improvements in Calways,
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 16th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890
improvements in Calways, Laul ways, an
I, GEORGE BESTALL JERRAM, of 20 West Avenue Road, Walthamstow, in the County
of Essex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention to be
as follows:
This invention relates more especially to improvements in the construction of paving,
the upper or wearing surface of which is composed of asphalte or blocks of wood,
but the said improvements may be employed in connection with other materials that
may be found applicable to them.
Heretofore, so far as I am aware, roadways, pathways and floors of asphalte or of
wood-blocks have been formed on concrete, timber or other foundations made as con-
tinuous and of as uniform strength as possible, in order that each and every part of
the roadway, pathway or floor shall possess the same power to resist the depressing
action of the loads passing over it. When however it becomes necessary to open up
the roadway or pathway for the purpose of repairing, renewing or removing gas or
water pipes or underground electric conductors, this continuity has to be destroyed and
frequently cannot be perfectly restored. Besides which the operation of opening up
and making good is both costly and troublesome. In cases where subways are used
for the reception of the gas and water pipes and electric conductors, the aforesaid
opening up and making good is avoided, but the great cost of subways is an obstacle
to their adoption except in special cases.
The object of my invention is, firstly, to facilitate the original construction of the
paving; secondly, to facilitate the opening up to obtain access to the pipes or electric
conductors and the making good afterwards, thirdly, to provide means which enable
trenches to be formed beneath the paving for the reception of the pipes and so forth,
whereby some of the advantages of subways are obtained at a comparatively small
cost, and fourthly to render the surface of certain kinds of paving nonslippery.
In order to effect the first two objects above-mentioned, I form a bed or foundation
of concrete in the usual way, and upon this I place plates, girders, or joists of cast
or wrought iron upon which have previously been secured the asphalte or wood blocks
intended to form the paving. These plates, girders or joists of iron with the asphalte
or wood blocks mounted thereon, form slabs or pieces of larger or smaller dimensions
according to the character of the roadway, pathway or floor they are intended to
form, and they are placed side by side on the concrete foundation, the interstices
between their edges being filled in with indiarubber or any other suitable material.
These slabs may preferably be prepared in a workshop and delivered at the roadway
or other work ready for placing in position on the concrete. This latter operation can
be performed very quickly, and when it is desired to open up the road the slabs can
be easily and quickly raised to give access to pipes and so forth, and be as easily and
quickly replaced when it is required to make good the paving.
In order to effect the third object above mentioned I form trenches in the concrete
foundation, either by suitably shaping the concrete itself or by building dwarf brick
walls. The pipes or electric conductors are laid in these trenches and certain of the
aforesaid prepared slabs or pieces are placed so as to cover and bridge over the said
trenches, so that when it is required to obtain access to the trenches, it is only necessary
to remove the said paving slabs and to replace them when the repair, renewal or
removal of the pipes or electric conductors has been completed.
In order to effect the fourth object abovementioned I press limestone chips by
hydraulic or other pressure into the upper surface of the wood blocks, or of
other paving that will admit of being so treated, secured to the aforesaid plates,
girders or joists, whereby such surface is roughened so as to prevent slipping of the

page_text: horses thereon, and the paving is further hardened by the chemical action of the lime
dissolved out of the limestone by rain and other moisture, and worked into the paving
by the traffic.
When the above described slabs are formed of wood blocks secured to iron plates
girders or joists, I sometimes fill the interstices between the blocks with grit or
broken limestone and asphalte forced in by hydraulic or other suitable pressure.
Dated this 16th day of October 1889.
G. B. JERRAM.
Per W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, E.C., Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Paving for Roadways, Pathways, and Floors.
I, GEORGE BESTALL JERRAM, of 20 West Avenue Road, Walthamstow, in the County
of Essex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said 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 relates more especially to improvements in the construction of paving,
the upper or wearing surface of which is composed of asphalte or blocks of wood,
but the said improvements may be employed in connection with other materials that
may be found applicable to them.
Heretofore, so far as I am aware, roadways, pathways and floors, of asphalte, or of
wood blocks, have been formed on concrete, timber or other foundations made as
continuous and of as uniform strength as possible, in order that each and every part
of the roadway, pathway or floor shall possess the same power to resist the depressing
action of the loads passing over it. When, however, it becomes necessary to open up
the roadway or pathway for the purpose of repairing, renewing, or removing gas or
water pipes, or underground electric conductors, this continuity has to be destroyed
and frequently cannot be perfectly restored. Besides which the operation of opening
and making good is both costly and troublesome. In cases where subways are used
for the reception of the gas and water pipes and electric conductors, the aforesaid
opening-up and making good is avoided, but the great cost of subways is an obstacle
to their adoption, except in special cases.
The object of my invention is, firstly, to facilitate the original construction of the
paving; secondly, to facilitate the opening-up to obtain access to the pipes or electric
conductors, and making good afterwards; thirdly, to provide means which enable
trenches to be formed beneath the paving for the reception of the pipes and so forth,
whereby some of the advantages of subways are obtained at a comparatively small cost;
and fourthly, to render the surface of certain kinds of paving non-slippery. And in
order that the said invention may be fully understood, I will now proceed to describe
the same by the aid of the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view
of a piece of roadway constructed so as to effect the first two objects above mentioned;
I forni a bed or foundation of concrete in the usual way, and upon this I place a plate
of cast or wrought iron A upon which have previously been secured the asphalte or
wood blocks B intended to form the paving. This plate of iron, with the asphalte or
wood blocks mounted thereon, forms a slab or piece of larger or smaller dimensions
according to the character of the roadway, pathway or floor intended to be formed, and
a number of these slabs or pieces are placed side by side on the concrete foundation,
the interstices between their edges being filled in with indiarubber or any other suitable
material. These slabs may preferably be prepared in a workshop and delivered at the
roadway or other work ready for placing in position on the concrete. This latter
operation can be performed very quickly, and when it is desired to open-up the road,
the slabs can be easily and quickly raised to give access to pipes and so forth, and be
as easily and quickly replaced when it is required to make good the paving. In the
event of a portion of the roadway wearing hollow or otherwise requiring repair, one

