IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William John Cockburn Muir, of Westminster,
in the County of Middlesex, Oivil Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF
RAILWAYS:"
Sealed the 12th January 1869, and dated the 17th July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William John Cockburn
Muir at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 17th July 1868.
I, WILLIAM JOHN COCKBURN MUIR, of Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF
RAILWAYS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention, which relates to improvements in the construction of
certain parts or members of the permanent way of railways whereby
greater efficiency and economy are obtained, consists in the first place of
a sleeper made of cast, wrought, or malleable iron or steel with a

page_text: horizontal flanch carried wholly or partly round its outward perimeter,
and so much above the base of the sleeper as to leave a vertical edge
or rim round the base under the flanch for securing a perfect gripe on or
in the ballast, the normal transverse section of the body of the sleeper,
exclusive of projections, being a semi-ellipse, or the half of any other
curve resulting from a conic section.
In the second place it consists in the application of this sleeper to a
flat-bottomed rail, at the same time securing elasticity in the bedding of
the rail without the interposition of wood, felt, or other packing, this
being effected by casting on the sleeper two narrow shoulders or fillets
Tunning along its upper side or crown, their distance apart being such
that the edges of the foot or flanch of the said rail shall rest on the fillet,
leaving a hollow space under the middle of the rail into which it may
deflect under pressure or concussion.
In the third place it consists of a method of holding the rail to the
sleeper by the-employment of a gripping piece or clip of iron or steel so
formed as to fix also the tie bar which connects a pair of sleepers, the
tie bar having a projecting head, hole, slot, notch, or groove at or near
each. end, and the gripping piece being held firmly in place by a key
For wedge.
Another method of fixing the rails is by a gripping piece and key or
wedge which is free of the tie bar, or by a wedge clip with serrated edge
or edges. In these cases the bar is held by a separate wedge, key, or
cotter.
In addition to the foregoing any ordinary fastening for the rail and tic
bar, such as a gib and cotter, wedge or key, serrated or not, or bolts and
nuts, in combination with the form of sleeper herein-before described, may
be used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William John Cockburn Muir in the Great Seal 30
Patent Office on the 16th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JOHN COCKBURN MUIR, of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,.
give and grant into me, the said William John Cockburn Muir, Her
special license that I, the said William John Cockburn Muir, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns,, or such others as I, the said William
John Cockburn Muir, my executors,, administrators, or assigns,, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to. time and at all'
times thereaften during the term, therein expressed;, should and law-
fully might make, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ircland,. the Channel Islands,. and Isle of. Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE, PERMANENT
WAY OF RAILWAYS," upon the condition. (amongst others) that I, the said.
William, John Cockburn Muir, by: an instrument in writing under my
Hand' and seal; 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..

page_text: In the second place it consists in the application of this sleeper to a
flat-bottomed rail, at the same time securing elasticity in the bedding of
the rail without the interposition of wood or other packing, this being
effected by casting on the sleeper two narrow shoulders or fillets running
along its upper side or crown, their distance apart being such that the
edges of the foot or flanch of the said rail shall rest on the fillets, leaving
a hollow space under the middle of the rail into which it may deflect
under pressure or concussion.
In the third place it consists in a method of holding the rail to the
sleeper by the employment of a gripping piece or clip of iron or steel, so I
formed as to fix also the tio bar which connects a pair of sleepers, the
tie bar having a projecting head, hole, slot, notch, or groove, at or near
each end, and the gripping piece being held firmly in place by a key or
wedge.
Another method of fixing the rails is by a gripping piece and key or 1
wedge which is free of the tie bar, or by a wedge clip with serrated edge
or edges. In these cases the bar is held by a separate wedge, key, or
cotter.
In addition to the foregoing any ordinary fastening for the rail and tie
bar, such as a gib and cotter, wedge or key serrated or not, or bolts and 2
nuts, in combination with the form of sleeper herein-before described
may be used.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner
in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into 2
effect, reference being had, for the sake of more complete elucidation, to
the explanatory Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended,
that is to say:-
Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of a sleeper, as constructed
according to this Invention, being the side exterior to the rails when 3
fixed in a line of railway; Figure 2 is a plan of the same; Figure 3 is
a section on the line A, A, Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a section on the
line B, B, Figure 1. On all the Figures similar parts are indicated by
corresponding letters of reference.
The sleeper K may be made of cast, wrought, or malleable iron or 3
steel. To ensure stability of the sleeper its base is of the form of a

