IMPROVEMENTS to be as follows, that is to say :- IN SLEEPERS AND CHAIRS FOR RAILWAYS
Year: 1885

page_text: we, JAMES CLARK BUNTEN, of The Anderston Foundry, Glasgow, in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, Ironfounder, and ANGUS MURRAY, of the same place,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
to be as follows, that is to say :-
IN SLEEPERS AND CHAIRS FOR RAILWAYS
"
Our said Invention has for its object to improve and simplify the construction of
sleepers and chairs for railways, and it relates principally to the system of
permanent way in which the sleepers are transverse and consist of inverted
trough-like plates of steel or wrought iron.
to or in connection with bowl sleepers or sleepers of other forms when made of
The improvements are also applicable
steel or wrought iron.
In carrying out the Invention the chairs are formed as part of the sleeper itself
by half-punching or cutting and bending up tongue-like parts to form the jaws.
For each rail there are by preference two jaw-parts for each side, those for one side
being by preference not directly opposite to those for the other side, so as to avoid
unnecessary weakening of the metal. The metal is also by preference rolled
thicker at the parts where the chairs are formed. With the jaws made as described
there is combined for each chair a tapered key shaped not only to bear partly on
the top of the bottom flange of the rail when it is of the Vignolles kind but also
with a part bearing between the lateral edge of the bottom flange of the rail and
the lower part of the inside of the jaws.
outer side of the rail to suit the adjustment of the gauge; and to give further
The key can be inserted at the inner or
power of adjustment of the gauge separate pieces of different thicknesses may be
provided for placing between the jaws and the rails, such pieces being shaped with
projections to enter and engage in the openings formed in the sleeper by cutting
and bending up the jaw parts.
Dated this twenty-fourth day of Jannes 100-

page_text: .
Improvements in Sleepers and Chairs for
We, JAMES CLARK BUNTEN, of The Anderston Foundry, Glasgow in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, Ironfounder, and ANGUS MURRAY, of the same place
Engineer, 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, that is to say :-
Our said Invention has for its object to improve and simplify the construction
of sleepers and chairs for railways, and it relates principally to the system of
permanent way in which the sleepers are transverse and consist of inverted trough-
like plates of steel or wrought iron. The improvements are also applicable to or
in connection with bowl sleepers or sleepers of other forms when made of steel or 1
wrought iron.
In carrying out the Invention the chairs are formed as part of the sleeper itself
by half-punching or cutting and bending up tongue-like parts to form the jaws.
For each rail there are by preference two jaw parts for each side, those for one
side being by preference not directly opposite to those for the other side, so as to
avoid unnecessary weakening of the metal. The metal is also by preference rolled
thicker at the parts where the chairs are formed. With the jaws made as described
there is combined for each chair a tapered key shaped not only to bear partly on
the top of the bottom flange of the rail when it is of the Vignoles kind but also
with a part bearing between the lateral edge of the bottom flange of the rail and
the lower part of the inside of the jaws. The key can be inserted at the inner or
outer side of the rail to suit the adjustment of the gauge; and to give further
power of adjustment of the gauge separate pieces of different thicknesses may be
provided for placing between the jaws and the rails, such pieces being shaped with
projections to enter and engage in the openings formed in the sleeper by cutting
and bending up the jaw parts.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood we hereunto append a sheet of explanatory drawings
to be hereinafter referred to and representing combined sleepers and chairs as made
with our improvements.
Figure, 1, on the accompanying sheet of drawings is a plan of a portion of a
sleeper with a rail in position and secured by a key. Figure, 2, is a vertical
section corresponding to figure, 1, and figure, 3, is a vertical section showing s
modification with a separate adjustment piece, of a kind shown separately in
figure, 4.
In the example shown in figures 1, and 2, two jaws, J, are formed for each sid
of the rail, R, by partly punching or cutting through the metal of the sleeper and
partly bending the half-punched parts into suitable shapes. The key, K, is a lon
tapered bar of a curved form in cross section and is shaped to bear on the top
the bottom flange of the rail and also between the lateral edge of the bottom flang
and the lower part of the inside of the jaws. The outer surface of the key and th
inner surface of the jaw or jaws may be corrugated like some existing forms of key
or the key may be of any suitable known elastic kind that can be adapted to be
on the rail flange and between its edge and the jaw as described,
5

page_text: The thickness piece, T, shown separately in figure, 4, and as applied, in figure, 3,
is made with claws to enter the openings formed under the jaws, J, by the half-
punching process; and it is curved, in cross section to fit in between the jaws, J,
and the bottom flange of the rail, R.
Instead of two jaws, J, being formed on each side, there may be a single
comparatively broad jaw formed on one side and two on the other; or there may
be single jaws on both sides.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. The system of forming railway chairs on the sleepers by half-punching and
suitably bending up parts to form jaws, combined with the application of a key
arranged to bear on the bottom flange of the rail and also between the edge of that
flange and the jaw or jaws, substantially as herein before described.
2. In combination with the subject matter of the first claim the application of
the thickness pieces for adjusting the gauge substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this first day of Ontahan 1005
EDMUNT HUNT,
Applicants' Agent.