IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT
WAY OF RAILWAYS."-A communication from abroad by Benjamin
Dabines
Doston Massachucotts United States of America
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition.
and Declaration, on the 18th June 1869, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, South-
ampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for." IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant
unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters.
Patent for the same, and have made solemn declaration that it has.

page_text: been communicated to me from abroad by Benjamin Robinson, of
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of tho said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement:-
This Invention relates to a new method of jointing railroad rails.
whereby they are framed into each other and form a rail practically con-
tinuous, but still so adjusted that the requisite room for expansion is
allowed. It obviates the necessity of chairs, is cheaper and more sightly
than the fish joint, and has none of the defect of spreading incident to,
the so-called "continuous rail" or halved rails, laid double with breaking.
joints.
We may conceive of this improvement as an ordinary "T" rail
gradually changed in section near its end, so that the cross section
of the two abutting rails at the joint presents nearly the section of
the "U" or "bridge" rail, and this scotion so divided between the
two rails by means of a lateral bevel of the vertical joint that successive
sections of each rail shall present varying forms from the r or 1 shape
to the or shape. By means of mortises and tenons sunk in or
raised upon the lateral bevel these ends are interlocked.
This Invention may assume four generic forms. Two have horizontal
mortises and tenons, two have hooking mortises and tenons. The
mortises and tenons of either sort may again be single or doublo.
In the Drawings are represented the single and double hooking.
mortise and tenon and the double horizontal mortise and tenon. The
single horizontal framing is sufficiently understood by the other views.
Where double framing is employed the tenon is near the tip and the
mortise near the but of the bevel. Where single framing is employed
the mortise and tenon are placed centrally on the bevel.
Fig. 1 is an end view of a rail having this joint; Fig. 2 is a section
through the joint showing no framing and with the T-rail section dotted;
Fig. 3 is an end view of a rail with this joint made with double hooking
mortise and tenon; Fig. 4 is a similar view of a rail with the double hori-
zontal mortise and tenon; Fig. 5 is a similar view with the single hooking
mortise and tenon; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the joint; if with double

page_text: framing it would have one bolt hole, as shown, if with single framing
two, one at each end of the mortise; Fig. 7 is a plan of the joint with
single mortise and tenon; Fig. 8 is a plan with double horizontal mortise
and tenon; Fig. 9 is a plan with double hooking mortise and tenon;
Fig. 10 is a longitudinal vertical section of the joint with single hooking
framing. Like letters indicate like parts in all the Figures.
A, A', A", A, B, B', B", B, are rails; their ends have a lateral
bevel, as shown. By the action of the swage or roll the web which in
a T rail would be at c, Fig. 1, is forced to the side of the rail d or e,
Fig. 2, giving the external appearance of a U or bridge rail, as at e,
Fig. 6. This lateral distortion is upon a lateral bevel, and the dividing
line of the joint extends vertically through the joint, save where broken
by the mortises and tenons. The tenons must be shorter than the
mortises, and so adjusted in relation to them in the double framing as
to allow end play at each end for expansion. In Fig. 8, and y show
the plan of the mortises and tenons in dotted lines where the double
horizontal framing is used, and in Fig. 9f and g¹ show their plan when
double hooking framing is employed. If we look at rail B" from its
point the appearance will be as shown in Fig. 3. & represents the web
crowded from the centre to the side with hooking tenon h raised on
its side towards the point, and g' is the hollow into which a similar
tenon on rail A" hooks. The bottom of this mortise and the bottom of
the tenon on each rail form a continuous line parallel to the top and
bottom of the rail, while the boundary lines of the tenon and mortise
cutting the inclined plane x, y, Fig. 9, are inclined to the horizontal, so
that these mortises and tenons hook together. In Fig. 8 and Fig. 4 the
joint is shown with double horizontal framing. In Fig. 4 we look at
the end of rail B from its point. The web c of Fig. 1 is laterally
displaced to d, and the outline of the end section is p, q, r, u, v, 0,—
q, r, u, o, being the end section of the tenon. Its side being parallel
to the inclined plane x, y, Fig, 8, it length is foreshortened, and shown
as the whole lines r, s, t, u. The mortise in the butt is similarly
represented by the horizontal whole lines and dotted verticals m, s, t, n,
ጎ), ተ, ጎ, ጎሽ, A bolt passed through between the two tenons and
mortises binds all well together, though when stout holding down spikes
are driven firmly into the ties on each side of the joint this is hardly
needed.

page_text: If it is desired to use only a single mortise and tenon, as may bo
advisable on double track roads in some cases, the general construction
of the horizontal mortise and tenon will be readily understood from
what has gone before, but the plan of the joint would be as shown in
Figure 7, at. In case of the hooking framing Fig. 7 would show the
plan, and Figs. 5 and 10 the best form of the mortise and tenon, as
indicated by the letters m', ', o', p', q', ', and two bolts k', one on each
end of the mortise, would be used.
It is an old device to bevel the ends of rails and thus make a lap
or splice joint, and I do not claim that, nor do I claim the bolting of
rails together; but I confine my Invention to the described system
of framing rails together by mortises and tenons on a lap joint.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
to set my hand and scal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the
year One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)