IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS POB RAILWAYS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Palliser, of the Army and Navy Club,
Pall Mall, in the County of Middlesex, a Major in Her Majesty's
DAD DATERADO "
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Palliser at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th September 1869.
I, WILLIAM PALLISER, of the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, in
the County of Middlesex, a Major in Her Majesty's Army, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS POB
RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object the construction of a compound rail
which shall combine the advantages of economy in manufacture and
great durability.
It consists, in one arrangement, in fitting on to the head of a wrought-
iron rail (whether a flange rail or a double-headed rail) a trough-
shaped cap or head of steel with comparatively thin side flanges so
formed as to fit against the web of the rail, to which it is secured by

page_text: bolts passing through both the cap and the rail. The head of the rail
upon which the cap is fitted may either be made only of the same
thickness as the web, or by preference it is made more or less enlarged,
similar to an ordinary double-headed rail; in this case the steel cap
may be conveniently manufactured by first rolling it with the side
flanges opened out somewhat, and these may then be closed in to the
required extent to fit against the web of the rail by a subsequent
operation.
In another arrangement I form a steel head or cap with a central
flange or web underneath, fitting into a corresponding groove in the
wrought-iron rail, such groove being by preference undercut, and the
flange of the head formed with a corresponding enlargement; and I
secure the two parts together by means of bolts passing through the
web of the rail and the flange of the head. I prefer to form the cap
with a sloping or undercut under surface, so as to fit over and nip the
web of the rail on each side of the groove in order to cause the vertical
pressure of the train to tighten the hold of the rail upon the flange of
the cap:
By these arrangements, as the rail itself can be used over and over
again by substituting a new steel cap when this has become worn, the
rails may be made of such a strength and with such a bearing surface,
by means of a bottom flange, as to require no sleepers beyond a
transverse sleeper or girder at the joints of the rails.
By these arrangements also old rails of the present form may be
made available by planing them to the required form above described
the steel can
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Palliser in the Great Seal Patent Office-
on the 9th March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM.
PALLISER, of the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, in the County of
Middlesex, a Major in Her Majesty's Army, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Ninth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-

page_text: third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Palliser, Her special licence
that I, the said William Palliser, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Palliser, 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
RAILS FOR RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Palliser, 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 Palliser, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:-
My Invention has for its object the construction of a compound rail
which shall combine the advantages of economy in manufacture and
great durability. It consists in fitting on to the head of a wrought-iron
rail (whether a flange rail or a double-headed rail) a trough-shaped cap
or head of steel with comparatively thin side flanges so formed as to fit
against the web of the rail, to which it is secured by bolts passing
through both the cap and the rail. The head of the rail upon which
the cap is fitted may either be made only of the same thickness as the
web, or by preference it is made more or less enlarged, similar to an
ordinary double-headed rail; in this case the steel cap may be con-
veniently manufactured by first rolling it with the side flanges.opened
out sufficiently for the rolls to deliver themselves, and they may then be
closed in to the required extent to fit against the web of the rail by a
subsequent operation.
By this arrangement the security afforded against fracture by an
iron rail is combined with the endurance of a steel rail, and as the rail

page_text: itself can be used over and over again by substituting a new steel cap
when this has become worn the rails may be made of such a strength
and with such a bearing surface, by means of a bottom flange, as to
require no sleepers beyond a transverse sleeper or girder at the joints of
the rail.
By this arrangement also old rails of the present form may be made
available by planing them to the required form above described for
receiving the steel cap.
Figure 1 on the accomqanying Sheet of Drawings shews a transverse
section of a double-headed rail A with steel cap B secured thereon by
bolts C passing through both the cap and the web of the rail; the bolts
may either be of the ordinary form, or they may advantageously be
provided with jam nuts, such as described in the Specification to my
Patent, No. 1613, of 1869. The cap B is first rolled with the bead
slightly curved inwards and the side flanges sufficiently opened outwards
to allow the rolls to deliver themselves as before stated. The side
flanges are subsequently brought into the position shewn by passing
the cap between rollers which press upon and flatten down the head of
the cap, and if necessary also between other rollers which press against
the sides of the flanges. The cap is pushed over the head of the rail A
(which may be either originally rolled to the section shewn, or which
may be an old ordinary rail, the head of which is planed down to the
required dimensions), and when the cap is in place it is secured firmly on
the rail by the bolts, the flanges of the cap being so arranged that they
first come in contact with the under side of the head so as to tighten the
cap down on to the top of the head in screwing up the bolts and thus
insure a perfect and secure fit. In order to facilitate the insertion of
the rail into the cap screw threads are tapped in the bolt holes of the
latter and a series of expanding instruments D are employed, as shown
in side elevation and transverse section at Figures 2 and 3; screw bolts
E are passed through the holes in these instruments and are screwed
into the holes in the flanges of the cap, whereupon by screwing up the
nuts on the bolts E the flanges of the cap will be drawn slightly apart,
thus enabling the rail to be slipped in freely. A shoulder is left upon
the screws E to prevent them from screwing too far through the flanges,
so that the ends of the screws may not come in contact with the web of
the rail. Figure 4 shews the application of the cap B to a flange
oil A1

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise arrangement and configuration of the
cap and rail shewn on the accompanying Drawing, as these may be
variously modified without departing from the nature of my Invention;
but what I claim is, constructing rails with a separate steel cap fitted
on to the head of the rail and secured thereto, substantially as herein-
before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Palliser, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of March, in the year of our
Lord. One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
TT
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W. LALLID
W. TAX T
(D.S.)