IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS FOR RAILWAYS AND IN THE CONNECTIONS AND FASTENINGS FOR RAILS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bridges Adams, of No. 1, Adam Street,
Adelphi, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS FOR RAILWAYS AND IN THE CONNECTIONS AND
FASTENINGS FOR RAILS."
Sealed the 20th March 1855, and dated the 5th October 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bridges Adams
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th October, 1854.
I, WILLIAM BRIDGES ADAMS, of No. 1, Adam Street, Adelphi, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILS FOR RAILWAYS AND IN THE CONNECTIONS
AND FASTENINGS FOR RAILS " to be as follows:-
1. In the sectional forms of bridge rails, by deepening the vertical sides
below the level of the horizontal flanges or bearing surfaces, so as to make the
rails vertically stiffer.
2. In turning down the edges of the horizontal flanges, so as to make such
flanges vertically stiffer.
3. In forming the vertical projecting portions below the horizontal bearing
flanges of bridge rails at acute or obtuse angles instead of right angles, for
the purpose of better jointing or connecting the rails together.
4. In forming the lower or bearing portions of bridge rails and also of foot
rails to angular instead of horizontal section, for the purpose of better jointing
or connecting the rails together.

page_text: 5. In forming the bearing flanges placed at the mid depth of girder rails
of a wedging form, for the purpose of better jointing or connecting, and in
forming central flanges on double-headed rails between the upper and lower
tables.
6. In jointing or connecting bridge rails together by means of what I call
a truss joint, being an improvement on joints formerly patented by me, con-
sisting of two side clips of metal with a vertical tongue piece bearing on the
inner crown of the rails, or beneath the rails, or both, with one, two, or more
bolts passing through the clips and tongue piece, and acting with a wedge
movement on the angles of contact, so that as the nuts are tightened, the rails
may be firmly clipped; and when angular bottom rails are used, either foot
rails or bridge rails, the tongue pieces may be dispensed with; but when the
rails are not angle-bottomed, a wedge piece of metal may be applied.
7. In jointing or connecting girder rails by bracket or clip joints, formed to
draw together on the wedge-shaped flanges, or on ribs or hollows, or on both;
and also in applying similar bracket joints to double-headed rails with mid
flanges.
8. Applying the clip or bracket joints, when required, by reducing in width
the horizontal bearing flanges of any of the above-described rails.
9. Peculiar formed chairs or brackets of wood or metal to support the
intermediate portions of rails.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Bridges Adams in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th March 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BRIDGES ADAMS, of No. 1, Adam Street, Adelphi, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Bridges Adams, Her special licence that I, the said William Bridges
Adams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Bridges Adams, 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,

page_text: 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 RAILS FOR RAILWAYS AND IN THE CONNECTIONS AND FASTENINGS FOR RAILS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Bridges Adams,
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 months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Bridges Adams, 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, that is to say :-
One part of my improvements in rails consists in an improved form of bridge
rail, by prolonging the two vertical sides downwards below the level of the
horizontal flanges, in order to give greater vertical stiffness without increasing
the height of the rail above the sleeper, as shewn in transverse section at
Figure 1. The portions A, A, projecting below the horizontal flanges are to
be sunk into the longitudinal or transverse sleepers, which will serve to keep
the guage without stress on the fastenings. Figure 2 shews a transverse
section of a bridge rail, in which the side or horizontal flanges A, A, are turned
down vertically at the edges to strengthen them. Figure 3 shews a bridge rail
similar to Figure 1, with the difference that the lower projecting portions A, A,
are formed at an angle, for the purpose of applying the connecting joint
castings B, B, which may be, if preferred, of wrought iron, twelve inches, or
more or less, in length, and which are provided with holes, through which
pass
one, two, or more bolts, with nuts C, an inch, or more or less, in diameter.
The upper portions of the castings b, b, press on the upper angles of the rail
flanges. The slanting portions d, d, press against the angle portions of the rails
A, A. As the bolts C press the castings B, B, together, the wedging action
causes them to clip the rails firmly, and force the two vertical sides against a
central piece of metal or hard wood e, which fills in the space of the inner
channel or opening of the rails, of the same length as the castings B, B, and
thus two adjoining rails will be firmly held together, but with provision for
expansion and contraction by the sliding of the rails in the castings B, B. A
mode of applying these joint castings to the ordinary bridge rails is shewn at
Figure 4 in section, and Figure 5 in plan. A, A, A, are the rails; B, B, B, B,
the side castings; C, C, C, the connecting bolts; D, Figure 4, a tongue piece,
fitting the hollow of the rails, and projecting below the hollow, and forming

