IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAIL- WAYS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Parker, of Clapham and Millwall, Poplar,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAIL-
WAYS,"
Sealed the 19th October 1858, and dated the 21st April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Parker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st April 1858.
BENJAMIN PARKER, of Clapham and Millwall, Poplar, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY
OF RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to sleepers and chairs, and the mode of connecting
or fitting them together, and laying them down, for the purpose of supporting
iron rails and the superimposed load during the passage of railway trains, and
consists in forming hollow cast-iron sleepers of a parallelogram or other
suitable form in plan, with downward bevilled flanges forming the sides and
ends, the surfaces of such chair being corred with holes to reduce the weight
thereof, and enable the ballast packing to be rammed up and consolidated, or
otherwise treated for the purpose of adjusting the position of the sleeper upon
the road.
On the upper surface or face of the sleeper is formed a recess, or a suitably
formed space, by means of fillets surrounding it, for the purpose of containing
an elastic packing bed piece or spring, as herein-after mentioned. The chair
Price 8d 1

page_text: is formed with a flat bottom, for the purpose of resting upon elastic bed piece
or spring, the bearing being increased considerablylongitudinally, as compared
with the ordinary chair for wood sleepers,so that the bearing surface is suitably
enlarged by increasing the length of the chair, in the direction of the line of
road. By this increase of length,chairs so constructed are used alike for joints.
and intermediate bearings, whilst from their length the rails do not become
injured by indentation, and where it is desirable to use longer wood keys, they
can be advantageously introduced between the side of the rail and its support-
ing chair. Instead of using bolts and nuts for fastening the chair upon the
sleeper, and for securing the width of gauge, by means of tye rods similarly
attached, I cast corred wings or sockets upon the sleepers, and I cast dovetail
wing pieces upon the chairs, and by punching or otherwise forming a dovetail
hole in each end of a plain bar of iron I form a suitable tye rod, which, being
placed within the socket or other projection cast in or on the sleeper, and
thereupon placing the dovetail or other projections of the chair within those
provided in the sleeper, I prefer to use a wedge or key to hold the same down,
and maintain perfect contact between the under surface of the chair and the
elastic packing, bed piece, or spring contained within the recess formed in the
upper surface of the cast-iron chair.
Such elastic packing, bed piece, or spring being constituted or composed of
a composition similar in character to that described in a Patent granted to me,
3rd March 1858, or with variation only as is requisite for this purpose, such
elastic packing, bed piece, or spring being moulded or formed of suitable
thickness, and punctured or pierced with holes to ensure permanent elasticity,
whilst the upper side of the sleeper upon which it rests and the under side of
the chair which rests upon it may have holes cast or formed therein, by which
a further degree of elasticity may be given, and the water which would other-
wise collect would be allowed to drain therefrom. Instead of confining myself
toforming the sleepers in manner before described, I prefer in certain cases to
form the sleepers with a cored opening at right angles with the line of rail
for the purpose of receiving a tye bar, which may be flat wrought-iron ba
applied on edge or otherwise, and be fastened with cross keys or wedges, to
secure the guageand hold the chairs firmly in their places.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin Parker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
PARKER, of Clapham and Millwall, Poplar, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Benjamin Parker, Her special licence that I, the said Benjamin Parker,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Benjamin Parker, iny 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 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 PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Benjamin Parker, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should 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 Benjamin Parker, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawing:-
This Invention relates to sleepers and chairs, and the mode of connecting or
fitting them themtogether, and laying them down, forthe purpose of supporting
iron rails, and the superimposed load during the passage of railway trains;
and consists in forming hollow cast-iron sleepers of a parallelogram or other
suitable form in plan, with downward bevilled flanges forming the sides and
ends, the surfaces of such chair being cored with holes to reduce the weight
thereof, and enable the ballast packing to be rammed up and consolidated,
or otherwise treated for the purpose of adjusting the position of the sleeper
upon the road.
On the upper surface or face of the sleeper is formed a recess, or a suitably
formed space, by means of fillets surrounding it, for the purpose of containing
an elastic packing bed piece or spring herein-after mentioned. The chair

