IMPROVEMENTS IN WROUGHT-IRON PERMANENT WAY FOR RAILWAYS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Knowles, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Sealed the 1st January 1870, and dated the 8th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Knowles at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th July 1869.
I, THOMAS KNOWLES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WROUGHT-IRON PERMANENT WAY FOR RAILWAYS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement
of wrought-iron permanent way for railways, whereby greater economy,
durability, and efficiency are obtained over existing wrought-iron per-
manent ways.
According to this Invention it is proposed to form the sleepers of
wrought-iron plates rolled flat in the first place and with rectangular
recesses on the upper surface, such recesses extending transversely

page_text: across the plate. This roller plate may or may not have a flange formed
on the under side at each end, and is then corrugated in an ordinary or
other corrugating machine, which if desired slightly arches or curves and
produces a series of transverse corrugations on the plate, and at the
same time deflects slightly the edges of the rectangular recesses so as to
impart a dovetailed shape thereto. These transverse sleepers, which may
or may not extend to both rails, are laid directly upon the ballast,
and the rails are secured thereon by means of a pair of loose jaws fitting
accurately against the web and flanges of the rail and provided with
feet which fit accurately into the dovetailed recesses on the surface of
the sleeper. These two loose jaws bear at their upper edges against the
under side of the top flange of the rail, which is thus suspended without
being in actual contact with the sleeper. The jaws are caused to grip
the sides of the rail by means of nuts which are fitted on to the screwed
ends of the tie rods which maintain the guage intact, or in some cases
separate bolts and nuts may be used for the intermediate chairs, and the
tie rods employed at suitable intervals only.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Knowles in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
KNOWLES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of July, 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,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Knowles, Her special license,
that I, the said Thomas Knowles, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Knowles, my executors,
administrators, or 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 WROUGHT-

page_text: IRON PERMANENT WAY FOR RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Knowles, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 mouths next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Knowles, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement
of wrought-iron permanent way for railways, whereby greater economy,
simplicity, durability, and efficiency are obtained over existing wrought-
iron permanent ways.
According to this Invention it is proposed to form the sleepers of
wrought-iron plates rolled flat in the first place and with rectangular
recesses on the upper surfaces, such recesses extending transversely
across the plates. This rolled plate may or may not have a flange
formed on the under side at each end, and is then by preference
corrugated in an ordinary or other corrugating machine, which if
desired slightly arches the same, and produces a series of transverse
corrugations on the plate in a direction parallel to the rail, means being
taken at the same time to deflect the outer edges or sides of the
rectangular recesses so as to impart a dovetailed shape thereto or cause
them to project inwards slightly. These transverse sleepers, which may
or may not extend to both rails, are laid directly upon the ballast, and the
rails are secured thereon by means of a pair of loose jaws fitting
accurately against the web and flanges of the rail, and provided with feet
which fit accurately onto the recess or recesses on the surface of the
sleeper. The two loose jaws bear at their upper edges against the
under side of the top flange of the rail, which is thus suspended without
being in actual contact with the sleeper. The jaws are caused to grip.
the sides of the rail by means of nuts which are fitted on to the screwed
ends of the tie rods which maintain the guage intact, or in some cases
separate bolts and nuts may be used for the intermediate jaws, and tho

page_text: tie rods employed at suitable intervals only, as, for example, at or near
the rail joints.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a transverse section of a
permanent way constructed in accordance with my said Invention;
Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same shewing the mode of
securing the rail both at the joints and intermediate portions; and
Figure 3 is an inside elevation of one of the rails shewing the jaws and
sleepers in position.
A, A, are the ordinary double headed rails; B, B, are loose jaws
fitting against each side of the rail and bearing at their upper edges
against the under side of the top flange, as shewn clearly in Figure 1,
the rail being held suspended by the jaws. Each jaw is rolled with a
foot which fits into a recess formed on the top of the metal sleeper C,
the sides of such recess being bent inwards so as to project somewhat
over the feet of the jaws and prevent them from rising out of the said.
recess. These sleepers may have their recesses rolled or otherwise formed
therein, but I prefer rolling them in long lengths and then.cutting
up such lengths transversely to the desired width of the sleepers. The
sleepers may be used perfectly flat and with or without a projecting boss
or flange a, a, on the extremities at their under sides to facilitate packing,
and the recess on the upper side should have the two sides b, b, bent
over and inwards so as to retain the jaws in their place, such bending
being accomplished in any convenient or well known manner. I also
prefer to corrugate the sleeper and to impart also a slightly arched form
thereto, as shewn in Figure 4, which Figure also shews the sleepers in
the form in which they may be rolled. The recess may either consist of
one plain shallow channel across the sleeper, or it may have a slightly
raised ridge along the centre immediately under the rail, but not touch-
ing the same, so in fact to form two parallel recesses each containing
the foot of one of the two loose jaws, as shewn in Figures 1 and 4
These jaws are secured to the rails either by ordinary bolts or by tie rods
at the intermediate portions, as shewn at d (Figures 2 and 3), and by
ordinary bolts e as well as by the rod at the joints where the jaws

page_text: answer not only as chairs but as fislı plates with suspended joints. In
the latter case the jaws are of course made longer than is requisite for
the intermediate supports.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
application and use of loose jaws provided with feet which fit into a
recess or recesses formed on the surface of a metallic plate sleeper, the
outer sides of such recess or recesses being inclined or bent inwards,
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described and illustrated
by my Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Knowles, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of January
One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
THOMAS KNOWLES. (L.S.)