IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS, FASTENINGS, AND SLEEPERS
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Henson Henson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
February 1865.
I, HENRY HENSON HENSON, of No. 13, Parliament Street, Westminster,.
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS, FASTENINGS, AND SLEEPERS," to be
as follows:-
My Invention has for its object to secure railway chairs to the sleepers in
a more perfect manner than has heretofore been effected in order to prevent
their being displaced by the side thrust that they are subjected to by the
wheels of passing trains.
. One of my improvements consists. in forming the surface of the sleeper
upon which the chair rests, as also the under surface of the chair itself, as an
inclined plane, in such a manner that for the chair to be moved outwards by
the side thrust of the train it would have to be raised up the inclined plane,
as, in order to be so raised, the chair would at the same time have to lift
the train, it will be evident that no such motion can take place under these
circumstances. Such inclined surfaces of the sleepers and chairs may be
made in various ways; thus, they may be formed by recessing down. the
surface of the sleeper, or by forming the incline raised above the surface of
the sleeper, or by fixing wedge-shaped pieces of wood or metal upon its surface,
the under surface of the chair being made with such an amount of incline as

page_text: to bring the jaws in the proper vertical position when placed upon the inclined
surface of the sleeper.
Another of my improvements consists in forming projections, lugs, or bosses
upon the under surface of the chair which fit into corresponding recesses or
grooves formed in the surface of the sleeper, or in forming projections upon
the sleeper which fit into recesses formed in the under surface of the chair, in
such a manner that any shifting of the chair in an outward direction is impos-
sible. Such projections and recesses may be formed in various ways; thus, one
or more projections may be formed in the under surface of the chair, fitting
either into corresponding recesses or grooves cut or formed in the surface of
the sleeper, or into recesses formed in plates fixed on or let into the surface
of the sleeper, and the projections and recesses may be either so made that the
former can be dropped into the latter, being conveniently formed as bosses
surrounding the bolt holes, or they may be made with under-cut or dovetailed
sides, and they may in that case be fitted into each other either by so forming
the recesses that the projections can be slid into them in the direction of the
Jine of rails, or by forming the dovetail recesses and projections also tapering
on plan, and by making the recesses to such an extent longer than the dove-
tail projections that the latter can be dropped down into the widest part of
the recesses, and then slid in the direction in which the thrust of the train
takes place, until the tapering projection has wedged itself tight into the
recess, by which arrangement it will be evident that the thrust of the train
will only tend to make the fastening firmer; or, again, the projections and
recesses may be formed cylindrical, with a screw thread formed or cut upon
them, so that the chair is screwed into the recess.
The various modifications above described with reference to projections upon
the chair fitting into recesses in the sleeper may obviously also be applied
when projections formed on or fixed to the sleeper are made to fit into recesses
formed in the under surface of the chair. In this case also the projections
may consist simply of strips of metal or plates fixed on or partially let into the
surface of the sleeper in the direction of the rails, which strips or plates fit
into corresponding grooves formed across the under surface of the chair.
The above described improved mode of fixing the chair by means of pro-
jections and recesses may also be employed in combination with the arrange-
ment of inclined surfaces.
Another improvement consists in forming the chair or a portion thereof of
the same width as the sleeper, and in forming lugs or flanges upon the same
to fit against the side surfaces of the sleeper; these lugs or flanges are pro-
vided with bolt holes, through which bolts are driven or screwed into the side

page_text: surfaces of the sleepers, in addition to the ordinary bolts, spikes, or trenails
driven in the top surface, whereby a considerably increased security of the
fastening for the chair is obtained.
I prefer in all the before-described improved modes of fixing the chairs to
the sleepers to drive the spikes, bolts, or trenails in a sloping direction,
inclined with their upper ends towards the central space between the rails, so
that they may the better withstand the thrust of the train, which when they
are driven in vertically, as at present, tends to draw them out of their holes.