IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PER- MANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Loeder, of New Broad Street, in the City of
London, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PER-
MANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."-A communcation from abroad by Gabriel
Dümler, of Namur, Belgium, Engineer.
Sealed the 12th September 1865, and dated the 16th March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Loeder at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
March 1865.
I, WILLIAM LOEDER, of New Broad Street, in the City of London, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," (a communication to me from abroad by
Gabriel Dümler, of Namur, Belgium, Engineer,) to be as follows:-
It is proposed to employ an arrangement of cast or wrought iron or other
metal sleeper, the sleeper being composed of a horizontal top plate (A, B,.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Sheet of Drawing), and of one, two, or several
vertical plates or supports (X) with or without flange and base (f, 9). One
or several ribs (M) run lengthwise along the top plate (A, B), and may also be
tied to the parts X. The vertical pieces (X) serve a double purpose; firstly, they
give strength and rigidity to the arrangement and plate A, B; secondly, by their
dimensions varying according to requirement and the nature of the ground
they give to the sleeper the stability required to oppose the lateral displace--
ment right or left to which it is exposed during the passage of the trains. It

page_text: is in this arrangement, and in the adoption of the parts X, that this Invention
more particularly lies. On the sleeper thus formed the rail may be screwed,
bolted, riveted, keyed, or otherwise fastened at pleasure; or a wrought or
cast iron shoe (as at Figure 2) may be fixed to it, or be cast with the plate
A, B, if this latter be cast. The rail would be fixed in this shoe by keys,
rivets, or any other suitable means. A chair (as at Figure 1) may also be
cast with A, B, if this latter is of cast iron, or be fixed to it by screws,
wedges, rivets, bolts, or otherwise. The shape of the chair or of the shoe
may vary with that of the rail, which would be secured in the chair by any
of the usual means. This improved sleeper may therefore be made either of
cast or wrought iron, or partly of one and partly of the other; and this also
applies to the shoes or chairs. A piece of wood or other suitable material
may be introduced between the base of the rail and the sleeper.
The sleeper thus described and composed might be cast in two parts (A, C,
and B, C, Figure 1) to be united by iron rods. The dimensions of the parts X
may vary with the nature of the ground, and the lateral shocks which they
are to resist in the passage of the trains. A groove may be left in the sleeper
(as at S, Figure 1) to receive the bottom of the rail, and a strengthening
rib (P) may be added if required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Loeder in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LOEDER, of New Broad Street, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of:
Her reign,, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto.
me, the said William Loeder, Her special licence that I, the said William.
Loeder, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others, as I, the
said William Loeder, 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

page_text: THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," a communication to me from abroad by
Gabriel Dimler, of Namur, Belgium, Engineer, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Loeder, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and 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 William Loeder, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawing hereunto annexed,
and forming part of this Specification, and to the figures and letters of
reference placed thereon :-
The object of this Invention is to give greater strength and rigidity to the
permanent way of railways, and to secure the sleepers from any displace-
ment under the lateral shocks to which they are necessarily subjected in the
passage of trains.
The sleeper, the subject of this Invention, is of metal, and either wrought
or cast, or partly wrought and. partly cast, as circumstances may render
advisable. It is composed (as shewn in all the Figures of the accompanying
Sheet of Drawing) of a horizontal iron or other metal plate A, B, carried on
or of one piece with one, two, or more vertical supports X. Three of these
supports form part of each of the sleepers illustrated on the Drawing, but in
most cases two only will suffice, the central one being dispensed with, and
even one only (the central one somewhat enlarged) may be retained; this latter
would, however, be by no means so efficient a sleeper as that provided with
two or more of the vertical pieces X. These supports may have the
flanges f, g, at their lower ends, or the base may be no broader than the
thickness of the support; this will be regulated by the nature of the ballast
and considerations of economy. The effect of these vertical pieces X is,
firstly, to oppose any horizontal displacement of the sleeper, right or left, from
the lateral shocks of the passing train; secondly, to give great strength and
rigidity to the horizontal plate A, B, and prevent its cutting into the ballast.
It will be evident that the dimensions of these pieces X will vary to suit the
nature of the ballast and other particular circumstances. The entire arrange-
ment may be further strengthened by casting the ribs M, M, under the
horizontal plate, and of one piece with it and the pieces X, or of one piece
with these latter, and screwed or otherwise secured to the plate A, B. These

page_text: longitudinal ribs may run along the centre of the sleeper; or there may be
more than one row, in which case they would be placed at distances apart
regulated by the number used and the breadth of the plate A, B, If desired,
additional rigidity may be obtained by casting with, or screwing, or otherwise
fastening across the top and centre of the plate A, B, strengthening rib, as
$
at P, Figures 1, 2, and 4. This sleeper- might be cast or wrought in two
parts, indicated on the elevation, Figure 1, by the lines A C, B C, the whole
of the central part there shewn being dispensed with, and bars or rods being
used to connect the right and left parts and form a cross sleeper.
The rail, which may be of any description, may be secured in an ordinary
chair (as shewn in elevation, Figure 1), which chair may be cast with or be
fastened to the plate A, B; or the rail may be bolted or otherwise secured in
the groove S cast with the horizontal plate. The sleeper may also be cast
with jaws or shoes and the rail be secured therein, as shewn in elevation and
plan, Figures 2 and 3; or these jaws may be of wrought or of cast metal,
and be screwed, bolted, or otherwise secured to the plate A, B. In every case
a piece of wood or other suitable material may be placed between the base of
the rail and the sleeper to deaden sound and prevent contact of metal with
metal when forming ground of objection.
Figures 4 and 5 shew in elevation and plan a sleeper constructed on the
same principle as those already described, but having jaws C cast with or
screwed on to the plate A, B. These jaws cross the plate A, B, in its entire
breadth, as shewn, Figure 5, and within them is placed a block of wood or
other analogous material B secured to the plate A, B, by the bolts and nuts D,
and supporting the rail A pinned or otherwise fixed upon it. The wooden
block B might be replaced by longitudinal wooden sleepers resting in the
jaws C of cross sleepers (see B*, Figure 5) made according to this Invention,
and placed at long intervals apart; and as the metal sleepers will outlast several
wooden ones, the longitudinal sleepers may be removed and renewed without
disturbing the ballast and in a very short time. This metal sleeper may also
be used as a longitudinal sleeper, in which case the jaws or chairs would be
cast lengthwise with the plate A, B; the ribs M (made deeper if required)
prevent displacement right and left, and the supports X any longitudinal
displacement or cutting into the ballast.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the means by
which it is carried into practical effect, I would have it distinctly understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein given and illustrated
on the annexed Sheet of Drawing, as the size and shape of several of the
parts admit of much variation, and other details may be modified, the sleeper

page_text: remaining substantially the same; and that I claim the exclusive use, as of
this Invention, of a metal sleeper composed of a horizontal piece, with vertical
supports to protect it from displacement, substantially as herein set forth and
illustrated on the Sheet of Drawing, whether such sleeper be made wholly of
cast or wholly of wrought iron or other metal, or partly of one and partly
of the other; also whether cast in one or more pieces, and whether furnished
with the longitudinal ribs M and strengthening transverse piece P, or not,
and with the chairs, shoes, and jaws described and illustrated, or with such
others as may be found in practice more convenient or economical.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Loeder, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
WILLIAM LOEDER. (L.S.)