Improvements relating to Light Railways and Tramways.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 21st Sept., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improvements relating to Light Railways and Tramways.
I, VICTOR DEMERBE, of Jemappes, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Ironmaster, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to a special construction of the permanent ways for light
railways and tramways, which, while possessing (being entirely of metal) the requisite
solidity, and being inexpensive, is at the same time of the greatest simplicity, and
differs from other tramway roads, by the fact that no bolts are required to secure the
parts together, which fact constitutes a characteristic feature of this invention.
In order to more clearly illustrate this system of metallic way without bolts, I will
now proceed to fully describe it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,
in which Fig. 1 is a cross section of a rail and fish plate, secured together by wedge-
shaped or tapered keys.
Fig. 2 is a side view of part of a rail and fish plate.
Fig. 3 shows a method of securing the rail to a spacing bar.
Fig. 4 is a section on the line x x of Fig. 3.
Figs. 5 and 6 show the section of outer and inner rails used on curves.
Fig. 7 is a plan view of part of a permanent way: and
Fig. 8 is a cross section of a permanent way, showing both a paved and
macadamised roadway.
A represents the rail which it is preferred to use for the purposes of this invention.
It will be seen that this rail is inverted trough shaped in cross section, with splayed
out sides, so as to give a wide base, and it formed with wide slots in the sides.
B is the fish plate, which is also inverted trough shaped in cross section, its outer
contour fitting the inner contour of the rail A. This fish plate, which may be of
any convenient length, has also wide slots in the sides, to correspond with those in
the rails and placed inside the ends of abutting rails.
CC are wedge shaped or taper keys, one of which is driven through the slots from
each side, so as to bring the parts firmly together, and the thin ends are then turned
up or down, as the case may be, as shown, to secure them in place.
D is the spacing bar, which consists of a strip of metal, in the edges of which are
formed the notches or recesses a and a¹, to receive the legs or flanges of the trough
shaped rail. The notch or recess a is made of the exact size to receive one leg,
while the other a¹ is made sufficiently wide to allow of the other leg securely seating
itself on the bottom of the recess. The space left is filled in with a steel wedge key
or filling piece b, of the shape shown in the section Fig. 4, which firmly secures the
rail in position on the bar.
As the notches or recesses in the spacing bars will he stamped out in a suitable
machine, it will be obvious that the gauge of the permanent way will always be the
same, and be regulated without difficulty.

page_text: The form of the rail lends itself to a definite method of fixing by fish plates and
keys, which, while rendering the connecting and securing of the parts indestructible,
does not prevent the expansion and contraction of the rails, under the influence of
changes of temperature.
In constructing the permanent way, the rails will be laid on concrete in the usual
way, the rails also being filled with concrete, so that the rail is solid with the
concrete, and thus all tendency of the permanent way to shift or sink will be
obviated, and the rigidity of the way will be maintained.
The roadway in which the tramway is laid may be either paved or macadamised,
as before mentioned, as illustrated in Fig. 8.
In the latter case, if concrete is not used under the inacadam, it will be only
necessary to place a small quantity of concrete under the rail in order to give it
greater rigidity. In laying the rails, it is preferred that they shall be laid so that
the two rails shall break joint, as indicated at Fig 7.
For curves of a radius less than 30 yards, the outside rail will be made with a flat
running surface, as shown at Fig. 5, while the inner rail is formed with a higher
ridge c, and a wider groove than the main road rails, as shown at Fig. 6 on a small
scale.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The construction-of-mails-above-described, having the-base-sufficiently wide-to
constitute a broad bearing,-and-thereby-obviate-the-necessity-for-using-sleepers of
wood-or-metal.
2. The mode of fishing rails as above described, which consists in the use of
making wide slots in the legs or flanges of inverted Ū shaped rails, making similar
slots in fish plates of suitable length, having an external contour corresponding to
the internal contour of the rails, and which is fish plates are placed within the
abutting ends of two rails, and securing the rails and fish plates together by driving
into the slots from each side of the rail a steel wedge shaped or taper key and clinching
the points or thin ends of the keys against the rail as shown and described with reference
to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. Is-secured thereto-by-means-of-steel--keys,--which
hold-the-rails, and-render the-joint-firm-and-secure.
3. The arrangement of 2. Securing the legs of inverted U shaped rails in notches
formed in the edges of metal spacing bars, to-which-the-rails-ure secured by means of
steel wedges, keys or filling pieces of the form as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 of the
accompanying drawing.
Dated this 19th day of Surrunt 100%