Improvements in and relating to the Starting and Travelling of Tramway Cars and like Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 3rd July, 1893-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Starting and Travelling of
Tramway Cars and like Vehicles.
I, JAMES MURRIE, of 9 Granville Street West, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to and comprises improved arrangements and
combinations of mechanism or gearing for starting and travelling tramway cars
and like vehicles.
Under one arrangement as applied for starting a tramway car or vehicle the
improvements consist in mounting on one of the transverse spindles or axles on
which the traversing wheels are fitted, a pulley, preferably a cone shaped pulley.
Another transverse spindle would be fitted on the vehicle and have mounted on it
another smaller pulley, preferably a cone shaped pulley with its broad end placed
opposite to the narrow end of the aforementioned cone pulley. This last named
pulley would be driven by a belt or band passed over the beforementioned first
pulley so as to drive its spindle say at five times the speed of the spindle on which
the travelling wheels are mounted. A spur wheel would be mounted on this
secondary spindle and would be in gear with a sinaller wheel on another or third
motion spindle, which would have a heavy fly-wheel mounted on it, to rotate at a
very high velocity. All the spindles would be preferably mounted in ball bearings
so as to reduce friction to a minimum. Loose pulleys would be mounted on the
first and second motion spindles so that the belt may be shifted from the cone to
the loose pulleys when the vehicle is to be stopped, and vice versa when the vehicle
is to be started. This would be effected by making the motion of putting on the
brake through connecting gearing by a fork lever shift the belt from the cone to
the loose pulleys, at the same time as stopping the motion of the vehicle and
vice versu by taking off the brakes shift the belt from the loose to the fast pulleys,
so that the velocity or momentum of the fly-wheel, would through the intermediate
gearing increase the velocity of the driving wheels at starting. The driving belt
would preferably be mounted between antifriction pulleys on the shifting fork so as
to reduce friction to a minimum.
This arrangement of gearing would also be used as an auxiliary motion when the
vehicle is ascending steep inclines, or an analogous arrangement of mechanism may
be used for this purpose; and instead of keeping the gearing always in motion, the
action of stopping the vehicle may be utilised to raise the momentum of the
Ay-wheel..
Dated the 1st September 1892.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Starting and Travelling of
Tramway Cars and like Vehicles.
I, JAMES MURRIE of 264 St. Vincent Street Glasgow N.B. Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
"
This invention has reference to and comprises improved arrangements and

page_text: combinations of mechanism, or gearing, for starting and travelling tramway cars
and like vehicles.
Under one arrangement as applied for starting a tramway car or vehicle the
improvements consist in mounting on one of the transverse spindles or axles on
which the traversing wheels are fitted, a pulley,, preferably a cone shaped pulley.
Another transverse spindle would be fitted on the vehicle and have mounted on it
another smaller pulley, preferably a cone shaped pulley with its broad end placed
opposite to the narrow end of the aforementioned cone pulley.. This last named
pulley would be driven by a belt or band passed over the beforementioned first
pulley so as to drive its spindle say at five times the speed of the spindle on which
the travelling wheels are mounted. A spur wheel would be mounted on this
secondary spindle and would be in gear with a smaller wheel on another or third
motion spindle which would have a heavy fly-wheel mounted on it to rotate at a
very high velocity: All the spindles would be preferably mounted in ball bearings
so as to reduce friction to a minimum. Loose pulleys would be mounted on the
first and second motion spindles so that the belt may be shifted from the cone to
the loose pulleys when the vehicle is to be stopped, and rice versa when the vehicle
is to be started. This would be effected by making the motion of putting on the
brake through connecting gearing by a fork lever shift the belt froin the cone to
the loose pulleys at the same time as stopping the motion of the vehicle and
vice versa by taking off the brakes shift the belt from the loose to the fast pulleys
so that the velocity or, momentum of the fly-wheel would through the intermediate
gearing increase the velocity of the driving wheels at starting. The driving belt
would preferably be mounted between antifriction pulleys on the shifting fork so as
to reduce friction to a minimum.
This arrangement of gearing would also be used as an auxiliary motion when the
vehicle is ascending steep inclines, or an analogous arrangement of imechanism may
be used for this purpose; and instead of keeping the gearing always in motion the
action of stopping the vehicle may be utilized to raise tlie momentum of thie
fly-wheel.
In order that my said invention may be clearly understood I will describe one or
two modifications of the arrangement by reference to the accompanying sheets of
drawings, the reference letters throughout where not mentioned being used to
denote like parts of the apparatus.
Figure is elevation.
Figure 2 is end view, and
Figure 3 is plan of one of the arrangements.
Figure 3 is also a plan of the working parts drawn to an enlarged scale.
A, A', represents the axles of the traniway car; B, B', the car tram wheels:
C, a friction disc, toothed wheel or pulley keyed on to axle A. D, a wlicèl, of the
same kind as C, but smaller, and keyed on to an independent spindle revolving in
independent bearings; E a spindle fitted. with wheel D, a belt or rope conical
pulley and a fast or loose Hat faced pulley. F, a conical belt or rope pulley
keyed to axle E. Ga fast or loose pulley also fitted to, axle 'E.
G¹ à fast
or loose pulley fitted on, a second spindle E'. F a pulley keyed on axle E¹
of the same kind as pulley F but reversed in position: Ha belt or rope
revolving round the two conical pulleys F and F I, a wheel with toothed or flat
face also fitted on axle E. J'a disc or toothed wheel in gear with whee! T.
Kaxle box or boxes for journal or axle E". L, a fly wheel on axle E".
M repre-
sents the pivot lever at present.in use in the cars for the brake gear. N and
chains for connecting lever M with, brakes Q, Q and brake gear link
Pand P brake bars. R, R R R chain or rope pulleys or guides for operating
the belt guides. S belt guides for regulating position of belt H. T and T
(Figure 1) adjustable springs in axle boxes. U pin for adjusting spring. K, Ki
journals fitted with ball bearings.
Бі
.
24
the
The modus operandi of the arrangement is essentially as follows, -The flywheel
t
acts as an accumulator, and by means of the conical pulleys either gives out or

