Improve- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS FOR RAIL AND TRAMWAYS, AND IN RAIL JOINTS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Edward Dering, of Lockleys, near
Welwyn, in the County of Herts, for the Invention of "Improve-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS FOR RAIL AND TRAMWAYS, AND IN
RAIL JOINTS FOR THE SAME."
"
Sealed the 6th March 1874, and dated the 24th December 1873.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Edward Dering
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 24th December 1873, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
EDWARD DERING, of Lockleys, near Welwyn, in the County of Herts,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS FOR RAIL AND TRAMWAYS, AND IN BAIL JOINTS
FOR THE SAME," and have petitioned Her most Excellent Majesty Queen
Victoria to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
A

page_text: Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declara-
tion that I am the first and true Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Edward Dering, do
hereby declare the nature of tho said Invention, to be as follows:-
-
The objects in view are mainly the production of inexpensive rails,
combining at one and the same time the advantages at present possessed
only by those of the most costly descriptions, and then seldom united, of
durable wearing surface, general strength and rigidity, and complete
safety from fracture, by certain methods of employing cast and wrought
metals in conjunction with each other; an improved sectional form of
rails and joint for the same, which rails may be constructed most
advantageously upon the compound systems comprised in the present
Patent, or of rolled iron or steel by the ordinary mode of manufacture,
or otherwise, and a cheap, strong, and superior rail joint, which may be
used for uniting many descriptions of the compound rails manufactured
according to this Patent, or other kinds.
Under the first system of carrying out the Invention in rogard to com-
pound rail construction they are made partly of wrought and partly of
cast metals:
[I.A.] According to one method as follows, namely, either the exterior
portion of or the complete head or heads, or head and foot of the rail,
that is to say, those parts which are to endure the wear of the traffic,
and afford the tensile strength of the combination, being of the former.
and the latter material, which is to constitute the main body and sub-
stantial support, including by preference in most cases the "web" or
its equivalent, and to afford the necessary solidity and rigidity of the
combination, whilst serving in most varictics of the arrangement to
sustain wholly or mainly the vertical crushing pressure, being run partly
or wholly within, or partly around, or partly within and partly around,
or otherwise in connection or contact with such wrought metal part or
parts, generally in moulds the form of the intended rail or of the cast
portion thereof. A suitable mixture of different kinds of cast iron to
give strength and toughness, or of cast iron and steel together, is by
preference used, and a proportion of wrought-iron borings, turnings, or
scrap may be admixed with the cast metal to improve its quality:
I find it advisable to employ in most cases metal moulds constructed
to afford a bearing and support to the inside edges of the wrought-metal

page_text: part or parts of the intended rail, and thus prevent the distortion which
is otherwise liable to occur through unequal expansion when the molten
cast metal comes in contact; and the wrought-metal parts should not
be quite so long as the mould, in order to allow for extension.
Under some circumstances the wrought-metal portion of the mil
might be formed partially or completely tubular in section, and the cast
metal run therein, without the necessity for any other mould being
employed, but only such means as are requisite to prevent the fluid
cast metal from escaping when poured within the wrought.
The mode of construction preferred in making double-headed rails
according to this method is, to form the exterior portion of the two
heads of rolled steel, or rolled iron subjected to a converting or
cementing process; and in making the kind known as "flange" rails,
to form the exterior portion of the head and of the foot of rolled steel,
or rolled iron subjected to a converting or cementing process, and of
rolled iron respectively. These parts may vary considerably in shape
and proportions, being advantageously formed with longitudinal ribs, of
by preference dovetail section, which will be powerfully gripped by the
cast metal when it contracts in cooling; and they may in some cases
have the intervening space between them partly occupied, or be actually,
united by a wrought-metal web or webs or other connection, either
throughout their length or at intervals, or at the extremities alone for
the purpose of giving the rail ends the additional strength that is
desirable.
The rails may be of many other varieties of shapes and designs,
including the well-known “bridge” section.
If it is desirable for the wrought-steel head or heads, when that mate-
rial is employed, to be of a higher temper than this method of rail
manufacture would leave them, the whole rail may be finally subjected.
to hardening or hardening and tempering processes, as well understood;
whereby to produce that result in the wrought-steel portion of it, it
being advisable, in order to economize fuel, instead of being allowed to
cool and afterwards re-heated, to take them from the mould whilst still
at a sufficient heat for the dipping or other hardening operation to be
effectual. And a converting or cementing process may be applied to
the wrought-iron head or heads of the complete rail when that material
is used, such portion of the rail as is not intended to be thus operated
•
A 2

