IMPROVEMENTS IN PILING STEEL AND IRON OR MIXTURES OF STEEL AND IRON FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS FOR RAILWAYS AND TYRES FOR WHEELS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Griffiths, of Normanton, in the County of
York, Manager of Works, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PILING STEEL AND IRON OR MIXTURES OF STEEL AND IRON FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF RAILS FOR RAILWAYS AND TYRES FOR WHEELS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES."
7
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Griffiths at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st July 1874.
-
I, JOHN. GRIFFITHS, of Normanton, in the County of York, Manager
of Works, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
.
.
PROVEMENTS IN PILING STEEL AND IRON OR MIXTURES OF STEEL AND IRON FOR
'
THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS, FOR. RAILWAYS AND TYRES FOR. WHEELS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows :-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described
in piling. steel and iron or mixtures of steel and iron for the manu-
facture of rails for railways and tyres for wheels, and for other purposes,

page_text: by which improvements a pile is formed in which the several parts.
are in close contact, and so securely connected together that they cannot
be separated or displaced accidentally during the transporting, heating,
and welding of the pile.
In building up a pile according to my Invention I roll a series of
bars of steel or iron having somewhat the figure of the letter H, that
is, nearly the figure of a double-headed rail, those parts of the bar corre-
sponding to the heads of the rail being rectangular in cross section
instead of curved as in a rail.
I will herein-after call the enlarged edges of the bars the heads of
the said bars, and the portions between them I will call the body
of the bar.
Besides bars of the section described I employ other bars having
the figure of one-half of one of the bars described. These may be
formed either by rolling direct, or by slitting or dividing along its
middle one of the first-described kind of bars. I will call the last-
described bars half bars. The said bars and half bars may either be
rolled from new iron or steel, or they may be conveniently made from
old double-headed rails, either of Bessemer steel, or of iron.
•
7%
In making the pile from these bars I employ a bottom plate on
which to build the pile, the said bottom plate consisting of a flat
having on one of its faces two parallel dovetails running its whole
length, the said dovetails being of such a size and so situated on
either side the middle of the plate that there is left between them
a hollow dovetail or seat of the same size as the dovetail on either
side of it, and between the outer sides of each dovetail and the edges
of the bottom plate there is a depression having the figure of half the
hollow dovetail in the middle of the plate.
Bars and bottom plates of the kind described are cut into the proper
lengths and the pile is built therefrom in the following manner-
The bottom -plate is placed upon a piling bench with the face having
the dovetails uppermost. Two of the Ḥ shaped bars are placed on
the bottom plate, the inner heads of the bars lying in the hollow
dovetail in the middle of the bottom plate, and the outer heads of
the bars lying in the half dovetail recesses in the edges of the bottom
plate, the bodies of the bars resting on the upper faces of the dovetails.

page_text: By driving a key or wedge between the heads of the bars situated
in the hollow dovetail in the middle of the bottom plate, the said bars
are firmly fixed in their places in the said bottom plate.
The piling is continued in the following manner:-One bar and
two half bars are taken, the bar being placed on the two adjacent
heads of the first layer, the body of the bar lying in contact with
the tops of the said heads, and the heads of the said bar lying in
contact with nearly one-half of the bodies of the two bars first piled.
The two half bars being placed with their heads inwards complete
the second layer. Wedges or keys are driven between the heads of
the middle bar and the heads of the two half bars, and the second
layer is thus completed. The third layer is piled like the first, the
fourth like the second, and so on, the building of the pile being
finished by the use of a top plate of the same figure as the bottom
plate, but used in an inverted position, that is, with its dovetail
face, turned downwards. The driving of a wedge or key between the
heads of the last layer of bars after the top plate has been put in its
place binds the whole of the parts of the pile firmly together.
Instead of top and bottom plates of the kind described, that is, having
two dovetails with a hollow dovetail between them, and two half hollow
dovetails along the edges of the plate, the top and bottom plates may
have a middle dovetail with a hollow dovetail on either side of it, and
half dovetails running along its edges.
In using a top and bottom plate of the last-described kind the piling
is commenced by the use of a middle bar and two half bars on either
side of it, that is, the first layer of the pile is formed in the way herein-
before described for forming the second layer, one of the alternating
layers consisting of two bars, and the other of the said layers of one
bar and two half bars. In piles made as described the different parts
break joint, and the subsequent welding is consequently very sound.
Piles made in the manner described are heated to the required welding
heat, and welded by rolling, hammering, or otherwise. The pressure or
percussion is first applied vertically so as to compress the pile between
the top and bottom plates. The pile is then turned on its side and
operated upon so as to compress and weld it laterally. In this process
the small internal spaces left in the hollow dovetails in building up
:

