IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Theodore Dann, of 120, Stockwell Park Road,
in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS." A.
communication from abroad by Edmund Heusinger von Waldegg, of Hanover,
in the Empire of Germany.
ealed the 28th August 1877, and dated the 16th March 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Theodore Dann at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th March 1877.
JOSEPH THEODORE DANN, of 120, Stockwell Park Road, in the County of Surrey,
Civil Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY
OF RAILWAYS." A communication from abroad by Edmund Heusinger von Waldegg,
of Hanover, in the Empire of Germany.
This Invention has for its object to render the permanent way of railways more
secure while admitting of the use of lighter rails than in any of the methods of
laying down railways hitherto introduced. To this effect I employ a light rail
made of either steel or iron, according to the requirements of the traffic, and of the
hollow shape known as Brunel's or bridge rails. This rail I place upon a longitudinal
sleeper of a hollow shape, similar to the bridge rail, and surmounted by a longitu-
dinal rib or web running along the axis of the sleeper. On the surface of the sleeper
I provide apertures at suitable distances, and within each of these I fit the foot or
hook of a clamp or jaw, surmounting the sleeper. Between the clamp or jaw and
the rail I fasten a wedge or key made of wood or metal, by means of which any
rising of the rail is prevented. Within the rail I provide a series of staple-shaped
clips, fitting upon the top rib or web of the sleeper, and preserving the position of
the rail with reference to the sleeper.
For straight lines I use a clip having both arms equal to one another, whereans
for curved lines I employ a series of clips with unequal arms, the distance of
the centres of their arcs from each other varying in accordance with the radius
of the curve, so that for straight lines the centre of both the inside and outside arc
of the staple-shaped clip coincides with the axis of the rib or web of the sleeper,
whereas in curves the centre of the outside are coincides with the axis of the rail,

page_text: and the centre of the inside are with that of the web or rib aforementioned. By
this means I am enabled to use the same sleepers, with the same apertures made
for the jaws or clamps, for straight lines and curves alike, varying only the shape
of the clips, which may be manufactured and kept on hand in a certain number of
guages.
Beneath the longitudinal sleepers I provide cross sleepers imbedded in ballast,
one of which of a shape similar to the cross section of the longitudinal sleeper may
be placed at each joint of the longitudinal sleepers, and one with a flat top to it in
the middle thereof beneath the joint of two rails, and I so perform the con-
nection between the two kinds of sleepers by means of bolts or other suitable
fastenings as to render the employment of the usual fish-plates unnecessary.
For curves I use eccentric bolts to fasten the flanges of the longitudinal sleeper
upon the cross sleepers, and adjust the position of the former upon the latter. By
means of this arrangement, in connection with the series of concentric and eccentric
clips for securing the rail to the longitudinal sleeper, I am enabled to lay down rails
both for straight lines and curves with the same description of rails and sleepers for
both, also to utilize the sleepers themselves as drains or rills as well as to employ
them as girders for small crossings.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Joseph Theodore Dann in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th
September 1877.
JOSEPH THEODORE DANN, of 126, Stockwell Park Road, in the County of Surrey,
Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY
OF RAILWAYS." A communication from abroad by Edmund Heusinger von Waldegg,
of Hanover, in the Empire of Germany.
This Invention has for its object to render the permanent way of railways more
secure while admitting of the use of lighter rails than in any of the methods of
laying down railways hitherto introduced. To this effect I employ a light rail
.made of either steel or iron, according to the requirements of the traffic, and of the
hollow shape, known as Brunel's or bridge rails. This rail I place upon a longitu-
dinal sleeper of a hollow shape, similar to the bridge rail, and surmounted by a
longitudinal rib or web running along the axis of the sleeper. On the surface of
the sleeper I provide aportures at suitable distances, and within each of these I fit
the foot or hook of a clamp or jaw surmounting the sleeper. Between the clamp
or jaw and the rail I fasten a wedge or key made of wood or metal, by means of
which any rising of the rail is prevented. Within the rail I provide a series of
staple-shaped clips, fitting upon the top rib or web of the sleeper, and preserving
the position of the rail with reference to the sleeper.
For straight lines I use a clip having both arms equal to one another, whereas for
curved lines I employ a series of clips with unequal arms, the distance of the centres
of their arcs from each other varying in accordance with the radius of the curve, so
that for straight lines the centre of both the inside and outside arc of the staple-
shaped clip coincides with the axis of the rib or web of the sloeper, whereas in curves
the centre of the outside are coincides with the axis of the rail, and the centre of the
inside arc with that of the web or rib aforementioned. By this means I am enabled
to use the same sleepers with the same apertures made for the jaws or clamps for
straight lines and curves alike, varying only the shape of the clips, which may be
manufactured and kept on hand in a certain number of guages.
Beneath the longitudinal sleepers I provide cross sleepers imbedded in ballast,
one of which, of a shape similar to the cross section of the longitudinal sleeper, may
be placed at each joint of the longitudinal sleepers, and one with a flat top to it in
the middle thereof beneath the joint of two rails; and I so perform the connection
between the two kinds of sleepers by means of bolts or other suitable fastenings as
to render the employment of the usual fish-plates unnecessary.

