IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Livesey, of No, 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster,
in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Livesey at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th April 1880.
JAMES LIVESEY, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND
TRAMWAYS."
One part of my Invention relates to improved means for securing rails to iron
sleepers, so as to dispense with detached or loose parts. For this purpose I employ
aT shaped bolt, which is inserted whilst hot into a hole in the sleeper near to tho
edge of the rail flange; the shank part of the bolt is then bent upwards tight
against the underside of the sleeper and becomes a clip, which though tight can be
turned with a key or spanner.
When the rail is laid on the sleeper the T head of the bolt is put parallel to the
rail and afterwards by giving it a quarter turn, part of the bolt head is turned
over the flange of the rail, securely holding it down. In order to prevent the clip
bolt from turning round by the vibration of the passing trains a slight indent is
made in the sleeper, into which the end of the bent clip bolt springs, or two small
nipples or depressions of the plate of the sleeper may be made, over which the
bolt end can be sprung when turned by a key and between which it rests securely
in position.
According to another arrangement I secure a rail by means of three clip pieces,
two of which are fixed on the outside of the rail at some distance from each other,
and the third is applied to the inside of the rail midway between the outer clips.
This third clip is made to turn partly round so as to allow the rail to be taken
out or put in, and has on one face next the rail a flat part, which when in position
is parallel to and abuts against the bottom flange of the rail; this flat part
prevents the clip from being turned by vibration of the road, but by using a key
or spanner it may be turned as the rail will yield or bend sufficiently in the

page_text: distance between the two outer clips to allow the square angles of the flat part to
pass. The two outside clips may be on a single sleeper or they may be on separate
sleepers, one on each side of the sleeper with the moveable clip. When this plan
is adopted an outside clip may also be fixed on the centre sleeper, but set to rather
a wider guage so as to allow of the springing of the rail when turning the
moveable clip.
According to another improvement I construct iron sleepers with a single clip,
the clips on the successive sleepers being arranged to come alternately on opposite
sides of the rail. To get the rail in position it is laid abutting against and under
the inside clips of the alternate sleepers, and resting on the top of the outside clip
of the intermediate sleeper. To get the rail under all the clips it is necessary to
_spring it a little. For this purpose I employ a portable lever, the point of which
enters into a holo punched in tho sleeper-and-can-work-therein as on a fulcrum.
To this lever near the lower end is attached an arm, the extreme end of which is
made to grip the rail. By putting a strain on this lever the rail is sprung under
the clip into its permanent position. The lever may have two arins working on
centres, of which the one is a little above the other. These arms grasp the opposite
rails, and by a movement of the main lever the rails are drawn together or opened
out as may be required for putting in or taking out a rail.
For securing tramway rails to sleepers or vertical chairs I employ an iron or
steel key, which is drawn through a hole or slot in the web or sides of the rail
and through a corresponding hole in the iron rail bearer. This slot or hole is
made bent, twisted, or corrugated instead of being straight, so that when the key
is driven it is forced to assume the shape of the hole, which prevents it working
loose, whilst at the same time it holds the rail firmly in position..
According to another improvement I dispense with bolts or other fastenings for
securing iron blocks or chairs to sleepers or base plates by forming a dove tail
channel in the sleeper or base plate, into which a dove tail formed on the block or
chair is driven, the dove tail holding it in position. In wrought iron sleepers the
sides forming the dove tail channel may be cut through and bent up out of the
plate. When sleepers are constructed of wrought iron they may have a rib for
holding down the rail rolled on the outside opposite to the key jaw, which rib may
be bent over in the form of a clip during the process of rolling.
Iron sleepers for tramways are frequently made in short detached lengths for
convenience of carriage, and also to allow the rails to bend to the curves of the
line. The continuity of the sleeper being thus broken it fails to operate as a
girder.
I unite the sleepers by means of a wrought iron flexible plate or plates, thus
forming a continuous girder for the support of the rail, and which at the same time
may be bent to suit the curves of the line. For the straight parts of the road
sleepers of this kind may be made in halves and bolted together so as to break-
joint, thus forming a continuous girder bearing.
For a section of tramway rail having a central web I provide a special groove
rolled on the underside of the head, into which enters the web of a continuous
iron sleeper or the successive webs of separate blocks or standards. The object of
the groove is to steady the rail, and so relieve the bolts and other fastenings which
secure it. This rail is secured to a deep girder iron, the top part fitting into the
groove and having a wide flange at the bottom.
Another part of my Invention consists in the use of an elastic corrugated metal
key in combination with a sleeper or chair, having a key jaw with corresponding
corrugations or indentations for the key to fit into. The key is for this purpose
formed of a plate bent into a shape corresponding to the space between the rail
and the jaw of the chair or sleeper. The corrugations or indentations may con-
veniently be formed on the plate by rolling before it is bent into the required form.
In order to prevent the keys from having a tendency to turn a ledge or stud may
be cast in the jaw of the chair or sleeper, upon which the edge or lower part of the

page_text: key rests, or the one edge of the key is bent down so as to rest on the chair.
