A-NEW MANUFACTURE FOR AND METHOD OF SUSTAINING THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME GREETING,
we, HENRY CHARLES LACY, of Kenyon House, near Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Esquire, and GEORGE WATSON BUCK, of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her!
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West:.
minster, the Fourteenth day of January, in the eighth year of Her reign, did
give and grant unto us, the said Henry Charles Lacy and George Watson,
Buck, our executors, administrators, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Henry Charles Lacy and
George Watson Buck, our executors, administrators, and assigns, and every.
of them, by ourselves, or by our deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or;
such others as we, our 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 of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend our Invention of "A-NEW MANUFACTURE FOR AND
METHOD OF SUSTAINING THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS," within that part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her. Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in Her Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her Colonies and Planta-
tions abroad; in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that
we, the said Henry Charles Lacy and George Watson Buck, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner.
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands

page_text: and seals, or under the hand and scal of one of us, to be enrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Henry Charles Lacy and George Watson Buck, do hereby declare the nature
of our said Invention, and in what manner the sanie is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
(that is to say)-
The stone blocks and the wooden sleepers now in use for the sustaining the
rails of railways are subject to certain objections in practice, which this
Invention is intended in a great measure to obviate. The stone blocks, by
reason of their weight and unyielding nature, are subject to sink in the
ballast more than a lighter substance would do with the same bearing surface,
and the constant necessity that exists of raising them is a great expense and dis-
advantage, and they are also liable to split and get out of guage. The wooden
sleeper is not subject to the same objections; but, in whatever way prepared for
the purpose,
it is liable to decay, and to be knocked in pieces by the operation
of the frequent packing of the ballast under it; and again, where the pins are
driven in, it is liable to crack and open, and get otherwise out of order. Now
this Invention has for its object the remedying these and other disadvantages
of the sleepers hitherto employed for sustaining the rails, and the providing a
sleeper and method of sustaining the rails, which shall be more durable, have
greater stability and firmness, require less ballast and subsequent adjustment,
and be maintained at less expense. And the Invention consists in adapting
and applying plate or sheet, malleable or wrought iron, to the purpose of
sustaining the rails of railways, either in whole length cross sleepers in lieu of
the present wooden sleepers, or by short or half sleepers, answering for the
stone blocks. To effect the first of these objects, take sheet or plate, malleable
or wrought iron, say about seven feet six inches long, and one foot two inches
wide, and a quarter of an inch thick, and by rolling, hammering, stamping, or
otherwise bend the two outer edges through an angle of about forty-five degrees,
so as to form an obtuse angle of about one hundred and thirty-five degrees with
the inner surface of the plate for a width of about three and a half inches on
each side of the said plate or sheet along the whole length of the sheet or
plate; the extreme edges of these bendings, that is to say, about one inch of
each edge, being turned up again through an angle of the same number of
(that is to say) forty-five degrees, so that the plate will have a flat in its centre
for its whole length, of about seven inches wide, and on each side about two

page_text: and a half inches, sloping or curving downwards, and a return of about one
inch, parallel with the flat part of the sleeper or the middle of its section.
Having determined on the chair to be used for holding the rail in its place,
and the proper guage for the railway, (it may be remarked, that the dimen-
sions here given are intended for the common or four feet eight and a half
inches guage), punch holes, of a form to be hereafter described, through the
sleeper, to coincide with those in the chair. Prepare also for every chair a
block of wood, of suitable size and thickness, say commonly twelve or fifteen
inches long, half that in width, and from one to four inches in thickness,
proper holes, to correspond with those in the chair, being made therein. The
length of the bolts or pins will be determined by the thickness of the sleeper,
the block of wood, and chair. Instead of a head, let the bolt or pin be
long enough to have a chase mortise or oblong hole made lengthwise in
the bolt or pin, about an inch and a quarter long, and a quarter of an
inch wide, through it, to receive a cotter. The cotter is to be a little
deeper at each end than it is in the middle, that is to say, about an inch
and an eighth at the ends, and an inch in the middle. The chase mortise or
oblong hole above mentioned must be long enough to allow the cotter end to
pass through it. The upper end of the bolt or pin must be screwed a suffi-
cient length, and a nut being put on above the chair, and screwed tightly
down, the bolt or pin will be drawn up, and the cotter pressed against the under
side of the sleeper. The upper edge of the cotter is to be straight; the
increased depth being on the lower edge at each end, it is evident that when
the nut above is screwed down tight, the cotter cannot come out, and thus it
will serve instead of a head. A provision is necessary to prevent the screw
bolt or pin being turned by the act of screwing on the nut. To attain this,
let the bolt or pin be reduced in size at two of its sides opposite each other;
for all that part which is to pass through the sleeper it may be forged flat on
these two sides. The bolt or pin will then have the appearance of a cylinder
screwed at one end, and at its lower end two opposite sides filed away, so as
to make them flat. Those flat parts must extend, say, half an inch above the
top of the chase mortise, and reach to the bottom or pointed end of the pin or
bolt, or it will not pass through the hole in the sleeper. The bolts or pins
should have an inch of solid metal below the bottom of the chase mortise, and
it should be somewhat pointed to guide into the hole in the sleeper; then let
the holes be punched in the sleeper of the same shape as that part of the bolt
or pin which is to pass through it; say, as an approximation, let the holebe a
circle of three quarters of an inch in diameter less by its two sides at right angles
with the length of the sleeper, being flat sides; this will be a sort of oblong

