Improved Railway Chair and Means for Securing the Rail therein.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 9th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 14th Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Railway Chair and Means for Securing the Rail therein.
We, HERBERT WHITE of 1 Cluster Buildings, Belper in the County of Derby
Stone Mason, and GEORGE WHEELDON of Cluster Buildings, Belper aforesaid,
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
The object of our invention is to dispense with the wooden key now in general
use on so called railways and the like and provide a means for securing the rails
firmly in their chairs or beds without the necessity of using such keys, and for this
purpose we provide a chair or bed plate having at one end a fixed jaw, against
which one side of the rail abuts and a raised bed or seat on which the bottom of the
rail rests.
In place of the usual opposite jaw this raised portion or bed is continued
towards the opposite end of the chair or bed plate, and is recessed or sunk on the
incline forming an inclined plane the lowest part being next to the rail and the
inclined plane rising towards the opposite end of the chair or bed plate.
At each side of this incline and parallel to its plane we form dovetailed ways
in which slides a loose block also dovetailed at is base to fit into the before
mentioned ways and carrying a jaw capable of fitting or nearly fitting between
the flanges of the rail. Between the faces of. these jaws and the rail we may
insert if desired packings of leather, wood or other suitable material.
The loose block with its jaw is placed in the grooves formed to receive it and
pushed or forced home against the rail being secured when in position by means of
a metal key inserted behind it formed with a head fitting into a recess on the rear of
the block and in the bed plate and terminating in a spike which passes into the
sleeper. A lug or projection on the head of this key is provided for the purpose
of assisting in its removal or a hole may be formed for the same purpose.
The chair or bed plate is secured to the sleeper in the ordinary way by spikes,
screws or other suitable contrivance, holes at each end being provided for the
purpose.
Dated this 8th day of August 1891
POPPLEWELL & Co.,
17 & 18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Railway Chair and Means for Securing the Rail therein.
We, HERBERT WHITE of 1 Cluster Buildings Belper in the County of Derby,
Stone Mason and GEORGE WHEELDON of Cluster Buildings Belper aforesaid,
Builder do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
The object of our invention is to dispense with the wooden key now in general
use on so called railways and the like and provide a means for more readily
securing the rails firmly in their chairs or beds without the necessity of using such
keys, the rails being also more readily removed when required.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings and figures and letters of
reference marked thereon
Figure 1 is a section on line a-a of Figure 2.
Figure 2 is a plan of our improved railway chair showing the rail fixed in
position.

page_text: Figure 3 is a section on line b-b of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a perspective sketch with the moveable block or jaw removed.
In carrying out our said invention we provide a chair or bed-plate having at
one end a fixed jaw B cast or formed thereon against which one side of the rail C
abuts and also having a raised bed or seat D on which the bottom flange the rail C
rests. In place of the usual opposite jaw the raised portion of the b d D is con-
tinned towards the other end of the chair and is recessed or sunk so as to form a
dovetailed inclined way E the lowest part of such incline being next to the rail.
In this dovetailed way slides a loose block shaped to fit the dovetail d ways the
face of this loose block or jaw may be slightly hollowed next to the rail 3 shown by
dotted lines on Figure 2 and a packing of wood leather or other suitabl material K
may be interposed between it and the rail. The loose sliding block is placed in the
grooved dovetailed ways E1 E2 formed to receive it and pushed or forced home
until its jaw abuts against the rail or packing above mentioned when it is secured
in position by means of a key H which passes through it and through the bed of the
chair into the sleeper or the key may simply pass behind the block F and through
the chair into the sleeper and in this case the key has a head' fitting a recess in the
rear of the block and terminates in a spike for entering the sleeper L. A lug or
projection is also provided to assist in removing the key. A new length of railway
may be more quickly inserted by these means than by the present method of using
wooden keys. The chair or bed-plate is secured to the sleeper in the usual way by
means of spikes I holes J being provided for this purpose. Or we may dispense
with two of these spikes 1' 12 (see Figs. 2 and 4) and secure that end of the chair
by means of the key H the chair end being rounded as shown by dotted lines.
We may cast or form slight projections on the underside of our improved chair
so that when pressed into the sleeper they may assist in keeping the chair in
⚫position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
A. chair or bed-plate for use in railways and the like having one fixed jaw
and a loose jaw or block sliding in dovetailed inclined ways and secured by a
metal or other key or spike passing through or behind the same and through the.
bed-plate into or through the sleeper or its equivalent substantially as herein-
before described and as illustrated by the accompanying sheet of drawings.
Dated this 9th day of October 1891.
POPPLEWELL & Co.,
17 & 18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.