Improvements in the Manufacture of Railway Chairs.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 28th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 24th May, 1895
TRUVIDIONAL
OF ECITICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Railway Chairs.
I, EBENEZER REES of 2 Glantorvaen Terrace Blaenavon in the County of
Monmouth England, Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
This invention consists in certain improvements in the manufacture of railway
chairs, the nature of which and advantages incident thereto will be apparent from
the following description :—
In place of employing railway chairs of cast iron this invention enables the
chairs to be made out of rolled steel iron or any other suitable rolled material,
thus providing a railway chair of improved construction, greater efficiency,
lighteness and durability, with a lower cost of production. The rolled bar may,
where practicable, be formed in cross section to suit the section of rail for which
the chairs are to be employed; the bar to be afterwards sawn across, sheared or
otherwise cut into suitable lengths as may be desired, for the size of the chair.
The holes for fastening the chairs to the railway sleepers may be punched, drilled,
or formed by any well known and approved method.
In cases where the form of rail does not admit of the section of bar to form the
chairs to be conveniently rolled to its correct form direct in the rolling mill, the
bar may first be rolled to form the desired section approximately and afterwards
pressed or otherwise treated in a separate and suitable machine or by any other
convenient means.
This system will admit of chairs being made from rolled bars to suit all railways,
and various sections of rail, street tramways and such like. Where practicable
the chairs forming the railway guage and its corresponding sleepers may be rolled
so as to form in cross section a combined sleeper with two or more chairs,
according to the number of rails which may be desired to be fixed to the sleepers'
for different gauges, or the same may be arranged to combine a sleeper and one
chair, whilst the other chair or chairs intended to be placed on the same sleeper
may be made and fixed separately by bolts, rivets or any other convenient and
suitable means. Moreover the chairs themselves may be formed to take a wooden
key of the usual form or any other form of wedge or fastening, or the chairs may
be formed to dispense with the key altogether, or where preferred the chairs may
be formed out of two separate bars, in other words, the part of the chair on one
side of the rail and that on the other side of the rail may be formed from
different bars and bolted or otherwise secured together by means of a bolt cotter
of other suitable form of pin passing thro' the two sides of the chair and the web
or the rail.
Dated this 30th day of May 1894.

page_text: improvements in the Manufacture of Railway Chairs.
I, EBENEZER REES, of 2 Glantorvaen Terrace, Blaenavon, in the County of
Monmouth, Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention consists in certain improvements in the manufacture of railway
chairs, the nature of which and advantages incident thereto are as follows:-
In place of casting railway chairs of metal this invention consists in making
same out of rolled steel, iron or any other suitable rolled metal, thus providing a
railway chair of lighter construction, greater efficiency and durability at a lower
cost of production.
The invention is performed by rolling a bar in cross section to suit more or less
the section of rail for which the chairs are to be employed, the rolled bar being
afterwards sawn, sheared or otherwise cut into suitable lengths as may be desired
for the size of the chair.
The holes for fastening the chairs may be punched, drilled or formed by any
well known and approved method.
In cases where the form of rail does not admit of the section of bar to form the
chairs being conveniently rolled to its correct form direct in the rolling mill, the
bar may first be rolled to form the desired section approximately and afterwards
bent, pressed or otherwise treated by.suitable machinery or tools to bring it to the
desired shape.
This system will admit of chairs being made from rolled bars to suit all
railways and various sections of rails, street tramways and such like. Where
practicable the chairs forming the railway guage with the corresponding sleepers
may be all rolled together so that when cut up they may form combined sleepers
with two or more chairs according to the number of rails which may be desired to
be fixed to the sleeper for different guages, or the same may be arranged to
combine the sleeper and one chair, whilst the other chair or chairs intended to be
placed on the same sleeper may be made and fixed separately by bolts, rivets or
any other convenient and suitable means.
Moreover the chairs themselves may be formed to take a wooden or other key
of the usual form, or any other form of wedge or fastening, or the chairs may be
formed to dispense with the key altogether, or where preferred the chairs may be
formed out of two separate bars, in other words, the part of the chair on one side
of the rail, and that on the other side of the rail may be cut from different bars
and bolted or otherwise secured together by means of bolts, cotters or other
suitable fasteners passing through the two sides of the chair and the web of the
rail.
The accompanying drawing shows how the invention can conveniently be
performed.
Fig. 1 shows a section of chair made from a bar rolled to the finished shape of
the chair and sawn across or divided into chairs. The curved part being formed
on the last passes (one or more as required) through the rolls, the part which is
curved being previously shaped as shown in dotted lines, the rail and key are
shown in the positions they will occupy.
Fig. 2 shows a section of bar rolled or finished in the rolls with one side formed
as. shown dotted. The bar in this form is then sawn across into separate chairs and
pressed to the finished shape as shown.
The pressing process is performed by a block formed to the shape of the inside
of the chair and placed in position therein, then a press, shaped to the outside of

