IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO Lancaster PERMANENT WAY FOR RAILWAYS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Dickson Junior of Seaforth in the county of
for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO
Lancaster
PERMANENT WAY FOR RAILWAYS
"
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Dickson, Junior, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th August 1882.
JOHN DICKSON junior of Seaforth in the County of Lancaster "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND RELATING TO PERMANENT WAY FOR RAILWAYS"
This Invention has for its object the construction of metal sleepers, chairs and
joint connections angles of crossings and switches for the permanent way of
railways
Firstly My Invention relates to an improved form of transverse sleeper and
consists in making the sleeper of the open box girder section having flanges on the
tops of the sides of the box turned by preference outwards to which I fix on the
line of each rail by rivets or bolts a cast or rolled iron or steel shoe plate having
legs on its edges parallel to the rail and leaving a sufficient space between them to
receive the chair brackets and tapered keys hereinafter described, the part between
the lugs being tapered towards the inside to provide the necessary tilt for the
rails or for convenience in rolling a packing piece may be inserted between the
outside edge of the shoe plate and the sleeper The lugs are made broad enough
to admit of rivets for rivetting the plate to the sleeper
Secondly. My improvements relate to chair brackets and consist in making the
chair brackets of rolled iron or steel the brackets being so placed on the shoe plate
hereinbefore described as to suspend the rail between them, the outside bracket is
rivetted to the shoe plate the outer edge of the foot of the bracket being in contact
with the lug, the inside bracket is fastened down after the rail is in position by
means of bolts through oblong holes in the shoe plate and driven home against the
rail by means of finely tapered double wedges made of metal inserted between the
outside edge of the foot of the bracket and the inside lug of the shoe plate

page_text: Thirdly. My improvements relate to joint connections and consist in lengthening
the chair brackets described in the second part so as to admit of one or more fish
bolts being passed through each rail for the purpose of fishing one rail to another
The fish chair brackets rest on the shoe plate attached to the sleeper as herein-
before described.
Fourthly My improvements relate to crossings and consist of making the angles
only of cast steel run into a mould under pressure the metal having a ductility of
about 30° the nose of the angle is made of a solid section to give strength where
required the heel being of the section of the rail to admit of its being fished as
herein before described I prefer to have a shoe plate attached to and forming part
of the nose on which the shoulders of the wing rails will rest to ensure an even
bearing across the wings and the angle.
Fifthly My improvements relate to switches and consist of rolling or casting
them to the required form If rolled I do them by means of rolls with concentric
grooves for the necessary length of full section of rail as required at the heel of the
switch after which the grooves are formed eccentric to draw out the switch to the
required tapered form in one revolution If cast I run steel under pressure and
having a ductility of about 30 ° into moulds. I prefer to make the switch of a
solid section throughout except a sufficient length at the heel to receive the fish
plates and I provide the switch with a flange at its foot on the inside of the road
for the purpose of strengthening the switch and increasing the bearing surface

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Dickson, Junior, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th February 1883.
JOHN DICKSON, junior, of Seaforth, in the County of Lancaster, "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND RELATING TO PERMANENT WAY FOR RAILWAYS
"
The object of this invention is to provide a permanent way for railways of
greater stability and durability than those at present known and refers to the
construction and application of transverse metal sleepers, chairs and joint connections,
angles of crossings and switches.
Metal sleepers both longitudinal and transverse have been for many years known
and adopted to some extent on railways but objection is taken to them that they
are not sufficiently heavy to give stability to the road and that they are not so
easily packed and kept in order as those of solid wood and that there is a difficulty
in making satisfactory chair and rail attachments. It is to transverse sleepers
that this invention relates and consists in the first place of making the sleeper of
the open box or trough girder section as shown in the drawings.
Fig. 1, is an end elevation of three Steel or Iron transverse sleepers with shoe
plates combined according to the first part of my Invention, also showing a
longitudinal elevation of two pieces of rail of the Vignoles Section fished on the
middle sleeper by means of chair brackets, the rails being attached to the intermediate
sleepers by means of bolts.
Fig. 2, is a plan of Fig. 1 shewing one line of rail and a portion of the sleepers.
