Improved Connector for the Rails of Electric Tramways and Railways.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd July, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 18th Mar., 1896-Accepted, 18th Apr., 1896
[Communicated from abroad by THE COMPAGNIE DE L'INDUSTRIE ELECTRIQUE
OF GENEVA (Usine de Sècheron), in the Republic of Switzerland.]
Improved Connector for the Rails of Electric Tramways and
Railways.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In electrical tramways it is often necessary to use the rails as electrical
conductors, especially for replacing a return-wire, and as the usual fish-plates.
connecting two adjacent rails with one another do not constitute a satisfactory
conductor of the current and offer a higher resistance than the rails, the latter are
generally connected with one another in such cases by means of a supplementary
connector especially intended to transmit the electric current from one rail to the
other. Those electric connectors are generally composed of a copper-wire, fixed
to the adjacent end of two rails to suitable means.
The method of fixing has hitherto presented the disadvantage of being either
not strong enough or being very costly. The purpose of my invention is to
provide an electric connector which is capable of being fixed rigidly to the
rails by means of the mere application of some well-applied blows of a hammer.
The adjacent ends of the two rails which are to be connected with one another
are provided with suitable holes to receive a connecting-piece of some suitable
malleable metal, which must be a good conductor of electricity.
Each electric connector is composed of a conductor bearing at each of its ends
such a connecting piece, the conductor being preferably formed of a copper-wire.
Each of the connecting-pieces is provided with a tubular part or sleeve intended
to fit in the above-mentioned holes of the rails. The said sleeve has a conical hole
in which is engaged a conical pin of hard metal intended to firmly fix the sleeve to
the rail.
By means of this very simple construction the connecting-pieces may be very.
solidly fixed to the rails by a mere blow of the hammer applied on the head of
the aforesaid pin after the sleeve has been engaged with the hole of the rail.
Thereby the malleable material forming the said sleeve is not only tightly pressed
against the inner walls of the hole of the rail but it forms furthermore a pad or
swelling which prevents the said connecting piece being disconnected from the
rails by the vibrations caused to the latter by the trains.
Dat this 2nd dox of July 1895
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improved Connector for the Rails of Electric Tramways and
Railways.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
In electric tramways it is often necessary to use the rails as electric conductors,
especially for replacing a return-wire, and as the usual fish-plates connecting two
adjacent rails with one another do not constitute a satisfactory conductor of the
current and offer. a higher resistance than the rails, the latter are generally
connected with one another in such cases by means of a supplementary connector
especially intended to transmit the electric current from one rail to the other.
Those electric connectors are generally composed of a copper-wire, fixed to the
adjacent end of two.rails by suitable means.
The method of fixing has hitherto presented the disadvantage of being either
not strong enough or of being very costly. The purpose of my invention is to
provide an electric connector which is capable of being fixed rigidly to the rails by
means of the mere application of some well-applied blows from a hammer.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the adjacent ends of two rails with the improved
connector applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section of the rail drawn to an enlarged scale
and showing the means of attaching the connector to the rail and
Figure 3 is a side elevation of Figure 2.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the
drawing.
In carrying my aforesaid invention into practice the adjacent ends of the two
rails A which are to be connected with one another are provided with suitable
holes to receive a connecting-piece B of some suitable malleable metal, which must
be a good conductor of electricity.
Each electric connector is composed of a conductor C provided at each of its
ends with a connecting piece B, the conductor C being preferably formed of a
copper-wire. Each of the connecting-pieces B is provided with a tubular part or
sleeve b intended to fit in the above-mentioned holes in the rails A. The said
sleeve has a conical hole in which is engaged a conical pin D of hard metal
intended to firmly fix the sleeve b to the rail.
By means of this very simple construction the connecting-pieces B may be very
solidly fixed to the rails by a mere blow with a hammer applied to the head of the
aforesaid pin D after the sleeve b has been pushed into the hole of the rail. By
this means the malleable material forming the said sleeve b is not only tightly
pressed against the inner walls of the hole of the rail but it also forms an enlarge-
ment or swelling which prevents the said connecting piece B from being
disconnected from the rails by the vibrations caused to the latter during the
passage of the trains.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
In electric connectors for railway rails, the combination of a conductor C with
two connecting pieces B of malleable metal and of any suitable form, having each

page_text: a sleeve b intended to engage the holes of the rails which are to be connected to
each other, such sleeves being provided with a conical pin D of hard metal.
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 18th day of March 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.