IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TRAMWAYS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Gowans, of the City and County of Edinburgh,
North Britain, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
TRAMWAYS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Gowans at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st April 1880.
JAMES GOWANS, of the City and County of Edinburgh, North Britain.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TRAMWAYS."
This Invention, which relates to improvements in the construction of tramways,
has for its object to provide, independently of the rails, a groove or guard in the
roadway in or against which the flanches of the wheels of tramway vehicles may
run, and in combination therewith to employ slips or plates between the paving
setts or other material of which the roadway is formed, so as to prevent or diminish
the disturbance of level of the roadway, or rutting of the streets or roadways caused
by the wheels of carts or wagons, or vehicles other than those which are tramway
vehicles.
The object of this Invention is effected by using rails having a solid upper
part, that is to say, without any groove formed therein; these rails being so guaged
that the flanches of the wheels pass down over their inner side, the groove or guard
being formed by a vertical lip on the ends of the slips or plates, set forth in the
Provisional Specification of the said James Gowans, No. 5257, A.D. 1879; or the
vertical lip may be made separately from the said slips or plates. These slips or
plates with such lips are kept in place either by being held between paving setts
or in concrete, or other road material, and with or without feet or projections which
rest either on the foundation of the roadway or upon or against the side of the
flanches of the rails when flanch-footed rails are employed.
In place of forming the lips for the groove upon the slips or plates or separately
therefrom, blocks may be used one edge or end of which forms the guard; and it is
to be understood that any desired numbers of the said slips or plates, or blocks
may be cast in one piece with the lip which forms the groove or guard.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in. pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Gowans in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th October
1880.
JAMES GOWANS, of the City and County of Edinburgh, North Britain, Contractor.
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TRAMWAYS."
This Invention, which relates to improvements in the construction of tramways,
has for its object to provide, independently of the rails, a groove or guard on the
roadway in or against which the flanges of the wheels of tramway vehicles may
run, and in combination therewith to employ slips or plates between the paving
setts or other material of which the roadway is formed, so as to prevent or diminish
the disturbance of the level of the roadway, or rutting of the streets or roadways
caused by the wheels of carts, waggons, or vehicles other than those which are
tramway vehicles.
The object of this Invention is effected by using rails having a solid upper part,
that is to say, without any groove formed therein; these rails being so guaged that
the flanges of the wheels pass down over their inner side, the groove or guard being
formed by a vertical lip on the ends of the slips or plates, set forth in the
Provisional Specification of the said James Gowans, No. 5257, A.D. 1879; or the
vertical lip may be made separately from the said slips or plates. The slips or
plates with such lips are kept in place either by being held between paving setts
or in concrete, or other road material, and with or without feet or projections which
rest either on the foundation of the roadway or upon or against the side or the
flanges of the rails when flange footed rails are employed.
lu place of forming the lips for the groove upon the slips or plates, or separately
therefrom, blocks may be used, one edge or end of which forins the guard; and it is
to be understood that any desired number of the said slips or plates, or blocks may
be cast in one pieco with the lip which forms the groove or guard.
While I do not confine myself to a flat-footed rail or any section of rail, I slow
in Drawings, Figure 3, a transverse section of a portion of a rail constructed or
combined according to my Invention; Figure 4 is a side elevation as seen from the
side on which the guard plate is situated. The rails (consisting of the ungrooved
head c, central web e, and foot or flange d) are guaged, so that the flanges of the
wheels of the tramway vehicles pass down over their inner side. The groove or
guard being formed by a vertical slip or plate f, which may be in any suitable
lengths, or may be formed on the ends of the plates a, Figures 1 and 2, as set forth
in my Patent, No. 5257, A.D. 1879. The slips or plates f are laid along the inner
side of the rails, and they are kept in position either by being held between paving
setts or in concrete, or other road material, and they may have feet or not, and
may be perforated or not perforated, as shown in Figure 4. In Figures 3 and 4
the groove or guard plate f placed as aforesaid is shown as perforated with
perforations f1 corresponding to the perforations e' in the web of the rail.
A horizontal lip f is formed on the plate f, which lip bears against the inner side
of the rail, by which in conjunction with the bearing of the road material on the
other side of the said plate f the said plate is held firmly in position, being
supported on the foot or flange d, Figure 3. This lip ƒ may be dispensed with, as
shown in transverse section and plan respectively in Figures 5 and 6, and the plate
kept in position by sleeve or distance pieces g, fastened by bolts and nuts g², or
with rivets and distance pieces, or with both combined, or the lip may be formed
by bending in the plate f, as shown in Figure 7. In place of the plate f blocks h
may be employed, as illustrated in plau, side elevation, and transverse section
respectively in Figures 8, 9, & 10, the said blocks being placed in the same
position relatively with the rail as described with regard to the plate f, and the

page_text: said blocks being formed with vertical webs h² (perforated or not) and feet h³, or
these feet and either of the webs may be dispensed with. The blocks may bo
formed with webs or wing pieces h' which projects into or between the joints of the
road material, and preserve the roadway at the sides of the tramway rails from
rutting or disturbance by ordinary vehicles. A lip h may or may not be formed
on each block. A number of the blocks h with their webs, feet, and lip, or any of
them may be formed or cast in one piece or casting, or they may all with their
webs and feet and lip, or any of them be formed or cast separately.
