IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAYS AND RAIT
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert George Fairlie of Victoria Street in the City of
Westminster, Engineer for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAYS AND
RAIT W
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert George Fairlie at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd April 1883.
ROBERT GEORGE FAIRLIE of Victoria Street in the City of Westminster,
Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS"
My invention consists in the employment as the support of the tram rails of
wrought iron longitudinal bearers or sleepers composed of two Tirons placed head
to head thus. The underside of the rail head rests upon the top of the upper
part of these T irons the web of the rail being secured thereto by rivets or screw
bolts as may be required, these pass through the web of the rail and through both
the T irons. Each T iron and rail are made to break joint at equal distances so
that no fish or joint plates are required.
The Tirons or sleepers are embedded in concrete made by preference of one cube
metre of good lime and cement in equal quantities to five cube metres of clean
gravel and two cube metres of clean sand. One cubo metre of this mixture should
be sufficient for 4 metres lineal railway laid. The lower web of the T irons
prevents any lateral movement; hence there is no necessity for tie bars of any
kind. Ballast may be used instead of concrete but will require to be thoroughly
rammed for good work. If paving is required as in towns and cities, the blocks
rest upon the horizontal web of the T irons and bear against the side of the rail,
thus preventing the blocks from being pressed away from the rail under heavy
weight. The steel rail which is riveted or bolted to the T irons may have grooves
as ordinary tram rails, but in the country it is contended that grooved rails are not
necessary.
It will be observed that in this system water will not affect the level of the rail
neither is there ballast used of any kind.
Although specially intended for tramways in town or country my improvements
will be found of great advantage for railways, especially where it is difficult to
obtain good ballast and particularly where there is large surface water, as water
does not in any way affect the line when once laid down.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Robert George Fairlie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd October 1883.
ROBERT GEORGE FAIRLIE of Victoria Street in the City of Westminster
Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS
"
My invention consists in the employment, as the support of the rails, of
longitudinal bearers or sleepers composed of two (commonly called) T irons of
wrought iron, steel, or other metal that may be found suitable, placed head to head
as represented in Figure 1 of the annexed drawing in which A is the tram rail and
B B the longitudinal bearers.
The underside of the rail head rests upon the top of the upper part or vertical
web of these T irons, as seen in the figure, and the web of the rail is secured to the
side of the said vertical web by rivets or screw bolts C as may be required. These
pass through the web of the rail and through both the T irons as shown. Each
Tiron and rail are made to break joint at equal distances so that no fish or joint
plates are required. The top of the rail A may be grooved as in Figure 1
or ungrooved as in Figure 3.
For country roads the T irons or sleepers are embedded completely in good
concrete E as represented in Figure 4; but when stone pitching is required as in
cities, the sleepers should be placed so that the concrete is level with their horizontal
webs; then stone D D is laid partly on the horizontal webs and partly on the
prepared bed of concrete as seen in Figure 2 thus preventing any sinking close
to the rail and obviating what has been hitherto the cause of accidents to ordinary
vehicles.
The lower webs of the T irons prevent any lateral movement, hence there is no
necessity for tie bars of any kind. Ballast may be used instead of concrete but
will require to be thoroughly rammed for good work and concreto is therefore
recommended.
It will be observed that in this system water will not affect the level of the rail.
Although specially intended for tramways in town or country my improvements
will be found of great advantage for railways especially where it is difficult to
obtain good ballast and where there is large surface water, as water does not in any
way affect the line when once laid down. Those webs of the T irons which I have
described as horizontal are not necessarily "horizontal as they may form angles other
than right angles with the vertical webs.
Having now described the nature of my said invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed I declare that I claim :-The employment substantially as
described of T irons whether made of iron, steel or other material to forin
longitudinal sleepers for railways and tramways and I claim specially the laying
of such Tirons so that the whole or the lower parts thereof are embedded in
concrete as described.
In witness whereof I the said Robert George Fairlie have hereunto set my
hand and seal this first day of October One thousand eight hundred and eighty
three