page_text: upon being protected by suitable means, as is well understood; and
they may then be finally hardened or tempered by the usual
methods.
With reference to this part of the Invention it may be well to state
that I am aware that in the construction of railway crossings it has been {
proposed and practised, with a view to maintaining the wing rails, point
rails, and such like separate constituent parts securely in their proper
relativo positions, to combine them with the foundation plato by
running the metal of the latter in connection with them in the mould
in which it is cast, and I do not claim any such structure or com-

page_text: hardening ingredients such as chromium and other materials known to
bo productive of a like effect combined or alloyed therewith in suitablo
proportion, or by being subsequently subjected wholly or partly to a
hardening process by immersion at a high temperature in an oil or other
suitable bath; and under either the first or second of these modes of
manufacturo the castings or portions thereof may be finally annealed or
tempered according to circumstances, if desirable.
In those forms of construction in which the wrought is to be entirely
surrounded by the cast metal, the bars of the former material may be
supported in the proper position in the mould by means of slight
extensions of their ends, finally to be cut off, beyond the intended length
of the finished rail, the mould being formed accordingly and with due
allowance for longitudinal expansion, and intermediate means of
support, suspension, or keeping in position, of a nature that will not
prejudice the casting by remaining in it; pieces of wire, for example,
may also be employed if necessary.
I would state with regard to this part of the Invention that I am
aware of its having before been proposed to construct compound rails
having the head of cast and the foot of web of wrought metal, the foot
or wcb being first formed and the head cast on to it, and I do not claim
generally the so constructing a rail, but only the particular modes of
manufacture, as described, including a modification which might in
some cases be found advantageous, consisting, instead of the cast being
wholly run in combination with the wrought metal, in casting before-
hand, independently, the head or heads, or upper portion of the rail of
any description of metal and any formation suitable for the purpose, and
associating the same with the wrought metal intermediate or lower
portion thereof by running cast metal in connection with such separate
parts in any suitable kinds of moulds, or without the use of moulds so
as to constitute one compound structure of the whole.
Various examples of the construction of rails in the foregoing manner
and which may be modified suitably for street or road tramway use, and
the base or web of many of them with advantage extended to serve as
sleepers are shown in Figures I. D., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, Sheet 1 of the Drawings.
Testood of the mould hoing disided alana the cando al 22 Lond

page_text: found preferable to form them to separato diagonally or of such other
constructions as will avoid the scam occurring at that part, and afford a
smooth and unbroken surface of the cast metal for the tread of the
wheels.
When it is desirable to effect actual union between the constituent
parts of compound rails formed of the requisito shape by running cast
metal in combination with wrought metal according to the different
methods comprised in the foregoing system, the following means may be
adopted:―
Firstly. The surface of the wrought metal is previously wholly or
partly coated, which coating may be effected in various ways, as is well
understood, with a suitable metal or alloy which will be fused on contact
of the molten cast metal and act as a uniting solder, the wrought metal ·|
thus prepared being in some cases heated to a proper degree before
being placed in the mould, or by running an excess of the cast metal
over the surface, or by both methods combined.
Or, Secondly. The wrought metal without any previous preparation is
heated before being placed in the mould, or by running an excess of the
cast metal over the surface, or by both methods combined. Under
either plan suitable fluxes may be employed.
Bolts and nuts, screws, rivets, pins, keys, or such like fastenings may,
if thought desirable bo added to the compound rails constructed under
the foregoing system to increase the strength of the combination.
In the compound rails constructed under either the foregoing or the
following systems, holes may be formed through the web to receive the
bolts for fish jointing or splicing in the usual manner or other modes of
connection, and when they are of the flat bottomed kinds, through the
base or extensions of it, for the purpose of attachment to the sleepers.
And wrought metal fish plates or splices, or other appliances for joining
the rails together may be cast in them if desirable.
If needful the ends of the finished rails may be squared by chipping
or grinding. The cast portion of the rails instead of being of parallel
thickness may in some cases be formed with ribs, depressions, or per-
forations; or with ribs and depressions or perforations, or with the
metal distributed in any other manner calculated to promote strength
and economize material; and in some cases it may with advantage

