Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-01
PRACTICAL PEDALlNG
A Railroad Bicycle That Has Proven
to Be abor-Saying.
FORTY 10 FIFTY MILES An H0UR
A Novel Invention That Was Born
Of Necessity.
WING $1,000 A DAY

With the overwhelming popularity re-
| Gently attained by the bicycle, 1t is natural
| to suppose that a practical use of the noise
| less wheel would follow. All the new ideas
| advanced for the improvement of the ma
| chine have been in the way of comfort
| for the pleasure rider. It remained for the
| brain Of a western man to put forward a
| wheel that could be used on the railroads.
| thereby resulting in quick repairs Of the
| road, and the resultant. saving Of labor
| and wages.
| There was recently issued from the pat
| ent Office in this city letters of patent on a
railroad bicycle that for simplicity and ef-
| fectiveness stands alone. The patents
proper belong to clever devices attached
to an ordinary wheel. whereby the bicycle
is held to the rails and at the same time
| retains its chief claim Of usefulness. light
ness of weight
| A concise description of the wheel would
| be about as follows: An ordinary solid-tire
| wheel Is used to start with. Two small
| spools or broad grooved wheels, the groove
| being of the same shape and size as the top
| of an ordinary Trail, are placed directly
in front of the forward and behind the
| rear wheels. rod CT the ligntesI steel is
| bolted to the frame of the forward wheel
but back of the axle, the bolts being loose
| enough to allow this rod to be moved up
| and down at will.
| An Ingenious Device.
| When In position for use the rod projects
in front of the forward wheel diagonally
| to the rail upon which the machine is to
run. and at the point Of juncture. about
eighteen inches in front. one of the iron
spools is attached to an axle that permits
it to run easily. Beyond this the rod runs
| fnxr, hal,
| welded together in graceful curve. These
| spools can be raised and the machine used
on the public highway if necessity calls.
| Just back of the rear wheel and SO close
| spool or wheel, identically the same size
| as the one already described. But it Is at
| tached to the rear wheel in a different man.
| ner being fastened by bolts to the lower
| ing the two main wheels. Like the for
| ward spool, this, too. can be raised in a
| second from the track and fastened to the
| frame without bothering the rider.
| From this description it is obvious that
| these two spools will hold the large wheels
| of the bicycle exactly in the center Of the
! rail. provided some means be furnished for
| maintaining the machine in an upright po-
| StttOn. That means is most plain and sim
| pie.
| From the frame of the rear wheel of the
| cycle light steel rod runs to a third and
| smaller wheel. on the opposite rail- and the
| outer end IS made into an axle upon which
| this smaller wheel revolves. AS braces
| rods run from this one, close to it's outer
| end, back to the diamond frame, one being
| attached to the handle bar and one to the
rear angle of the diamond frame, just he
| hind the saddle. All three rods are fas-
| tened to the main machine with pins
| which can be removed instantly, and thus
! the entire balance wheel attachment be set
aside whenever desired. The rods are also
| made SO as to telescope at one-half their
| length. and thus the entire attachment can
| packed not
| when not in use.
To Carry Luggage.
| These rods have still another use when
| the machine is in opera. ion At about the
| center of the space between the main ma
| chine and the balance wheel the rider fas-
tens the necessary luggage or tools 10 them
This weight adds materially tc the stability
| OF the machine, and does not interfere in
the slightest with the ease rapidity with
which 1t can be driven. in fact, at the first
trial it was demonstrated that very little
pedaling was necessary to send it along at
| a very high rate Of speed.
A veteran bicyclist seated on one of these
| wheels thoroughly equipped for the rail-
| read. could not help but smile with satis-
FACTION at the way steep grades are
| climbed compared with the extreme hard
| pedalng that is necessary to climb the hills
| on the country roads. No grade, on the
| average railroad. can compare with those
longest
| and steepest can be be overcome with the
ease that bicycle is propelled on a level
| turnpike.
1t is claimed by the inventor that a speed
| OF twenty to twenty-five miles an hour
can be maintained without difficulty and
| that being hard pushed. speed of forty
miles an hour could easily be reached.
Wnether the general use of such time
| and muscie-saving device as this would he
permitted by the railroad owners remains
to be seen. Certainly. travelling with such
an apparatus has great advantages over
the use OF the ordinary wheel, especially
TOT long distances. the ability to transport
| sufhc1ent baggage and supplies for comfort
| oeing not the least CT these.
VI course. the rider would have to keen
posted upon the running time of trains
that he would be apt to meet. as he would
De at his own risk. If the railroads should
| re1use to allow such machines to be ridden
on the tracks. 1t is difficult to see how
they are to prevent it. except in the most
| thfckly settled regions for II may no O.
readily converted into the ordinary road.
! ster. and Is withal so speedy that IN c..cb
more than an occasional one would be well
nigh impossible.
For Railroad Use.
1t Is probable that the greatest use of
such an attachment would be by the rail-
rCads themselves and by line repairers
working Tor telegraph companies. The Or
| binary railroad tricycle. is a clumsy. mas
| s1Ve affair, regular man killer to oper-
| ate. while this new railroad bicycle is very
| ight and can be propelled far more rapidly
| and with the expenditure Of no more than
| 1.-THE of the muscular effort required by
the machine now in use. A light wire
| woven basket can be attached to the bal
| ance wheel rods in which the line or track
| reEalrer can carry such few tools as he
| needs, and he can thus be enabled to patrol
| a great extent of track and reach any point
| where his services may be required with
| the loss of but little time.
| In conversation with a prominent rail-
| read official one evening during the past
| week a Star reporter inquired whether the
| railroad bicycle was much thought of by
| railroad men. Among other things, in the
way of a reply, he said:
"While all Of the eastern railroad officials
are fully conversant with the advantages
| of the lately invented railroad bicycle, the
western men are the ones that will have
| the most to cay to its real practical
n the east such an anna t.,s ea,,