According to another part of my Invention I construct lengths of permanent way
suitable for portable railways by securing two lengths of rails to the ends of metal
sleepers by means of centre pins or hinge joints, so that when required for transport
the two lengths of rail can be folded together closely, side by side, like the bars
of a parallel ruler, the sleepers acting in a similar manner to the links of the
ruler.
Tho rails may be rolled of the bridge or channel section and be partly closed
together at bottom, so as to form a dovetail groove, inside which is inserted a
correspondingly shaped nut to receive the screwed end of the bolt or pin that
secures the rail to the sleeper; or the rails may be of the ordinary flat bottom
section, with holes through which the connecting pins or bolts are passed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Livesey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th October
1880.
"
James Livesey, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS AND
TRAMWAYS."
1 One part of my Invention relates to improved means for securing rails to iron
sleepers so as to dispense with-detached--or-loose-parts. For this purpose I employ
T-shaped bolt, which is inserted whilst hot into a hole in the sleeper near to the
edge of the rail flange; the shank part of the bolt is then bent upwards tight
against the underside of the sleeper and becomes a clip, which though tight can bo
turned with a key or spanner.
When the rail is laid on the sleeper the T-head of the bolt is put parallel to the
rail, and afterwards by giving it a quarter turn, part of the bolt head is turned over
the flange of the rail, securely holding it down. In order to prevent the clip bolt
from turning round by the vibration of the passing trains a slight indent is made
in the sleeper, into which the end of the bent clip bolt springs; or two small
nipples or depressions of the plate of the sleeper may be made, over which the bolt
end can be sprung when turned by a key, and between which it rests securely in
position. Fig. 1 is a plan and Fig. 2 n transverse section showing this mode of
fixing a rail, the two clips A, A, being fixed permanently on the sleeper or formed
by cutting and bending up a portion of the sleeper, as shewn at A³, Fig. 2; the
intermediate clip B is in the form of a T headed bolt, which is inserted into a hole
in the sleeper, and has its end bent over as shewn. It is then, after the rail is laid
in its place, turned one quarter round by a spanner so as to catch over the edge of
the rail flange. The side of the clip may be rounded so as to permit of its being
thus turned, in which case the sleeper is made with a couple of depressions, forming
ou its under side nipples b, between which the bent shank of the clip is sprung so
as to prevent it from turning.
According to another arrangement I secure a rail by means of three clip pieces,
two of which are fixed on the outside of the rail at some distance from each other,
and the third is applied to the inside of the rail midway between the outer clips.
This third clip is made to turn partly round so as to allow the rail to be taken out
or put in, and has on one face next the rail a flat part, which when in position is
parallel to and abuts against the bottom flange of the rail. This flat part prevents
the clip from being turned by vibration of the road, but by using a key or spanner
it may be turned, as the rail will yield or bend sufficiently in the distance between
the two outer clips to allow the square angles of the flat part to pass, as indicated
diagrammatically at Fig. 1. The two outside clips may be on a single sleeper or
they may be on separate sleepers, one on each side of the sleeper with the moveable
clip. When this plan is adopted an outside clip may also be fixed on the centre
sleeper, but set to rather a wider gauge, so as to allow of the springing of the rail
when turning the moveable clip, as shewn at Fig. 3, in which the outer middlo
clip C is made to give sufficient freedom for the bending of the rail when the clip B
is turned.
According to another improvement I construct iron sleepers with a single clip,
the clips on the successive sleepers being arranged to come alternately on opposite
sides of the rail, as shewn in Fig. 4. To get the rail in position it is laid abutting
against and under the inside clips of the alternate sleepers, and resting on the top
of the outside clips of the intermediate sleeper. To get the rail under all the clips
it is necessary to spring it a little. For this purpose I employ a portable lever, the
point of which enters into a hole punched in the sleeper, and can work therein as
on a fulcrum. To this lever, near the lower end, is attached an arm, the extreme

page_text: end of which is made to grip the rail. By putting a strain on this lever the rail
is sprung under the clip into its permanent position. The lover may havo two arms
working on centres, of which the one is a little above the other. These arms grasp
the opposite rails, and by a movement of the main lever the rails are drawn together
or opened out, as may be required, for putting in or taking out a rail.
For securing tramway rails to sleepers or vertical chairs I employ an iron or steel
key, which is driven through a hole or slot in the web or sides of the rail, and
through a corresponding hole in the iron rail bearer. This slot or hole is made
bent, twisted, or corrugated, instead of being straight, so that when the key is
driven it is forced to assume the shape of the hole, which prevents it working loose,
whilst at the same time it holds the rail firmly in position. Fig. 5 is a transverse
section through a tramway rail and vertical chair, to which the rail is thus secured
by means of a key D driven through a bent hole in the chair.
According to another improvement I dispense with bolts or other fastenings for
securing iron blocks or chairs to sleepers or base plates by forming a dovo-tail channel
in the sleeper or base plate, into which a dovo-tail formed on the block or chair is
driven, the dovetail holding it in position. In wrought iron sleepers the sides formning
the dovetail channel may be cut through and bent up out of the plate. This inode
of securing the chair is shown in Fig. 5, the chair being made with a dovetailed
base, which is introduced between clips formed by cutting and bending portions of
the sleeper F. A similar mode of securing chairs to wooden sleepers is shewn at
Fig. 6, a spike G being driven through a nick at the edge of the chair to prevent
it from shifting.
