Reinforced molded lignocellulosic crosstie and railway assembly

摘要

A reinforced railroad crosstie formed by molding and bonding comminuted lignocellulosic material into a monolithic beam around a plurality of reinforcing rods, each of which has a plurality of spaced protrusions fixedly attached along its length at specific positions relative to the midpoint of the tie and the rails mounted thereon. The reinforcing rods are positioned within the crosstie proximate lines of maximum tensile stresses expected to be induced into the tie by different bending influences caused by passing trains and varying conditions of the underlying ballast. The protrusions are configured and spaced in pairs on either side of respective points of maximum expected stress to ensure maximum transfer of each stress from the lignocellulosic material to the rods. The rods are also positioned within the crosstie so as to avoid contact with the spikes employed to fasten the rail to the tie.