Improvements in or connected with Rail Chairs.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Sept., 1891-4ccepted, 31st Oct., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Rail Chairs.
I, JOHN PURL LANCASTER of Goshen, in the County of Elkhart and State of
Indiana, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railroad tie, provided with a pair of my
improved chairs, showing the rails, clamping-plates, and other appurtenṇances all in
their proper or operative position;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of my improved chair removed from the tic, with
the rails, clamping plates, and other appurtenances removed;
Figure 3 is a top or plan view of the tie, with its chairs, rails, clamping plates
and other adjuncts, in operative position;
Figure 4 is a detail view of one of the clamping plates detached from the chair;
Figure 5 is a detail view of one of the keys or wedges, for locking the clamping
plates;
Figure 6 is a detail view of the locking spring for holding said key or wedge in
plates; and
Figure 7 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of one end of the chair,
showing the key and its locking spring in their operative position.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures.
My invention relates to chairs for railway rails, adapted to be used either for
rail-joints, or for the solid rails, and consists in certain improvements upon former
devices of this character, in which the top of the chair is made solid, the rail
being held in place upon the chair by means of hooked clamping-plates overlapping
the top part of the chairs, and bearing against the fish-plates between which the
rail is inserted. I have found in practice, however, that the construction is
somewhat objectionable, for the reason that these hooked clamping plates, bearing,
as they necessarily do, against the sides of the chair, cannot always be forced up
against the fish-plates sufficiently tight to bind the same firmly in place without
the interposition of packing, and the object of my improvement is to overcome
this drawback by so constructing the body of the chair that the hooked ends of
the clamping plates may be forced into the body of the chair and up against the
sides of the fish-plate, or the sides of the naked rail, as the case may be, without
the interposition of any packing, and without the necessity of a very careful finish,
of the locking-plates. With this object in view I provide the top, as well as the
sides of my improved chair, with parallel slots extending into the top part of the
chair from opposite sides thereof, parallel to each other, so as to permit
the hooked ends of the clamping plates to work into these slots up against the
fish-plates or rail, and bind tightly against the same.
Reference being had to the figures on the accompanying two sheets of the
drawings, the letter A denotes a metallic tie of any approved construction. To
the opposite ends of this tie the chairs B, B, are bolted, said chairs consisting of
hollow bench-shaped castings comprising the flat tops a, diverging sides b, b,
and foot flanges c, c, through which the chairs are bolted to the body of the ties.
The sides of the chairs are cut away midway to form apertures C, and these
side apertures are continued into the top a of the chair by slots D, extending some
distance into the flat top from opposite sides thereof, and leaving square shoulders
or abutments E, at each corner, the side apertures C, being twice the width of the
slots D, in the top part of the chair; a solid portion being left in the top of the
chair between the inner ends of the two slots D, D.
Upon this solid top part of the chair, the rail shown at F, is placed, and if the

page_text: chair is to be used for a rail-joint, fish-plates G, G, are placed on opposite sides
of the joint as usual. If, however, the chair receives the solid portion of the rail,
the fish-plates may be dispensed with, as shown in the right hand chair of Figure 1,
and in Figure 3. As usually arranged, the rails will break joint on opposite sides,
and, under such conditions, one of the chairs will, therefore, be provided with
fish-plates, while the other will not, the fish-plates alternating on opposite sides
of the tracks.
The rails and fish-plates, when used, are locked removably upon the chairs by
means of the hooked clamping-plates H, the long arms of which are inserted
through the slots C, C,, from opposite sides of the chair, overlapping each other
at their projecting outer ends, and through the slots I the wedge shaped keys J
are inserted, so that by driving these keys in, the hookel ends K, of plates H,
will be brought to bind firmly against the fish-plates G, when used, or against the
bottom flange and web of the rail itself, when no fish-plates are used, the slots D,
in the top part of the chairs, permitting the hooks K to be brought up tightly
against the fish-plates or the naked rail, as the case may be.
To prevent the keys or wedges J, from working loose, I provide the larger end
of each key with a series of notches L, adapted to engage the two arms of the
bifurcated locking spring M, the shape of which is illustrated in Figure 6. This
device consists of a piece of spring-wire, bent to form a bail or loop N, which
straddles one of the legs of the chair, as shown in Figures 1 and 7, being held
in place by a notch or slot O, on the inner side of said leg, while its outwardly
projecting ends engage two of the notches L, in the key, thereby preventing
the same from becoming accidentally disengaged. If desired, other means or
methods of locking these keys in place, may, however be adopted.
From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, the
operation of my improved rail-chair will be readily understood without requiring
further explanation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. The combination of the rail-chair, having its sides and top slotted; the
meeting ends of the rails; the fish-plates arranged on opposite sides of the joint;
the hooked clamping-plates adapted to be inserted through the side slots and with
their hooked ends through the top slots in the chair; and the keys for locking
said clamping plates in place; substantially as and for the purpose shown and set
forth.
2. The combination of the rail-chair, having its sides and top slotted, the rail;
the hooked clamping plates adapted to be inserted through the side slots and
with their hooked ends through the top slots in the chair; and the keys for
locking said clamping-plates in place, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
3. The combination of the slotted chair, the hooked clamping plates, the
holding keys or wedges notched at one end, and the bifurcated spring for locking
said keys in place, substantially as and for the purpose shown and set forth.
Dated this 29th day of September 1891.
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.