1862 London Exhibition: Catalogue: Class V.: F. Wise
1309. WISE, FRANCIS, 22 Buckingham Street, Adelphi.
Railway chairs without wedge or bolt (Ramie's patent).
This chair (Ramie's patent) secures the rail without the employment of any wedge, bolt, or key, is self-tightening, and affords the greatest possible facility for placing, reversing, and removing the rail. Its action is such as to firmly secure and support the rail, maintaining its under head entirely uninjured, so that when reversed, instead of being 'chair-worn' into notches, as is the case where ordinary chairs are used, it is equal for working purposes to a new rail. It also avoids the evil which arises when a chair is so constructed that the under sides of the upper head of the rail rest upon rigid abutments, which, under traffic, act as anvils, between which, and passing wheels, the rail head is speedily hammered out.
It is well known that chairs of the ordinary kind, in which the rails are secured by wooden keys, are a constant source of trouble, annoyance, and expense, owing to the continual expansions and shrinkings of the keys, which, notwithstanding constant care and the employment of men along the line continually tightening up,' are rarely, if ever, in a condition to hold the rails in the chairs with anything like firmness and solidity and in very numerous instances (perhaps one-half), are so loose as to fall out with the slightest push, and are without any effect whatever in holding the rails.
The natural consequences of this defect, under traffic, are to cause a continual hammering of the rails upon the chairs, which very quickly produces deep indentations in the rails, and thereby converts their under-tables into a kind of rack or succession of notches, which, upon the inversion of the rails, constitute a sort of corduroy road, and act as an efficient agent in the rapid destruction of the rolling stock, and of annoyance to the passengers over it. In some cases more serious results occur—see case of Taylor v. Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway ('Times,' March 20, 1862), where £400 damages were awarded to plaintiff for injuries received, owing to the carriage in which she was travelling, and other carriages of the train, leaving the line. In this case it was clearly shown in evidence, that the keys whereby the rails ought to have been held were scattered along the line, and the accident was attributed to that cause. This is but one (and a comparatively unimportant instance) among a great number of cases in which accidents — some of them attended with terrible results to life and property - have arisen from carriages leaving the line; and is merely put forward as being so clearly and unmistakably traceable to the imperfection of the ordinary method of attempting to secure the rails in their chairs.
Ramie's chair consists of three parts, as will be seen on reference to the accompanying elevation and section. The main casting, a, is secured to the sleeper by spikes or trenails, in the ordinary manner, and is formed with curved abutments b, upon which rest the tumble ' jaws c, which carry the rail d. The weight of the rail, pressing upon the lower parts of the jaws, causes their upper parts to close upon its web with a force which is amply sufficient to maintain it securely in position when not under traffic. On a train passing over, the amount of grip or force with which the rail is held is increased directly in proportion to the passing weight.
Should the sleeper carrying the chair become beaten down into the ballast below its proper level, attention is at once drawn to the fact by the upper parts of the jaws standing slightly away from the web of the rail. Although by this it is at once apparent that the sleeper requires packing in order to keep the rail up to exactly its proper level, it does not in any way deteriorate from the security of the hold or grip upon it under traffic, as when the weight of a carriage comes upon the part, the rail is sprung downward until the jaws smoothly take their bearing, and grip firmly and solidly upon its web.
Ample play is allowed between the several parts of the chair, so that the accuracy of ordinary casting is quite sufficient to insure its efficiency.
Several years' experience of the working of this chair under the heaviest traffic, shows that it acts in the most perfect manner, and never allows chattering to occur between itself and the rail.
Further particulars may be obtained on application to Mr. FRANCIS WISE, C.E., as above.