IMPROVED MEANS OF OBTAINING ADHESION ON RAILWAYS FOR ASCENDING INCLINES AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Telford Macneill, of Mount Pleasant, Dun-
dalk, in the County of Lowth, in Ireland, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
MEANS OF OBTAINING ADHESION ON RAILWAYS FOR ASCENDING INCLINES AND
OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 17th May 1861, and dated the 20th November 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Telford Macneill
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th November 1860.
I, THOMAS TELFORD MACNEILL, of Mount Pleasant, Dundalk, in the County
of Lowth, in Ireland, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED MEANS OF OBTAINING ADHESION ON RAILWAYS FOR ASCENDING INCLINES
AND OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
I construct the tyres of the driving wheels of the locomotive engine with
the flange and the adjoining part or "tread" of the ordinary form for running
on the ordinary rails, but I make the tyre of an increased breadth, and I form
a groove in this additional portion. At steep inclines, or wherever increased
adhesion is required, I fix an additional rail of round or angular-topped form
on each side of the line. This rail slopes up a little at its commencement,
so that, as the grooved part of the tyre runs upon it, the wheel is gradually
raised until it runs clear of the ordinary rail, and the weight of the driving

page_text: wheels and the load upon them is then borne by the additional rails. A
greatly increased amount of adhesion is thus obtained, owing to the wedge-
like action of the rails and grooves, and the engine is thus enabled to draw
greater loads up steeper inclines than would otherwise be the case. The
wheels of the carriages continue to run on the ordinary rails. The groove
in the tyre and the form of the additional rail may be angular, or 'curved, or
rounded. The additional rails may be employed at stations, and in other
cases where additional adhesion is desirable for starting the trains or other
reasons, and in some cases a single rail may be used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Telford Macneill in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAB
TELFORD MACNEILL, of Mount Pleasant, Dundalk, in the County of Lowth,
in Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Telford Macneill, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Telford Macneill, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF OBTAINING ADHESION ON RAILWAYS FOR
ASCENDING INCLINES AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others).
that I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or "their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed; and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, do hereby
. declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
I construct the tyres of the driving wheels of the locomotive engine with
the flange and the adjoining part or "tread" of the ordinary form for running
on the ordinary rails, but I make the tyre of an increased breadth, and I
form a groove in this additional portion. At steep inclines, or wherever
increased adhesion is required, I fix an additional rail of round or angular
topped form on each side of the line. This rail slopes up a little at its com-
mencement, so that as the grooved part of the tyre runs upon it the wheel is
gradually raised until it runs clear of the ordinary rail, and the weight of the
driving wheels and the load upon them is borne by the additional rails. A
greatly increased amount of adhesion is thus obtained, owing to the wedge-like
action of the rails and grooves, and the engine is thus enabled to draw greater
loads up steeper inclines than would otherwise be the case. The wheels of
the carriage continue to run on the ordinary rails. The groove in the tyre
and the form of the additional rail may be angular, or curved, or rounded.
The additional rails may be employed at stations, and in other cases when
additional adhesion is desirable for starting the trains or other reasons. I
sometimes employ such before-mentioned grooved wheel and angle rail only
on one side of the engine, and on the other side I place an extra flat rail,
and I provide the wheels on that side with an extra width of flat tread, the
diameter of which corresponds with the mean working diameter of the groove
in the wheels on the other side of the engine, and I place the extra angular
or flat rails either inside or outside of the ordinary rails.
But in order that my Invention may be more easily understood and readily
carried into effect, I will now describe the best method I am acquainted
with of performing the same, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing.
Figure represents a transverse section of a line of rails with
1
my invented
angular rail on both sides of the same; A, A, are the ordinary rails which
may be of any suitable sectional form. B, B, shews one arrangement I adopt
for the additional angle rail, in which 6, b, are V-shaped rails fixed by means
of spikes or screws to the longitudinal sleepers a, a. C, C, are the wheels of
the locomotive, of which c, c, are the ordinary treads, and d, d, the extra
widths of tread provided with grooves corresponding with the form of the
angle rails b, b, but which grooves are hollowed out at the apex to obviate the
possibility of the wheels only running on the point of the angle rails, and thus
decreasing instead of increasing the friction between them, which might take
place if the grooves fitted the rails exactly, and the apex of the former got

