toy elevated railroad system comprising a plurality of trestles or elevated track supports, track sections mounted on said track supports and supported thereby, 'a simulated station platform, and means on said platform adapted to be detachably received in mating means on any of the trestles in order to detachably .interlock the platform with any desired one of the trestles, and a stairway leading from the floor level to the platform.

1'7. A two-level toy railroad system comprising, in combination, a plurality of trestles or supports each comprising an inverted U-shaped piece of sheet metal, a cross-bar at the bottom of the same, the top bar and the bottom bar each being provided with integrally formed upwardly struck clips, the clips detachably receiving therebetween the rails of toy track sections, a first line of track sections supported on the trestles, and a second line of track sections therebeneath and supported on lthe cross-bars, the top and bottom bars each being depressed at the center to avoid contact with a central third rail of the track sections.

18. A two-level toy railroad system comprising, in combination, a plurality of trestles or supports each comprising an inverted U,shaped piece of sheet metal, a cross-bar at the bottom of the same, the top bar and the bottom bar each being provided with integrally vformed'upwardly struck clips and integrally formed outwardly projecting hooks, the clips extending` transversely of the bars and detachably receiving therebetween the longitudinal rails of toy track sections and the hooks projecting transversely of the bars and being so disposed as to engage the adjacent end ties of the toy track sections in order to prevent the same from coming apart in longitudinal direction, a first line of track sections supported on the trestles, and a second line of track sections therebeneath and supported on the cross-bars, the rails of said track sections resting on said bars, with the ties disposed on opposite sides of the bars,

19. A trestle or support for elevated toy railroad trackage, said trestle comprising a strip of sheet metal flanged at its edges to give the same a rigid channel-shaped section and bent to form an inverted U, the top of said trestle being arranged to extend transversely of the track rails and to directly support the same, and being provided with a pair of clips extending transversely of the trestle, said clips being formed integrally with and struck upwardly from the top of the trestle and said clips being so shaped and dimensioned as to detachably receive the longitudinal rails of a toy track section therebetween with a frictional or snap-in engagement, while said rails rest on the top of the trestle with the ties of the track section disposed at opposite sides of the top of the trestle.

JOHN BONNETT.

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