AN IMPROVED RAIL FOR RAILWAYS
Year: 1833

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
SMITH, of the Abersychan Iron Works, in the Parish of Trevithin, in the County
of Monmouth, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-three, and in the fourth year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert Smith and JOHN
WALKINSHAW, of the Abersychan Iron Works aforesaid, Engineer, His especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Robert
Smith and John Walkinshaw, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Robert Smith and John Walkinshaw, our
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of
"AN IMPROVED RAIL FOR RAILWAYS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso obliging us, the said Robert Smith and John Walkinshaw, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of one of us, to cause a particular description of the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His

page_text: 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 in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Robert Smith, do hereby declare that the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
The nature of our Invention consists in making or forming wrought or
malleable iron rails for railways with feet or pedestals, formed in one piece
with the rail itself, and projecting at intervals from the sides and base or
bottom parts thercof, and which projecting pedestals or feet are intended to
support the rails in their proper positions upon sleepers or blocks of stone or
wood, and are intended to be used in place of ordinary chairs or pedestals of
the common rail. In the usual mode of constructing railways the rails and
chairs or pedestals are made separate, and after the latter are fastened to the
rails by keys, wedges, or otherwise, the whole is secured upon the sleepers or
blocks of wood or stone by bolts, pins, or screws passed through the chairs.
In another construction of railways the base or bottom part of the rail is
made much broader than the last mentioned, and is of a uniform breadth
from end to end of the rail, and of sufficient width to allow of its being
fastened to the sleepers without the use of chairs. In our improved rail those
parts of it which are to answer the purpose of the ordinary feet or pedestals
project beyond the width of the base or bottom part of the rail only at
intervals, that is, at those parts where the common chair would be used for its
support, whereby a saving of material will be generally effected, and at the
same time a more perfect and simple mode of fastening the rails to the blocks
or sleepers is obtained, and consequently a saving of expence and labour in
the constructing of a railway.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a
part of one description of our improved rails when complete and ready for
fixing upon the blocks or sleepers; Figure 2 is a top or plain view of the
same; Figure 3 is a representation of the bottom or base of the rail as it
would, appear when seen on its under side; Figure 4 is a transverse vertical
section taken through the rail; and Figure 5 is a similar section taken
through the rail at its before-mentioned projecting parts. a, a, is the top of
the rail upon which the carriage wheels are intended to run; b, b, are the
projecting parts or feet or pedestals formed upon the sides of the rail, and

page_text: 5
through which the bolt pins or screws used for securing the rail upon the
sleepers or blocks are intended to pass; c is the base or bottom part of the
rail.
Having stated the nature of our said Invention, I shall proceed to describe
the manner or method in which we propose to carry the same into effect,
although we do not mean or intend to confine ourselves to the precise mode
or method herein-after specified, as it may be found necessary to make
considerable alterations in the same, according to the form of projections
which it may please the manufacturer to adopt. In making or forming our
improved rails we intend to use bars or pieces of wrought or malleable iron of
suitable shape and length, and which bars or pieces, after being properly
heated and prepared, are to formed into our improved rails by being passed
through rolls or rollers having proper shaped grooves and indentations upon
their peripheries for forming the projecting feet or pedestals, and which rolls
or rollers are similar in their construction (except in the parts for forming the
projecting feet or pedestals) to those commonly used in ironworks for making
rails without supports. In making or forming these rolls or rollers, in
addition to the usual grooves in their peripheries, one or more indentations or
excavations must be made in one or more of the grooves, for the purpose
producing the pedestals or projecting feet at intervals on the rails, and the
other grooves must be made deeper than is usual for common rails in those
parts which are intended to form the base. The number of the indentations
may be various, depending on the diameter of the rolls, and the shape or size
and distance apart of the projecting feet or pedestals.
of
Figure 6 is a representation of a pair of metal rolls or rollers intended to
be mounted in bearings or standards, as usual, and worked by any adequate
power. These rolls or rollers are furnished with proper grooves and indenta-
tions suited to the size and shape intended to be given to the bar of iron in
the progressive operations performed in making our improved rails. The
O piece or bar of iron of suitable shape, after being properly heated and pre-
pared, is first passed through the rolls at No. 1, when it will be rolled or
forced into the shape of the open space d between the peripheries of the
grooves A, B. It is next passed through the rolls at No. 2, when it will be
made to take the shape of the open space e, between the peripheries of the
5 grooves C, D, and afterwards the iron is passed through the grooves E, F, at
No. 3, when it will be made to take the shape of the open space f between
those grooves, and be ready for the next pair of grooves G, H, at No. 4,
where the projecting feet or pedestals are to be formed upon the rail by