page_text: choked with dirt. Where the line of railway is laid with .considerable curves
on the inclines, I prefer to employ a grooved wheel and angle rail only on oue
side of the engine, the other side being provided with an extra flat rail and
"tread," the diameter of which corresponds with the mean working diameter
of the grooved wheel on the opposite side of the engine. Where a double line
of rails exists, these extra grooved and flat rails may both be placed either in-
side or outside of the ordinary rails, but where only a single line of rails is
used I place one of the extra rails outside of the ordinary rails, and tho
other extra rail inside of the same. In Figure is shewn an arrange-
ment in which the angle rail D is placed outside. tho ordinary rails
A, A, whilst the extra flat rail F is placed inside the same, the extra grooved
tread E being fixed to the outside of the driving wheel L, and the extra
flat tread G to the inside of the driving wheel L'. The object of this arrange-
ment is as follows:-When the engine is running in the reverse direction
upon the same line of rails, it is necessary that the grooved wheel E should
not run upon the angle rail D, as the engine will then be going down the
inclines that it went up before, and it is then required to lessen the power of
the engine rather than to increase it; the position of the engine upon the
rails will therefore have to be reversed, and if the extra angle rail and flat rail
were both placed outside or both inside of the ordinary rails, then the grooved
wheel would run on top of the extra flat rail, and the extra flat tread of the
opposite wheel would run upon the top of the extra angle rail, and the engine
would be liable to run off the line. But by arranging the extra rails and
treads to the wheels as shewn in Figure 2, it will be evident that, by reversing
the position of the engine as shown in Figure 3, the grooved wheel E will run
clear of the flat rail F, and the flat wheel G will run clear of the angle rail
D, and the engine will then run upon the ordinary rails A, A. If. while
running in this position on the rails, the engine has to go up inclines, then
extra angle and flat rails upon such inclines will have to be fixed in the
positions indicated by dotted lines at D and F¹ in Figure 3. The relative
position of the angle rail and flat rail may also be reversed, that is, the angle
rail may be placed inside and the flat rail outside of the ordinary rails, as
shown in Figure 4, where H represents another form of the angle rail, shaped
similar to the ordinary contractor's rail, but having an angular head instead of
a flat one, and which rail with the grooved tread I are placed inside the
ordinary rails A, A, whilst the extra flat rail J and tread K are placed
outside of the same.
I sometimes provide the trail wheels of the engine, tender, or break van
with extra grooved and flat treads, in order that they may run upon extra,

page_text: angle and flat rails on going down inclines, and by the break being put upon
them, stop or regulate the motion of the train by the increased amount of
friction caused between the angle rails and grooved treads.
In such cases it
is requisite that the extra grooved and flat treads to the trail wheels of the
engine, tender, or break vans should be on the opposite side of the rails to
what they are upon the driving wheels of the engine, so that if Figure 5
represents a portion of a line of railway where X is the summit of two
opposite inclines Y and Z, and a train is coming up the incline Y in the
direction of the arrow, then only the driving wheels of the engine shall be
running upon the extra angle and flat rails y, y', but on passing the summit X
and going down the incline Z, then the trail wheels of the engine, tender, or
break vans shall be running upon the extra angle and flat rails, ¹, whilst
the driving wheels of the engine are clear of the same.
With this arrange-
ment it will be requisite that the position of the break vans as well as that
of the engine and tender should be reversed for running in the contrary
direction upon the line. In some cases also I employ simply one angle rail
and grooved wheel on one side of the line of rails, the wheels on the other side
running upon the ordinary rail.
The driving wheels of the engine when running upon the angle rails, as
shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 4, are only slightly raised off the ordinary rails
A, A, so that the trail wheels can still run upon the ordinary rails, the
difference of level between the two being permitted by the compression of the
bearing springs of the driving wheels.
Should it be required that, at stations on a single line of rails, the engine
or the break vans should be upon the extra grooved and flat rails when
running in both directions, then angle and flat rails may be fixed on both
sides of each of the ordinary rails of the line, as indicated at D, D', F, F, in
Figure 3.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the exact details as shown on the accompanying Drawing, as the angle-
shape and manner of fixing the extra angle rails may be variously modified
according to circumstances; but what I claim is,-
Firstly, the arrangement wherein two such herein-before described angular
rails are laid on both sides of a line of railway, either outside or inside of the
ordinary rails, and wherein the driving wheels of the engine are provided with
extra "treads" grooved in a corresponding manner to the aforesaid angular
rails, so that when running upon these angular rails the hold of the engine

page_text: shall be increased, and the same will be enabled more efficiently to draw loads
up inclines.
Secondly, the arrangement wherein one such before-mentioned angular rail
is fixed on one side of a line of rails, and an extra flat rail on the other side,
the driving wheels of the engine, and if required also the trail wheels of the
same, the tender or break vans being furnished with extra grooved and flat
"treads" in the manner as herein-before described, such extra angular and
flat rails and extra "treads" being both fixed either outside or inside of the
line of railway, or one extra rail and "tread" being fixed inside and the
other outside in the manner as herein-before described.
Thirdly, the arrangement wherein only one extra angular rail and grooved
wheel is employed on one side of the line of rails, the wheels on the other side
running upon the ordinary rails.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
THOMAS TELFORD MACNEILL. (L.B.)