IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS, AND THE CARRIAGES AND ENGINES USED THEREON
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hugh Greaves, Civil Engineer, 22, Abingdon
Street, Westminster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS, AND THE
CARRIAGES AND ENGINES USED THEREON,"
Sealed the 21st January 1870, and dated the 24th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hugh Greaves at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th July 1869.
I, HUGH GREAVES, Civil Engineer, 22, Abingdon Street, West-
minster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS,
AND THE CARRIAGES AND ENGINES USED THEREON," to be as follows:-
Firstly. In constructing iron sleepers for tramways of such a form
that there shall be sufficient depth between the surface of the roadway
and the top of the sleeper so that the said sleepers shall not be liable
Price 8d.]

page_text: to be injured by the passing traffic or by the paving stones laid over
them, and to effect this a hollow or other chair is cast on the sleeper or
bearing plate of such a depth as will allow the paving stones to be laid
close up to the rail without coming in contact with the said bearing plate
or sleeper.
Secondly. In a form of iron sleeper the upper surface of which shall
form part of the travelling surface of the road, and which shall have pro-
jections cast on it to give foothold to horses travelling on the same.
Thirdly. In a longitudinal wood sleeper road on which chairs for
carrying the rail rests, and through which the tie bar for preserving the
the gauge and securing the angle of rail passes. To give additional bearing
surface iron bearing sleepers of any form may be employed in conjunction
with longitudinal wood sleepers.
Fourthly. In a rail formed in two parts and rivetted, bolted, or
.otherwise secured firmly together, which when so fastened together forms
what is known as a grooved rail. These rails may be made of malliable
iron, or the travelling rail may be made of steel and the other part of iron.
These two half rails, forming the compound rail, may either be level with
one another at their ends or they may be made to break joint or overlap
one another, and at such junctions may be bolted or rivetted together or
connected by a fish plate. Likewise in various forms of tram rails, and
tram rail and bearing surface combined.
Fifthly. In a rail for railway purposes, such rail having a flange on the
upper or travelling surface to guide the wheels, and to bring into work
that
part of.the tyre of the wheel that now projects over the rail and has
to be turned off when the wheel is worn.
Sixthly. In a carriage or car having two distinct bodies on two pairs of
wheels, which two bodies are connected by a framework underneath on
which each body rests. The horse or horses in the first car actuating the
body to which they are attached, which communicates its motion to the
other body, throwing the axles and wheels into a radial position for more
easily turning curves, reducing the width of the grooves in the roadway,
and decreasing the tractive power. Likewise in the car having three pairs
of wheels, the leading and trailing wheels having no flanges to the said
wheels. Also in a car having two or three pairs of wheels and so con-
structed that the two end pairs of wheels have a lateral motion and at the
same time shall be able to assume a radial position.

page_text: Seventhly. In an engine for ascending inclines, such engine carrying a
pulley or sheave on to which a rope of any description is wound by the
power of the engine. The said rope lays in a groove between the rail and
is picked up and guided by another sheave. In some cases I carry on the
engine all the rope I pick up, and in other cases I pay it out again. into
the groove, only employing as many turns round the main sheave as will
overcome the load. The wheels of the steam carriage are likewise actuated
by the steam engine, which gives motion to the main sheave, and are con-
nected by outside coupling rods.
Eightly. In keeping the leading axle of a carriage that is built with a
locking wheel, or has the power of assuming a radial position, parallel
with the other axle when it is desirable to do so.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Hugh Greaves in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HUGH
GREAVES, Civil Engineer, of 22, Abingdon Street, Westminster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Hugh Greaves, Her special licence that
I, the said Hugh Greaves, my executors, administrators, and assigns
or such others as I, the said Hugh Greaves, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS, AND THE
CARRIAGES AND ENGINES USED THEREON," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Hugh Greaves, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said