page_text: there an angle on each side, corresponding to those of the castings B, B, and
seen in contact at d, d. As the bolts C, C, tighten, the tongue piece D is
forced up into the curve of the rails, which are held down by the side castings
B, B, at b, b, and thus the whole is made firm, the metal tongue piece D,
through which pass the bolts C, C, serving to support the rails vertically, and
also to prevent the vertical sides from being forced in; and, if preferred, the
bridge rails, Figures 3 and 4, may be rolled solid, with an angular form below,
either in the central portion or to the whole width of the flanges, the object
in rolling hollow being chiefly to save metal; and the tongue piece D, Figure 4,
may be made to bear with shoulders beneath the rail, as shewn by the dotted
lines a, a, instead of bearing on the crown, or they may bear on both conjointly;
and although for bridge rails in actual use the simplest mode will be as shewn
at Figure 4, I prefer, in case of new rails, to reduce the width of the flanges,
so as to diminish the weight of the castings B, B, and the length of the bolts
C, C, similar to the mode shown at Figures 10 and 11; and when the bridge
rails are laid on cross sleepers, these joint castings may either lay on the cross
sleepers or on the ballast; and in case of longitudinal sleepers, the sleepers may
be cut away to sink the joint castings B, B, to the level of the rail bottom.
Figure 6 shews a foot rail in section, and Figure 7 in plan, with similar
castings B, B, B, B, and bolts C, C, C, applied. In this case, a wedge piece A
is applied beneath the rail to produce a wedging action, similar to the tongue
piece D, at Figure 4, and this wedge picce may also be applied beneath a
hollow or solid bridge rail; or instead of the wedge piece, the bottoms of the
rails may be rolled to a similar form, and when the upper portion of the foot
or bearing part forms a sufficient wedge, the lower wedge piece or angle may
be dispensed with; and for the purposes of moveable rails, iron of the class
called T iron may be used for the rails, connected by the before described
joints either with a wedge piece below, or with a wedging action on the upper
side of the bearing portion, which lics on the ground or on sleepers, and
I call these joints "truss joints," from their peculiar action, the tightening
of the bolts acting on the inclined planes or wedges as a tie beam supports
the king and queen posts in a trussed roof principle. Figure 8 is a cross
section, and Figure 9 a plan, of a girder rail A, A, A, and a pair of bracket
joints B, B, B, B. The side flanges of the rails are shewn cut away at
the dotted lines m, m, Figure 8, and m, m, m, m, in plan, Figure 9. The
brackets B, B, B, B, are by the action of the bolts C, C, C, forced on to the
wedge form flanges at a, a, a, a, and hold the rails firmly together. The bear-
ings of the brackets have holes through them, shewn in plan at d, d, d, to bolt
or spike or trenail them down to the sleepers, and, if preferred, the rails need

