IMPROVEMENTS IN RAIL- WAYS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
MARIE POUILLET, of Paris, in the Kingdom of France, Engineer, send
greeting.
"WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
5 Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Second day of October, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-six, in the tenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto mé, the said Charles Marie Pouillet, my exors,
admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Charles Marie Pouillet, my exors, admors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Charles Marie Pouillet, my exors,
admňors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAIL-
WAYS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said
Charles Marie Pouillet, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters

page_text: Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles Marie Pouillet, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists of improvements in arranging the bed of the railways,
in the mode of arranging sleepers employed in railways, in the chairs used
thereon, also in the rails.
(First) with regard to the use of arranging the bed of the railway: it con-
sists in the forming a trench the whole length of the lines of railway, into
which concrete or ballast is placed.
Secondly, the improvement in arranging the sleepers consists in laying
them down upon a plate in such manner as to insure their steadiness and firm
position, and to enable them to resist the shocks of the trains in passing over
them.
Thirdly, the improvements in chairs, having interior inclined spaces so as
more readily to give the required inclination to the rails. By the introduction
of these improvements, the weight and size of the sleepers, rails, and chairs
may be considerably reduced, and the upper surface of each part of the rail
may be more easily levelled, and the position of the sleepers more easily
changed when required.
But in order that the different parts of the Invention may be better under-
stood, I will describe the Drawings hereunto annexed; and the first improve-
ment is shown in the Drawing, Sheet 1, in which Figure 1 is a section of a
part of a railway, and Figure 2 a plan. It will be seen there are trenches A
cut underneath the rails which are to extend the whole length of the rails.
These trenches are to be filled with concrete, sand, gravel, or broken stone, to
the depth of about eight inches, and on this are placed tables or wooden
plates C upon which the sleepers rest, the other part of the earthwork being
formed in the ordinary manner of the ordinary materials. In cases where the
water is likely to accumulate and the drainage is bad, the trenches will have
to be made deeper and the plates C brought nearer together.
In the Drawing,
Figure 1, the trench A is shown deeper than at A', and the communication
between the trench A to the trench A', by means of a stone D, so as to
facilitate the flowing of the water over the sides of the plates. Figure 8
shows another way of arranging the trenches under the rails in which the

page_text: concrete or other material used in place of being kept immediately under the
rails is more extended and carried under the rails and the sleepers, in which
case it will not require to be so great a depth, as it will be seen by examining
the Drawing, Figure 3, in which E represents the concrete or other material
being inclined for the purpose of allowing the water to run off. If these
trenches are made deeper they may be filled with two thirds of broken
stones, and then filled upon with concrete, sand, or ballast; they will form a
good bed for the plates C to rest upon, and to support them in a firm position.
But in order to obtain for the sleepers a firm and regular position, the surface
of the concrete or ballast on which the plates rest should be prepared and
distributed regularly in the trenches so as to bring it into a level position.
The mode of preparing the surfaces of the trenches is by causing to pass
over them a carriage having wheels of a large diameter, as shown in the
Drawing No. 2, Figure 4. These wheels running parallel to each other
produce an equal surface on both of the trenches, is shown in the Drawing
No. 2, at the Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. It consists of three uprights G,
similar to those shewn at Figures 5 and 6, and two framings I, one of
which is shown in plan at Figure 7, and a carriage H, shown at Figures
8, 9, and 10. The carriage H carries two rules placed on a level, the lower
side of which descends to a level of the under sides of the large. frame I. The
carriage H being caused to advance, the rules I will advance also at the same
time, and carry with them all the parts of the concrete or ballast that may be
irregularly placed on the surface. This levelling machine works in the
following manner :-Across the width of the railway, and over the points
beyond the two rails, are placed the supports G, on to which are placed the
ends of the large frame I, which, by means of the screws L at the bottom of
the supports G, are brought to a level. The ends of this frame I are placed
in the chocks k. That being done, the carriage H is placed upon the
framing I, as shown in the Drawing, Figure 8, and caused to be moved
forward, when the rules J will move with it, as shown at Figure 9, and thus
produce a level surface along the line of the trenches. During this operation
the second framing I will take the place of the first, one of its ends pressing
end to end against the first, and the other end resting upon the third
support G, so that this second part of the operation is but a continuation of
the first. By the use of this apparatus the surface of the concrete or ballast
may be brought into a perfectly horizontal or level state, or more or less
inclined, as it may be required to lay down the sleepers upon it.
I will now describe the improvement in the mode of arranging the sleepers
with the pressure or plates in which they are intended to rest. The cross