page_text: Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and inmediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Hugh Greaves, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My Invention consists in constructing iron sleepers for tramways of such
a form that there shall be sufficient depth between the surface of the road-
way and the top of the sleeper so that the said sleepers shall not be liable
to be injured by the passing traffic or by the paving stones laid over them,
and to effect this a hollow or other chair is cast on the sleeper or bearing
plate of such a depth as will allow the paving stones to be laid
close up to the rail without coming in contact with the said bearing plate
or sleeper.
My Invention also consists in a form of iron sleeper the upper surface of
which shall form part of the travelling surface of the road, and which shall
have projections cast on it to give foothold to the horses travelling on the
same.
My Invention also consists in a longitudinal wood sleeper road on which
chairs for carrying the rail rest, and through which the tie bar for preserv-
ing the guage and securing the angle of the rail passes. To give additional
bearing surface iron bearing sleepers of any form may be employed in con-
nection with longitudinal wood sleepers.
My Invention also consists in a rail formed in two parts and rivetted,
bolted, or otherwise secured firmly together, which when so fastened
together forms what is known as a grooved rail. These rails may be made
of malleable iron, or the travelling rail may be made of steel and the other
part of iron. These two half rails, forming the compound rail, may either
be level with one another at their ends or they may be made to break
joint or overlap one another, and at such junctions may be rivetted or
bolted togethar or connected by a fish plate.
Likewise my Invention consists in various forms of tram rail, and tram
rail and bearing surface combined.
My Invention also consists in a carriage or car having two distinct
bodies on two pairs of wheels, which two bodies are connected by a

page_text: illustrating the nature of my said Invention, and setting forth in what
manner the same is to be performed or put in practice.
Fig. 1 represents a tramway car on a sharp curve. A, A, are the rails,
the dotted lines B, B, B, B, represent the bodies of the cars; C, C, the
platform on which the driver stands; I), !), the wheels and axles; E
is a girder connecting the two bodies and with the ends secured to
two pins at a point at the bottom of the car or car body, that I call
the neutral axis, I do not however confine myself to this exact spot
but should wish it to be as near thereto as I may find in practice to
be convenient. It will be evident that the horses drawing the car will
pull the body, wheels, and axle to which they are attached round the
curve and through the pins a, a, and connecting link actuate the other
body, thus placing the wheels and axles in a position to go round the
curve with the minimum amount of friction, and rendering unnecessary
the widening of the grooves (where grooves are used) at that part of the
line. I sometimes attach the horses to the draw pin secured to the
body, at other times to the front of the platform, as shewn in the

page_text: Drawing, but this will depend on the nature of the curves to be passed,
and I sometimes employ a double girder c, c, with a cross bar e, e, but
this likewise will depend upon the nature of the curves.
In this case
of the double girder I attach curved friction plates to the bottom of the
car body.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of the end of the girder E, Fig. 1. a, a,
is a part of the girder; bis the pin or neutral axis, called F in Fig. 1,
c, c, are two steps sliding in the space between the two arms of the girder;
d, d, are two pieces of india-rubber or other description of spring, and they
are set up by the screw e bearing against a plate. The object of
these elastic mediums is to facilitate the starting and stopping of the
cars.
Fig. 3 represents a new form of axle guard. A is the sole of the car;
B the axle box, and C a steel plate of the width found most convenient.
This spring is firmly attached to the sole of the car, is made out of a ring
of steel plate, and forms both axle guard and spring.
Fig 4 shews a method of securing the parallelism of two axles when
it is necessary to run a straight course. A is the leading or locking
wheels and axle, and B the hind wheels; C is a rod, one end of which
swivels on a non-revolving axle, and on the other end a fork or what is
known to engineers as a gab end. When is is raised, as shewn in the
Drawing, the axle 1) can radiate, but when resting on the axle it keeps it
parallel with the other axle. There are two of these rods to each vehicle
of two axles, and it will be advisable to keep them as far apart, that is as
near the wheels, as may be convenient. The gab end is lifted by levers in
the way well understood by engineers, and is under the control of the
driver. It is prejerable that he should be able to actuate it with his foot.
The parallelism of the axles may however in some cases be attained by other
methods.
5
Fig. represents a section of an iron sleeper through the line A, B,
in Fig. 6, with a chair cast on it of such a depth that the paving
stones will not rest on it, nor if laid down in macadam will the passing
traffic injure it. The rail is formed in two halves and bolted or rivetted
together at certain intervals with filling pieces of cast metal through
which the revets or bolts pass. a is the sleeper; b, b, the rail; c, the
tie bar which is secured, as shewn; d, the paving stones. The rail is
held in the chair by the wedge e. Fig. 6 is a plan of Fig. 5 without
rail, showing the hole e through which the sleeper is packed or elevated

