IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS
Year: 1874

page_text: En the Matter of Letters Patent granted to JAMES LIVESEY,
of 9, Victoria Chambers, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF
RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS," bearing date at Westminster the
24th day of October 1874, No. 3667.
DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION as proposed to
be entered by the said James Livesey, pursuant to the Statutes in
that case made and provided.
WHEREAS Her Majesty Queen Victoria by Her Letters Patent under
the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-eighth year of Her

page_text: reign, did give and grant unto the said James Livesey, his executors,
administrators, and assigns, the sole privilege for the term of fourteen
years thence next ensuing of making, using, exercising, and vending
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS:
"
And whereas in pursuance of a proviso in the said Letters Patent
contained, the said James Livesey did, within six calendar months next,
after the date of the said Letters Patent, cause a Specification in writing
under his hand and seal purporting to describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed
to be duly filed at the Great Seal Patent Office :
And whereas since the filing of the said Specification I, the said
James Livesey, have discovered that parts of the said Invention as
therein described and claimed are not of the value which at the time
of my filing my said Specification I considered them to be, nor of
sufficient value to induce me to retain them as part of my said Inven-
tion; and farther that the claims to the parts which I desire to retain
are not so clear as I wish them to be; in consequence thereof I hereby
disclaim and alter parts of the said Specification and claiming clauses
in manner following, that is to say :-
Referring to the Queen's Printers' Copy of the said Specification in
page 4 I omit from line 15 to line 26 inclusive; in page 4, at line 27,
I insert the word "farther" between the words "Invention"
" and
"consists," and I omit the words "in the third place." In page 4, at
line 29, for the words "and with" I substitute the words "leaving if
desired." In page 4 I omit from line 32 to line 37 inclusive, and in
page 5 I omit from line 1 to line 9 inclusive; also in page 5 I omit
from line 27 to line 34 inclusive. In page 6 I omit from line 10 to
line 24 inclusive. In page 6, at line 26, after the words "I hereby
declare that" I omit the word "what' " and insert the following
words:-
"I make no general claim to the combination of wood and
"iron in constructing railway sleepers nor to the construction of
sleepers of buckled plates or of plates of iron or steel bent, stamped,
" or cast, to saddle or dish forms, but." In page 6 I omit line 27, and
in line 28 I omit the words "The adaptation and use of small pieces of
66

page_text: Woou 1or and instead thereof I insert the word "constructing,” also
in line 29 I omit the words "by holding them" and instead thereof I
insert the words "of pieces of wood held” and farther in line 31 after
the word "described" I add the words "in reference to Figs. 1 and 2."
In page 6 I omit from line 32 to line 34 inclusive. In page 7 I omit
from line 1 to line 5 inclusive, and in line 6 for the word "Fifthly" I
In page 7 line 9 after the word "ballast" at the end of that line I add the words substantially as herein described
"
A
substitute the words "Secondly, constructing railway." In page-7-at line
-8 I omit the words "and leaving openings in the,”-and-I-omit the whole-of
-line-9,-and-substitute the words "substantially as herein described in reference
to Figs. 6 and 7." In page 7 I omit from line 10 to line 22 inclusive,
and I desire all the Figures except Figs. 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the Drawings
annexed to the said Specification be considered as expunged, and the
said Specification when disclaimed, altered, and amended will read as
follows:-
==
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
LIVESEY, of 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said James Livesey, Her special
license that I, the said James Livesey, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Livesey, my executors,
administrators, 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 PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Livesey, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said 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 immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Livesey, do hereby declare
my
A
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in the Permanent Way of Railways
and Tramways" has for its object, in the first place, the formation of
sleepers for light or heavy traffic in such a manner as to economise the
timber employed for the purpose by using it in smaller pieces than
usual. For this purpose two or more pieces of timber cut to the required
length and thickness are retained between two channel irons of suitable
section in order to form a sleeper for each rail to rest on, all the channel
irons being connected together by means of a tie bar extending across
the line, and secured or clamped as required. by gibs and cottars or other
B
A
suitable fastenings. The said channel irons may be of simple form, or
may be rolled or cast with a strip or flange extending downwards so as in
section to nearly resemble the letter F. The rails can be secured as
required by means of spikes or bolts, or in chairs spiked or bolted
down.
My Invention further consists in making sleepers of iron or steel in a
circular or elliptical (dish) form out of rectangular plates, leaving if
desired a gap or opening at the sides for convenience of packing, but
without removing the corners of such plates, which are utilized for
giving increased bearing surface as well as economy in manufacture.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed
to describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be per-
formed by the aid of the accompanying Drawings, in which are
represented the several modes of forming sleepers and rails above
referred to.
Fig. 1 represents in section and plan the mode of forming sleepers by
means of pieces of wood A, A, retained between channel irons.B, B,

