Railway spike and an assembly on a railway track incorporating the spike

An assembly on a railway track including a railway sleeper, a baseplate comprising an underneath face lying on the sleeper, a flange-footed railway rail standing on the baseplate and a spike driven through the baseplate and into the sleeper, the spike comprising a bar which has been shaped to provide first and second legs, one end of one leg, being joined by a part of the bar to one end of the other leg, the other ends of the legs being near each other and forming the nose of the spike, which is in the sleeper, the spike comprising the following portions in succession, proceeding upwardly from the nose, a first portion in which the two legs are substantially straight, substantially vertical, substantially parallel to each other and very close together, then a second portion in which the legs diverge, then a third portion in which the legs converge, then a fourth portion in which the legs diverge again and finally a fifth portion which includes the uppermost part of the spike, the fourth and fifth portions forming the spike-head, the spike further being such that when it is so viewed that the first leg is on the left and the second leg on the right, no part of the spike above the third portion of the spike is further to the left that is the leftmost part of the first leg in the second and third portions of the spike and no part of the first leg above the third portion extends to the left as it proceeds away from the nose of the spike, the first leg of the spike being very close to one edge of the rail flange and the second leg of the spike being further from the rail flange and no part of the spike being vertically above any part of the rail flange.

An assembly on a railway track including a railway sleeper, a baseplate comprising an underneath face lying on the sleeper, a flange-footed railway rail standing on the baseplate and a spike driven through the baseplate and into the sleeper, the spike comprising a bar which has been shaped to provide first and second legs, one end of one leg being joined by a part of the bar to one end of the other leg, the other ends of the legs being near each other and forming the nose of the spike, which is in the sleeper, the spike comprising the following portions in succession proceding upwardly from the nose, a first portion in which the two legs are substantially straight, substantially vertical, substantially parallel to each other and very close together, then a second portion in which the legs diverge, then a third portion in which the legs converge, then a fourth portion in which the legs diverge again and finally a fifth portion which includes the uppermost part of the spike, the fourth and fifth portions forming the spike-head, the spike further being such that when it is so viewed that the first leg is on the left and the second leg on the right, no part of the spike above the third portion of the spike is further to the left than is the leftmost part of the first leg in the second and third portions of the spike and no part of the first leg above the third portion extends to the left as it proceeds away from the nose of the spike, the second leg of the spike being very close to one edge of the rail flange and the first leg of the spike being further from the rail flange and the spike-head overlying the rail flange.