IMPROVEMENTS IN PERMANENT WAY FOR TRAMWAYS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Herbert John Haddan, of the Firm of Herbert and
Company, Solicitors of Patents, of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster,
Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PERMANENT WAY FOR
TRAMWAYS." A communication from abroad by Jacob Cornelis Anthony Van
Asperen of The Hague. in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Herbert John Haddan at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th August 1879.
HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the Firm of Herbert and Company, Solicitors of.
" IMPROVE-
Patents, of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer.
MENTS IN PERMANENT WAY FOR TRAMWAYS." A communication from abroad by
Jacob Cornelis Anthony Van Asperen, of The Hague, in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands.
The improvements relate to that class of tramways in which the rail is formed of
two parts, separated at the top by the groove in which the flanges of the carriage
wheels travel, and consist in the shape of the rails, the manner of keeping the rails
apart, and in securing them to the chairs, and also in the construction of the
chairs. The two parts forming a rail may be symmetrical, both being tread rails,
in which case the flanges of the carriage wheels would be placed in the centre of
their rolling surface, or one rail only may be used as a tread rail and the other as
guard rail, but in both cases the two rails (that is to say, the two parts which replace
an ordinary rail) are kept apart and secured laterally in the chair by keys or wedges
of oak or other suitable material, preferably one in each chair, reaching down to or
near the base of the rails, where the latter may or may not rest upon a wooden or
other compressible base plate, supported either directly by a sleeper or by the base
of the chair: The latter forms a channel for the rails, reaching with its sides up
near the top of the rails, and fitting, if desired, into the lateral grooves of the latter,
in order to afford a support for the rail heads. The chair is made of one or two
pieces of metal, preferably wrought iron, and secured to the sleeper in any ordinary
manner. To prevent any vertical displacement of the key or wedge between the
rails its two extremeties may reach down below the base of the rails where they
may be traversed by an iron nail, and the remaining interstices between the rails
filled with sand, leaving only a groove for the wheel flanges.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Herbert John Haddan in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th February 1880.
"IMPROVE-
HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the Firm of Herbert and Company, Solicitors of
Patents, of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer.
MENTS IN PERMANENT WAY FOR TRAMWAYS." A communication from abroad by
Jacob Cornelis Anthony Van Asperen, of The Hague, in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands.
The improvements relate to that class of tramways in which the rail is formed of
two parts, separated at the top by the groove in which the flanges of the carriage
wheels travel, and consist in the shape of the rails, the manner of keeping the rails
apart and of securing them to the chairs, and also in the construction of the chairs.
The two parts forming a rail may be symmetrical, both being tread rails, in which
case the flanges of the carriage wheels would be placed in the centre of their rolling
surface, or one rail only may be used as a tread rail and the other as guard rail, but
in both cases the two rails (that is to say, the two parts which replace an ordinary
rail) are kept apart and secured laterally in the chairs by keys or wedges of oak or
other suitable material, preferably one in each chair, reaching down to or near the
base of the rails, where they may or may not rest upon a wooden or other com-
pressible base plate, supported either directly by a sleeper or by the base of the
chair. The latter forins a channel for the rails, reaching with its sides up near the
top of the rails, and fitting, if desired, into the lateral grooves of the latter, in order
to afford a support for the rail beads. The chair is made of one or two pieces of
metal, preferably wrought iron, and secured to the sleeper in any ordinary manner.
To prevent any vertical displacement of the key or wedge between the rails its two
extremities may reach down below the base of the rails, where they may be traversed
by an iron nail or cottar, and the remaining interstices between the rails may be
filled with sand, leaving only a groove for the wheel flanges.
The accompanying Drawings show an example of permanent way constructed
with unsymmetrical rails, viz., a tread rail and a guard rail. Fig. 1 is a plan, Fig. 2
a side elevation, Fig. 3 a cross section, and Fig. 4 an end elevation of a chair with
the rails in it, while Figs. 5 to 9 are detail views.
A is the base plate, and B the body of the chair, C the tread rail, D the guard
rail, E and F wedges between the rails, f keys for securing the wedges, and a bolt
or screw holes for fastening the chair on the sleeper.
In witness whereof, I, the said Herbert John Haddan, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty fourth day of February, A.D. 1880.
TI T
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