ROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR SECURING RAILS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS
Year: 1885

page_text: I JAMES HENRY LYNDE, of 17 Cooper Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR SECURING RAILS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS" which
Invention has been communicated to me from abroad by Francis Gascoigne Lynde,
of Ahmedabad, India, Civil Engineer, to be as follows
--
This invention relates to improvements in the means for securing rails in their
chairs and consists principally in substituting an improved metal device for the
ordinary wooden or metal key the objects of the Invention being to secure the rail
more firmly in position and to provide a fastening that will be more effectual, less
liable to work loose and more easily tightened.
The improved device consists of a piece of steel, malleable iron, or other metal,
curved or bow shaped which is placed between the rail and one of the jaws of the
chair; a bolt is passed through a hole or slot in each end of this piece of metal so
that by screwing up the nut on the bolt the ends of the piece of metal which bear
against the jaw of the chair are drawn nearer to each other thereby increasing the
bow or curve in the piece of metal and causing it to grip or hold the rail securely,
The grip on the rail may be increased or diminished at will by tightening or
loosening the nut on the bolt.
In some cases it may be desirable to make the ends of the piece of metal thicker
than the bowed portion, and the ends may be bent inwardly if desired.
1007

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Means for Securing Rails in Railway
Chairs.
I JAMES HENRY LYNDE, of 17 Cooper Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR SECURING RAILS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS which
Invention has been communicated to me from abroad by Francis Gascoigne Lynde,
of Ahmedabad, India, Civil Engineer, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in the means for securing rails in their
chairs, and consists principally in substituting an improved metal device for the
ordinary wooden or metal key, the object of the Invention being to secure the rail
more firmly in position and to provide a fastening that will be more effectual, less
liable to work loose, and more easily tightened.
The improved device consists of a piece of steel, malleable iron, or other metal,
curved or bow shaped which is placed between the rail and one of the jaws of the
chair; a bolt is passed through a hole or slot in each end of this piece of metal so
that by screwing up the nut on the bolt the ends of the piece of metal, which bear
against the jaw of the chair, are drawn nearer to each other thereby increasing the
bow or curve in the piece of metal and causing it to grip or hold the rail securely.
The grip on the rail may be increased or diminished at will by tightening or
loosening the nut on the bolt.
In some cases it may be desirable to make the ends of the piece of metal thicker
than the bowed portion, and the ends may be bent inwardly if desired.
And in order that this Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference being
had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
L
Similar letters denote similar parts throughout the several views.
In Fig. 1. a represents a transverse section of an ordinary railway chair; b a
transverse section of the rail; c a sectional elevation elevation of the metal device
hereinafter referred to as the "spring key" and d a section of the bolt.
Fig. 2 represents a sectional plan of the same. It will be seen that in this case
the spring key is bent into a flattened bow shape the ends of which bear against
one jaw of the chair and the flattened portion of the bow bears against the web of
the rail. The bolt which is square necked fits into notches made in the ends of
the spring key which is made somewhat wider than the jaw of the chair. When
the nut of the bolt is tightened the ends of the spring key are drawn nearer to
each other and the bow or curve of the spring key is consequently increased
thereby tightening the grip on the rail and thus holding it firmly in its place. The
projecting head and nut of the bolt completely prevent the release of the bolt and
spring key.

page_text: . If a decrease of temperature takes place the bolt contracts and compensates for
the contraction of the spring key, thus the grip on the rail is constantly maintained
notwithstanding any variation of temperature.
A lock nut may be used if thought desirable.
Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the chair a, section of rail b, and elevation
of spring key c and end view of bolt and nut d.
Fig. 4 represents a sectional plan of an ordinary railway chair and rail fitted
with another form of spring key. In this case the ends of the spring key are bent
inward towards each other the whole being in shape part of an ellipse.
Fig. 5 represents a special form of chair provided with a V shaped notch in one
of the jaws to allow of the shaft of the bolt being partially sunk into the face of
the jaw. In this case the notches in the ends of the spring key are also V shaped.
Fig. 6 represents a sectional plan of Fig. 5.
Fig. 7 represents a section of a special chair similar to that shown in Fig. 5 but
provided with a spring key similar to that shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 8 represents a sectional plan of Fig. 7.
Figs. 9 and 10 represent a special form of chair provided with a square notch in
one of the jaws of the chair. In this case the spring key is similar to that
described with reference to Fig. 1 but the notches in the ends of the key are not
required to be as deep as in Fig. 1.
Figs. 11 and 12 represent a chair and rail similar to that illustrated by Figs. 9
and 10 fitted with a spring key similar to that shown in Fig. 4 but the notches are
not required to be as deep as in Fig. 4.
Figs. 13 and 14 represent a special chair with one of the jaws formed with a
curved face in which a square or V shaped notch is sunk for carrying the shaft of
the bolt. In this case the spring key is specially formed at the ends which are
underbent at an angle. This form of spring key (when the nut on the bolt is
tightened) has two actions. The grip on the rail is produced in the first place by
increasing the bow of the spring key and in the second place by forcing the under
bent ends of the spring key along the inclined planes e e and thus forcing the ends
of the spring key laterally nearer the web of the rail.
Figs. 15 and 16 represent a chair and rail similar to those used in India and
elsewhere. In this case the spring key is made almost D shaped.
Fig. 17 represents a transverse section of a wrought iron or steel chair a and a¹
supporting a rail b which is held in place by a spring key similar to that shown in
Fig. 8. In this case it is supposed that a steel sleeper is used for the support of
the chair, and a packing piece f of steel, wrought iron, or other material is inserted
between the sleeper and the bottom flange of the rail.
Fig. 18 represents a similar form of chair and spring key to that described with
reference to Fig. 17 used for the support of a flat bottomed rail.
Fig. 19 represents a similar form of chair and spring key used for a flat bottomed
rail with a packing piece f inserted between the sleeper and the bottom flange of
the rail.
Fig. 20 represents a sectional plan of Figs. 18 and 19.
Figs. 21 and 24 represent enlarged perspective views of two forms of spring key
with notches for the reception of the bolts.
Fig. 22 represents a perspective view of an ordinary chair and rail fitted with a
spring key and bolt complete.
Fig. 23 represents an enlarged perspective view of a spring key fitted with a
bolt ready for use.
1
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. A combination of a curved or bow shaped piece of metal herein before
described as a spring key and a bolt and nut (or their equivalents) 'so constructed

page_text: and arranged that they may be inserted in the space between the rail and one
of the jaws of a railway chair and that by tightening the nut on the bolt the
curve or bow of the piece of metal is increased and thus the grip on the rail is
tightened.
2.-The combination of a double means of tightening the grip on the rail, first
by increasing the curve or bow of the spring key, and secondly by forcing its ends
inward and along inclined planes so as to bring the points of bearing of the ends
of the spring key laterally nearer to the web of the rail, substantially as and for
the purposes berein described and as illustrated by Figs. 13 and 14.