IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS AND SWITCHES, IN TRENAILS OR FASTENINGS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING RAILWAY SLEEPERS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, CHARLES
Fox, late of Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, but now of New Street, Spring
Gardens, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, and JOHN COOPE HADDAN, of
No. 11, Upper Woburn Place, in the same County, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Sixth day of May, in the tenth
year of Her reign, did give and grant unto us, the said Charles Fox and
John Coope Haddan, our exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Charles Fox and
John Coope Haddan, our exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Charles Fox and John Coope Haddan, our exors, adññors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter, during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS
AND SWITCHES, IN TRENAILS OR FASTENINGS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING
RAILWAY SLEEPERS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
requiring that we, the said Charles Fox and John Coope Haddan, shall
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in

page_text: what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, and shall cause
the same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery,
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as, reference being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Charles Fox and John Coope Haddan, do hereby declare that the nature of
our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
particularly described and ascertained in and by this present Specification or
Instrument in writing, under the hands and seals of us, or under the hand and
seal of one of us, reference being had to the several Drawings hereunto
annexed or accompanying this our Specification (that is to say) :-
Our said Invention consists,-
Firstly, of an improvement or improvements in the construction of railway
chairs.
Secondly, of an improvement or improvements in the construction of railway
switches.
Thirdly, of an improvement or improvements in the manufacture of trenails
or fastenings for railway chairs and other purposes.
Fourthly, an improvement or improvements in the preparation of railway
sleepers.
The first part of our Invention, being an improvement or improvements in
the construction of railway chairs, consists in making the smaller ends of the
taper holes for the reception of trenails for fastening them upon the sleepers,
with the extremities or edges thereof rounded, and in making the railway
chairs with studs on the under surface, to fit into corresponding holes to be
made in the sleepers upon which they are to be placed. Our said improvements
in the construction of railway chairs are shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5,
of the said Drawings hereunto annexed. Figure 1 is a plan or bird's-eye view
of a joint railway chair. Figure 2, a longitudinal and vertical section of the same
chair taken through the line Z, Z, Figure 1. Figure 3 is a partial end view
and partial transverse vertical section of the same chair, as shewn in Figures 1
and 2. Figure 4 is an end view of a single chair, as fixed by a trenail upon
a sleeper. Figure 5 is a partial sectional view of moulding boxes, shewing a
mode of taking an impression of the pattern of one of our chairs in sand for
the purpose of casting. The intention of this view being to shew the position
of the joint or joining between the upper and lower of the two boxes, the joint
being so placed that the round edges and studs above referred to may be

page_text: formed in casting the chair. In all of these Figures corresponding or similar
parts are marked with similar letters or characters of reference. A is the chair.
B, the rail; C, the wedge or key for fastening the rail in the chair; D, the
sleeper; E, the trenail for fastening or fixing the chair upon the sleeper.
The edges or extremities of the lower or smaller ends of the round taper
holes in the chair through which the trenails pass are rounded off instead of
being sharp or brought to an edge, and this roundness may either be produced
by casting the holes so rounded, or by afterwards rounding them by appro-
priate tools. The object of rounding the edges of these orifices is to prevent
injury to the trenails from the edges or sides of the holes. Upon the under
surface of our chair we also make a stud or projection F, shewn in Figures 2,
8, and 4, which we cast upon the chair. This stud is intended to fit into a
corresponding hole formed on the sleeper upon which it is to rest, and it
will be found advantageous to have the holes made in the sleepers by some
machine, which will ensure the holes made for the stud in every sleeper being
placed the same distance apart, so as the better to ensure a greater uniformity
in the guage of the railway. The object of these studs is to prevent or dimi-
nish the lateral movement of the chairs, lessen the strain upon 'the trenails,
and preserve the position of the chairs upon the sleepers. In Figure 5 G, G,
is a portion of the sand contained in the upper moulding box. H, H, is
the sand contained in the lower moulding box. I is the joint or joining where
the surfaces of the moulded sand fit one upon the other, and where they separate
from each other upon withdrawing the mould or pattern after its image has
been impressed in the sand.
Having now described our improvements in the construction of railway chairs,
we hereby delare that we claim, as of this first part of our Invention, as well
the making of railway chairs with the edges of the trenails rounded, as also
with studs on their lower surfaces, in manner herein-before described.
The second part of our Invention, being an improvement or improvements
in the construction of railway switches, consists of a mode or modes of con-
structing the moveable tongue rail or rails of a railway switch, so that the same
shall move or act vertically instead of horizontally. We have in Figures
6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, of the said Drawings shewn the mode of constructing
our improved switch. Figure 6 is a plan of a switch made according to this
part of our Invention, and having two moveable tongue rails moving vertically.
Figure 7 is a vertical section of a part of our switch, shewing a mode of con-
structing the machinery connected with a tongue rail, and which is intended to
be used for the purpose of raising and lowering it. The black lines in this
Figure shew the position of this part of our switch when the wedges have been

