IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBINED CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS FOR RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS
Year: 1885

page_text: I SAMUEL RIDEAL of number 9 Wards Buildings Manchester in the County
of Lancaster Consulting Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBINED CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS FOR RAILWAYS
AND TRAMWAYS" to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the sleepers and chairs employed to sustain and keep in
position the rails of permanent way and has for its object to produce a sleeper
capable of holding the rail or rails with great security and which shall be
inexpensive, portable and easily handled and which when in use shall require
a minimum of attention. I make my improved sleeper of cast mild steel or of
cast iron or metal. The sleeper is by preference cast without the use of loose
cores the patterns being prepared to leave their own cores in the moulding
operation. The sleeper is formed with a fixed jaw or abutment and is prepared
to receive a loose adjustable jaw or a pair of jaws. A recess to receive the
adjustable jaw or jaws is formed in the sleeper and this recess is undercut or is
formed of a vee shape on one side or on both sides so that the jaw or jaws will be
retained in the recess. When prepared to receive a pair of jaws this recess is
tapered in width from each side toward the centre of the sleeper. The jaws are
shaped to fit against the rail the forms of the jaws varying according to the section
of the rail which is to be held. When the two jaws are slid into position from
opposite sides of the sleeper a screw bolt is passed through the two jaws and is
tightened up so as to draw the two jaws toward each other whereby the jaws
become forcibly pressed against the rail owing to the wedge action of the taper
recess. I prefer to tighten the bolt by means of my patent lever lock nut for
which Letters Patent numbered 1579 of the year 1884 have been granted to me.
When this fastening is used the bolt cannot work loose so that the fastening will
require little attention only requiring to be tightened up when the rail has become
looser through the wear of the parts which are in contact. When using only one
jaw I may secure the jaw by means of a key which falls into serrations in the
bottom of the recess. To render the fastening elastic to some extent I may cast
or form the jaws with thin sides or otherwise shape them so that they will have
a little resilience. For wide guages I sometimes make each sleeper to carry one

page_text: rail only and couple together the sleepers in pairs by means of ties which are
formed with tee heads which enter slots in the sleeper ends. Each tie is cranked
so that it passes below the surface of the ballast. The heads on the said tie are so
formed as that they cannot be withdrawn through the slots in the sleeper ends
without turning the tie a quarter round from its position of rest below the ballast.
Dated thin 94th dow of Manch 100%
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent.
I SAMUEL RIDEAL of number 9 Wards Buildings Deansgate Manchester in the
County of Lancaster Consulting Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the
Baid Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBINED CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS FOR
RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS" and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and
accompanying drawings:-
My Invention relates to the sleepers and chairs employed to sustain and keep in
position the rails of permanent way and has for its object to produce a sleeper
capable of holding the rail or rails with great security and which shall be
inexpensive portable and easily handled and which when in use shall require a
minimum of attention. I make my improved sleeper of cast mild steel or of cast
iron or metal. The sleeper is by preference cast without the use of loose cores the
patterns being prepared to leave their own cores in the moulding operation. The
sleeper is formed with a fixed jaw and is prepared to receive a pair of adjustable
jaws. A recess to receive the adjustable jaws is formed in the sleeper or in other
words is left between the rail and a fixed abutment. This recess is tapered in
width from each side toward the centre of the sleeper. The jaws are shaped to fit
against the rail the forms of the jaws varying according to the section of the rail
which is to be held. When the two jaws are slid into position from opposite sides
of the sleeper a screw bolt is passed through the two jaws and is tightened up so
as to draw the two jaws toward each other whereby the jaws become forcibly
pressed against the rail owing to the wedge action of the taper recess. I sometimes
make each sleeper to carry one rail only and couple together the sleepers in pairs
by means of ties.
The nature of my Invention will be more clearly understood when the same is
described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 represents a