When sleepers are constructed of wrought iron they may have a rib for holding
down the rail rolled on the outside opposite to the key jaw, which rib may bo
bent over in the form of a clip during the process of rolling. Thus the sleeper
may be rolled in the first place with a projecting rib H, as shewn in Fig. 7,
which rib is then bent down so as to form a continuous clip for the rail flange, as
shewn in Fig. 8.
Iron sleepers for tramways are frequently made in short detached lengths for
convenience of carriage, and also to allow the rails to bend to the curves of the line;
the continuity of the sleeper being thus broken it fails to operate as a girder. I
unite the sleepers by means of a wrought iron flexible plate or plates, thus forming
a continuous girder for the support of the rail, and which at the same time may be
bent to suit the curves of the line, as shown at Fig. 9. For the straight parts of
the road sleepers of this kind may be made in halves and bolted together so as to
break joint, thus forming a continuous girder-bearing.
For a section of tramway rail having a central web I provide a special groove
rolled on the underside of the head, into which enters the web of a continuous
iron sleeper or the successive webs of separate blocks or standards. The object of
the groove is to steady the rail, and so relieve the bolts and other fastenings which
secure it. This rail is secured to a deep girder-iron, the top part fitting into the
groove, and having a wide flange at the bottom. Fig. 10 is a transverse section,
and Fig. 11 a side view of a tram rail thus constructed and supported on a con-
tinuous sleeper; and Fig. 12 is a transverse section, and Fig. 13 a side view of
such a rail supported on separate standards. In both cases the upper rib K of the
sleeper or standard enters a groove rolled in the underside of the rail, supporting
and steadying it, and so relieving the strain on the bolts or other fastenings.
Another part of my Invention consists in the use of an elastic corrugated metal
key in combination with a sleeper or chair having a key jaw with corresponding
corrugations or indentations for the key to fit into. The key is for this purpose
formed of a plate bent into a shape corresponding to the space between the rail and
the jaw of the chair or sleeper. Figs. 14, 15, and 16 shew various forms of such
keys L made of bent plate, so that when the key is driven the corrugations on its
outer face spring into corresponding corrugations on the inner face of the chair
jaw. The corrugations or indentations may conveniently be formed on the plate by
rolling before it is bent into the required form. In order to prevent the keys from

page_text: having a tendency to turn, a ledge or stud may be cast in the jaw of the chair or
sleeper, upon which the edge or lower part of the key rests, as shewn at m, in
Fig. 14; or the one edge of the key is bent down so as to rest on the chair, as
shown at n, in Fig. 16.
According to another part of my Invention I construct lengths of permanent
way suitable for portable railways by securing two lengths of rails to the ends of
metal sleepers by means of centro-pins or hinge joints, so that when required for
transport the two lengths of rail can be folded together closely side by side, like the
bars of a parallel ruler, the sleepers acting in a similar manner to the links of the
ruler.
The rails may be rolled of the bridge or channel section, and be partly closed
together at bottom, so as to form a dove-tail groove, inside which is inserted a
correspondingly shaped nut-to-receive-the-screwed-end-of-the-bolt-or-pin-that-
secures the rail to the sleeper. Or the rails may be of the ordinary flat bottom
section, with holes through which the connecting pins or bolts are passed. Fig. 17 1
is a plan shewing portions of rails thus jointed to their sleepers, Fig. 18 shewing
them folded together like the blades of a parallel ruler for convenience of transport,
The rails are for this purpose, when they are flanged rails, pivotted to the sleepers
by pins passed through their flanges, as shewn in Fig. 19, these pins being either
rivetted over or secured by nuts. When the rails are of bridge or channel sections
they are closed a little in at bottom, so as to make the channel of dovetail form,
in which the heads of the pivot pins are held, as shewn at Fig. 20.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I claim,—
First. The method of fixing rails to sleepers, horoin described with reference to
Figs. 1, 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The construction of tram rail and support to which it is secured by means
of a bent key, as herein described with reference to Fig. 5.
Third. The use of a plate sleeper having a rib rolled on it and bent over to form
a continuous clip for a rail flange, substantially as herein described with reference
to Figs. 7 and 8.
Fourth. The combination of a tram rail having a groove rolled on its undersido
with a sleeper or standard having a web entering the said groove, as herein described
with reference to Figs. 10, 11, 12, and 13.
Fifth. The use for securing rails of elastic keys made of bent corrugated plate, in g
combination with sleepers or chairs having jaws presenting corresponding corruga-
tions, substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 14, 15, and 16.
Sixth. Pivotting lengths of rails to transverse sleepers so that they may be folded
together for convenience of transport, substantially as herein described with reference
to Figs. 17, 18, 19, and 20.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Livesey, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty
JAMES LIVESEY. (L.S.)