. Scientific American Volume 87 Number 16 (October 1902) . vil engineer has had the advantage of a thor-ough and practical acquaintance with the constructionand operation of railways. His invention, which isherewith illustrated, consists of a steel plate of gen-eral triangular cross-section, having a prong or spikeprojection at each end and a boss or heel on the uppersurface for engaging the rail flange to prevent spread-ing. These rail-bearing plates are driven into the tiesdiagonally to the direction of the track, so as to com-bine as large a bearing surface as possible for therail with the
. Scientific American Volume 87 Number 16 (October 1902) . vil engineer has had the advantage of a thor-ough and practical acquaintance with the constructionand operation of railways. His invention, which isherewith illustrated, consists of a steel plate of gen-eral triangular cross-section, having a prong or spikeprojection at each end and a boss or heel on the uppersurface for engaging the rail flange to prevent spread-ing. These rail-bearing plates are driven into the tiesdiagonally to the direction of the track, so as to com-bine as large a bearing surface as possible for therail with the most economical use of metal. At thesame time this diagonal disposition across the grain ofthe tie prevents displacement due to splitting of thewood; and the V-shaped under surface of the tie platebeing embedded into the tie makes it noiseless andgives additional security against the spreading of therails. In practice it is found best to alternate thepositions of the tie-plate so that the heel or retaininglug abuts alternately against the inner and outer. IMPROVED RAIL-BEARING PLATE. edges of the rail flanges. One of the serious objec-tions to flat tie plates, now often employed, is theirtendency to buckle under the heavy loads they arerequired to sustain, thus offering practically no pro1tection to the ties, with the result that a large summust be expended annually to renew ties which havebeen badly crushed. In this device, however, nobuckling is possible, because of the heavy triangularcross-section of the bearing plate. These tie plates be-cause of their simple construction may be very eco-nomically manufactured, and the initial expense ofequipping a rbad with them is soon repaid by the in-creased life of the ties. The new balloon for Mr. Santos-Dumont, the con-struction of which has been begun, will be 25 meterslong by 11 meters in diameter, and will carry two aero-nauts and eight passengers. Treatment of Roads with Gas Tar. While roads in the United States have beentreated
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectcoal, bookyear1902