page_text: propelled forwards, so as to raise the tongue rail above it, and the red lines
shewing the position when the wedges have been withdrawn, so as to
permit the tongue rail to descend and be out of action. Figure 8 is a vertical
section of a part of a similar switch, when made with two tongue rails,
this portion of the switch being intended to be placed at the side of the line of
of railway opposite to that portion shewn in Figure 7, and therefore having its
wedges reversed, as shewn in the Figure. Figure 9 is a transverse section of
a portion of one switch as taken through the dotted line y, z, in Figure 6,
shewing the mode of constructing chairs for the purposes of our switch, and
the manner in which the ordinary rails, moveable tongue rails, and bars are
held within it. Figures 10 and 11 are sections of the two sides of our double
switch shewn in Figure 6, the tongue rail C on one side being shewn to
be raised so as to be in action, and the tongue rail C on the other, side
being shewn to be lowered so as to be thrown out of action. A, A,
Figure 6, represents a portion of a main line of railway at a place where
it forms a junction with the rails B, B, of a siding. The rails and sleepers
are of the ordinary construction, and the chairs are also of a construction
generally used, except that where they receive our tongue rails, and at
those places they only vary in having a portion of their seats made with
inclined planes, so as to receive and support the wedges by means of
which the moveable tongue rail or rails are raised or lowered. C, C, and
C, C, are the two moveable tongue rails of the switch, each of which is made
to fit into the space between the rail of the main line and a rail of the siding,
which it may be necessary to have filled or left vacant from time to time, for
the purpose of causing carriages to pass from one line of rails to another.
Each of these tongue rails is held in its proper position by the rails and the
bar i, i, i, within the jaws of the chain within which it is placed, and it fits
loosely enough into its place to permit it to be raised and lowered with facility,
Beneath each of the tongue rails is placed a bar of iron c, c, c, shewn in
Figures 7 and 8, to the under side of which are rivetted several wedges d, d, d,
and which wedges are placed in such a position that when put in motion they
may act upon the seats of each of the chairs within which the bar of iron and
tongue rail are placed, and raise the tongue rail so as to complete the junction
between one line of rail and another. The bar of iron c, c, c, which connects
the wedges together, is made to slide longitudinally within the chairs, and
either backwards or forwards, a sufficient distance for the purpose of causing
the wedges to act and to raise the tongue rail in manner just mentioned, or
for the purpose of withdrawing the wedges and allowing the tongue rail to
descend and be thrown out of action. One of the wedges attached to the