page_text: consist of several consecutive lengths instead of being continuous. The
moulds by which to carry out this last plan under the foregoing system
of rail construction are fitted with transverse divisions accordingly,
forming distinct compartments, provided each with a separate inlet or
"runner" for the metal that is to form each independent portion of
casting; which divisions instead of being permanent fixtures, may, if
more convenient in working be of a construction, wholly or in part,
easily removable; or of the nature of temporary stops, of any suitable
material, so placed within the mould previously to casting as to separato
the metal into sections; or may be formed wholly or in part of pieces of
wrought or cast metal connecting the wrought metal heads or head and
foot, or otherwise intended to constitute a permanent part of the
structure of the rail after having served the purpose of breaking the
continuity of the cast portion thereof; and the wrought metal part or
parts of the rail may, with highly important advantageous effect in most
cases as regards the strength of the combination-be perforated, indented,
slotted, notched, jagged, or studded with perforations, somewhere in the
portion of their length that each of such separate castings is to be run in
connection with, in such a manner and direction that the cast and
wrought metal parts will thereby intersect or key with each other
transversely; which formations can for the most part, if desirable, be
`produced in the ordinary course of rolling. In case of previously formed
independent castings being employed for the head or heads, or upper
portion of the rail, similar methods might be adopted in associating the
same with the wrought metal intermediate or lower portion thereof, the
complementary cast metal being run in connection with these separate
parts in a series of consecutive lengths, each of such distinct sections inter-
locking transversely with each of them; and the whole thus constituting
a compound girder of great resistance. Instead of the mould being
actually partitioned into separate compartments for distinct castings, as
described, the divisions therein may be so disposed and proportioned as
merely to form weak places in the metal and thus determine a tendency
to clean fracture (into whatever lengths may be desirable) taking place
at those spots when the casting shrinks in cooling.
Another method of forming the series of separate, castings possessing
the advantages of exceeding simplicity and inexpensiveness in the
manufacturing plant for the purpose, consists in employing moulds of
suitable length for producing only a single section at one casting.

page_text: operation, and shifting the position of the rail in course of formation
longitudinally therein as many times as there are thus successive
castings to bo poured to complete it. The moulds being suitably
constructed open at the ends and with means for closing them as may
be requisite, and which consecutively formed castings may each (aftor 5
the first) be run in immediate contact end to end with the preceding one,
and will still be detached and independent; and it might be found
convenient and economical to employ in a similar manner moulds
adapted for the formation of two or any progressive number of separato
sections of the cast portion of the rail in succeeding or alternate order or 1
otherwise at one operation, or to make use of two or more independent
moulds in the construction of one and the same rail.
Under any of the different modes of forming the cast portion of the
rails in a series of distinct lengths, various means may be adopted for
filling up whatever gaps or spaces may exist between such separato 1
sections of the finished rail if thought desirable, and they might bo so
cast as to leave considerable intervals, and the same made good in
various ways afterwards.
In practically conducting the foundry operations for forming the cast
portion of the compound rails under the foregoing system, or the cast 2
bars to be used in the construction of them under the following
systems, when such cast metal parts of the rail are of considerable
length and not subdivided into a series of separate sections it is advisable,
in order to avoid the objections attending its having to run so great a
distance in a contracted channel to allow the metal to flow into tho 2
mould at several separate places throughout its length.
In some cases the moulds for producing such castings may ad-
vantageously be made to occupy a vertical, or inclined in preference to an
horizontal position, the upper end being conveniently placed for receiving
the stream of metal from the cupola, blast furnace, crucible, Bessemer 3
converter, or other source of supply or production; or the metal may if
preferred be made to enter the mould from below instead of above.
And it may be advantageous for the sake of ensuring soundness to run
the castings with a "head" of metal, as is well understood. The
moulds are by preference in all cases either wholly of metal or mainly 3
so with a lining of sand, or other moulding material; when of tho
former construction it is advantageous to shape out the interior to the

