Spikeless tie plate fasteners, pre-plated railroad ties and related assemblies and methods
View Patent ↗Railroad tie plates secured collectively by spikeless fasteners to a tie with railroad spikes securing the rails to the ties and related methodology are disclosed wherein two-part fasteners are used in respect to sets of aligned tie and tie plate apertures such that the two fastener parts are joined together against inadvertent separation within each tie aperture at a connection or union site, which includes but is not limited to force fit unions and threaded unions, and spikes are driven into the ties through other tie plate apertures. Discarded ties rehabilitated as composite railroad ties are also disclosed.
1. A composite reclaimed railroad tie, having a length in a longitudinal direction, comprising:
at least two tie components and at least one interlocking connection comprising a male part and a female part;
the first wooden tie component comprising a used, discarded wooden railroad tie with at least one damaged portion thereof removed to create one of the two interlocking parts extending in a longitudinal direction;
the second wooden tie component dimensionally replicating the removed damaged portion and further comprising the second interlocking part extending in a longitudinal direction and snugly fully united with and matching the one part of the first tie component;
the interlocking connection being defined by three pairs of adjacent surfaces, two of the pairs surfaces being oppositely sloped to prevent separation of the tie components at the connection.
2. A reclaimed railroad tie according to claim 1 , wherein each surface of the three pairs of surfaces is planar and each sloped pair comprises two essentially parallel planar surfaces.
3. A method of making a railroad tie having a longitudinal length formed from at least two tie components, at least one of which comprising a previously used and discarded wooden railroad tie comprising:
providing at least two wooden railroad tie components, at least one of which comprises a previously used discarded wooden railroad tie reduced in size by removing at least one defective portion;
fashioning at least one longitudinally-directed dovetail-shaped female connector slot in one tie component;
fashioning at least one longitudinally-directed dovetail-shaped male connector in the other tie component sized and located to snugly interfit into the female connector slot;
relatively displacing in a longitudinal direction the male dovetail-shaped male connector and the female dove-shaped connector fully into essentially contiguous relation.
4. A railroad tie having a longitudinal length formed from at least first and second tie components, at least one of which comprises a previously used and discarded wooden railroad tie comprising:
at least first and second wooden railroad tie components, at least one of which comprises a previously used discarded wooden railroad tie reduced in size by removing defective portions;
a longitudinally-directed dovetail-shaped female connector slot, formed in one tie component;
a longitudinally directed dovetail-shaped male connector integrally formed on the other tie component sized and located to snugly interfit into the female connector slot, the two dovetail-shaped
connectors being fully relatively displaced in a longitudinal direction into essentially contiguous relation.
5. A railroad tie having a longitudinal length formed from at least two tie components one of which comprises a previously used and discarded wooden railroad tie comprising:
at least two integrated wooden railroad tie components, at least one of which comprises a previously used discarded wooden railroad tie reduced in size by removing cracked and otherwise defective portions;
the two wooden railroad tie components being connected together by at least one interlocking connection comprising mating and interlocking male and female connector parts.