CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION OF RAILWAY CHAIRS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Davies, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF RAILWAY CHAIRS."
Sealed the 1st September 1871, and dated the 6th March 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th March 1871.
I, EDWARD DAVIES, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare my nature of my said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CHAIRS," to be as follows:
:-
The Invention is designed for the purpose of constructing railway
chairs in a manner that will make them more durable and also enable
them to maintain their grip or retention upon the rail without the
employment of wood or metal wedges.
The improvements consist in constructing the jaws of the chair in
duplicate, that is dividing the chair transversely across its center under

page_text: the rail and binding the said duplicate parts together as follows:-
A recess is formed underneath the duplicate parts of the chair at right
angles to the rail, the terminations of which are slightly deeper than
the rest. Into this recess when the duplicate parts of the chair are in
their position gripping the rail a wrought-iron plate is let, the ends of
which are turned up, so as to take into and retain the two jaws or
duplicate parts of the chair together, the whole when thus joined being
rigidly secured to the sleeper by means of vertical bolts and the ordinary
spikes. The said bolts being caused to pass through the jaws and
wrought-iron plate into the sleeper, the plate being tapped to receive
the screwed portion of the bolts. The wrought-iron plate retaining the
duplicate parts together may be dovetailed or constructed in any other
equivalent manner designed to bind the two parts together.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office:
on the 6th September 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Edward
DAVIES, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
of
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of March, in the year
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Davies, Her special license
that I, the said Edward Davies, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Davics, my exccutors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CHAIRS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, tho said Edward Davics, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said

page_text: Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said Edward Davies, 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, and accompanying Drawings, that is to
say:
-
My Invention of "Improvements in the Construction of Railway
Ohairs" has for its object the construction of railway chairs in such a
manner as to strengthen the cast-iron portion of the chair and dispense
with the use of wood or metal wedges, also to secure the rail in the
chair and prevent its liability to get loose. For this purpose the chair
is constructed with the jaws thereof formed in duplicate, that is to say,
dividing the chair transversely across its central part under the rail, and
binding the said duplicate parts or portions together by the means and
in the manner herein-after described. A recess is formed underneath
the duplicate parts or portions of the chair at right angles to the rail, the
ends of which recess are or may be slightly deeper than the rest of it.
In this recess when the duplicate parts or portions of the chair are in
position and ready to grip the rail, there is inserted a wrought-iron
plate, the ends of which are turned up so as to correspond in depth with
the ends of the recess, and to take into and hold together the two jaws
or duplicate portions of the chair, the whole when thus joined being
rigidly secured to the sleeper by means of vertical bolts and spikes,
which are caused to pass through the jaws and wrought-iron plate into
the sleeper, the said plato being tapped to receive the screwed portion
of the bolts. The wrought-iron plate for holding together the said
duplicate parts of the chair may be dovetailed or constructed in any
other equivalent manner adapted to bind the said parts together as
required.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed
to describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be per-
formed by the aid of the accompanying Drawings in which are
represented four different modes of forming the uniting parts of the
chair.

page_text: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section; Figure 2 a transverse section, and
Figure 3 a plan or horizontal view of a chair shewing one modification
of the Invention.
a and b aro the two portions of the chair required to be united and
held together, c is the recess between the bottom of the said two
portions and the sleeper d, such recess being formed in this instance
with the two ends turned up or deepened as shown; e is the wrought-
iron plate corresponding in form with and adapted to fit into the
recess c. This plate is shewn detached in clevation at Figure 4 and in
plan at Figure 5. It will be seen on reference to Figure 2 that the
plate e has parallel sides. The chair and plate e are fixed to the sleeper
by screw and plain bolts as shewn in Figure 1.
Figures 6 to 10 are corresponding views of a second modification of tho
Invention in which the recess c and wrought-iron fastening plate e arc
without turned-up ends but have the sides dovetailed vertically, and one
end horizontally, and the chair is fixed to the sleeper by means of a
circular bolt passing through the portion a and one end of the wrought-
iron plate e, and a tapered spike passing through the portion b and the
other end of the plato e.
Figures 11 to 15 are corresponding views of a third modification of the
Invention in which the recess c and the wrought-iron fastening plate e
are turned up at one end and have their sides dovetailed vertically, the
two parts of the chair being fixed to the sleeper in the same manner as
in the former case.
And Figures 16 to 20 are corresponding views of a fourth modification
of the Invention in which the recess c and the wrought-iron fastening
plate e have their sides dovetailed vertically, but parallel horizontally,
and without turned-up ends, the two parts of the chair being fixed to
the sleeper by means of rectangular tapered spikes passed through the a
said two parts respectively and the two ends of the wrought-iron
plate e.
The foregoing illustrations will serve to shew that my Invention may
bo variously modified as to the precise forms of the recess underneath
the two cast-iron parts of the chair, and the wrought-iron fastening plate a

page_text: fitting into the said recess, and also the mode of fixing the chair to the
sleeper.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that what I
5 claim as of my Invention is, the use of a wrought-iron plate in the
manner above described, for the purpose of strengthening the cast-iron
portions of the chair, and dispensing with the ordinary wedges or
keys, driven in between the rail and the jaw of the chair, thereby
more effectually securing the chair, and obviating its tendency to get
O loose by vibration.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.
15 Witness,
W. H. DAWSON,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
EDWARD DAVIES. (L.S.)