page_text: accuracy desirable by planing, and the meeting faces of both descriptions
of mould may be surfaced to truth by the same means if requiring it.
Each of the separating portions of the mould instead of being one solid
mass of metal may consist of two or more independently formed parts,
firmly and securely connected together by bolting or otherwise. The
movable opening and closing portion or portions may with advantage be
constructed to work upon trunnions, or otherwise hinged or jointed, and
partially or wholly balanced for facility of manipulation; or according
to another method may be arranged to travel to and fro by the use of
trams, rollers, or other such like appliances as the means of support and
guidance.
An effectual and speedy method of extracting the castings from the
mould is by the use of plungers entering below and worked by leverage
or other suitable means, by which the rail or bar is forced up from its
seat to a convenient position for removal by crane or otherwise, the
elevating plungers then receding to the normal situation, namely, by
preference level with the interior surface of the mould preparatory for
the next casting.
In cases when rails of various sections have to be manufactured it is
a great saving of expence, instead of constructing a fresh mould with all
its external fittings for each different rail to form the interior portions
which actually give shape to the castings separate and removable, so
that such parts consisting of a sufficient body of metal for strength and
solidity can be withdrawn from the exterior case or framing, suitable
modes of attachment by bolting, keying, or otherwise, and packing if
needful being employed and changed or replaced at pleasure; and in
like manner the internal portions of the mould which form the castings
may be renewed when they become worn or injured by repeated contact
of the fused metal at a comparatively small expense, whilst the costly
external parts comprising the opening and closing and rail extracting
mechanism and fittings will practically serve for ever.
In manufacturing upon an extensive scale it will probably be found
advisable to employ hydraulic force, or some other source of motive
power similarly available at command and under immediate control, for
3 expeditiously opening and closing the moulds and extracting the
castings from them by means of the mechanical elevator described or
otherwise, and under such methods of working a single mould might be
of greatly extended dimensions and suitably formed for a number of the

page_text: rails or bars to be cast in it simultaneously or at one running of metal,
with a resulting correspondingly increased capacity of production ;
artificial means of cooling the moulds (and if rendered necessary of
then effectually drying the interior) boing also probably requisite to be
resorted to under such rapid modes of working.
If thought desirablo the moulds may be heated to any suitable degree
previously to commencing the casting operations.
"
It is hardly necessary to observe that when wholly metallic or
otherwise rigid moulds are employed as described, a sufficient degree of
taper must be given where requisite for the due release of the casting,
as is well understood, and in the design of the intended castings and
formation of the mould regard must be paid to the well-known principles
and precautions necessitated by the unyielding nature of the material,
or resort had to some of the expedients practised by founders when
employing such moulds, in order to prevent either the occurrence of
actual injury to the casting or the separate sections thereof when the
metal shrinks in cooling or a state of molecular tension being set up
therein predisposive to subsequent fracture. To form the holos for
receiving the bolts for fish-jointing or splicing, or other modes of
connection, sand “ cores may be placed at the proper positions in the
metallic or otherwise rigid mould, or by preference sliding metal cores
may be adopted, either of which plans will afford allowance for tho
contraction of the cast metal in cooling.
"
Under the second system of carrying out the Invention of compound
rail construction the wrought and cast metal portions of the intended
rail are made independently of each other.
[II.A.] According to one method either the exterior portion of or the
complete head or heads, or head and foot being of the former and the
main body of the latter material and these separate parts by preference
formed interfittingly or with interfitting channels and prominences
lengthwise, and with transverse intersections also, if desirable are united,
either throughout their length or at intervals, by soldering or brazing,
the processes for which purpose are well understood, it being extremely
advantageous as a means of ensuring sound union, to apply powerful
pressure by hydraulic force or other suitable mechanical means during
the operation. Bolts and nuts, screws, rivets, pins, keys, or like
fastenings may be added if thought advisable.