page_text: parallelogram with the angles rounded off, as shown in Figure 2. The
.transverse form of the sleeper K, as shown in the transverse sections,
Figures 3 and 4, is a semi-ellipse, but may also follow the halves of
other curves of a conic section, the axes of such curves lying hori-
zontally. The vortices of the curve or curves are produced in tangents
downwards, so as to give a vertical rim along each side of the sleeper.
To give increased stability to the sleeper and prevent its rocking a
horizontal flanch D is carried wholly or partly round the outer perimeter
of the sleeper, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, at the level where the
vertical rim is tangential to the vertices of the curve or curves, the depth
of the vertical rim from this flanch to the base of the sleeper, as shown
in Figures 3 and 4, being made sufficient according to the nature of the
ballast to secure a better gripe in or on the ballast.
The sleeper shown on the annexed Sheet of Drawings is designed for
the reception of a flat-bottomed rail, which may be of the form known as
the bridge rail, or of that known as the flanch or "Vignoles" rail. The
part of the sleeper which carries the rail is formed in such a way as to
secure clasticity in the bedding of the rail without the interposition of
wood or other packing. This is effected by casting on the sleeper two
narrow shoulders or fillets a, a, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, running along its
crown or upper side, their distance apart being such that the edges of the
bottom or flanch of the rail b, Figures 3 and 4, shall rest upon them,
and a hollow space be left between them under the middle of the
rail b, into which space it may deflect under pressure or concussion.
For a road on which rolling stock with conical tires is to be run
the rail 6 is fixed at right angles with a plane which has an inclination
of about one in twenty with the horizon, and at or near that part of the
sleeper where the plane would be tangential to the curve described by
the body of the sleeper, so as to bring the rail to the inner side of the
longitudinal axis of the sleeper, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, in contra-
distinction to the ordinary method of fixing the rail over the axis of
the sleeper. The objects to be effected by placing the rail in this
position are to obtain a larger portion of the mass of the sleeper and its
contained ballast on the outside than on the inside of the rail, thus
giving it greater abutment to resist the diagonal thrust arising from
the use of wheels with conical tires, and at the same time to give
the required tilt or cant to the rail.

page_text: Where cylindrical tires are used for the rolling stock the rail 6 may
be fixed over the centre line of the sleeper with or without cant or tilt.
The rail 6 is held by a gripping piece or clip of iron or steel, as shown
at c, Figures 2 and 4, so that the necessity for punching the web or
flanch of the rail is avoided. The gripping piece or clip. c is L-shaped,,
and is so formed that one edge takes a bearing in a hollowed space under
the jaw d, Figures 1, 2, and 4, cast at the middle of the outer side of the
sleeper, while the other edge bears upon the edge of the flanch of the
rail b, being curved over for that purpose, as seen at Figure 4 more par-
ticularly. The clip c is brought to bear and tighten upon the edge
of the flanch of the rail, and at the same time the other edge of the
flanch of the rail is forced under the lips e, e, (Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4), cast
on each end of the inner side of the sleeper, by a metal wedge or taper
key, Figures 2 and 4, which when driven home fills up the space
between the angle of the clip c and the face of the jaw d. The taper
key f may be formed with or without a serrated side or sides to prevent
its working loose, and the angles of the sides are such as to present
the greatest resistance to upward motion of the rail flanch with the
least strain on the jaw d. The clip or gripping picce c may be used only
for holding the rail b and be free of the tie bar g, Figures 1, 2, and 4,
which holds together a pair of sleepers; or a projecting piece h, shown
in dotted lines at Figure 4, may be cast, stamped, or forged on the
under side of the clip c to pass through the top of the sleeper and fit
into a notch or groove in the tie bar g, as shown in Figure 4, thereby
holding the tie bar in position. When the tie bar g is not held by the
gripping piece c, which clamps the rail b, a small metal block or cotter
of the form shown at i, Figures 2 and 4, may be dropped through an
opening in the top of the sleeper under the edge of the rail 6 into. a
notch or groove formed as before mentioned in the tie bar g to prevent
its travelling in the socket m, Figures 2 and 4. The edge of the rail
resting upon the head of the block or cotter i holds it firmly in place
and prevents its working.
I
In addition to or instead of the fastenings here described any ordinary.
fastening for the rail and tie bar respectively, such as a gib and cotter,

page_text: The same form of sleeper may also be applied to a double-headed or
any other form of rail by modifying the form of the jaws to suit the
section of the rail, the rail being held by a wedge or key, or by bolts
passing through the web or through the flanch as in common use.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which I prefer to carry out the same in practice, I wish it
to be understood that I do not confine or restrict myself to the precise
details herein-before described and shown in the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, as variations may be made therefrom without departing from
the essential features of my said Invention; but what I consider novel
and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The construction of metallic sleepers-whose transverse section
is in the upper portion or body a semi-ellipse or two halves of other
conic curves with their vertices turned from each other, and in the
lower portion or base an inverted L, thus 7, the vertical member being
tangential at its meeting with the horizontal member to the curve of the
upper portion of the sleeper at the vertex of the curve, substantially as
herein-before described.
Second. The reduction of rigidity in permanent way composed of
metallic sleepers by forming two fillets along the sleeper on which the
edges of the flanch of the rail shall rest, leaving a hollow space between
them into which the rail may deflect, substantially as herein-before
described.
Third. The setting or fixing of rails on metallic sleepers at a distance
inwards from the axis of the sleepers, that is to say, in a line of railway
towards the centre line between the pair of rails, so as to obtain the
reaction of additional exterior weight against the thrust on the rail,
and also at the same time the required tilt of the rail, substantially as
herein-before described.
Fourth. The arrangement, construction, and form of the clip and
wedge, and the employment of such clip and wedge jointly for securing
rails in or on metallic sleepers or chairs, and also for securing the tie
bars of metallic sleepers without further appliances, substantially as
herein-before described.

page_text: Fifth. The holding of the tie bars of metallic sleepers by means of a
block or stop dropped through a socket in the sleeper and entering a
notch in the tie bar, substantially as herein-before described.
Sixth. The combination of the sleeper and fastenings, substantially as
hercin-before described or part of them with a rail of a any section.
In witness whereof, I, the said William John Cockburn Muir, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of Decem-
ber One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
W. J. COCKBURN MUIR. (L.S.)