IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY PERMANENT WAY
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Philip Middleton Justice of Southampton Buildings in
"
the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents for an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY PERMANENT WAY Communicated
to him from abroad by Sidney Gilchrist Thomas temporarily of Calcutta
in the Empire of India

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Philip Middleton Justice in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th August 1883.
PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of Southampton Buildings in the County of
Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents. IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY
PERMANENT WAY A communication to me from abroad by Sidney Gilchrist
Thomas temporarily of Calcutta in the Empire of India
"
Hitherto metallic sleepers for railway permanent way have been constructed
either of cast iron which is heavy, inelastic, and brittle; or of complicated and
expensive stamped iron or steel embossed corrugated shapes; rolled iron and steel
sleepers have also been used either as continuous longitudinal sleepers or as con-
tinuous cross sleepers, stretching in one continuous section across from rail to rail
in lengths of from seven and a half to nine feet These last, while easy to roll are
heavy, inelastic and expensive I find that in order to secure a system of metallic
sleepers which shall be at once light, strong, elastic, durable and economical both
in construction and in the weight of sleepers necessary per mile of line, the various
systems of sleepers above referred to are advantageously replaced by a composite
rolled steel or wrought iron sleeper consisting of two rolled profiled plates, the
plates or the chairs or rails which they carry being tied together by tie bars or
distance pieces of wrought iron or steel The profiled sleeper plates may conve-
niently be from 30 inches to 3 feet long and about 12 inches in width and of any
convenient section preferably of one of the sections shown in Fig 1 of the
accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and in which
Figure as stated represents the preferable sections although any casily rolled
section in which strength and lightness are combined may be used
Figure 2. represents a side elevation of a double headed rail resting on a cross
sleeper.
Figure 3 represents an end elevation of the same
Figure 4. represents in end elevation a flange rail resting upon a cross sleeper
and
Figure 5. a plan of same
Figure 6. represents a side elevation of a double headed rail resting upon another
form or section of sleeper.
The ends of the plates or sleepers I prefer to turn down so as to secure a firmer
grip of the ballast Each of the plates carries a chair which may be of any
ordinary design to carry the rail, or if a flat topped plate and flange rails be used
the rails may be bolted down to the sleeper direct or secured by a U shaped clip
as shown in Figs 4 and 5 The rails may be kept at the proper distance apart by
iron or steel tie rods which I prefer should pass through the chairs or rail clips as
shown
It will be readily understood that the saving in weight secured by the above
system as compared with the ordinary continuous cross or longitudinal steel or iron
sleeper will amount to over 20 per cent while the saving in weight as compared
with the cast iron bowl or other sleeper will be very much greater even than this,
while the cost as compared with the corrugated steel or iron sleeper will not be
more than sixty per cent of that of the latter; corrugating being a very costly
process. These small rolled sleeper plates are also from their lightness, easily
handled, transported and replaced or packed. Having thus fully described the
invention as communicated to me by my correspondent I would have it understood

page_text: that I do not claim the construction or employment of cast iron sleepers of any
form whatever or of continuous iron or steel cross-sleepers of any shape or section
or of corrugated or stamped sleepers of any material but I claim the above
described construction of Railway permanent way in which short rolled steel or
wrought iron profiled plates are employed in place of the various forms of sleepers
now in use substantially as specified
In Witness whereof I the said Philip Middleton Justice have hereunto set
my hand and seal this twentieth day of August in the year of Our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and eighty three
Signed, sealed and delivered
in the presence of
HENRY BHATCHWELL
55 & 56 Chancery Lane
London W.O.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE (L.S.)