page_text: In order to harden if desirable, either as the final process or pre-
liminarily to being "let down" to any suitable temper afterwards, the
wrought steel head or heads when that material is employed, the whole,
rail may be dipped whilst still sufficiently hot from the brazing or
soldering operation. And when wrought iron is used it may be sub-
jected to a converting or cementing process, the wrought iron part or
parts being by preference alone exposed to be thus operated upon, and.
they may then be hardened or tempered.
Various examples of rails constructed in the foregoing manner are-
shown in Figures II.A. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
Sheet 2 of the Drawings, and which may be modified suitably for street.
or road tramways, and the base or web of many of them with advantago
extended to answer as sleepers.
[II.B.] Conversely under the same system the separate cast and
5 wrought metal portions of the rail are united by the same means, but
so disposed relatively to each other that the former material constitutes
the wearing part or parts. In order the more effectually to serve this
purpose, by preference it is run in metallic or partly metallic moulds, or
whether cast in metallic, partly metallic, or non-metallic moulds,
).hardening ingredients such as chromium and the like are alloyed or
combined with it in proper proportion, or it is subjected to a converting,
cementing, or hardening, process, which hardening may be sufficiently
effected in many qualities of metal by mere immersion at a high
temperature in a suitable liquid bath and the castings or portions
5 thereof may be finally annealed or tempered according to circumstances.
:
.
.
Various examples of rails constructed in this manner, and which may.
be modified for street or road tramways, and the base or web of many of
them with advantage extended to form sleepers, are shown in Figures II.B.
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 10, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
Sheet 2 of the Drawings.
:
[III.A. and III.B.] The third system of carrying out the Invention in
regard to compound rail construction, like each of the preceding ones,
also admits of two converse modes of application, in the one case either
-the exterior portion of or the complete head or heads, or head and foot
5 of the intended rail being made of wrought, and the main body of cast
metal, and in the other the cast metal, by preference adapted the better
to serve such purpose by some of the means herein-before described,
•

page_text: The method of associating together the separate cast and wrought
metal portions of the rail under the present system consists in forming
them either with interfitting channels and ribs or prominences, or
wholly interfittingly, lengthwise the cast metal, or in some cases both
the cast and wrought metal being by preference of dovetail section
where they interfit, transverso keying intersections of the parts (when
practicable) being highly advantageous in increasing the strength of the
combination, and firstly pressing or bonding the wrought metal within
or around the other, by the use of rolls or other suitable machinery or
modes of applying mechanical force, the means for which purpose aro
too well understood to need any particular description, ono or both of the
metals, as may be best, according to circumstances being by preference
in most cases in a heated condition, so as to effect a firm junction and
combination (although not actual union) of them substantially without
dependence upon the use of bolts, nuts, scrows, rivets, pins, keys,
wedges, or any such fastenings, although tho samo may be employed
supplementally in some cases with advantage to prevent the possibility
of longitudinal displacement, or secondly, in cases in which the heads or
the head and foot of the rail are formed out of one and the same piece
of wrought metal, or cast metal is used for the wearing part or parts,
springing the separate portions of the rail into their position in con-
junction with each other, and which may be dono transversely or
longitudinally, according to circumstances, care being taken to keep
sufficiently within tho clastic limits of the metals.
Compound rails constructed under the present system, having tho
head or heads of wrought steel, may, if desirable, be subjected to
hardening or tempering processes, and those having them of wrought iron
to converting or cementing, and then in cases in which it may be
desirable to final hardening or tempering processes, so as to operato
upon the wrought metal part or parts. Or such parts may in some cases
be advantageously treated by the same means previously to being com-
bined with the cast metal portion of the rails.
In laying down the rails on a rail or tramway according to the last
described method of elastic combination the wrought and cast portions
may in some cases be advantageously so disposed as to " break joint "
with each other, and that the upper or wearing part can be removed and
replaced without disturbing the foot or body of the rail from its position

