IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS."
-A communication from abroad by George P. Rose, of Elmira,
New York, United States of America.
Scaled the 29th March 1870, and dated the 11th October 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 11th October 1869.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,"
Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," a communication, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the laying of that section of a track in which
the ends of adjoining rails come together in such a manner that the

page_text: joints upon both "legs" of the track will be opposite each other, thereby
avoiding the necessity of breaking joints, as is usually done; it relates
further to laying the said section of track upon suitable longitudinal
timbers, which in turn rest upon sleepers or ties, and to providing a
method of draining the water from between the track, the two sides of
which are held in position relative to each other by suitable bolts made
of galvanised iron rods, or coated with zinc after being made; it also
relates to a chair and fish plate combined; to the method of securing the
rail to the chair and fish plate; to the lock plate which keeps the bolts
from becoming loose from vibration, concussion, or accident; to cutting
the adjoining ends of each rail with an offset and shoulder which fits and
engages with a similar offset and shoulder upon the next rail; to the
peculiar form of the bolts employed; and to a novel arrangement of the
various parts; the whole when properly constructed forming a stiff and
inflexible joint, by means of which the usual lamination of the ends of
railway bars will be entirely avoided, while a proper allowance is made
for the contraction and expansion of the rails. I employ wooden
stringers or timbers, which in practice will rest upon suitable ties, and
upon which the rails are secured by wood screws with elongated heads,
whose width is equal to the body of the screw, while the projecting
heads upon opposite sides acting as flanges will allow them to grasp and
hold the foot of the rail to the stringer. When it is required to release
the rail from the stringers it may be done by giving the screws a quarter
of a turn, thereby disengaging the head from the rail foot. The ends of
these rails are halved together, one lapping by and abutting against the
other. A chair and fish plate combined made in two sections receive
the foot of the rail, and are fitted to the flat or concave sides of the web
of the rail, in reference to which they are so situated that the over-
lapping ends of the rail will be about the centre of the length of the
chair and fish plate. Equidistant from each other through the ends of
the rail and correspondingly through the fish plate are punched as many
rectangular holes as it is designed to use bolts to connect the rails and
fish plates together; it is not necessary that these holes should be
equidistant from each other, although it is preferable in order to secure
greater uniformity in the work; it is however essential that in their
vertical section they should be longer than the width of the bolts, in
order to allow for the contraction and expansion of the rails under
varying temperatures. The bolts are rectangular in shape, the ends of

page_text: course being drawn down and rounded to receive the thread with which
the nut engages.
The vibration caused by passing trains, concussion, or accident,
frequently causes the nuts to become loose and to fall off when such
nuts are used as are usually employed in securing the fish plates to
the rails. To remedy this I employ a plate with four holes punched
therein of suitable size to fit the nut. This plate is placed against the
fish plate in such a manner that the nuts will protrude through the
holes and is held in position by another rectangular bolt passing through
corresponding holes in the plates and rail. Through the end of this bolt
there is drilled a small hole to receive a pin which engages with a slot
in the outer face of one of the nuts, and effectually prevents its turning
or becoming loose. The holes through which all the bolts pass in the
fish plate and locking plate should be of a size to fit the bolts, but the
corresponding holes through the rails should be elongated, as herein-
before described. Suitable bolts (which as they are under ground should
be galvanized to prevent corrosion) are employed to hold the stringers in
their relative positions, and prevent their spreading or drawing together.
These bolts should be provided with shoulders, against which the inner
face of the stringers rest, and should have nuts upon the ends which pass
through the stringers. Tubes or openings extending laterally and
downward through the stringers will allow the water which would
otherwise settle there to pass off from between the two legs of the
track.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton
Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: .
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
my 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 THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," a communication to
me from abroad by George P. Rose, of Elmira, New York, United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
This Invention relates to the laying of that section of a track in which
the ends of adjoining rails come together in such a manner that the
joints upon both "legs" of the track will be opposite each other, thereby
avoiding the necessity of breaking joints, as is usually done; it relates
further to laying the said section of track upon suitable longitudinal
timbers, which in turn rest upon sleepers or ties, and to providing a
method of drawing the water from between the track, the two sides of
which are held in position relative to each other by suitable bolts made
of galvanized iron rods, or coated with zinc after being made; it also
relates to a chair and fish plate combined; to the method of securing the
rail to the chair and fish plate; to the lock plate which keeps the bolts
from becoming loose from vibration, concussion, or accident; to cutting
the adjoining ends of each rail with an offset and shoulder which fits and
engages with a similar offset and shoulder upon the next rail; to the

