IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS." THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Seaton, of No. 19, Salisbury Street,
Strand, London, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 1st December 1874, and dated the 17th August 1874.
PR VISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Seaton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th August 1874.
I, WILLIAM SEATON, of No. 19, Salisbury Street, Strand, London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction and
application of the saddle rail, and in parts of the permanent way of
railways, whereby a more permanent and durable road may be made
and greater elasticity and smoothness of working may be obtained.

page_text: When holding down, bolts and nuts are employed for securing the
rail to the longitudinal sleeper, or for bolting the rail, sleeper, and
transom together, I propose to use deep nuts with a fanged or clawed
upper face, the plate of which may be triangular or square, with the
fangs or teeth projecting from the corners thereof to take into and hold
in the wood into which they are drawn by the screwing or turning of
the bolts.
On the fan rebruary 1075.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SEATON, of No. 19, Salisbury Street, Strand, London, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Seaton, Her special licence that I, the
said William Seaton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Seaton, 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 Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Seaton, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Seaton, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, and illustrative Sheet of Drawings:
-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction and appli-
cation of the "saddle rail," and in parts of the permanent way of
railways, whereby a more permanent and durable road may be made,
and greater elasticity and smoothness of working may be obtained.
Instead of constructing the "saddle rail" in the mode or manner,
and of the section heretofore in use, I prolong the sides thereof down-
-ward, and I form a flange horizontally along cach side to receive holes
to be punched or drilled therein for the purpose of receiving vertical
bolts or fastenings.
Instead also of using or employing longitudinal sleepers of the usual
pyramidal section extending downward in one piece from the apex of
the inner surface of the rail down to the broad base of such pyramidal
or triangular section sleepers, and forming the bearing (on the founda-
tion) on the road or on the ballast, I employ longitudinal sleepers or balks
or planks of timber of a parallelogram cross section of suitable dimensions
framed and tied together at intervals by means of transoms or transverse
sleepers of the usual length and dimensions under them. Longitudinally
along the centre of the upper face of the longitudinal balk or plank
forming the longitudinal sleeper, and so as to form a bed piece or
"back
upon which to place the "saddle rail," I place an
"arris piece"
of sound hard timber of triangular section of suitable dimensions
according to the section of the rail, and upon this "arris piece" the
new form of "saddle rail" it is intended shall rest and be thoroughly
supported (throughout its length continuously), as on a core or bed, and
by this means the area of the bearing surface is increased, and the load
is thereby borne on a greater breadth of surface, instead of upon and by
the two flanges only, as is the case in the use of the ordinary "bridge
rail."
I form the joints and joinings of the rails at their ends by inserting
short lengths of hard wood or of iron of triangular section corresponding
with the section of the "arris piece," and so form (as it were) a
"dowel"
between the two ends of the rails. The two ends of the "saddle rails"

page_text: and the dowel piece under them are intended to rest in most cases
upon a plate, and by preference an iron plate, through which the joint
bolts should pass, thus securing the whole together, i.e., the rail with
the "arris piece" or the dowel piece at each joint, the bearing plate,
the longitudinal sleeper, and the transverse sleepers or transom pieces
forming the framing, so that the whole may, as it were, be framed up
together in sections or lengths, and may be laid down in sections, and
be joined up so as to form the road with great facility.
Instead also of employing as heretofore spikes or wood screws, fang
bolts, or other such fastenings for holding down the rails, and instead
of their being driven or applied angularly or diagonally from each side
of the body of the rail, and entering or crossing the balk or longitudinal
timber (as I have heretofore done or as heretofore I have applied and
used them), I substitute therefor, and I now by the present Invention
employ holes bored vertically into or through the rectangular balk or
longitudinal sleeper, and by preference I employ screw bolts or bolts
(and nuts), which pass through holes in the flanges of the rail, and so
hold and secure the rail and the longitudinal sleeper and the cross
sleeper or transverse together at the parts where the cross sleepers,
transoms, or tye pieces come.
By the use or employment of this novel form and arrangement of the
flanged "saddle rail," the "arris picce," the dowel piece, and the joint
plate resting on the longitudinal sleeper (which again in turn is borne
by the transverse sleepers), and the whole being bolted together by
direct bolting and securing, I not only obviate and avoid the injurious
effects of the indirect strain previously put upon the wood screws and
bolts when as heretofore driven, applied, or fitted diagonally, and I thus
prevent the great strain and wear which took place under the heads of
the bolts, and the tendency to loosen and the liability to break off at the
point which has been found to occur as a defect inherent in the system
of diagonal spiking and bolting which I formerly employed, but I also
obtain as a result a perfect system of permanent way construction
having a minimum number of separate parts, greater strength and
uniformity of character, greater stability of construction, and a perfect
continuity and a smoothness of motion over the road unattainable by any
other form or arrangement of construction.
<<
When holding down bolts" with nuts are employed for securing the
rail to the longitudinal sleeper, or for bolting the rail, the longitudinal

