In- PROVEMENTS IN KEYS OR WEDGES TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "In-
PROVEMENTS IN KEYS OR WEDGES TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE PERMANENT WAY
OF RAILWAYS AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES."-A communication from
abroad by Théodore Despiau, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 23rd July 1869, and dated the 27th January 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th January 1869.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
5 of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KEYS OR WEDGES TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," a commu.

page_text: nication to me from abroad by Théodore Despiau, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, to be as follows :-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of the keys or
wedges employed in securing or holding the rails of the permanent way
of railways or used in other engineering constructions exposed to the
action of the weather whereby not only are the wedges rendered more
durable but a better and more permanent tightening is obtained of the
rail or other part to which the wedge is applied.
According to this Invention it is proposed in lieu of making the said
keys or wedges entirely of wood as heretofore, which are soon destroyed
by the blows of the hammer under the constant tightening necessitated
by the alternate shrinking and swelling of the wood with the changes of
the weather, to construct such keys or wedges partly of metal, say, cast
iron, and partly of wood, preferring such wood as has been previously
treated with a view to its preservation in any well-known manner, as, for
example, by injection and compression. The main portion of the key
or wedge is made of metal, which receives the blows of the hammer
when being driven, and this piece of metal is recessed on one or both
sides or has an opening made through it, into which recesses or
opening is inserted a facing or a block of wood, the friction or holding
surface or surfaces being of wood whilst the core or body is of metal.
The wooden portions should, by preference, be rather shorter than the
metal portion in order that the hammer may not come in contact with
and destroy the wood in the operation of driving.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th July 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the

page_text: 32nd year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN KEYS OR WEDGES TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF
RAILWAYS AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSE," a communication from abroad by
Theodore Despiau, of Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say:
This Invention relates to an improved construction of the keys or
wedges employed in securing or holding the rails of the permanent way
of railways or used in other engineering constructions exposed to the
action of the weather whereby not only are the wedges rendered more
durable but a better and more permanent tightening is obtained of the
rail or other part to which the wedge is applied.
According to this Invention it is proposed in lieu of making the said
keys or wedges entirely of wood as heretofore, which are sure to be
destroyed by the blows of the hammer under the constant tightening
necessitated by the alternate shrinking and swelling of the wood with
the changes of the weather, to construct such keys or wedges partly of
metal, say, cast iron, and partly of wood, preferring such wood as has
been previously treated with a view to its preservation in any well-known

page_text: manner, as, for example, by injection and compression. The main
partition of the key or wedge is made of metal, which receiving the blows
of the hammer when being driven, and this piece of metal is recessed .on
one or both sides or has an opening made through it, into which recesses
or opening is inserted a facing or a block of wood, the friction or holding
surface or surfaces being of wood whilst the core or body is of metal.
The wooden partitions should, by preference, be rather shorter than the
metal portion in order that the hammer may not come in contact with
and destroy the wood in the operation of driving.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 is an elevation, and Figure 2 a horizontal section of the wooden
and cast-iron parts of which the combined key or wedge is composed;
Figure 3 is a vertical section, and Figure 4 a horizontal section of the
key or wedge complete; Figure 5 is a vertical section, and Figure 6.
a horizontal section, Figure 7 is a vertical section, and Figure 8 a
horizontal section, of other modifications of the same.
The combined key or wedge is composed, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 4, of a cast-iron piece a, which is recessed on both sides to receive
wooden faces b, which secure the rail to the chair; these faces are so
enclosed by the metal of the piece a surrounding the recess that the
hammer will not come in contact with them in tightening up or loosening
the wedge. The inclined form at the sides of the metal portion of the
key or wedge admits of the faces of wood being made of uniform
thickness, and consequently of their being manufactured by machinery,
by which they may be produced at a very cheap rate. The dimensions
of the recess also being the same at both ends of the wedge the wooden
faces may be inserted in either direction. In order to insure the
durability of the wooden portions they are made by preference of wood
which has been treated by injection and compression with a view to
preserve it from decay.
In the modification shewn in Figures 5 and 6 the wooden portion is

page_text: other side being formed of metal and cast in one piece with the body of
the wedge d.
In the modification shewn in Figures 7 and 8 the key or wedge is com-
posed of a block of wood e enclosed or encased in a metal sheathing f, the
metal extremities of which protect the wood from injury by the blows of
the hammer. The form of the wooden block in this arrangement remains
the same as that of the ordinary wooden keys or wedges, which admits of
the existing stock being economically converted without in anywise
altering the modes of operation at present in use. The keys or wedges
on this system are somewhat shorter than the ordinary ones, but on the
other hand they may be inserted with greater facility from the fact that
the end being of metal cannot yield but will readily enter between the
rail and the chair, the fastening or tightening being effected solely by the
wooden faces combined therewith.
It will be perceived that by means of the herein-before described
arrangements the durability of the keys or wedges is increased, whilst a
complete and permanent tightening of the rail is insured, thus dispensing
in a great measure with the constant attention which it necessitates.
On the one hand the wooden portion is under all circumstances protected
by the metal from the blows of the hammer in driving the wedge, whilst
on the other hand as the greater portion of the wedge is composed of
metal it is not affected by the temperature or by the inclemency of the
weather, which swells and shrinks the ordinary wedges, and during dry
weather causes them to become loose. As a result of this the staff at
present required for the inspection of the way may be reduced, and the
rolling stock being no longer exposed to the shocks occasioned by the
want of stability of the rail a considerable saving may be effected in the
general expenses of maintenance of stock, whilst its durability is equally
augmented. The durability of the wedges is almost unlimited, and the
wooden faces or blocks being the only parts that in course of time
require to be renewed are exceedingly cheap, as they can be produced by
machinery.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner on which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to
be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me
by the hercin-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the constructing

page_text: keys or wedges for the permanent way of railways and other like
purposes of wood and metal combined, so that the metal will support
and protect the wood against injury from the blows of the hammer in
driving the wedge and the changes of the weather, substantially in
the manner herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty-seventh day
of July One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.