IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE PERMANENT WAY OF TRAMWAYS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Clement Dunscombe, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE
PERMANENT WAY OF TRAMWAYS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Clement Dunscombe at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th August 1881.
CLEMENT DUNSCOMBE, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN OR RELATING TO THE PERMANENT WAY OF TRAMWAYS."
My Invention relates to improvements in certain details of an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to George Frederick Deacon, of Liverpool, in
the County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, entitled "Improvements in Street
Tramways," dated the 9th July 1877, No. 2632.
I place the holding down jaws as in the aforesaid Invention, with their upper
sides rather below, flush with, or above the concrete or other foundation, but for
the sake of lightness and consequent cheapness I generally construct them of
wrought iron, of such figure that they may be pressed into form by moulds or dies.
I maintain the methods by which in the aforesaid Invention the fastenings are
made accessible from the surface, but I make them accessible from the side also by
means of side openings in the sleepers, and in this case I place the nut at the
lower end of the fastening in order that it may be conveniently reached through
the side opening, and in order that the bolt head, which is smaller than the nut,
may be the part for which an opening is drilled into the rail..
+
"
In some cases for light tramways I dispense with the holding down jaw and
employ the hanging bolt referred to in the aforesaid Specification to connect the
rail directly with the sleeper instead of with the foundation, and in combination
with such fastening I sometimes employ flanged sleepers.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Clement Dunscombe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th February 1882.
CLEMENT DUNSCOMBE, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN OR RELATING TO THE PERMANENT WAY OF TRAMWAYS."
My Invention relates to improvements in certain details of an Invention for which
Letters Patent were granted to George Frederick Deacon, of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancashire, Civil Engineer, entitled "Improvements in Tramways," dated
the 9th July 1877, No. 2632.
By this Invention, now known as the Lyver patent tramways, bolts and nuts, so
arranged as not to be liable to work loose, and by means of which the rail may be
disengaged or drawn down without disturbing any portion of the adjoining
pavement, are employed to connect the rail with the concrete foundation through
the medium of cast iron plates or washers.
The first part of my Invention relates to the material of the plates or washers, which
I prefer to call holding down jaws. I construct them of wrought iron, steel, or
other material capable of being wrought, or of being pressed or otherwise formed
into the required figure by means of moulds or dies. The holding down jaw is
thus made stronger or produced more cheaply.
The object of the second part of my Invention is to facilitate the connection of
the bolt with the jaw, which I do by allowing the latter to project above the
concrete, instead of being as hitherto below or level therewith.
In the first aforesaid Invention the fastening bolt connecting the rail with the
holding down jaw is so placed that the nut is uppermost, and by unscrewing this
nut from the surface the rail is released.
The third part of my Invention relates to this fastening bolt.
I maintain the advantages of the first aforesaid Invention as far as concerns the
facility with which the nut and bolt are disconnected from the surface, but with
the object of reducing the size of the opening in the rail through which the bolt
passes; and in order to avoid the possibility of failure to disconnect the rail in this
manner I place the nut instead of the bolt head at the lower end of the fastening,
and I form a side opening in the sleeper or chair through which access to that nut
can be obtained. The bolt head being smaller than the nut requires a smaller
opening in the body of the rail, and it is provided with grooves or notches, by
means of which it may be turned, as in the first aforesaid Invention the nut was
turned from the surface.
〃
In order to prevent the nut at the lower end of the fastening from turning when
the bolt head is turned from the surface for withdrawal, I surround it with pitch,
asphalte, or other semi-rigid material, which has the desired effect without making
the connection between the nut and the holding down bolt so rigid as to do away
with the advantages of the hanging fastening described from line 33 to line 45 on
page 3 of the Specification of the first aforesaid Invention.
The fourth part of my Invention relates to the application of the same principles
to light tramways, in which the expense of holding down jaws bedded in the
foundation is not desirable. In such cases I connect the rail directly with the
sleeper by means of similar fastenings, and in order to maintain the gauge, which
in the absence of the holding down jaws would otherwise be liable to alteration,
I fix or cast projecting flanges or ribs on the undersides of the sleepers which are
firmly embedded in the concrete foundation. In such cases the holding down bolt
may pass through a cross piece in the sleeper, and the nut may bear against the

page_text: underside thereof. The cross piece may be either cast with the sleeper or may be
formed of a separate piece of metal.
Each of the three aforesaid parts of my Invention is equally applicable to the
portions of rails known as points and crossings.
Various modifications of my Invention are shown in the accompanying
Drawings.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, the first and second parts of my Invention are embodied.
Similar parts of the different Figures are similarly lettered.
A is the holding down jaw, constructed of wrought iron, steel, or other material
capable of being wrought or of being pressed into the required figure by means of
moulds or dies, and it is embedded in the foundation H.
B is the fastening bolt, with its notched head at C, and its nut at D.
E is the sleeper, with its side openings at F, filled with asphalte or other semi-
elastic material.
In laying the tramways thus described, the sleepers, rails, fastenings, and jaws
may be connected together and placed in position upon blocks, the concrete being
then filled in around the holding down jaws.
In Figures 6 and 7 the same arrangement of bolt is shown in conjunction with
cast iron holding down jaws.
In Figures 4 and 5 the third part of my Invention is embodied. The parts are
similar to those in Figures 1, 2, and 3, except that the holding down jaw is omitted.
The nut D bears against the underside of the cross piece G, which in Figure 4 is
fixed and in Figure 5 is moveable.
J is a rib embedded in the foundation H for the purpose of maintaining the
gauge of the rails.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I claim as my improvements
in or relating to the permanent way of tramways,—
First. The holding down jaw, constructed of steel or wrought iron, substantially
as described.
Second. The holding down jaw, substantially as described, projecting above the
surface of the concrete.
Third. The arrangement, substantially as described, of the nut and bolt with the
bolt head uppermost, in such a manner that the nut can be reached from a side
opening in the sleeper while the bolt head can be turned from above.
Fourth. The arrangement by which the rail is connected directly with the
sleeper by means of similar fastenings, substantially as described, and in conjunction
therewith the projections, flanges, or ribs on the undersides of the sleepers.
In witness whereof, I, the said Clement Dunscombe, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 9th day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.