IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Amos Joseph Acaster, of the Princess Works, Sheffield, in
the County of York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 18th December 1877, and dated the 11th October 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Amos Joseph Acaster at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th October 1877.
AMOS JOSEPH ACASTER, of the Princess Works, Sheffield, in the County of York,
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
This Invention relates to the further application of the principle of the Invention
described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me on the 18th day of
December, A.D. 1876, No. 4884,70. This principle was described in the said Speci-
fication as consisting in the application and use, for the purpose of jointing and
supporting the ends of rails, of metal wedge keys, and it was further described as
being practically adapted only to longitudinally ribbed or grooved rails, though such
rails might be of any ordinary or desired section.
The present Invention relates to the further application of this principle to ordi-
nary rails (that is, rails not necessarily ribbed or grooved) of any section, and also to
crossing rails, that is, rails used for crossing from one line of rails to another line of
rails.
The wedges, as described in the said Specification, I propose to use in combina-
tion with the sheaths or wedge chairs, which, however, on their inner sides (which
are adjacent to the webs, heads, and flanges of the rails) I form approximately to the
contour thereof, but without the ribs or grooves described in the said Specification.
This method will allow of precisely the same arrangements of wedges and sheaths,
or wedge chairs (described in the said Specification as being applied to ribbed or
grooved rails) to be applied to ordinary rails, which is an important advantage.
The two wedges have double action, they truss or shoulder up the head of the
rail, which may be termed a vertical action, and they also operate to bind together
the webs of the rails and the chairs, and this may be termed the horizontal action
[Price 8d.1

page_text: the result being that the rails are suspended in what may be called an elastic
chair.
In applying the said principle to crossing rails I make the sheaths or wedge
chairs sufficiently wide to embrace the rails, and I apply the vertically acting
jointing or supporting wedges, as described in the said Specification, to the outer
rails of the crossing rail, and between the sheaths or wedge chairs and the webs of
the outer rails I further place similar, but horizontally acting and broader wedges.
This combination of wedges is very advantageous in such an application, as it will
ensure a desirable elasticity in lieu of the usual rigidity in such rails.
In crossing rails which are built up of lengths of rails (and not cast whole, as
now frequently done), in lieu of the usual blocks which are placed between the rails
to keep them at the required distance apart, I apply horizontally acting wedges or
blocks (acting in combination with each other) similar to those herein-above alluded
to, and I use them also in combination with the vertically and horizontally acting
wedges immediately above mentioned as being used to support the outer rails of the
crossing rail.
This method of supporting built-up crossing rails is also very
advantageous in its application as it will ensure a desirable elasticity of the rail.
All or any of the wedges referred to in this Specification may be formed plain or
smooth on their contact surfaces with rails, chairs, sheaths, or each other, or trans-
versely notched, indented, or roughened, as described in my said former Specifica-
tion, and I may groove or rib any part or parts of any of the wedges, and also any
part or parts of any of the rails, and I may use the foregoing, or any of them,
without any ribs, grooves, or toothing.
A further part of my present Invention consists in placing the rails of railways
in suspension so that they will be clastic instead of rigid; and in carrying this out
in practice I propose to adapt and use or apply a sheath, chair, or scabbard, made so
as to pass under the shoulder of the rail head, down the web, round the bottom of
the rail, and up on the opposite side to the bottom of the rail head, the sheath,
chair, or scabbard not touching the bottom of the rail, and this sheath, chair, or
scabbard will be kept in position to some extent by means of my improved
wedges.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Amos Joseph Acaster in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
April 1878.
AMOS JOSEPH ACASTER, of the Princess Works, Sheffield, in the County of York,
Engineer. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
This Invention relates to the further and improved application of the principle of
the Invention described in the Specification of the Letters Patent granted to me on
the 18th day of December, A.D. 1876, No. 4884. This principle was described in the
said Specification as consisting in the application and use for the purpose of jointing
and supporting the ends of rails of serrated or roughened metal wedge keys.
I would here remark that I am aware that metal keys have formerly been used.
for this purpose, and that for various reasons they have not been found to attain the
results expected from-them. Upon a consideration of the requirements of the
permanent way of railways which are absolutely necessary to enable it to properly
perform its office, and to be sound, durable, and elastic for the safety and ease of
travelling, and of the various methods by which the jointing and supporting the
ends of the rails by the employment of metal wedge keys have been previously
attempted, such a result upon the employment of such means as have been hereto-
fore used was to be expected. A leading characteristic of all, or nearly all, the
attempts in this direction, and which of itself, considering the nature of the materials
with which we have to deal, and the requirements of the permanent way, would
inevitably cause the failure of any system based thereupon, consists in forming the
wedge or holding faces of the keys with undulations, corrugations, or ratchet-like
projections or serrations of such a size and nature as would altogether prevent the
keys being knocked into position tightly without causing the fracture of the
adjoining parts arising from the severe tension to which they would be put (though
for argument's sake we might allow of a considerable amount of elastic yielding of
the metal), and would cause them, always to be loose, and consequently fail in the
attainment of the purpose for which they were applied.