page_text: pieces which support the chairs of the rails has two principal functions to
fulfil; the first is to keep invariable at all times the distance of the chairs from
each other, and to resist the pressure which they receive from the passage of
the trains; to resist this pressure, I form the lower part of a larger surface, the
resistance being in proportion to the size of the surface. For the arrangements
of the plates, which rest upon the concrete or ballast under the sleepers,
I have several modes, which are shewn in the Drawings. The Figures 11,
12, and 18 of Drawing No. 8 represent a sleeper B, under each end of which
is fixed by bolts or plates C, C. The bolts or screws which affix these plates
are also used for the purpose of fixing the chairs to the sleepers, or they may
be fastened separately. In order to insure the firmness and stability of the
sleepers B, I apply an arm M, shown in Figure 14, to the plate C, which arm
is intended to be fixed in the ground, and keeps it firm. This plate, instead of
being made in one piece, may be of several jointed together, or it may be
formed of several pieces, laying one on the other. Figures 15, 16, and 17
shows a sleeper B, in which the plates under the ends of it are formed in two
pieces, separated from each other, and fixed to the same by the bars D¹.
In the Drawings No. 4, Figures 18 and 19 show two modes of arranging
the railway and supporting the rails. In both these Figures the ends of the
rails are supported in frames X. These frames are composed of two plates C
of about six feet long, upon which are placed three cross pieces B, one in the
middle and one at each end of the plate. Between these two frames there is
a space to place two other cross pieces, with the tables or plates C¹, as
indicated in the Figure 18, but in some cases I would prefer to place in this
space another frame Z, as shown at Figure 19, which is composed of two cross
pieces B', B', of about five feet long, resting upon the tables or plates C', C'.
The mode of arranging the sleepers shown in the Drawing No. 3 at Figures
20, 21, 22, and 23 allows of the point of pressure of the rails to be increased
by increasing the number of chairs. The frame X, X, carry three cross
pieces B, and the intermediate frames Z do not carry more than two 'B', B',
but between these two cross pieces B' of the intermediate frame Z, I have an
additional point of pressure by a wooden block 0 of sufficient size to resist the
pressure. This mode of increasing the number of points of pressure for the
rails to rest upon will give a stability and firmness to the railway, and
by which the weight of the rails may be considerably decreased.
Another arrangement of these cross pieces and tables is shewn in the
Drawings No. 4, at Figures 24, 25, and 26, in which the same forms and size
are used, both for the cross pieces B' and plate C', and which occupy a larger
surface of the earth; in case of the earth sinking or giving way, there is

