IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CHAIRS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Marshall, Ironmonger, and Harry Jones
Harman, Civil Engineer, both of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF RAILWAY CHAIRS."
Sealed the 14th February 1871, and dated the 2nd September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Marshall and
Harry Jones Harman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, .
with their Petition, on the 2nd September 1870.
We, JOHN MARSHALL, Ironmonger, and HARRY JONES HARMAN,
Civil Engineer, both of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CHAIRS," to be as follows:
-
Our Invention consists in the application of a safety key for the
prevention of the displacement of the key or wedge used for fixing the
rails in the chair. This safety key is made to fit into a slot in the
side of the chair, and has a smooth or other surfaced end fitting into a
similarly surfaced slot in the key or wedge, and it is held in position by

page_text: may
an iron pin or screw passing through the safety key and chair into
the sleeper. The key or wedge used for fastening the rails in the chair
be made of wood or iron, the safety key being applicable to both.
This improved chair is specially adapted for securing and supporting
the ends of the rails in place of the fish plates and bolts at present
used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Marshall and Harry Jones Harman in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
MARSHALL, Ironmonger, and HARRY JONES HARMAN, Civil Engineer,
both of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourthi
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said John Marshall and Harry Jones Harman, Her
special licence that we, the said John Marshall and Harry Jones Harman,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said John Marshall and Harry Jones Harman, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 THE
CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CHAIRS," upon the condition (amongst others).
that we, the said John Marshall and Harry Jones Harman, our exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their,
or one of our or 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 we, the said John Marshall and Harry Jones
Harman, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and

page_text: ропогшемд
раяпсатанту
described and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to
say):
Our Invention consists in the application of a safety key for the pre-.
vention of the displacement of the key or wedge used for fixing the,
rails in the chair. This safety key is made to fit into a slot in the side
of the chair, and has a smooth or other surfaced end fitting into a
similarly surfaced slot in the key or wedge, and it is held in position by
an iron pin or screw passing through the safety key and chair into the
sleeper. The key or wedge used for fastening the rails in the chair may
be made of wood or iron, the safety key being applicable to both. This
improved chair is especially adapted for securing and supporting the
ends of the rails in place of the fish plates and bolts at present in
USC.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying.
Sheet of of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters.
marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is an end view; Fig. 2 a side view, and Fig. 3 a plan of a joint
railway chair constructed according to our improvements. a is the
sleeper; b, the rail, and c the chair which is cast with a jaw c¹, against
which one side of the rail abuts, and with jaws c³, between which and the
other side of the rail the key or wedge d is placed, this key or wedge
may be of wood or metal, but we prefer to make it of cast iron. The
wedge d is provided with any convenient number of vertical recesses and
projections, and corresponding projections and recesses are made in the
end of the safety key e, which slides in between the jaws c², and the lower
end of which fits in a v-groove cast in the chair to prevent the key
rising by vibration; this safety key is held in its position by the pin f,
which passes through an open slot in the safety key, a hole in the base
of the chair, and then into the sleeper. On referring to Fig. 3 it will be
seen that the ends of the rails are scarfed or bevelled at the joint, the
object of which is to cause the wheel in passing the joint to bear on both
ends of the rails, and thereby prevent the uneven depression of the ends
of the rails which is unavoidable when the joint is at right angles to the
rails, as now customary; this scarfed joint, although very desirable, is
not essentially requisite to the use of our improved chair.

page_text: Figs. 4 and 5 represent a side view and plan of an intermediate chair
constructed according to our improvements. In taking the rails out of
the chairs, or, if it should be necessary to remove a chair, the attendant
must first take out the pin fand slide back the safety key e until the
projections on its end are clear of the recesses in the wedged; the wedge
can then be driven out to liberate the rail.
Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are three detached views of the safety key c. When
the parts of our improved chairs are put together there is no possibility
of them shaking loose, as the whole are held by the pin f; and this can
only be removed by the attendant.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do
not intend to limit ourselves to the details given, as the same may require
to be modified according to the shape of the rail or otherwise; we claim,
as our improvements in the construction of railway chairs the application
of the safety key e through the jaws in the side of the chair, and the
wedged when used in combination with the safety key e and the pin f
or other equivalent, as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Marshall and Harry Jones
Harman, have hereto set our hands and seals, this 17th day of
February One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
TATTY
DOTTITT
JOHN MARSHALL.
(L.S.)
HARRY JONES HARMAN. (L.S.)