CERTAIN. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SWITCHES AND CROSS- INGS OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Perceval Moses Parsons, of Duke. Street,
Adelphi, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the.
Invention of "CERTAIN. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SWITCHES AND CROSS-
INGS OF RAILWAYS,"
Sealed the 3rd March 1854, and dated the 31st October 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Perceval Moses
Parsons at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 31st October 1853.
;
PERCEVAL MOSES PARSONS, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SWITCHES AND
CROSSINGS OF RAILWAYS" to be as follows:-
My improvements in the switches and crossings of railways consist,
firstly, in certain methods of making those parts of the wing and point
rails of crossings, and the tongue rails of switches which are subjected
to the greatest wear, more durable, and in constructing them in such a
manner that the parts when worn out can be removed and replaced
without removing or replacing the whole of the rail. Secondly, in
certain methods of securing the wing and point rails of crossings, so as
to render the points firm and rigid, and prevent any relative motion
between them and the wing rails.

page_text: The first part I accomplish by removing a portion of the upper part
of the wing and point rails of crossings and the tongue rails of switches,
at that part most subjected to wear, and replacing such portions by
other pieces of a suitable form, and securing them firmly to their places
by means of bolts, screws, keys, or wedges, or by dovetailing, wedging,
rivetting, or casting such pieces on to the rails. These detached por
tions may be made of a superior quality of iron or of steel, or of a
combination of steel and iron, or other suitable and durable material.
The second part I accomplish by using keys; wedges, blocks, saddles,
or other similar contrivances, made to fit in between the wing and point
rails, and made of a suitable form, or having tongues or other pro-
jections to fit into grooves or other recesses formed in the aforesaid
detached portions, or vice versa, or formed by the said detached portions
and the rail jointly; and in cases where such detached parts are not
used, and the wing and point rails are of a suitable form, by using
keys, wedges, blocks, or saddles, made to fit in between the wing and
point rails, so as to bear against the under surface of and support the
upper tables, and to bear against and rest upon the upper surface of
the lower tables of the wing and point rails.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Perceval Moses Parsons in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th April 1854.
то
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
PERCEVAL MOSES PARSONS, of Duke Street, Adelphi, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Perceval Moses Parsons, Her
special licence that I, the said Perceval Moses Parsons, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Perceval Moses
Parsons, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time

page_text: 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 THE SWITCHES AND CROSSINGS OF RAILWAYS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Perceval Moses
Parsons, by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, 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 Perceval Moses Parsons, 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:
:
My improvements in the switches and crossings of railways consist,
firstly, in certain methods of making those parts of the wing and point
rails of crossings, and the tongue rails of switches which are subjected
to the greatest wear, more durable, and in constructing them in such
a manner that the parts when worn out can be removed and replaced
without removing or replacing the whole of the rail. Secondly, in
certain methods of securing the wing and point rails of crossings, so as
to render the points firm and rigid, and prevent any relative motion
between them and the wing rails.
The first part I accomplish by removing a portion of the upper part
of the wing and point rails of crossings and the tongue rails of switches,
at that part most subjected to wear, and replacing such portions by
other pieces of a suitable form, and securing them firmly to their places
by means of bolts, screws, keys, or wedges, or by dovetailing, wedging,
rivetting, or casting such pieces on to the rails. These detached por-
tions may be made of a superior quality of iron or of steel, or of a
combination of steel and iron, or other suitable and durable material.
The second part I accomplish by using keys, wedges, blocks, saddles,
or other similar contrivances, made to fit in between the wing and point

page_text: rails, and made of a suitable form, or having tongues or other pro-
jections to fit into grooves or other recesses formed in the aforesaid
detached portions, or vice versa, or formed by the said detached por-
tions and the rail jointly; and in cases where such detached parts are
not used, and the wing and point rails are of a suitable form, by using
keys, wedges, blocks, or saddles, made to fit in between the wing and
point rails, so as to bear against the under surface of and support the
upper tables, and to bear against and rest upon the upper surface of
the lower tables of the wing and point rails.
Figure 1, is a plan, and Figure 2, is a side view of the point rail of
a crossing constructed according to my Invention; Figure 3, is a sec-
tion on a larger scale at the part marked A, A, in Figure 1; and
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are similar sections at the parts marked with
corresponding letters in Figure 1. a, a, are two double headed rails
of ordinary section, bent from the part to the extent necessary to
bring them to the required angle of the crossing when the ends lic
parallel to each other. The parts of the rails which are thus brought
parallel have their adjoining surfaces planed and grooved, as shewn in
the sections Figures 5 and 6, to receive the point b, which is made of
a separate piece of metal, of such a form that its lower part may fit
into the grooves, and be gripped between the two rails and secured by
the bolts and nuts c, c, or other suitable fastening. The upper part of
the piece b is made at its widest end to correspond with and fit the
upper table of the two rails where it joins them, and is tapered to the
required angle towards the point. It may be made of iron steeled on
its upper surface, or it may be case hardened, or the whole piece may
be made of stcel, or of a superior quality of iron or other suitable
material, so as to obtain greater durability in the point than if it were
made of ordinary iron. When the point piece b (which is the part of
the point rail most subjected to wear) becomes worn out or injured, it
may be removed with great facility by unscrewing the bolts and
nuts, and replaced by a new piece without taking up the whole of the
crossing. The sectional form of the piece b may be varied, provided
it be always such as may be firmly secured between and supported
by the rails a, a. Figure 9, is a plan of a crossing, with a point rail
and wing rails constructed according to my Invention. The rails

