IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND IN WHEELS AND OTHER PARTS OF CARRIAGES FOR RAILWAYS AND COMMON ROADS, PARTLY APPLICABLE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR OTHER VESSELS, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING CERTAIN PARTS OF THE SAMEs
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
TUCKER STRATTON, of Bristol, Agricultural Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Sixth day of April, One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the tenth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin
Tucker Stratton, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Benjamin Tucker Stratton, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin Tucker
Stratton, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands
of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN RAILWAYS AND IN WHEELS AND OTHER PARTS OF CARRIAGES FOR RAILWAYS
AND COMMON ROADS, PARTLY APPLICABLE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR OTHER
VESSELS, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING CERTAIN PARTS
OF THE SAME;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I,
the said Benjamin Tucker Stratton, should cause a particular description of

page_text: the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand seal, to be inrolled in
Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Benjamin Tucker Stratton, have ascertained and set forth the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, in and by
the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
My improvements in railways refer to the mode of constructing the rails or
bars on which the carriages are to run. The kind of bars to which my
improvement applies is that which is seen in Figures 1 and 2, Figure 1 being
a plan, and Figure 2 a transverse section of the same, the said bars consisting
of a hollow ridge a, of any suitable section, with a flange b, b, extending along
each edge, and forming the base of the ridge, and the said flange having holes
to receive the bolts by which the bars are secured to the sleepers. Rails of
this description re extensively used upon railways, but when exposed to very
heavy loads are frequently crippled by spreading or contracting at the base.
My improvement consists in attaching to the under side of the flanches a bar
or plate of iron, extending from the outer edge of one flange to the outer edge
of the other, as shewn at c in Figure 3, and as an additional security the bar
or plate (which I shall call the tie plate) may be turned up at the edges, so as
to clip or embrace the flanches, as shown in Figure 4; and as a further security
against contraction at the base, the tie plate may be formed in section, as
shewn either in Figure 5 or in Figure 6. The tie plates may either extend
the whole length of the rail bar, or be applied in short pieces at intervals along
the flanges, as shown at Figure 5. The tie plates may be connected to the
flanges of the rails by bolting or rivetting, but I consider it preferable to unite
the tie plate to the rails by welding, according to the mode for which I
obtained Letters Patent, dated First of August, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-four.
I claim under this head of my Invention the construction of rails for railway
carriages to run upon, herein-before described, consisting of a bar of iron
formed into a hollow ridge of any suitable section, with a horizontal flange on
each side at the base of the ridges, the flanges being connected together either
throughout their length or at intervals by a plate of iron, which I denominate
a "tie plate."

page_text: Figure 7 represents one portion of my improvements in the construction of
wheels for carriages intended to run upon common roads. It consists in
forming the spokes as sectoral-shaped loops of corrugated or hollow iron, of
any form of section, or of flat or round or oval rods of iron, or of angle or
T-iron. These spokes are placed together, so that the bight of the hoops
shall lie in the circumference of a circle, and their straight sides shall lie in
contact, radiating towards the centre of the circle. The straight sides are
then secured together by bolting, rivetting, or welding, and the nave is cast
upon the inner ends, after which the spaces at the angles between each pair of
spokes is filled in, or partly filled in, with wood, iron, or other suitable material,
and a tyre iron is then put on in the usual way. In some cases, instead of
filling in the angles between the spokes, I apply a circle of wooden felloes,
which I attach to the spokes by bolts, rivets, or screws, and over the said plates
I apply a tyre in the ordinary way.
One of my improvements in wheels for railway carriages, and which is also
applicable to carriages intended for common roads, is shewn in Figure 8, and
consists in forming the spokes of iron bars of any figure in section, bent into
sectoral-shaped loops, as described with reference to Figure 7, but having
placed between each pair of sectoral loops or spokes a, a, a radiating spoke b.
Another of my improvements in the construction of railway wheels, and
which also is applicable to wheels of common road carriages, is shewn in
Figure 9. It has for its object to obtain a nave or stock of as large a
diameter as possible, with a given weight of iron blocks a, a, of pumice
stone, or the material known as Bath brick, or any other material that will
admit of metal being cast round it without blowing, are inserted between the
spokes (b, b) when placed in the mould for casting, and the nave is cast round
the blocks and the end of the spokes. By this means the blocks are hermeti-
cally closed in by the iron, and the difference between the weight of the two
materials being great, a given weight of iron may be more profitably employed,
or with a given strength the weight of iron may be lessened.
I claim under this head of my Invention,-
First, the constructing of wheels for common road carriages with spokes of
corrugated or hollow iron, of any form in section, or of flat or round or oval
rods of iron, or of angle or T-iron, bent into the form of sectoral loops, the
straight sides of each pair of loops lying in contact, and (preferably) rivetted or
otherwise fastened together.
Second, the constructing of wheels for railway and common road carriages
with spokes formed as sectoral loops of corrugated or hollow iron, of any form
in its section, or of flat or round or oval rods of iron, or of angle or T-iron, with

