IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Lemuel Wellman Wright
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th June 1853.
(Void by reason of notice to proceed not having been given within the.
time prescribed by the Act.)
I, LEMUEL WELLMAN WRIGHT, of Chalford, in the County of Glou-
cester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS" to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist in the peculiar construction of rails and
sleepers, and in the manner of fitting them together, so as to maintain
the parallelism of the lines of rails, and also in the mode and manner
of adjusting the rails with facility so as to keep a uniform level.
Figure 1, is a transverse section of rail chair and part of transverse
sleeper. a, a, are two side pieces which together form a permanent
longitudinal chair extending the entire length of the rails; they are
secured to the transverse sleepers h, by means of screw bolts b, b, or to
longitudinal sleepers if that mode be adopted; c, is the rail, which is
T-shaped, fitting into and between the sides of the chairs a, a, and
secured to them by incans of bolts and nuts d. When the T-shaped rail
has been worn, it can be replaced by a new one of the same form by

page_text: merely unscrewing the bolts d, inserting the new rail and screwing the
bolts d, without disturbing any of the other parts forming the perma-
nent way; h, top transverse sleeper separated from under cross sleeper i,
by means of a block or blocks of wood ; the two cross sleepers h,
and i, and block , are secured together by means of the bolts and
nuts 1, 1; m, are adjusting wedges for the purpose, of keeping the rails
level, by driving or withdrawing the wedges at the ends of each sleeper.
The side pieces forming the chairs a, a, are so put together as to break
joint alternately, as shewn at fif, in plan, Figure 3; in the sleepers
no two joints appear on the same sleeper, and the opposite side of rails
break joint alternately on different sleepers. The T-shaped rails c, are
so laid and fixed as to have their ends meet on sleepers where no joints
of the permanent longitudinal chairs a, a, occur, as shown at n, on
longitudinal elevation of rails, Figuro 2. The rails being placed upon
the transverse sleepers of the description shewn in the Drawing will be
found to possess a certain amount of elasticity which will tend to coun-
teract any shocks to wheels, rails, axles, and to the rolling stock
generally. By this construction of permanent way it will be found that
the rails will be laid and remain as firm, compact, and straight as if
they were continuous solid rails.
Figure 2, is a longitudinal elevation of rails; the letters on the
several parts correspond with those on Figure 1. 2, shews joints
of T-shaped rail c.
Figure 3, is a plan of permanent longitudinal chair a, a, and trans-
verse sleepers with T-shaped rail c, removed in order to show how the
parts of the chairs a, a, are put together, and also the manner of
securing the rails to the cross sleepers, as well as the manner in which
the two sides of the chairs a, a, alternately break joint on the sleepers,
as shewn at f, f.

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Lemuel Wellman Wright
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th June 1858.
(Void by reason of notice to proceed not having been given within the
time prescribed by the Act.)
I, LEMUEL WELLMAN WRIGHT, of Chalford, in the County of Glou-
cester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS" to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist in the peculiar construction of rails and
sleepers, and in the manner of fitting them together, so as to maintain
the parallelism of the lines of rails, and also in the mode and manner.
of adjusting the rails with facility so as to keep a uniform level.
Figure 1, is a transverse section of rail chair and part of transverse
sleeper. a, a, are two side pieces which together form a permanent
longitudinal chair extending the entire length of the rails; they are
secured to the transverse sleepers h, by means of screw bolts b, b, or to
longitudinal sleepers if that mode be adopted; c, is the rail, which is
T-shaped, fitting into and between the sides of the chairs a, a, and
secured to them by means of bolts and nuts d. When the T-shaped rail
has been worn, it can be replaced by a new one of the same form by

page_text: merely unscrewing the bolts d, inserting the new rail and screwing the
bolts d, without disturbing any of the other parts forming the perina-
nent way; h, top transverse sleeper separated from under cross sleeper i,
by means of a block or blocks of wood k; the two cross sleepers h,
and i, and block k, are secured together by means of the bolts and
nuts 1,1; m, are adjusting wedges for the purpose of keeping the rails
level, by driving or withdrawing the wedges at the ends of each sleeper.
The side pieces forming the chairs a, a, are so put together as to break
joint alternately, as shown at f,in plan. Figure 3; in the sleepers
no two joints appear on the same sleeper, and the opposite side of rails
break joint alternately on different sleepers. The T-shaped rails c, are
so laid and fixed as to have their ends meet on sleepers where no joints
of the permanent longitudinal chairs a, a, occur, as shown at n, on
longitudinal elevation of rails, Figuro 2. The rails being placed upon
the transverse sleepers of the description shewn in the Drawing will be
found to possess a certain amount of elasticity which will tend to coun-
teract any shocks to wheels, rails, axles, and to the rolling stock
generally. By this construction of permanent way it will be found that
the rails will be laid and remain as firm, compact, and straight as if
they were continuous solid rails.
Figure 2, is a longitudinal elevation of rails; the letters on the
several parts correspond with those on Figure 1. n, shews joints
of T-shaped rail c.
Figure 3, is a plan of permanent longitudinal chair a, a, and trans-
verse sleepers with T-shaped rail c, removed in order to shew how the
parts of the chairs a, a, are put together, and also the manner of
securing the rails to the cross sleepers, as well as the manner in which
the two sides of the chairs a, a, alternately break joint on the sleepers,
as shown at f, f.