page_text: which are connected together by the tie bar C secured by gib and cottar,
as shewn. The channel irons B, B, in this case are formed with a strip
or flange B* extending downwards, as shewn, and the rail is secured by
bolts passing through the wooden sleeper, which if preferred may be
formed of smaller pieces than those shewn as indicated by dotted lines
in the plan view.

page_text: and leaving openings in the ends and sides for the greater convenience of packing in the ballast,
serve for increased bearing surface and economy in manufacture, . sub-
stantially as herein described in-reference to-Figs.-6-and-7.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Livesey, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Witness,
HENRY CARTER,
1, Culmore Road,
Balham, S.W.,
Civil Engineer.
JAMES LIVESEY. (L.S.)
In witness whereof, I, the said James Livesey, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.
I hereby grant my fiat, giving leave to the above-named James
Livesey, to file in the Great Seal Patent Office, with the Specification
to which the same relates, the above-written Amended Disclaimer and 2
Memorandum of Alteration. Dated this Sixth day of April, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Livesey, of 9, Victoria Chambers, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAM-
WAYS.
"
Sealed the 15th December 1874, and dated the 24th October 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Livesey at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th October 1874.
I, JAMES LIVESEY, of 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND
TRAMWAYS," to be as follows:-
【
:-
!
My Invention has for its object in the first place the formation of sleepers
for light or heavy traffic in such a manner as to economise the timber
employed therein by using it in smaller pieces than usual. For this
purpose two or more pieces of timber cut to the required length and

page_text: thickness are retained between two channel irons of suitable section in
order to form a sleeper for each rail to rest on, all the channel irons
being connected together by means of a tie bar extending across the
line, and secured or clamped as required by gibs and cottars, or other
suitable fastenings. The said channel irons may be of a simple
form, or may be rolled or cast with a strip or flange extending down-
wards, so as in section to nearly resemble the letter F. The rails can
be secured as required by means of spikes or bolts, or in chairs spiked or
bolted down.
My Invention relates, secondly, to sleepers of wrought iron or steel bent.
in the form of a saddle in combination with a tie bar passing through
them, as described in the Specifications of my two former Patents,
Nos. 2722 (1863), and 976 (1869), and consists in making such sleepers
out of corrugated plates, in order to give additional stiffness to the
sleepers. Also in rolling sleepers of iron or steel, such as those described
in the said Specifications, instead of bending them into a saddle or
channel form, such sleepers being used in combination with a tie bar.
In order to retain the ballast in some of my improved sleepers, and to
give additional strength, I either bend down the ends of the sleeper
or adapt and apply an angle or bent iron firmly secured underneath.
My Invention consists in the third place in making sleepers of iron
or steel in a dish form out of rectangular plates, but without removing
the corners of such plates, which are utilized for giving increased bearing
surface.
My Invention consists in the fourth place in the formation of a
channel iron section of rail having the sides spread slightly outwards, or
rolled thicker at the bottom, giving the form of a dovetail or of a
rounded foot, the object being to hold the rail to the sleeper by means of
clip pieces, thereby avoiding the necessity of punching or drilling holes
in the rail.
And
::
my Invention consists in the last place in the formation of a
sleeper from two curved plates, either plain or corrugated, of iron or
steel bolted or riveted together at the top or to the sides of the rail,
forming something like the section of the Barlow rail, the tie bar.
passing through them to give additional strength, as before described.
Also a sleeper of cast iron of a similar form, but closed at the ends and