page_text: upon the sleepers or ballast; or the latter plan may be adopted without
the parts “breaking joint.”
Figures III. A., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
and III. B., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
19, 20, Sheet 3, of the Drawings, show various examples of rails con-
structed according to this system; and which may be suitably modified
for tramways, and the base or web of many of them advantageously
extended as sleepers.
[IV.] The fourth and last systems of carrying out the Invention in.
regard to compound rails consists in certain special forms of combination,
as shown by the examples Figures IV., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,.
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, Sheet 4
of the Drawings, in which the cast metal is employed to give internal.
support and rigidity to the wearing part or parts and other wrought
5 metal portion of the structure, the cast and wrought metals being
combined together so as to constitute the rail by means of bolts and
nuts, screws, rivets, or other fastenings of a like character, as indicated
by dotted lines, representing the holes through which they pass, and.
which may be placed in any positions considered most advantageous.
I wish it however to be understood that I by no means claim generally
the constructing rails of cast and wrought metal parts connected together
by such fastenings, and I am fully aware that the samo has before been
attempted to be accomplished in various ways.
Instead of being of parallel substance, as shown, the cast metal may
5 with advantage in some cases under the present system of rail construc-
tion, as under the preceding ones, bo disposed in a ribbed, recessed,
perforated, or other form conducive to increase of strength and economy
of material, and it may consist of several separate successive lengths in
the same rail, instead of being continuous, and the cast and wrought
O metal portions of the rail may be formed to intersect or key with cach
other transversely.
If desirable the wrought metal head or heads may be hardened or
tempered when of steel, and when of iron may be case-hardened; and
to prevent "buckling" these processes may be performed after the
; different parts constituting the complete rail are combined together.
A further part of the Invention consists in a mode of defending and
preventing chipping of the ends of rails made either according to the

page_text: foregoing compound systems or otherwise, for which purpose protecting
end plates or caps of any suitable shape and proportions made of
superior metal, by preference steel of a first rate quality, are attached
by soldering or brazing, tho application of powerful pressure (by any
appropriate means) being advisable during such operations in order to
ensure their being effectual or otherwise. I am aware that in the con-
struction of points and crossings there would be nothing novel in
introducing portions of steel to form the parts most subject to wear or
injury, and I do not claim the so doing but only the protection of rail
ends in the manner described.
The improved form of rails comprised in the next part of the Inven-
tion is a modified section of what are known as the "double headed"
and "flange" shapes, the vertical web being transferred in a lateral
direction from its usual contral position, as shown in the 4 sections on
Sheet 5 of the Drawings, although not necessarily to the extreme limit
indicated; thus admitting an exceedingly strong and simple, and at the
same time very inexpensive mode of joint, by means of one single "fish-
plate" or "splice," as shown, occupying vertically a position coincident
with the usual central situation of the web of the rail or not far there-
from, and of suitable length, secured by two or more bolts and nuts or
any other appropriate fastenings, but by preference in the manner
represented in the Drawings, and which is also preferred to be of a shape
extending underneath the lower head or flange of the rail, as the caso
may be, although it need not do so.
These rails may be advantageously constructed upon the foregoing
compound systems, or they may be made wholly of rolled iron or steel
by the usual process of manufacture or in other ways; and the fish
plate may be of any suitable metal or material, including the use of
timber, which might be cased with metal if thought desirable, formed
of suitably extended dimensions and altered proportions from those
indicated in the Drawings as proper for wrought metal. Vertical ribs
for the purpose of giving support to the head may be formed upon the
rails at suitable distances if desirable, or the rails may be shaped of the
overhanging section adapted for being connected by means of the single
fish plate or splice joint, only at the oxtremities.
Lastly. The improved rail joint, which is intended for double-headed
and flango rails, whether constructed upon the compound systems of the