page_text: hole with curvilinear ends, say, three quarters of an inch long, and half an
inch wide. The chase mortise is to be made.through the flat-sides of-the-bolt
or pin, so that the cotter will be in the direction of the length of the sleeper,
and be the more easily got at. Short or half sleepers may be made of the
same width and form of section as the whole sleepers above described, and
about two feet six inches long. A saving of iron will accrue by using these
throughout a railway, as they can be conveniently tied together, so as to
secure the proper guage of line of railway. The description for fixing the
chairs, blocks, &c. before given for whole sleepers will apply to these. The rails
on each side being laid, the pairs of short sleepers may not be exactly oppo-
site each other, particularly in curves at the ends or joints of the rails, as the
outside rail is in such cases longer than the inside rail; and in such cases, in
order to obtain the proper guage, and retain it when obtained, we use a car-
riage on four wheels, having proper flanges in their inside edges of the
tires, and set to the proper guage. This carriage is to have a pair of punch-
ing inachines, one at each side, with moveable moulds, sockets, or forks, to
support the iron of the sleepers to be punched, whilst the punching is effected.
This punching is to be performed before the short sleepers are covered with
ballast or gravel at their inner ends. The two punching machines are to have
been so arranged as that each shall be over the inner end of the short sleeper,
say, about two or three inches from the end; then the punches having been
brought over the sleepers, which is done by moving the carriage itself forward
or backward on the rails, the bars, with the moulds, or sockets, or forks,
being first thrust under the flat part of the sleeper, the holes may be punched
with precision and accuracy. A hole being thus punched in each pair of
sleepers requiring to be tied together, the holes themselves will be exactly
opposite each other, notwithstanding that the two short sleepers composing the
said pairs may not be themselves exactly opposite to each other. The punch-
ing machine may be dispensed with, if the rails be laid so that their ends or
joints on the left-hand side of the road or way do not correspond with the
ends or joints on the right-hand side; but instead thereof be laid so as that the
said ends or joints on the right-hand side shall occur at the first, second, or third
sleeper beyond the end or joint on the left-hand side of the road or way, rods of
iron, say, three quarters of an inch in diameter, being prepared and turned down
at each end in the same direction, say, about two inches at each end, at right
angles with the straight part of. such rods, the straight parts of the rods being
all exactly of the same length; then, by placing the ends of the rods down,
through the holes of the sleeper, across from sleeper to sleeper, the guage will
be effectually secured. The sleepers, whether whole length sleepers or short

page_text: sleepers, may be strengthened by placing across the under side of each a' tic
or clip of light iron bar, say, three quarters of an inch wide, by three eighths
of an inch thick. These are to be placed near the part of the sleeper that is
under each end of the wooden block, (a little notch, say, one eighth of an
inch deep, is to be made on each edge of the sleeper where the ties or clips
are to be placed; the ties or clips are to be bent round the edges of the
sleeper (in the notches so prepared to receive them), and, returning a little, say,
half an inch over the upper side of the small flange or edge of the sleeper, they
will be secured from being displaced by the action of any tools used in ramming
the ballast or gravel under the sleepers. Thus the sleepers will be secured
from opening or yielding by weight passing over them, even if they be made of
much thinner plate iron than would be otherwise necessary. There will be two
ties or clips for each end of a whole length sleeper, and two ties or clips for
cach short sleeper. In the case of short sleepers it will be an unnecessary
expence to tie every opposite pair together by the tie rods, as above described.
It will be obvious that either plan, namely, the whole length sleeper or the
short sleeper, may be wholly used, or they may be intermixed, alternately or
otherwise, with each other. It is recommended to put on washers under the
nuts that screw down the chairs, and some elastic or compressible substance,
such as washers of leather, felt, or vulcanized caoutchouc, under each washer.
It is evident that a variety of forms may be adopted in the manufacture of a
stiff sleeper of malleable or wrought iron, having the requisite, bearing surface.
They may, for example, be made with their ends turned into the same form or
figure as their sides, assuming the form of inverted troughs or trays, and in such
cases the clips or ties before described will not be so necessary in the short.
sleepers, and the outer clips or ties in the whole length sleepers may be dis-
pensed with; but such forms as these could not be obtained by rolling, they must
be stamped or pressed. It is also evident that the length of the whole sleepers
must vary if the guage be extended; and also under the points and crossings'
some longer whole length or short sleepers may be required. The width also
may be increased or diminished within reasonable limits, to suit any particular
exigences. As to the ballast or the weights to be carried on the railway, the
strength of the malleable or wrought-iron plate or sheet also may be varied in
the same manner, and the short or half sleepers may be made larger and
stronger altogether, or the same bearing surface may be retained by making
them shorter and wider than is here set down. Any means suitable for the
preservation of the iron from oxydation, as the coating the iron with zinc, may
be employed to preserve these sleepers. It is hardly necessary to say that the
clips or ties above referred to may be altogether dispensed with, by using

