IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Seaton, of Chester Place, Regent's Park;
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS, AND IN
THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 18th September 1857, and dated the 21st March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Seaton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st March 1857.
I, WILLIAM SEATON, of Chester Place, Regent's Park, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS,
AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, first, to certain improvements in the construction of
longitudinal timber sleepers, and to the mode of preparing the same; and,
second, to certain improved forms of rails.
Under the first head of this Invention it is proposed to use longitudinal
sleepers of rough baulks of timber, of a rectangular, semicircular, or other con-
venient section. These baulks of timber, after being sawn, are dressed or faced
on their upper surface, so as to receive the flanges of the rail to be adapted
thereto, the shaping or dressing the sleeper being effected by means of rotatory
cutters, of any suitable shape required to be given to the surface of the

page_text: sleeper. By this arrangement a great saving of timber is effected, with great
solidity of roadway. It is also proposed to construct a roadway of longitudinal
cast-iron sleepers, of a rectangular section, to suit the bearing or flanges of
the rail, a layer of wood, felt, or other suitable material, being interposed, if
found desirable, between the bearing of the rail and the sleeper, for the pur-
pose of lessening the noise or sound produced by the transit of the trains, and
also for causing less vibratory motion, and increasing the smoothness and
durability of the road. The apex of this rectangular sleeper may be either
slightly rounded or flattened, if found desirable, to suit the form of the rail
bearing.
The improved form of rails, included under the second head of this Inven-
tion, consists, according to one modification, in making the flange of the rail
of a perfectly rectangular form.
Another improved form of rail consists of the ordinary bridge rail, or the
common girder rail, constructed with rounded or concave flanges to suit the
rounded form of the timber sleeper.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Seaton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SEATON, of Chester Place, Regent's Park, in the County of Middlesex, Gentle-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Seaton, Her special license that I, the said William Seaton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Seaton, my executors, administrators, or 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 THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, s
the said William Seaton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and

page_text: seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 William Seaton, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and. to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention relates, first, to certain improvements in the construction of
longitudinal timber sleepers, and to the mode of preparing the same; and,
second, to certain improved forms of rails.
Under the first head of this Invention it is proposed to use longitudinal
sleepers of rough baulks of timber, of a rectangular, semicircular, or other
convenient section. These baulks of timber, after being sawn, are dressed or
faced on their upper surface, so as to receive the flanges of the rail to be adapted
thereto, the shaping or dressing the sleeper being effected by means of rotatory
cutters, of any suitable shape required to be given to the surface of the sleeper.
By this arrangement a great saving of timber is effected, with great solidity
of roadway. It is also proposed to construct a roadway of longitudinal cast-
iron sleepers, of a rectangular or semi-rounded section, to suit the bearing or
flanges of the rail, a layer of wood, felt, or other suitable material being inter-
posed, if found desirable." ween the bearing of the rail & the sleeper, for
the purpose of lessening the noise or sound produced by the transit of the
trains, and also for causing less vibratory motion and increasing the smoothness
and durability of the road. The apex of this rectangular sleeper may be
either slightly rounded or flattened, if found desirable, to suit the form of the
rail bearing.
The improved form of rails, included under the second head of this Inven-
tion consists, according to one modification, in making the flange of the rail,
of a perfectly rectangular form.
Another improved form of rail consists of the ordinary bridge rail or the
common girder rail, constructed with rounded or concave flanges to suit the
rounded or flattened form of the timber sleeper.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the Figures on the Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same
letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout all the corre
sponding Figures.

page_text: Figure 1, on Sheet 1, of my Drawings, represents a transverse section of
my right-angled, triangular, longitudinal wooden sleeper, with its rail and
joint piece attached. A is the sleeper; B, the rail; and C, the triangular joint
piece, which passes under the end of each rail, and is let into a recess formed
to receive it on the apex or ridge of the sleeper, as shewn in Figure 2, which
represents a longitudinal section of a portion of the rail and sleeper at the
joint.
This sleeper is formed by cutting a square baulk diagonally into two or four
parts, from corner to corner, the outline of the lower portion of the square
baulk being shewn by the dotted lines a, a, in Figure 1. D, D, are screw
pius, which are passed through holes in the flanges E, E, of the rail, and are
screwed into the body of the sleeper, the pins being inserted crosswise or
diagonally, so as to produce a firm and secure fastening.
Figure 3 represents a baulk of square timber cut diagonally into four tri-
angular sleepers A, A, A, A, & the dotted lines a, a, a, a, represent the same
sized square baulk, used in the ordinary manner.
On referring to this Figure it will be obvious that by cutting the square
baulk into two sleepers, as in Figure 1, a larger bearing or base is given to
the under surface, with a saving of one half the timber, and that by cutting the
baulk into four sleepers, each sleeper will have the same amount of bearing
or base as the original baulk, thereby obtaining four sleepers in place of two.
Two of the smaller triangular sleepers A may be combined to form one
large sleeper, in which case the smooth inuer sides may be turned outwardly,
and the rough sides which formed the sides of the original square baulk are
placed inwardly, the peculiar form of the rail bearing serving to grip the two
halves together, which are further secured and held together by the pins or
screws which pass through the flanges of the rail, and into the opposite halves
of the sleepers.
Figure 4 represents a side elevation of a portion of a permanent way, laid
down and constructed according to my Invention, with right-angled, triangular,
ongitudinal sleepers. Figure 5 is a plan of a portion of the road complete,
and Figure 6 is a corresponding transverse section of the same. A are the
sleepers, B, the rails, and C, the cross ties, which are fixed at suitable intervals
along the underside of the sleepers.
I may here observe, that I am aware that longitudinal sleepers of sloping
sides have been patented in conjunction with a saddle-shaped rail, but with the
apex or ridge of the sleeper rounded off to fit the correspondingly curved
under bearing surface of the underside of the rail, in place of the ridge being
sharp or pointed, as herein before described.

