IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY AND ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Willian Grover, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PERMANENT WAY AND ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS."
Sealed the 18th November 1879, and dated the 4th September 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Grover at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th September 1879.
JOHN WILLIAM GROVER, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County
of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY AND ROLLING STOCK OF
RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS."
My present Invention has for its object improved constructions of both the per-
manent way and rolling stock of railways and tramways, whereby vibrations and
wear and tear of either part are lessened."
According to one part of my Invention I so construct the chairs for the rails with
a loose jaw that the wood trenail which secures the chair to the sleeper shall at the
same time operate on the loose jaw with a wedging action for securing the rail in
the chair, whereby I am enabled to dispense with the ordinary wooden keys, and
consequently to prevent the vibration of the rail which now occurs on the keys
getting loose or falling out. For this purpose the chair has opposite its fixed jaw a
recess formed in its base, into which partly projects an extended conical or tapering
head of the one trenail, so that when the loose jaw is fitted into its place in the said
recess, and the trenail is then driven in, it presses with its conical head against a
correspondingly formed groove in the jaw, and thus forces the jaw tightly against
the rail, so as to hold this securely between the fixed and loose jaws. This tightness
will be further increased if the trenail have as is usual a spike driven down its
centre afterwards.
According to another improvement, instead of forming the usual bolt holes in the
contiguous ends of two rails for the ordinary fish joint, I form in the extreme end
surface of each rail a semicircular notch, so that the two notches form a circular hole
of considerably larger diameter than those for the ordinary fish bolts, and through
such hole I pass a screw bolt of corresponding diameter. This bolt has a large
rectangular head of such size and shape as to fit the hollow of the rail, bearing

page_text: against the upper and lower heads thereof in a similar manner to a fish plate,
while on the opposite side the shank of the bolt passes through a fish plate of
angular section, the one part fitting beneath and against the lower heads of the two
rails, while the other part fits into the hollow of the web. This fish plate extends
beyond the joint of the rails to the chair on either side thereof, upon which it takes
a bearing in a correspondingly-formed recess beneath and at the side of the rail, thus
forming as it were a girder for supporting the ends of the rails, and preventing their
getting out of position should the fish bolt fall out.
By thus securing steel or other rails without drilling holes therein I avoid their
liability to break at such holes, as also the expense of drilling these, while by using
a bolt of large diameter fitting accurately into a corresponding large hole I am
enabled to hold the rails more accurately in position and with a much firmer grip
than heretofore, as a spanner with greater leverage may be used for tightening up
the nut without fear of injury to the bolt. The nut may be prevented from
loosening by the use of the spring washers for which I obtained Letters Patent, No.
1230, of 1873. The above described construction of fish plate may be used in com-
bination with the chair and trenail previously described with fish bolts of the
ordinary kind.
In constructing six wheeled vehicles for railways and tramways I prevent grind
and vibration to a great extent on running round curves by the following arrange-
ment: I mount the main-frame (or under frame) of the carriage upon a central
axle running in fixed axle boxes and upon two swivelling bogies, each containing
one axle near the outer end, the swivel pin of each bogie being at a point about
half way between the central and end axle, while the two bogies are extended
beyond such pins so as to meet at the centre of the carriage, where they are closely
coupled by diagonal cross links or other equivalent known means in such manner as
to form an articulated joint that will allow the bogies to adjust themselves with
their axles in radial positions, and will cause the one bogie to assume a position
corresponding but opposite to that of the other, while at the same time such joint is
prevented from separating. By this arrangement any shock' transmitted longitu-
dinally through the one bogie, instead of being borne by the swivel pin thereof, and
thus causing strain on that pin solely and jar and vibration to that end of the
carriage, is transmitted through the said articulated close coupling to the other
bogie and its end of the carriage, so that the two bogies form practically one long
bogie truck with a joint in its middle, and connected to the main frame of the
carriage by two pins. By connecting the buffer springs to the bogies I am able to
cause them to radiate with the bogies, and such radiation will thus be imparted to
the buffers themselves, so that on passing round sharp curves the buffers will work
in contact on both sides, and not as at present ou one side only, whereby so much
friction and vibration is caused by the unequal pressures.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John William Grover in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
March 1880.
JOHN WILLIAM GROVER, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County
of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY AND ROLLING STOCK OF
RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS."