page_text: bar c, c, c, is connected to a short arm 9 by means of a connecting rod E,
and its pivots or pins e and e. The arm g is keyed or otherwise securely
fixed upon the iron shaft G, G, which extends across the railway beneath the
rails. One end of the lever F is fixed to the shaft G, G, which is mounted
in suitable bearings, so that it may be turned by the lever. The lever Fis
furnished with a short arm ƒ (as shewn in dotted lines in Figures 7 and 8),
placed at a right angle, or nearly so, with the lever at the end of it, which
is fixed to the shaft. At the end of the arm f is a pivot or pin, to which
is attached a rod, by means of which weights are suspended to the arm f, in a
box made for the purpose, so as to keep the lever in the position which it
is intended to occupy when the wedges have raised the tongue rail, or one of
the tongue rails (if the switch be furnished with two), so as to bring it into
action. If the switch is furnished with only one moveable tongue rail, the
machinery should be so arranged that the action of the weight will keep the
tongue rail down or up, according to the position in which it will be most
frequently used; and if the switch is furnished with two moveable tongue
rails, the machinery should be so arranged that the action of the weight will
keep that tongue rail elevated which is intended to be most frequently
used or kept in action. The seats of the chairs are made sufficiently deep
to allow the tongue rail which is to be placed within it to descend so far as to
be out of the reach of the flanges of the carriage wheels passing along the railway,
and a descent of an inch and a half will generally be sufficient. The rails which
are placed within any of the chairs, which has also a tongue rail placed within
it, must be secured to the sides or jaws of such chairs by screw bolts (as shewn in
Figure 9), or by some other effectual means, so as to hold the rails securely in their
proper positions, and to prevent them from impeding the motion of the tongue
rail. Along that side of the tongue rail which is next the middle of the line
of railway is placed an iron bar or rail i, i, i, the upper surface of which is to
be placed on a level with the top of the tongue rail, when it has been lowered
so as to be thrown out of action. This bar or rail is to be held securely within
the chairs, as shewn in Figure 6. When a switch is furnished with two
tongue rails, such as above described, the iron shaft G, G, is furnished with
two short arms, such as shewn at g, Figure 7, one being connected with the
iron connecting bar c, c, c, at the side of the line of railway, and the other
arm with a similar bar at the other side, and the wedges fixed upon the con-
necting bar at one side are fixed upon the bar with their points in a direction
opposite to the direction of the points of the wedges on the other side, and
the inclined planes within the seats of the chairs are also placed in opposite
directions, and the wedges and apparatus connected therewith are arranged in

page_text: such a manner that when the tongue rail on one side of the line of rails shall
be raised by the action of the wedges underneath it, the wedges under the
tongue rail on the other side of the line of rails shall be drawn back so as to
allow the tongue rail above them to descend, and so be out of action. A
switch arranged in this way according to my Invention, whether with one or
two tongue rails, may, by allowing the weight to act and draw the lever into
the position shewn by the black lines in Figure 7, cause the switch to act
in one direction, and, by drawing the lever into the position shewn by the red
lines in Figure 7, cause the switch to act in the other direction.
Having now described our mode of constructing railway switches, we
hereby declare that we claim as this second part of our Invention the mode of
constructing railway switches with a tongue rail or tongue rails, made to move
up or down so as to be brought into or thrown out action, in manner herein-
before described.
The third part of our Invention, being an improvement or improvements in
the manufacture of trenails or fastenings, consists in forming such trenails or
fastenings by cutting or shaving pieces of wood into the required shapes of
the trenails by means of self-acting machinery, instead of by the ordinary lathe
and gouges or chisels which are moved and held by the workman. In
Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, of the said Drawings we have shewn
two descriptions of machinery which we use for this purpose. Figure 12 is a
side elevation, Figure 18 is a plan, and Figure 14 a transverse vertical
section of one of the said machines; and in these three Figures similar parts
are marked and referred to by means of similar letters or characters. A is a
slide, constructed in a similar manner to the slide rest of a lathe. B is the
carriage or rest moving thereon. C is a screw, by turning which, sliding
motion is given to the rest, but this motion may be communicated by a lever
or other convenient means. D is a second carriage sliding in a groove upon
the carriage B at right angles to the motion of the slide A. The portion D*
of this carriage projects downwards lower than the other portions, and is
furnished with a pin E taking into or passing through a slot in the guide
piece F, by means of which the positions of the cutters or tools when they are
presented to the work are regulated. And as the carriage B is moved along
the rest, by the action of the screw C, the pin moving along in the slot will
govern the motion of the carriage B and the tools fixed upon it, and cause
them to cut or shave the wood in the manner required to produce a trenail of
the intended shape. The slot shewn in Figure 18 is cut in the form which
is required to produce such a trenail, as shewn upon an enlarged scale in
Figure 15, but the form of the slot must of course be varied in a suitable

