IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM HINDSON of Claremont Park Terrace Bewick Road West, Gateshead
on Tyne in the County of Durham, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of
my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS" to
be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object to so construct Railway Chairs as to make them
grip the rail without the use of wood wedges and to dispense with the necessity
for nails or spikes for securing the chair to the sleeper and also to render
unnecessary fish plates and bolts for connecting the rails, thus effecting economy in
the first cost, and giving great security to the rail, at the same time dispensing
with the guaging of rails when being laid, thereby facilitating the laying down of
the rails, also giving a firm bearing for the ends of the rails by means of a chair at
joint of the rails, and a secure locking of the chair to the sleeper, also rendering
unnecessary the supervision necessary with chairs as at present in use.
My Invention is specially applicable to ordinary rail road chairs and sleepers,
but may also be applied to Tramways, bridge and other forms of railways.
I will describe my said Invention as applied to
roadway.
an ordinary Locomotive
The chairs are preferably inade of Cast Steel and are formed in two pieces and
have a pin or hinge on the underside for holding the two pieces together; this
hinge portion of the chair is made in the form of a square or rectangular box,
which is let into the sleeper thereby forming a secure fixing of the chair to the
sleeper. The base of the chair is made of the usual form and there may be
wooden cushions for rails to rest on. The top portion of the chair is made to
correspond to the form of rail used, and is made to act as the jaws of a vice thus
gripping the rail firmly and the greater the weight coming upon the rail the more
firmly will the jaws bite the rail. The sleepers are of the usual form and size but
are specially notched out to the gauge of rails to suit the box or hinged portion
on bottom of chair, the whole of the sleepers having been so prepared and
templated there is no further need to gauge the rails when laid in position. The
sleepers when laid are spaced the usual distance apart, and there is fixed at each
jointing of the rails a chair made with a wider jaw so as to hold the ends of both
rails and form a rest for the ends of the rails thereby giving greater firmness
and security to the rail ends and dispensing with the use of fish plates and bolts.
In certain cases the chair may have a projecting pin cast on the end of the jaw
and arranged so as to pass through a hole in the end of rail thereby acting as &
bolt or pin to lock the rail and chair together.
Dated the 14th do of Tanum 1004
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the said William Hindson,

page_text: I WILLIAM HINDSON of Claremont Park Terrace, Berwick Road Gateshead on
Tyne in the County of Durham Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my
said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CHAIRS AND SLEEPERS" and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My Invention has for its object to so construct Railway Chairs as to make them
grip the rail without the use of wood wedges and to dispense with the necessity
for nails or spikes for securing the chair to the sleeper and also to render
unnecessary fish plates and bolts for connecting the rails thus effecting economy in
the first cost and giving great security to the rails and at the same time dispensing
with the necessity for the guaging of rails when being laid thereby facilitating the
laying down of the rails also giving a firm bearing for the ends of the rails by
means of a chair at the joint of the rails and a secure locking of the chair to the
sleeper also rendering unnecessary the supervision necessary with chairs as at present
in use.
My Invention is specially applicable to ordinary rail road chairs and sleepers,
but may also be applied to Tramways, Bridge and other forms of Railways.
I will describe my said Invention as applied to an ordinary Locomotive
roadway, and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is
a transverse section and Figure 2 a plan of an arrangement according to my
Invention. Figures 3 and 4 are similar views of a slightly modified arrangement
for the joints of rails. Figure 5 is an inside view of one of the jaws and Figure 6
is an underside view of the chair.
The Chairs are preferably made of Cast Steel and are formed in two pieces a
and band have a pin or hinge c on the underside for holding the two pieces
together. This hinge portion of the chair may be made by a claw on the one part
engaging with the pin held between lugs on the other part or by an arrangement
like an ordinary hinge, and these parts are in the form preferably of a square or
rectangular box which is let into the sleeper as shewn clearly in Figure 1 thereby
forming a secure fixing of the chair to the sleeper. The base of the chair may be
made of the usual form and there may be a cushioning of wood or equivalent
material for the rails to rest on. The inner sides of the top portion or jaws of
the chair are made to correspond with the form of rail used, and act as the jaws
of a vice thus gripping the rails firmly and the greater the weight coming upon
the rail, the more firmly will the jaws bite the rails. The sleepers may be of the
usual form and size but are specially notched out to the guage of rails to suit the
aforesaid box or hinged portion on bottom of chair. The whole of the sleepers
having been so prepared and templated there is no further need to guage the rails
when laid in position The sleepers when laid are spaced the usual distance apart,
and there is fixed at each jointing of the rails a chair made with a wider jaw as
shewn in Figure 4 so as to hold the adjoining ends of both rails, and form a rest
for the ends of the rails, thereby giving greater firmness and security to the rail
ends, and dispensing with the use of fish plates and bolts.
In the Drawings there is shewn a seating of wood or equivalent material to
give a bearing for the underside of the rail for the chair.
The chair may have a projecting pin or pins cast on the end of the jaw or jaws
and arranged so as to pass through a hole or holes in the ends of the abutting
rai's, thereby acting as a bolt or pin to lock the rail and chair together. This
arrangement is shewn as applied to the chair for the joints in Figures 3, 4 and 5

page_text: where two such pins d are shewn one for each rail end but thero may be more than
one pin for each rail if desired. The Invention may be applied to rails of other
sections than those shewn in the Drawings such for oxample as Tramway rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what
I claim is :-
First Railway rail chairs formed of jaws or pieces hinged together at the part
underneath the rail seating and with the inner upper surfaces or jaws shaped to
correspond to the rail substantially as and for the purposes herein before described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
:-
Second Forming Railway Chairs in two parts hinged together at the part
underneath the rail scating and held at the part in a recess in the sleeper the inner
upper surfaces or jaws of the said chairs being shaped to correspond to the rail
substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings whether the said chair be of a width to suit two rail ends or to bo
formed of a width suited to be placed intermediately with the joints.
Third In chairs constructed as claimed by the preceding claiming clause the
combination of pins or projections on the jaw or jaws of the chair to engage
with holes in the rail, substantially as herein before described and illustrated in
Figures 3, 4 and 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
1004