Iм- PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TRAMWAYS AND BAILWAYS, AND IN THE WHEELS OF VEHICLES USED THEREON
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Royall Minns at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th February 1872.
I, HENRY ROYALL MINNS, of Stapleton Road, in the City and County
of Bristol, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TRAMWAYS AND BAILWAYS, AND IN THE
WHEELS OF VEHICLES USED THEREON," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in constructing tramways and railways as
follows:-
As regards tramways, the object of this Invention is to render the
construction thereof and manner of laying down and repairing less
costly than heretofore, which I propose to accomplish as follows :-
--
First. Instead of breaking up and removing the entire surface of the
roadway as commonly practised I propose to excavate the ground at
suitable distances to the depth of about 24 inches, more or less, by

page_text: about 18 inches wide, and run in about 4 or 6 inches of concrete, or
otherwise make a solid bottom in each excavated opening, and on this
foundation I place a piece of metal to which are bolted or otherwise
attached two L shaped pieces of metal or chairs fixed at such a distance
apart, but opposite to each other, as to receive the ends of the several
lengths of rails, which I propose to make with a head or flange on one
edge, such said head forming that part on which the wheels of the
carriages are to roll; I also propose to hollow out one edge of such said
head to receive the flanges of the wheels of the carriages, instead of
making a groove in the top edge of the rail, as now practised. The
aforesaid chairs being first placed in their respective holes at distances
apart suited to each length of rail, I proceed to remove the ground to
receive the rails, and then fasten the ends of the rails in the chairs by
bolts and rivets, or screws passing through holes in the chairs and rails,
and finally fill up the space around each chair, and ram the ground
closely at each side of each length of rail, so as to be as near as may be
flush with the surface of the rail. And if necessary I connect by cross
tie rods two parallel lines of rails together to form a tramway of the
desired width; or instead of using a single rail I propose, if desirable,
to employ two rails made either of plates of metal of uniform thickness
throughout their entire length, and fix them to the several chairs made
as above stated. In this case the rails are in two parts so as to leave
a channel or opening between them, and in this opening I propose that
the flanges of the wheels of the carriage should run to maintain the
carriages on the tramway in a direct line.
For the purposes of this part of my said Invention I propose to make
the flange of each wheel, at the centre, of the width of the tire instead
of on one edge of the tire, as is now practised. I also propose to serrate
or notch the top edge of each rail to form a foothold for horses when
crossing a tramway, but instead of making such notches across the
surface of the rail at right angles, or nearly so, to the sides of the rail
as now practised, I propose to make such said notches to an acute angle
to the sides of the rails, thus enabling the tires of the wheels to roll
over the notched part of the rail, whereas at present that part of the rail
on which the wheels roll is not notched. And this mode of notching
the rails of tramways applies to rails such as are now used with a groove
along the middle of the surface thereof, and constitutes an important
improvement in these kind of rails.

page_text: And I would here remark that the double or split rail above described,
with the flange of the wheel at the centre of the tire, is well adapted for
railways, as affording greater security to the flanges of the wheels by
embracing each side of the flange as above stated.