page_text: manner whenever a different form of trenail is intended to be made. Instead
of making the guide piece with a slot and with a pin working in it for the
purpose of governing the tools in manner before mentioned, the guide piece may
be made with a projecting rib or ruler taking into an opening in the projecting
part D of the carriage D, the facial outline of the rib or ruler being such
as to give the required form to the trenail, in a manner similar to that shewn
in Figure 17 of the machine herein-after described. For the purpose of
making trenails, and at the same time finishing them off more smoothly, we
use simultaneously two tools, one for roughly cutting down the wood and the
other for smoothing and finishing off the work, as shewn in Figure 13.
H is a small wheel or disc, having a helical groove or channel formed on its
edge, and into which a small stud on the pin I fits, so that by turning the
handle H of the wheel H the said pin may be caused to slide forward, and
the centre of it enter a piece of wood intended to be made into a trenail, and
assist in holding it in a proper position whilst it is turned round so as to be
shaved down into a trenail by the machine. By reversing this movement of
the wheel H the pin I will be withdrawn, so as to allow the trenail when
made to be released from the machine. The machine which has just been
described, it will be observed, will not operate so as to make trenails with
rounded heads or with points, this machine being in fact chiefly applicable
for cutting or shaving down the sides of the pieces of wood manufactured
into trenails where the ends are intended to be left square. In Figures
16, 17, and 18, we have shewn another description of machine which will not
only operate upon the sides of the pieces of wood to be manufactured into
trenails but also upon their ends, so as to make them with heads and points
of any desired forms. Figure 16 is a front elevation; Figure 17, a plan;
and Figure 18, a vertical section through the line a, b, of Figure 16. The
same letters are used for marking and referring to similar parts in each of
these Figures. A, A, is the frame or standards of the machine. B, B¹, are
the headstocks. C, the mandril, and e the pulley. The two heads and the
body of the machine are cast in one, but the mandril C is moved to and fro
in the headstock by a lever d, which is clearly seen in Figures 17 and 18.
D is the back centre of the machine, which is adjustable by screw nuts, but
is otherwise immoveable. e, e, are rods which pass through holes in the two
headstocks, and move freely backwards and forwards in an horizontal direction
when acted upon by the angular levers f.ff. At the inner ends of each
of the two sets of rods e, e, there are guides or centreing cups or plates E for
the purpose of readily centreing rough pieces of wood to be converted into
trenails by the action of the machine. It will be seen by the Drawing that

page_text: the angular levers f,f,f³, turn upon fulcra at g. On the outer end of the
levers f¹ there are heavy weights h, h, which tend to depress the levers, and
by means of the upright levers f draw back the rods e, e, and the centreing
cups or plates E close to the headstocks. The longer arms of the levers ƒ³
are connected by chains i with a treddle I. On pressing down this treddle
the weights h, h, are counterbalanced, and the levers f cause the centreing
cups or plates E to move towards each other, On releasing the treddle the
weights h, h, return to their original position and draw back the centreing
plate E. On the end of the mandril C there is a three-pronged chuck k for
holding the trenail to be turned. L is a slide similar to the slide A already 1
described, and shewn in Figures 12 and 13, but in this case the motions of
the tools are communicated by a lever instead of a screw, and are governed by
means of a guide rib or ruler instead of a slot and pin, as before mentioned.
On the further side of the headstock B₁ (as clearly shewn in the plan
Figure 17) there is an arm or lever N turning in a fulcrum at n. This arm
carries a tool for cutting and finishing off the crown of the trenail, and is
brought into operation by the projecting guide m appended to the slide. On
bringing the slide to the other end of the trenail, the projecting guide
impinges against an antifriction roller on the under side of the lever N, and
forces it inward, which brings the chisel into contact with the crown end of s
the treenail and cuts it to the required form, as shewn by dotted lines in
Figure 15. The arm N and tool are at other times kept back out of action
by a spring. In using this machine (motion being given to the pulley c by a
strap or band in the usual manner), the workman takes the lever d in his
left hand, moving the mandril C back as far as it will go; he then presses
down the treddle I with his foot, which brings the centreing cups or plates E
and E towards each other; taking the piece of wood to be turned in his
right hand, he holds it up against and between the centreing plates, at the
same time bringing up the mandril with his left hand so as to drive the
centres into the wood; the workman then taking his right hand from the
wood which is suspended between the centres, and his foot from off the treddle,
the weights h, h, draw back the levers f, f, and the centreing cups or plates
E and E then recede from each other; he then forces the mandril up tight,
driving the chuck k into the wood to be turned, and keeping it there with his
left hand resting on the handle; with his right hand he moves the slide
carrying the tools through its whole range from right to left and back again,
which causes the tools governed by the rib or ruler to give the required form
to the trenail, including its point, as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 15.
Placing his right hand slightly round the newly-turned trenail, he withdraws