page_text: cross section of a rail road in which the rails are carried by my improved sleepers;
Fig. 2 being plan view of such sleepers the said Figs. being made to a scale of;
about one and a half inches to the foot. In the said Figs. A represents a joint
sleeper and B an intermediate sleeper. An end view of the joint sleeper appears
in Fig.
and Fig. 4 represents a cross section of the same. Each sleeper is made
of cast metal the foundation part of the sleeper consisting of a comparatively thin
plate strengthened by means of longitudinal fins a. a. and cross ribs b. b. so as to.
obtain strength combined with lightness. The spaces between these fins and ribs
form cells in which the ballast is rammed or packed when the sleeper is being laid
or raised as the case may be the formation of the sleeper as indicated in Fig. 4
facilitating the packing. Upon the sleeper is formed a fast jaw c. and an abut-
ment d. for the adjustable jaws e. e. represented detached from the sleeper by Fig. 5.
The fast jaw c. is shaped to fit against the side of the rail f. the formation of the
jaw varying according to the section of the rails which the sleepers have to sustain..
In the case of the abutment d. the face d¹ which is toward the rail is beveled or
made of a "vee" shape so as to retain the jaws e. e. within the recess that is to
prevent them from rising. The said face is also beveled or inclined in directions
outward and right and left from the central part of the sleeper so that the recess is
wider at the two ends than in the centre as seen in plan in Fig. 2. Each jaw e is
shaped on one side to fit against the rail and on the other side to fit the doubly
inclined face of the abutment d. The faces of the jaws are in some cases serrated,
waved or corrugated as shown at Fig. 6. It will be seen that when the two jaws.
are moved inward towards each other they act as wedges owing to the horizontal
inclination of the faces d¹ d¹ and the said jaws are forced against the rail. To
effect the tightening of the two jaws I employ a bolt h which passes through both
jaws. When the nut upon this bolt is turned in the direction to tighten the
fastening the two jaws become forcibly drawn toward each other and are tightly
jammed against the side of the rail so that the latter is firmly held between the
moveable jaws c. and the fast jaw c. I prefer to tighten the bolt by means of my
patent lever lock nut for which Letters Patent numbered 1579 of the year 1884
have been granted to me. When this fastening is used the bolt cannot work loose
so that the fastening will require little attention only requiring to be tightened up
when the rail has become looser through the wear of the parts which are in contact.
In the example the bolts are provided with nuts elongated on one side in accordance
with my former invention for which I obtained the grant of the said Letters Patent.
To render the fastening elastic to some extent I may cast or form the adjustable
jaws c. with thin sides or otherwise shape them so that they will have a little
resilience or I may make the said jaws of wood or provide them with packings of
wood or other suitable material. It will be seen that the joint sleeper A. is broader
than the sleeper B. This increased breadth furnishes a better support to the joint
and enables me to make one of the keys e¹ longer than the other so that it crosses
the joint and in conjunction with other parts of the sleeper serves the purpose of
the ordinary fish joint. I do not however confine myself to this formation of joint
sleeper or to the use of a special joint sleeper and may use pairs of sleepers formed
like the sleeper B in cases wherein the joints are fished as usual. In the example
the two sleepers are connected together by means of a metal tie g. which is hinged
or jointed at the two ends to the two sleepers but any suitable means for con-
nection may be employed. In some cases the sleeper would extend under both
rails and be provided with two sets of fixed and adjustable jaws one set for each
rail both sets corresponding to each other or one set being made suitable for a joint
as the case may be.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The sleeper A coupled by means of a tie with a corresponding sleeper or with
the sleeper B, formed of cast steel or iron with a fast jaw and an abutment and

page_text: provided with adjustable jaws c. e. which when drawn together by means of a
screw bolt are tightly forced against the rail substantially as and for the
set forth and indicated.
purpose
2. In metal 'sleepers the employment of pairs of adjustable wedge jaws within a
recess existing between the rail or rail ends to be held and a doubly or horizontally
and vertically inclined face the formation being such as that when the two jaws in
a pair are drawn together they act as right and left hand wedges and are tightly
forced against the rail substantially as set forth and indicated.
3. The combination of the right and left hand adjustable jaws or wedges e. e.
with the bolt h and the nut elongated on one side as and for the purpose set forth
and indicated.
4. The combination of metal sleepers with the features as above described and
shown with the sides inclined or beveled as shown for the purpose and substantially
as set forth and described.
DUTTON & FULTON,
Agents.