page_text: up
Figure 7 represents a transverse section of a longitudinal sleeper, formen
out of a rough uncut piece of timber or trunk of a tree by splitting it the
middle and laying the flat side downward, the upper rounded side being
dressed off either round, as shewn in Figure 7, or flat, as shewn in Figure 8;
when round, the base of the rail, which in the Drawing is of the girder form,
is slightly curved to correspond.
The flat underside of the sleeper rests upon suitable cross ties in the ordi-
nary way. The dotted line a completes the outline of the tree or uncut baulk
of timber as it exists before being cut down the middle. By this means the
wet is thrown off more freely, & the pins or rail fastenings, by being inserted so
as to cross each other or converge slightly, will be less liable to be accidentally
loosened or withdrawn.
Figures 9 and 10 represent the application of the bridge rail to these
sleepers.
Figure 11 is a longitudinal section of a bridge rail and sleeper, shewing a
flat metal joint plate A for supporting the rails at the joints, after the manner
shewn at Figure 2.
The peculiar yet simple construction of half round sleepers, herein-before
last described, will be found highly advantageous in localities where timber is
plentiful, and where machinery of any kind for making or cutting sleepers
would be difficult of transport.
I
propose in all cases, where possible, to insert a layer of felt or other soft
or yielding material between the rail and the sleeper, for the purpose of
imparting a certain degree of elasticity to the road, and at the same time
deaden the unpleasant noise and vibrations occasioned by the passage of the
train over it; this is particularly applicable to the triangular sleeper.
Figures 12, 13, and 14 represent a transverse section and plan of a cast-iron
longitudinal sleeper, fitted either with a girder rail having a saddle base, as in
Figure 12, with my improved saddle rail, as in Figure 14.
This sleeper consists of a rectangular plate A, having a longitudinal angular
ridge B cast upon its upper surface, for the purpose of receiving the rail, which
is held thereon by bolts and nuts, as shewn.
Figures 15 and 16 represent in section and plan respectively another form
of cast-iron sleeper, suitable either for an ordinary girder rail, as shewn in
Figures 15 and 16, or for a bridge rail, as shown in Figures 17 and 18, the
actual bearing surface of the rail flange, which consists of a rectangular ridge
B, being flat or nearly so, as shewn in the Drawings.
Figures 19 and 20 are similar views of a slightly modified form of cast metal
sleeper, the ridge B of which is rounded in place of being augular, and into

page_text: this rounded ridge is bolted the girder rail, as shown, the bearing flange of
such rail being curved to fit over the rounded ridge.
These cast metal sleepers may be united by transverse ties of either metal
or wood, as found most desirable for keeping the guage of the roadway.
Figure 1, on Sheet 2, of my Drawings represents a side elevation of a
machine for dressing up the rail bearing surfaces of my longitudinal sleepers;
Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same, and Figure 3 is a plan.
I may here observe, however, that in this machine I merely claim the appli
cation and use of the rotatory cutters in the operation of dressing the surfaces
of the sleepers; any convenient arrangement of mechanism may be employed
for actuating such rotatory cutters.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 are details on an enlarged scale of the rotatory cutters
which I employ in this machine.
The sleeper A to be dressed is fixed upon the travelling platform B, and is
moved along under the rotatory cutters C by means of the gearing D, which
actuates a rack underneath the travelling platform. This gearing is driven
from the first motion shaft E by means of the driving shafts F, F, which
straps by suitably arranged pullies are made to impart a quick or slow
motion, as required, to the platform, so that it may be run back quickly after
a sleeper has passed through the machine, and then advance again slowly
during the action of the cutters. The cutters are also driven from the shaft
E by a strap G, which imparts motion to the pulley II, whence a rotatory
motion is transmitted by the strap K to the cutter spindle. The cutters are
of course shaped to correspond to the shape of the surface upon which the
rails are to be laid, as will be clearly understood on referring to the details.
The undersides of the sleepers which bear upon the cross ties may also be cut
or bevilled in this machine, so as to produce the necessary inclination of the
rails. When the sleepers are sawn in four, out of a baulk, as shewn on Sheet 1,
then the operation of dressing their surfaces will not be necessary, as the saw
will leave them sufficiently smooth and even for all practical purposes; but
when two sleepers only are cut out of a square rough baulk, then the rough
ridge and sides forming the original sides of the baulk must be dressed, as
above described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my said Invention; but what

page_text: I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention.
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general constructions and arrangements of the permanent way of
railways, as herein-before described, and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second, the application and use of longitudinal sleepers of a right-angled
triangular section made from baulks of rough timber, the apex or ridge of the
sleeper being formed with a sharp edge to fit and entirely fill the underside
of the rail, as herein-before described, and illustrated by my Drawings.
Third, the application and use of cast-iron longitudinal sleepers having a
ridge cast longitudinally upon them to receive the rail, as hercin-before
described, and illustrated by my Drawings.
Fourth, the application and use of a saddle-shaped rail having its flanges at
or nearly at right angles to each other, the intersection of the flanges being
angular and not curved, corresponding to the sharp ridge on the sleeper, as
herein-before described, and illustrated by my Drawings.
Fifth, the use and application of longitudinal sleepers, of a semicircular
section, formed by dividing longitudinally the stems of trees, and by dressing
the rounded surface of such sleeper for the purpose of affording a firm and
even bearing for the rail, as herein-before described.
Sixth, the application and use of rotatory cutters for dressing the rail bearing
surfaces of longitudinal sleepers, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Seaton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Ninth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
WILLIAM SEATON. (L.S.)