Improvements in Tramways.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Tramways.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK DEACON, of 32, Victoria Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
-
Tramway rails beneath which a timber or other cushion is used have largely
given place to girder rails, in which the stiffness of the rail itself reduces the
difficulty of fastening it, especially at the joints. But the advantages of a
lighter cushioned rail are very great, and I have succeeded in devising arrange-
ments, the subject of my present patent, by which the difficulty of fastening is
removed.
I hold down the rails by bolts using the sleeper merely as a cushion between
the rail and a concrete or other foundation.
By this arrangement properly applied, the rails, sleepers, and fastenings may
be steadily maintained in proper condition without any attention except at the
joints where there is an increased tendency to working loose. That increased
tendency is due to the break of continuity of the rail and may be sufficiently
reduced by additional support given in an elastic way.
To this end I interpose, at and about the joint, between the rails and the
foundation of concrete or other material, a stronger supporting medium than
the normal section of the sleeper, and I so arrange this stronger supporting
medium that its additional elastic upward pressure shall countervail the additional
downward pressure produced upon the cushion at the joint by the rolling load.
The additional strength of the elastic cushion at the joint may be secured either
with or without a break in the continuity of the timber sleeper.
The arrangement may, for example, be carried out in detail as follows:-
The section of the rails may be saddle shaped and the ends may be cut
off at 500 or 60° to the rail in plan. The sleeper is the same width
as the rails and is continuous beneath the joint. Except for a few inches
on either side of the joint, the upper side of the sleeper is moulded to the under
side of the rail. The sleeper rests on concrete and the rails are held down to
castings, bedded in the concrete, by pairs of bolts at intervals having right and
lett handed threads engaging a nut, by means of which the rails may be drawn
down sufficiently to compress the timber cushion or sleeper slightly. For the
above mentioned few inches on either side of the joint the sleeper is cut away so as to
leave a space of about of an inch between the underside of the rail and the
remaining portion of the sleeper. A springy steel plate fills this space and
projects beyond it on either side of the sleeper, where it turns down until its
two edges rest upon the upper side of a casting flush with the concrete foundation.
The function of this steel plate is to add strength to resist the tendency to hammer-
ing action of the rail ends without introducing unnecessary rigidity, to assist
the springy upward pressure of the sleeper towards the rail, and generally, without
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031

page_text: making the joint rigid, to compensate for the loss of continuity of the rail. A
horizontal bolt may if necessary be passed through the two sides of the steel
saddle plate to prevent undue widening under pressure.
The two end holding down bolts are placed close to the ends of the steel
saddle plate and draw down the ends of the rails until they rest firmly upon
the springy saddle plate.
The whole of the parts are put together and bolted up with highly bituminous
asphalte between them. The sleepers, if properly seasoned and treated with
creosote, will not decay.
Totad 100.
T
1000
Improvements in Tramways.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK DEACON, of 32, Victoria Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Tramway rails beneath which a timber or other cushion is used have largely
given place to girder rails, in which the stiffness of the rail itself reduces the
difficulty of fastening it, especially at the joints. But the advantages of a
lighter cushioned rail are very great, and I have succeeded in devising arrange-
ments, the subject of my present patent, by which the difficulty of fastening is
removed.
When the rails are held down by bolts using the sleeper merely as a cushion
between the rail and a concrete or other foundation, the rails, sleepers, and fastenings
may be steadily maintained in proper condition without any attention except at the
joints where the tendency to work loose is always greatest.
Such greater
tendency is due to the break of continuity of the rails and may be sufficiently
reduced by additional support given in an elastic way.
To this end I interpose, at and about the joint, between the rails and the
foundation of concrete or other material, a stronger supporting medium than
the normal section of the sleeper, and I so arrange this stronger supporting
medium that its additional elastic upward pressure shall countervail the additional
downward pressure produced upon the cushion at the joint by the rolling load.
The additional strength of the elastic cushion at the joint may be secured either
with or without a break in the continuity of the timber sleeper or cushion
but it is better that the cushion should be continuous where the continuity of
the rail is broken.
