Improvements in or relating to the Fastening of Rails for Light or Portable Railways
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Jan.,
1897
Complete Specification Left, 12th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 18th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
"Improvements in or relating to the Fastening of Rails for Light
or Portable Railways."
We, HENRY JOIN LAWSON and CHARLES MCROBIE TURRELL Engineers, both of
40 Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the means for fastening together and also to the
sleepers, ground or track of the rails employed in light or portable railways; we
will describe the invention as applied to rails having a central channel to receive
the flange of the wheel, and curved or rounded top faces. It may be applied
however to any form of rail
The fastening is applied to the channel in the rail, in each end of which is
formed a slot, so that there are two slots adjacent to the junction of two rails.
Into one of these slots we place the turned-over end of a strip or plate of metal,
the end being turned or curled so that one portion of it turns back upon itself
parallel with the original piece, and thus fully embraces the end of the rail so
that it cannot work out. The other end of the strip is turned at right angles to
the main body of the strip, and passes through the slot at the end of the next
rail; it is prevented from returning by a tongue partly stamped out of the metal
which will spring sufficiently to allow the end of the fastening to be passed
through the slot, which will then prevent its return. This end may be made of
considerable length, if desired, so as to take a bearing in the road bed. An
opening may be provided in the rail to allow of the tongue being pressed back
when it is desired to remove the fastening, or the latter may be destroyed, and a
new one substituted.
The same idea is adopted with regard to the pins or bolts which hold down the
rail; these pass through suitable holes in the rail and are provided with heads
and also with tongues similar in operation to those previously described, and
thus prevent the pin etc. from shaking out. Holes or equivalent means may be
if necessary provided in this case also for clearing the tongue when it is desired
to remove the pin, but as the tongue can be got at from the edge of the rail and
underneath, special provision is usually not required.
Where double rails are employed the same principle may be adopted in the
cross ties or equivalent which maintain the rails at their proper distances
apart.
ירד
1 1
10th 1 of Tonua 1807
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: 86
Improvements in or relating to the Fastening of Rails for Light
or Portable Railways."
We, HENRY JOHN LAWSON and CHARLES MCROBIE TURRELL, Engineers, both of
40 Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London, 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 the means for fastening together and also to the
sleepers, ground or track of the rails employed in light or portable railways; we
will describe the invention as applied to rails having a central channel to receive
the flange of the wheel, and curved or rounded top faces. It may be applied
however to any form of raili
The fastening is applied to the channel in the rail, in each end of which is
formed a slot, so that there are two slots adjacent to the junction of two rails.
Into one of these slots we place the turned-over end of a strip or plate of meal,
the end being turned or curled so that one portion of it turns back upon itself
parallel with the original piece, and thus fully embraces the end of the rail so
that it cannot work out. The other end of the strip is turned at right angles to
the main body of the strip, and passes through the slot at the end of the next
rail; it is prevented from returning by a tongue partly stamped out of the metal
which will spring sufficiently to allow the end of the fastening to be passed
through the slot, which will then prevent its return. This end may be made of
considerable length, if desired, so as to take a bearing in the road bed. An
opening may be provided in. the rail to allow of the tongue being pressed back
when it is desired to remove the fastening, or the latter may be destroyed, and a
new one substituted.
The same idea is adopted with regard to the pins or bolts which hold down the
rail; these pass through suitable holes in the rail and are provided with heads
and also with tongues similar in operation to those previously described, and
thus prevent the pin etc. from shaking out. Holes or equivalent means may if
necessary be provided in this case also for clearing the tongue when it is desired
to remove the pin, but as the tongue can be got at from the edge of the rail and
underneath, special provision is usually not required.
Where double rails are employed the same principle may be adopted in the
cross ties or equivalent which maintain the rails at their proper distances
apart.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an improved rail fastener according to this
invention;
Figure 2 is a plan of portions of two rails showing the fastener in position.
Figure 3 is a plan of a joint plate according to this invention.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of portions of two rails, with part broken away to
show the fastener.
Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a perspective view of an improved holding-down pin.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of a double rail track showing the improved
rail fasteners and joint-plates, holding-down pins, and cross-ties.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The improved rail fastener A, is preferably formed of a strip of metal, having
one end A¹ turned back upon itself on the under side, and the other end A² bent

page_text: down at right angles to the main portion of the strip. The end A³ has a
tongue A3 stamped in it, which serves to keep it in its place in the rail.
Each rail B, which may be of any section, although illustrated as having a cen-
tral channel and rounded top faces, has a slot B₁ near each end.
The ends of the rails are preferably semicircular in plan, thus allowing of a con-
siderable curvature in the track if required.
In order to give rigidity to the joints, joint-plates such as C. may be used.
These, in the case illustrated, are made of such a shape that they fit into the rail
on its under surface, and are provided with slots C₁ which are placed so as to
coincide with the slots in the rails.
The hooked end A' of the rail fastener is engaged in the slot B₁ in one rail
and the corresponding slot C¹ in the joint plate, the other rail is then placed in
position and the tongued end A2 of the fastener driven through the slot B' in the
end of it, and also through the other slot in the joint-plate. The tongue A³
springs outwards after it has passed the slots, and thus prevents the fastener
from coming out of its place.
The end A2 may be made long, so that it will extend sufficiently far through
the rail and joint-plate to take a bearing in the road-bed, the fastener thus serving
to partially secure the rails to the track as well as to hold them together.
An opening may be provided in the rail and joint-plate, through which a tool
may be inserted to press back the spring tongue A³ if it is desired to remove the
fastener without destroying it, such openings are shewn in the drawings as small
extensions B2 and C2 of the slots B' and C.
The pins or bolts which hold the rails down are illustrated at D, Figure 6. In
this case the pin is preferably made of a piece of steel of half round section
formed with a head and bent back upon itself as at D2 the end D³ forming a
spring tongue.
The pins are driven through holes B in the rails into the sleepers or track, the
tongue 13 preventing them from becoming loose and shaking out.
Figure 7-illustrates a portion of a double-rail track in which the rails are kept
at their proper distance apart by cross-ties formed according to this invention
of a bar of metal E of suitable section, having each of its ends E turned down
at right angles to the main portion of the bar, and a spring tongue E2 in these
ends.
Slots B are provided in the rails through which the ends E¹ are inserted, the
spring tongues E2 acting as before described with reference to the rail fastener
(Figure 1) and the holding-down pin (Figure 6). The end E¹ may be made of
any desired length, so as to take a bearing in the track.
Openings B and B may if desired be made in the rails, to allow the spring
tongues E or D³ to be pressed back if it is necessary to remove the cross-tie or
the pin without destroying it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. A rail fastener having one end bent so as to engage the metal of one rail
and the other so formed that it can enter the sleeper or track through a slot in
another rail.
2. A rail fastener having one end bent so as to engage the metal of one rail
and the other so formed that it can enter the sleeper or track through a slot in
another rail and is then automatically retained.
3. In a rail fastener of the kind described forming one end with a spring tongue
such as A3 for the purpose described.
4. In a rail track a joint-plate such as CC substantially as and for the pur-
pose described and illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 5. The combination with rails B, of a joint-plate such as C C¹ and a rail fastener
such as A substantially as described.
6. A holding-down pin for rails, formed of a piece of metal doubled upon itself
substantially as and for the purpose described or illustrated in Figure 6 of the
accompanying drawings.
7. A cross-tie for rails formed of a bar of metal having its ends so shaped that
they may be inserted through slots in the rails, and are then automatically
retained.
8. The rail fastener substantially as and for the purpose described and illus-
trated in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.
9. The cross-tie E, E¹, E2, substantially as and for the purpose described and
illustrated in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.
10. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete rail-
way track substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 7 of the accom-
panying drawings.
1
P
1007
H. J. LAWSON.
CHARLES MCROBIE TURRELL.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.