The plate may be formed with wing pieces f³ (Figures 5 & 6), which wing
pieces may be of any length cast or otherwise formed on it at any suitable
intervals, and the said plate f may be formed in any suitable lengths, the wing
pieces projecting between the joints of or into the road material; Figure 11
shows a guard plate f¹ provided with such wing pieces f³ and with a lip f³. The
plates here shown are formed in short or long lengths, and are held in position
by the blocks or other material of the roadway. The plate may slope inwards,
as shown in dotted lines in Figure 5, and may have feet projecting on one or
both sides of the said plate and bearing upon the flange or foot of the rail, or upon
both the said feet and the road material. In Figures 14 & 15 are shown blocks
upon the end of which the groove or guard is formed, and these blocks may
have the lip f⚫ for forming a bottom to the groove cast on them or not, the
blocks forming part of the roadway and breaking bond therewith in stone, wood,
or other material, and may be separately cast, or in long lengths parallel to
the rail.
In Figure 3 I have shown a filling piece of metal i which may be used for
fishing the joints of the rails and plates, or for distance pieces, the said joints of
the rails and plates either being situated at the same place or breaking joint
the one with the other. The rails and plates may be fastened together by bolts
& nuts, or by rivets and distanco pieces, or by the clip pieces shown in Figures
3 & 4, the said clip pieces consisting of a shank with a cross piece at cach
end. This clip piece may be passed into a long hole in the rail and plate (and
also in the fish plates where they occur) in the position shown in dotted lines in
Figure 4, and then be turned a quarter round into the position shown in full lines,
so that the cross piece bears upon the sides of the plate and the web of the rail,
as seen in Figure 3.
Figure 12 is a transverse section of a modification of the arrangement Figures 3
and 4. A piece i may be used as a filling piece at short intervals and forined in
greater lengths; it may be used for fishing the joints. The lip f is formed on
these filling pieces, and they are held in position by rivets i³, or by nuts and bolts,
or by the clip, as before described.
Figure 13 is a transverse section of an arrangement similar to that shown in
Figure 5, but the plate f is without wings and has a lip ƒ thereon; sleeve pieces g
and bolts and nuts g² are used to secure the rails and plates together, and the clip
may be used for the same purpose.
The joints of the plates fin Figures 3, 12, and 13, may break bond with the rail
so as to fish the same, or they may be opposite each other, and they may be fished as
before described by filling in picces or ordinary fishing plates, or by both combined.
Opposite the guard plates or blocks transverse pieces may be placed in the road
material, as at k, Figure 5.
In a solid or ungrooved rail, such as is herein described and illustrated, the web e
is capable of being placed directly beneath the load or bearing surface of the rails,
whereby a much lighter rail is capable of use than in ordinary cases; and with the
groove for the flanges of the wheels formed by the combination of the guard plates
or blocks, as shown in various modifications in the Drawings, and as herein
described, the rails wear much longer than is the case with ordinary grooved rails,
wherein the groove wears through the metal of the head of the rail in a com-
paratively short time.
The combinations provide also for the wheels of the vehicles which have large

page_text: flanges, such as railway waggons, and which cannot be got, except at great cost, in
ordinary grooved rails. The wing pieces or projections f³, Fig. 11, h, Fig. 8, and i,
Fig. 15, form the guard plates or blocks extending as they do into or between the
road material, prevent the rutting or wear of the roadway by ordinary traffic
alongside the tramway lines.
First. The hereinbefore described improvements in the construction of tramways,
consisting in the formation of the groove for the flanges of vehicles running thereon
by the combination of a solid or ungrooved flat footed rail with guard plates, slips,
or blocks, the said plates, slips, or blocks being provided with a lip 2 or not, and
being secured in proximity to the said rail essentially as and for the purpose
hereinbefore described.
Second. The improvement in the construction of tramways consisting in the
combination with solid headed or ungrooved. rails, slips, blocks, or plates, provided
with projecting or wing pieces, the said slips, blocks, or plates forming tho guard
for the flanges of the wheels of the vehicles, and the said wing pieces being situated
in or between the joints of the road material to prevent the rutting or wearing of
the roadway by ordinary traffic; and these slips, blocks, or plates may be made
with or without feet or projections, and may rest either on the foundation of the
roadway, or upon or against the sides of the rails when flange footed rails aro
employed.
Third. In place of forming the lip for the groove upon the slips, blocks, or plates,
or seperately therefrom, blocks one edge or end of which forms the guard, may be
cast in any desired number, or in ono piece with or without the lip which forms
the groove or guard.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Gowans, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.