So far as I am aware Letters Patent have been granted for only some half dozen
Inventions dealing with the subject matter of this Invention in any modification
of the way I propose, and in all of these systems the above fault forms a leading
feature and an obvious defect.
In some of the said systems elastic spring or yielding keys are used; these would
not only utterly fail in their intended use, but would bo positively dangerous to a
train running over them, as elasticity in this sense of the word is by no means to
be desired in the permanent way, as it would be more than liable to lead to
disastrous results; and could the combinations forming the subject matter of most
of these systems be put together by the ordinary appliances platelayers have in use,
it would be next to impossible, if not absolutely so, to separate the parts when
required for renewal of rails without breakage, and they are thus of no practical
value. But none of these methods propose to use the wedge keys for the purpose
of this Invention in the manner contemplated under my said former Letters Patent
and under my present improvements, and the characteristic feature of which was
clearly specified in my said former Specification, as consisting in using con-
tinuously tapering and solid metal wedge keys in combination, and in forming their
contact faces with roughenings (after the manner of a file cut) to prevent the keys
slipping end ways, in which direction from their nature they have a constant
tendency to slip, and especially when the joint is subjected to the jar arising from
the passing over it of trains. There is but one method of which I am aware which
in any way proposes to deal with the question by the use of wedge keys in combi-
nation, but the contact faces of such wedge keys are formed plain or smooth, and
the keys are therefore useless, there being no efficient means to counteract their
tendency to slip.

page_text: I
From much experience and extensive experiments, and for the above reasons,
have come to the conclusion that all such methods as I have above referred to are
what can only be described as useless for their intended objects, and are moreover
dangerous to the safety of rolling stock and passengers travelling thereby, and
without such roughening, after the manner of a file cut, and which constitutes a
principal feature of my said former Letters Patent, I believe that wedge keys of
any kind are altogether useless for the purpose of uniting or jointing and supporting
the ends and other parts of rails.
In reverting to the subject matter of the first or opening paragraph of this Speci-
cation, I would remark that the principle of the Invention, described in my said
former Letters Patent, was described as being practically adapted to rails, which
might be of any ordinary or desired section, but which had to be specially grooved
or provided with projecting ribs, and which grooves or ribs were formed longi-
tudinally of the rails, and either at the ends or other parts of or continuous throughout
the length of the rails.
Now the present Invention relates to the further application of the said principle
to ordinary rails, that is, rails which are not necessarily ribbed or grooved through-
out, or at any part, and to what are known as crossing rails.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention, I will now proceed to
describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed
or carried into practical effect, and in order that the same may be completely
understood I have annexed hereunto three Sheets of Drawings illustrative thereof,
and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with
those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
My said Invention is illustrated on the accompanying Drawings in various
modifications of its application to different sections of ordinary rails in Figures 1
to 13, and in its application to crossing rails in Figures 14 to 16.
On the accompanying Drawings 1 represents my improved wedges, some of
which, as those illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, have a vertical action intended to
truss or shoulder up the heads of the rails 2 to their work to cause smooth riding,
and others of which marked 1*, as those illustrated in Figures 1, 4 to 7, and 9
to 16, have a horizontal action intended to cause the webs of the rails to bo well
and tightly nipped against the jaws of the chair 3 or other adjacent part, and also
to truss the rail heads well up to their work.
Figures 8, 14, and 15 illustrate the use of both descriptions of wedges in
combination.
With reference to the modifications illustrated in Figures 1 to 13, Figure 1
illustrates the use in combination with ordinary rails (of any cross section,
a double-headed rail being shown) of a correspondingly shaped sheath 4, ribbed or
grooved outside at its bottom, as at 5, and of horizontally acting wedge keys 1×
which, tending to force the bottom of the sheath asunder, cause its jaws 6 to nip and
firmly hold the rails.