My present Invention has for its object improved constructions of both the per-
manent way and rolling stock of railways and tramways, whereby vibrations and
wear and tear of either part are lessened.
According to one part of my Invention I so construct the chairs for the rails with
a loose jaw that the wood trenail which secures the chair to the sleeper shall at the
same time operate on the loose jaw with a wedging action for securing the rail in
the chair, whereby I am enabled to dispense with the ordinary wooden keys, and
consequently to prevent the vibration of the rail which now occurs on the keys
getting loose or falling out. For this purpose the chair has opposite its fixed jaw a
recess formed in its base, into which partly projects an extended conical or tapering
head of the one trenail, so that when the loose jaw is fitted into its place in the said
recess, and the trenail is then driven in, it presses with its conical head against a
correspondingly formed groove in the jaw, and thus forces the jaw tightly against
the rail, so as to hold this securely between the fixed and loose jaws. This tightness.
will be further increased if the trenail have as is usual a spike driven down its
centre afterwards.
According to another improvement, instead of forming the usual bolt holes in the
contiguous ends of two rails for the ordinary fish joint, I form in the extreme end
surface of each rail a semicircular notch, so that the two notches form a circular hole
of considerably larger diameter than those for the ordinary fish bolts, and through
such hole I pass a screw bolt of corresponding diameter. This bolt has a large
rectangular head of such size and shape as to fit the hollow of the rail, bearing
against the upper and lower heads thereof in a similar manner to a fish plate, while,
on the opposite side the shank of the bolt passes through a fish plate of angular
section, the one part fitting beneath and against the lower heads of the two rails,
while the other part fits into the hollow of the web. This fish plate extends beyond
the joint of the rails to the chair on either side thereof, upon which it takes a
bearing in a correspondingly formed recess beneath and at the side of the rail, thus
forming as it were a girder for supporting the ends of the rails, and preventing their
getting out of position should the fish bolt fall out. By thus securing steel or other
rails without drilling holes therein I avoid their liability to break at such holes, as
also the expense of drilling these, while by using a bolt of large diameter fitting
accurately into a corresponding large hole I am enabled to hold the rails more accu-
rately in position and with a much firmer grip than heretofore, as a spanner with
greater leverage may be used for tightening up the nut without fear of injury to
the bolt. The nut may be prevented from loosening hy the use of spring washers,
for which I obtained Letters Patent, No. 1230, of 1873. The above described con-
struction of fish plate may be used in combination with the chair and trenail
previously described with fish bolts of the ordinary kind.
In constructing six wheeled vehicles for railways and tramways I prevent grind
and vibration to a great extent on running round curves by the following arrange-
ment: I mount the main frame (or under frame) of the carriage upon a central
axle running in fixed axle boxes and upon two swivelling bogies, each containing
one axle near the outer end, the swivel pin of each bogie being at a point about
half way between the central and end axle, while the two bogies are extended
beyond such pins so as to meet at the centre of the carriage, where they are closely
coupled by diagonal cross links or other equivalent known means in such manner

page_text: Figs. 1 to 8 of the accompanying Drawings shew my before described improved
constructions of railway chairs and of fish joint. Fig. 1 shews a side view of a chair
for a double headed rail; Fig. 2 shews a plan; Figs. 3 and 4 shew respectively an
elevation and plan of the loose jaw; and Figs. 5 and 6 shew respectively the two
end views of the chair. The chair is formed with a single jaw a and a recess b, into
which is fitted the loose jaw c, shaped as shewn at Figs. 3 and 4, that is, with a
sloping tongue c¹ fitting into the correspondingly shaped recess b, a face c² formed
to fit against the rail, and a curved tapering groove c³, against which fits the conical
head of the trenail d, so that when this is driven in tight it forces the loose jaw
with a wedging action against the rail, so as to cause it to grip it firmly without
the use of the ordinary wooden key. The hold of the trenail is increased by driving
in a spike in the usual manner; or, instead of employing a trenail for this purpose,
an ordinary iron spike, coach screw, or fang bolt may be used, having on its upper
end a conical head or wood ferrule corresponding to the conical head of the trenail.
