IMPROVEMENTS IN FIXING RAILWAY AND SUCH LIKE BOLTS OR SPIKES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Lawrence, of No. 6, Lancaster Gate,
Hyde Park, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Lawrence at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd December 1875.
I, EDWIN LAWRENCE, of No. 6, Lancaster Gate, Hyde Park, in the
5 County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
1
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIXING RAILWAY AND SUCH LIKE BOLTS OR SPIKES,"
to be as follows:→
"
The object of the Invention is to afford increased security in the
fixing of railway bolts or spikes, with facility for retightening or
O removing them when required. For this purpose the bolts are split
upwards in the direction of their length to receive a wedge piece,
somewhat as has heretofore been proposed to be done, but according to

page_text: my Invention the hole for the reception of the bolt or spike and its
wedge piece is bored through the sleeper or other object to which the
fastening is to be made, and the wedge piece is retained during the
driving of the split spike or bolt on to it by any suitable support.
The wedge piece may have a head or other turned up part formed to
it, by which it may be more readily drawn if required to permit of the
removal of the spike or bolt.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edwin Lawrence in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
LAWRENCE, of No. 6, Lancaster Gate, Hyde Park, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most. Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edwin Lawrence, Her special
license that I, the said Edwin Lawrence, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin Lawrence, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FIXING RAILWAY AND SUCH LIKE BOLTS OR SPIKES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Edwin Lawrence, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edwin Lawrence, 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 statement thereof, that is to say :—
The object of the Invention is to afford increased security in the
fixing of railway and other bolts, spikes, or dogs, as they are sometimes
called, with facility for retightening or removing them when required.
For this purpose the bolts, spikes, or dogs are split upwards in the
direction of their length to receive a wedge piece, somewhat as has
heretofore been proposed to be done, but according to my Invention the
hole for the reception of the bolt, spike, or dog and its wedge piece is
bored through the sleeper or other object or objects to which the
fastening is to be made, and the wedge piece is retained during the
driving of the split spike or bolt or dog on to it by any suitable support,
which may be placed temporarily at any suitable distance below the
bottom of the sleeper or other object to which the fastening is to be
L
IN MOUS
upwards of one form of bolt or spike as employed by me; Figure 3.
shews a side view, and Figure 4 an upper end view of a wedge piece to
be used therewith.
Figure 5 shews the wedge piece with its end just inserted in the
lower end of the slit a¹ in the bolt or spike, and both in the position of
being placed through a hole in a railway chair, or in the flange of a
rail, and a hole previously prepared for it in the sleeper; or it be'
other plate or substance to be connected to other timber or to other
substance.
may
;

page_text: Figure 6 represents the position of the parts after the bolt or spike
has been driven on to the wedge piece for the purpose of holding
together the parts to be connected.
Figure 7 is a horizontal section through the line A, B, on Figure 6 of
the bolt and wedge when driven home into position.
•
Figure 8 shews by a side view, and Figure 9 by an under side view
looking upwards another form of bolt or spike, which is ordinarily
called a dog spike or dog, which in this case is rectangular in section,
and is formed with a hooked head a², and Figure 10 shews the same
when driven and applied to holding down a rail.
In each of the Figures the same letters are employed to indicate
corresponding parts.
]
a represents the bolt or spike or dog; a¹, the slit therein for the
reception of the wedge piece; and a² is the head of the bolt, spike, or
dog; 6 is the wedge piece; c represents the part of a railway chair; or 1
it may be the flange of a railway rail or other plate to be secured to a
railway sleeper or other substance.
1
The bolts may be made of any shape and of any material for attaching
together any two or more substances, which can be bored through, and
which will allow the split spike or bolt or dog to expand when driven, 2
and the wedge piece may be made with its sides of any suitable.
inclination to suit the compressibility of different kinds of timber or of
other substances in which it is to be driven.
The wedge piece b may be held in position while the split spike, bolt,
or dog is being driven into the hole in the sleeper or other piece of wood 2
or other substance by any suitable support, but a convenient arrange-
ment which I have found to answer well for the purpose is indicated by
the smaller plan and end views, Figures 11 and 12. In this case the
end of the wedge piece is represented as resting on an iron plate e as a'
support for it, whilst the split bolt or spike or dog is being driven on to
it. The plate e is connected at one side or edge of it to a bar e¹, which
_will serve as a handle to facilitate the plate being placed in position for
operation and for its withdrawal after use.
Figure 13 shews a slight modification of the arrangement of support
just referred to, but it will readily be understood that the form of the 3

page_text: support and its position in relation to the. substance into which the bolt
or spike is driven may be varied, depending on the extent the wedge
may be required to project, or other circumstances.
T
(1
J
"
Figure 14 shows a simple, arrangement by which the wedge pieces b
may be withdrawn in order to release the bolt or spike or dog a when
required. As shewn a loop f is connected by a pin joint f¹ to near the
chisel end g¹ of the lever arm 9, as is more clearly shewn by the
detached views of parts, Figure 14A, Figure 14³. In use the loop is
passed on one side of the end of the wedge piece, so that the chisel
end g¹ of the lever arm 9 may bear on the other side of the wedge piece;
then on raising the lever arm g the part thereof will grip the lower
end of the wedge piece between the chisel end g¹ and the inside of the
loop f, so as to enable the wedge piece to be withdrawn by continuing
to raise the lever arm g.
Figure 15 shows by side view, and Figure 16 by an under side view
looking upwards a slight modification in the shape of the bolt or spike,
and Figure 17 shews the same applied with a wedge piece 6 for the
purpose of securing together two pieces of timber h and i.
If in consequence of shrinkage of the timber or from other causes
the fastening after it has been driven may become slack, and the spike,
bolt, or dog may require to be tightened, the temporary support may be
placed again beneath the wedge piece, and then the spike, bolt, or dog
may be driven further into the timber or other substance.
In place of the spike or bolt being driven on to the wedge the wedge
may be driven into the spike or bolt, and it will be understood that
other such variations may readily be made, depending on circumstances
or the wish of the operator.
Having thus described my Invention, and means which I adopt in
putting the same into operation, I would have it understood that I do
not claim the use of split bolts or spikes and wedges generally con-
sidered, but what I claim is, the arranging or combining parts, whereby
the fixing of railway and such like bolts or spikes may be effected by
the use of split bolts or spikes and wedges adapted to cause such bolts
or spikes to expand more or less, according to the form of the wedge
used, and according as by the will of the operator or by the form or
position of the support to such wedge, these wedges may be caused to

page_text: enter the bolts or spikes to a greater or less extent with the capability.
of withdrawing the said bolts or spikes, by withdrawing the wedges, or
of tightening the said bolts or spikes when required, by causing the
wedges to enter further into the split bolts or spikes as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Lawrence, have hereunto
"
'
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
WILLIAM BROOKES,
62, Chancery Lane,
London.
EDWIN LAWRENCE. (L.s.)