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a similar combination to the preceding, save that
vertically acting wedge keys 1 are shown, which acting between the ribs or grooves
of the sheath at 7 more directly truss up the head of the rail. The opening between
the jaws of the sheath is made somewhat narrower than the web of the rail, so as
to require to be sprung open with a platelayer's bar to admit or be placed on the
rail, thus when the wedge keys are driven home the bottom and sides of the sheath
act as a fulcrum, and cause the rails to be well grasped throughout the length of
the sheath, and thus secure a simultaneous deflection of both rails and smooth'
travelling with a non-wearing sheath.
Figure 4 illustrates a pair of the horizontally acting wedge keys 1* used in
combination with a chair 3, and a truss piece 8 supporting an ordinary rail.
Figures 5 to 7 are illustrative of a similar combination, but show respectively in
addition to the rail and chair a truss piece with one wedge key 1*, the adjacent
jaw 9 of the chair being conformably wedge shaped, two wedge keys 1*, and one
wedge key 1*, the adjacent jaw 9 of the chair being conformably wedge shaped,
0

page_text: Thechairs are formed to the desired shape, preferably of steel or wrought iron or
other suitable material, which will allow them to be elastic and deflect when trains
are passing over.
Figures 8 and 9 illustrate separate semi-sheaths or jaws 6* fulcrummed below the
rails, as at 10, and caused to nip the webs of the rails and truss the rail heads by
horizontally acting wedge keys 1*.
The dotted lines in Figure 8 illustrate the further application, in combination
with this arrangement, of vertically acting wedge keys 1.
Figure 10 illustrates a similar combination to that illustrated in Figure 6, but
shows the chairs as formed at or near the ends of a sleeper 11, which can be manu-
factured together with the chairs, forming a compound sleeper and chairs, in a
casting of steel or wrought iron, and cogged down under a steam hammer or rolls,
and then while hot rolled between rolls, or pressed between suitable dies into
shape.
Figures 11 and 12 illustrate a somewhat similar combination to the preceding,
the difference being in the arrangement of the wedge keys; the jaws 9 of the chairs
being conformably inclined.
Figure 13 illustrates a similar combination to that illustrated in Figure 6, but
shows the chairs as formed with inclined edges at 14, which are fitted into dovetail
recesses made in a rolled iron or steel sleeper 11*, and are secured therein by wedge
keys 1*.
The chairs illustrated in Figures 4 to 7, and 14 to 16, can all be secured to the
ordinary sleepers in the usual way by spikes or bolts 13, or they can be formed
with inclined side edges, and secured to the sleepers 11* in the manner illustrated
in Figure 13.
With reference to the application of the said principle to crossing rails, as illus-
trated in Figures 14 to 16, these Figures illustrate a crossing built up of
ordinary rails, and show the same suspended in chairs (made sufficiently wide to
embrace the rails) by horizontally acting and vertically acting, jointing, and sup-
porting wedge keys, the latter being applied to the outer rails and the former
being also applied between the chair, keys 1, and the webs of the outer rails, and
between the webs of the pairs of rails in lieu of the usual blocks placed between
the rails to keep them at the required distance apart. This combination of wedge
keys is very advantageous in such an application, as it ensures a desirable elasticity
in lieu of the usual rigidity in such rails.
Crossing rails, which are cast whole, may also be suspended in such wide chairs
by means of such horizontally acting and vertically acting wedge keys applied
between the jaws of the chairs and the webs and heads of the outer rails.
Figures 1 to 11 and 13 are all cross sections; Figure 12 is a plan view of
Figure 11; Figure 14 is a plan view; and Figures 15 and 16, sections thereof
through the lines a, b, and c, d, respectively.
The parts are put together in the same manner as is described in the Specifi-
cation of my said former Letters Patent, so there is no need for further detailed
description thereof.
12 represents the guiding ribs and grooves in the adjoining faces of the wedge
keys 1, 1*.
I would here remark, that in all the above modifications the suspension of the
rails in contradistinction to setting them upon a rigid foundation forms a prominent
feature; this will be at once apparent from an inspection of the accompanying
Drawings, and this I hold to, be a very valuable, though by itself not altogether a
new feature.
All the above modifications will also allow of the usual contraction and expansion
of the rails, as in my former Letters Patent.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect, I would remark in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention, the jointing and
supporting in suspension of the ends and other parts of ordinary rails and crossing

page_text: rails of railways by the application and use of wedge keys in combination with
chairs, sheaths, or semi-sheaths, substantially as in the improved modes herein-
above described, and as illustrated on the accompanying Sheets of Drawings; but
I do not claim the use of such wedge keys in any such combination, save and except
when they are formed solid and have their contact or inclined faces finely
roughened after the manner of a file cut and provided with a guiding rib and
groove.
In witness whereof, I, the said Amos Joseph Acaster, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.