Railways: surface track – Portable track – Simulated roadbeds
Patent
1987-08-21
1989-04-04
Cherry, Johnny D.
Railways: surface track
Portable track
Simulated roadbeds
238 10E, 403331, 403381, A63H 1930
Patent
active
048178675
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a track system for model railways in which two rails are mounted by fastening means on crossties.
According to the "Normen europaeischer Modellbahnen" [European model railway standards] (NEM) the rails of model railways have a section height H between 2.0 and 5.0 mm, depending on the track gauge. In the case of the common track gauges between 12.0 and 22.5 mm corresponding to a section height of 2.0 to 2.5 mm, rail fasteners made according to the NEM standards are used. These track gauges and section dimensions are adapted to the dimensions of the flanges of the wheels. In the case of a track gauge of 16.5 mm the wheel flange height according to NEM 311/1 is D=1.0-1.4 mm.
The section heights according to the NEM are disproportionally large. This is noticeable even in the case of the HO gauge tracks most widely used, and is greatly disliked by the impassioned model railroader as a plainly visible departure from the natural situation.
On the other hand, according to the American NMRA standard, there are tracks of the same gauge with average section heights of 1.8 mm matched to the original. These American track products, however, are not usable in conjunction with the European railway car designs in spite of being for the same track gauge, since the oversize wheel flanges have too little ground clearance and would strike against the upwardly projecting track fasteners of the rail systems constructed according to the American standard. In striving for true scale-model replication of the original railroad, the European railway car models are therefore provided with different sets of wheels in order to adapt them to the American standard rail section. In particular, the excessively high flanges of all wheels have been turned down at considerable cost of money and effort.
Accordingly, the invention is addressed to the problem of creating a track system for model railways which will permit the rail height to be reduced to the proportions corresponding to the original while providing sufficient ground clearance for wheels provided with European flanges.
The solution of this problem is, according to the invention, to form in the bottom of each rail flange a groove of substantially dovetail-shaped cross section running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rail, and to form on the top side of each crosstie a projection associated with [each of] the two rails, which has a cross-sectional profile fitting into the groove in an interlocking or friction-fitting manner.
This configuration of the track system according to the invention provides for the rails to be fastened onto the crossties without the rail fasteners that laterally hold and overlap the rail flanges and limit the ground clearance of the wheel flanges. Low replicas of rail fasteners or rail clamps without any actual holding function can, if desied, be mounted by clamping or snap-fastening or cementing onto the crossties. Therefore the rail corresponding in size to the original will be clear on both sides all the way down to the rail flange, so that wheels even with comparatively oversize flanges can run on the rails in an interference-free manner. The two rails can be fastened onto the corresponding crossties even at the factory; on the other hand, however, retrofitting of the two rails onto the crossties or onto appropriate strips of crossties is easily possible, so that the model railroader can custom-design his track system.
A preferred further development of the invention is characterized in that the groove in each rail is widened at least on one side at intervals according to the tie spacing to form a socket, and the projection on the tie is in the form of a button which can snap into the socket. This further development mainly facilitates the assembly of the track system on the part of the user, since the user can use rails and crossties to assemble either straight sections of track or curved sections of track with matching crosstie angles in any way he chooses.
The widening of the groove is preferably in the shape of a wed
REFERENCES:
patent: 820722 (1906-05-01), Lindsay
patent: 1363322 (1920-12-01), Kaczmarek et al.
patent: 2138340 (1938-11-01), Chemidlin
patent: 2631784 (1953-03-01), Anderson
patent: 2801895 (1957-08-01), Gass
patent: 4219153 (1980-08-01), Cheng
patent: 4403733 (1983-09-01), Bach et al.
Cherry Johnny D.
Kramer Dean J.
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