IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILS, WHEELS, AND FISH PLATES FOR USE ON TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Floyd, of No. 5, Westminster Chambers, Victoria
Street, Westminster, and William Henry Penning, of 9, Alexandra Villas,
Seven Sisters Road, Hornsey, both in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILS, WHEELS, AND
FISH PLATES FOR USE ON TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Floyd & William
Henry Penning at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th
February 1879.
"
THOMAS FLOYD, of No. 5, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster,
and WILLIAM HENRY PENNING, of 9, Alexandra Villas, Seven Sisters Road,
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
Hornsey, both in the County of Middlesex.
STRUCTION OF RAILS, WHEELS, AND FISH-PLATES FOR USE ON TRAMWAYS AND.
RAILWAYS."
"
This Invention consists of three parts:-
1. A rail of an entirely novel section.
2. The application to rails of the new or of any other form of a system of plural
grooving and to wheels of plural flanges.
3. A fish-plate of an entirely novel construction.
Any or all of these parts 1, 2, 3, may be used either separately or in combination
with each other or with any rails, wheels, and fish-plates now used on tramways
and railways.
1. The rail herein called the "delta rail" is made of iron or steel, triangular in
cross section, and either solid, hollow, or trellised, its three sides being equal or
unequal, straight or curved, and its angles equal or unequal, according to the
purpose for which it is required. Each angle is truncated and forms a flat or
curved surface upon which the wheels of the tramcars, railway-carriages, or other
vehicles run; such surface may be either parallel with or inclined to the opposite
side of the triangle, which rests upon and is secured to sleepers or upon chairs, as
the case may be, or rests directly upon concrete or other material.
The surface may be grooved (or have fillets cast on or otherwise attached to form
grooves), and the wheel-flanges may run on one side only of the rail, or on both

page_text: sides if the plural flanges be adopted. The three angles thus truncated form three
plane, curved, or grooved surfaces, each available in turn for the permanent way.
2. The system of grooving rails with more than one groove, herein called "dual
grooving," provides for the transit over them of wheels having a flange projecting
-beyond-the-tire-on-one-side-or-on-both sides, the flange or flanges occupying but
-not-quite-filling-the-groove-or-grooves,-the-weight of the vehicle bearing upon the
flat or curved space between the grooves.
This-new-system-of-dual-grooving-may-be-applied-to-any-form-of-rail-single-or
double-headed, reversible or otherwise, or to the delta-rail before described, and the
-system-of-flanging wheels with more than one flange to any form of wheel, the
principal of plural-grooves and flanges being the same as described in this Specifi-
cation.
3. The fish-plate herein called the "diagonal-brace fish-plate" consists of an iron
or steel plate pierced for bolts at each end, and having nearer the centre two, four,
or more studs on one side which fit into holes provided in the rails for that purpose.
These holes and other holes for the bolts are larger in a horizontal than in a vertical
direction to allow room for the studs and bolts during expansion and contraction of
the rail.
The studs are so placed that a line passing through the upper one A on one side
of the centre and lower one B on the other side crosses the longer axis of the rail
and plate at a considerable angle. Each pair of studs (A and B) thus situated on
a rigid base forms (when the plate is bolted to the ends of two rails abutting on
each other) a diagonal brace which prevents the rails from rising at the joint and
yielding unequally to the weight passing over them.
> .
L
Two plates are used for a fished joint, one on each side, fastened to the rails by
bolts passing through the holes provided for them; and there may be, for example,
four studs (A, A, B, B,) on each plate only just long enough to pass almost half way
through the rail, and thus to nearly meet the four similar studs on the plate affixed
to the opposite side of the rail; or there may be two studs only (A, B,) on each
plate placed diagonally in relation to each other, and of sufficient length to pass
almost through, the rail.
.:
The diagonal brace fish-plate may be used for ordinary webbed or single or
double-headed rails, whether for railways or tramways, being altered in pattern or
detail to suit the varying sizes or descriptions, but the principle of diagonal-bracing
being retained which is described in this Specification.
The rails, the grooves, the wheel-flanges, and the fish-plates may be varied in
detail, but we herein claim as our Invention the triangular form in the cross-
section of rails, the plural grooving of rails and flanging of wheels, and the diagonal-
bracing of rail joints. In the construction of tramways we use webbed, and.
dual-grooved rails with diagonal braced fish-plates in connection with paved,
_asphalted,_and_similar_roadways, and delta rails for those which are macadamised.

