Year: 1888

page_text: I, ARTHUR THOMAS GEORGE BROWN, of 42 England Lane Belsize Park, N.W.,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention is designed to produce a metal rail or tramway sleeper with stout
jaws and without cutting or thinning the metal.
In carrying out this invention I provide suitable dies which produce depressions or.
pockets in the metal, one pocket to each side of the jaw which holds the rail. Into
each of these pockets is inserted a block of metal of the proper shape and this is
welded in so that the pocket now becomes a solid protuberance.
The metal with the two protuberances is now placed between suitable dies, one
preferably the lower one being simply a flat bolster and the other or top one being
adapted to fit the plane portions of the plate and having recesses to accomodate the
protuberances. Within these recesses are undercut upon one side or face and generally
so shaped as to produce the jaws of the desired form. Within the recesses are
plungers with curved or other shaped faces to form the outer surface of the jaws.
When the plungers descend the protuberances are subjected to pressure and forced
into the recesses in the top bolster which forms their inner faces while the face of the
bolster shapes the outside of the jaws.
By this means the jaw is produced solid or integral with the plate from which it is
made and yet the plate is not cut out or thinned or otherwise weakened.
If desired in rolling the plates an extra thickness may be provided at that part of
the plate where it is intended to form the jaws, this would compensate for any
thinning should such occur during the welding.
Dated this 92nd day of March 1888

page_text: I
J, ARTHUR THOMAS GEORGE BROWN, of 42 England Lane, Belsize Park, N.W,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention is designed to produce a metal rail or tramway sleeper with stout
jaws and without cutting or thinning the metal.
In carrying out this invention I provide suitable dies which produce depressions or
pockets in the metal, one pocket to each side of the jaw which holds the rail. Into
each of these pockets is inserted a block of metal of the proper shape and this is welded
in so that the pocket now becomes a solid protuberance.
The metal with the two protuberances is now placed between suitable dies, one
preferably the lower one being simply a flat bolster and the other or top one being
adapted to fit the plane portions of the plate and having recesses to accomodate the
protuberances. Within these recesses are undercut. upon one side or face and
generally so shaped as to produce the jaws of the desired form. Within the recesses
are plungers with curved or other, shaped faces to form the outer surface of the jaws.
When the plungers descend the protuberances are subjected to pressure and forced
into the recesses in the top die which forms their inner faces while the face of the
bolster shapes the outside of the jaws.
By this means the jaw is produced solid or integral with the plate from which it is
made and yet the plate is not cut out or thinned or otherwise weakened:
If desired in rolling the plates an extra thickness may be provided at that part of
the plate where it is intended to form the jaws, this would compensate for any
thinning should such occur during the welding.
In the accompanying drawings I have in figs. 1 to 6 shown similar elevations of part
of one form of machine for carrying my improvements into practice the said figs.
illustrating the various operations of the machine when constructing a sleeper
according to my invention; figs. 5 and 6 are horizontal sections taken respectively
on the lines ab of fig. 5 and c d of fig. 6; fig. 7 represents a blank and figs. 8 to 11
the various stages of operations on the said blank; figs. 12 and 13 are respectively a
horizontal and transverse section of one form of sleeper constructed according to my
invention.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
With reference to figs. 1 to 6 of the drawings A is a fixed bed plate into which,
..during the earlier stages of the operations are fitted matrices such as A¹ figs. 1 to 4
for which during the later or finishing stages are substituted blocks such as A² figs. 5
and 6 fitting in flush with the face of the said bed plate. B is a movable platen
which together with the platen B₁ to which it is secured by brackets B is operated by
hydraulic or other power so as to advance towards and retire from the bed plate A.
CC is a plunger formed in two parts each pivotted at C between brackets B³ (one