The arrangement may, for example, be carried out in detail as follows:-
The section of the rails may be saddle shaped and the ends may be cut off at
some such angle as 450 to 60° to the length of the rail in plan. The sleeper is the
same width as the rails and is continueus beneath the joint. Except for a few inches
on either side of the joint, the upper side of the sleeper is moulded to the under
side of the rail. The sleeper rests on concrete and the rails are held down to
castings bedded in the concrete, by pairs of bolts at intervals having right and
left handed threads engaging a nut, by means of which the rails may be drawn
down sufficiently to compress the timber cushion or sleeper slightly. Or, inst ad of
a nut and the right and left handed threads one of the bolts may be hollow at one
end and screwed inside to receive the thread on the other. For the above mentioned

page_text: few inches on either side of the joint the sleeper is cut away so as to
leave a space of about 3 of an inch between the underside of the rail and the
remaining portion of the sleeper. A springy steel saddle plate fills this space and
projects beyond it on either side of the sleeper, where it turns down until its
two edges rest upon the upper side of a casting flush with the concrete foundation.
The function of this steel plate is to add strength to resist the tendency to hammer-
ing action of the rail ends without introducing unnecessary rigidity, to assist
the springy upward pressure of the sleeper towards the rail, and generally, without
making the joint rigid, to compensate for the loss of continuity of the rail. A
horizontal bolt may if necessary be passed through the two sides of the steel
saddle plate to prevent undue widening under pressure.
The holding down bolts nearest to the joint are placed close to the ends of the
steel saddle plate, and draw down the ends of the rails until they rest firmly upon
the springy saddle plate.
The whole of the parts are put together and bolted up with highly bituminous
asphalte between them. The sleepers, if properly seasoned and treated with
creosote, will not decay.
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 a plan of the general arrangement of a
tramway made in accordance with this invention.
a is a rail resting on a sleeper or cushion 6 which is supported by a concrete
foundation c.
Figure is an example of the mode of shaping the sleeper or cushion 6 to
the rail a shown in section to an enlarged scale. Figure on the same scale is
a section through the opening for one of the vertical bolts fastening the rail down
to a cast iron washer plate d embedded near the bottom of the concrete foundation.
In the latter figure the part of the bolt e has a left handed thread and the part f
a right handed thread, the part e being secured to the rail by means of a pin e
which passes through holes in the rail. The two parts of the bolt are brought
together by the hexagonal nut g. This nut is turned by means of a spanner intro-
duced by the opening h in the sleeper, which opening is of sufficient width for
that purpose.
After the first tightening up of such a bolt, passing loads may cause the rail
to settle down more firmly and slightly slacken the bolt, but after a second
tightening it will always in virtue of the elasticity of the sleeper or cushion b
remain tight if the parts are properly proportioned
Figure 5 is a cross section of the joint at which two rails meet. Figure 6 and
Figure 7 are a plan and side elevation respectively of such parts.
The sleeper is continuous across the joint. The ends of the rails a being
cut diagonally in plan as shown in Figure 6, but vertically in elevation as shown
in Figure 7.
On either side there is a bolt with a connecting nut of the same kind as the
above described to fasten down the rails to a cast iron washer plate d embedded
in the concrete foundation.
In order to prevent the increased intensity of local pressure of the ends of the
rail upon the sleeper which the construction thus described would entail, a
springy steel plate i bent to the form shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7 supports the
under side of the rail and rests directly upon the sleeper, which is cut away to
the necessary extent. This springy plate is prevented from spreading by the
bolt j. The two feet of the plate rest upon a casting k which is an extension
upward of the cast iron holding down washer or plate d. If the bolt ; is properly
adjusted the local pressure of the rails at and near their joints upon the springy
plates and the pressure of the springy plates upon the timber may be made
very nearly the same as the pressure of the rails upon other parts of the timber.
Bituminous asphalte not shown in the drawings is placed between the different
parts in order that any vacuities may be duly filled.
The parts marked Figures 5, 6 and 7 are merely electric bonds used where
electric traction is employed.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
-
1. In a tramway the combination of the rails the sleepers or cushions moulded
to fit a hollow in the bottom of the rails the concrete or other foundation on which
the sleepers or cushions rest the bolts securing the rail to plates embedded in the
foundation and the springy metal saddle plates interposed at the rail joints between
the rails and the sleepers and resting at their ends upon plates embedded in the
foundation substantially as described to give additional elastic support to the
rail ends.
2. In a tramway a rail joint in which at the point where the rails meet a
springy metal saddle plate is interposed between the rails and a sleeper on which
the rails rest, and extending downwards on opposite sides of the sleeper, rests
at its ends upon a plate or casting embedded in a concrete or other foundation
at this point to give additional elastic support to the rails.
3. In a tramway a rail point in which a springy metal plate whose ends rest
upon a plate or casting embedded in the concrete or other foundation is interposed
between the two rails and the sleeper and in which the end of each rail is bolted
down to the plate or casting embedded in the foundation.
4. Tramways constructed substantially as described and illustrated in the draw-
ings annexed.
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011
Masch 1800