page_text: First. A rail of an entirely novel section.
Second. The application to rails (of the new or of any other form) of a system
of plural grooving, and to wheels of plural flanges.
Third. A fish-plate of an entirely novel construction.
Any or all of these parts first, second, and third, may be used either separately or
in combination with each other, or with any rails, wheels, and fish plates now used
on tramways and railways.
First. The rail herein called the "delta rail" is made of iron or steel, triangular
in cross-section, and either solid, hollow, or trelissed, its three sides being equal or
unequal, straight or curved, and its angles equal or unequal, according to the
purpose for which it is required, as shown in sections a, b, c, d, e, Figure 1.
Each angle is truncated and forms a flat or curved surface upon which the wheels
of the tram-cars, railway carriages, or other vehicles run, as shown in sections
a, b, c, d, Figure 2. Such surface may be either parallel with or inclined to the
opposite side of the triangle, which rests upon and is secured to sleepers, or upon
chairs or rests directly upon concrete or other material, as the case may be.
This surface may be grooved (or have fillets cast on or otherwise attached to
form grooves), and the wheel-flanges may run on one side only of the rail, or on
both sides if the plural flanges be adopted, see sections a, b, Figure 3. The three
angles thus truncated form three plane, curved, or grooved surfaces, each available
in turn for the permanent way.
"
Second. The system of grooving rails with more than one groove, herein called
dual-grooving," provides for the transit over them of wheels having a flange
projecting below the tire on one side or on both sides, the flange or flanges occupying
but not quite filling the groove or grooves, the weight of the vehicle bearing upon
the flat or curved space between the grooves, see Figure 4, in which the flat surface
is indicated by dotted lines.
This system of dual-grooving may be applied to any form of rail, single or
double-headed, reversible or otherwise, or to the delta-rail before described, and
that of flanging wheels with more than one flange to any form of wheel, the system
of plural-grooves and flanges being the same as described in this Specification.
Third. The fish-plate herein called the "diagonal-brace fish-plate" consists, as
shown in Figures 5 and 6, of an iron or steel plate pierced for bolts or provided
with other fastenings at each end, and having nearer the centre two, four, or more
studs on one side which fit into holes punched in the rails for that. purpose. These
holes and other holes for the bolts are larger in a horizontal than in a vertical
direction to allow for expansion and contraction of the rail.
The studs are so placed that a line passing through an upper one (A) on one side
of the centre, and a lower one (B) on the other side of the centre crosses the longer
axis of the rail and plate at a considerable angle. Each pair of studs (A and B)
thus situated on a rigid base forms (when the plate is fastened to the ends of two
rails abutting on each other) a diagonal brace which prevents the rails from rising
at the joint and from yielding unequally to the weight passing over them.
Two plates are used for a fished joint, one on each side (fastened to the rails by
bolts passing through the holes provided for them or by other means), the pair of
studs on one side forming a diagonal brace in a reverse direction to those on the

page_text: other side. There may be, if preferred, four studs (A, A, B, B,) Figure 6, on each
plate only just long enough to pass almost half way through the rail, and thus to
nearly meet four similar studs on the plate affixed to the opposite side of the rail;
or the fish-plates may be attached to the rails by bolts passing through holes
situated in the same positions as those described for the studs, the bolts thus
forming-diagonal-braces..
The diagonal-brace fish-plate may be used for ordinary webbed, or single or
double-headed-rails, whether-for-railways-or-tramways,-being-altered-in-pattern_or_
detail to suit the varying sizes or descriptions, but the system of diagonal-bracing
being retained which is described in this Specification.
The rails, the grooves, the wheel flanges, and the fish-plates may be varied in
detail; but we herein claim as our Invention the triangular form in the cross-
section of rails, the plural-grooving of rails and flanging of wheels, and the diagonal-
bracing of rail joints, substantially as herein before described, and shown in the
annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Floyd, for myself and on behalf of the
said William Henry Penning, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Fifth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.