page_text: peculiar form of the bolts employed; and to a novel arrangement of the
various parts; the whole when properly constructed forming a stiff and
inflexiable joint, by means of which the usual lamination of the ends of
railway bars will be entirely avoided, while a proper allowance is made
for the contraction and expansion of the rails.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of track at the point where
adjoining rails meet; Figure 2 is a sectional view of my fish plate;
Figure 3 is a plan view of my nut lock; Figures 4 and 5 are detached
views of the bolts. Like letters refer to the same parts in each Figure.
rest
A represents the wooden stringers or timbers, which in practice will
upon suitable ties, and upon which the rails B are secured by wood
screws a with elongated heads, whose width is equal to the body of the
screw, while the projecting heads upon opposite sides acting as flanges
will allow them to grasp and hold the foot of the rail to the stringer.
When it is required to release the rail from the stringers it may be done
by giving the screws a quarter of a turn, thereby disengaging the head
from the rail foot. The ends of these rails are halved togethed, as
shown, the one lapping by and abutting against the other. A chair and
fish plate combined made in two sections C and D receive the foot of the
rail, and are fitted to the flat or concave sides of the web of the rail in
reference to which they are so situated, that the overlapping ends of the
rail will be about the centre of the length of the chair and fish plate.
Equidistant from each other through the ends of the rail and corre-
spondingly through the fish plate are punched as many rectangular holes
as it is designed to use bolts to connect the rails and fish plates together;
it is not necessary that these holes should be equidistant from each
other, although it is preferable in order to secure greater uniformity in
the work; it is however essential that in their vertical section they
should be longer than the width of the bolts in order to allow for the
contraction and expansion of the rails under varying temperatures. The
bolts E, H, shown in Figures 4 and 5 are rectangular in shape, the ends
of course being drawn down and rounded to receive the thread with
which the nuts c, f, engage.
The vibration arising from passing trains, concussion, or accident
frequently causes the nuts to become loose and to fall off when such

page_text: nuts are used as are usually employed in securing fish plates to the rails;
to remedy this evil I employ a plate F with four holes & punched
therein of suitable size to fit the nut c. This plate is placed against the
fish plate in such a manner that the nuts c will protrude through the
holes d, and is held in position by another rectangular bolt H passing
through corresponding holes of corresponding shape in the plate, fish
plate, and rail. Through the end of this bolt there is drilled a small
holo to receive the pin e, which engages with a slot in the outer face of
the nut f, and effectually prevents it from turning or becoming loose.
The holes through which all the bolts E and H pass in the fish plate and
locking plate should be of a size to fit the bolts, but the corresponding
holes through the rails should be elongated as and for the purpose
herein before described. Suitable bolts G (which as they are under
ground should be galvanized to prevent corrosion) are employed to hold
the stringers in their relative positions, and prevent their spreading or
drawing together. These bolts should be provided with shoulders g,
against which the inner face of the stringers rest, and should have nuts h
upon the ends which pass through the stringers. Tubes or openings K
extending laterally and downward through the stringers will allow the
water which would otherwise settle there to pass off from between the
two legs of the track.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
mc by my foreign correspondent, I claim,―
First. The chair and fish plate combined when made in two sections C
and D, provided with rectangular openings to receive the bolts E and H,
substantially as herein set forth.
Second. The locking plate F when constructed and operating as
described and secured in its engagement with the nuts C by means of tho
bolt H, nut f, and pin e, as herein specified.
Third. In connection with the above-named parts the rails B provided
with overlapping offsetts and shoulders as at b, and rectangular holes
through the web to receive the bolts E and H when arranged substantially
as and for the purposes herein described.
Fourth. The tubes or water outlets K in the stringers A, as hercin set
forth.

page_text: Fifth. The combination of the stringers A with any suitable ties, and
the rails B, tie bolts G, and the various devices described above in
the formation of a rigid or inflexible railway joint, when arranged
relatively to each other and operating substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
J. TEARE.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)