AN IMPROVED MODE OF CONSTRUCTING RAILWAYS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF CONSTRUCTING RAILWAYS."-A com-
munication from abroad by Alexander Hay, of Philadelphia, in the United
States of America.
Sealed the 19th March 1861, and dated the 16th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th October 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF CONSTRUCTING RAILWAYS," to be
as follows:-
The object of this Invention is so to construct the track of a railway as to
give it a firm support without the use of wooden cross ties, and if thought
desirable of the stringers also. To this end the chairs which are now used
only for holding the rails in place, are also made to perform the office of
supporting the track as is now done by means of cross ties, by so constructing
the chair that a portion of it is imbedded in the earth and sustains the track

page_text: while that portion of the chair which extends above the surface of the earth
holds in place the rails as usual.
Tbat portion of the chair which is to be imbedded in the earth is to be
made in the form of a screw or of a wedge-like plate or pile. The upper part
or head of the chair is to be provided with jaws or a recess as usual for
holding the rail. The rail is secured in its place in the chair by a wedge
formed by preference of a piece of round iron wire, which fits in and fills up
two half round grooves made in one of the jaws or lips of the chair, and in the
adjacent side of the rail. This piece of round wire is of such size as to be
bent readily. When driven into place the ends are pressed off from the side
of the rail by a chisel or other suitable instrument, or the ends slightly bent
cannot afterwards be withdrawn without being again straightened. When the
rails are rolled for this form of chair the groove would be formed at the time
of rolling them. To make each chair furnish a wooden bearing, answering to
the elastic property of the wooden cross tie, the top of the chair should
terminate in a rectangular or other shaped box, the top part of it with sides or
jaws for holding the rails as in common chairs, while the box or recessed part
is fitted with a wooden block on which the rail is to rest. . The wooden block
to fit it may be firmly held in place by inserting in the end of the block of
wood to be forced into the box a secret wedge, which on the block being
driven into the box would press open the block and securely hold it. If the
bottom of the box be made slightly larger than the top, the block on being
forced in never could work out, and the wedge might be cast on the bottom of
the box projecting up a short distance, so as to expand the block in place of
using the secret wedge as above proposed.
The tying together of the chairs in a city railroad will hardly ever be
required, the chairs being so firmly imbedded in the streets as to render it
unnecessary, but should this be desirable (as on curves it may be) then on or
near the head of the chair there may be cast lugs with a hole through them
for receiving a tie rod, and each chair having a hole on each side to accomo-
date any position of the chair; the track may be securely tied together by iron;
rods or large wire, and these rods be entirely out of the way being beneath the
surface of the ground.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF CONSTRUCTING RAILWAYS," being a communi-
cation from abroad by Alexander Hay, of Philadelphia, in the United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:-
The object of this Invention is so to construct the track of a railway as to
give it a firm support without the use of wooden cross ties, and if thought
desirable without the use of the stringers also. This plan is particularly suited
to the construction of city railroads, as the laying of it necessitates very little
displacement of earth or pavement, in which respect it has advantages over
the known modes of construction. The chief feature of the Invention consists
in making the chairs which are now used only for holding the rails in place
also perform the office of sustaining the track. This is effected by so con-

page_text: structing the chair that a portion of it is imbedded in the earth and forms a
foundation for the track while the part which extends above the surface of the
earth holds in place the rails as usual.
That portion of the chair which is to be imbedded in the earth is made in
the form of a screw or of a wedge-shaped pile. The upper part or head of the
chair is provided with jaws or a recess for holding the rail as in the ordinary
chair.
ji
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents in perspective view a chair
constructed on the above mentioned principle, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the
same.
The screw pile a, which is made conical to present a large extent of
bearing surface, terminates at top in a chair or pair of jaws b, suitable for
receiving a rail c and holding it in place. The rail here represented as
inserted in the chair is the common T rail with the base cut away, and it is
held in place in the chair by a wedge d, which contitutes a very secure and
simple fastening.
The wedge d here represented is a piece of round iron wire which fits into
and fills two half round grooves, made the one in one of the jaws or lips of
the chair, and the other in the adjacent side of the rail. This piece of round
wire is of such size as to be bent readily, and when driven into place the ends
are pressed off from the side of the rail by a chisel or other suitable instru-
ment. By thus bending the ends slightly the wire cannot afterwards be with-
drawn without first straightening the ends, and consequently it cannot work
out of place. When the rails are rolled for this form of chair the groove
should be formed at the time of rolling them. The jaws of the chair may
extend up and fit under the head of the rail, so as to take a part of the bearing
or not as desired, and the chair proper may be just above the screw or
extended by lengthening that portion of the chair between the screw and chair
proper, so as to raise it several inches above the screw. In this case the top
part of the screw will be entirely imbedded in the earth. If it be desirable to
use rails already made then the top of the chair must be made in some one of
the forms of a common chair, so as to hold the rails securely in place.
In the improved sustaining chair above described some elastic material
may readily be interposed between the chair and the rail, answering in
respect of elasticity to the wooden cross tie. To this end the top of a recess
should be made in the chair at the part immediately below the rail to receive
a wooden block (as shewn at Fig. 3 in cross section, and in perspective at
Fig. 4), on which the rail is to rest. The wooden block to fit the recess may
be firmly held in place by inserting in the end of the block of wood to be

