LMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR SECURING RAILWAY RAILS IN THEIR CHAIRS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Nevill, of Ferryside, in the County of.
Caermarthen, South Wales, for an Invention of "LMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS
FOR SECURING RAILWAY RAILS IN THEIR CHAIRS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Nevill at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th May 1881.
WILLIAM HENRY NEVILL, of Ferryside, in the County of Caermarthen, South
Wales. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR SECURING RAILWAY RAILS IN THEIR
CHAIRS."
The object of my Invention is to give greater security to the keys or wedges
used for fixing railway rails in their chairs.
These keys or wedges are at present driven between the chair and the rail, and
are always more or less liable to become loose, either through the effect of weather
or from vibration caused by the traffic on the road.
To prevent this as far as possible, I give to such keys or fastenings a spiral or
rotatory motion whilst being driven into their places by means of grooves or ribs
in the chair or socket through which they are forced, such grooves or ribs being
placed at such an angle to the horizontal axis of the keys as will prevent their
return unless by the application of a force at least equal to that required to drive
them in.
This principle may be applied either at a right angle to the rail or parallel to it,
but I prefer to use the former method, and to effect this I cast the chairs with a
circular hole made to stand in the case of double headed rails at an equal distance
between the heads.
The chairs are cast with the ribs or grooves above referred to, and the circular
plug of wood or other material, if desired, is driven through the chair, and the rail
is thereby secured.
In some cases the chair may be formed with two holes side by side, and two
keys be used, as above described.
Where the key is driven in a direction parallel to the rail, I cast the chairs with
a segmental recess fitted with ribs or grooves, as above described, and thereby
obtain the desired rotatory motion to the fastening.

page_text: side against the chair, whilst on the other side a lining plate d is applied to the
two rails, and such lining plate d is forced against the rails a by means of two
keys c driven through two holes b' formed at an angle to each other in one jaw of
the chair. The lining plate d is formed with two inclined surfaces d' against
which the ends of the keys c act, and thereby prevent the longitudinal sliding of
the lining plate d.
At Figure 6 I have shown a chair a adapted to receive a longitudinal key c, and
provided with my improvements to prevent the running back of the key. In this
case the inner face of one jaw of the chair b is formed with a segmental recess
provided with projecting ribs be formed at an angle, so as to cause the key c to
rotate as it is driven into position and preventing the accidental return thereof, as
before described.
If desired in lieu of providing the socket for the key c with projecting ribs b³,
they may be formed with grooves or recesses for the same purpose.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the mode in which
I carry the same into effect, I would have it understood that what I claim is
providing railway chairs with key sockets or recesses formed with ribs or grooves
placed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the keys, substantially as herein
shown and described and for the purpose stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Nevill, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
W. HY. NEVILL. (L.S.)