page_text: <
and the transverse sleepers together, I prefer to use deep socket-like nuts
with a flanged or clawed upper face, the plate of which socket nut may
be triangular, square, or round, with the fangs or teeth (if such be
used) projecting from the corners or from three or four parts thereof to
take into and hold in the wood, into which they are drawn by the
screwing up or turning of the heads of the bolts when the heads are
above and bear either directly upon the flange or upon washers inter-
posed between (under) the head of the bolt and upon the upper face of
the flange of the rail.
In the accompanying Sheet of illustrative Figures I have shewn my
improved "saddle rail," and the arrangement and mode of combining
the parts of the permanent way construction together, as also (to an
enlarged scale) sectional and plan views of some modifications in the
arrangement and disposition of the materials and their respective pro-
portionings. I have also shewn (to a still larger scale) several views
of some of the forms of screw bolts and nuts I prefer to employ for
vertically bolting together or securing the rails and the longitudinal
transverse sleepers.
Figure 1 is a plan view shewing two improved "saddle rails " and the
(triangular section) "arris piece," upon which the inner portion of each
rail rests, and the longitudinal sleeper, upon the upper face of which the
"arris piece" and the two flanches of each rail rest, and the transverse
sleepers (of which six are shewn), and I have shewn the jointings of the
rails alternated instead of being opposite to each other, and upon the
same sleeper (as they may be). I have in this Figure (Fig. 1) illus-
trated the employment of iron joint plates, and a mode of bolting or
securing the ends of the rails.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal elevation or side view of Fig. 1; Figure 3
is a transverse sectional view of Fig. 1, and shews a mode of bolting the
parts of the permanent way together.
Those three views are intended to illustrate an application of my
Invention to a 4 feet 8 inch guage line of road, the transverse sleepers
being there shewn as 3 feet apart, but of course the dimensions of the
various parts may be varied according to circumstances.
Figure 4 is a vertical cross section, and Fig. 5 a plan view of Figure 4,
and shew to an enlarged scale a metal rail, a triangular dowel piece at

page_text: wy o
the joint or joining of the rails, the longitudinal wood sleeper (without
an iron joint plate), the transverse sleeper under it, and a mode of
securing the whole together by means of screw bolts passing down
through the flanges and through the sleepers, the bolts being there
shewn as having socket nuts, which are driven into the under faces of
the transverse sleepers. In these Figures (4 and 5) the longitudinal
sleeper is shewn as of larger scantling than in the other and following
views.
Figure 6 shews a vertical cross section of a rail of the wood " arris
piece" of the longitudinal sleeper (which in this case is shewn of lesser
scantling than in Figure 5), and of the transverse sleeper, which is here
shewn of greater thickness than in Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a similar view to Fig. 6, but in this view the thicknesses of
the longitudinal and the transverse sleepers are alike.
Figure 8 is a similar view to Fig. 7, but is intended to illustrate a
rail joint or joining, where the iron joint plate is introduced. In this view
the bolts are driven upwards, and the nuts are upon and above the flanches,
and they are shewn as having washers under them. The dowel piece is
also shewn.
Figure 9 is a plan view of Fig. 8, and shews the rail joint and the
iron joint plate, and the nuts, washers, and the points of the screw
bolts.
I have also shewn in Figs. 10 to 19, inclusive, some views of screw
bolts and of screwed nuts of various kinds, some of which I prefer to
employ for securing the several parts of the road together; and one of
the forms of socket nuts is novel, though I do not intend to make any
claim for their use and employment generally, but I have shewn these
as convenient and useful forms respectively applicable to the purpose,
and they will be quite readily understood without any minute descrip-
tion of them being given.
In those Figures in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings in which
letters of reference are used or employed A is the improved "saddle
rail," B is the wood "arris piece," B¹ the dowel piece employed at the
rail joints, and it is shown in Figures 4, 5, 8, and 9 as of iron; C are
the longitudinal sleepers; and D, the transverse sleepers.
are E and the joint plates E¹.
The rail joints

