NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR MECHANISM FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gordon Gilchrist of Glasgow in the County of Lanark
Engineer for an Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR MECHANISM
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gordon Gilchrist at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th July 1883.
GORDON GILCHRIST, of Glasgow, in the county of Lanark, Engineer, "NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR MECHANISM FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY
SLEEPERS,"
This Invention has reference to the forming and embossing of sleepers out of
strong sheet-iron or sheet-steel for supporting and securing the rails of railways, or
the chairs of such rails, by a new or improved rolling machine or machinery, which
will save much time and labour in the manufacture of such sleepers, in contra-
distinction to the usual mode of doing so by compressing dies and hydraulic
machinery.
And the nature and construction of the new or improved machine or mechanism
consist all as follows: The machine is mainly formed of two strong vertical side or
end standards or frames, preferably of the hollow box construction, carrying the
bushes and shafts of two strong rollers over each other. These rollers are formed
with central webs and turned outer rims or flanges, and of sufficient circumference
to have bolted or otherwise secured on them, preferably with turned bearing
surfaces, the flanges of the strong rolling and shaping segments. The outer surface
of the one set of segments, preferably of the lower roller, is made hollow to corre-
spond to and suit the outer surface shape and length and breadth of the sleeper to
be formed, and that of the segments of the other or upper roller is made similarly
to correspond with the inner surface of the sleeper. The two sets of segments are
made of sufficient length and number to make up the whole length of the sleeper,
and occupy say from one third to two thirds of the circumference of the rollers,
according to the length of the sleeper, while the breadth and depth of the segments
correspond to that of the cross section of the sleeper at its different parts, leaving
only room for the thickness of the plate between them, and rolled simultaneously

page_text: over each other by spur wheels gearing into each other, keyed on the shafts of the
rollers thus compressing and shaping the sleeper, out of the flat plate previously
made to the exact size to form the sleeper, and fed horizontally in and out of the
rollers, as will be hereinafter described, in a straight line, or nearly so, with the
tangential rolling surfaces of the shaping segments. A pair of parallel gripping
rollers are carried in brackets projecting from the main standards in front of the
shaping segments for feeding in the flat plate to these; and a set of drawing and
delivery guide rollers are mounted on a corresponding bracket on the rear side
of the shaping segments and rollers. These rollers may, or may not, be somewhat
of the sectional shape of the sleeper being formed and delivered, and the bushes of
these rollers are made to work in vertical slides in their brackets, fitted with screws
and screw wheels for the purpose of setting and screwing them up to feed in the
plate and deliver the shaped sleeper in the straight or other line it is required to
be fed in and delivered. The other feeding-in arrangements consist of a table of
light side standards erected in front of the main end frames of the said feeding-in
and sleeper-shaping rollers, and carry the bearings of the transverse horizontal anti-
friction rollers, on to which the plates to form the sleepers are laid or rolled forward.
These frames also carry edge vertical guiding rollers to lead the plate straight or
parallelly forward to the said pair of front gripping and feeding-in-rollers. For the
purpose of feeding in the plates (as they are laid on to the guiding rollers of the
feeding-in table) at the exact moment to suit the shaping segments coming round,
a lever is fitted between the frames and rollers of the guiding table, oscillating
on a transverse spindle below, and preferably with a horizontal lever and weight,
or other equivalent, for taking the- upper-end of the levers back and down out of
action below the plate, while a pulling connecting rod attached by a slotted joint
and pin to the upper end of the lever brings it forward against the back end of the
plate at the desired moment by a stud and antifriction pulley in the side of the
lower shaping roller or its actuating spur wheel, working on a projection or gap in
the other side of the connecting rod, carried in guides or guide rollers over the
shaft of the under shaping roller. This arrangement is suitable for making either.
transverse or longitudinal sleepers out of the sheet iron, or-mild or ductile plates of
steel, in a cold, or it might be hot state. And when transverse sleepers are formed,
the segments of the one or upper set of rollers may be raised towards the ends,
while those of the other or lower rollers would be made of a correspondingly less
diameter at the ends, to give the necessary angle to the chairs or rails required."
The plates as heretofore, out of which the sleepers are to be shaped and formed by
this, new machine and arrangement of mechanism; would all be made to the exact
size to form the complete sleeper before being fed into the machine; and the holes
for securing the lower flanges of the rails when chairs are not employed, or for
securing the chairs when these are used, might either be punched in the flat plates
by double punching machines before feeding them into the machine, or they might
be punched afterwards by a special double punching machine, in either.case to. the
exact gauge required to suit the width between the rails. And to equalise the
power on this sleeper-shaping machine, it would preferably be geared to work in.
the same time and in harmony with the said double punching machiné, so. as to
punch the plates during that part of the revolution of the sleeper-shaping rollers
where there were no segments, or compression or rolling of the plate and sleeper.
taking place. Although this new or improved sleeper rolling and shaping machine.
has been described as arranged with the rollers vertically over each other on)
horizontal shafts, it will be understood that it might also belarranged. with the
rollers horizontal-on vertical shafts and have the plates fed in on edge,. instead of
antalla dagaribad

