IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAYS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Fawkes, of Birkdale, in the County of Lancashire,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAYS."
Sealed the 11th July 1879, and dated the 19th April 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Fawkes at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th April 1879.
GEORGE FAWKES, of Birkdale, in the County of Lancashire.
IN TRAMWAYS,"
"IMPROVEMENTS
According to my Invention I make the rails of steel and in lengths of or about
Bay twenty four feet, and so shallow that as an example they may be made to weigh,
say about twenty nine pounds per lineal yard; the bottom or underside of each end
of rail is drilled with two holes and tapped, and other holes are provided, say about
two feet apart alternately on one side and the other, and the rails are fastened with
set screws passing through top flange of sleeper. The sleepers are of girder form,
and according to my Invention are continuous and made of wrought iron, with bed,
say nine inches in breadth, and with central web. There are holes in top flange for
bolting on the rails. The sleepers vary in length according to the position placed
in the tramway, but for straight lengths I find five feet eleven inches long each
sleeper, with four sleepers to each rail, very suitable; the depth, too, of the sleepers
must vary with the size of the "sets" used in paving. The sleepers are or should be
bedded on a layer of Portland cement concrete, say twelve inches broad by two
inches in depth, bevelled and punched solid; I make the points and crossings of cast
iron, and they must vary in length and breadth according to the position they are
required to occupy in the tramway.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Fawkes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd August
1879.
GEORGE FAWKES, of Birkdale, in the County of Lancashire.
TRAMWAYS."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
According to my Invention, I make the rails of steel and in length of or about,
say twenty four feet, and so shallow that, as an example, they may be made to
weigh say about twenty nine pounds per liueal yard; the bottom or underside of
each end of rail is drilled with two holes and tapped, and other holes are provided,
say about two feet apart alternately on one side and the other, and the rails are
fastened with set screws passing through top flange of sleeper. The sleepers are of
girder form, and according to my Invention are continuous and made of wrought
iron, with bed, say nine inches in breadth, and with central web. There are holes
in top flange for bolting on the rails.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood, I annex hereto a
Sheet of Drawings, of which Figure 1 is a side elevation of rail and continuous
girder sleeper constructed according to my Invention, and Figure 2 is a view of the
underside of part showing the position of the bolt holes; Figure 3 is a vertical
cross section of the rail aud continuous girder sleeper; Figure 4 is a vertical cross
section of the rail proper, and Figure 5 is a view of one of the bolts which secures
the rail to the girder. Similar letters of reference refer to like parts in all the
Figures; a is the shallow steel rail, and 6 is the continuous girder sleeper of the
sectional girder form shown at Figure 3; c, c, are the bolts for securing the rail a to
the sleeper b.
The sleepers vary in length according to the position placed in the tramway, but
for straight lengths 1 find five feet eleven inches long each sleeper, with four
sleepers to each rail, very suitable; the depth, too, of the sleepers must vary with
size of the "sets" used in paving The sleepers are or should be bedded on a
layer of Portland cement concrete, say twelve inches broad by two inches in depth,
bevelled and "punned " solid, or may be laid on cross sleepers three feet apart. I
make the points and crossings of cast iron, and they must vary in length and breadth
according to the position they are required to occupy in the tramway. Tie rods
may also be employed, if required, for gauge.
With rails and girder sleepers constructed and laid according to my Invention,.I
am able to lay the paving stones of streets up close to rails, as the rails and sleepers
aro flush and present no obstacle to the paving.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my "Improvements in
Tramways,"
The employment of shallow steel rails in combination with continuous cast iron
girders having central web, the rails and sleepers being secured together by
bolts, all substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein before described,
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, together with any mere modification
or modifications thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Fawkes, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and seventy nine
GEORGE FAWKES. (LS)