page_text: only of which is shown in each figure) in such manner that they are capable of being
moved from the position shown in say fig. 1 to that shown say in fig. 3. C³ is a
wedge bar capable of being moved from the position in which it is shown in fig. 2 to
that in which it is shown in fig. 3 and thus by its tapered end being moved in between
the plunger parts C and C to force them outwards in the manner shown in figs. 3 and 6.
Care inclined shoulders formed on the plunger parts C C and with which engage
the correspondingly inclined shoulders or cam faces which are represented by the
dotted lines (figs. 3 and 6 and which are formed on the inner sides of the plates C
bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the wedge bar Cas shown more clearly in
figs. 5 and 6. It will be seen that by this construction when the wedge bar is
moved down independently of the plunger the parts CC the said plunger are forced
outwards and that when it is again moved up, the inclined cam faces C³ engaging with
the shoulders C draw the said parts back into their normal position. The wedge
bar may be operated by steam or other power but 1.prefer that it should be
operated by hydraulic power and for that purpose I secure a suitable cylinder C' to
the platen B suitable connections being made to convey the water under pressure to
and conduct the exhaust water from the said cylinder. D are similar cylinders for
correspondingly operating the rams D' the lower ends of 'which are shaped so as with
the inatrices. A to press the metal between them to form the outer curved sides of the
rail chairs. The platen B is formed with an opening to admit of the free passage of
the rams D and plunger CC.
By constructing the plunger in two parts CC in the manner shown I am capable
of securing a much desired result vic. that of notching or ribbing those surfaces of
the chairs against which the keys bear so that if the said keys be made of metal as is
sometimes the case for example with chairs for flanged rails and they be formed with
correspondingly roughened" surfaces they will after once driven in not be likely to
work loose by the vibration imparted by the passing rolling stock as is often the case
with other constructions of rail chairs, and for wooden keys this roughening of the
surfaces will also be specially advantageous. For the purpose of thus "roughening"
the "key-surfaces" of the rail chair the edges C figs. 1 and 5 and any other desired
parts of the adjacent surfaces of the plunger are serrated or notched so that when they
are forced against the heated metal as hereinafter described the said roughened
surfaces will leave their imprint on the said metal.
To construct a sleeper say one of the shape shown in fig. 11 a blank Z preferably
of the form shown in fig. 7 that is to say rolled thickest at the paris where it is
intended to construct the chairs is brought to a suitable heat and placed in the before
described machine as shown in fig. 1. The platen B and the plunger Care then
forced down on the metal so as to bend it over the matrices A¹ and the rams D' are
then also forced on to the metal so that it will conform with the shape of the said
matrices and form pockets such as those shown more clearly at Z' fig. 8. Then with
the platen B plunger CC and rams D₁ still occupying the last described or lowered
position the plunger parts Care forced asunder as shown in fig. 3 and then again
drawn by the cams back into their normal position by which time the sleeper metal
will have assumed the shape shown in figures 3 and 4 and more clearly in figure 9.
I desire here to explain that at this stage the sleeper may be regarded as finished and
indeed could be utilised as a finished sleeper, but the construction of sleeper which I
prefer is that in which the pockets Z which in reality constitute the chair jaws
are filled in solidly. In order then to proceed with the manufacture towards the
attainment of such an end I invert the sleeper formed as in fig. 9 and lay in the
pockets Zbars or blocks of a suitable section such as 7 fig. 10 so as to practically
fill up the said pockets. Thus arranged the sleeper is placed in a suitable furnace
or the like and brought preferably up to a welding heat so that when the sleeper
is removed from the furnace the blocks Z will have united with the sides of the
pockets Z' or instead of laying in solid blocks such as 22 I may after preferably
heating the blocks Z pour in molten metal and allow it to set sufficiently to proceed
with the welding in the same manner as if solid blocks had been inserted. Blocks
such as A² figs. 5 and 6 having in the meantime been substituted for the matrices A¹

page_text: the embryo sleeper- is placed on the bed plate as shown in fig. 5 and the rams D₁
being in their highest position the platen B and the plunger CC are once again
forced down upon the sleeper metal and the raus D afterwards are also. forced
down, and finally after the parts C (have once again been forced asunder and
again drawn together the sleeper will have been completed and may as shown in
figs. 12 and 13 be provided with roughened or serrated surfaces Z³ against which
it is intended the rail-holding keys shall bind, or if desired only one of the roughened
surfaces Z³ fig. 12 may be formed.
The arrangement herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings
it is to be understood is only given by way of example as many means inay be
devised for carrying out the series of operations in proper sequence which operations
if desired may be performed in one or more machines; and if desired the sleeper or
proposed sleeper may be operated upon in a position the inverse of that herein
described either in all or part of its various stages of manufacture.
The machine having been described as manufacturing no particular section of
sleeper it will be understood that it lends itself to a variety of constructions as by
suitably shaping the bed plate A and platen B these parts could act upon the main
surface of the sleeper and bend it to any desired configuration.
If desired two or even more sets of apparatus such as that herein described may
be comprised in one machine so as to simultaneously advance the structure of one or
more complete sleepers and where two or more sleepers are to be made out of one
continuous blank I would preferably in the same machine arrange shears or the
like for separating them at the required parts.
The jaws of the chairs constructed according to this invention may be shaped for
receiving flanged, bull-headed or any other section of rail.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is:
1. In the manufacture of a railway sleeper the welding into a pocket or hollow jaw
such as described of a block for converting the said hollow jaw into a solid jaw
substantially as herein described.
2. In a railway metal sleeper a solid chair jaw constructed first by forming a pocket
in a metal blank and afterwards welding or equivalently securing into the said
pocket a suitably shaped block substantially in the manner herein described.
3. In the manufacture of railway sleepers the formation of a pocket filling in the
said pocket with molten metal and allowing the molten metal to set sufficiently and
then welding under pressure substantially as herein described..
4. In the manufacture of railway sleepers the formation of the recessed jaws by
means of a divided plunger substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of December 1888.
ARTHUR THOMAS GEORGE BROWN.