IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Fridolf Schauman at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th December 1883.
FRIDOLF SCHAUMAN, Engineer, at Copenhagen, (Denmark) "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
"
This invention relates to fixing railway rails by means of improved chairs or
spring clips which while being adapted for fixing the rails on stone sleepers
constructed according to the specification of Letters Patent granted to L. A. Groth,
N° 3679, dated 2nd August 1882 may also be advantageously employed for fixing
rails on other kinds of sleepers either longitudinal or transverse and of any
material
My improved chairs for fixing railway rails are each constructed of two or more
horizontal plates which are fixed directly to the sleeper and are terminated with an
equal number of flexible plates having curved lugs which clip or hook cramp wise
over the foot of the rails so as to keep them firmly in position.
The improved chair is made of spring steel and its strength and dimensions may
vary according to the weight of the rolling stock which it is required to support
and to the dimensions of the rails employed.
The improved chair may be made of a single plate of suitable thickness but it
may sometimes be preferable to construct it of several flexible plates connected
together. If the bed on which the chair is to be laid is of a very hard nature
I introduce between the two a layer of millboard, wood, or other relatively soft
material which renders the traffic over the permanent way almost noiseless.
The two horizontal parts of the chair rest directly on the sleeper and are each
provided with a hole to receive iron bolts by which they are fixed to the sleeper.
The two horizontal parts of the chair are separated by spaces from the two flexible
parts of the chair which are shorter than, but of the same thickness as the horizontal
parts and are terminated by lugs bent in an inverse direction so as to form a cramp
or clip which is applied to the base or foot of the rail. The flexible parts are
curved upwards and as the whole chair is made of spring steel it is evident
that when submitted to great pressure the flexible parts exert a considerable elastic
reaction.
To apply the improved chair to the permanent way or to remove it when required
for repairs it is only necessary to turn it sufficiently to cause it to take an oblique

page_text: position (in which position the clips or hooks are disengaged from the foot of the
rail) and it may then be turned so as to allow the rail to be fixed; or (by keeping
the clips or hooks in the oblique position) the improved chair can be withdrawn
without touching the rail.
In a modification the chair consists of three fixed horizontal plates and three
flexible plates with flat ends which form a wide base for the foot of the rail. In
this case it is only the side on which are the flexible plates which is furnished with
clips or hooks of the form hereinbefore described whilst the opposite flexible plate
is limited by a perpendicular flange through which passes a screw for fixing the
foot of the rail.
I sometimes construct the chair without spaces or notches in which case the
chair is applied in the direction of the length of the rail; a horizontal plate extends
along the rail and is provided at each end with flexible plates with flat ends and
curved up clips or hooks. I sometimes form the spaces or notches oblique the
construction of the other parts being similar to those hereinbefore described.