Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Jan., 1888
Specification Accepted, 24th Feb., 1888
I, ROBERT ARMSTRONG of Lingerwood House, Lasswade, in the County of Mid-
lothian, 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 :-
The improved railway chair as constructed under my invention is designed to con-
stitute both a support for the rails and means for securing them in place without the
use of wedges or similar fastenings whilst possessing the advantages of enabling the
use of wooden sleepers to be dispensed with, of being of less weight and less costly
than the ordinary forms of chairs and fastenings and of being very easily laid, lifted
and relaid.
As represented in the accompanying drawings which illustrate my invention, as
applied to a line of rails, in plan at figure 1, in cross sectional elevation at figure 2,
and in side elevations at figures 3 and 4, the improved chair is composed of a sup-
porting block A, of iron, steel or other metal of conical, cylindrical or pyramidal form
upon its under side to permit of its being turned upon its vertical axis in the earth or
ballast whilst upon its upper side which may be flat and have a bearing a for the rail,
are formed two gripping jaws or cheeks B, B¹, which are of a form adapted to fit to
and grasp between them the web and lower flange of the rail C. These jaws or cheeks
instead of being placed directly opposite each other are situated at such a distance
apart in a lateral direction as to permit of the insertion of the rail between them when
the chair is slewed or turned on its vertical axis to the position indicated by dotted
lines on the left hand side of figure 1. When the rail is inserted in place and the
chair turned back so that the jaws or cheeks B, B₁, bear against the rail, spikes or
bolts D are inserted vertically in holes E, formed for them in the chair, the heads of
the spikes or bolts bearing on the sides of the rail opposite the jaws or cheeks B, B',
and serving to prevent the chair from turning. The improved chair is also particularly
applicable for use in cases in which the ends of the rails where joined by fish plates are
supported on the chairs. In such cases as shown on the right hand side of figures 1
and 2 and in figure 4 short fish plates F, are used and are secured by bolts of passing
through them and the gripping jaws or cheeks B, B₁ at one end of each fish plate

page_text: whilst a single bolt f¹ passing through the rail at the joint serves to secure the other
ends, the fish plates not being opposite each other throughout their entire length. The
screw nuts of the fish plates when screwed up may be locked by means of the
spikes D. Tie bars G whose ends are formed with studs g entering a hole g¹ in the
centre of each chair immediately under the rail serve to keep the chairs at the required
distance apart and determine the gauge of the railway; and to permit of the chairs
being turned to lay or remove the rails without disengaging the tie bars the end of
each inner jaw or cheek B may be cut away as indicated to clear the tie bar. The
turning of the chairs for laying or withdrawing the rails may be conveniently effected
by means of rods or bars inserted into the bolt holes in the jaws or cheeks B, B¹ and
used as levers.
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 :-
A railway chair constructed as described and adapted to serve as a combined support