page_text: reducing and extending the parts of the sides and base between them. The
grooves G, H, have the indentations or excavations before mentioned formed
upon their peripheries, and after the bar or piece of iron has passed those
grooves it will have taken the shape of the indentations upon the grooves
and the open space h between them, and become an unfinished rail with
projecting feet or pedestals. A portion of the rail in this state is shewn
in Figure 7, which is a vertical section taken transversely through the
rolls in the direction of the dotted line a, b, in Figure 6. After the bar of
iron or unfinished rail has been passed through the grooves G, H, it is next
to be passed through and between one or both the pair of grooves at No. 5
and No. 6, which are intended to complete the finishing of the rail, but do
not materially alter the shape of the projecting feet or pedestals, as the latter
grooves are principally used for rolling out or elongating the rail, and finish-
ing the upper part in the usual manner of rolling common rails. In case the
surfaces of the upper part of the rail and its projecting feet or pedestals
should not be parallel to each other after the last rolling, the rails may be
passed through the rolls at No. 7, when the periphery of the grooves I, K;
will set the upper surface of the rail and the underside of the feet and base
parellel. In manufacturing our improved rails when they are required to
have a narrow base or bottom part, it may be desirable to pass the unfinished
rail through a second pair of indented grooves, as the reduction of the iron
from the breadth of the feet or pedestals to the intermediate base or bottom
may be found too great to be properly effected by passing it through only
one pair of indented grooves. In this case two or more pairs of indented
grooves may be employed, but care must be taken, in passing the unfinished
rail through the second or following pair, that the heated iron be inserted
into the open space between them, so that the projections or feet formed by
the first pair of indented grooves may meet and go into the indentations in
the next or following pair. This part of the operation will be greatly facili-
tated by taking care to insert in the first instance one end of the bar of iron
into the indentations of the first pair of grooves, and afterwards inserting the
same end, with its projections or feet upon it, into the indentations of any
subsequent pair. It may also be found convenient at times to raise and
depress the upper roll, which can be done by means of adjusting screws in
the bearings or standards, as usual; and putting the piece of iron back into
the furnace, and reheating it at some convenient part of the operation, may
also be frequently found useful. Figure 8 is a vertical section taken trans-
versely through a pair of indented grooves intended to be used in the first

page_text: rolling of the bar of iron in such grooves with a part of the iron or unfinished
rail shewn under operation. Figure 9 is another similar section of the second
pair of grooves with a part of delivered from the grooves at Figure 8 passing
through them, and undergoing a further reduction and elongation. In the
second pair of grooves there are only two indentations in their peripheries,
and these grooves must be of such a size and form that the same iron may
pass between each indentation as between the indentations in the first pair of
grooves, and that the projecting pedestals or feet of the unfinished rail may
pass into the indentations, though the intervals between them will have
become greater, and the piece of iron have been lengthened.
Having now explained the manner or method of forming our improved
rails, for railways, I shall proceed to describe some variations in the shapes
or forms of them.
Figure 10 is a representation of the upper side of a portion of one of our
improved rails in which the projecting feet or pedestals are formed on different
sides of the rail, but at distances from each other, as shewn in the Figure.
It will be understood that the indentations in the grooves for forming this
description of rail will not be placed opposite to each other.
Another description of our improved rails is represented in different forms
in the Figures 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, the projecting feet or pedestals
of which are formed by pressing and extending outwards at intervals the
lower part of the rail, while the upper part of the rail will be maintained in
its usual straight direction. The lower part of the rail, at the places where
the pedestals are to be formed, will be turned from a direct line into curves
on each side, thereby forming hollow feet or standards which will have a
steady bearing upon the blocks or sleepers, and which description of rail will
generally require less iron that the last described. These projecting feet or
pedestals may be made of different shapes and projections and at different
intervals. We intend to form them by passing the iron or rail through and
between rolls furnished with grooves, and with indentations and projections
working into or opposite each other, as shewn in the sectional Diagram,
Figure 18, of a pair of grooves applicable to the rolling of this description of
rails. It is intended to make these indentations and projections in the last
or finishing groove, and in the previous rolling to employ similar grooves to
those commonly used, except that it will be proper to have those parts of the
grooves which form the lower part of the rail of rather greater depth than
usual, in order that a greater thickness of iron may be brought to be operated
upon in the finishing groove. To straighten these rails after they are deli-
vered from the finishing groove, they may be put, while in a hot state, into

page_text: long cast-iron troughs or boxes, and fastened near their ends to the boxes by
wedges, as is now sometimes done with common rails. Being thus firmly
held at the ends while the middle part is free, the contraction in cooling will
draw them straight.
Figures 11, 12, and 13 are representations of the base or bottom part of
different shaped rails as they would appear on their under sides.
Figure 14 is a side elevation; Figure 15 is a top or plan view; Figure 16
is a transverse vertical section taken through a rail; Figure 17 is another
similar section taken through the rail and one of the projecting feet or
pedestals. It will be obvious to persons acquainted with the working of iron
that these last-described hollow projecting feet or pedestals may be formed by
first rolling the rail without the projections, and then submitting it in a heated
state to the action of a stamping press or to the operation of swedging tools
and counter-sunk dies by manual labour, by means of which the portions of
the base or bottom part of the rail may be forced outwards from the straight
line and form the projecting feet or pedestals. In cases where it might be
thought desirable a greater number of pedestals may be formed upon our
improved rails that it is customary to use in the construction of an ordinary
railway, some of which may not require to be fastened upon blocks or sleepers,
but which may help to keep the rail in its proper position by resting upon the
ground.
Having now explained the nature of our said improvement, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that we do
not mean or intend to claim as our Invention any of the parts therein described
for the purpose of explaining our said improvement which are old or have
been before used in the construction of railways or in rolling or manufacturing
iron rails, nor do we intend to confine ourselves to the precise mode or method
herein described of carrying our improvement into effect. But whereas we
claim as our Invention a wrought-iron rail for railways, having parts project-
ing from the base thereof at various intervals, answering the purpose of the
ordinary feet, pedestals, or chairs, and which parts so projecting as aforesaid are
made in one piece with and, in fact, form a part of the rail itself, as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.
ROBT (L.S.) SMITH.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of February, in the
fourth year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth, the said
Robert Smith came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and everything therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument afore-
said was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth
year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.