page_text: is formed with a flat bottom for the purpose ofresting upon an elastic bed piece
or spring, the bearing being increased considerably longitudinallyas compared
with the ordinary chair for wood sleepers, so that the bearing surface is
suitably enlarged by increasing the length of the chair in the direction of the
liue of road. By this increase of length, chairs so constructed are used alike
for joints and intermediate bearings, whilst from their length the rails do not
become injured by indentation, and where it is desirable to use longer wood
keys, they can be advantageously introduced between the side of the rail and
its supporting chair.
Instead of using bolts and nuts for fastening the chair upon the sleeper,
and for securing the width of guage by means of tye rods similarly attached,
I cast corred wings or sockets upon the sleepers, and I cast dovetail wing
pieces upon the chairs, and by punching, or otherwise forming a dovetail hole
in each end of a plain bar of iron, I form a suitable tye rod, which being
placed within the socket or other projection cast in or on the sleeper, and
thereupon placing the dovetail or other projections of the chair within those
provided in the sleeper, I prefer to use a wedge or key to hold the same down
and maintain perfect contact between the under surface of the chair and the
elastic packing, bed piece, or spring contained within the recess formed in the
upper surface of the cast-iron chair.
Such elastic packing, bed piece, or spring being constituted or composed of
a composition as herein-after described, or with such variation only as the cir-
cumstances, or its application, or the climate may demand, as requisite for this
purpose; such elastic packing, bed piece, or spring being moulded or formed
of suitable thickness, and punctured or pierced with holes to insure permanent
elasticity, whilst the upper side of the sleeper upon which it rests, and the
under side of the chair which rests upon it, may have holes cast or formed
therein, by which a further degree of elasticity may be given, and the water
which would otherwise collect would be allowed to drain therefrom. Instead
of confining myself to forming the sleepers in manner before described, I prefer
in certain cases to form the sleepers with a cored opening at right angles with
the line of rail, for the purpose of receiving a tye bar, which may be a flat
wrought-iron bar applied on edge or otherwise, and be fastened with cross
keys or wedges to secure the guage, and hold the chairs firmly in their places.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an iron sleeper,
tye bar, and rails; a being the sleeper, 6 the chair; e, the lug cast on each side
thereof; d, the dovetail wings or projecting studs, also cast on each side
thereof, and which pass through suitable openings in each end of the tye bar,
and are received by and held secure in the cored sockets e cast upon the

page_text: sleeper; f, the horizontal opening or cored way through the sleeper into
which the tye bar i passes; g, a wood key for securing the rail h in its place
in the chair ; i, the tye bar having two holes punched therein of a shape
suitable to receive the studs d, d, cast upon the lugs c, c, of the chair b; k, a
projecting fillet or bead round the upper surface of the sleeper, forming a
recess, parallelogram on plan, in which is placed the elastic packing, bed
piece, pad or spring.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an end view of Figs. 1 & 2.
Fig. 4 being a detached end view of the chair b; Fig. 5, being a plan of the
tye bar i, which has been punched with dovetail holes to receive the studs d,d.
In the several Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5, the several letters of reference indicate
similar parts in each Fig.
In Fig. 6, a modification of the plan exhibited by Figs. 1, &c., is shewn ;
the tye bar i being shewn as passing through openings f, f, Fig. 8, which is
a sectional plan view of Fig. 6, but round or square bolts are substituted for
the dove-tail or other studs before referred to,these bolts being passed through
the under side of tye bar i,next pass through suitable holes in lugs cast upon
the upper side of sleeper a, as shewn in Fig. 7, and after passing through the
lugs or corred wings of chair b, as shewn in Figs. 6 & 7,are secured in their
places by means of single or double nuts; or, instead of bolts and nuts, cotter
bolts may be used. Fig. 9 is a plan of the tye bar i suited for Figs. 6, 7, &
8. In Fig. 8 the sleeper a is shewn cast with holes all round for the purpose
of packing, as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, &c.; the openings f, f, are also corred
through for the purpose of receiving the tye bar i, and where it is preferred to
cast lugs above these openings for the purpose of affording an additional
bearing to the bolts holding the tye bar, the sleeper, and chair together, as
just described, and as shewn in Fig. 7, this may be done, but they are
omitted in Fig. 8, for the purpose of shewing the openings f. f. In the
recess, formed by the fillets or bead, as before described, six holes are
shewn cast in the bottom of this recess; these are intended to give increased
elasticity to the pads,and also to permit the escape ofwaterwhich may collect
in the recess k.
.
Fig. 10 is a plan of a cast-iron sleeperwith a short bearing transverse chair
fitted thereon, being held by steady pins with cotters, or by bolts and nuts
passing through the ends of the chair, the guage being secured by a flat tye
bar i applied on edge, passing through suitably corred openings of the bevilled
flanged sleeper a, and secured by split keys or cotters, the elastic bed piece
being placed in the recess k, as before mentioned.
Fig. 11 is a plan of a cast-iron sleeper similar to Fig. 10, but the chair is

