AN IMPROVED ARRANGEMENT OF PORTABLE RAILWAY
Year: 1859

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Romaine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
January: 1859
ROBERT TROMAINE of Chapel Street, Bedford Row, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for AN IMPROVED ARRANGEMENT OF PORTABLE RAILWAY," to be as follows:
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of portable railway, whereby
the defects of the system at present in use, viz., the rapid destruction of the
ends of the Tails, and the indeuting, of the ground with the ends of the sleepers
that carry the Thils (owing to the unequal pressure of the load upon the
different portions of tife Surface of the rails) are avoided. To attain this end
mount on the axle of the carrying wheels two or more pairs of wheels, and
apply to the peripheries of each pair two or more rails which will form
coniploment of the series of links that are required to form an endless
Failway. This instead of one and the same pair of wheels-bearing con-
tinue that is required to be moved, tlie several pairs of wheels,
whether two or more, will come into action consecutively, and bring down their
rails upon the ground, so as to relieve the loaded rails of their superincumbent'
weight just before the indenting pressure above alluded to (caused by the
wheels traversing over the ends of the fails) commences. The rails I propose
tozatniolit Inosely to the wheels by means of-side-plates-or- ears, which are
SUPrince Sa
I

page_text: connected together within the felloe or rim of the wheel by a cross bolt. The
guide pieces for the side plates I propose to make in one piece, in form some-
what like a saddle. These I let into the rim of the wheel, making them flush
therewith, and I fix them in place by means of bolts, which also secure the
tyre to the rim of the wheel..
In some cases where long rails are used, I propose to cut away the periphery
of the wheels, or to use segments in order to provide recesses or space for
the ends of the rails to fall into during the revolution of their respective
wheels.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Romaine in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME. 1, ROBERT
ROMAINE, of Chapel Street, Bedford Row, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Robert Romaine, Her special license that I, the said Robert
Romaine, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Robert Romaine, 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
"AN IMPROVED ARRANGEMENT OF PORTABLE RAILWAY," upon the condition,
amongst others, that I, the said Robert Romaine, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention, 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 Robert Romaine, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following

page_text: statement, reference. being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of endless portable railway,
whereby I am enabled to remove the defects pertaining to the system at
present in use, (viz., the rapid destruction of the ends of the rails and the
indenting of the ground with the ends of the sleepers that carry the rails,) and
ensure smooth and even working. In order to attain this result, 1 cause
distinct series of rails and sleepers (which together form the complement of
rails and sleepers required to constitute an endless railway) alternately to
come into use, and sustain the pressure of the carrying wheels; this may be
done by mounting two or more pairs of carrying wheels on the same axle, and
applying sets of rails to the periphery of each wheel in such a manner as to
ensure the placing on the ground of a rail of one set for its wheel to bear upon
before the pressure of the adjacent wheel is taken from its railway. Or the
like effect may be obtained by applying to one and the same wheel two
sections or parts of a portable railway, the periphery of the wheel being made
proportionately broad for this purpose, and slotted to provide for the attach-
ment of the sleepers. For the sake, however, of lightness of construction,
I prefer the use of two wheels instead of the broad-flanged wheel.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn the Invention as applied to a
pair of double-carrying wheels, which consist of two ordinary wheels combined
so as to have one nave in common.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a double wooden wheel, fitted with a portable
railway according to my improvements; Fig. 2 is an edge or front view of the
same; and Fig. 3 is a diagram, shewing the railway track, as laid out flat, for
the purpose of indicating the line of pressure of the carrying wheels. Attached
to the felloea of the wheels A, A', are saddle pieces b, b, which form guides
for the cars c, c. to work over. The saddle pieces are connected to the
wheels by means of screw bolts d passed through the felloe and the tyre, as
shewn in the partial section of, the wheel at Fig. 4. The ears c, c, are bolted
to the sleepers e in pairs, and by means of cross bolts c* (which pass through
the ears near their point, and carry ferrules for ensuring the parallelism of the.
ears); the sleepers, together with the rails which they carry, are connected
to their respective wheels. On the sides. of the saddle pieces (see the detached
views Figure 5) projections with curved edges are formed for the cars c, c, to
bear against during the revolution of the carrying wheels, and at its upper
part the saddle is formed with a triangular projection, at the base of which
are segmental seats or sockets. This raised portion of the saddle pièce serves
to guide the cross boli c, when its sleeper is off the ground into one or other
:

page_text: of the sockets at its base, and to prevent the jar that would be occasioned by
the cross bolt of each sleeper falling into their seats I furnish the sockets
with a cushion of vulcanized rubber.
The rails prefer to taper towards their extremities, as shewn in the
Drawing, for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of the pressure of the load
from one section to the other of the railway alternately. I also propose in
some cases to taper the ends of the sleepers, forming thereon channels a little
broader than the tyres of the wheels for the purpose hereafter to be explained.
The railway may be composed of any given number of sections, and these
sections may be composed of any equal number of rails and sleepers. In the
Drawing at Fig. 1, I have shewn eight or four rails and sleepers for each
section of my compound railway. The wheels A therefore on the opposite
sides of the carriage will each be fitted with four rails and sleepers, and the
wheels A will be similarly provided. By referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen
that the rails of the two sections are arranged relatively to each other, so
that each rail of one section will come into position for bearing the load
immediately before the rail of the other section over which its wheel is
passing has been relieved of its load. This movement of the rails is ensured
by extending the length of the sleepers, so that the total length of the sleepers
of each section of railway will nearly equal the measurement of the periphery
of the wheel, whose pressure they are intended to sustain. The rails also are
made sufficiently long for the ends of each rail of one section to extend beyond
the near ends of the two adjacent rails. This will be best understood by
reference to Fig. 3, which shews a portion of a pair of my compound rails
laid out flat. As, therefore, the carriage, fitted according to this Invention, is
propelled or drawn forward by steam or horse-power, the pressure of the load
will be distributed over the railway in the manner indicated by the red lines,
and by reason of the load passing from the rail of one section to the depressed
rail of the next section at a point, in the rear of which there is a considerable
length. of sleeper or bearing surface on the ground, the tendency of the rail to
tip up and cause the indentation of the ground will be wholly removed, and
consequently a tolerably level track (even when travelling over irregular or
broken ground) will be provided for the carrying wheels.
At Fig. 6 I have shewn in vertical section a compound wheel such as I
propose sometimes to employ (instead of the wheels with wooden naves, as
shewn at. Fig. 2) for carrying the compound portable railway. Instead of
forming the two wheels on one boss or nave, I propose to cast the bosses or
naves of each wheel with a flange, and to bolt them together; this flange
may also serve to carry an oil box for lubricating the axle. To increase the

page_text: rigidity of the structure, I insert a metal hoop or struts g between the felloes
or the spokes, and the same remark applies to the compound wheels shewn
at Fig. 2.
Fig. shews a cast-iron wheel fitted according to my Invention; in this
instance the guides for the ears to work over may be cast with the wheels or
attached thereto, as thought most desirable. The wheel, it will be seen, is
fitted with six sleepers and rails, and instead of being provided with two entire
peripheries for receiving the two sections of rails or of a broad periphery, as
before referred to, it is cast with a zig-zag periphery, as shewn in the edge
view, Fig. 8. which gives the required bearing surfaces in the form of segments
of the circle, and ensures at the same time a light and strong casting. An
important advantage pertaining to the use of wheels with segmental bearing
surfaces or peripheries is, that the ends of the sleepers may be admitted within
the circle formed by the periphery of the wheels; each section, therefore, of
the railway in passing over uneven ground will be free to act independently.
The sleepers of one section taking an inclined position in order to mount an
obstruction out of the course of the other section, will therefore in no way
affect the position of the following rail of the next section. It is to obtain the
like advantage, when wheels like that shewn at Fig. 1 are used, that I propose
to chamfer off or taper the ends of the sleepers, as before referred to, and
indicated at Figures 1 and 2.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved
Arrangement of Portable Railway." and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent. I claim, arranging the bearing surfaces of portable
railways in sections, and connecting the same to carrying wheels, so that the
sections will come consecutively or alternately into action in the manner and
for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Romaine, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness.
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
ROBT. ROMAINE. (L.s.)