page_text: forced into the box a secret wedge, which, on the block being driven into the
box, would press open the block and securely hold it. If the bottom of the
recess be made slightly larger than the top, as shewn in the Drawing, the
block on being forced in never could work out, and a wedge-shaped rib might
be cast on the bottom of the box, projecting up a short distance, as shewn at e
(Fig. 3). This wedge would expand the block and cause it to fill the recess
as it was driven in.
,
It will be seen from this description that with the chair here proposed all the
elasticity of a wooden bearing may be had, while it would be so confined that
it would last far longer than the cross ties which are imbedded in the earth.
Fig. 5 shews in perspective view a chair, with a wedge-shaped termination;
and Fig. 6 is a plan view thereof. In this instance the chair is furnished
with an extended base f, which will bed upon the surface of the ground. If
the foundation on which the track is to be laid be of stone, then neither of the
terminations to the chair herein described (that is to say) neither the screw
nor the wedge-shaped plate would answer, but the chair should terminate in a
shaft to be inserted in a hole drilled in the stone to receive it. If this shaft
be of wrought-iron it may be securely confined by a secret wedge, as before
described; or, if of cast-iron it may be confined in the same way by heating
the shaft before inserting it; or it may be securely fixed by pouring molten
lead around the shaft in a hole suitably made to receive it, as railings are
secured to blocks of stone. The shaft or neck, that part supporting the chair
proper, may be made of any suitable length to preserve the level of the track,
as where the stone foundation is; for example, a foot below the required level
of the track. The shaft or terminus of the chair should be sufficiently strong
to support the track, and besides being inserted in the stone a flange may be
cast around the lower part of the shaft resting on the stone. for an additional
bearing; or it may be made hollow to save metal, and solid at the end. The
entire chair is to be securely fixed in the foundation, and any required elasticity
in the track is to be obtained by interposing wood or any elastic material
between the rail and the chair seat, as before explained. The cylindrical
wedge or round iron pin for holding the rail in the chair being of the same
size throughout, permits the rails to expand or contract, or "creep," as it is
called, during changes of temperature.
It will be seen from the description that although iron tie rods may be used,
if desired, with this chair, they are not essential to the construction of the
road. The chairs being constructed and imbedded, as shown, the track cannot
spread; and if a stone foundation be prepared, and the chairs be inserted in
blocks of stone, which instead of being placed on the surface of the ground are

page_text: imbedded some foot or more below it, the neck or support of the chair being
rammed solid with ballast it becomes next to impossible for the road to spread.
To construct a road, the Inventor having marked out the line of road, and
determined what distance apart the chairs or supports for the rails shall be
placed, screws or drives the improved chairs into the ground, imbedding each
chair to the same level, and as low as desired, making room, if need be, for the
head of the chair, so that the rail only may project above the ground. The
chairs being imbedded or screwed in the ground to receive the line of rails,
the rails are placed in the chairs and secured by wedges or bolts, as above
described.
It will be seen that this mode of construction only renders it necessary in a
paved street to remove so much of the pavement as lies in the lines of the
chairs and rails, thus leaving undisturbed much of the pavement, which under
the usual mode of constructing city railroads has to be removed. The chairs,
which are fitted with screws, may readily be inserted in the ground by a lever,
with a block fitting into the head of the chair for screwing them in, and the
wooden block, if used, may be driven into tho head of the chair, or forced into
it by a screw, with clamps catching under the head of the chair. The tying
together of the chairs in a city railroad will hardly ever be required, the chairs
being so firmly imbedded in the street pavement as to render cross ties
unnecessary; but should this be found desirable (as on curves it may be) then on
or near the head of the chair there may be cast lugs with a hole through them
for receiving a tie rod, and each chair having a hole on each side to accom-
modate any position of the chair; the track may be securely braced by iron
rods laid beneath the surface of the ground.
This mode of constructing railroads possesses great advantages in that it
permits the use of rails formed solely to sustain the greatest weight without
deflection, and consequently permits the use of lighter rails for the same servico
than other roads. For instance, what is termed a flat bar rail, now necessarily
laid on longitudinal timbers or stringers, may in this mode of constructing roads
be placed, for illustration, on edge and be securely held in place, because the
chair which holds it is itself securely held in place by being screwed or driven
into the ground.
Having now described the nature of the Invention of "An Improved Mode
of Constructing Railways," as communicated to me from abroad, and explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim the use of railroad
chairs constructed substantially as described, such chairs being capable of
holding the rails in place; and at the same time sustaining a railroad track,

page_text: and so formed as to be screwed or driven into the foundation substantially as
herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)