page_text: the mandril C, when the finished trenail falls from between the centres into
his hand.
Having now described our improvements in the manufacture of trenails or
fastenings, we hereby declare that we claim, as of this third part of our Inven-
tion, the machinery herein-before described, for the purpose of cutting, shaving,
and forming pieces of wood into trenails or fastenings of the required shapes,
in manner herein-before described.
The fourth part of our Invention, being an improvement or improvements
in the preparation of railway sleepers, consists of improved machinery for
preparing such sleepers, such machinery having revolving cutters, and the
sleepers when being prepared passing over the top of the machinery with
their faces downwards. Several varieties of our improved machinery for
preparing sleepers are shewn in the said Drawing accompanying this Specifi-
cation. One variety of such machinery is shewn in Figures 19, 20, 21,
and 22 of the said Drawing. Figure 19 is a side elevation of a machine
having portions of the framework and casing represented as removed or
broken away, in order to expose to view portions of the machinery which
would otherwise be hidden, and shewing a piece of wood placed upon the top
of the machinery, for the purpose of being prepared as a sleeper. Figure 20
is a plan view of the same machinery and piece of wood, the machine having
part of the top of the covering plate, hereafter referred to, removed for the
purpose of shewing, the interior parts of it. Figure 21 is an end elevation,
and Figure 22 a transverse vertical section taken through the line z, z, in
Figure 19. All these four several Figures are drawn to a scale of an inch
and a half to a foot, and have similar parts marked with similar letters of
reference. A is the framework, which is made of cast iron, and bolted
together, as shewn in the Figures. B is the top covering plate, which prevents
the chips and dust formed by the cutters from impeding the operations of the
machine. C, C, are similar plates covering in the sides of the machine for
the same purpose. D is the driving shaft, mounted in plummer blocks or
bearings E, E. F, F, are a pair of live and dead pullies, mounted upon the
driving shaft D. G, a bevil wheel, fixed upon the end of this shaft, and gearing
into another bevil wheel H, upon the vertical shaft I. The shaft I is supported
at its lower end in a "step" A*, and is held at its upper end in a plummer
block or bearing I* on the cross portion A of the framework. K and L
are two large drums fixed on the shaft I, and over these pullies bands M. and M
pass, and communicate a rapid motion to the shafts N and O, by means of
the smaller pullies K* and L* fixed upon these shafts respectively. These
shafts N and O are likewise mounted at their lower ends in suitable steps

page_text: (one only of which, videlicet, K³, is shewn in Figure 22), and they are also
supported at their.upper ends in the plummer blocks or bearings K³ and L³.
N✶ and O✶ are cutter blocks, furnished with cutters, as shewn in the
Drawings, and these cutters as they rapidly revolve with the shafts N and O,
upon which they are respectively fixed, cut, or chip away small portions from
the face of the intended wooden sleeper, which is brought against the said
cutters in manner following:-P, P, are "V slides," bolted to the framework,
and lying transversely thereon. Q is a table or carriage, which traverses
horizontally on these slides, having grooves on its under surface fitting upon
those slides. The sleeper to be operated upon is to be placed on this table
or carriage, in the position represented at R, being firmly held thereon between
the jaws Q, Q*, on one side, and the short end of the lever S on the other
side. S is a small stud or tooth upon the under surface of this lever, and
when the lever is made to press forcibly against the sleeper R, this stud
or tooth is to be inserted into one of the notches in the semicircular bow or
rack Qattached to the table or carriage Q, and so as to maintain the pressure
on the sleeper, and hold it firmly during the operations of the machine. The
parts Q, Q*, Q, R, S, S*, thus become one firm mass traversing upon the
"V slides " P, P.
Another variety of our said machinery for preparing railway sleepers is
shewn in Figures 23, 24, and 25 of the said Drawings, upon a scale of about
an inch and a half to a foot. Figure 23 is a front or side elevation; Figure 24
is a transverse vertical section, taken through the line Z, Z, Figure 23;
Figure 25 is also a transverse section of the machine, shewn as if taken
through the dotted line Y, Y, in Figure 23. In each of these three Figures:
similar parts are marked with similars letters of reference. A is the upper
portion of the framework or table of the machine, and which may be
suitably supported at any convenient height; B is the bed plate; C, C, are
standards or bearings for the driving shaft D, which is furnished with a pair
of live and dead pullies E and E; F, F, are two cutter blocks or cutters,
which form the seats for the chairs upon the sleepers; G, G, are two " "V
slides," firmly fixed upon the bed plate B, and lying transversely thereon; H
is a table or carriage, which traverses horizontally on these sides, the table
having grooves on its under surface fitting upon those slides. The sleeper is
to be placed on this table or carriage, in the position represented at I, with s
the face required to be operated upon placed downwards. In this position it
is to be firmly held between the jaws H*, H*, on the one side, and the short
end of the lever K on the other side. The parts marked H, H, I, K, thus
become one firm mass, which may be readily caused to traverse on the "V