The sloping tongue of the loose jaw in bearing against the undercut face of the
recess b assists the action of the trenail in preventing the upper end of the jaw from
canting backwards. Fig. 7 shews a side elevation, and Fig. 8 shews a plan of the
improved chair adapted for the "Vignoles" or flanged rail. The flange is held on
the one side by the flange a formed on the chair, and on the other side by the loose
jaw c, arranged to be acted upon by the trenail in the same manner as above
described, the meeting surfaces of the jaw and the chair base being formed sloping,
so that the jaw can move both in a forward and in a downward direction when
acted upon by the trenail in order to nip the flange of the rail. Figs. 5 and 6 shew
the two opposite views of my before described improved fish joint for the double
beaded rail. The abutting ends of the two rails have each a semicircular notch
formed in them, which together form a circular hole through which the bolt e passes,
as shewn at Fig. 5. The bolt e has a head e' of the form shewn in Figs. 5 and 1, so
as to fit the web of the rail and constitute a short fish plate on the inner side of the
rail. On the outer side is provided a fish plate f, through which the shank of the
bolt e passes, and which is by preference made of the form shewn, that is, with its
lower part fitting under the rail and having its ends resting in notches formed at g
on the two chairs, so that the plate acts as a girder in supporting the joint and
keeping the rail ends in line even should the bolt be removed.
Fig. 7 shews the same construction of fish joint as adapted for the "Vignoles"
rail, the same letters indicating the corresponding parts.
Figs. 9 to 13 shew my before described construction of six wheel bogie carriages.
Fig. 9 shews a part side elevation; Fig. 10 shews a plan of the main or under
frame Fig. 11 shews a part plan of the bogies, and Fig. 12 shews a part longitu-
dinal section of the under frame and bogies; and Fig. 13 shews a diagram plan of

page_text: the entire carriage. The under frame A is mounted on the central axle B, running in
fixed axle boxes and upon the swivel pins C of two bogies D, D, each of which has
one pair of wheels E, E. These bogics extend to the middle of the carriage, so as to
abut against each other, with curved surfaces F struck from the centres of the swivel
pins C, and they are tied together in this position by cross links G or any other
known contrivances which will keep the ends of the bogies in contact, while allowing
them to turn upon their centres C to assume the reruisite angular positions when
passing round curves, as indicated in the diagram, Fig. 13. The centres C are
situated about half way between the central and outer axles. Thus it will be seen
that, as before stated, the two coupled bogies practically form one long bogie truck
having an articulated joint in the middle allowing the two parts perfect freedom to
assume the required angular positions, while by the continuity thus established
throughout the length of the carriage any jar or vibration imparted to the one end
of the carriage is transmitted right through to the other end, and is not borne solely
by the one swivel pin, as with ordinary bogies. The side buffers H are carried in
the under framing of the carriage in the usual manner, but the buffer spring I is
fixed to the bogie at the swivel pin, so that as the bogie assumes an angular posi-
tion in passing round curves the spring I in moving therewith will cause the buffers
to assume a corresponding radial position, so as to remain in contact, as indicated
at Figs. 10 and 11, where the carriage is assumed to be on a curve. In place of
using side buffers with this construction of bogic, central buffers on the bogies them-
selves may be used, as indicated at Fig. 13.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I claim,―
First. Constructing railway chairs with one fixed jaw and one loose jaw, the
said loose jaw being so formed and arranged as to be pressed against the rail by
wedging action produced by the tapering head of the trenail that secures the chair
to the sleeper, substantially as herein described.
Second. Securing or fish jointing the ends of two rails by a single bolt passing
through notches in the abutting ends of the rails and through a single fish plate
extending partly under the rails and resting with its ends on the chairs on either
side, the head of the bolt being of such a form as to fit the rail and take the place
of the second fish plate, substantially as herein described.
Third: Constructing six wheeled railway and tramway vehicles with the central
pair of wheels running in fixed bearings, while the two outer pairs of wheels are
each carried in swivelling bogie frames that extend to and meet at the centre of the
carriage, and are there connected by cross links or other means that will keep them
in close contact and yet allow them to assume angular positions, substantially as
and for the purposes herein described.
Fourth. In railway vehicles constructed as set forth in the preceding claim,
arranging the buffer springs on the bogie frames, while the side buffers are in the
underframing, substantially as and for the purposes herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John William Grover, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
J. W. GROVER. (L.S.)