IMPROVE- MENTS IN AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DE BERGUE, late of Arthur Street West, in the City of London, but now of
9, Dowgate Hill, in the said City, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventh day of February, in the
fourteenth year of Her reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Charles
De Bergue, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Charles De Bergue, my exors, adññors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles De Bergue, my eñors, adñors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS,"
within that part of Her said Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and
also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad; in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso requiring that I, the said Charles
De Bergue, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be enrolled in Her

page_text: said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles De Bergue, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by this present Instrument in writing,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, in which similar parts
are denoted by similar letters or characters. ⚫
It is well known that in several of the different permanent ways of railways,
as heretofore constructed, the ballasting or ground in or on which they are
laid frequently subsides, and that very unequally, and consequently the bearers
or supports for the rails sink in certain parts more than in others, and the
upper surfaces of the rails do not maintain the level or uniformity with which
they were originally laid. Now my Invention consists, firstly, of a mode or
modes of constructing iron longitudinal bearers or sleepers for more effectually
supporting the rails of permanent ways. And for this purpose I construct my
longitudinal bearers according to the principles which commonly govern the
construction of iron guides (in order to obtain as much strength as practicable
without unnecessarily increasing the quantity of metal), by so disposing the
metal, or disposing and combining the metals of which they are composed
as best to resist the strain to which they are subjected by reason of the
inequalities of the ground or ballast, being chiefly tension at their lower
portion or base, and compression at their upper portion. In accordance,
.therefore, with this object, I make my bearers in such form or forms that their
bases, bottoms, or feet shall be considerably stronger, or (if wholly of cast
iron) have a greater transverse sectional area than their upper portions, in
every case making their upper parts of such forms as may be necessary for
enabling them to receive and support the descriptions of rails to be placed
upon them.
My Invention consists, secondly, of transverse iron ties or bearers to be used
in conjunction with longitudinal bearers or sleepers. These ties are made to
have a transverse sectional form similar to the letter T inverted, so that the
ends of any longitudinal bearers or sleepers (having flat bottoms) may rest
upon the tie and assist in keeping the longitudinal bearers steady, and prevent
them from canting.
My Invention consists, thirdly, of certain forms of rails, namely, an angular
rail made so as to fit against one side, and upon the top of the upper part of
longitudinal bearers or sleepers made according to the first part of my Inven-

page_text: tion; and also a saddle rail so formed that the interior or under side of the
tread or working surface of the rail shall rest upon and be supported by the
upper part of a longitudinal bearer or sleeper, the sides or flaps of the rail
being bent either to a right angle with the bearing surface of the rail, or to
such other angle as may be requisite to make the rail fit upon and be held
more securely by the top of the bearer upon which it shall be placed. And
for this purpose, instead of bending each of the sides or flaps to the same
angle, the one side may be bent to one angle and the other to another or
different angle.
My improved longitudinal bearers or sleepers are shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 4 of the said Drawings hereunto annexed, with different varieties of my
improved rails mounted upon them. These Figures and Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, and 11 are drawn to a scale of about the actual size, the other Figures
being drawn to a diminished scale.
Figure 1 is a transverse section of one of my improved longitudinal bearers or
sleepers, shewing also my improved angular rail herein-after described. Figure 2
is a transverse section of another of my improved longitudinal bearers, the
upper portion shewing also one of my improved saddle rails hercin-after described.
Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sections of others of my improved longitudinal
bearers, with their upper portions fitted to receive and hold other forms of my
improved saddle rails herein-after described. Each of the bearers shewn in
Figures 1, 2, and 3, are of cast iron, and the two former consist of a flat base A
with an upright longitudinal web B, and ribs C and D placed at intervals
along the length of the bearer, to strengthen it and fit against the inside of
the rails. The top E of the longitudinal web in Figure 1 is made of a form
proper for receiving and holding my angular rail and the top E* of the
longitudinal web; and the ribs shewn in Figure 2 are made so as to receive
and hold one of my improved saddle rails. In Figure 3 two longitudinal
webs B*, B*, are placed upon the base, forming an inverted angle, the top
E**, E, of which is made so as to receive and hold another form of my saddle
rail. In Figure 4 the longitudinal web B**, B**, is made of.a triangular
or inverted. Y form, the top E*** being made so as to receive and hold the
last-mentioned saddle rail, and the bottom is cast open between the webs and
rivetted at intervals throughout its length to a longitudinal base or bottom of
wrought iron S. This wrought iron base or bottom may also be applied to
the bearer shewn in Figure 3 by casting it open, as shewn by the dotted lines
y, y, and rivetting on the same, as before described. In making the base of
my longitudinal bearers stronger than the upper part, I am enabled to
construct them so that their feet or bottom flanges shall rest firmly.on the