page_text: or more of the slabs may be easily removed and one or more new ones substituted,
involving only a minimum amount of inconvenience and disturbance to the traffic.
The blocks B may be secured to the plate A by nails or screws C passing through
holes in the latter as shown. Figure 2 is a plan of the plate A to a smaller scale than
Figure 1, with the blocks B removed showing the said holes. The plate A may be
held down to the concrete foundation by any suitable means, for example by means
of bolts D secured in such foundation in any suitable way. These bolts are made
tubular at their upper ends as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the tubular part having a
slot E formed therein parallel to the axis of the bolt. This slot terminates at its lower
end in a slot E¹ cut circumferentially at right angles to the slot E. F is a pin of a
diameter suitable for entering the tubular part of the bolt D; it is furnished at its
lower end with a tooth F1 adapted to pass down in the slot E and to take into the
circumferential slot E' at the bottom thereof. The pin F is furnished with a head F³
provided on its upper side with recesses F3 or other suitable means whereby the said
pin can be turned round a part of a revolution by means of a key after it has been
passed into the tubular part of the bolt D, so as to take into the circumferential slot E',
the bolt D and pin F being thus connected together by a bayonet joint. It will now
be understood that the bolt D and plate A, being placed in position as shown in
Figure 3, the pin F is passed into the tubular part of the bolt D, the tooth F¹ passing
down the slot E until the underside of the head Fa bears on the upper surface of the
plate A; the pin F is then turned round say a quarter of a revolution and the tooth F¹
enters the circumferential slot E', thus locking the plate A to the foundation by the
aforesaid bayonet joint.
Figure 5 shows a modification of the arrangement shown in Figure 1. In this case
instead of the slab or piece of paving being composed of a single plate A, with the
blocks B secured thereto by nails or screws, it is composed of a series of T and angle
bars A¹ laid side by side, and of dimensions suitable for receiving the blocks B
between the vertical members as shewn, the T and angle bars A¹ and blocks B being
secured together so as to form the slab or piece of paving by means of bolts G passed
through holes in the vertical members of the T and angle bars and through
corresponding holes in the blocks B.
It is obvious that iron of any other suitable section, such as channel iron or rolled
girders or joists, may be employed instead of T and angle irons; and that when
single plates are employed, as in Figure 1, they may be cast or rolled with vertical
ribs on their upper surfaces between which the blocks B can be secured, thereby pro-
ducing an arrangement similar to that shown in Figure 5 but with the metallic part in
one piece instead of several.
In order to effect the third object above mentioned, I form trenches in the concrete
foundation, either by suitably shaping the concrete itself, or by building dwarf brick
walls as shown in Figures 1, 5 and 6, the latter of which is a complete cross section
of a roadway constructed in this manner, the right hand portion showing the paving
constructed of slabs or pieces made as shown in Figure 1, and the left hand portion
showing the paving constructed of slabs or pieces made as shown in Figure 5. H in
Figure 6 is the main concrete foundation, and I in Figures 1, 5 and 6 the dwarf walls
forming between them the trenches K. The pipes L, or electric conductors M, are
laid in these trenches, and certain of the aforesaid prepared slabs or pieces are placed
so as to cover and bridge over the said trenches, so that when it is required to obtain
access to the trenches, it is only necessary to remove the said paving slabs and to
replace them when the repair, renewal or removal of the pipes or electric conductors
has been completed.
In order to effect the fourth object above mentioned, I press limestone chips, by
hydraulic or other pressure, into the upper surface of the wood blocks, or of other
paving that will admit of being so treated, secured to the aforesaid plates girders or
joists, whereby such surface is roughened so as to prevent slipping of the horses thereon.
and the paving is further hardened by the chemical action of the lime dissolved out of
the limestone by rain and other moisture and worked into the paving by the
traffic.

page_text: When the above described slabs are formed of wood blocks secured to iron plates,
Tirons, angle irons, girders or joists, I sometimes fill the interstices between the
blocks with grit or broken limestone and asphalte forced in by hydraulic or other
suitable pressure.
Similar letters of reference relate to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. The construction of paving for roadways, pathways and floors which consists
in forming the same of separate slabs or pieces composed of plates or bars of cast or
wrought iron with asphalte or wood blocks secured thereto, such separately formed
slabs or pieces being placed on the concrete foundation or on dwarf walls, substantially
as herein before described, and illustrated in the drawings hereto annexed.
Second. Rendering the surfaces of paving for roadways, pathways and floors, when
constructed in the manner forming the subject of the first claiming clause hereof,
non-slippery by pressing limestone chips into the upper surface of the wood blocks or
other paving material, by hydraulic or other pressure, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Third. The method of securing the separate slabs or pieces of paving to the concrete
or other foundation, which consists of a slotted tubular bolt secured in the foundation,
and of a headed toothed pin passing through the plates or bars of the slab or piece
into the said slotted tubular bolt, forming with such bolt a bayonet joint, substantially
as herein before described, and illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 16th day of August 1890.