IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Russel Aitken, of Cambridge Street, Pimlico, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 5th April 1864, and dated the 12th October 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Russel Aitken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
October 1863.
I, RUSSEL AITKEN, of Cambridge Street, Pimlico, in the County of Middle-
sex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of combined metal
sleeper and chair, and to an improved mode of securing the rails thereto.
According to this Invention the sleeper chair, which in general outline may
resemble the sleeper chair commonly known as Greaves's pot sleeper," is
cast in two parts, each part having a chair jaw cast thereon, and provided with
lugs on the inner under surface with a keyway or hole running through them
parallel with and beneath the rail. The two halves of the chair are tightened
up against the opposite sides of the rail, and the opposite halves of the sleeper
are held firmly together by driving a key or keys into the keyway made in
the lugs on each half of the sleeper.
In order to obtain a certain amount of elasticity in the permanent way the
key or keys may be made of steel, and the lugs rounded slightly at those
against which the key or keys bear. The guage is maintained by tie rods,
parts

page_text: the ends of which are inserted into sockets cast for that purpose upon the
sleeper chair, and the same key or keys which secure the two halves of
the sleeper chair together also pass through a slot near the end of the tie rod,
and thus hold the chairs at the proper guage.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Russel Aitken in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th April
1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RUSSEL
AITKEN, of Cambridge Street, Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Russel Aitken, Her special license that I, the said Russel Aitken,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Russel Aitken, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time, and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Russel Aitken, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Russel Aitken, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to an improved construction of combined metal
sleeper and chair, and to an improved mode of securing the rails thereto.
According to this Invention. the sleeper chair, which in general outline may

page_text: resemble the sleeper chair commonly known as "Greaves' pot sleeper," is cast
in two parts, each part having a chair jaw cast thereon, and provided with lugs
on the inner under surface with a keyway or hole running through them
parallel with and beneath the rail. The two halves of the chair are tightened
up against the opposite sides of the rail, and the opposite halves of the sleeper
are held together by driving a key or keys into the keyway made in the lugs
on each half of the sleeper.
In order to obtain a certain amount of elasticity in the permanent way the
key or keys may be made of steel, and the lugs rounded slightly at those
parts against which the key or keys bear. The guage is maintained by tie
rods, the ends of which are inserted into sockets cast for that purpose upon
the sleeper chair, and the same key or keys which secure the two halves of
the sleeper chair together also pass through a slot near the end of the tie rod
and thus hold the chairs at the proper guage.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
saine letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1, of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, represents a transverse
section of a single line of railway shewing two arrangements of my improved
combined metal sleepers and chairs in side elevation; Figure 2 is a plan of
the sleeper B, shewn in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an elevation of another of my
improved sleepers detailed, arranged as an intermediate sleeper, and without
the tie above represented in Figure 1; Figure 4 is another elevation of the
same sleeper looking at right angles to Figure 3; Figure 5 is a sectional plan
shewing the mode of connecting the two halves of the intermediate sleeper
represented in Figure 3 where no tie bar is used, the section being taken
along the lugs and keyway; and Figure 6 is a similar section of the sleeper
A in Figure 1, where the tie bar is situate in the exact centre line of the
sleeper. The combined sleeper and chair shewn at A, in Figure 1, is com-
posed of two duplicate parts A, A, each having a jaw B, B, cast thereon.
The two halves of the sleeper have each two strong lugs C, C, cast thereon
on the under side, the lugs interlocking with each other, as is clearly.
represented in Figure 6; through each lug a keyway is made, and a single
tapered key or a pair of tapered keys D are driven therethrough so as to
securely and tightly lock the two halves of the sleeper together. In order to
afford a certain amount of elasticity in the joint I may use steel keys,.
and make those surfaces of the keyways against which the keys bear when..

page_text: tightened up, slightly rounded, or convex as shewn in Figure 6. In this
arrangement the lugs are so situate in their respective halves of the sleeper
that when combined a sufficient space will be left in the centre of the sleeper
between the contiguous sides of the two inner lugs for the introduction of the
end of the tie bar or rod E, through which the key or keys D is or are driven,
thus securing the tie bar to the sleeper by the same key or keys which hold
the two halves of the sleepers together. F, F, are sockets cast on the upper
surfaces of the sleeper for the reception of the end of the tie bar as shewn at
A in Figure 1. It will thus be seen that the system illustrated at A (Figure
1) is composed (exclusive of the rail) of only three differently shaped parts,
namely, the tie bar, the duplicate halves of the sleeper chair and the key or
duplicate keys, whereas four differently shaped parts are employed in the
sleeper B, (Figure 1), in which the two halves A, A', are not duplicates, as a
portion is removed from the side of the inner lug of the part A¹ to afford
space for the introduction of the end of the tie rod or bar as shewn clearly in
Figure 5 where the position of the tie rod is represented in red lines. In
this arrangement therefore the tie bar is not central as in Figure 6, but on
one side to the extent of half the thickness of the tie rod or bar, the part A¹
only is provided with the socket F for the end of the tie bar, the other part A
being cast without a socket. This systemi is composed therefore of four
differently shaped parts, namely, the halves A and A', the key or the keys, and
the tie bar. Where no tie bar is required for the intermediate sleepers I
propose to combine with the part A of the sleeper B (Figure 1) a perfect
duplicate as shewn in Figure 3 in substitution for the part A¹ (Figure 1) in
which case the lugs on each half will fit in between each other without
leaving any intervening spaces as shewn in full lines in Figure 5. The
intermediate sleepers and attachments will consequently be composed of the
same number of differently shaped parts as the sleeper A in Figure 1. In
all cases the rail G is gripped at the top and bottom flanges between the
chair jaws B, B, by the tightening of the keys, and I prefer to suspend the
rail by the upper flange from the tops of the jaws as shewn in my Drawings,
and to leave an intervening space or clearance between the foot or under
surface of the rail and the surface of the chair, whereby injury to the under-
side of the rail and to the lugs of the chair by concussion is prevented, and
greater freedom from vibration and durability in the permanent way is
obtained. If desired the rail may rest on its bottom flange on the chair, or
a cushion of any suitable material may be introduced between the under
surface of the rail and the chair. I do not confine myself to any particular
shape of sleeper which will of course vary with the kind of ballast used, but

page_text: Greaves'
as a general rule I prefer to adopt a similar form to that known as "
pot sleeper." An aperture may be made in the surface of each half of the
chair as shewn for the purpose of packing or ramming in ballast. If found
desirable the chair may be strengthened and lengthened in the jaws and lugs
so that the ordinary fish plates and bolts may be dispensed with, whilst at
the same time a bearing under the joints of the rails is obtained.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st, the general construction and arrangement of the permanent way of
railways substantially as herein-before described.
2nd, the peculiar constructions of sleeper chairs made in two. parts united
by a key or keys substantially as herein-before described.
3rd, the securing the ends of the tie rods by the same key or keys which
unite the two balves of the combined sleeper chair substantially as herein-
before described.
4th, the making of the bearing surfaces of the keyways in each half of a
combined sleeper chair rounded or convex for the purpose herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Russel Aitken, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four.