page_text: It will be necessary to
when it has become depressed by the traffic.
remove the rail for this purpose. I sometimes make this hole at the
side of the sleeper when it is not necessary to remove the rail, but in
all cases this packing hole when at the side is outside the rails. These
sleepers are shewn round, but they may be made elliptical, the longest
diameter always being parallel with the rail. These sleepers will be
placed at a distance of three or four feet apart as may be found
necessary.
Fig. 7 represents a longitudinal wood sleeper road, Fig. 8 a plan.
a is the sleeper; da chair on which the compound rail rests and is
secured to the sleeper by the bolt f which passes through. it and the
sleeper. The rail in this case is secured to the chair by a T-headed bolt
or bolts e passing through holes in the chair, as shewn at e, e, in Fig. 8.
The bolt which secures the chair to the sleeper secures the plate g. to
the sleeper. This plate is to give increased bearing surface to the outside
of the running rail h, great wear and tear having been found to take place
from the want of a central action. When the chair d requires to be
further tightened to the sleeper the rail is taken out and the nut flying
in a recess in the chair screwed home.
Fig. 9 shews the method of fishing or uniting the ends of two rails.
The fish plate instead of being outside the rail fits into the inside, projecting
through the opening at the foot of the rails to give it strength, cast iron
may be employed for this purpose; a, a, the rails; b, the fish plate; and
c, c, c, c, the bolts or rivets.
Fig. 10 represents section of a surface packed tramway sleeper through
the line A, B, Fig. 11. In this case the surface of the sleeper rail and
roadway are the same. a, a, is the box sleeper; b, b, the rail; c, the tie
bar; e, e, the holes through which the sleeper is packed; f, f, the inden-
tations in the surface to afford foothold for horses; g is an opening passing
through the sleeper, the metal surrounding the tie bar on all sides. It is
fastened and secured as shewn and described.
Fig. 12 represents a longitudinal wood sleeper road with transverse
tie wood sleepers. a, the longitudinal sleeper; b, the transverse tie
sleeper; and c, the rail. The improvement consists in adding a
transverse tie rod, as shewn at d, which tie rod lies in a groove on
the top of the longitudinal sleeper and lays hold of the rail, preventing
the track from spreading and taking the pressure off the spikes. Instead

page_text: of turning the tie bar up at the end, as shewn, the end of the tie bar may
be screwed and a nut and washer substituted.
Fig. 13 represents a form of rail and beating surface combined. The
top of this rail is flush with the roadway, and when one of the three
bearing surfaces is worn out one of the others is turned to the surface
until they are all worn out. These sleeper rails are made of cast metal,
and may be of any convenient length. With these rails it is intended to
use wheels without any flanges. They are secured to the opposite rail by
tie bars in any of the well known methods. a is the running rail; b, b,
the bearing surface; c, the surface of the roadway; d, d, the paving or
other road material. In some cases I serrate these rails or cast projections
on their edges to enable the tyres of vehicles to mount them more readily,
as shown in Fig. 14.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and
object of my said Invention, and in what manner the same may be
performed or carried out in practice, I hereby declare that I claim, the
Invention of improvements in the construction of the permanent way
of tramways, and the carriages and engines used thereon, as the same
is herein-before set forth and described by reference to the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Greaves, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of January, in the year of
cur Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
THOMAS MORGAN,
Clerk to the
Inventors' Patent Right Association, Limited,
Patentees' Agents,
21, Cockspur Street,
Charing Cross.
H. GREAVES. (L.S.)