page_text: the part to be bent, is brought against it with the required pressure which
completes the operation.
Fig. 3 shows section of bar rolled solid; the inside of the chair being
afterwards punched out or otherwise removed to the dotted lines after the chairs
have been sawn out of the bar. In connection with this mode of manufacture the
inside may be partly formed in the rolls and then cut as required to the finished
shape. Fig. 3 is adapted more to the manufacture of light chairs for small
railways portable or otherwise.
Fig. 4 shows these small chairs in conjunction with a light rolled sleeper or tie,
rivetted or bolted thereto.
Fig. 5 shows the chair formed with both sides fitting closely to the web of the
rail.
This chair is intended to be used at the rail joints to dispense with the ordinary
fish-plate joints. The advantage of this being that the joint of the two rails
would receive a firmer and more efficient support, the chair also when being
screwed up by the bolts would have a certain amount of spring in it which would
be of great value in keeping the nuts on the bolts from slackening out or working
loose. This form of chair may be manufactured in either of the ways previously
mentioned in connection with Figs. 1 and 2.
Fig. 6 shows the same type of chair as Fig. 5 but arranged so as to have a
greater elasticity or spring at the junction of the sides with the base. The bar in
this case is rolled previous to being cut as shown dotted and afterwards bent
over to the finished shape required after it is sawn or divided into chairs.
The chairs shown in Figs. 5 and 6 when desired may be sawn to the length
shown by the two vertical dotted lines Fig. 5, for two bolts only, or in any
suitable lengths for the number of bolts it may be desired to use.
Fig. 7 shows the chair formed in two halves either to be used as intermediate
chairs or at the joint of two rails. When used at the joint of two rails it may be
arranged for two or more bolts as may be desired.
Fig. 8 shows a similar chair to Fig. 1 but with bar previously rolled as shown
dotted and then bent over to the finished shape after the bar has been sawn or
divided into chairs.
Fig. 9 shows a cross section of a plate of indefinite length with four ribs formed
thereon in the position shown in dotted lines. The plate is then sawn across as
shown in the lower part of this figure to form the sleeper and chairs in one piece ;
the ribs being then pressed into the required finished shape as shown in full lines
in the said cross section to form the chairs.
Fig. 10 shows a cross section of the plate rolled in the same manner as in the
first instance with reference to Fig. 9, but after the plate has been sawn across or
divided into sleepers, as in the previous case; the parts of the ribs shown at a¹
are further sheared off or otherwise removed so as to admit of the two sides of
the sleeper being turned down as at e' to form the shape of an inverted trough
for additional strength.
In all the above figures a represents the chair, b the rail, c the key, d bolts and
nuts and e the sleeper.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The manufacture of chairs for rails in one or two parts by rolling metal into
bars of the section or shape of the finished chair or of a shape approximating
thereto as described and cutting the said bars into desired lengths and then when
desired bending, pressing, squeezing, punching, cutting, or otherwise bringing said
sections to the exact or desired shapes.
2. The combination with chairs formed as above of metal sleepers rolled in one
therewith as above described and cut into lengths.

page_text: 3. The mode of forming chairs for rail joints so that said chairs may also serve
as fish plates.
All substantially as described and illustrated, for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 28th day of February 1895.
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C.
Agents for the Applicant.