page_text: a straight radiating spoke inserted between and in contact with the straight
sides of each contiguous pair of looped spokes.
Third, the casting the naves of railway and common road carriages round
blocks of pumice stone or other suitable material inserted between the ends
of the spokes in the mould previous to casting.
My improvements in carriages for railways and common roads refer to the
construction of the bodies of such carriages, and consist in forming the ribs
or standards of corrugated iron to the flanges or edges of which the pannelling
of the carriage is rivetted or bolted, as shewn in Figure 10.
This part of my Invention is also applicable to the construction of iron ships
or vessels, by forming the ribs of such vessels of corrugated iron, and rivetting
or bolting thereto the transverse plates or sheathing.
I claim under this head of my Invention the employment of corrugated iron
for forming the ribs or standards of carriages for railroads or common roads, or
the ribs of iron ships or vessels.
Figures 11 and 12 represent an apparatus or machine for bending the spokes
of the wheels before described to the required form, Figure 11 being a plan of
the machine, and Figure 12 a longitudinal section. a, a, is the frame of the
machine, and ba traversing bed plate, moving on guides c, c, formed in or
attached to the frame. The frame is moved to and fro by means of a pinion d
working into a rack e fixed to the under side of the table, the pinion being
turned by hand or other suitable power applied to its axis. On the upper
surface of the table is fixed a mould f, of the form required for the interior of
the spokes of the iron wheel, and at 9 is a concave block, moved between
guides h by the screw i, which moulds the spokes at the crown of the arch.
k, k, are two bent levers, turning upon pins in the transverse bar m, and
having rollers n, n, at the ends of the short arms, whilst from the ends of the
long arms proceed ropes o, o, passing over pulleys at p, p, and having weights
suspended to them. The operation of the machine is as follows:-The iron
(at a red heat, if requisite) is placed between the mould f and the block g,
the middle of the iron for the spoke corresponding with the middle of the
mould, and the concave block is firmly screwed up against it, so as to press it
to the shape of the mould at the crown of the arch. The table is then set in
motion, so as to carry the mould between the rollers in the ends of the levers,
which, by the operation of the weights on the opposite ends, compress the bar
in its passage between them to the sides of the mould, thereby giving the
required form to the spoke. The motion of the table being continued, the
rollers come in contact with the wedge-piece r fixed to the upper side of the
table, whereby they are forced apart, so as to admit of the spoke being removed.

page_text: The mould, concave block, and pressing rollers may be grooved, so as to
produce any kind of moulding on the spoke, or to suit iron of any form.
Instead of placing the frame horizontally, as described above, it may be placed
vertically.
Figure 13 represents another arrangement for a bending machine in which
only one pressing lever is employed. The bed plate a, to which the mould b
is fixed, does not slide past the rollers, but turns upon a pivot at c, and the
lever d, being acted upon by an adequate weight, presses the iron into close
contact with the mould during its revolution upon its pivot.
I claim under this head of my Invention, for the purpose of forming the
spokes of my improved wheels,-
Firstly, the combination of a sliding table and mould moving between two
pressing rollers, actuated by a pair of levers, as herein-before described; and,
Secondly, the combination of a table turning upon a pivot, and carrying
a suitable mould, with a pressing roller actuated by a lever, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Tucker Stratton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Second day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
BENJAMIN TUCKER (L.s.) STRATTON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Second day of October, in the
year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Benjamin Tucker Stratton came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.