Fig. 3, is a partial clevation and longitudinal section of a portion of an inter-
mediate sleeper with a shoe plate adapted for the Vignoles section of rail.
The sleeper. B is of the open box or trough girder section, with flanges b on the tops
of the sides of the box turned by preference outwards as shown. To these flanges
is fixed by rivets or bolts on the line of each rail a cast or rolled iron or steel shoe
plate C having flanges c on its edges parallel to the rail A. Between the flanges c
sufficient space is left to receive the chair brackets F and tapered keys D herein-
after described, the part between the lugs being tapered or bevelled towards the
inside to provide the necessary tilt for the rails. The flanges c are made broad
enough to admit of rivets for rivetting the plate to the sleeper.
Where the rails are of Vignoles section they are fastened in position to the
intermediate sleepers by dog-headed bolts c¹ through the shoe plate C (see Fig. 3)
and at the joints where "fishing" is required the rails are held in position by chair
brackets of the sections shown.
Fig. 4, is an end elevation of a pair of Fish-brackets adapted for the Vignoles
section of rail also shewing a partial elevation of a sleeper with a shoe-plate.
Fig. 5, is an end elevation of one modification of steel or iron intermediate chair
brackets adapted for the bull or double-headed rails also shewing a partial elevation
of a sleeper with a shoe-plate.
Fig. 6, is a plan of Fig. 5.
Fig. 7, is an end elevation of another modification of Fish brackets adapted for
the bull or double headed rail also shewing a partial elevation of a sleeper with a
shoe-plate attached.
Fig. 8, is a plan of Fig. 7.
Fig. 9, is an end elevation of a combined shoe plate and Fish-brackets adapted
for the double-headed rail laid on wooden sleepers.
Fig. 10, is a plan of Fig. 9.
The chair brackets are made of rolled iron or steel and are so placed on the shoe
plate C as to suspend the rail between them. The outside bracket is rivetted to
the shoe plate the outer edge of the foot of the bracket being in contact with the
lug or flange c the inside bracket is fastened down after the rail is in position by

page_text: means of bolts through oblong holes in the shoe-plate and driven home against the
rail by means of finely tapered double wedges D made of metal inserted between
the outside edge of the foot of the bracket F and the inside lug of the shoe plate C.
At the joints of the rails the chair brackets F are made longer so as to admit of
one or more fish bolts h being passed through each rail for the purpose of fishing
one rail to the other.
Chair brackets of this description are also applicable to wooden sleepers and the
use of the shoe plate C prevents the friction or mount of the chair on the surface of
the sleeper and the consequent wear and tear of the wood. The shoe plate being
securely fastened to the sleeper B' by fang bolts f₁ any play or motion of the chair
bracket is on the face of the shoe plate where two metal surfaces come together.
The sleepers B and shoe plates C are or may be made of cast or rolled iron or
steel, and the sides of the sleepers may be slightly tapered if desired-they are then
punched or drilled to receive the rivets or bolts for attaching the shoe plates to the
sleeper and the brackets to the shoe-plates, the holes in the shoe plates C for
receiving the bolts for holding down the movable brackets F which are driven
home against the rail by the wedges D being slightly elongated or oval-shaped at
right angles to the direction of the rail to allow of the bolts, being entered without
any difficulty. The sleepers B are or may be filled with ballast to give stability to
the road and deaden the sound of vibration from a passing load and the ends left
open to carry off surface water.
The shoe plates C are or may be adapted to receive any ordinary description of
chair.
The intermediate and joint chair-brackets are or may be made of rolled iron or
steel sawn to the required lengths and then punched or drilled. The brackets on
the outside of the rails are fixed by rivets or bolts to the sleeper or shoe plates but
the brackets on the inside of the rails are movable and only bolted down after
the rail is in position the jaw being driven home against the web of the rail by the
wedges D.
The shoe plates for the Vignoles Section of rail are tapered to give the necessary
tilt to the rail, but, the tilt for the double-headed rail may be given by the brackets
or the shoe-plate as shewn in Figs. 5, 7 and 9.
The wedges D may be made of iron or steel rolled or cast to the tapered form and
the rubbing surfaces may be roughened or serrated to prevent them shifting or
working loose after they have been driven home, although their working loose will
not endanger the road.