page_text: a greater facility for restoring it. This solid arrangement of all the parts keeps
the earthwork very firm, and prevents it from slipping; the block O increases the
points of pressure for the rail without increasing the number of chairs. This
arrangement is composed of cross pieces X and Z, as before explained. The
section of the plates C may be of a rectangular, triangular, or 'spherical form, as
shown by the dotted lines in the Figures 23 and 26. The mode of increasing
the number of points of pressure for the rails will have the advantage that short
pieces of wood of any form may be employed, as shown in the Figures 27, 28,
and 29 in the Drawing No. 5. In this arrangement the frames are indepen-
dent of each other, and the plates or tables C are connected together by cross
pieces B, B; the Drawing will show that this arrangement will give a great
resistance and adherence to the earth in facilitating at the same time the
packing of the sleepers, and that they may be tied together by bolts, pins, or
other suitable means. The Figure 28 will show that for the intermediate
frames Za single chair in the centre will suffice, by the points of pressure
which take place on the blocks O, adapted to the ends D', and to the connect-
ing cross pieces B, B. The table C of cross pieces may be of the same length
as the rail; by that arrangement the joining of the rails may be made on the
middle of the length of the tables C, and besides the number of the points of
pressure should be increased by inserting a block successively between two
chairs. It will be easily understood that the surface of the earthworks, being
prepared as before described in the Drawing No. 2, the cross pieces and tables
or plates may be placed at the distance that may be considered desirable, so as
to insure them being in contact with the whole of the extent of the earth
surfaces under the rails, these cross pieces fulfilling the two important functions
assigned to them, that of keeping the rails in their proper position, and also of
being able to resist the pressure which is given by the trains passing over
them. When the railway is established upon the principles above explained,
an accident from the changing of the positions of the earthworks would but
seldom occur; but in case of its being necessary to relay the railway or to
repack the cross pieces, the cross pieces should only be packed at that part
of them which receives more immediately the pressure of the chairs, and the
centre part of the cross pieces should not be, for that is in a great measure the
cause of the want of duration and security of the way. When the way is badly
laid, instead of using the lever for raising the rails, I employ the following
apparatus in order to ascertain the state of the way, so as to regulate the
position of the rails. This apparatus is shown in the Drawings No. 5, at the
Figures 30, 31, and 32, which shew a longitudinal elevation, a transverse
elevation, and a plan. a is a flat plate of wood or metal affixed to uprights b,

page_text: at the lower part of which are rollers c, which are in contact with the rails s;
or against the four faces of the plates a are four rules d, by which the height
or the inclination is regulated in the copes by the scrows e. These rules
determine the level of the rails, and if in the passage of this machine along
the rails it is discovered that the cross pieces or sleepers have undergone a
change of position, the machine shown in the Figures 33, 34, and 39 in the
Drawing 5 will then be employed to raise them again. This machine has two
uprights connected together at the upper parts by a cross piece g, which forms
the top of the machine. Through this top are introduced grips or holders h,
which are raised and lowered by means of screws i, having a handlej attached
thereto, by which they are worked. These grips, as it will be seen by the
Drawing, are capable of opening as may be required, so as to seize upon the
cross piece that may require raising. When it is thus raised, the earth is
pressed under, as shewn in Figure 81, or under the plates c. By means of
the lever & the machine may be arranged as to be capable of raising one side
of the rail, or both sides at once; and e is a lever, shewn in Figure 31, which
may be also employed instead of the machine, the arm or projecting part m
serving as a point of pressure upon the rail s. u is a block placed at the side
of the plate c, so as to prevent the plates c from slipping whilst the operation
of raising the cross pieces is being performed.
I will now describe the improvements in arranging the chairs for railways,
the peculiar character of which is so giving to the rails the required inclination,
by causing that inclination to be produced in the interior of the chair instead
of giving an inclined position to the chair in the cross pieces, according to the
ordinary plan of doing it; added to which, these chairs to be described will
be found in their form and dimensions to be better adapted to bear the
resistance they have to undergo. In the Drawings No. 1, Figures 36 and 37
show an arrangement of the chairs having these improvements applied thereto.
(1) represents the inner part of the chair, which is an inclined plane, and by
which the required inclination is given to the rail (2) without entering through
any notch or recess in the lower part of the chair into the sleepers, so as to
obtain the required inclination. (8) is the bottom or sole of the chair.
a longitudinal arm or projecting piece, fitting into a groove in the sleeper
underneath, which secures the chair, and gives a good resistance when the
train is passing over the rail; and by means of the wedge 5 the rail is kept
firm, and the chair kept from moving in any direction. In the interior of the
chair is another projecting piece (6), of a similar nature as the piece 4, which
holds the rail; on each side of this arm 6 the plate of the chair is widened, and
there are holes 7 for bolts, to secure the chair to the sleeper. The part 8
4 is

