Improvements in and Connected with Railway Sleepers.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Aug., 1888
Specification Accepted, 7th Sept., 1888,
RESERVO
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Connected with Railway Sleepers.
We VINCENT MICHEL OLEWINSKI, engineer of 19 Rue Bridaine, Paris, France
and JOSEPH MARIAN JACQUES DE BUKOWSKI, engineer of 54 Rue Blanche, Paris,
France do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
Our improvements relate to that class of superstructures for railways, which are
made entirely of metal and in which the fastening of the rails to the metal sleepers
is effected by means of a clamping device, without the use of any fish-plates, screws
or bolts.
Fig. 1, 2 & 3 show our improved metallic superstructure in the case of a railway
rail having a flat base and fig. 4 shows the same superstructure, but modified to suit
a rail having a double head.
Fig. 1 is a transverse elevation of the rail and its sleeper, in section on the line 1, 1
fig. 2.
Fig. 2 is a top view of fig. 1 in section on the line 2, 2 and,
Fig. 3 is a side view of fig. 1 in section on the line 3, 3.
Fig. 4 is a similar elevation to fig. 1, showing our improved superstructure in the
case of a railway rail having a double head.
Broadly speaking, our improvements apply both to the sleeper and to the means of
fastening the rail thereon.
The sleeper is composed of a flat bed-plate a, downwardly bent sides bb and a
vertical rib c extending below the sides bb; the sides 66 and the vertical rib c are
held together and thereby consolidated by means of cross-pieces or membranes dd
provided with lugs ef rivetted at g, h to the side band rib c respectively.
Between the underface of the bed-plate a and the top plate of the membranes dd
may be reserved a space of any desired shape, as shown at ii.
The rail with its flat base & rests onto a support or bearing piece / which, owing to
the shape shown, offers a certain degree of elasticity; the bearing piece is slightly
grooved for preventing any lateral displacement of the rail j thereon.

page_text: The fastening of the rail j together with its bearing piece onto the bed-plate a of
the metallic sleeper is effected by means of clamps mm of an improved kind. The
clamps m, pass through slots made in the bed plate a of the sleeper and they are so
configurated, see fig. I that they present five bearing points; the first bearing point is
between the upper nose n and the base & through an intermediate angle iron or wedge o,
the second bearing point is at n' between the clamp m and the outer vertical face of
the wedge o, the third bearing point is between the lower nose p and the underface of
the bed-plate a, the fourth bearing point is between the tail-piece q and the bed-plate a
and finally the fifth bearing point is between the intermediate wedger and the top face
of the bed-plate a.
The wedge o is taper; its object is to increase the contact surface between n and k
and thus strenthen the fastening. The wedge r is likewise taper and serves to secure
the required rigidity of the whole device; this latter wedger may be split or slotted and
after the whole of the parts are put together and secured, the split wedge can be
separated apart, so as to prevent slackening.
The major part of the metallic sleeper can be cast or rolled, of any 'suitable metal,
but preferably of mild steel.
Referring to fig. 4, the rail j is of the reversible type, with a double head. The
sleeper a and the wedges o and are the same as in fig. 12, 3; the clamps and the
bearing piece are however different.
The bearing piece is likewise elastic and is provided with lips s for holding the
rail more securely. The clamps m, in this arrangement have also five bearing points
as shown at u, n, p, g and r.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1st. A metallic sleeper formed of a bed-plate a with sides bb and central rib c.
consolidated by means of cross-pieces d, d provided with lugs e rivetted or otherwise
fastened to the sides bas described with reference to fig. 1, 2 & 3.
2nd. A rail fastening device for flanged rails j, composed of an elastic bearing piece l
for the rail, of clamps mm having five hearing points, as set forth, and of spring split
wedges r with or without the wedges o, as described with reference to fig. 1, 2 & 3.
3rd. A rail fastening device for reversible rails j¹ composed of an elastic bearing
piece with noses ss for the rail, of clamps mm, having five bearing points, ils
set forth, and of spring split-wedges r with wedges o, as described with reference
to fig. 4.