Improvements in Tram and Railway Rails, doing without Points in Single Lines at the Passing Places.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 29th July, 1899--Accepted, 16th Sept., 1899
Improvements in Tram and Railway Rails, doing without Points in
Single Lines at the Passing Places.
JAMES SPARROW, Cabinetmaker and Upholsterer, 28, Zinzan Street, Reading,
Berks, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
By using a double groved rail a double rail, or by fixing two ordinary rails
side by side, at the single part of the line and so keeping each route seperate, a
single set of sleepers will carry a double line.
1000
JAMES SPARROW,
28, Zinzan Street, Reading.
Improvements in Tram and Railway Rails, doing without Points in
Single Lines at the Passing Places.
I, JAMES SPARROW, Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer, of 28, Zinzan Street,
Reading, in the County of Berkshire, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement: -
I have invented certain new and useful improvements in railways and tram
ways, of which the following is a full and complete specification such as will
enable those skilled in the art to which it appertaines, to make and use the
sanie.
This invention relates to railways or tramways, and the object thereof is to
provide means whereby a double track railway may be merged into a single
track railway, without the employment of moveable switches. According to
my invention, cars may be moved from a double track and thence on to a single
track, in crowded thoroughfares, or in crossing bridges, and may again be moved
into a double track so as to freely pass each other.
Another feature of my invention consists in its applicability to single tracks
and single road bed railways, and tramways in which turnouts may be instituted
which the cars may enter and leave without the assistance of moveable switches.
These results are obtained by the construction and arrangement of tracks, all
as hereinafter set forth.
My invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the
accompanying drawings forms a part, in which like reference characters denote
like parts in the several views and in which,

page_text: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a section of a rail way or tram way arranged according
to my invention and
Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, are enlarged cross sections of the railway rails which I
employ, Fig. 3 being a section of Fig. 1 on the line 33, and Fig. 5 a section of
Fig. 1 on the line 5-5. Fig. 4 can be substituted for Fig. 5 if desired. Fig. 2
and 3 can be used for railways where side guards are not required, Fig. 3 repre-
senting section on the line 5-5 on Fig. 1. And Fig. 2 it representing sec-
tion 33 on Fig. 1, or Figs. 2 R S can be substituted for Fig. 3 section if
desired.
Referring more particularly to the drawing I provide two parallel rails A
and B for a single road bed, the rail A. being provided with longitudinal grooves a
and b, and longitudinal operative bearing shoulders c d and e, and the rail B,
with longitudinal grooves f and g, and longitudinal operative bearing shoulders h
and, the grooves a bf and g, are adapted to receive the flanges of the wheels,
and the bearing shoulders c d h and j, the rims thereof, the bearing shoulders c
and, are designed as guards.
C
At the points C and D of the rails A and B where the road bed broadens to
form a double track, switch, or turnout, the central shoulders, d and j of the
rails A and B, are split to form two diverging rails, consisting of the extension
of projection of each of the rails, and being the extensions of the rail A,
and G and H, the extensions of the rail B as shown in Fig. 1.
The raits and F, diverge at the same angle as the rails and II The
rail E extending parallel with the rail, and the rail F with the rail H.
At the points C, and D, where the rails A and B respectively divide as above
described, said rails are thickened as shown in Fig. 1, the rails E F G and H,
are provided respectively with a central longitudinal groove a¹ b₁ fi and g¹ which
are respectively unbroken continuations of the grooves a and b in the rail A,
and the grooves ƒ and g in the rail B.
At either side of the groove a¹ the rail E is provided with a longitudinal
operative bearing shoulder c¹ and , which are unbroken continuations respec-
tively of the shoulders c and d of the rail A, the rails FG and H, are provided
respectively at either side of their respective central longitudinal grooves b₁ fl
and g, with longitudinal operative bearing shoulders and e, k₁ and 7², and
and which are respectively unbroken continuations of the longitudinal
shoulders and e, k and j and j and h, of the respective rails A and B. The
rails and G, cross at K. The central grooves f¹ and shoulders and e¹ of the
rails E and the central groove f¹ and shoulders & and of the rail G, still retaining
their identity, the shoulders and e¹ being split to allow of the continuous
formation of the grooves fi and , uniting at L, and the shoulders c¹ and
uniting at M.
The tracks EF G and H again curve respectively at N O P and Q, and thence
extend paralell as in the case of a double track.
In Fig. 2 I have shown two rails R and S, each consisting of a single bearing
shoulder and these rails may be used side by side in place of the rails E F G
and H constructed as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 if desired.
In Fig. 4 I have shown two rails T and U, placed side by side, and each of
which is provided with a central longitudinal groove respectively and u, and
the rail T is provided at either side of the groove u with a longitudinal bearing
shoulder, respectively and wo, and the rail U, with longitudinal side bearing
shoulders, respectively and y and the two rails may be placed side by side as
shown in Fig. 4, and substituted for either of the rails A and B constructed as
shown in Fig. 1 and 5 if desired.
The operation and use of the rails constructed and arranged as described is
as follows: Suppose a car be mounted upon each of the sets of rails E and G,
Fand H, the flanges of the wheels of the car mounted upon the rails E and G
would operate within the grooves a¹ and f¹, and the rims of the said wheels would
bear upon the shoulders and c¹.

