CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS FOR PERMANENT WAYS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Ellis, of Swindon, in the County of Wilts,
Engineer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS FOR
PERMANENT WAYS."
Sealed the 4th April 1862, and dated the 29th November 1861..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Ellis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th
November 1861.
I, THOMAS ELLIS, of Swindon, in the County of Wilts, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS
FOR PERMANENT WAYS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
My improvement in rails for the permanent way of railways consists in
making the rail, as regards transverse section, of a peculiar fórm, the rail being
made hollow or what is termed a bridge rail, but rolled in such manner
that the base or each side of the rail will meet or nearly so in the vertical
centre line or plane of the rail, thereby making a more solid bearing on the
longitudinal timbers, the object being to prevent the sides of rail collapsing,
a defect which I in some cases obviate by introducing a flat bar of iron between
the bridge of the rail. The manner in which I propose carrying out my said
Invention will be more particularly described in the final Specification of the
Patent.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Ellis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd
May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
ELLIS, of Swindon, in the County of Wilts, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Ellis, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Ellis,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Ellis, 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 Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS
FOR PERMANENT WAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas Ellis, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Thomas Ellis, 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 state-
ment thereof, that is to say:
My improvement in rails for the permament way of railways consists in
making the rail, as regards transverse section, of a peculiar form, the rail being
made hollow or what is termed a bridge rail, but rolled in such manner
that the base, or each side of the rail will meet or nearly so in the
vertical centre line or plane of the rail, thereby making a more solid bearing
on the longitudinal timbers, the object being to prevent the sides of rail
collapsing, a defect which I in some cases obviate by introducing a flat bar
of iron between the bridge of the rail. The peculiar form and mode of s
producing bridge rails according to my Invention will be understood from the
following description, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a transverse section of a bridge rail of the ordinary well
known form and construction. Figure 2 is also a section shewing the form
assumed by Figure 1 after some years of wear. It will therefore be seen
that the slides a, a, of rail have a tendency to collapse or approach each other,
and thereby to disturb the bearing surface of rail upon the longitudinal sleepers.
To obviate this defect, and also to increase the amount of bearing surface of
rail upon the sleeper, I make the rail of the form shewn in section at Figure
3, which is a Drawing, full size, of my improved form of rail which I produce
by rolling in such manner, that the parts of rail marked a¹, a', meet in the
centre line or plane of the rail whereby the base or bearing surface of the
rail is increased without increasing the weight of rail. Figure 4 represents
the various forms of section exhibited in the process. of rolling such rail, and
marked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, as will be understood, No. 6 being the form of
groove in the rolls for closing or bringing the "heels" of the rail together.
I would observe the same object may be attained by rolling the rail as shewn
at Figure 5, or by introducing a dovetailed bar of iron as shewn at Figure 6,
but that which I claim as of my Invention is the rolling of what are commonly
called bridge rails for railways, in such manner that the "heel" or parts a³, a³,
a, a, are brought together or in close proximity, whereby the base and
strength of rail is increased and the collapsing of the sides as shewn at Figure 2
prevented.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Ellis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this
day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
GEORGE THOMAS DICK,
Swindon, Wilts.
THOMAS ELLIS. (L.S.)