The rubbing surfaces of the shoes, brackets, and wedges are or may be dipped in
tar or its like and then sprinkled with cork or sawdust before fixing.
To render the road more clastic at the crossings I make the angles H only of
cast steel made separate from and independent of the wing-rails I which may be of
the ordinary rail in use in the road.
Fig. 11, is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the angle of a crossing for use
with the Vignoles section of rail made according to my Invention, also shewing part
of the wing rails, sleepers and fastenings as adapted to a crossing.
Fig. 12, is a plan of Fig. 11.
Figs. 13, 14 and 15, are cross sections of the angle of the crossing on line u. u.
v. v. and w. w. also shewing the wing rails, sleepers and shoe plates.
In casting the angles for crossings the toughest and hardest description of steel
is to be used and if necessary to ensure a sound casting the metal is run into a
mould under pressure.
The nose of the angle H' is made of a solid section to give strength where
required the heel H₁ being of the section of the rail to admit of its being fished to
the rails by plates or brackets as herein before described; I prefer to have the shoe
plate Cattached to and forming part of the nose on which the shoulders of the
wing rails will rest to ensure an even bearing across the wings and the angle.
The angle of a crossing for use with double headed rails is or may be assimilated
to that shewn in Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, with the addition of the movable chair

page_text: brackets herein before described which take the place of the dog-headed bolts C¹
shewn in the drawings.
Finally to lessen the expense of constructing and maintaining the road and to
provide a switch of more uniform strength and extended bearing surface I dispense
with the planing of the switches K and instead roll them to the required form.
The bar is first roughed down in the ordinary way and then finally passed through
a pair of finishing rolls of such diameter that the switch is drawn out in one
revolution of the rolls, the grooves in the rolls correspond with the requisite tapered
form of the switch. Two or more switches may be rolled in one piece and after.
wards sawn off as required thereby avoiding unnecessary crop ends and waste of
metal.
Fig. 16, shews a longitudinal elevation of a switch adapted for use with a double
or bull-headed rail also shewing part of the stock rail and six metallic sleepers on
which the switch takes its bearing, and the mode of adapting the shoe plates and
brackets in the case of a switch.
Fig. 17, is a plan of Fig. 16.
Figs. 18, 19 and 20, are cross sections of the switch on the lines x. x. y. Y. z. z.
The cross sections of the switch are arranged to provide nearly the same area at
any given point throughout its length as shewn at K K K and is provided with
a flange k on the foot which gives an extended and flat bearing surface. At the nose
of the switch this flange is only placed on the inside of the road.
Having now described my invention and the best modes known to me of
carrying it into effect I wish it to be understood that I do not make a general
claim for sleepers for the permanent way of railways of trough or open box girder
section as I am aware that attempts have already been made to use sleepers of that
shape but that what I believe to be new and desire to protect under the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is :-
1st In permanent way for railways the use with a metallic transverse sleeper of
open box girder or trough section of a shoe-plate bevelled or inclined to give the
necessary tilt to the rails and rivetted or securely fastened to the top flanges of the
sleeper forming a tio therefor and upon which the rails rest substantially as
described and shewn.
2nd The connection for securing rails to sleepers or fishing rails in the permanent
way for railways in which the rails are held. in position by or supported between
chair brackets bolted or secured to a shoe plate with flanges (such as c) at either
side of the rail against one of which the foot of the outside chair bracket is in
contact and the other bracket held or driven tightly against the rail by two wedges
inserted between its foot and the other flange on the shoe plate substantially as
described and shewn.
3rd The general combination of crossing for railways consisting of angle or point
of cast steel to which the shoe plate is cast, the heel H" elongated and of the shape
of the rail so that it may be fished thereto and the wing rails formed of ordinary
rails substantially as described and shewn.
4th A switch for permanent way of railways for diverting the traffic from one
line of rails to another rolled with an extended flange or base k at its outer end
and of substantially the shape and form shewn so that the sectional area shall be
approximately the same at any portion of its length.
In witness whereof I the said John Dickson, junior, have hereunto set my
hand and seal this seventh day of February in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.