IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING RAILWAY RAILS TO CHAIRS AND CONNECTING RAILWAY RAILS
Year: 1884

page_text: COMELETE
DIEVIFICATION
We MATTHEW STEVENS of Lindo Villa, Lansdown, Bath, in the County of
Somerset, England, Gentleman, and FREDERICK WILLIAM STEVENS, Associate
Member of the Institution. of Civil Engineers, Executive Engineer of the Public
Works Department, Bombay, India, on special duty, Great Indian Peninsula
Railway do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SECURING RAILWAY RAILS TO CHAIRS AND CONNECTING RAILWAY RAILS"-
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
-
The usual manner of securing rails to the chairs of railways is by wooden keys
or blocks of wedge shape, which; owing to the vibration of the rails when trains
are passing over them and the effects of the weather, become loose, thereby causing
constant supervision and hammering to keep them well wedged in their place-
The accompanying Drawings show the manner in which the Invention, which is
composed of a castiron box and a wrought iron split wedged key to be fully
described hereafter, will overcome this difficulty.
A. B. C. D. (vide Drawing N° 1, Fig. 1) is the elevation of the cast iron box on
the right hand side and E. F. G. H. the wrought iron split wedged key. The box
is divided into two parts, the inner part having one tooth on the top and the outer
part having two teeth on the top. The former working into the latter as shown
in Drawing N° 1 Fig. 2. The teeth project from 3/16 to 1/8 of an inch to form a
rim on the upper outer side which is continued down on both sides of the box as
shown. The outer part with two teeth is sloped from the rim to the bottom, as
shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.
The interior of box is wedge shaped longitudinally to take the key. The
wrought iron key is split about one third up its length and is also wedge shaped
to fit the box.
The box is placed between the chair and rail after which the wedge is inserted
and driven "home" making the whole perfectly rigid and firm requiring very
little supervision or attention after this has been once done. Fig. 1 of Drawing
No 2 shows a perspective view of chair and rail with box and key in position,
Fig. 2 of the same Drawing shows a view of the box and key with the former
open to show its construction.

page_text: The usual manner of connecting rails of railways is by two fish plates bolted
together, the box and key before described is a substitute for this system and is
an improvement thereon, as the connection will be more permanent equally as
rigid and more economical.
For connecting rails the chairs will be from two to three inches wider than the
ordinary chairs and the box and key increased in length proportionately, as shown
in Drawing N° 1 Fig. 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
-
1** The substitution of a cast iron box and wrought iron split wedged key as
fully described above in place of the present wooden wedge shaped blocks
now used as keys for chairs of railways, which are always becoming loose
and requiring constant supervision and attention.
2nd The substitution of the said cast iron box and wrought iron split key in
place of the present wrought iron fish plates now in use for connecting
rails.

page_text: We MATTHEW STEVENS of Lindo Villa, 'Lansdown, Bath, in the County of
Somerset, England, Gentleman, and FREDERICK WILLIAM STEVENS, Associate
Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Executive Engineer of the Public
Works Department, Bombay, India, on special duty, Great Indian Peninsula
Railway do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SECURING RAILWAY RAILS TO CHAIRS AND CONNECTING RAILWAY RAILS"-
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
The usual manner of securing rails to the chairs of railways is by wooden keys
or blocks of wedge shape, which, owing to the vibration of the rails when trains
are passing over them and the effects of the weather, become loose, thereby causing
constant supervision and hammering to keep them well wedged in their place-
The accompanying Drawings show the manner in which the Invention, which is
composed of a castiron box and a wrought iron split wedged key to be fully
described hereafter, will overcome this difficulty.
A. B. C. D. (vide Drawing N° 1, Fig. 1) is the elevation of the cast iron box on
the right hand side and E. F. G. H. the wrought iron split wedged key. The box
is divided into two parts, the inner part having one tooth on the top and the outer
part having two teeth on the top. The former working into the latter as shown
in Drawing No 1 Fig. 2. The teeth project from 3/18 to 1/8 of an inch to form a
rim on the upper outer side which is continued down on both sides of the box as
shown. The outer part with two teeth is sloped. from the rim to the bottom, as,
shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.
16
The interior of box is wedge shaped longitudinally to take the key. The
wrought iron key is split about one third up its length and is also wedge shaped
to fit the box.
The box is placed between the chair and rail after which the wedge is inserted
and driven "home" making the whole perfectly rigid and firm requiring very
little supervision or attention after this has been once done. Fig. 1 of Drawing
No 2 shows a perspective view of chair and rail with box and key in position,
Fig. 2 of the same Drawing shows a view of the box and key with the former
open to show its construction.

page_text: The usual manner of connecting rails of railways is by two fish plates bolted
together, the box and key before described is a substitute for this system and is
an improvement thereon, as the connection will be more permanent equally as
rigid and more economical.
.
For connecting rails the chairs will be from two to three inches wider than the
ordinary chairs and the box and key increased in length proportionately, as shown
in Drawing N° 1 Fig. 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
1st The substitution of a cast iron box and wrought iron split wedged key as
fully described above in place of the present wooden wedge shaped blocks
now used as keys for chairs of railways, which are always becoming loose
and requiring constant supervision and attention.
2nd The substitution of the said cast iron box and wrought iron split key in 1
place of the present wrought iron fish plates now in use for connecting
rails.