page_text: not be reduced in width at the flanges, but in that case the bracket joints
must be heavier and larger. And in addition to the hold of the brackets on
the flanges, other ribs and hollows in the brackets and the lower portion of
the rail may be added, and, if preferred, the lower portion of the rail may
descend half an inch or more below the brackets to notch into the sleeper
to preserve the guage, and these rails may be notched into the intermediate
sleepers, so as to bear upon the side flanges, or into wood blocks or chairs
fixed to the sleepers; or iron brackets may be bolted to the rails beneath the
horizontal flanges, without bearing under the head of the rail. Figure 10
shews a cross section, and Figure 11 a plan, of a bridge rail, with vertical
angular flanges below very wide horizontal flanges, adapted either to rest on
sleepers or on ballast if for light loads. A, A, A, are the rails, the flanges
being reduced in width to receive the side castings B, B, B, B,.secured by the
bolts C, C, C, which force the castings on to the reduced flanges at a, a, with a
wedging action. D, D, is a cranked tie bar, connecting the opposite rails
together at the joint, and is seen in plan, Figure 11, partly shewn by dotted
lines. The up-turned portion of this bar passes between the castings and into
the hollow of the rail, the lower projecting portions of which are cut away
for the bolts C, C, C. As the bolts are tightened, the rails, the side castings,
and the tie bar are held firmly together, the hollows for the bolts preventing
the rails from drawing out endways. The full width of the flanges is shewn in
plan at b, b, b, b. This joint may either lie on the ballast, or be notched into
cross or longitudinal sleepers. As these rails will be laterally very stiff, tie bars
at the joints only, if strong, will suffice to keep the guage; and instead of this
bridge rail, T iron bars may be used for rails connected by these joint metals,
either notched in or to the full width of the flange, and in such case provision
must be made in the castings to clip the tie bar, as a substitute for the hollow
of the rail, before described; and for the purpose of keeping firmer the
horizontal flanges, when they are reduced in width, the ends may be slightly
recessed into the ends of the joint metals. Figure 12 shews a double-headed
rail, with central horizontal flanges, in section, and Figure 13 in plan. A, A, A,
are the rails; B, 13, B, B, cast-iron side brackets, made to wedge between the
central flange and the lower table of the rail, and secured by bolts C, C, C;
thus, the flanges rest on the brackets, and the rail rests on the sleeper together
with the bottom of the brackets, which being secured by spikes, bolts, or
trenails through the holes d, d, d, d, the whole will be firm. Vertical ribs a, a, a, a,
serve to strengthen the brackets for the joints, but they may be omitted in the
intermediates, which need not be above four to five inches long in the direction
of the rail's length, whereas the joint brackets may be from twelve to eighteen

page_text: inches. Figure 14 is a section, and Figure 15 a plan, of a deep girder rail
with two heads made to reverse. A, A, is the rail; B, B, B, B, are side bearing
flanges of cast or wrought iron, placed so as to wedge into the side channels
of the rail, and connected through the rail by bolts C, the opposite rails
being connected together by tie bars D, bent to an angle, and secured by the
bolts C. These bearing flanges may be continuous or in short lengths;-the
plan shews bearing flanges abutting together at the mid portion of the rail.
The joint bearing flanges must of course intersect the joints to connect the
rails, and may bear on the ballast. And note, though I have generally
described two bolts as the means of connecting the rail joints, I do not confine
myself to that number, but use more or less, as convenient, and I also use cast
or wrought metal for the joint plates and fastenings, as most desireable.
Having now described my said Inventions, I wish it to be understood that I
claim as original,-
First, the sections of rails herein-before described and shewn at Figures
1, 2, 8, 8, 10, and 12, the peculiarity in Figure 8 being the wedge form of the
horizontal flanges.
Secondly, I claim the application of joint fastenings to bridge and foot rails,
or rails of T iron, as herein-before described and shewn at Figures 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 10, and 11, and the peculiar bracket fastenings shewn at Figures 8 and 9;
and also the mode of fastening cross tie bars, shewn at Figures 10 and 11, and
herein-before described.
Thirdly, I claim the application of brackets, hereiu-before described and
shewn at Figures 12 and 13, both for joints and intermediate supports to rails
with double head and mid horizontal flange.
Lastly, I claim the application of metallic side bearing flanges, either cast or
wrought, and tie bars, to deep double-headed girder rails, fitting in the side
channels, with retaining bolts beneath the horizontal surfaces, which bear on
the ballast, as herein-before described, and shewn at Figures 14 and 15.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bridges Adams, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
WILLIAM BRIDGES ADAMS. (L.S.)