page_text: stronger material or thicker plate iron. These sleepers, whether whole or
short, are as easily adapted to sustain such rails as are used without chairs as
with them; but as the mode of fixing would be very similar to what has been
before described, any competent person will be able to fix and apply them
without further instructions.
We shall now proceed to describe the Drawing hereto annexed, which
represents the malleable or wrought-iron sleepers in detail, constructed accord-
ing to our Invention as above described, and applied to sustaining the rails of
a railway.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a malleable or wrought-iron sleeper,
with blocks of wood, chairs, and pieces of rail affixed thereto. Figure 2, a
ground plan of the same. Figure 3 shews a section of the same sleeper taken
transversly across the sleeper, or parallel to the length of the rail, shewing also
the end of one chair and part of the rail. Figures 1, 2, and 3, a, a, is the cross
sleeper, the form of which is seen in the section, Figure 3. b, b, are blocks of
wood; c, c, chairs; d, d, the rail; e, e, the bolts or pins (as shewn by the dotted
lines in Figures 1 and 3), passed through the chairs, the blocks, and the sleepers,
with cotters f, f, and nuts g, g; h, h, are the clips or ties of iron placed across
the under side of the sleeper, and turned over the edge of the sleeper for the
purpose of stiffening it.. The same letters indicate similar parts in all the
Figures. The bolts or pins, with their cotters, will be more fully explained
hereafter. Figure 4 represents a section (taken transversely across the rail-
way) of a short or half sleeper, of a tray-like form, with the wooden block,
chair, or pins, with their cotters and nuts, lettered as before. Figure 5 is
a ground plan of the same. Figure 6 is a section, taken longitudinally
along the railway, of the same short or half sleeper, shewing the end of a chair
and part of a rail. Figures 7, 8, 9, are taken similarly to Figures 4, 5, 6,
except that as shown in the section, Figure 9, the short or half sleeper is opened
at the ends, whereas that shewn at Figure 6 is brought down at the ends in
the same manner as the sides, thus forming it into an inverted tray-like form.
All the accompaniments, as well as the sleepers themselves, in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, are marked with the same letters as in Figures 1, 2, 3. The screw bolts,
which secure the chairs, the wooden blocks and the sleepers together, are shewn by
Figures 13, 14, and 15. Figure 13 is an elevation of a screw bolt, with a nutg,
and a side elevation of a cotter marked f. Figure 14 is an elevation of a screw
bolt, with an end elevation of a cotter, also marked f. Figure 15 is a plan of
the screw bolt, with the lower end, or that into which the cotter goes, uppermost;
and we would observe that these three Figures are about half of the size of
the bolts or pins proposed to be adopted. A rod marked (k) is shewn connecting

page_text: the sleepers in Figures 4 and 7, and also in Figures 5 and 8, together, for the
purpose of maintaining the guage. In all cases the short or half sleepers may
have holes punched in them in readiness to receive the rod k, to act as a tic
rod; and if the proper and corresponding holes be not ready punched, they
may be made by the four-wheeled carriage of the proper guage to run upon
the rails, with a punching apparatus at each side of it, as already described.
The lines h, h, h, h, in Figure 8, represent small clips or bars of iron, placed
across the under side of the sleeper, or short or half sleeper, as the case may
be, which bars being turned over the edge of the sleeper, or short or half sleeper,
will greatly stiffen it. Several other suitable forms of sleepers or short sleepers,
as to section, may be seen in Figures 10, 11, 12, and 16.
The scale will shew the sizes generally intended to be used, the Drawings
being made for the common or what is sometimes called the narrow guage; if
a border guage be used, the sleeper must be made accordingly, and the strength
of the sleepers themselves and their bearing surface will be in some measure
regulated by the nature of the ballast to be used, and the weights to pass
over the railway.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not claim as of our Invention or the exclusive use of the several parts of a
railway, such as the rails, chairs, and modes of fastening shewn in the
Drawing hereto annexed or herein-before described, except when the same are
employed in connection with our said Invention, which we hereby declare to
consist in the manufacture of a sleeper or bearer of malleable or wrought iron,
and its application to sustaining the rails of a railway, as above described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Charles Lacy and George Watson
Buck, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
day
of
and forty-five.
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
(L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-ninth day of May, in
the eighth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said Henry
Charles Lacy came before our said Lady the 'Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing, therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Twenty-ninth day of May, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-five.