page_text: slides" G and G. In using either this machine or our other machine for
preparing sleepers herein-before described, the sleeper is first to be fixed on
the table or carriage (Q or H), as above described, and represented in the
Drawings. The table or carriage with its load is then to be moved gradually
forward upon the slides P, P, or G, G,) so that the sleeper may be operated
upon by the revolving cutter blocks or cutters N* and O* or F and F, and
this must be done carefully, so that the sleeper may not be brought too
rapidly or violently against the said cutter blocks or cutters, lest they should
sustain injury from such rapid motion. A portion of the wood will thus be
cut out of each end of the sleeper, by the action of the cutter blocks or
cutters, and spaces or seats with shoulders will thus be formed upon the
sleepers for the reception of chairs or rails.
A further variety of our said machinery for preparing railway sleepers is
shewn in Figures 26 & 27 of the said Drawings, upon a scale of about an
inch and a half to a foot. Figure 26 is a front or side elevation of this
machine. Figure 27 is a transverse vertical section of the same, shewn as if
taken through the line Z, Z, in Figure 26. And similar parts of these
Figures are marked with similar letters of reference. A is the bed plate of
the machine; B is a standard or framing fixed thereto; C and C are two
plates screwed to the said standard, on the opposite ends of the same side
thereof, and forming therewith a groove or recess for the edges of the vertical
portion D of the bracket D, E, to slide in vertically; D*, D*, are two lugs
formed on the bottom of the vertical portion D, whereby the weight of the
bracket is supported upon the ends F, F, of the levers F, G, H, and F, G, H.
G and G are the fulcra of these levers; I is a treddle board fixed to the
ends H, H, of the levers. The portion E of the bracket forms a table for
the support of the sleeper K to be operated upon. The sleeper is fixed upon
the said table, and held firmly between the jaws E*, E*, on the one side, and
by the screw L on the other side. M, N, and O are three vertical shafts, the
bottom of each of which rests in a step on the bed plate A, and is supported at
its upper end by the framing P. The driving shaft M is furnished with a pair
of "live and dead" pullies Q and Q, and with drum pullies, which by means
of bands Q and Q* communicate with smaller pullies on the shafts N and O,
and give a rapid rotatory motion thereto. R, R, are cutter blocks or cutters for
cutting round seats for chairs upon the faces of sleepers. In using this machine
an attendant is to place his foot upon the treddle board I. The sleeper
is then to be placed in proper position on the table E, and secured thereon
by the means above described, and in such position it will not be operated
upon by the revolving cutter blocks or cutters R, R, but as the attendant

page_text: gradually removes the weight of his foot from the treddle board, the weight
of the bracket and its load will cause the sleeper to be lowered until acted
upon by the cutter blocks or cutters, which will cut away portions of the
wood, and thus effect the object required. When this is done the attendant
must again press his foot on the treddle board, so as to raise the sleeper, which
being released from the table by turning backwards the screw L, may be
removed, and a fresh sleeper substituted in its place, to be subjected to the
operation of the machine. If thought desirable either of the three machines
lastly described may have their cutters furnished or constructed with cutting
edges at their extreme ends, so as to trim or more evenly cut the shoulders
of the seats required to be formed; or the same object may be effected by
circular saws suitably arranged and worked, so as to cut simultaneously with
or prior to the cutters, as may be found desirable.
And having now described our improvements in the preparation of railway
sleepers, we hereby claim, as the said fourth part of our Invention, the three
several machines herein-before described for preparing railway sleepers.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Fox and John Coope Haddan,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, or the one of us has hereunto
set his hand and seal, this Sixth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
J. C. (L.s.) HADDAN.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixth day of November, in the
year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid John Coope Haddan came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.