page_text: the pile are filled up by the compression of the heads engaged in the
several dovetails.
The top and bottom plates may be made from piles formed in either
of the ways described, and for making a pile. for a flat bottom or T rail
a steel head or top may be made by the use of a top plate and H bars
of steel wedged together as described placed upon a pile of iron made
in the ordinary way. Or a top and bottom plate with H bars of steel
enclosed and wedged between them placed upon a pile of iron of the
rails.
ordinary kind may be employed for making flat bottom or T
For making tyres of wheels a bottom plate of iron may be employed
with H bars and a top plate of steel. When a pile of this kind is
made into a coil for a wheel tyre the steel top being kept outside the
wearing surface of the tyre is of steel, and the inside of iron..
In addition to the manufacture of rails and tyres, piles made according
to my Invention may also be used in the manufacture of axles, T angles,
Hirón, bulb iron, or deck beam iron, whether composed wholly of iron,
or partly of iron and partly of steel, and of iron and steel of other
sectional forms for various purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Ann Griffiths, of Altofts, near Normanton, in:
the County of York, Widow, and one of the Executrixes of the
late John Griffiths, deceased, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th January 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANN
GRIFFITHS, of Altofts, near Normanton, in the County of York, Widow,
and one of the Executrixes of John Griffiths, late of Normanton afore-
said, Manager of Works, who departed this life on the Eighteenth
day. of September One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give

page_text: and grant unto the said John Griffiths, Her special license that he,
the said John Griffiths, his executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as he, the said John Griffiths, his executors, 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 PILING STEEL AND
IRON OR MIXTURES OF STEEL AND IRON FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILS FOR
RAILWAYS AND TYRES FOR WHEELS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that he, the said John Griffiths, his
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under his,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Ann Griffiths, as one of such
Executrixes of the said John Griffiths, deceased, as aforesaid, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same.
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The said Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described.
in piling steel and iron, or mixtures of steel and iron, for the manu-
facture of rails for railways, and tyres for wheels, and for other purposes,
by which improvements a pile is formed in which the several parts
are in close contact, and so securely connected together that they cannot
be separated or displaced accidentally during the transporting, heating,
and welding of the pile.
In building up a pile according to the said Invention I roll a series
of bars of steel or iron having somewhat the figure of the letter H, that
is, nearly the figure of a double-headed rail, those parts of the bar corre-
sponding to the heads of the rail being rectangular in cross section
instead of curved, as in a rail.
.. I will herein-after call the enlarged edges of the bars the heads of
the said bars, and the portions between them I will call the body
of the bar.

page_text: °
:
Besides bars of the section described I employ other bars having
the figure of one-half of one of the bars described. These may be
formed either by rolling direct, or by slitting or dividing along its
middle one of the first-described kind of bars. I will call the last-
:described bars half bars. The said bars and half bars may either be
rolled from new iron or steel, or they may be conveniently made from
cold double-headed rails, either of Bessemer steel, or of iron.
In making the pile from these bars I employ a bottom plate on
which to build the pile, and a top plate for covering the top of the
-pile. The bottom plate or top plate consists of a flat bar having on
one of its faces two parallel dovetails running its whole length, the
.said dovetails being of such a size and so situated on either side the
middle of the plate that there is left between them a
hollow dovetail
or seat of the same size as the dovetail on either side of it, and between
the outer sides of each dovetail and the edges of the bottom plate there
is a depression having the figure of half the hollow dovetail in the
middle of the plate.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in section a pile
made according to one of the arrangements of this Invention, where
.a is the bottom plate on which the pile is built, the said plate having
the longitudinal dovetails b, c, on it, and a hollow dovetail & between
the said dovetails b, c; g, g, are the half dovetail recesses at the edges
of the plate a; e is the top plate for covering the top of the pile, the
said top plate having the same figure as the bottom plate a, but used
in an inverted position. The H formed bars and half bars are represented
arranged in the pile.
Bars and bottom and top plates of tlie kind described having been
formed and cut into the proper lengths the pile is built therefrom in
the following manner :-The bottom plate a is placed upon a piling
bench with the face having the dovetails b, d, c, and recesses upper-¯
most, as represented. Two of the H shaped bars marked fare placed
on the bottom plate a, the inner heads of the said bars flying in
the hollow dovetail d in the middle of the said plate a, and the outer
heads of the bars lying in the half dovetail recesses in the edges
of the said plate a, the bodies f² of the bars f resting on the upper
faces of the dovetails b, c. By driving a key or wedge between the
heads of the bars f, f, situated in the hollow dovetail d in the middle
•

