IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT. WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Fox, of Stocksbridge Works, Deepcar;
near Sheffield, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT.
WAY OF RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 2nd November 1869, and dated the 11th September 1869..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Fox at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th September 1869.
I, SAMUEL Fox, of Stocksbridge Works, Deepcar, near Sheffield, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
Heretofore when constructing the permanent way of railways with
rails supported at intervals in chairs carried by sleepers the joints which
connect the end of one rail to the end of the rail next to it have
ordinarily been intermediate of the chairs, and the ends of the rails have
been connected by fish plates, and so form a continuous line of rail.
In order to prevent the lines of rail when a train passes over them.
from deflecting more at the points where they are connected together.
than at the points where a solid rail passes from one chair to the next..

page_text: I support the ends of the rails where they are joined or connected to one
another by a portion of rail placed beneath them, and according to my
Invention I hammer or flatten out the two ends of such length of rail
so that their flattened ends may rest upon the two sleepers between
which the joint or connection of the rails occurs, and may also pass
under the chairs which support the rail; and in order that the spikes
which fasten the chairs to the sleepers may also secure the flattened
ends of this length of rail, I split the flattened ends longitudinally for a
short distance, and bend outwards such split ends, so that one portion of
the end may come under one end of a chair, whilst the other comes
under the opposite end, and I punch or form holes in these ends to
correspond with the holes through the chair, so that the spikes or
trenails which secure the chairs to the sleepers may also pass through
these split ends.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Fox in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL,
Fox, of Stocksbridge Works, Deepcar, near Sheffield, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Fox, Her special
licence, that I, the said Samuel Fox, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Fox, my 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Samuel Fox, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and.
scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and

page_text: 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 Samuel Fox, do hereby declare.
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be.
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof (that is to say) :-
Heretofore when constructing the permanent way of railways with
rails supported at intervals in chairs carried by sleepers the joints which
connect the end of one rail to the end of the rail next to it have
ordinarily been intermediate of the chairs, and the ends of the rails
have been connected by fish plates, and so form a continuous line
of rail.
In order to prevent the lines of rail when a train passes over them
from deflecting more at the points where they are connected together
than at the points where a solid rail passes from one chair to the next,
I support the ends of the rails where they are joined or connected to one
another by a portion of rail placed beneath them, and according to my
Invention I hammer or flatten out the two ends of such length of rail
so that their flattened ends may rest upon the two sleepers between
which the joint or connection of the rails occurs, and may also pass
under the chairs which support the rail; and in order that the spikes
which fasten the chairs to the sleepers may also secure the flattened
ends of this length of rail, I split the flattened ends longitudinally for a
short distance, and bend outwards such split ends, so that one portion of
the end may come under one end of a chair, whilst the other comes
under the opposite end, and I punch or form holes in these ends to
correspond with the holes through the chair, so that the spikes or
trenails which secure the chairs to the sleepers may also pass through
these split ends.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe more fully the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed shows a side view of the
end of the two rails jointed or connected together in the manner above
described; Figure 2 is a transverse section taken through the line a, b,

page_text: In these Figures a, a, are the ends of two double-headed rails to be
jointed together; b, b, are the ordinary fish plates; c, c, are the chairs;
and d, d, the sleepers; e is the supporting rail placed beneath the ends
of the two rails; a plan view of this supporting rail is shown separately
at Figure 3. To bring this rail into the form shown by the Drawings its
ends are first hammered or flattened out, and the ends, so flattened out
are split longitudinally, by preference with an ordinary pair of shears;
afterwards when the split ends have been straightened they are caused
to bend or incline outwards from one another, by preference by inserting
a wedge-formed tool into the longitudinal slit.. When the ends have
been bent outwards to the desired extent a hole is punched in each of
them in a suitable position to come beneath the holes in the chairs c, c,
by which the ends of the two rails a, a, are supported, in order that the
same spikes which fix the chairs to their sleepers may also serve to fix
the supporting rail e in position.
I would remark that in place of employing a short length of rail to
form the support to the joint or connection of the two rails a, a, other
forms of bar iron might similarly be shaped to support the joint of the
two rails, and to be held in place by the same spikes by which the
chairs c, c, are retained.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner
of performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim
is, the application of a supporting rail or bar to support the ends of two
rails of a railway where they are joined together end to end, such
supporting rail or bar being suitably formed at its ends to pass under the
chairs by which the ends of the rails are supported, and to be fixed in
position by the same spikes by which the chains are retained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Fox, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.