page_text: The bolts, the nuts of various descriptions, and the washers are not
herein referred to by letters, nor do I intend to confine myself in carrying
out my Invention to the use of such bolts or bolts and nuts, as wood
screws, headed spikes, hook nails or spikes, and clip bolts, and various
other modes and means may be employed for holding down the flanches
of the rails upon the top face of the longitudinals, and for securing the
rails and the sleepers together.
I am perfectly conversant with the various sections, forms, and
descriptions of railway bars heretofore patented, and others manu-
factured and sold but not patented, but used or employed on railways,
but the section of the rail according to my present Invention differs in
both its exterior and its interior form, shape, and configuration from the
"bridge rail," as also from the “Barlow" or curved flanched rail; and
it also differs from the section of my original “saddle rail" by the pro-
longation of the two sides of the saddle portion thereof, and by the
addition of horizontal flanches thereto, and by the abolition of the
diagonal spiking or bolting through the triangular bearer, and also by
reason of my combining with the novel section of rail, as shown with a
triangular "arris piece," which, resting upon the longitudinal sleeper,
destroys the percussive action of the wheels and rolling load upon the
rails, and it prevents the crystallizing effect upon the metal which such
percussive action would otherwise have; and also by reason of the direct
and vertical bolting of the rails and the longitudinal and transverse
sleepers together, in combination with the mode of jointing shown, a
perfection of construction of the road and a greatly increased life of the
.rails are insured, and a vast saving in the annual cost of renewal also
results.
I am also enabled to construct and combine together the parts or
sections forming completed portions of the road upon my improved
system, within weather-proof and comfortable workshops or sheds, by
and with the aid of mechanical appliances and in a mechanical manner,
by the aid of skilled artizans. Thus the whole of the various portions
or sections of permanent way can be produced with greater accuracy and
security, and with a better and more economical combination and struc-
tural arrangement of the parts, which may be "laid off" and "set out"
with mathematical precision, whether for bits of straight line or for
curves of various radii having the proper cant and set required given to
them, and such sections or portions can be "picked up" from the shed,

page_text: put upon trucks, removed or transported, and be laid on the formation,
and be then and there packed and ballasted in a very short time, and thus
long "stretches" or lengths of permanent way may be constructed,
laid down, and completed with a rapidity and precision not hitherto
otherwise attainable; whilst from and due to the combination of my
improved "saddle rail" herein described, with the arris piece of wood,
the base of which arris piece, together with the two flanches of the rail
resting upon the longitudinal sleepers, have a largely increased bearing
surface or area thereon, and the longitudinals are in turn born upon and
framed up to with and upon the transverse sleepers,, which latter in turn
greatly increase the breadth and the area of the base and the security of
the road, and enable a thorough system of proper lateral drainage to be
effected, and the ballast and permanent way may thus be kept in good
order, and the life of the wooden portions of the permanent way may be
greatly prolonged.
Having now described my Invention, and also illustrated it in the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, by showing some of the modes in
which I propose to put it in practice, I wish it to be understood that I
do not intend hereby to claim the combination of longitudinal with
transverse sleepers generally, nor the use or employment of the bolts or
nuts shewn in the Drawing except as to those in Figures 10 and 11, but
what I do claim is,―
First. The improved form of "saddle rail" herein described, in which
by prolonging the angular sides or flaps of the saddle portions as shown,
and forming horizontal flanches in manner described, so that the inner
edges between which an A shaped space is formed for receiving the
triangular "arris piece," the rails being held down and secured to the
sleepers by vertical bolts or fastenings, so that the several parts are
thereby framed and secured together.
Secondly. The mode or method herein described of arranging and
combining together the several parts of the permanent way of railways,
as herein set forth.
Thirdly. The combination of the longitudinal and transverse sleepers
with the improved "saddle rail" and the "arris piece" by bolting or
securing, in manner herein described, and as illustrated in the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, whereby lengths or sections thereof can be
advantageously and economically constructed and framed and put

page_text: together in sheds or workshops by skilled artizans with the aid of
mechanical tools and apparatus, and be transported from thence and laid
down upon the road in a completed state.
Fourthly. The socket nut, as shown in the accompanying Drawing at..
Figures 10 and 11, and as an improved means of securing the parts of 5
the permanent way of railways together.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Seaton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of February, in the year of
our Lord 1875.
WILLIAM SEATON. (L.S.)
Witness,
HENRY HERBERT MONTAGUE SMITH,
Assistant to Mr. W. Smith, C.E.,
19, Salisbury Sreet,
Strand,
London.
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