page_text: present Patent or otherwise, consists in a "clip," "clamp," "shoe," or
"scabbard," which may be of steel or iron or Bessemer metal of any.
descriptions applicable to the purpose, or any other suitable material,
and either tempered or untempered, elastic or practically non-elastic,
5 encircling tightly, loosely, or at an interval of distance, the lower head
or flange, and in some cases the web, but not extending so high as the
under side of the upper or working head of the rails, held in position by
a pair of bolted or otherwise secured "fish plates" or "splices," which
may be of any suitable metal or material, bearing with their lower edges
upon its lips, and pressing them firmly in contact with the inside of the
lower head or flange, and with their upper edges upon the under side of
the working head of the rails, as exemplified in section and elevation on
Sheet 5 of the Drawings. Although other materials may be employed,
it is preferred to make the clip of tempered steel, embracing the lower
5 `head or flange of the rails tightly, and the fish plates of wrought iron.
The number of bolts and nuts (or their equivalent) may be varied
according to circumstances.
For greater strength and security, if considered desirable, the lips of
the, clip may be thickened towards their edge, the fish plates being
) bevelled or otherwise shaped accordingly, or they may be formed with a
rib at the edge to go behind the fish plates, or the clip may be extended
upwards behind the fish plates. But it is an essential and important
feature of the combination that the fish plates or splices bear with their
upper edge upon the rails and with their lower edge upon the clip. If
5 preferred, only one fish plate might be thus employed; the clip, having
holes made in it for the bolts to pass through or screw into, being by
preference in such case extended upwards to embrace the other side of
the rails, and if thought desirable to take a bearing (on that side only
on which there is no fish plate) underneath their upper or working.
> head..
.
•
In order to allow the rail ends to enter freely, it is advisable slightly to.
"bell-mouth" both extremities of the clip by turning up the corners as
shown in the Drawings, and this will also have the effect of counter-
"

page_text: .
hereafter be the ends of the clips, bevelled and ribbed on the opposite
sides which are to form the interior and exterior surfaces of the same
respectively, or other devices might be adopted for either purpose.
If thought desirable tho fish plates or splices and clip may be formed
to intersect or engage with each other transversely by means of corre-
sponding undulations or indentations, slots and ribs, holes and pins, or
by other obvious methods, the joint, as thus constructed constituting in
effect a compound girder having the measure of sustaining capacity
derivable from the vertical depth of the combination of members instead
of possessing only the sum of strength of its component parts.
Having thus described my said Invention, and the manner of carrying
out the same in practice, and which is fully illustrated by the five
accompanying Sheets of Drawings, I would have it understood that I do
not limit myself cither to the exact particulars of the preceding descrip-
tion or to the particulars, scale, or proportions of the Drawings. But
what I claim is,―
Firstly. The construction of compound rails consisting partly of cast
and partly of wrought metals of any suitable kinds, and comprising tho
like employment of appropriate mixtures, combinations, or alloys,
whether or not wholly metallic, in the manner and by the means sub-¦
stantially as herein described, including the use for the purpose of such
manufacture, whether the rails be of the exact descriptions hereby
claimed or otherwise of the various foundry arrangements indicated, the
constructions of and modes of working the moulds as described, especially
the use in making rails by the process of running cast in connection
with wrought metals of moulds transversely divided in any manner, or
otherwise constructed or manipulated after the modes indicated so as to
form such cast portion or portions of the rail in separate sections, and
the method of extracting from the moulds the compound rails or cast
bars to be used in the construction thereof; also the combined employ- ||
ment in the manufacture of one and the same rail of any of the different
methods of associating the cast and wrought metals as set forth, and the
mode of protecting the ends of rails as described.
Secondly. The combined use of the modified sectional form of "double-

page_text: Thirdly. The improved joint for "double-headed" and "flange"
rails as described, of whatever materials the parts composing it may be
formed.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Edward Dering, have here-
"
unto set my hand and scal, this Seventeenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.