IMPROVEMENTS IN WROUGHT IRON OR MALLEABLE IRON RAILWAY CHAIRS
Year: 1851

page_text: HILLS SPECIFICATION..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HILL, residing at Langside Cottage, near Glasgow, in the County of Renfrew,
Scotland, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of
March, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fourteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Thomas Hill, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Hill, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Hill, my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Guernsey,
Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WROUGHT IRON OR
MALLEABLE IRON RAILWAY CHAIRS," communicated to me from a foreigner
residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that
I, the said Thomas Hill, shall cause a particular description of the naturo
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and

page_text: by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Hill, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):
:-
This Invention consists of a wrought-iron railway chair made from a plate
of wrought iron by machinery, which punches up lips therefrom of the proper
form to embrace and secure the rail. Chairs of this description may be
divided into several classes, the principal of which are, first, that in which
the lips of the chair are presented sidewise to the rail; second, that class
in which the lips are presented edgewise thereto; and, third, that in which one
or more of the lips are presented sidewise to the rail, while the remainder
are presented edgewise thereto. All these classes admit of almost endless
modifications in their form, size, and proportions to adapt them to rails of
different forms and dimensions, and to the circumstances of any particular
case.
Several examples of chairs of the first class are represented: by Figures
1, 2, 3, and 4. In that represented at Figure 1, the lips a, a, have
the form of two equal tongues, which are cut from that portion of the
flat plate which lies beneath the base of the rail-when-the-latter:-is-in
place, and are punched directly into shape; in this example the lips are
situated at the middle of the chairs. In the chair represented at Figure 2,
the lips a, a, are of unequal size, the one a¹ being sufficiently large to permit
the insertion of a wedge between its side and the adjacent side of the
rail, for the purpose of holding the latter more firmly in its place. In the
example represented at Figure 3, the lips a, a, a, extend some distance. up
the opposite faces of the rail. And in the example represented at Figure 4
the lips, instead of being situated near the centre of the chair, are situated: at
its extreme edges.
-
Several examples of chairs of the second class are représented at Figurès
5, 6, 7, and 8. In the first of these (Figure 5) the lips hare formed at the
extreme edges of the chair, and are presented perpendicularly to the adjacent
side of the rail when the latter is in place. In the example represented at
Figure 7, notches are formed in the edges of the lips to admit keys to fasten
the rail. In the chair represented at Figure 8, the lips, instead of being
perpendicular to the side of the rail, are presented obliquely thereto.

page_text: An example of a chair of the third class is represented at Figure 9. In this
example the outer lips b, b, or those which sustain the outward pressure of the
rail, are of the form of the lips of the chair represented at Figure 6, being
presented edgwise to the side of the rail, while the inner lip a' is of that of
the chair represented at Figure 2, being presented sidewise to the side of the
rail, and large enough to admit a wedge between its side and the adjacent
side of the rail when the latter is in place.
Figure 10 represents a view of a double chair, which not only sustains the
rails, but ties the two rails of a railway together. In this example the middle
portion of the chair, which connects the extreme portions on which the rails
rest, may be cut away, as shown by the dotted lines c, c', or the middle
portion of the bar may be rolled thinner to lessen the weight of the chair, and
thus lessen its cost.
In order to make wrought-iron chairs of the before-described_classes, a flat
bar of wrought iron should be selected (as shewn at Figure 11), equal in width
to the length of the chair to be made, and of suitable thickness, say, about
half an inch more or less, according to the strength required in the chair.
This bar is submitted endwise to the action of a pair of dies furnished with
knives, which clip off a sufficient length of bar to make a chair, and punch up
tongues therefrom to form the lips, and also make the requisite holes or
notches to admit spikes for fastening the chairs to the foundation of the
railway track. One of these dies is stationary, while the other is caused by
any suitable machinery to move alternately from and towards the stationary
one; the moving die is also fitted with a knife, which acting in combination
with the edge of the adjacent stationary dic, severs the portion on which the-
dies are acting from the rest of the bar. The two dies are the counterparts of
the opposite faces of the chair to be formed, and when nearest each other are
separated by a space whose thickness is equal to that of the portion of the bar
or plate of which the chair is made. As the moving die approaches tho
stationary one, the portion of the bar or plate introduced between them is
severed from the rest of the bar, and formed into the shape required for tho
protuberances of the one die entering the depressions in the face of the other,
force into the latter corresponding portions of the plate to form the lips.
In making such chairs the bar or plate iron should be heated before it is
submitted to the action of the dies; this preparatory operation may not be
required if the iron is thin and tough, but it is in all cases advisable to heat
the bar, as it is thereby softened and its fibres are not liable to be ruptured in
bending, while at the same time a less expenditure of power is required to
drive the machinery, and the risk of breakage is lessened. The two dies may

