IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Spence, of 8, Quality Court, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
-A communication from abroad by Frederick Oakley, of the City
m
A
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Spence at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th January 1872.
I, WILLIAM SPENCE, of 8, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, in the
5 County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF THE PERMANENT
WAY OF RAILWAYS," (being a communication to me from abroad by
Frederick Oakley, of the City of Toronto, Canada, Carpenter), to be as
fallaws.

page_text: movement to the portions of the rails on each side of the junction of
two lengths of rails sufficient to allow of expansion and contraction.
For this purpose one of the fish plates is on the outer face either tapered
from the centre to the ends or formed with two inclined planes at the
parts where the fastening bolts are inserted, with in either case a flange
at the top and bottom of the said tapered part or the said inclined
planes.
.
In the said tapered part of the fish plate or at each of the said
inclines formed therein and between the said flanges wedges are
applied, over or outside which the fastening nuts are placed. The bolt
holes in the rails and the wedges are circular to fit the bolts, while those
in the fish plates are elongated or slotted to admit of expansion and
contraction of the lengths of rail.
By the foregoing arrangement of the parts on the expansion of the
rails the fish plates are free to move in relation to the wedges to the ]
extent required, and the latter fill up the space between the bolt heads
and the nuts and keep the bolt tight. Also on the contraction of the
rails the thickness made up of the web of the rail, together with the
fish plate and wedges, becomes diminished, and room is given to the bolt
to contract without the ordinary strain (with liability to fracture) being 2
brought on the bolt.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Spence in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th July 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM 2
SPENCE, of 8, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middle-
sex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the 30
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said William Spence, Her special
licence that I, the said William Spence, my executors, administrators,

page_text: and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Spence, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ircland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE JOINTS OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," being a communi-
cation to me from abroad by F. Oakley, of the City of Toronto, Canada,
Carpenter, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Spence, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Spence, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
This Invention of "Improvements in the Joints of the Permanent
Way of Railways" has for its object the construction of the joints of
the permanent way of railways in such a manner as to give freedom of
movement to the portions of the rails on cach side of the junction of
two lengths of rails sufficient to allow of expansion and contraction.
For this purpose one of the fish plates is on the outer surface cither
tapered from the centre to the ends or formed with two inclined planes
at the parts where the fastening bolts are inserted, with in either casc a
flange at the top and bottom of the said tapered part or the said inclined
planes.
In the said tapered part of the fish plate or at cach of the said inclines
formed therein and between the said flanges wedges are applied, over or
outside which the fastening nuts,are placed.
The bolt holes in the rails and the wedges are circular to fit the bolts,
while those in the fish plates are elongated or slotted to admit of expan-

page_text: By the foregoing arrangement of the parts on the expansion of the
rails the fish plates are free to move in relation to the wedges to the
extent required, and the latter fill up the space between the bolt heads
and the nuts and keep the bolt tight. Also on the contraction of the
rails the thickness made up of the web of the rail, together with the fish 5
plate and wedges, becomes diminished, and room is given to the bolt to
contract without the ordinary strain (with liability to fracture) being
brought on the bolt.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed 1
by the aid of the accompanying Drawings, in which are represented the
junction of the two ends of rails with fish plates constructed as above
referred to.
Fig. 1 is a horizontal section shewing two ends of rails and one of the
fish plates tapered from the centre to the ends; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal
elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section showing the two
ends of rails and one of the fish plates with two inclined planes on each
side of the centre; Fig. 4 is an end view, and Fig. 5 a transversc
vertical section of the rails and plates; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal
elevation on the side opposite to that in Fig. 2. In these several Figures
the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
A, A, are the two lengths of rail; B is the fish plate, which is tapered
from the centre to the ends, as shewn in Fig. 1, and has a flange at the
top and bottom as shewn at b, b, in Fig. 4; C is the other fish plate,
which is parallel throughout; D, D, are wedges inserted in the tapered
part of the fish plate B as in Fig. 1, or the inclined plane parts as in
Fig. 3, and between the flanges b, b, of the said fish plate. In the
tapered or inclined plane parts of the fish plate B are formed slots E, E,
and there are corresponding slots F, F, in the fish plate C through
which the ordinary bolts G, G, pass. These bolts also pass through
circular holes formed in the rail A and the wedges D, D, and the parts
are fastened together as required by means of the nuts H, H. It will
thus be seen that on the expansion of the two ends of the rail A, A, the
fish plates B and C are free to move in relation to the wedges D, D, by a
reason of the slots in the said plates, the wedges and rails being united

page_text: by the bolts, and on the contraction of the two ends of rail, the wedges
being brought into the deeper parts of the taper or inclines, space is
given for the bolts to contract, whereby they are protected from the
strain to which they are ordinarily liable.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention communicated
to me from abroad as aforesaid, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, I hereby declare that what I claim as the said Invention is,
the construction of fish plates tapered or with inclined planes and with
slots, such fish plates being combined with wedges for the purpose or
purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Spence, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
5 Witness,
W. A. JACKSON,
8, Quality Court, ·
Chancery Lanc.
WILLIAM SPENCE. (L.S.)