IMPROVED MEANS OF ATTACHING TOP PLATES OR BARS TO RAILWAY RAILS
Year: 1870

page_text: ·
LETTERS PATENT to William Nelson Hutchinson, of Wellesbourne,
near Bideford, in the County of Devon, Lieutenant-General in Her
Majesty's Army, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF ATTACHING
TOP PLATES OR BARS TO RAILWAY RAILS."
Sealed the 17th March 1871, and dated the 6th December 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Nelson Hutchin-
son at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 6th December 1870.
'
I, WILLIAM NELSON HUTCHINSON, of Wellesbourne, near Bideford,
.in the County of Devon, Lieutenant-General in Her Majesty's Army,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “IMPROVED
MEANS OF ATTACHING TOP PLATES OR BARS TO RAILWAY RAILS,” to be as
follows:-
E
"
This Invention has for object the attaching of top plates or bars of
steel or other metal to railway rails both of existing and future lines
in a more economical and secure manner than by the modes already
adopted.
.

page_text: In order to carry out my Invention I attach plates (flat or rounded)
of steel or other metal on the upper part of existing or future lines of
railway whether much or little injured by wear. Each plate is the
length of a rail and, say, about half an inch thick. It is a little wider
than the rail, and has thin lips or rims springing from both the edges
of one side of the plate. The lips are, say, one and a half inches deep,
and stand nearly at right angles to the plate, but with a curve inwards.
The curved lips embrace the upper part of the ordinary double T rail.
When the plate is in position the curved lips keep it in position by
their grasp of the rail.
"
To enable the plates to be placed on the rail the lower parts of the lips.
are temporarily forced sufficiently apart by clamps (constructed for such
purpose), which are withdrawn when the plate is on the rail, or by other
means
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,. 1
filed by the said William Nelson. Hutchinson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 6th June 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NELSON HUTCHINSON, of Wellesbourne, near Bideford, in the County of
Devon, Lieutenant-General in Her Majesty's Army, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Nelson Hutchinson, Her 2
special licence that I, the said William Nelson Hutchinson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Nelson
Hutchinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might g
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVED MEANS OF ATTACHING TOP PLATES OR BARS TO RAILWAY
RAILS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Nelson Hutchinson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument a
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should

page_text: particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Nelson Hutchinson, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :—
This Invention has for object the attaching of top plates or bars of
steel or other metal to railway rails, both of existing and future lines,
in a more economical and secure manner than by the modes already
adopted.
In order to carry out my Invention I attach plates (flat or rounded)
of steel or other metal on the upper part of existing or future lines of
railway whether much or little injured by wear. Each plate is the
length of a rail, and, say, about half an inch thick. It is a little wider
than the rail, and has thin lips or rims springing from both the edges of
one side of the plate. The lips are, say, one and a half inches deep,
and stand nearly at right angles to the plate, but with a curve inwards.
The curved lips embrace the upper part of the ordinary double Trail.
When the plate is in position the curved lips keep it in position by their
grasp
of the rail.
To enable the plates to be placed on the rail the lower parts of the
lips are temporarily forced sufficiently apart by clamps (constructed for
such purpose), which are withdrawn when the plate is on the rail, or by
other means.
There are many ways of carrying my Invention into effect, and the
accompanying Drawings represent the best way with which I am
acquainted at the present time, but I do not limit myself to the precise
arrangement therein shown, nor to the use of the plates or bars or
clamps.
Figure 1 is a section of a plate or bar rolled or otherwise formed into
proper shape with the lips or rims a, a, springing from both the edges
of one side in the manner before referred to. The finished plate or bar
as it leaves the rolls is of the form shown by the full lines, the dotted

page_text: lines indicating the distance the lips are expanded when on the rail,
thus showing the elastic grip of the lips. The top face of the plate or
bar I prefer to make hollow or concave in the direction of its length,
so that the weight of passing trains upon them presses more upon the
higher edges or faces than on the bottom of the hollow, and thus the
lips are caused to grip under the head of the rail with greater force than
they would do if the tread was borne by the whole surface. The hollow
is very slight, and the plate or bar soon becomes worn level, but by the
time this can happen the plate will have fitted itself to the rail so to
speak in a firm and secure manner.
This plate or bar is composed entirely of steel, or of a compound
of steel and other metal, but I have found that steel is the best
for facilities of manufacture with the proper degree of hardness and
flexibility or temper to enable the lips to be sprung open without
danger of breakage.
The plate or bar may have the lips rolled with tapered faces in any
suitable manner for giving the necessary springy and retaining action
to effect the grip, and it may have thickened edges if found advisable,
as shown in Figure 2; the full lines in this Figure also show the actual
bend of the lips in their normal condition, while the dotted lines indicate 2
the extent to which they are expanded when on the rail, the difference
between them representing the amount of grip obtained.
It will be understood that the plates or bars when in position occupy
a very small portion of the insides of the rails, and this is not in the
least felt by the wheels of the train bearing with unnecessary force 2
against the inner edges. In fact as the gauge is at present arranged
there is ample room for double the thickness of metal I propose to use
without the flanges of the wheels touching with much greater force than
they do the edges of the rails at the present time. Thus the application
of my Patent top plate or bar would not interfere with the regular gauge §
or of the tread of the wheels. One of the advantages is that heavily
worked lines, where a constant travelling of trains is kept up, can be
maintained in perfect working order, while the sleepers and chairs remain
sound, because by the use of the clamps before spoken of the plates can
be attached on in a very short space of time, and without in any way :
impeding the traffic.
The clamp before spoken of is of the form shown in Figure 3, which
represents it with the jaws c. c. in the position they occupy when first