page_text: ballasting; their transverse sectional form may be either as represented in
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, or of any other form which may be deemed best for
the purpose, provided only that they are constructed on the principle
herein-before mentioned. The form of my improved transverse tie or bearer is
exhibited by the sectional Figure 5, which resembles an inverted T, and I
make this tie of wrought iron by rolling, or I use ordinary T iron for the
purpose.
The application of sleepers and ties in the formation of permanent way is
shewn in Figures 6, 7, and 8; Figure 6 being a plan, Figure 7 a transverse
section, and Figure 8 a side view of portions of permanent way, constructed
with my improved sleeper, shewn in Figure 1, and my improved tie rod.
In laying down my longitudinal bearers I place the ends of the bearers so
that their feet may rest upon the horizontal flanges of my tie, and I bolt them
together, making proper provision for expansion and contraction by an
enlargement in the proper direction of the holes through which the bolts pass.
The form of my improved angular rail is shewn in Figure 1, where it is
marked H.
One of my improved saddle rails is shewn in Figure 2, another of them
in Figures 3 and 4, and others of such saddle rails are shewn in Figures 9,
10, and 11. These saddle rails are in the Figures respectively marked K, K1,
K 2, and K 3. The surface on one side and on the top E of the web B
(Figure 1), against which an angular rail fits, should be planed true to receive
it; so also the upper surfaces of the webs of the bearers, on which my
improved saddle rails are intended to rest, should be planed or otherwise
made sufficiently true to receive them; or a strip of lead or other metal or
suitable material may be introduced if required. I connect the rail shewn in
Figures 1 and 2 to their respective bearers by bolts e, e, taking care that they
shall hold the bearers and rails firmly together, as shewn. These bolts may
be either square or round, but in either case the holes into which they-
fit should be a trifle wider than the bolts, in order to allow of expansion and
contraction. I connect the rail shewn in Figure 3 to the bearer intended
to receive it by set screws f,f, which cause the rail to fit tightly and firmly
upon it.
The Figure 9 shews a transverse section of this improved saddle rail
as applied to a wrought-iron bearer made from an old worn-out rail of common
form. The original form of the upper portion of the old rail is as represented
by the dotted lines, but when considerably worn away from this form I convert
it into a bearer for my rail by planing or cutting, or by rolling and planing
or cutting to the form shewn in full lines.

page_text: In laying my improved permanent way I dispose the longitudinal bearers
and rails relatively to each other, so that the junction of any two lengths of
the latter may be midway or at some intermediate distance between the
junction of the former, in order the better to preserve the required uniformity
of the rails; if it should be preferred to use ordinary transverse wooden
sleepers, instead of my iron ties, in laying permanent way, the same may be
constructed either with the ends of the longitudinal bearers made to abut
square against each other, as shewn in plan in Figure 12, or to abut obliquely
against each other, as shewn in plan in Figure 13, which latter method will
tend to prevent the transverse sleepers from rocking.
Figures 14 and 15 are side elevations of the portions of permanent way shewn
in Figures 12 and 13 respectively; and Figure 16 is a transverse section through
the line Y, Y (Figure 13). In whichever of these ways the ends of the
longitudinal bearers may be formed, I connect them to the transverse sleepers
by bolts, using a washer above and a triangular nut below, as practiced on the
Great Western Railway.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles De Bergue, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.