page_text: of the bottom plate a, the said bars are firmly fixed in their places in
the said bottom plate.
'
The piling is continued in the following manner :- -One bar marked f³
and two half bars marked are taken, the said bar f³ being placed
on the two adjacent heads of the bars f, f, of the first layer, the
body of the bar fs lying in contact with the tops of the said heads
of the lower bars f, f, and the heads of the said bar flying in
contact with nearly one half of the bodies f of the two bars f, f,
first piled. The two half bars h, h, being placed with their heads
inwards, as represented, complete the second layer. Wedges or keys
k, k, are driven between the heads of the middle bar f³ and the heads
of the two half bars h, h, and the second layer is thereby fixed: The
third layer is piled like the first, the fourth like the second, and so on,
the building of the pile being finished by the use of the top plate e,
the said top plate being used with its dovetail face turned downwards.
The driving of a wedge or key between the heads of the last or top
layer consisting of the two H bars marked m, m, after the top plate e
has been put in its place binds the whole of the parts of the pile firmly
together.
Instead of top and bottom plates of the kind described and marked
a, e, in Figure 1, that is, having two dovetails with a hollow dovetail
between them, and two half hollow dovetails along the edges of the
plate, the top and bottom plates may have a middle dovetail with a
hollow dovetail on either side of it, and half dovetails running along its
edges.
:
A pile having a bottom plate made as last described is represented in
section in Figure 2, the top plate of the pile being omitted.
In using a top and bottom plate of the kind represented in Figure 2,
the piling is commenced by the use of a middle bar marked p, and
two half bars marked q, q, on either side of it, that is, the first layer
of the pile is formed in the way herein-before described and represented
in Figure 1 for forming the second layer, one of the alternating layers
consisting of two bars, and the other of the said layers of one bar
and two half bars. In piles made as described the different parts break
joint and the subsequent welding is consequently very sound.
..
Piles made in the manner described and represented are heated to
the required welding heat and welded by rolling, hammering, or other-

page_text: wise. The pressure or percussion is first applied vertically so as to
compress the pile between the top and bottom plates a, e. The pile
is then turned on its side and operated upon so as to compress and
weld it laterally. In this process the small internal spaces left in the
hollow dovetails in building up the pile are filled up by the compression
of the heads engaged in the several dovetails.
The top and bottom plates may be made from piles formed in either
of the ways described, and for making a pile for a flat bottom or T rail
a steel head or top may be made by the use of a top plate, and H bars
of steel welded together as described placed upon a pile of iron made
in the ordinary way. A pile for making a flat bottom or T rail with
a steel head is represented in Figure 3, where the top dovetail plate
of steel is marked », the steel H bars are marked s, s, and the steel
wedge t. The bars of iron marked u, u, beneath the parts. r, 8, are
piled in the ordinary way. Or a top and bottom plate with H bars of steel
enclosed and wedged between them placed upon a pile of iron of the
ordinary kind may be employed for making flat bottom or Trails. This
form of pile is represented in Figure 4, where the steel top and bottom
plates are marked v, w; the H bars of steel are marked x; and the steel
wedge y. The bars below the bottom plate w are of iron, and are piled
in the ordinary way.
Z
For making tyres of wheels a bottom plate of iron may be employed
with H bars and a top plate of steel, as represented in Figure 5, where
the top plate of steel is marked 1, and the bottom plate of iron is
marked 2; the H bars of steel are marked 3, and the half bars of steel
are marked 4; the steel wedges are marked 5. When a pile of the
kind represented in Figure 5 is made into a coil for a wheel tyre, the
steel top being kept outside, the wearing surface of the tyre is of steel,
and the inside of iron.
In addition to the manufacture of rails and tyres, piles made according
to this Invention may also be used in the manufacture of axles, T angles,
H iron, bulb iron, or deck beam iron, whether composed wholly of iron,
or partly of iron and partly of steel and iron and steel of other sectional
forms for various purposes.
Having now described the nature of the Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illus-

page_text: trated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of the said Invention; but I claim as the said Invention, the improve-
ments in piling steel and iron, or mixtures of steel and iron, for the
manufacture of rails for railways, and tyres for wheels, and for other
purposes herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, making piles of iron and steel, or mixtures
of steel and iron, by the combination of dovetail plates, H shaped bars,
half H shaped bars, and wedges or keys, substantially as and for the
purposes described and illustrated, whether the said combined plates,
bars, and wedges be used alone or in combination with bars piled in the
ordinary way.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ann Griffiths, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Witness,
H. MILLWARD.
ANN GRIFFITHS. (L.S.)
Altofts,
near Normanton.