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Gordon Gilchrist in the Patent Office on the 8th January 1884.
GORDON GILCHRIST, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Engineer
"NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINERY OR MECHANISM FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY.
SLEEPERS."
My said Invention has reference to new or improved machinery for forming
and embossing railway sleepers from strong sheet-iron or sheet-steel, by means of
rollers fitted with detachable shaping segments instead of by the usual hydraulic
pressing dies.
A modification of the improved machine and several examples of embossed sheet-
metal sleepers of the kind produced by the machine, are illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings. Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2 is a plan, and
Figure 3 is an end elevation of the machine. Figure 4 is a cross section of part of
a pair of the rollers of the machine, showing the shaping segments. Figures 5. 6.
7. 8. 9. 10, 11 and 12 on Sheet 2 represent in side elevation and plan a number of
the many different forms of sheet-metal sleepers which may be produced by the
use of the improved rolling machine. The machine comprises two strong vertical side
or end standards or frames A, A, preferably of the hollow box construction, carrying
the bushes and shafts b, 61, of two strong rollers B, B', fitted the one over the other.
These rollers are formed with central webs and turned outer rims or flanges, on
which are bolted or otherwise secured a number of strong detachable rolling and
shaping segments C. C'. The outer surface of the one set of seginents, preferably
those C on the lower roller B¹ is made hollow, to correspond to and suit the outer
surface shape, and the length and breadth of the sleeper to be formed, and that of
the segments C of the other or upper roller B is made to correspond with the inner
surface of the sleeper. The sets of segments C, C¹, are made of sufficient length
and number to make up a length equal to that of the sleeper, and to occupy say,
from one third to two thirds of the circumference of the rollers, according to the
length of the sleeper, while the breadth and depth of the segments correspond to
that of the cross section of the sleeper at its different parts, leaving only room
between them for the thickness of the plate S. from which the sleeper is formed.
The segments C, C¹, are made to roll together by spur-wheels D, D¹; gearing into
each other and keyed on the shafts of the rollers B, B¹, and compress and shape
the sleeper out of the flat plate which is previously cut to the exact size to form
the sleeper. The plates are fed singly in and out of the rollers, as hereinafter
described, in a straight line or nearly so. A pair of parallel gripping rollers E, E,
are carried in brackets A¹ projecting from the main standards A. A, in front of the
sbaping segments C, C', for feeding in the flat plate; and a set of drawing and
delivering guide rollers F, F, are mounted on a corresponding bracket A² on the
rear side of the rollers. The rollers F F may be made to correspond to some
extent to the sectional shape of the sleeper being formed and delivered; and the
bushes f, f, of both sets of rollers E and F are made to work in vertical slides in
their brackets and are fitted with screws for setting and screwing them up to feed
in the plate and to deliver the shaped sleeper. The plates used to form the
sleepers are fed forward to the gripping rolls E. E, over a table formed by light
side standards G erected in front of the main end frames A, and this table carrics
the bearings of a series of transverse horizontal antifriction rollers H. on to which
the plates are laid or rolled forward. These frames G also carry vertical edge
guiding rollers I to lead the plate straight forward to the gripping and feeding-in
rollers E. E. For the purpose of feeding-in the plates at the exact moment to suit
:

page_text: the shaping segments C, C', coming round, on oscillating lever J placed between
the frames and rollers of the guiding table G is fitted on a transverse spindle j
below, and is drawn forward against the rear end of the plate to feed it forward
by a connecting rod K attached to it by a joint pin and acted on by a stud and
roller on the side of the lower roller B₁ which at each revolution of the roller
engages with a projecting catch on the end of the connecting rod K. A weight K
is suspended to the oscillating lever J to bring it back after the stud / disengages
the catch at the end of the rod K so that it may be ready for the next action.
This arrangement is suitable for making transverse or longitudinal sleepers from
plates of sheet iron or steel either in a cold or hot state.
•
When transverse sleepers are formed, the segments of the upper roller may be
raised towards the ends, while those of the other or lower rollers would be made of
a correspondingly less diameter at the ends to give the necessary angle to the
chairs or rails. The holes for securing the lower flanges of the rails, or for securing
the chairs of the permanent way may be punched in the plates to the gauge
required, either before or after they have passed through the machine, or they may
be punched while the plates are being embossed. In this last case, a set of punches
áre formed or fitted on one of the segments C, as at p in figure 4, and tapered
holes p¹ are formed in a steel bolster P fitted on the opposite segment, C, so that
the pieces punched out of the plates may freely fall away. The improved machine
may obviously be modified by placing the shaping rollers side by side or on
vertical shafts, so that the sleeper plates may be passed through vertically or
on edge.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
saine is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is;-
First. The arrangement or combination of parts forming the improved machine
for shaping or forming railway sleepers, substantially as herein described and
illustrated.
Second. A machine for forming railway sleepers out of plates of ductile metal,
said machine consisting essentially of a pair of rollers geared together and fitted
with segments adapted to emboss or shape the plate passing between them,
substantially as herein described and illustrated.
Third. In machines for forming railway sleepers out of plates of ductile metal,
the rollers B, B', fitted with detachable segments adapted to emboss or shape the
plate passing between the rollers, substantially as herein described and illustrated.
In Witness Whereof, I the said Gordon Gilchrist have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty-four.
Witness,
W. R. M. THOMSON, Fel. Inst. P.A.
Patent Agent,
Glasgow..
GORDON GILCHRIST (L.S.)