the Guage of a Railway.I RAILS AND SECURING THE
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Sept., 1886
Complete Left, 5th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 7th June, 1887.
the Guage of a Railway.
I, JOHN ASHTON, of Oak House, Beal Lane, Shaw, near Oldham in the County of
Lancaster Cotton Spinner do hereby declare the nature of my invention for JOINING
THE RAILS AND SECURING THE GUAGE OF A RAILWAY to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is;
a. To prevent the separate deflection of the ends of the rails joined.
b. To obtain greater stability of joint.
c. To dispense with fishplates and the Nuts and Bolts connected therewith.
d. To prevent disturbance of guage.
The invention for joining the rails consists of a "Triple Chair," that is, of three
chairs cast on one baseplate, and may be of cast Iron, Steel or other suitable
material.
The two end chairs to be about 24 inches, or other suitable distance from each other
and secured to the sleepers in the ordinary way. The middle chair with the side
flanges of the baseplate to be of such dimensions as will give greater strength laterally
and vertically than that of an ordinary rail. The middle chair to be made longer
than the two end ones to give greater bearing surfaces to the ends of the two rails,
which join in the centre of the middle chair, and to the wedges or keys that secure
the rails. The jaws of the chairs to be made to recieve the wooden keys in ordinary
use and the section of the chairs to suit the section of the rail adopted.
In the interior of the base of each chair to be cast a cavity to recieve a key of cast
iron, steel or of other suitable material. The cavity in the middle chair to be about
4" x 1" x 1" (the key giving 2" bearing surface to each rail) those in the end chairs
and in all the ordinary chairs 2" x 1" x 1" or of such other dimensions as may be
proved to be more suitable. The keys to be placed in these cavities to be made so
much deeper than the cavities that when the rail is in its proper place in the chair and

page_text: a key put in the cavity the top of the key will be level with the top of the bottom
flange of the rail and fit close to it. The wooden keys are then to be driven tight in
above the iron keys.
The arrangement herein described dispenses with the fishplates, the Nuts and Bolts
and the drilling of the holes in the rails connected therewith; prevents the separate
deflection of the rails either laterally or vertically, and is of less cost in the first
outlay than the present method, and will save much labour in the maintainance of the
permanent way.
The insertion of the cavities and of the iron keys in all the ordinary chairs will
prevent the rails being pushed from beneath the jaws of the chairs and the consequent
disturbance of the guage of the rails.

page_text: I, JOHN ASHTON, of 114 Shawside, (formerly of Oak House, Beal Lane) Shaw,
near Oldham in the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention for JOINING THE RAILS AND SECURING THE GUAGE OF A
RAILWAY, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement viz.:-
The objects of this invention are;
1st. To prevent the separate deflection of the ends of the rails joined.
2nd. To obtain greater stability of joint.
3rd. To dispense with fishplates and the Nuts and Bolts connected therewith.
4th. To prevent disturbance of Guage.
In order that the invention may be more particularly described and better under-
stood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which each letter used for
reference in the several figures, in every case, refers to the same part or member of
the construction in each of the several figures.
The invention consists of a Triple Chair, that is of three chairs cast on one baseplate
(see figs. 1 and 2) and may be of cast iron, steel, or of other suitable material; and
of a cavity cast in the base of each chair, both of the Triple chair and of the ordinary
chairs, to receive a key L of iron, steel or of other suitable material. The Triple
chair is shewn in plan in Fig. 1 and in elevation in Fig. 2. The two end chairs a, c
may be secured to the sleepers in the manner adopted by the company using them.
The middle chair 6 is adopted to substitute for the fishplates and Bolts in general use
and is made longer than the chairs a & c to provide a greater bearing surface for the
ends of the two rails, d & e, (figs. 1 & 2) which join in the centre of the middle chair,
and for the keys K & L (Fig. 3) used for the purpose of securing in their position the
ends of the two rails. The depth of the middle chair from G to H (Figs. 2 & 3) is to
be made such as will give a greater vertical strength, (with the same span) and the
breadth of the baseplate and middle chair at F to F (Figs. 1 & 3) to be of greater
lateral strength than that of the rail adopted. The flanges ii (Figs. 2 & 4) are kept
down to give space for the insertion of the wooden keys K (Fig. 3) in ordinary use.
The flanges, J, J, (Figs. 2. 3 & 4) are kept up to give strength to the baseplate and
support to the rails. The sections of the three chairs are to be made to suit the
section of the rail adopted and the dimensions and strengths of the various parts of
the Triple chair and baseplate to suit the weight or nature of the traffic on each
railway system adopting the invention. The breadth of the baseplate F to F (Figs. 1.
3 & 4) and the depth of the strengthening web at G to be increased as required.
The sections of the Triple chair shown in Figs. 3 & 4 are from B to B and A to A of
Figs. 1 & 2 respectively.
The Triple chair may be placed with the keys K & L (Fig. 3) inside or outside of
the rails, according to the method adopted by the company using the same. If the

page_text: keys are placed inside the rails, the flanges, J, J, and the jaw of the middle chair b
(Figs. 3 & 4) will give the most secure resistance to the oscillations of the engines
and carriages.
.
"
The cavities in the chairs a &c (Figs. 1 & 2) and in the ordinary chairs may
be 2" x 1" x 1" and those in the middle chair 4" long, 11" broad and 1" deep.
.
The cavities must be cast in such a position that when the rail is pushed tightly
under the jaw, n, of the chairs (Fig. 3) and the iron key, L, placed in the cavity, the
key will fit closely and tightly to the botton flange, m, (Fig. 3) of the rail, and it will
thereby prevent the lifting, canting or other separate deflection of the rails, and the
disturbance of the guage of the rails. The iron keys L must be of such a depth that
when in the cavities the top of the keys will be level with the top of the bottom
flanges of the rails, as shewn in Fig. 3.
The cavities and keys may be of the before named dimensions or of such other as
may be proved to be more suitable.
The cavity and key of the middle chair, b, are made " wider than the others and
the bottom flanges of the two rails, d & e, notched to fit the key (as shewn in Fig. 5)
in order to prevent the rails sliding out of their proper position during their expansion
and contraction, or by the skidding of the wheels of the carriages when the breaks
are on.
In putting the invention together, the rails are first pushed tightly under the
jaw n of the chairs, the iron keys L placed in the cavities, and the ordinary wooden
keys, K, driven tightly in the jawo of the chairs, (as shewn in Fig. 3), above the iron
keys.
The arrangement herein described, dispenses with the fishplates, the nuts and bolts
and the drilling of the holes in the rails connected therewith; prevents the separate
deflection of the rails, either vertically or laterally, is of less cost in the first outlay
than the present method, and will save much labour in the maintenance of the
permanent way.
The insertion of the cavities and the keys L in all the ordinary chairs will prevent
the rails being pushed from beneath the jaws, n, of the chairs and the consequent
disturbance of the guage of the rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that I disclaim the base-
plate or web, pure and simple, but I do declare that what I claim is;
1st. The improvements of the baseplate, and the new combinations connected
therewith, that enable me to dispense with the fishplates, the Nuts and Bolts connected
therewith, and to secure the other advantages hereinbefore described.
2nd. I claim the cavities or recesses in the bases of the Triple chairs and of the
ordinary chairs, and the keys L fitting therein as hereinbefore described.