IMPROVEMENTS TN TRAMWAYs and RailwaYS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Page, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
TN TRAMWAYs and RailwaYS."
Sealed the 12th December 1871, and dated the 17th June 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Page at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his. Petition, on the
17th June 1871.
I, JOHN PAGE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
5 Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS," to be as follows, that is to
say :-
This Invention has principally for its object to obtain an improved
construction of tramway suitable for the traffic of streets and ordinary
O roads; but the improvements or some of them are also applicable for
railways.
In carrying out the Invention the part of the structure on which the
wheels are to run is in one modification a wrought-iron or steel rail which
in cross section is shaped like the letter L, inverted (7) for the right

page_text: hand, and the reverse (5) for the left hand rail. This rail is in each
case fixed on a continuous cast-iron or malleable iron sleeper, which in
one modification is the same in cross section as a circular pipe, but formed
with a flat or nearly flat base at the bottom, and with two projecting ribs
along the top. The middle space between the ribs is dovetailed in cross
section to receive the vertical web of the rail together with iron keys by
which it is secured. The horizontal web of the rail rests on one of the
ribs, whilst the upper part of the other rib is shaped to form the bottom
and other side of the channel in which the wheel flange runs.
keys and their seats are wedge-shaped longitudinally, and enlargements
are formed in the sleeper at intervals for the introduction of the keys.
The continuous sleeper may be formed tubulous, and of any other suit-
able cross section instead of a circular one; or it may be made with an
open bottom like an inverted channel, but is in this case by preference
strengthened by transverse ribs cast inside of it at intervals along it.
The
By another modification a pair of the rails are used at each side, being
fixed by iron wedge keys in grooves or jaws formed in the middles of the
tops of (continuous) cast-iron or malleable iron sleeper blocks, which
are in cross section generally similar in form to the continuous sleepers.
The keys are applied in reversed pairs bearing on the rails in the middle
space or channel between them. The contact surfaces of the keys may
be corrugated or grooved to give them a greater hold on each other.
In applying such pairs of keys for securing "railway" rails in their
chairs, one of each pair assumes the form of a gib, or is made with lugs
engaging on the sides of the jaw of the chair so as to hold it in
position whilst the other key is being driven into its place.
By a further improvement the tie bars by which the distance apart
of the tram or rails is kept uniform are notched to fit the bottoms of the
rails and the transverse slots made in the sleepers for them to pass
through are made in such positions that the rails enter down into the
notches and so lock the tie bars in position. Or instead of the ordinary
tie bar, comparatively broad tie plates may be applied at the joints of
the continuous sleepers, being placed beneath the sleepers and fixed to
the two pairs of ends.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Page in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th December 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PAGE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Page, Her special licence that I,
the said John Page, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Page, 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, 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 TRAMWAYS AND
RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Page, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing,
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 John Page, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say :-
My said Invention has principally for its object to obtain an improved
construction of tramway suitable for the traffic of streets and ordinary
roads, but my improvements, or some of them, are also applicable for
railways.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be hercin-after referred to and representing

