Improvements in Wedges or Keys for Use in Attaching Rails to Chairs and for other purposes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Aug., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Apr., 1896-Accepted, 6th June, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wedges or Keys for Use in Attaching Rails to
Chairs and for other purposes.
I, ALBERT ADRIEN COLLET, of 2, Rue de Berne, Paris, in the Republic of
France, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
This invention relates to an improved wedge which can be used in all cases in
which a wedge is required but which is more especially adapted for use in fixing
rails in railway chairs.
For the purpose of description I will describe a wedge designed to fix rails in
railway chairs.
In carrying out my invention I form on one of the lateral faces of an
ordinary wedge, near the centre of the same, a groove rectilinear or square in
section, which groove extends along the wedge from the thin end nearly to the
thick end of the same. At the point where the groove ends a hole is formed in the
wedge in a direction perpendicular to the lateral face of the same and only passing
partly through the wedge.
The wedge thus formed is adapted to receive a safety device for fixing it in
position. The said device is formed of a wire of iron or steel and rectangular or
square iu cross section to suit the groove in the wedge. The wire is bent at right
angles at one end in such a manner that the length of the bent part slightly
exceeds the depth of the hole formed in the wedge but is less than the thickness
of the said wedge.
The bent part is chamfered or tapered at its end on one side only so that it can
force its way into the wedge when the device is placed in position in the groove.
The length of the longer arm of the device is such that it projects a few centimetres
past the thin end of the wedge.
The apparatus is employed as follows:-
The wedge is placed in the chair in the usual manner and when the wedging
operation is finished the free end of the wire is bent back over one jaw of the chair
thereby locking the wedge in position.
If from any cause the wedge should require tightening after a certain time the
wire can afterwards be adjusted in position on the chair.
In some cases I form the groove in the wedge rounded at the bottom and
extending along the whole length of the wedge and I dispense with the hole
formed transversely in the wedge. Into this groove I insert a wire of circular or
rectangular section, the said wire being allowed the necessary play and caused to
project at each end of the wedge, the said projecting ends being bent for the
purpose of fixing the wedge in position.
Before driving the wedge in the chair the wire is first placed along the inner
side of one jaw with its bent ends turned back. The wedge is then driven in, in
such a manner that the wire enters the groove and when the wedge is driven home
the bent ends are curved over the tapered ends of the wedge so as to lie under
the top flange of the rail in such a manner that if the wedge tends to free itself
one of the bent ends comes in contact with one of the jaws of the chair.
If the wedge becomes loosened the ends of the wire are turned back and the
wedge is hammered in in the usual manner, after which the ends of the safety device
are bent back and again fixed under the flange of the rail. Or the ends could be

page_text: formed in such a manner that it is possible to hammer up the wedge without fear
of striking the same.
It is obvious that my safety device can be applied to the various forms of wedges
used with railway chairs.
Dated this 7th day of August 1895.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Wedges or Keys for Use in Attaching Rails to
Chairs and for other purposes.
I, ALBERT ADRIEN COLLET, of 2, Rue de Berue, Paris, in the Republic of
France, Civil Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to an improved wedge which can be used in all cases in
which a wedge is required but which is more especially adapted for use in fixing
rails in railway chairs.
In railways the wedges or keys which secure the rails, being constantly subjected
to vibrations and variations in the condition of the atmosphere, become ultimately
loose and sometimes even drop out on to the track. It may also happen that
several adjacent keys become loosened whereby a rail may become loose and cause
a train to leave the rails.
The object of my invention is to provide against the key leaving the chair by
securing it to the same by means of a safety device.
For the purposes of my invention I will describe a wedge designed to fix rails in
railway chairs. My wedge can be retightened similarly to an ordinary wedge or
key should it become loose from the effect of constant vibration, and as it is
permanently secured to the chair it prevents any abnormal movement or
displacement of the rails.
In the accompanying drawing,-
Figures 1, 2 and 3 are respectively an elevation, a side view and a plan of a
railway chair furnished with my immovable wedge with its safety device:
Figures 4 and 5 shew in transverse and longitudinal section respectively my
improved wedge furnished with its safety device:
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are respectively an elevation, a plan and a side view of a
railway chair furnished with my improved wedge, the said wedge being provided
with a modified form of safety device:
Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 shew different types of railway chairs provided with my
improved wedge.
The wedge a,
provided on one of its lateral faces and near the centre of the
same, with a groove & rectangular or square in section, which groove extends along
the wedge from the thin end nearly to the thick end of the same. At the point
where the groove ends a hole is formed in the wedge in a direction perpendicular
to the lateral face of the same and only passing partly through the wedge.
The wedge a thus formed is adapted to receive the safety device for fixing it in
position. The said device is formed of a wire c of iron or steel and rectangular or
square in cross section to suit the groove b in the wedge; in the latter case the
sides of the square would be about four or five millimetres in width. The wire c is
bent at right angles at one end in such a manner that the length of the bent
portion el slightly exceeds the depth of the hole formed in the wedge a but is less
than the thickness of the wedge.