page_text: in this case placed longitudinally with the rail; Fig. 12 being a section of
Fig. 11, the elastic packing, bed piece, or spring, as herein-before mentioned,
being shewn in its place in the recess k.
Fig. 13 exhibits a plan, and Fig. 14 a transverse section taken on the line
A, B, of Fig. 13, shewing a double cast-iron sleeper or double sleeper and
tye bar, in which the recess for the elastic bed piece or spring is shewn, being
intended for a short transverse bearing chair, which maybe fastened or secured
by any of the ordinary well-known methods to the sleeper a, there being a
similar recess at each end; the difficulty of accurately keeping the guage is,
by this arrangement, materially reduced. It will be seen, on reference to
Fig. 14, that the requisite amount of strength and stiffness is obtained by a
longitudinal rib on the under side of the sleeper, running from side to side of
the road, and this rib may be of any suitable depth, form, or thickness.
Fig. 15 is a plan view of a double cast-iron sleeper and tye bar combined,
similar in construction to that shewn in Fig. 13 & 14, but intended for
receiving two long bearing longitudinal chairs; the recess at each end being
formed by fillets, as before described, and wherein the elastic packing or bed
piece is placed, as in the case before referred to.
The composition which I prefer to employ for manufacturing the elastic
packing or bed pieces is as follows:-India-rubber about 10 lbs., flax or other
textile material 20 lbs., ground chalk or other similar material 48 lbs., coal
tar 40 lbs., sulphur lb.; making in all 118 lbs.; allowing for waste 6
lbs., leaving 112 lbs. These materials or their equivalents, which may be
varied to obtain different degrees of consistency or power of resistance, are
then thoroughly mixed and incorporated in powerful machinery, and when
worked to a suitable degree the composition is taken out and rolled or
moulded into the form required,and suitable size and thickness being given to
the packing piece or pad, a number of them are submitted to a hardening
process, which is effected bytheaction of high-pressure steam in a close vessel,
the vapours of sulphuric or other acid vapours being used in combination;
this hardening or curing process is continued to an extent which is regulated
by experience, and the compositions and size of the articles under treatment.
Having now described my said Invention, and illustrated the same by
the accompanying Drawing, which exhibits several modifications of iron
permanent way construction, I claim, -
First, the several modes of constructing and combining cast-iron sleepers
and chairs, with wrought-iron tye bars for the permanent way of railways, as
herein described.
Second, the construction of elastic packings or bed pieces to be inserted

page_text: between the chairs and the sleeper from perforated plates or sheets of the
elastic material or composition herein described.
Third, the combination of the iron construction of permanent way, as
herein-before described, with any perforated permanently elastic packing or
bed pieces.
Fourth, the construction of a combined or double sleeper and tye bar in one
casting, as herein described and illustrated in Figs. 13, 14, & 15.
Fifth, the mode of applying and fitting wrought-iron tye bars, as hereiu
described, in combination with cast-iron sleepers for the permanent way of
railways.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Parker, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
5 Witness,
BENJAMIN PARKER. (L.S.)
GEORGE CHURCHILL,
No. 18, Salisbury Street, Strand.