IMPROVE- MENTS IN RAILWAY SLEEPERS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Samuel, of Great George Street, in the
City of Westminister, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY SLEEPERS."
Sealed the 28th February 1860, and dated the 31st August 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Samuel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st August 1859.
I, JAMES SAMUEL, of Great George Street, in the City of Westminster,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iй-
PROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY SLEEPERS," to be as follows:-
My Invention is based upon an Invention patented by me for England
in 1850, No. 18,029, and consists in constructing transverse sleepers for rails
of wrought iron in one piece, with troughs or recesses sunk therein, or otherwise
made for containing or carrying the rails, which are secured in the troughs
by means of keys or wedges. Ribs may be formed on the upper and under
surfaces of the plates composing the sleepers, to serve the double purposes of
securing the keys or wedges from longitudinal motion and of imparting
strength to the sleepers.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Samuel, Her special licence that I, the said James Samuel, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Samuel, 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 RAILWAY
SLEEPERS," upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said James Samuel,
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 James Samuel, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say :-
My Invention is based upon an Invention patented by me for England in 1850,
No. 13,029, and consists in constructing transverse sleepers for rails of wrought
iron in one piece, with troughs or recesses sunk therein, or otherwise made, for
containing or carrying the rails which are secured in the troughs by means of
keys or wedges. Ribs may be formed on the upper and under surfaces of the
plates composing the sleepers to serve the double purposes of securing the keys
or wedges from longitudinal motion, and of imparting strength to the sleepers.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a transverse section of a plate
of wrought iron, full size, in which I form troughs or recesses to convert it into
a sleeper. The sides A, A, of the metal may be plain, or they may be ribbed
or flanged as shewn, or the upper part or under edge alone may be flanged, or
the iron may be corrugated; Figure 2 is a transverse section of a similar
plate of wrought iron, also full size, formed with three ribs B, B, B, on its
under side; the number of these ribs may be varied as desired; Figure 3 is a
plan of one of the plates before having recesses or troughs formed therein.
This and the rest of the Figures are drawn on a smaller scale than that for

page_text: Figures 1 and 2. Figure 4 is a similar view after the recesses or troughs
have been formed therein; Figure 5 is a longitudinal side view, and Figure 6
is a plan of a trough sleeper shewing rails E and F secured therein in the
trough C, C, C, by wooden wedges or keys a, a, and in the trough C³, C¹, C³, by
iron wedges or keys d, d; D is the sleeper or bearer. The wooden wedges a, a,
are shaped on one side to correspond with the angle of the side of the trough,
and at the other to lie against the web under the upper flange of the rail, and
round the under flange. It is desirable that the two wedges when brought
together, and supporting the rail between them should not meet under the rail,
but a space should be left between them as shewn in the Figure. 6, 6, are
hook bolts threaded at top. These bolts pass through the wedges, are hooked
through holes made for the purpose in the sides of the trough, and are
tightened by the nuts 6, 6. The iron wedges d, d, which support the rail Fin
the trough C', C', C', are formed with studs which enter holes made in the sides
of the trough. For the sake of lightness I prefer to make these wedges with
apertures through them as shewn at e, e. In order to fix the rail and metal
wedges in the trough I spring or open out the trough, and for this purpose I
employ a lever, such as is represented at G, Figure 5. Figure 7 is a longi-
tudinal side view, and Figure 8 a plan of a trough sleeper in which the wooden'
wedges a, a, and the rail E are shewn secured in the trough C, C, C, by a
bolt b, which is passed through both sides of the trough, the wedges, and the
rail; is a nut for tightening the bolt; instead of the bolt b, the clip and
bolt 9 shewn on the opposite side of the sleeper may be used. The shape of
the trough is somewhat different to that shewn at Figures 5 and 6, the upper
part being brought closer together. The sleeper here shewn is bent between'
the two troughs.
g
Figures 9, 9, 9, 9°, are plans of portions of permanent way laid according.
to my Invention. In Figures 9* and 9" I have shewn the sleepers with
portions of their centre parts punched out, which I prefer to do in cases where'
economy of metal is desired; I also sometimes, for the sake of economy,
construct my sleepers in divided portions, and I cut them in lengths of about
three feet each, laying them transversely to the direction of the rail; in this
case I make every alternate sleeper go entirely across the road for the purpose
of securing the gauge as shewn in Figure 9°.
Figure 10 is a side view; Figure 11 is a transverse section; and Figure 12
is an end view of so much of an apparatus as is necessary to explain the
manner in which I form the troughs or recesses in the sleepers. A is a metal
block or bed with recesses B, B, made therein of the shape of the troughs to
be produced in the sleepers; C is a punch or die formed with projections D, D,

page_text: to correspond with the shape of the recesses, B, B; the punch works on each
side in guides E, E, and has an up and down-motion imparted to it by steam
or other motive power; F is a plate of wrought iron to be formed into a trough
sleeper. It is first heated and then placed on the bed A; the descent of the
punch forces the metal lying over the recesses down into them, and thus the
troughs are produced. If preferred the forming of the troughs may be effected
singly by a machine with one punch or die only, the bed of the machine
having two or more recesses; when one trough has been formed at one end of
the plate, it may be reversed end for end, and the other trough formed by
another blow from the same die.
⋅
I bave shewn in all the Drawings the double headed rail as used in com-
bination with my sleepers because I prefer it, but of course any other form of
rail may be used with them.
On some railways where it is required that rails of both the broad and
narrow gauge should be employed, I construct my sleepers with three recesses
or troughs, and fit rails in each in order that the line may be traversed by
carriages of either gauge. In some cases I slot out or perforate the metal
between the troughs, taking care, however, to leave sufficient strength in the
sleepers to maintain the gauge.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not limit myself to
any particular form of trough, provided only that it be such as will admit of
the rail being supported therein by blocks, keys, or wedges placed on both
sides thereof; neither do I limit myself to the means herein-before described
of producing the troughs in the sleepers, and that what I claim is the con-
struction of transverse railway sleepers of wrought iron with troughs or
recesses formed therein, in which the rails are secured by wedges, keys, or
blocks placed and held securely on both sides of the rail, and between it
and the sides of the trough, essentially in manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Samuel, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty.