CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1856

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 PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Perceval Moses Parsons
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th June 1856.
I. PERCEVAL MOSES PARSONS, of Duke Street, Adelphi, in the, County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," to be
as follows
Firstly, I construct the rails of certain improved forms, which afford a suf-
ficient amount; of bearing surface and vertical stiffness, and at the same time
admit of being easily manufactured. They may either rest and form their
own bearing on the ballast, or they may be used in conjunction with
sleepers or other supports.
The first form consists of a vertical or nearly vertical web, with a bearing
flange branching out from it horizontally on each side, one at a different level
from the other, viz., one from one side at or near the top of the web, and the
other from its opposite side, at or near the bottom. The web is surmounted
by a head or table for the wheels to run on, and it may also have one at the
Price 8d1

page_text: pottom, which can be brought into use, when the top one is worn out, by
reversing the rail.
The second form consists of a vertical web, surmounted by a single head or
table. The web is cut through vertically to. within a short distance of the
head into plates or strips, which are bent up on each side alternately, so as to
form a series of horizontal bearing strips or plates with intervening spaces
on both sides, one being left occasionally in its vertical position to sustain
lateral pressure.
Secondly, I construct the chairs or other supports or connections with an
adjusting piece, having a spherical curved or doubly inclined surface fitting
against a corresponding surface on the side of the jaw of the chair, support,
or connection for the key or other -fastening, or the rails to bear against
in such a manner that it will adjust itself, or admit of adjustment, to
the taper of the key. or chair, inaccuracies. in the castings, or difference
in the size of the rails, as also if required to their vertical inclination, and
thereby ensure a fair distribution of the strain at each end of the chair,
and an equal grip of the two rails when applied at a joint.
I also con
struct the keys and other similar fastenings in two or more parts, fitting
together with spherical, curved, or doubly inclined surfaces in a similar
manner, so that by varying their relative position, similar results may
be obtained when they are applied to ordinary chairs; by these means iron
keys and similar fastenings may be used with success, and when the keys are
of cast iron, I apply to them tongues or strips of wrought iron, or other
malleable metal, cast into or otherwise attached to them, which by being bent
out after the key is driven, will prevent it from withdrawing. I also construct
iron keys, & also metal frames to be used in chairs, in connection with iron
keys, with chambers. or recesses filled in with wood, and wood crossways of
the grain; to act as a cushion between the metal surfaces, and I make the
inside of the chair or adjusting piece, when such keys or ordinary wood keys
are employed with jags or barbs to take into the wood; & thereby afford
additional security against the keys withdrawing, & I encase the head or part
thereof, & part of the shank of wooden trenails used for securing the chairs,
or other supports, or the rails to the sleepers, in metal rings or ferrules, to
prevent the head of the trenail being shorn of by the lateral pressure of the
chair or rail against it.
Thirdly, I construct fish chairs, fish brackets, and other similar fastenings
with the fishing-plates, separate from the chairs, brackets, or other medium
for connecting them & the rails to the sleepers, but secured togetlier by screw
bolts, & I construct the screw bolts and nuts for securing fishing plates, or

page_text: fish chairs, or brackets to the rails, with one or both faces of the thread.
square with or at any angle greater than 75 degrees with the longitudinal'
centre of the bolt, and the bearing surface of the heads and nuts of a
conical or spherical form fitting into corresponding recesses in the fishing
plates; chairs, or brackets, so as to diminish the strain & wear on the
thread, & the chance of the nuts getting loose.
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 10th December 1856.
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 Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight, hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of H'er reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Perceval Moses Parsons, Her special licence that 1, 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 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 PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Perceval Moses Parsons, 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
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 accompanying
Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
Firstly, I construct the rails of certain improved forms, which afford a

page_text: sufficient amount of bearing surface and vertical stiffness, and at the same
time admit of being easily manufactured. They may either rest and form
their own bearing on the ballast, or they may be used in conjunction with
sleepers or other supports.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, of the accompanying Drawings, is a section of one of
my improved forms of rails, having a vertical or nearly vertical web, with a
bearing flange branching out from it horizontally on each side and at different
levels, that is to say, the bearing flange on one side is at or near the top of
the web, and the bearing flange on the other side is at or near the bottom of
the web. The web has two heads or tables, so that the bottom table can be
brought into use when the top one is worn out by reversing the rail. This
rail is made of wrought iron, by the usual process of rolling, for which purpose
it is necessary that its form should be such as will deliver from the rolls.
Moreover in constructing a pair of rolls for rolling rails of this form, it is
unavoidable that there should be a considerable difference in the diameters
of different parts of the rolls, but it is desirable that these differences of
diameters should be as small as possible. The form of the rail is therefore
so arranged that the various parts are included within parallel lines, drawn
perpendicular to the dotted lines a, b, and c, d, in Figure 1, which are drawn
from the edges of the bearing flanges to the edges of the heads or tables.
These lines a, b, and c, d, lie parallel with the axes of the rolls, as shewn in
Figure 2, which is a front view of a pair of rolls adapted for rolling the rail
shewn in Figure 1. In some cases the lines drawn from the edges a, c, of
the flanges may be made to fall within the heads or within the web of the
rail, as in the case of rails of the sectional forms shewn in Figures 6 and 7;
but in no case should these lines pass beyond or outside the heads of the rails.
These rails may be laid directly upon the ballast, or they may be used in
conjunction with sleepers or other supports. Figure 3 is a section of a rail A
of similar form to that shewn in Figure 1, having a longitudinal bearer of
wood B, connected to it by bolts and nuts C and D. The lengths of rail may
be connected together in any convenient manner.
showing a mode of connecting the rails by joint plates; Figure 5 is a side
view of the same. A, A, are the rails; E, E, are the joint plates, which are
fitted to the shoulders of the rail heads and secured by bolts and nuts F, F;
G is a cross tie, of tee iron, which is secured to the lower flange of each rail by
bolts and nuts H, H. In laying a line of railway the lower flanges of the rails
are placed on the inside or towards the centre of the line of way. Intermediate
ties of flat or other iron may be introduced in addition to the ties at the joints.
Figure 6 is a section of a rail, of a form but slightly differing from that
Figure 4 is a section,

page_text: shown in Figure 1. The lines, b, and c, d, which are parallel with the axes
of the rolls employed for rolling this rail, may fall within the rail, as shewn in
Figure 6, or they may form tangents to the heads of the rail, as in Figure 1.
Figure 7 is a section of a solid rail, with lateral flanges at different levels.
The lines a, b, and c, d, may in this cas- be horizontal, or may form tangents
to the heads of the rail, or may lie in any intermediate position. The vertical
web, or central part of this rail, is of a rectangular section, and of the full
width of the top and bottom tables, the upper and lower corners of the
rectangle being rounded to the usual form of a rail head. Figure 8 is a
section of a compound bearing rail, consisting of a double-headed rail A,
connected by rivets or bolts and nuts with two bearing flanges I and J,
placed at different levels.. The under sides or shoulders of the top table, and
the upper sides or shoulders of the bottom table of the rail A, are formed by
inclined planes at the parts where they come in contact with the bearing
flanges, which are rolled to fit them. The rail and flanges can be made to
oreak joint with each other, so that the joints of the rails are effectually
supported by the flanges.
I also construct compound rails with bearing flanges, having their bearing
surfaces at different levels, by attaching them to any convenient form of double
headed rail by means of rivets, and Irivet or otherwise permanently fasten the
parts together, so as to form lengths of compound rails in such a manner that
the bearing flanges will project beyond the rail at one end and fall short of it
at the other end. A length of rail thus constructed is shewn by the plan,
Figure 9, which is drawn to a smaller scale than Figure 8. The rail A and
the flanges 1 and J are of equal lengths, but they are rivetted together with
the end of the rail A, projecting at one end about eighteen inches, more or less,
beyond the flange I, and with the flange J projecting beyond the end of the
rail A. Both flanges may, however; be made to project beyond the rail at the.
same end, and fall short of it at the other end, if preferred. These lengths are
laid down in the required position to form the permanent way of a railway,
and are connected to each other by bolts and nuts passing through the pro-
jecting parts, or by other suitable connections: A great portion of the opera-
tion of connecting the rails with the bearing plates may thus be performed in
the workshops, and by the aid of rivetting machines the subsequent operation
of laying down the permanent way is thus greatly facilitated.
Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 represent another improved construction of
rail and bearing flanges. Figure 10 is an elevation or side view; Figure 11.
is a section of the rail, as it is rolled; Figure 12 is a section of the rail, in its
complete or finished state; and Figure 15 is a plan of the same; Figure 14 is

page_text: a section of a joint. The rail is rolled of the sectional form, shewn in
Figure 11, and a series of holes e, e, e, are punched or drilled in at intervals,
as shewn in Figure 10. The web of the rail is cut through from each of these
holes to the lower edge, and the lower part is bent up alternately at each side,
so as to form bearing flanges, as shewn at I and J in Figures 10, 12, and
13. Portions, K, K, of the lower part or web of the rail may be left at
intervals in their original vertical position, so as to afford a lateral hold on the
ballast. These rails may be connected by a plate L, placed at each side, as
shewn in section in Figure 14, and secured by bolts and nuts or rivets.. If it
be desired to increase the durability of the rails, the rails or the top and bottom
tables thereof may be made of steel or semi-steel, and in the compound bearing
rails, the rails or the top and bottom tables thereof may be made of steel or
semi-steel, and the bearing flanges. either of iron or steel or semi-steel.
Secondly, I construct the chairs or other supports or connections for rails
with an adjusting piece, having a spherical, curved, or doubly inclined surface
fitting against a corresponding, surface in the side of the jaw of the chair,
support, or connection for the key or other fastening, or the rails to bear
against, in such a manner that it will adjust itself or admit of adjustment to
the taper of the key or chair, as also, if required, to their vertical inclination,
and thereby insure a fair distribution of the strain at each end of the chair,and
an equal grip of the two rails when applied at a joint. Figure 15 is a section,
aud. Figure 16 is a plan, of a joint chair, furnished with a curved adjusting
piece. A, A, are the rails, B is the chair, C is a taper key, which bears against
the adjusting piece D, the back of which is of the form of a portion of a sphere,
and is fitted into a cavity of corresponding form in the jaw of the chair. The
central portion of the piece D, or of the cavity in the chair is recessed or
removed, as it is not necessary that that. portion should take a..bearing.
When the key. C is driven in, the piece D adjusts itself in the following
manner: If the key only bears on one point at one end of the piece D, the
effect of driving the key will be to force the adjusting piece round in its cavity.
until its other end comes in contact with and takes a fair bearing against the
key. In like manner, if the key only, bears on the upper or lower edge.ofitlie
piece D, this piece moves, or may be. moved by hand, until the: whole of its
face comes fairly in contact, with, or takes a fair bearing against the key.
The two rails are thus equally pressed upon and secured by the key. Iron
keys may thus be advantageously employed for securing the rails, as any
irregularities in the taper of the keys and chairs, or in the thickness of the
rails, are thus compensated for, and a fair bearing is. obtained between the
different parts. By causing the key and. the side of the chair to fit against

page_text: the shoulders of the rails, as shewn in Figure 15, a very strong and firm joint
is produced.
The adjusting piece may be made to bear against the rail instead of against
the key, or a piece may be employed at each side so as to bear against both the
rail and the key. Figure 17 is a side view or elevation,and Figure 18 is a plan,
of a chair B, and parts of two rails A, A, secured by a key C, and having the
curved or spherical adjusting piece D bearing against the rails. The spherical
form of the piece D admits of its adjusting its inclination in every direction;
it may, however, be made of a cylindrical form when only required to adjust in
one direction, and it may also be made of other curved forms, or of a doubly
inclined form. Thus, Figure 19 is a plan of a chair B, and parts of two rails
A,A, secured by an iron key C, bearing against an adjustable piece or pieces
D, D, fitted into a doubly inclined cavity in the chair. The adjustable
pieces D, D, are two separate pieces or keys of wood, with their grain at right
angles or inclined to the rails. When the key C is driven in, if either of the
wooden keys or pieces D is more pressed upon by the key C than the other
piece, it yields a little or may be moved a little, and it then pushes the other
piece into closer contact with the key C. In lieu of making the two wooden
pieces or keys D,D, to occupy the whole length of the chair, two shorter pieces
or keys may be employed, as shown at D,D, in the plan; Figure 20; with a
loose distance piece E, of cast iron, or wood, or other suitable material: When
one piece D yields a little to the pressure of the key C; it pushes against the
distance piece E, and forces the other piece D into closer contact with the
key. The arrangements shown.in Figures 19 and 20, though less perfect in
principle than those provided with spherical adjusting pieces; are, however;
sufficient for the purpose when a material having as much elasticity as wood is
employed.
I prefer to make the wooden pieces or keys:D, D, with tlie grain of the
wood in a transverse direction, softhat the pressure upon it may be in the
direction of the grain, as described in certain Letters Patent granted to me
and bearing date the Eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, as the wood is much less liable to shrink
in the direction of its grain than in a transverse direction, and the wood is also
rendered more durable by its pores.being closed. by contact with the metal
surfaces and thus in a great degree protected from the access of air and moisture;
In the various arrangements of spherical, curved, and doubly inclined adjust-
ing. pieces, herein-before mentioned, I have described the adjusting piece as
having the convex: surface and working in a. concavity, in the jaw of the chair
or support; but this arrangement may be reversed and the adjusting piece may

page_text: be made with a concavity fitting to and working upon a convexity on the jaw
.of the chair or support; in this case, however, if the adjusting piece is made of
two separate pieces such pieces must be held together by a frame or otherwise.
The iron keys herein-before mentioned may be made of wrought iron or of cast
iron; when made of wrought iron they may be rolled to the required form by
means of rolls having tapering grooves; when they are to be used with wooden
surfaces or adjusting pieces they may be rolled with slight projections or jags
on the surface similar to those herein-after mentioned in reference to Figure 29.
When cast iron keys are employed they may be cast of the required form by
the ordinary processes. In Figures 17 and 18 a cast iron key C is shown with
a flat strip of wrought iron or hoop iron a, which is fixed by one of its ends to
the key. It may be fixed by placing it in the mould in which the key is cast
and allowing its end to be encased and bedded in the cast iron; the jaw of
the chair B has two small projections b,c, with a diagonal or curved
passage
between them. When the key is driven into its place the piece of hoop iron a
passes through this passage and curls round as shewn in the Drawing; the
key is thus secured and cannot be shaken out of its place, it may, however, be
driven farther in if necessary. This arrangement may also be applied to
wrought iron keys by rivetting, screwing, or otherwise attaching the piece of
hoop iron to the key.
I also construct keys and other similar fastenings in two or more parts,
fitting together with spherical, curved, or doubly inclined surfaces; thus Figure
21 is a horizontal section of a key so constructed, and Figure 22 is a vertical
section of the same key applied for securing a rail A in a chair B; the key is
formed of two pieces C and D, the adjoining surfaces of which are of corre-
sponding spherical forms, while their external surfaces are flat or shaped to fit
the rail and chair. The chair is made sufficiently tapering to suit the key
which adjusts itself or may be adjusted to the irregularities or imperfections in
the chair and rails; these keys may be employed with many of the ordinary
chairs now in use.
I construct iron keys with chambers or recesses filled with wood to actas a
cushion between the metal surfaces; thus Figure 23 is a transverse section
and Figure 24 is a front view or elevation of an iron key C, having a dove-
tailed recess filled with the piece or pieces of wood F placed with the grain
transversely to the key so as to present the end grain on its face; this key
may be employed with ordinary chairs and placed with either surface in con-
tact with the rail. When the iron surface is placed in contact with the rail,
it may be made to bear either against the web or against the shoulders of the
rail, or both; the wood may also be placed on both sides or faces of the key.

page_text: as shewn by the section, Figure 25, or it may pass through the iron key as
shewn in section in Figure 26 and in elevation in Figure 27. The key is
cast, or forged, or otherwise made with one or more openings or perforations,
which is or are filled with wood placed with its grain transverse to the key.
Figure 28 is a side view, and Figure 28 bis is a section of an iron key or frame
C having a recess or chamber containing a piece of wood F covered by a loose
plate.); the wood is placed with its end grain in contact with the plate D
and with the back of the recess or chamber; when this key is driven into its
place the wood becomes compressed and acts as a cushion. Various forms
and constructions of the compound keys, herein-before described, may be em-
ployed, composed of wood so placed as to sustain the pressure endways or in
the direction of the length of its grain or fibre, and either wholly or partially
inclosed in a metal frame or case, and in those constructions of compound lays
in which the wood is made to bear against the chair, rail, or adjusting piece, it
may also be placed with its grain in a longitudinal, or any other direction if
preferred, in which case I should recommend its being compressed before it is
inserted in the key. Although the spherical or doubly inclined adjusting
pieces, adjusting keys, and compound iron and wood keys, are described as
being applied to chairs, it will readily be understood that they can with equal
facility be applied to any other similar kind of support or connection; thus, a
trough may be substituted for a chair, and the joint may be placed between.
the sleepers, and other modifications will suggest themselves to which my
improved fastenings are applicable.
When compound iron and wood keys are employed, in which the wood
comes in contact with the chair or adjusting piece, or when ordinary wooden
keys are employed, the inside of the jaw of the chair or adjusting piece may
be made with jags or barbswhich enter the wood and therebyafford additional
security against the keys withdrawing. Figure 29 is a section of a chair, so
constructed; d, d, are the barbs which are angular projections having their
pointed ends directed towards the side or end of the chair at which the key
is to enter, and terminating abruptly or perpendicularly to the jaw at their
other ends. When the key is driven into its place the barbs enter the wood,
which expands again behind them, and the key is thus prevented from shaking
out; it can, however, be driven out by a hammer when required, as the blunt
or abrupt ends of the barbs will then cut or plough their way through the
wood. When the iron key or frame is made to inclose the wood in such a
manner that the wood is not in contact with the chair, these barbs are not to
be applied to the chair; the iron keys herein-before described as being used
in conjunction with wood adjusting pieces, may also be provided with barbsor

page_text: jags. Figure 30, Sheet II, is a section of a cliair B, and rail A secured by
an iron keyC, applied in connection with a cast iron or metal frame G, having
a chamber or recess filled with wood F. Figure 30 bis is a horizontal section,
and Figure 31 is an elevation of the metal frame G, which has a dovetailed
recess filled with wood F placed with its end grain towards the key; the back
of the frame G is made to fit the jaw of the chair. The wood may be made
to pass completely through the frame G so as to bear against the chair, or it
may bear against the frame G as shewn in the Drawing; by placing these
loose frames in the ordinary chairs now used with wooden keys, such chairs
are at once adapted for the reception of iron keys. The wood may also be
employed with its side grain towards the key if preferred, in which case I
should recommend that it should be compressed before placing it in the frame.
I incase the head or part thereof and part of the shank of wooden trenails,
used for securing the chairs or other supports or the rails to the sleepers in
metal rings or ferrules, to prevent the head of the trenail being shorn off by
the lateral pressure of the chair, support, or rail against it. M in Figure 32
is an elevation of a wooden trenail partly incased in a metal ring or ferrule N;
M' is a section of a similar trenail with its ring N¹; 0, 0, are the bases of
chairs, or other supports, or of rails which are secured to the sleeper P by
the trenails; Figure 33 is a transverse section of one of the trenails.
rings N, N¹ may be of wrought iron simply bent into the required form and
with their edges joined or not; when the edges are not joined the ring is
capable of being compressed upon the trenail as it is driven into its place, and
it is thus caused to accommodate itself to and fit tightly into the hole in the
chair, support, or rail. It will be seen by Figure 32 that the rings or ferrules
are partly in the sleepers and partly in the base of the rail or chair or other
support, and they thus protect the heads of the trenails from being shorn off by
the lateral pressure against them.
The
Thirdly, I construct fish chairs, fish brackets, and other similar fastenings
with the fishing plates separate from the chairs, brackets, or other medium for
connecting them and the rails to the sleepers, but secured together by screw
bolts in the following manner Figure 34 is a section, and Figure 35 is a
side view or elevation of a fish chair B, in which two rails A, A, are secured
by the fishing plates C and D and the bolts and nuts E, E, F,F. The plate C
is made separate from the chair Bin lieu of forming one piece with it as in
the ordinary fish chairs. The plates C and D are secured to the rails A, A,
by the bolts and nuts E, E, F, F, and the bolts E, E, also pass through the
jaw of the chair B and secure the rails and plates to it. The jaw of the chair
is iuclined so that by screwing up the bolts and nuts E,E, the rail is pressed

page_text: down upon the base of chair as well as being drawn close to the jaw. By this
arrangement the rail always takes a fair bearing on the base of the chair,
although one of its tables may have been reduced by wear, and the rail then
inverted for the purpose of bringing the other table into use; in the ordinary
fish chairs, on the contrary, the rail would in such a case be suspended by its
upper table or shoulder by means of the plate C, which then forms one piece
with the chair; the bearing surfaces of the nuts and heads of the bolts E, E,
may be advantageously made of a spherical or conical form as herein-after
described.
Figure 36 is a section, and Figure 37 is an elevation or side view, of two
rails A, A, secured between two separate wrought-iron fishing or splicing
plates C, C, by four bolts and unts E, E, and F, F, two of which E, E, connect
them to the two cast-iron supporis B, B, which serve to support and connect
the whole to the sleeper P. The bottom of the rail may, if desired, be made
to take a bearing upon the sleeper, as shewn in the Drawing. By making the
fishing or splicing plates C,C, separate from but resting upon the supports B,B,
I am enabled to employ wrought iron for the fishing or splicing plates, by
which additional strength is obtained, while the supports or medium for con-
necting them and the rails to the sleeper, is or are made of cast iron as usual.
I construct the screw bolts and nuts for securing, fishing, or splicing plates or
fish chairs or brackets, or other similar fastenings, to the rails, with one or both
faces of the thread square, with or at any angle greater than seventy-five
degrees with the longitudinal axis of the bolt; and I construct the bearing
surfaces of the heads and nuts of a conical or spherical form fitting into corre-
sponding recesses in the fishing or splicing plates, chairs, or brackets, so as to
diminish the strain and wear on the thread, and the chance of the nuts
getting loose. Thus, Figure 38 is a side view or elevation of a screw bolt Q,
having one face of the thread square with the axis of the bolt, while the other
face of the thread is inclined to the axis. Figure 39 shows a similar bolt Q,
in elevation, and portions of a rail A and two fishing or splicing plates D, D
and a nut R in section. The bearing surface h of the head of the bolt is o.
a spherical form, and fits into a spherical recess in the fishing orsplicing plate,
The bearing surface of the nut R may also be spherical, or it may be conical.
as shewn in the Drawing, and fitted into a conical recess in the fishing plate
In like manner the bearing surface h of the head of the bolt may be made
conical, as shewn in Fig. 40, which is an elevation of a screw bolt Q. with
a square thread, both surfaces of which are square to the axis of the bolt.
The nut R is shewn in section, and is made with a spherical bearing surface.
S, S, are washers made with conical or spherical recesses, and which are to
be

page_text: employed with ordinary fishing plates, brackets, or other similar fastenings
without recesses. Á separate washer may be used for each bolt, or a washer
or plate with two or more recesses may be employed for receiving two or more
bolts. The bearing surfaces of the bolts and the bearing surfaces of the
nuts may also be made separate from the same, so as to form loose rings or
washers, but I prefer to make them in one piece with the bolts and nuts
respectively, as the strength of the parts is thus increased. These bolts and
nuts are applied in a similar manner to fish chairs and fish brackets, and other
similar fastenings. These conical or spherical bearing surfaces allow of the
bolts and nuts taking a fair bearing, notwithstanding that the axes of the bolts
y be slightly inclined, owing to any inaccuracies in the position or direction
of the holes either in the rails or plates, and they also afford greater adhesion
to prevent the bolts and nuts from unscrewing and becoming loose. Screw.
bolts with threads of the forms herein-before described with conical or
spherical heads, and with or without washers with recesses of corresponding
forin, may be passed through one fishing or splicing plate, and through the
rail; and screwed into the other fishing or splicing plate, which is tapped with
a thread of corresponding form, and which then forms or serves in lieu of the
nuts, which can thus be dispensed with. I consider it preferable, however,
to employ the separate nuts, as the bolts are thus.more free to accommodate
themselves to slight irregularities in the parts.
may
Having now described the nature of the Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what I
claim is,
First, constructing double-headed rails with bearing flanges rolled upon thein
at different levels on the two sides, and with the two heads or tables placed
vertically one over the other, and the whole of such sectional form as to be
capable of being rolled, as herein-before described.
Second, the combination of double-headed rails whose shoulders or portions
thereof form inclined planes, with two bearing flanges, having their bearing
surfaces at different levels, and formed with corresponding inclined plane
surfaces in contact with the shoulders of the rails, and attached to them by
bolts, or rivets, or similar fastenings, as herein-before described...
Third, constructing compound bearing rails by the combination of double-
headed rails with two bearing flanges, having their bearing surfaces at different
levels, and attached to the rails by means of rivets also constructing lengths
of compound rails with the bearing flanges at different levels, and attached to.
the rails by rivets or other permanent fastenings,aud so arranged that one end
of each of the bearing flanges may project beyond one end of the rail, while

page_text: the other end falls short of the other end of the rail, thereby affording a ready
means of uniting such lengths of rails by bolts and nuts, or other fastenings,
as herein-before described.
Fourth, constructing single-headed rails with the web cut through verti-
cally to within a short distance of the head into plates or strips which are
bent up on each side alternately so as to form a series of bearing strips or
plates with intervening spaces on both sides, with or without vertical strips
left at intervals, as herein-before described.
Fifth, constructing chairs and other supports, or connections for rails,
with adjusting pieces, having surfaces of spherical, curved, or doubly
inclined form, fitted to the jaws or sides of such supports or chairs or
connections, as herein-before described.
Sixth, the mode of securing or fixing the rails of railways by means of
iron or other keys applied in combination with chairs or supports, whose
jaws or sides are fitted with adjusting pieces having surfaces of spherical,
curved, or doubly inclined form, or by means of iron or other keys made
in two pieces, whose adjoining surfaces are of spherical, curved, or doubly
inclined form, as herein-before described.
Seventli, the niode of securing or fixing the rails of railways by iron keys
having strips of wrought iron attached to them, and driven into chairs
which are provided with a passage through which the strip passes and
curls round, as herein-before described, whereby the key is secured in its place.
Eighth, the construction and application for securing rails in chairs, or other
supports or connections, of compound keys composed of wood, so placedas to
"sustain the pressure endways or in the direction of the length of its, grain or
fibre, and either wholly or partially inclosed in a metal frame or case as here-
in before described. Also the construction and application of such compound
keys with the grain of the wood in a longitudinal or any other direction
wood is made to bear against the rail, or chair, or adjusting piece,
support or connection, as herein-before described.
when
or other
Niuth; constructing railway chairs with jags or barbs on the interior of
the jaw for more effectually securing the keys, as herein-before described...
Tenth, the construction and application to railway chairs of loose metal
frames filled with end grain or other wood cushions, as herein-before.
described in reference to Figures 30, 30 bis, and 31.
Eleventh, the application of metal rings or ferrules to the heads.or part
thereof, and to part of the shanks of wooden trenails used for securing
rails or chairs, or other supports for rails, as herein-before described.
Twelfth, supporting, connecting, and securing the rails of railways_by.

page_text: means of two separate metal fishes or splicing pieces applied in combina-
tion with a chair with one jaw, and secured by screw bolts in the manner
herein-before described in reference to Figures 34 and 35.
Thirteenth, supporting, connecting, and securing the rails of railways
by means of two separate wrought-iron fishes or splicing plates, supported
and connected to the sleeper by two separate cast-iron supports secured.to
them and to the rails by bolts and nuts, as herein-before described in re-
ference to Figures 36 and 37.
Fourteenth, securing and connecting rails with fishes or splicing plates,
or with fish chairs and similar fastenings, by means of s..rew bolts and nuts,
or by means of screw bolts entering screwed or tapped holes in the fish or
other similar fastening, such screw bolts and nuts and tapped holes having
one or both faces of the screw thread square with or at any angle greater
than seventy-five degrees with the axis of the bolt, as herein-before de-
scribed.
Fifteenth, securing and connecting the rails of railways by means of
fishes or splicing plates or fish chairs, or brackets, or similar fastenings
attached or secured to them by means of screw bolts, or screw bolts and
nuts,, having the bearing surfaces of the heads or nuts or both of a spherical
or conical form, as herein-before described.
1. In witness whereof, I, the said.Perceval Moses Parsons, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
51 CHARLES COWPER,
20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.
P. M. PARSONS. (L.S.)