page_text: For curves I use concentric bolts to fasten the flanges of the longitudinal sleeper
upon the cross sleepers, and adjust the position of the former upon the latter. By
means of this arrangement, in connexion with the series of concentric and eccentric
clips for securing the rail to the longitudinal sleeper, I am enabled to lay down rails
both for straight lines and curves with the same description of rails and sleepers for
both; also to utilize the sleepers themselves as drains or rills, as well as to employ
them as girders for small crossings.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
In the accompanying Sheets of Drawings I have illustrated the practical applica-
tion of my improved method of constructing the permanent way of railways.
Figure 1 is a cross section of a longitudinal sleeper, with a rail fastened thereon,
in a rectilinear portion of the line.
Figure 2 is part of a similar section in a curve, shewing the divergence between
the axis of the rail and the axis of the longitudinal sleeper.
Figure 3 is part of a side view of the clamp or jaw C, with the foot or hook c
to it.
Figure 4 and Figure 5 are cross sections of the clamp, wedge, rail, and clip, the
former in the middle of a rail, the latter at the joint where the clamp is furnished
with two hooks c, c, and the clip F is enlarged in width, as against the clip E,
Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a front view of a concentric clip used for rectilinear portions of the
line.
Figure 8 is a series of eight clips for curves, with an eccentricity ranging from
one-twenty-fourth to one-third of an inch, whilst Figure 7 is a side view of all the
clips, Figure 6 and Figuro 8.
Figure 9 is an elevation of three bolts for connecting the longitudinal sleepers
with the cross sleepers, one being concentric, and the two others eccentric, as shewn
in the sectional plans, Figure 10.
In Figures 11 and 12 a plan and a side elevation of an assemblage of rails and
sleepers is shewn on a reduced scale, illustrating the way in which the rails are
joined in the middle of the longitudinal sleeper, surmounting a coffer-shaped cross
sleeper H, while the longitudinal sleepers are joined in the middle of the rail, and
at their joints rest upon cross sleepers G of identical sectional shape to the longitu-
dinal sleepers, so that the top rib or web of the cross sleepers enters the joint, and
by this means precludes a longitudinal shifting of the rails.
Figures 13, 14, and 15 are plan sketches of portions of curves on the same scale
as Figure 11, shewing the mode in which the bent rail is fixed upon the clips placed
upon the rib of the longitudinal sleeper at various places, which sleeper itself
requires no bending, the eccentricity of the clips making up for it.
The curve, Figure 13, denotes a radius of about eleven hundred yards; Figure 14,
one of about six hundred and sixty; and Figure 15, one of about three hundred and
thirty yards.
Figure 16 is a cross section of a longitudinal sleeper furnished with a bottom as
well as a top rib, and surmounted by a bridge rail fixed by means of metal in lieu
of wooden wedges or keys, the connexion between the two sleepers being in this
instance effected by means of bolts joining the top of the longitudinal to the top of
the cross sleeper, and flanges being consequently dispensed with.
Figure 17 is part of a sectional plan of the rail and clamp, shewing the connexion
by means of the metal wedge at a joint, whilst Figure 18 is a longitudinal elevation
of the metal wedge.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 16, and 18 are full size; Figures 5 to 10 and Figure 17 are half
size;
and Figures 11 to 15 are drawn to a scale of about half an inch to the
foot.
In all the illustrations identical letters of reference denote identical parts, the
dashes after such letters signifying the application of my method to curves.
A, A¹, is the longitudinal sleeper, furnished with the longitudinal top rib a, and

page_text: in Figure 16 with the intermediate or bottom rib a³; B is the bridge rail; C, C₁,
the clamp or jaw, between which and the rail the wooden key or wedge D, D¹, is
placed in Figures 1 to 5, and the metal D in Figures 16 to 18; E, E¹, to E³ are
the clips fitted upon the top rib a, a', upon which the rails B are fixed by means
of the wedges; F, Figures 5 and 17, is the clip at a joint where the jaw C is
fitted with the two hooks c, c; G, G, are the cross sleepers at the joint of the longi-
tudinal ones, and H at the joint of the rails; I, I, are the bolts joining the flanges
of the longitudinal sleeper to the web of the cross sleeper, the apertures in this web
being extended at a right angle to the axis of the line, whilst those in the flanges of
the longitudinal sleepers above the middle cross sleeper are made round, and those 1
at the ends are extended parallel to the axis of the line to allow for expansion. By
the use of the eccentric bolts I¹ the distance of the longitudinal sleepers from each
other may be varied, and yet the holes in both kinds of sleepers may be made on
one and the same uniform pattern.
To enable the rails being fixed in their places the tops of the bolts may be 1
grooved, as shewn in Figure 9, and bent over, as shewn in Figure 1. K is the
bolt connecting the web of the longitudinal with that of the cross sleeper in
Figure 16.
The arrangement of longitudinal and cross sleepers, as shewn in Figures 1, 2,
and 16, may also be adapted to different kinds of rails from the "Brunel" by
omitting the central web of the longitudinal sleeper, and fixing the foot of such rails
upon the web of that sleeper by means of jaws and wedges similar in shape to those
shewn in Figure 16, and preserving the required distance of the rails from one
another by means of rods, girders, or other suitable connexions.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and illustrated the same 2
in the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, I wish it to be understood that I do not
claim the use of longitudinal sleepers, nor the use of metal as a material for that
part of the permanent way of railways directly supporting the rails, but what I
claim is,
First. The use or employment of longitudinal metal sleepers fixed upon cor- 3
responding metal cross sleepers by means of concentric and eccentric bolts in the
manner and for the purpose herein set forth and illustrated in the accompanying
Sheets of Drawings.
Secondly. The mode or method herein set forth and illustrated in the annexed
Sheets of Drawings of fixing rails upon longitudinal metal sleepers by means of 3
clamps or jaws inserted from place to place, and wooden or metal keys or wedges
driven in between the jaws and the rails.
Thirdly. The use or employment of concentric and eccentric clips for fitting bridge
rails upon a longitudinal web, both in the rectilinear and curved portions of a line
of rail, in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth and illustrated in the
accompanying Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Theodore Dann, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.