page_text: a with the point piece b secured by the bolts. and nuts c, c, are
similar to those herein-before described; d; d, rarer the wing rails:
one of which is shown in side view in Figure 10. The upper parts
of the wing rails adjacent to the point piece b (which are found
by experience to wear out the quickest, on account of the oblique
passage of the wheels over them) are removed and replaced by detached
pieces of metal e. secured by bolts and nuts f, f, or other suitable
fastening. The sectional form of the wing rails d, and pieces e, are
shewn in the sections Figures 11, 12 and 13, taken respectively at
The wing pieces e may
the lines G, G, H, H. and I, I, in Figure 9.
be faced with steel or case hardened, or may be entirely of steel, or of
a superior quality of iron or other suitable material. By slacking the
keys and bolts the wing pieces when worn out may be removed, and
may be replaced by new pieces without taking up the entire crossing.
On each wing piece e is.a projection g, which projections enter corre-
sponding recesses in the two blocks or saddles h, h, which fit the sides
of the point piece b. The whole is secured by the bolts and nuts i, i,
passing through the parts d, e, h, b. as shewn in Figures and 13.
The pieces e may be rolled of the required sectional form. The
saddles h, h, may have recesses for the reception of projections on the
wing pieces e, as shewn in Figure 13, or they may have projections
formed to enter corresponding recesses in the wing pieces, as shewn
in the section Figure 13 bis; or both. these arrangements may be
employed together, or a recess may be formed between the bottom
surface of the wing piece and the upper surface of the bottom table of
the rail, as in Figure 25. In lieu of attaching the wing pieces and
point pieces to the wing rails and point rails by means of bolts and nuts
or other fastening, such pieces aforesaid may be made of cast steel or
other suitable metal, cast in their places, or squeezed or hammered on.
Thus Figure 25, is a section of a wing rail d, having the wing piece e
fixed upon it in this manner. The upper table of the rail is partially
removed leaving sufficient to form a dovetail for securing the wing piece.
If it be required to remove such wing piece it may be cut with a chisel,
or broken off, and another fixed in its place. Figure 14, is a plan of
the tongue rail of a switch constructed according to my Invention.
Figures 15 and 16, are sections at the parts marked K, K, and L, L,

page_text: in Figure 14k is the main rail, and is. 'the, tongue rail. A portion
.of the upper part of the tongue rail is removed, and replaced by a
piece m rivetted or bolted to it. This piccem, may be faced with
steel or case hardened, or made entirely of steel, or of a superior quality
of iron or other suitable material; and it may be removed and replaced
by a new picce when worn out. Figure 17, is a plan of a crossing
constructed with bridge rails, instead of with double headed rails.
Figure 18, is a side view partly in section of the same. Figures 19,
20, 21, and 22, are transverse sections at the lines M, M, N, N, 0, 0,
and P, P, in Figure 17, respectively. The upper parts of the ends of
the rails a, a, are removed, and the point piece is inserted between
them, and secured by the bolts and nuts c, c. The upper parts of the
wing rails d, d, are also removed, and replaced by the picces e, e, fitted
into them, and secured by bolts and nuts f, f. Figure 23, is a trans-
verse section, shewing a mode of fixing a point rail or point piece b
between two double-headed wing rails of ordinary form a, a, when the
moveable pieces herein-before described, and marked e in Figures 9, 10,
12, and 13, are not employed. p, p, are two blocks or saddles of cast
iron or other suitable material, which are fitted to the sides of the wing
rails and point rail, and secured by one or more long bolts q passing
through the whole. In this arrangement the blocks p, p, are made to
bear against both heads or flanges of each rail, so that one rail cannot
rise or sink without the others. The rails are fixed in chairs in the
ordinary manner. Figure 24, is a section of an arrangement in which
the point piece b is of a section similar to that shewn in Figure 13,
and is secured and supported by two blocks or saddles p, p, of corre-
sponding form. These saddles are made to bear against both heads or
flanges of the wing rails d, d, which in this case are not provided with
the pieces shewn at e, e, in Figure 13. The whole is secured by one or
more bolts and nuts g, as in Figure 23.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not confine myself to the precise means described and shewn for
carrying it into effect, nor to the exact forms or proportions of the
several parts; but I declare that I claim as my Invention,
Firstly, the constructing railway crossings with the points, and those

page_text: parts of the wing rails which are most exposed to wear or deterioration,
of separate pieces, secured to the point and wing rails respectively by
bolts and nuts, or rivets or otherwise, so that they may be readily
removed and replaced by new pieces, without the necessity of removing
the whole of the crossing.
Secondly, the mode or modes herein-before described of supporting
and fixing the separate point piece between the ends of the two rails
which lead to it.
Thirdly, the mode herein-before described in reference to Figures 9,
10, and 13, and 13 bis, of supporting the extremity of the point piece
between the two blocks or saddles h, h.
Fourthly, the constructing the tongue rails of switches with separate
or detached pieces secured by bolts and nuts, or rivets or otherwise, so
that they may be readily removed and replaced by new pieces without
the necessity of removing the whole of the tongue rail, as herein-before
described.
Fifthly, the mode herein-before described in reference to Figures 23
and 24 of securing and fixing a point rail between two wing rails of
double-headed form, by means of two blocks or saddles formed so as to
fit and bear against both heads of each rail, and secured by one or more
bolts or other suitable fastening.
In witness whereof, I, the said Perceval Moses Parsons, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
four
Witness,
CHARLES COWPER,
20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
London.
P. M. PARSONS. (L.S.)