page_text: In these Drawings
the same reference letters are used to mark the same or corresponding
parts wherever they are repeated.
various examples embodying my improvements.
In carrying out my Invention, in the case of tramways, the part of
the structure on which the wheels are to run is in one series of modifi-
cations a wrought-iron or steel rail A, which in cross section, as shown
in Figure 1 is shaped like the letter L inverted (1) for the right-
hand, and the reverse (r) for the left-hand rail. This rail is fixed on
a continuous cast-iron sleeper B, which in one modification, shown in
end view in Figure 1 is in cross section like a circular pipe, but formed
with a flat or nearly flat base at the bottom and with two projecting
ribs C, D, along the top. The middle space between the ribs C, D, is
dovetailed in cross section to receive the vertical web of the rail A,
together with iron keys E by which it is secured. The horizontal web
of the rail rests on one C of the ribs, whilst the upper part of the
other rib D is shaped to form the bottom and other side of the channel
in which the wheel flange is to run. The keys E and their seats are
wedge-shaped longitudinally, and enlargements are formed at intervals
longitudinally in the space between the ribs C, D, of the sleepers for
the introduction of the keys. The continuous sleeper may be formed
tubulous, and of any other suitable cross section, such as those shown
in Figures 2, 3, 7, 8, instead of a circular one, or it may be made with
an open bottom like an inverted channel, as shown in Figures 4, 5, 6,
10, 11, 12, but is in this case by preference strengthened by transverse
ribs G cast inside of it at intervals along it.
By another modification a pair of the rails A, A, are used at each
side, as shown in Figure 8, being fixed by iron wedge keys H in grooves
or jaws formed in the middles of the tops of (discontinuous) cast-iron
or malleable iron sleeper blocks, which are in cross section generally
similar in form to the continuous sleepers. The keys H are applied in
reversed pairs, as shown in plan in Figure 9, and bear on the rails in the
middle space or channel between them. The contact surfaces of the
keys H may be corrugated or grooved to give them a greater hold on
each other. In applying such pairs of keys H for securing ordinary
railway" rails in their chairs, one of each pair assumes the form of
a gib, or is made with lugs J, as shown in Figure 13, to engage on the
sides of the jaw of the chair so as to hold it in position whilst the other
key is being driven into its place.
6

page_text: In Figure 7 the structure is shown as modified so as to introduce a
certain amount of elasticity when this is deemed desirable, the sleeper
being divided longitudinally and a strip K of compressed wood inserted.
The parts are shown as united by screw bolts, but other fastenings
may be adopted, for example, clamps may be used as indicated by dotted
lines at M, and such clamps may be made capable of tightening up by
being fitted into inclined grooves in the sides of the sleeper, and so
as to draw the parts together when being driven along the grooves.
Figures 10, 11, 12, show the forms which I prefer to give the
continuous cast-iron sleeper when using it with the inverted-L-rail for
ordinary railways. In such application I secure elasticity by fixing
The horizontal web
the cast-iron sleepers upon wooden bolsters N.
of the rail A may in any of the modifications be arranged to bear
continuously on the surface of the rib C of the sleeper; or the latter
may be formed with fitting strips at intervals, the rail not bearing on
the intermediate parts; or again a strip or ribbon of a suitable elastic
material, by preference jute, saturated with asphalte may be interposed
between the rib O and the rail A, to prevent contact of the two metals
at the horizontal surfaces.
When using rails for ordinary railways of 21 feet lengths I should
recommend the cast-iron sleepers to be one-fifth of such length, and
the bolsters N to be about three feet long, eleven inches wide, six inches
deep, and spaced so as to have the joints of the sleepers upon their
centres. In the case of tramways I recommend the sleepers to be made
in lengths of about four feet six inches.
By a further improvement shown in Figure 3 the tie bars P by
which the gauge or distance apart of the trams or rails A is kept
uniform are notched on their upper edges to fit the bottoms of the
rails, and the transverse slots made in the sleepers for them to pass
through, are made in such positions that the rails enter down into the
notches and so lock the tie bars in position. Or instead of the ordinary
tie bar comparatively broad plates may be applied at the joints of the
continuous sleepers, being placed beneath the sleepers and fixed to the
two pairs of ends. When tie bars are used the tramway sleepers need
not be fixed to each other at the ends, but should have each pair of
adjacent ends on a joint plate formed with ribs to prevent lateral
displacement.

page_text: Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself
to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I
believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The constructing of tramways and railways by combining single
wrought-iron or steel rails shaped like the letter L inverted with
continuous cast-iron sleepers, substantially in the modes herein-before
described.
2. The constructing of tramways and railways by combining pairs
of wrought-iron or steel rails with cast-iron sleeper blocks, substantially
in the manner herein-before described.
3. The using of pairs of corrugated or grooved wedges of iron for
fixing the rails in the manner herein-before described.
4. The forming of the tie or gauge bars (P) with indentations on
their upper edges and the placing of the slots in the sleepers or chairs
to correspond so that the said bars may interlock with the bottoms of
the rails, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Page, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
JOHN PAGE. (L.S.)