page_text: absorbs energy as necessity requires, the belt guides by means of a chain or rope
attached to the brake spindle shifting the belt when it is desired to slacken
or accelerate the speed of the car and in stopping the car to throw as much energy
into the flywheel as possible before running the belt on to the loose pulley or
pulleys, the brake blocks being fitted to come into operation when the belt passes
on to said loose pulley. In starting the car the process is simply reversed. To
prevent the car receiving a jerk when starting, the motion from one spindle to
another may be conveyed or transmitted by means of friction pulleys which skid or
slip when the pressure produced by the springs fitted in the journals is insufficient
to overcome the friction. When necessary the jerking action is further reduced by
fitting either of the wheels with a spring between its periphery and the axle, that
is the rim of the wheel instead of being rigidly attached to the axle is first attached
to the extremity of a helical or other shaped spring which encircles and has its
opposite and inner extremity secured to the axle round which the wheel encircles.
The conical pulleys when desired may be arranged with the first pulley directly
attached to the car axle, in which case there may be an independent spindle
between the second conical pulley and fly wheel with the necessary gear to give the
desired speed to the fly wheel, or instead there may be an intermediate spindle
between the car axle and the conical pulley in which case the fly wheel may be
directly fitted to the second conical pulley spindle.
Figs. 4 and 4 illustrate a modified form of the aforesaid arrangement whereby
the conical pulleys and belt is dispensed with. C, represents a toothed wheel or
disc on main axle in gear with a smaller wheel D, on another axle E. F, Fare
two wheels toothed or friction for actuating smaller wheels on axle E to which is
fitted the accumulator fly wheels L, L'. The pressure necessary on discs G and F
to prevent slip is obtained by a spring I, fitted in a box attached to the bottom of
the car.
Said spring "I" bears against one arm of a lever N which runs to the
extreme end of the car and is at that point fitted with a foot plate O. The other
extremity of lever N is jointed-preferably close to spring "1"-to another
lever N of the compound order, the long arm of which is carried to the other end
of the car and is also provided with foot plate O₁: K is a connecting link for
transmitting the pressure from the spring "1" on to the journals T, T. When
the guard or tramcar driver depresses the lever end, the spring bearing on the
opposite end of the lever is compressed and in consequence the friction cones F,
and G, are thrown out of gear, the same movement causes the brake blocks M
which are attached to the long arms of the brakes-to bear against discs or brake
pulleys P and P. P and P represent the brake pulleys or discs fitted to tram
axles. To prevent too sudden a jerk on the car in starting in addition to the
friction wheels or pulleys on axles EE", the larger wheels may instead of having
their rims rigid to axle, have helical springs between axle and rim in the manner
already described.
This arrangement may be modified by having spindles E' E" in a vertical plane
to the main axle, the brake blocks P and P¹ being on one axle and the levers N
and N made with a breech or jaw at the point where it clears the main gear, the
brake blocks being fitted, one on each leg, right over discs P and PL.
Figs. 5 and 54 illustrates another modification of the apparatus, the letters here-
before employed denote corresponding parts of the apparatus, and the modus operandi
of this arrangement being analogous to that described the arrangement will be
understood by referring to the aforesaid descriptions. Crepresents larger wheel
on axle D, pinion, F wheel on spindle E, F¹ wheel on spindle E', G belt pulley,
H belt, I loose pulley.
Figs. 6 and 6 illustrates another modification whereby the load on the friction
discs and G is thrown out of gear by the eccentric W actuated by link Y operated
by bell crank Z which crank is operated by the lever Z. X represents the loaded
lever attached to eccentric W.
It is to be understood that while I illustrate and describe the present type of car

page_text: to illustrate my arrangements I do not claim anything beyond my own modifications
and arrangements.
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,―
(1.) The arrangements and combinations of parts constituting the improved
apparatus hereinbefore described for starting and travelling of tramway cars and
like vehicles.
JAMES MURRIE.