page_text: which sustains the projecting part of the wedge the whole width of the table of
the chair, and at the same presents a large surface of pressure to support the
wedge. The projecting piece 9 supports the upper part of the rail at the end
of the chair; the part 10 is narrowed, and there is a hole 11 for the intro-
duction of a pin or bolt to secure it to the sleeper.
Figure 88 shews an elevation, Figure 39 a plan, and Figure 40 a side
view of a chair, in which the interior part 1 is used to give the inclination of
the rail without fitting into the sleepers; it is of a similar character to the one
just described, with the exception that the ends of the bottom plate are formed
alike with holes 12 therein to fix it securely.
Figures 41 and 42 show another form of chair, which differs in its form and
the mode of fixing it on to the sleepers. 14 and 15 are the holes through
which the bolts are to be passed to secure it. This chair will be found
advantageous to be used with the cross framing formed of short pieces
of wood, according to the previous explanation given of the Figures 27,
28, and 29, in the Drawing No. 5. In the interior part 1 of this chair
is inclined for the rail, and in the three arrangements shown, the part 8,
which sustains the pressure of the wedge, is inclined in the same manner
as the wedge, in order that it may enter thereon.
My improvement in rails consists in forming the lower part of them of a
smaller size, as shewn in the Figures 36, 38, and 41, only giving to that
part a sufficient size as to secure its firmness in the chair, by which the rail
may be considerably reduced in weight, and by reason of the greater number
of points of pressure for the rails to rest upon, according to my system
previously described, the firmness of the line will be greater, and the size
and weight of the rails may be reduced with great advantage.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details, so long as the character of either part of the Invention
be retained, but what I claim is,―
First, the mode of arranging the earthworks of railways, by having trenches
filled with sand, concrete, or ballast underneath the rails, as herein
described.
Secondly, I claim the mode of arranging the sleepers on railways..
Thirdly, I claim the mode of arranging the cross framing, so as to increase
the number of bearings for the rails, without increasing the number of the
chairs.
Fourthly, I claim the mode of arranging railway chairs so as to give the
required inclination to the rail.

page_text: Fifthly, I claim the apparatus described for levelling the surfaces of the
earthworks of the railway, and for raising the sleepers or the frames, as
herein described.
.
And,
Lastly, I claim the mode of constructing rails, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Marie Pouillet, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
CHARLES MARIE (L.s.) POUILLET.
Taken and acknowledged by Charles
Marie Pouillet (party hereto), at
Paris, in the Kingdom of France,
this Twenty-third day of March,
This is the Specification referred to in the Affidavit of William Henry
Ritchie, sworn before me, this 31 day of March, 1847.
G. Rose.
William Henry Ritchie, of Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, maketh oath and saith, that he is acquainted with the manner and
character of the handwriting of Thomas Pickford, Her Britannic Majesty's
Consul at Paris, in the Kingdom of France; and this deponent further saith,
that the signature "Thomas Pickford," set, subscribed, and written in the
margin of the Specification hereunto annexed, marked A, and dated the
Twenty-third day of March instant, and purporting to be executed by Charles
Marie Pouillet, of Paris, in the Kingdom of France, Engineer, whereby it is
stated that the said Specification was acknowledged by him, the said Charles
Marie Pouillet, before the said Thomas Pickford, on the said Twenty-third
day of March, at Paris aforesaid, is of the proper handwriting of the said
TL Dinkford

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the oath of William Henry Ritchie,
the Specification aforesaid was enrolled word for word as above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the oath of William Henry Ritchie,
the Specification aforesaid was enrolled word for word as above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Enroned the First day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-seven.