page_text: The flanges of the wheels of the car mounted upon the tracks F and H would
operate within the grooves b¹ and g¹ and the rims of the said wheels would bear
upon the said shoulders and h¹. If now either car desired to enter upon the
single tracks A and B, it would move forward and upon the said tracks A and B.
The operation of the wheels of the car mounted upon the rails E and G would be as
follows: Arriving at the crossing point K of the rails F and G, the wheel flanges
operating within the groove f¹ of the rail G, would cross the groove 6 of the
rail F, and the corresponding wheel rims would cross the break in the shoulder
of the rail G at the crossing of the grooves 6 and fl of the respective rails F
and G and would continue on upon the said shoulder *.
Coming to the point 1), the wheel rims riding upon the shoulder of the
rail G would pass upon the central bearing shoulder of the rail B and the wheel
flanges operating within the groove f¹ would enter the grooves in the rail B.
Similarly the wheel flanges operating within the groove a¹ of the rail E, on
coming to the point would enter the groove a in the rail A, and the wheel
rim riding upon the shoulder d' of the rail E would pass upon the shoulder c of
the rail A, and the grooves a¹ and f¹ of the corresponding rails E and G being
continuations of the grooves a and f of the respective rails A and B. This
passage of the wheels from the rails and G to the rails A and B would be
accomplished without the aid of any moveable switch.
In corresponding manner the wheels of the car mounted upon the rails F
and H would pass upon the rails A and B the grooves b¹ and g¹ respectively
thereof being continuations of the grooves band g of the rails A and B respec-
tively and the shoulders and ¹ of the rails and H being respectively con-
tinuations of the shoulders d and h of the rails A and B. On the respective
ruils EGF and H, the shoulders d', ', e¹, and j¹, serve as guards, as do the
flanges c and k of the respective rails A and B.
It is evident that my invention is susceptible to many changes in the con-
struction and arrangement of the rails above described, and I claim all such as
come within the spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A railway rail provided with a longitudinal central groove and a longi-
tudinal operative bearing shoulder arranged upon either side thereof, substan-
tially as shown and described.
2. A railway rail provided with a longitudinal central groove, and a longi-
tudinal bearing shoulder arranged upon either side thereof, one of the said
shoulders being provided with a pair of diverging extensions, constituting
secondary bearing shoulders substantially as shown and described.
3. A railway rail provided with a longitudinal central groove, a longitudinal
bearing shoulder upon either side thereof, one of the said shoulders being pro-
vided with a pair of diverging extensions, constituting secondary bearing
shoulders, and the other of the said shoulders being curved to paralell of said
secondary bearing shoulders, said groove being suitably curved substantially
as shown and described.
4. A railway rail provided with two paralell longitudinal grooves, and three
longitudinal operative bearing shoulders, arranged respectively at either side
and intermediate thereof, the said intermediate shoulder being provided with a
pair of divergent extensions, constituting secondary bearing shoulders, and the
other bearing shoulders being curved to paralell, each the secondary bearing
shoulder, said groove being similarly curved, substantially as shown and
described.
5. An integral and immovable switch for merging the rails of a double track
into the rails of a single track railway, or the rails of a single track, into the
rails of a double track railway, the rails of the single railway being provided

page_text: with two bearing surfaces for the wheels of cars, and the rails of the double track
railway being provided with a single bearing surface, substantially as shown
and described.
6. An integral and immovable switch for merging the rails of a double track,
into the rails of a single track railway, the rails of the single track railway
being provided with two bearing surfaces for the wheels of cars, and the rails
of the double track railway being provided with a single bearing surface, said
bearing surfaces in the single track rails being seperated by an intermediate
groove, and the bearing surfaces of the double track railway being connected
with one of the bearing surfaces of one of the rails of the single track railway,
substantially as shown and described.
7. A railway rail made up by fastening two or more rails side by side, so as
to take the place of any of the aforesaid grooved rails.
T
11 T
493A