Year: 1885

page_text: We, GEORGE BELL, of Victoria House, Lammerlaws Burntisland, in the County of
Fife, North Britain, Engineer, and JAMES BELL, of 28 Brighton Place, Portobello
in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this Invention to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object to prevent the change of relative position
between the joints of railway rails and the nearest chairs, which is apt to occur
and cause danger in various situations but especially upon inclines, through
creeping movements of the sleepers or of the rails.
The Invention consists essentially in connecting the pair of fishplates at each
joint with the two chairs between which the joint is made, the connection being
arranged so as to act both as a strut and as a tie between the parts. The desired
connection may be effected in various ways. In one modification a narrow plate
extends under the rail from one chair to the other; and its ends are made to
engage in dovetail or equivalent sockets formed for them in the chairs, whilst its
intermediate part is formed with lateral projections to engage in slots or between
projections formed in or on the fishplates, such fishplates being made deeper than
usual and with slots or projections for the purpose. Or ordinary fishplates may be
used, and the bottom connecting plate may be made with lateral parts rising up on
each side and having holes or notches made in them for the fishplate bolts to pass
through. In another modification the connecting plate is placed with its ends
under the chairs and is secured by the spikes which fix down the chairs. Instead
of having a separate connecting plate one of the fishplates may be made with
extensions to be fixed in any suitable manner to the two chairs; in which case the
fish plate with the extended parts is by preference made to extend round under the
rails so as to have a better grip of them.

page_text: Improvements in Railway Fastenings.
We, GEORGE BELL, of Victoria House, Lammerlaws, Burntisland, in the County
of Fyfe, North Britain, Engineer, and JAMES BELL, of 28 Brighton Place, Portobello,
in the County of Mid. Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, 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, that is
to say :-
This Invention has for its object to prevent the change of relative position
between the joints of railway rails and the nearest chairs, which is apt to occur
and cause danger in various situations but especially upon inclines, through
creeping movements of the sleepers or of the rails.
The Invention consists essentially in connecting the pair of fishplates at each
joint with the two chairs between which the joint is made, the connection being
arranged so as to act both as a strut and as a tie between the parts. The desired
connection may be effected in various ways. In one modification a narrow plate
extends under the rail from one chair to the other; and its ends are made to
engage in dovetail or equivalent sockets formed for them in the chairs, whilst its
intermediate part is formed with lateral projections to engage in slots or between
projections formed in or on the fishplates, such fishplates being made deeper than
usual and with alots or projections for the purpose. Or ordinary fishplates may be.
used, and the bottom connecting plate may be made with lateral parts rising up on
each side and having holes or notches made in them for the fishplate bolts to pass
through. In another modification the connecting plate is placed with its ends
under the chairs and is secured by the spikes which fix down the chairs. Instead
of having a separate connecting plate one of the fishplates may be made with
extensions to be fixed in any suitable manner to the two chairs; in which case
the fishplate with the extended parts is by preference made to extend round under
the rails so as to have a better grip of them.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood we hereunto append two sheets of explanatory
drawings to be hereinafter referred to and showing examples of railway fastenings
as constructed according to our Invention one modification being shown in
figures, 1, to 4, and a slightly different one in figures, 5, 6, and 7.
Figure, 1, on sheet, 1, of the accompanying drawings, is a side elevation. Figure, 2,
is a cross section. Figure, 3, is a plan with the rail in place; and figure, 4, a plan
with the rail removed and showing the soles of the chairs without the jaws.
The rail ends are connected together by fish-plates, A, which are of the ordinary
kind, excepting that they are made deeper, and so as to extend a little below the
rails, the lower parts being made with slots to receive lateral projections formed
on the sides of a bottom plate, B. This bottom plate, B, extends from one chair to
the other, and is made with dove-tailed ends which are placed in dove-tailed
sockets formed for them in the tops of the chair soles.
In the modification shown in figures, 5, 6, and 7, on sheet, 2, of the accompanying
drawings, the bottom plate, B, is made with broad ends to be placed under the

page_text: chairs these ends being formed with holes so as to be secured by the spikes which
fix down the chairs.
These improved fastenings have the following practical advantages:—
1-They relieve the heavy strains brought on the fish bolts by the heavy loads.
2 They allow the rails to expand and contract easily without impairing the
strength of the joint, and without straing the bolts.
3 They keep the sleepers equidistant from each side of the joint, and thus
prevent the fishplates from being forced against the chairs.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
The connecting of the pair of fishplates at each joint of railway rails with the
two chairs between which the joint is made, the connection being arranged so as
to act both as a strut and as a tie between the parts, substantially as and for the
purposes herein before described.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicants' Agent.