page_text: The bent portion c¹ of the wire c is chamfered or tapered at its end on one side
only so that
can force its way into the wedge when the device is placed in
position in the groove b. The length of the longer arm c of the bent wire is such
that it projects a few centimetres beyond the thin edge of the wedge as shewn clearly
in Figure 5.
The wedge a is placed in the chair n in the usual manner and when the wedging
operation is finished the free end of the wire c is lifted up and bent back over one
jaw of the chair as shewn in the drawing, thereby locking the wedge in position.
If from any cause the wedge should require tightening after a certain time, an
operation which is not at all injurious to the wire c, it is only necessary to adjust
the free end of the wire c, after the wedging operation is finished so that the said
end is still bent round the jaw of the chair as before.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 represent a wedge furnished with a safety device slightly
different from the preceding. In this case the groove 6' formed in the wedge is
rounded at the bottom and extends along the whole length of the wedge, and the
hole formed transversely in the wedge is dispensed with. A round straight wire fis-
inserted in the groove b', the said wire being allowed the necessary play and caused
to project at each end of the wedge. Each of the projecting ends is bent and is
formed with a sort of hook d at its extremity.
Before driving the wedge a in the chair n the wire fis first placed in the chair,
as shewn in Figure 6 in dotted lines. The wedge a is then driven in in the usual
manner, care being taken to cause the wire f to enter the groove bl. When the
wedge driven home, the bent ends of the wire fare curved over the ends of the
wedge as shewn in full lines in Figures 6, 7 and 8, in such a manner that the wire
comes to lie under the top flange of the rail h. In this position if the wedge a
tends to free itself it is retained in the chair n by one of the hooks d which
come in contact with the jaw of the chair as is easily understood on reference to the
drawing.
If the wedge becomes loosened, the ends of the wire are turned back and the
wedge is hammered in the usual manner after which the ends of the safety device
are bent back and again fixed under the flange of the rail. Or the ends could be
formed in such a manner that it is possible to hammer up the wedge, it being
necessary to bend back the wire and without fear of striking the latter.
It will be obvious that my safety device can be adapted to be used with every
kind of wedge employed for different railway chairs. For example I have shewn
in Figure 9 a chair of the Great Eastern-Bary 1864 type with a wooden key
fitted with ny safety device a¹.
Figures 10, 11 and 12 shew three types of chairs the metal keys y, z, v of which
are provided with my safety device as shewn at y¹, 2¹ and v¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A wedge of key of wood, iron or other material for securing rails to railway
chairs, the said wedge or key being provided with a safety device consisting of a
piece of wire placed between the key and the chair in such a manner that it does
not interfere with the driving in of the key and serving, when the key is driven in,
to attach the key to the chair in such a manner that the former is prevented from
becoming detached from the chair, substantially as described.
2. In a wedge or key of the kind described in Claim 1, a safety device consisting
of a wire of square or rectangular section adapted to be fitted into a lateral groove
in the wedge and one end of which is bent and enters a hole in the wedge, whilst
the other end is bent back, after the wedge or key has been driven in place, over
the chair in which the wedge is held, substantially as described.
3. In a wedge or key of the kind described in Claim 1, a safety device consisting
of a round wire which fits in a lateral groove formed along the whole length of the
key, the two ends of the said wire, which are bent and formed into hooks, being

page_text: forced under the top flange of the rail after the wedge or key has been driven in,
substantially as, and for the purpose, herein before described.
4. The manufacture and use of the improved wedges or keys hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated the 23rd day of April 1896.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.