page_text: be attached to any approved punching machine of the requisite size, strength,
and plan, and the flat bar or plate may be fed thereto by hand,. as is,
customary with punching machines, or it may be fed by some automatic ma
chinery, as may be found expedient'; a machine which is deemed suitable
for the purpose is represented at Figures 12 and 13. This machine consists
of a strong bed frame, which supports the dies and the mechanism by which
they are actuated.
The socket or fixed die A is secured to the projection B on the bed plate,
and the punch or moving die C is made fast to a slide D, which is moved in
guides from and towards the fixed die; in order to produce this movement,
the slide is slotted transverseley to receive a brass box to which an eccentric
journal is fitted; the journal projects from the front extremity of a shaft E,
which turns in brasses in the sides of the bed frame; this shaft is fitted with a
cog wheel F, whose teeth engage with those of a pinion G on a driving shaft.
The latter shafť carrys a fly wheel H, and is also fitted with loose I and fast J.
belt pulleys, to the latter of which the power of the prime mover is imparted by,
a belt. One end of the punch die C is fitted with a knife K, which moves
with it. A gauge L is adapted to the side of the frame, which limits the dis-
tance to which the bar can be introduced. Apertures c, corresponding in
position with the spike holes in the chair, are formed in the socket die and
corresponding punches f are secured to the punch die C, so that as the latter.
is advanced towards the socket die, the spike holes will be punched simultane-
ously with the formation of the lips. A feed way -M is placed opposite that]
end of the dies at which the bar of iron is to be entered, and a fenced is
erected upon it to guide the bar as it is shoved endwise between the dies.
4.
When the machine is in operation, the slide (D) with the punch die (C).
attached to it, is moved by the rotation of the eccentric journal of the shaft.
towards and from the fixed die, and the bar of iron is introduced endwiso
between the two. As the moving die approaches the stationary one, those
portions of the bar or plate which lie over the sockets in the latter are severed
at one end and at both sides from the rest of the plate, and the tongues thus.
formed are forced into the sockets of the stationary die, and are swayed into
the proper shape to constitute the lips of the chair. As the moving die
recedes from the chair thus formed, the latter must be expelled from the
machine to make room for the plate to form the next chair. This is effected
by means of sliding plugs g, 9, whose front ends form the bottoms of the lip
sockets in the stationary die (A), as represented in section' at Figure 15; these
plugs extend through the support (13) of the fixed die, and abut at their hinder
ends against a projection on the bed frame, by which they are prevented from

page_text: moving during the action of the punches of the moving die; their hinder
extremities are connected with the outer arm of a lever l, which is pivotted to
the frame, and whose inner arm is acted upon by a cam or h tappet, secured,
to one of the arms of the wheel F on the eccentric shaft; the inner arm of the
lever is acted upon by a spring i, whose tendency is to keep the sliding plugs
(g) in contact with the projection against which they abut. The tappet is set.
in such a position upon the wheel, that when the moving die leaves the
stationary one, the cam strikes the inner arm of the lever; the lever acting
upon the sliding plugs forces them to move outwards in their sockets and push.
the chair before them, thus expelling it from the die, when it drops to the
floor or into any receptacle provided for the purpose. As soon as this is.
effected, the tappet moving on passes the lever, and allows the spring (i) to
draw the sliding plugs back in their sockets; the machine is then ready for
making a new chair.
In order to prevent the plate severed by the knife K from dropping, a
stationary rest n is adapted to the machine on which the plate is supported-
edgwise until it is formed into a chair, and is expelled from the machine by.
the action of the sliding plugs. In order to prevent the new formed chair
from adhering to the punches or projecting portions of the punch die, the face
of the latter is formed of a separate plate m, in which openings are made
through which the punches protrude. When the punch die is advancing
against the iron plate, this face is in contact with the die or block behind, but
when the punch die is retrograding, the projecting extremities of this face
strike stops o, which prevent its further backward movement, while the slide.
D continues to move on, carrying with it the die block and punches; the latter
are thus drawn through the face m, and detached from the chair which drops
from the dies. A second tappet p on the cog wheel F protrudes the plugs.a
second time to detach the chair if it should still be held, and thus ensure its
falling. The dies represented as attached to the machine are the proper ones
for forming the chair, represented at Figure 1. Chairs of other forms are re-
presented at Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, may be formed by machinery
of the same description, and in the same manner by varying the dies.
projecting portions or punches (9) of the moving die wear faster than the other
parts, and as their edges act as knives to sever the edges of the tongues which
form the lips from the plate, it is essential that some provision should be made
for sharpening them; this is effected by making them of detached pieces
which are inserted in sockets (as represented in section at Figure 15), which
method of construction admits of their removal for the grinding up of their
faces when this operation is necessary. Packing r is inserted behind them, as
The

page_text: required, to compensate for the wear, and to provide at the same time a con-
venient means of adjustment. Cases may arise where it may be advisable to
form the lips with great precision; in such cases it is proposed to move the
punches in their sockets by suitable machinery, by means of which they can be
withdrawn within the face of the punch die until the plate is firmly gripped
between the dies; the punches will then be forced forward, and will punch the
tongues into the sockets with great precision. The examples herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawings are but a few of the
many forms of chairs which could be made upon this principle of construction,
but they are sufficient to shew that the size, form, proportions, and strength of
such chairs may be varied to any extent to meet the demands of railway
engineering.
The Invention claimed is, first, a wrought-iron railway chair, the lips of
which are formed from that portion of the plate on which the rail is ordinarily
supported, substantially as herein set forth.
Second, a wrought-iron railway chair, the lips of which are presented edge-
wise to the direction in which the rail lays when in place, substantially as
herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Hill, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.