Improvements in Chairs for Railway Switches, Crossings, and Rails.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 5th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 10th Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Chairs for Railway Switches, Crossings, and Rails.
We, RICHARD LAYBOURNE and CHARLES WILLIAM EARLE MARSH, Civil
Engineers of the Isca Foundry, Newport, in the County of Monmouth, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to chairs for railway crossings switches and rails.
In carrying our invention into practice the chair is formed of a suitable metal-
such as steel or wrought iron-base or plate having one or more jaws or tongues
partly punched and pressed and bent upwards and inwards out of the said solid
base plate so as to present a suitable bearing surface against the web or vertical
part of the rail which bearing surface is provided with a hole or holes whereby the
chair is fastened to the rail or rails by means of a bolt, cotter bolt, rivets or other
suitable fastening.
Dated this 8th day of April 1893.
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Chairs for Railway Switches, Crossings, and Rails.
We, RICHARD LAYBOURNE and CHARLES WILLIAM EARLE MARSH, Civil
Engineers of the Isca Foundry, Newport, in the County of Monmouth, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to chairs for railway crossings switches and rails.
In carrying our invention into practice the chair is formed of a suitable metal
(such as steel or wrot iron) base or plate having one or more jaws or tongues first
punched and then pressed and bent upwards and inwards or outwards out of the said
base plate so as to present-a-suitable-bearing_surface against the web or vertical
part of the rail which bearing surface is provided with a hole or holes whereby the
rail (or rails) is (or are) fastened to the chair by means of a bolt, cotter bolt, rivets
or other suitable fastening.
It will be seen that this mode of construction permits the use of a plate of uniform
thickness and enables chairs of great strength and supporting power to be made
cheaply and easily and so as to dispense wholly or mainly with the use of packing
between the chair and rail.
And in order that our present invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into practice we will proceed to describe same with reference to the accom-
panying drawings which show examples of its application and the manner in which
we carry it out by the Figures marked 1 to 24 inclusive on the said accompanying
4 sheets of explanatory drawings.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout.

page_text: It is the rail to be tastened.
J is the jaw or tongue pressed or bent upwards out of the solid base plate.
B is the base plate or chair from which the jaw J is bent or pressed up..
H. is the bolt or rivet or other suitable fastening by which the rail is fastened to
the jaw and chair or base plate.
D is the distance block used in switches and crossings for keeping the rails
apart.
K is the usual tapered key..
In Figures 1 and 2 on Sheet 1 of the drawings there are shown a switch and
crossing respectively with the chairs marked B fixed upon the ordinary railway
sleepers S.
The chair shown in Figures 3 and 4 (Sheet 1) in section and plan is a slide chair
for railway switches and has the jaw or tongue J bent up from the solid base plate B
in such form as to suit the shape of the rail (i.e. to approximately conform to and
correspond with the web and flange or foot of the rail and thereby form a counter-
part to one side of the rail) from which the switches are made. The stock rail R
is fastened direct to the chair by. a cotter bolt H as shown or other suitable
fastening such as rivet, bolt and nut etc.
The tongue rail R¹ of the switch slides upon the upper surface of the base
plate B in the usual manner.
In Figures 23 and 24 (on Sheet 4) there is shown a switch slide chair with the
jaw or tongue J bent or pressed up out of the solid base plate B in the opposite
manner to that shown in Figures 3 and 4 on Sheet 1.
Figures 5 and 6 on Sheet 1 are a sectional elevation and plan of a chair for
holding two (or more) rails which come close together as at a switch or crossing as
shown in Figures 1 and 2. There are two jaws or tongues J pressed up from the
solid base plate B to suit the position of the rails R R the two rails being bolted
together (with a distance piece or block D) and are held in position by the bolt H
or other suitable fastening.
For other sections of rails (and for holding one or more rails) such as double
head or bull head sections the jaws are pressed or turned up (and the rails secured
thereto with bolts or rivets etc.) as before described and as shown in Figures 7. 8. 9.
and 10 on Sheet 2.
Figures 15 and 16 on Sheet 2 show the chair as used for holding the two
rails R R down on the solid base plate without the use of the distance block D by
substituting the block or clip N secured by one or more rivets or bolts (other
than H) to the base B.
Figure 17 on Sheet 2 shows the jaws or tongues pressed up out of one long piece
or base plate at such a distance apart as to hold the rails R R firmly to the gauge
of the railway in place of the usual gauge bar.
Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14 (on Sheet 2) show the chair as used for a single or
main line rail of flange section.
Figures 21 and 22 show the chair (used in conjunction with a second fastening in
the form of the already known jaw M and wedge or packing K) holding two flanged
rails R R bolted together with a distance block D-the fastening of these rails in
this chair being effected by the jaw J and bolt H (as before described) and further
secured on the opposite side by the said jaw M and wedge or packing K; or as a
substitute for this second jaw M and packing K-a clip N with bolt may be used
(such as shown in Figs. 15 and 16) for further securing the foot of the rail in which
case the jaw M and packing K are dispensed with.
In each case the chairs B are provided with suitable holes for securing the same
to the railway sleepers.
Figures 18 and 19 on Sheet 3 are respectively longitudinal section and plan of a
steel or iron sleeper S with the jaws or tongues J J pressed up from the material
in the manner herein before described in respect of the solid base plate or chair-
the rails R R being secured by bolts and nuts H H or other suitable fastenings.
Fig. 20 is a cross sectional view on line a-b Fig. 19.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A chair for railway switches crossings and rails with one or more jaws or
tongues formed integral therewith by punching pressing and bending upwards out
of the solid base plate such jaws or tongues of a shape approximately the counter-
part of the side of the rail or of the shape of one side of the web or vertical part
and foot of the rail so as to present a suitable bearing against the side of the rail
such jaw being provided with hole or holes whereby the rail is fastened to the
chair by bolts rivets or other suitable fastenings substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. The improved construction of chairs for railway switches crossings and rails
in the manner and for the purposes substantially as hereinbefore described and
represented in the drawings hereunto annexed.
Dated this 5th day of January 1894.
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.