IMPROVED RAILWAY CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS, WITH WEDGELOCKING ATTACHMENT AND WEDGES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL
DrECIFICATION.
I, JOHN QUARMBY of 149 High St. Oxford Rd. Manchester in the County of
Lancaster, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVED
RAILWAY CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS, WITH WEDGELOCKING ATTACHMENT AND WEDGES
FOR THE SAME" to bo as follows:-
It consists of improvements, by means of which; fishplates at the junction of the
rails are dispensed with, the wedges firmly locked in their places when driven
tight, and the wedges and sleepers preserved from the action of the weather,
varying temperatures &c.
To accomplish this, I cast upon the ordinary chair, two wedgejaws instead of
one, widening the base to a suitable width for this purpose; I also cast one
or more upright bearings behind each wedgejaw to carry the wedgelocking
arrangement, hereinafter described; a short flange of suitable depth at each end of
the chair beside the wedgejaw, and longitudinal or lateral grooves in the middle
of the chair, and one large lateral groove in the centre of the chair.
In use,
the ends of two rails are placed together in the chair. Each rail is then
wedged up seperately against one of the wedgejaws. The wedges are then locked
in the following manner.
Attached to each of the upright bearings mentioned as cast upon the base of the
chair, is a lever made in the form of a segment of an ellipse. This is pivoted from
the narrow end and at right angles to the wedge; at such a distance that the
elliptical end of the lever rests against the wedge. This elliptical end is grooved
in such a manner as to form one or more edges. After the wedge has been driven
home this lever is placed against the side of the wedge and driven down until its
edges sink deeply into the side of the wedge, thus firmly securing the wedge from
any side motion and fixing the rails firmly and securely together in the chair
without fishplates. Where extra firmness is required the lever may be driven
down until its lower edge rests within the flange cast upon the side of the chair.
I use the longitudinal or lateral grooves mentioned, for the purpose of preventing
(in the case of a reversible rail) the whole of the lower face from corroding away
where it rests upon the chair, as is the case with the ordinary chair. Under my
ID 11

page_text: arrangement the rail only corrodes where the ridges touch the face, so that when
the rail is reversed it still retains a sufficient level running surface for all practical
purposes. I use the large lateral groove for the purpose of altering the level of the
rails by means of a metal or other packing.
For the better preservation of the wooden wedges and sleepers I enclose each
wedge or sleeper in a tightfitting and airtight case of zinc or other suitable
material, thus preserving them from the effects of sudden changes of temperature,
damp, and in hot climates, the destructive attacks of white ants, and similar
insects.
I can also use the ordinary wedges with this chair, or my improved wedges and
sleepers with an ordinary chair.
The chair is secured to the sleeper in the ordinary way by either bolting or
pinning.

page_text: I, JOHN QUARMBY of 149 High Street Oxford Road Manchester in the County
of Lancaster, Agent do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVED
RAILWAY CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS AND WEDGELOCKING ATTACHMENT AND WEDGES
FOR THE SAME and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
It consists of improvements, by means of which firstly, fish plates at the junction
of the rails are dispensed with, secondly the wedges are firmly locked in their places,
and thirdly, the wedges and sleepers are preserved from the action of the weather
and varying temperatures.
.
To accomplish the first of the above objects I cast upon the chair two wedgejaws
instead of one, this enables me to place two rails end to end in the chair and
wedge each up seperately. I then accomplish the second object by pivoting from
one or more suitable upright bearings behind each wedgejaw, a lever made more or
less in the form of a segment of an ellipse. This is pivoted from its narrow end
and at right angles to the wedge, at such a distance that the elliptical end of the
lever rests against the wedge. This elliptical end is grooved in such a manner as
to form one broad or more narrow edges, the outside edge may be made of sufficient
width to cover the end or ends of the wedge After the wedges have been driven
home the levers are placed against the side of the wedges and driven down until
their ends are firmly imbedded in the side of the wedges thus firmly securing the
wedges from any side motion and fixing the rails firmly and securly together in
the chair without fishplates, the lever falling by its own weight, in case of the
wedge shrinking and always keeping the rail firmly fixed. The foregoing is for
use at the junction of the rails the other chairs for the middle of the rail I cast
with one wedgejaw and attach one or more locking levers to hold the wedges in
position. In addition to the foregoing I cast in the middle of the chairs
longitudinal or lateral grooves, and one large lateral groove. The smaller grooves
are intended, in the case of a reversable rail, to prevent the whole of the lower
surface of the rail from corroding away. Under my arrangement the rail only
corrodes where the ridges touch the face, so that upon the rail being reversed it
shall retain a sufficient running surface for all pratical purposes. The large lateral
groove is used for altering the level of the rail by means of a metal or other
packing.
For the better preservation of the wooden wedges and sleepers I enclose each
wedge or sleeper in a tightfitting and airtight case of zinc or other suitable
material thus preserving them from the effects of sudden changes of temperature,
damp; and in hot climates the destructive attacks of white ants and similar insecta.
I can use the ordinary wedges with this chair or my improved wedges and
Bleepers with ordinary chairs.
My chair is secured to the sleeper in the ordinary way by either bolting or
pinning.

page_text: In order that the foregoing may be better understood I send herewith a sheet of
drawings in which Fig 1 is a plan and Fig 2 an elevation of the chair. In both of
these a indicates the two wedgejaws which may be either as shown or placed
outside the locking levers d which also may be reduced in number to one which
may be placed between the wedgejaws a or increased to any number thought fit
bb are the bearings which may be of any suitable shape c is the large lateral
groove for packing e shows the enlarged outside edge in dotted lines and ƒƒf the
position of the narrow edges the other lever d is drawn with one broad edge.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st The chair substantially as described and shown hereinbefore and in the
accompanying drawing for the purpose set forth.
2nd A locking lever substantially as described and shown herein before and in
the accompanying drawing for the purpose set forth.
3rd The use of longitudinal or lateral grooves substantially as described herein-
before and in the accompanying Drawing for the purpose set forth..
4th The use of a large lateral groove, substantially as described and shewn
herein before and in the accompanying Drawing for the purpose set forth.
5th The means for preserving wedges and sleepers substantially as described and
shown herein before and in the accompanying drawing for the purpose set forth:
Dated this 8th dow of Junn 100k