IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Punshon, of 10, Saint Michaol's Place, Brigliton,
in the County of Sussex, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Punshon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th October 1880.
ROBERT PUNSHON, of 16, Saint Michael's Place, Brighton, in the County of
Sussex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
This Invention has for its object improvements in the permanent way of
railways.
I connect the rails with the sleepers by means of chairs, the jaws of which are
separate the one from the other, and the sleepers are recessed and perforated to
receive these jaws. The jaw on the inner side of the rail is received into a recess
or hole in the sleeper, which may at this part pass through from the upper to the
under side, and this jaw is formed with a projecting flange or lip at its lower end
to rest against a corresponding shoulder upon the sleeper, which prevents the jaw
rising from its place. The hole in the sleeper is made large enough to allow the
inner jaw to be inserted from the upper side, and then by an inward or lateral
movement the flange or lip upon the jaw is brought beneath the shoulder on the
sleeper. The outer jaw of the chair is also received into the recess in the. sleeper,
but does not pass through; it is inserted after the inner jaw and the rail are in
place. The outer jaw is then dropped down into the recess and slidden along until
the rail is nipped between the two jaws. A wooden key or wedge driven into the
recess in the sleeper locks the outer jaw against the rail, and keeps all the parts in
place. The bed of the chair or the surface upon which the foot of the rail rests is
formed of a piece with the outer jaw, and when the jaws are closed together it
overlaps a shoulder upon the inner jaw. Or a portion of the bed may be formed
upon the inner jaw.
At the joints of the rails I employ chairs wide enough to receive the ends of two
rails and hold them together, so I dispense with fish plates.
The construction may be varied by forming the bed entirely upon the inner jaw,
and arranging the outer jaw to slide down to its place in an oblique direction. The
outer jaw is then to be secured by a taper pin or key passed horizontally through
the sleeper parallel to the rail, and locking the jaw by means of a groove formed in
it on the outer side.
In place of allowing the jaws to nip directly upon the web of the rail, strips of
wood may be interposed.

page_text: Figure 1 is a side view; Figure 2 is a plan; Figure 3 is an end view; Figure 4
is a transverse section of a chair made in accordance with my Invention, and with
portions of the rail and sleeper; Figures 5 are detail views of the jaws.
a is the inner jaw, it has a flange or lip al which enters beneath a shoulder in the
hole formed through the sleeper c. b is the outer jaw, and b' is a groove formed in
it on the outer side. The inner jaw a is first inserted into the hole through the
sleeper c, and by an inward or lateral movement the flange or lip a¹ upon the jaw
is brought beneath the shoulder. The rail d is then placed in position, and the
outer jaw b is slidden down into its place. The taper pin c is then passed through
a hole formed horizontally through the sleeper, and it is locked in position by a
screw nut e'. The taper pin e entering the groove 6' in the outer jaw b provents
the jaw b rising. Thus the jaws a and b hold the rail d down against the face of
the sleeper c. The jaws a and b are by preference made of steel.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I would have it understood that I claim as my improvements in the
permanent way of railways,-
First. Connecting rails with sleepers by means of jaws a and b received into a
hole in the sleeper, the jaw a having a flange or lip a entering beneath a shoulder
on the sleeper, and the jaw b passing down obliquely to its place, where it is
secured, substantially as described.

page_text: Second. My improvements in the permanent way of railways, substantially as
described and illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Punshon, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
ROBERT PUNSHUN. (L.S.)