IMPROVED MEANS FOR SSCURING THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS IN THEIR CHAIRS OR BEARINGS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Field and Edward: Jeffreys, both of Shrews-
bury, in the County of Salop, Gentlemen, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
MEANS FOR SSCURING THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS IN THEIR CHAIRS OR BEARINGS."
Sealed the 25th January 1856, and dated the 19th October. 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said. William Field and
Edward Jeffreys at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with.
their Petition, on the 19th October 1855.
We, WILLIAM FIELD and EDWARD JEFFREYS, both of Shrewsbury, in the
County of Salop, Gentlemen, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVED MEANS FOR SECURING THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS IN. THEIR.
CHAIRS OR BEARINGS" to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in the employment. of compound iron wedges for
securing rails to chairs, which wedges can be placed in the ordinary chairs in
lieu of the wood key, at present adopted on most of the lines of railways.
The method of carrying out our Invention is by using a V wedge, which on
being driven up acts on two iron gibs, thus forming a compound wedge, which
presses both vertically and laterally, and thus secures the rail firmly in its seat.
Or, in place of this arrangement, we use only one iron wedge and one gib,
which together form a compound wedge, capable of acting both. vertically and
laterally, as in the first example.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Field and Edward Jeffreys in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 19th April 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
FIELD and EDWARD JEFFREYS, both of Shrewsbury, in the County of Salop,
Gentlemen, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Willian Field and Edward Jeffreys, Her special license that we, the
said William Field and Edward Jeffreys, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Field and Edward Jeffreys,
our 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 "IMPROVED MEANS FOR SECURING
THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS IN THEIR CHAIRS OR BEARINGS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said William Field and Edward Jeffreys, by
an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us, 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 Edward Jeffreys, (on behalf of myself
and of the said William Field,) do hereby declare the nature of our said In-
vention, 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. Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say),
This Invention relates to a novel mode of wedging up or fixing the rails of
railways in their chairs, whereby not only will the rails be securely attached
to their chairs, but the butt ends of adjoining rails will be held firmly in posi
tion, and thus even unyielding joints will be ensured without the necessity for
fishing," or splicing the rails together.
In the accompanying Drawings we have shewn several plans of carrying

page_text: out the object of our Invention, in each of which we employ a compound
wedge, which when driven up will press both laterally and vertically against
the rail or rails with which it is brought into contact..
Fig. 1 shews, in cross section, and Fig. 2, in longitudinal elevation, a
double flange rail A,-set up in its,chair B, and held in position by a compound
metallic wedge, composed of three. pieces. C, C, and D. The pieces C, C, it
will be seen, are provided with ears a, a, which embrace the horn 6 of the
chair, and are thereby prevented from working out endwise. The inner faces
of these pièces C, C, are bevilled, so. as to provide an angular space for the
insertion of the cottar or tapered piece D, which is triangular in its cross
section. This tapered piece D will when driven up press the pieces C, C¹,
respectively against the upper and under flange of the rail; when, there-
fore, the ends of two rails Alare brought together in the chair B, as shewn
at Fig. 2, the compound wedge, in addition to the lateral pressure which it
imparts in common with the keys or wedges heretofore employed upon rail:
ways for the like purpose, will press in a vertical direction upon, the two.
adjoining rails, and thus virtually key them together.. If, therefore, the rails
were, by reason of a heavy train passing rapidly over them, to spring in their
chair, the one end of the rail could not rise or sink without the other.
In order to prevent the cottar or tapered wedge D from working loose, we
form ratchet teeth c upon its upper edge, into which takes a spring "catch d
which is attached to the upper piece C, by its being cast on to the spring catch,
or otherwise connected with it. When, therefore, the cottar is driven in, the
spring catch-
will catch on to the ratchet teeth, and retain it in its place.
But when it is required to displace the wedge, in order to turn the rails or re-
adjust the chair, the spring catch must be raised, and the wedge can then be
driven out with the same facility as the common wedge.
Fig. 3 shews, in side elevation, and Fig 4, in plan view, a chair carrying the
abutting ends of two rails, which are held in position by a compound wedge,.
composed of two parts, and acting on the same principle as that above.
described. E is a filling piece, composed of wrought or cast iron, and pro-
vided with flanges e, e, which embrace the horn f of the chair F. The taper
portion of the wedge is shewn at G, and as it is driven in,. its lower edge.
bears against the lower flange of the rails H, while at the same time it
forces up the piece E against the upper flange of the rails, and thus both
a vertical and lateral pressure is put upon the rails, as in the former
example.
A slight modification of this arrangement is shewn at Figures 5, wherein.
the pieces E and G, forming together the compound wedge, are somewhat

page_text: differently shaped, the object being in this instance to throw the lateral pres-
sure downward towards the thicker part of the horn f of the chair. The
piece C is also in this arrangement provided with flanges e for retaining it in
its place in the chair.
When securing some forms of rail, that is, rails with a broad base, it may
be found desirable to use a filling piece on the opposite side of the rail to that
to which our compound wedge is applied. Fig. 6 shews an example of this, as
applied to a form of rail and chair at present used on the Eastern Counties
railway, I being a flanged filling piece, fitting the space between the rail and
the horn of the chair, and E, G, the compound wedge. We also employ
the like arrangement when keying bridge rails (such as those now used on the
Great Western railway) to their chairs. Fig. 7 shews an example of this,
I being the filling piece, and E, G, the compound wedge. By employing filling
pieces in fixing rails with a broad base, like those shewn at Figures 6 and 7,
lighter chairs may be used than would otherwise be required. In all cases
we prefer to employ a catch, or its equivalent, for holding the tapered piece or
cottar in position.
Having thus explained the object of our Invention, and shewn the manner
of carrying the same into effect under somewhat varying circumstances, .we.
wish it to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the details set
forth in the Drawings, as these admit of being variously modified without
departing from the nature of our Invention.
We claim the manufacture and use of compound or expanding wedges, for
imparting pressure simultaneously in a vertical and lateral direction, and
thereby ensuring a firm attachment between the chairs and rails of railways,
as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Jeffreys, have liereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness.
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
EDWD JEFFREYS. (L.S.)