IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS, THE FASTENINGS TO BE USED THEREWITH, AND IN TRENAILS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
MAY, of Ipswich, Suffolk, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of
March, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the tenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles May, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Charles May, my
exors, admors and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles May, my exors,
adiñors, 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 expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY CHAIRS, THE FASTENINGS TO BE USED THEREWITH, AND IN TRENAILS," in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Charles
May, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to be inrolled 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 in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, l, the said
Charles May, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which it is to be performed, aré fully described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say:-
The first part of my Invention consists of improvements in manufacturing
railway chairs. In performing this part of my Invention, the mould is formed
in a similar manner to that described in the Specification of Ransome and
May's Patent, of February; One thousand eight hundred and forty-one, in
which side plates of metal are used to form part of the mould, and for guiding
and supporting the core. This part of the Invention consists of forming the
core for the interior of the jaw of a chair with sand, upon a metal interior or
core bar, combined with the using of metal side plates or surfaces, as part of
a mould, and as supports to the core. This part of the Invention also consists
of having a cross bar attached to the flask, into which the tail end of the core
projects. And, further, it consists of using metal cores for casting the holes
for the trenails or fastenings.
Figure 1 shews a longitudinal section; Figure 2, a transverse section; and
Figure 3, a plan of a flask with a sand mould representing a chair cast on to
a core according to this part of my Invention, the top side of the mould
being removed. To produce a clean or chill surface in certain parts of the
chair, the iron part of the core is left to come in contact with the melted
metal, as shewn at a, Fig. 1; the extent and position of this clean or chill
surface may be varied. To produce clean or chill holes for the trenails the
metal cores at b, b, are used; c is a cross bar fixed across the flask, so as to
receive the tail end of the core, in such manner as to ensure its correct placing
and holding when in the sand mould, which cross bar will be found advan-
tageous (when casting railway chairs) for holding the core used, whether
employed separately or in conjunction with the side plates shewn.
The Drawings shew the Invention as applied in casting a chair such as is
very largely in use, but the Invention is equally applicable when other forms
of chairs are used, and it will be evident that by the use of side metal plates
or surfaces the compound core will be held correctly and securely sideways, as
described in the Specification of the said former Patent, whilst by having the
core more or less coated with sand the interior of the chairs cast may have
any portion cast against the metal surface of the core or against the said
surface thereof. At the same time the shape of the interior of the chair may
be of such forms as would not allow of the use of cores wholly of metal. One

page_text: object of this part of my Invention is obtaining the advantages of using side
plates, as described under the said former Patent, and yet have the power of
casting the interior of the chairs of such forms as would not allow of metal
cores being drawn if used, and at the same time to have the power of casting
any portions of the interior of a chair against metal surfaces and any other
portions thereof against sand surfaces.
What I claim as the first part of my Invention is the use of cores partly of
metal and partly of sand when in combination with metal side plates or
surfaces for casting railway chairs. And I also claim the application of
a cross bar c to a flask for receiving the tail end of a core when casting rail-
way chairs. And I also claim the use of metal pins or cores b, b, for casting
the holes of railway chairs.
I will now describe another part of my Invention, which relates to the
making of cores to be used in casting railway chairs.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RAMMING APPARATUS.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the ramming apparatus for coating the metal
cores with sand, and shewing one of two rammers, and Figure 5 is another
elevation of the same, shewing the two rammers. Figure 6 is a plan of the
machine. A is the driving pulley actuated by a belt; B, B, are two seg-
mental wheels pressed up to the rammer C by springs in such manner that as
they revolve each periphery acts upon the rammer and lifts it, and when the
flat parts D, D, become perpendicular the rammer falls and is again taken up
by the circular parts; the mould being filled with sand by hand progressively
as it is rammed down. E is a plate of metal so formed as to drop into the
cavity between the metal core bar F and the core box G, and which cavity
has to be rammed with sand. For convenience the table H revolves so as to
bring the core boxes G, G, G, G, at pleasure under the rammers, or take
them away when sufficiently rammed to be struck off clean by hand, and
whilst the operator is doing this another core is in process of ramming. I
have shewn the core boxes each to consist of two parts, opening on a hinge,
which I prefer, but they are not new, and form no part of my Invention;
other core boxes for forming the cores for casting railway chairs may be used.
This part of my Invention consisting of so arranging apparatus that a rammer
or rammers worked by mechanical power may be employed in ramming the
sand into a core box, so as to make suitable cores for casting railway chairs.
I will now describe that part of my Invention which relates to fastenings to
be used with railway chairs and to trenails. Heretofore in making fastenings
of wood for holding down chairs of railways and for retaining the rails therein,

page_text: and also when making trenails according to the means described in the Specifi-
cation of the said former Patent of One thousand eight hundred and forty-one,
it has been usual to compress the wood in its natural state, without the use of
any ingredient for preserving the wood; now, I have discovered that the
wood to be used may with advantage be first impregnated with suitable matter
to preserve it from decay, and then be subjected to pressure, as described
part of my
in the Specification of the said former Patent; and this
Invention
consists of combining a process for preserving the wood used for such fastenings
and for trenails with the said process of compression, the process for preserving
the wood being first performed, and then the compression. I prefer to use the
following mode of treatment:-I take the heavy oil of coal tar, commonly
called creosote, and pass through it in a close vessel a stream of steam from a
boiler capable of sustaining eighty to one hundred pounds pressure above the
atmosphere; the pieces of wood prepared for the trenails or wedges are placed
in a vessel, also of great strength, and the combined vapour of water and
creosote allowed to act upon them for some time (half an hour to an hour), and
I find that this combined vapour penetrates the wood effectually; but when I
wish to combine more of the creosote with the wood I subject it to the vapour
of creosote only, without the vapour of water. I would, however, state that
such modes of impregnating wood with preservative matter is not claimed
by me, the same being old and well known. The process of compression is to be
performed (when the wood is dry) as described in the said former Specification.
I would state that other means of applying preservative material and other pre-
servative materials may be employed in carrying out this part of my Invention,
to none of which separately do I make any claim.
This part of my Invention consisting of the combined process of first
applying preservative materials to the wood of which trenails and fastenings
used with railway chairs are made, and then subjecting the wood to pressure
in suitable moulds, so as for a time to retain the same under pressure,
as described in the said former Specification.
I will now describe another part of my Invention, which relates to the
manufacture of wood fastenings used with railway chairs, and of wood trenails.
In practice such fastenings as are described under the said former Patent are
liable to exposure to moisture before inserting them or applying them to the
purpose for which they are intended, and they thus frequently become swelled;
and I have found it is desirable to retard the swelling process, and this I
accomplish by covering them with any repellant of water, as varnish or grease,
but it is not intended that this shall permanently repel moisture, as they are
required to swell after driving. I have found that a thin solution of common

page_text: resin in oil of turpentine answers very well, which I cause to be used as
a coating to such fastenings as soon as they are made. I do not, however,
confine myself thereto, as this part of my Invention consists of applying
a coating of matter to such compressed fastenings, which for a time will repel
moisture, in order that such fastenings may be prevented swelling by moisture
till they are fixed.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of Septem-
ber, in the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Charles May came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.