page_text: set to act upon the lips or ribs of one of the top plates which has to be .
fitted on a rail.
The legs of the clamp find an abutment against a plate & temporarily
placed between them and on the top plate, which forms the fulcrum
when the screwe is turned to bring the long arms f, f, together by
rotating the lever handle g in a similar manner to the screw lever of a
carriage coupling. The lower ends of the clamp legs have grip pieces h, h,
for passing under the edges of the lips to force them apart, as shown in.
the view Figure 4, which indicates a top plate in position for passing
over the rail head i. The outer faces of the clamp legs carry nuts j, j,
which adjust themselves to whatever angle they may be in:
I have stated that the lips are made to extend from end to end of
the top plate, and in order to make it clear how I propose to act
upon the full length of the lips to pass them over the rails, I have
in Figure 5 shown the clamp near the end, and with a runner or
progressive expander in advance of it for pressing outwards the lips
and forcing the plate down upon the rail at the same time. This pro-
gressive expander has two claws or jaws 1, 1, with rollers m, m, on their
ends, as seen in Figure 6, to run against the inner edges of the lips a, a.
The central part of the two legs n, n, are connected by a pin o, and I
place a roller or wheel p on this pin to bear upon and run in the hollow
or concave of the top plate. The jaws 1, 2, are prevented from closing
under the pressure of the lips by the pin q at the top of the legs n, n, as
shown. There are straps or bars at the outside of the jaws 1, 2, leading
to a guider, Figures 7 and 8, to keep the expander parallel with the
top plate and its lips, and also to serve for attaching a chain a forming
part of a screw swivel t, a fulcrum being made by a brace or a series of
clips u, u, with another chain fastened to them. These clips, as shown
separately in Figures 9 and 10, are bolted firmly to the top plate to
resist the strain put upon the apparatus.
If the top plates are being attached to any part of a line of rail
excepting a terminus, I propose fitting a permanent incline to the first
plate laid down to enable the carriage wheels to rise up and ride over
the end without injuring it, one on the right rail, one on the opposite
side. These end pieces are wedge shaped or inclined on their upper
faces, as shown in Figure 11, and I secure them in place by screws
which work through the lip w, Figure 12, and bear against the
underneath part of the rail head; or I fit a piece of wood or metal

page_text: between the lip and the rail web for the screw to take into, as seen in
Figure 13.
These two plans may be used at will, but I prefer to use the one
without the piece of wood or metal at the end still being plated when-
over a train is expected, the other plan with the wood or metal on the
more permanently fixed gradient to lead the wheels on or off the plated
part of the line. The inside rim of the top plates of any length could
be thus thickened by a strip of metal or wood, and so be easily put on
any length of rail.
This plan of plating existing or future rails of railways can be 1
adopted entirely if found advisable, and in that case the lips or. the
portions of the rib on one side may be continuous or only at intervals,
that is, at the parts where the screw pins or fasteners are passed through
them. If the wood or metal backing be used I prefer to fit a strip or
piece of sheet metal under the bottom edge to hold itself in place, and 1
after the screw is inserted sufficiently I turn down the top edge of the
metal plate upon 'the head of the screw, as seen in Figure 13, to prevent
the screw working loose from the vibration of passing trains.
I do not in all cases force the top plate on the rail by an expander in
the manner first explained, as under certain conditions I can draw it on 2
over one end of the head and up to the other end, and this I accomplish
by first driving or forcing a wedge of suitable form into the end of the
top plate to a fixed distance, and I abut the thick end of the wedge
which is stepped against the end of the rail, the expansion given being
sufficient to permit of the end of the plate taking over the rail. The top 2
plate is then shipped into a cradle of the form shown in Figure 14, the
ends of it abutting against the inside faces of the end plates x, x, to
hold it in a rigid manner. This cradle with the top plate is then hauled
upon by a chain or tackle to pull the two over the rail the required
distance, when the wedge can be removed by a hook taking into the hole 3
in its thin end in any suitable manner. The top plate is prevented
buckling or getting out of shape by rods y, y, which extend from one
plate to the other, and by intermediate plates 2, 5.
"
I do not in all cases use a solid wedge, as shown in Figure 15, as I
can force the lips apart sufficiently for the purpose by a key, the head 3
of which is provided with rollers, as seen in the detached views, Figures
16, 17, and 18. The head being inserted into the lips sidewise, and then
turned a quarter circle to bring the broadest portion against the lips to

page_text: expand them, the rollers serve to reduce friction and to permit of the
turning being easily performed.
To retain the contiguos ends of contiguous rails firmly in position
the ends ought to be covered by the same top plate.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
Firstly. The employment of top plates for railway rails when made.
with lips or rims in the manner and for the purposes described.
Secondly. The fitting of top plates or bars on the heads of railway
rails in the manner and for the purposes described.
Thirdly. The employment of clamps and other mechanism or apparatus
for fitting such top plates or bars upon or to railway rails, substantially
as described and shewn.
And, fourthly. I claim the modification herein-before referred to when.
employed in the manner and for the purposes set forth and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Nelson Hutchinson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
W. N. HUTCHINSON, (L.s.)
Lieut.-General.