page_text: open at the top and bottom to facilitate casting, the bottom of the rail
being utilised as bearing surface. These rails and sleepers are applicable
either for tramways or ordinary railways.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Livesey in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
LIVESEY, of 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Livesey, Her
special licence that I, the said James Livesey, my executors,
administrators, and. assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Livesey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time.
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND
TRAMWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
James Livesey, 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 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Livesey, 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, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-

page_text: My Invention of "Improvements in the Permanent Way of Railways
and Tramways" has for its object in the first place the formation of
sleepers for light or heavy traffic in such a manner as to economise the
timber employed for the purpose by using it in smaller pieces than usual.
For this purpose two or more pieces of timber cut to the required length
and thickness are retained between two channel irons of suitable section,
in order to form a sleeper for each rail to rest on, all the channel irons.
being connected together by means of a tie bar extending across tho
line, and secured or clamped as required by gibs and cottars, or other
suitable fastenings. The said channel irons may be of a simple form, or
may be rolled or cast with a strip or flange extending downwards, so as
in section to nearly resemble the letter F. The rails can be secured as
required by means of spikes or bolts, or in chairs. spiked or bolted
down.
My Invention relates, secondly, to sleepers of wrought iron or steel-
bent in the form of a saddle in combination with a tic bar passing
through them, as described in the Specifications of my two former
Patents, Nos. 2722 (1863), and 976 (1869), and consists in making such
sleepers out of corrugated plates, in order to give additional stiffness to
the sleepers. Also in rolling sleepers of iron or steel, such as those
described in the said Specifications, instead of bending them into a
saddle or channel form, such sleepers being used in combination with a
tio bar.
In order to retain the ballast in some of my improved sleepers, and to
give additional strength, I either bend down the ends of the sleeper or
adapt and apply an angle or bent iron firmly secured underneath.
My Invention consists in the third place in making sleepers of iron
or steel in a circular or elliptical (dish) form out of rectangular plates,
and with a gap or opening at the sides for convenience of packing, but
without removing the corners of such plates, which are utilized for giving
increased bearing surface, as well as economy in manufacture.
My Invention consists in the fourth place in the formation of a
channel iron section of rail having the sides spread slightly outwards, or
rolled thicker at the bottom, giving the form of a dovetail or of a
rounded foot, the object being to hold the rail to the sleeper by means
of clip pieces, thereby avoiding the necessity of punching or drilling
holes in the rail.

page_text: Thirdly. Rolled iron or steel sleepers of the form and with the
arrangement of tie bar shewn and described.
Fourthly. Sleepers of bent plates either with the ends bent down or
having angle iron or curved pieces rivetted on to give additional
strength and more effectually retain the ballast.
Fifthly. Sleepers of a circular or elliptical (dished) form made out of
rectangular plates, having the corners left to serve for increased bearing
surface and economy in manufacture, and leaving openings in the
ends and sides for the greater convenience of packing in the ballast.
Sixthly. Grooved tramway rails having the flanges or extended sides
rolled outwards or swelled at the bottom, in order to form a dovetail,
as shewn, for the purpose of holding the rail to the sleeper by means of
clip pieces without the necessity of punching or drilling holes in the
rail.
Seventhly. A sleeper especially adapted for tramways formed of
curved and by preference corrugated plates held together at the top
by means of an iron blocking piece, so as to resemble in section the
"Barlow rail," and strengthened by a tie bar and cottars, as shewn and
described.
And, Lastly. A cast-iron tramway sleeper either plain or corrugated
of the same form as that referred to in the last claim, but closed at the
ends and open at the top.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Livesey, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Witness,
HENRY CARTER,
1, Culmore Road,
Balham, S.W.,
Civil Engineer.
JAMES LIVESEY. (L.S.)