IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THEODORUS
CORNELIUS SEEGERS, Knight of the Order of Neiderlandshe Lion, of St. Gra-
venhage, Holland, but now of Leicester Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Physician, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eighth day of March, in the eleventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Theodorus Cornelius Seegers, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Theodorus Cornelius Seegers, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Theodorus Cornelius
Seegers, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all
Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso obliging me, the said Theodorus Cornelius Seegers, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her

page_text: Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,. as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Theodorus Cornelius Seegers, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
These improvements consist in a mode of constructing carriages for railways
which shall afford greater strength and resistance, and thereby prevent the
crushing of such carriages in the event of collision, and also in a better mode
of partitioning and packing the interior of such carriages to afford ease and
security to the passengers, and prevent the ill effects arising from sudden jerks
and stoppages on the road. These features of improvement will be more fully
understood by an inspection of the accompanying Drawings, and the description
thereof (reference being had to the several figures and letters), which will fully
explain all the parts of my improved construction of railway carriages.
Fig. 1 represents an elevation of the framing of my improved carriage. The
upper and lower longitudinal beams of wood A, A, are to be made particularly
strong (about five inches in sectional square, more or less); several of the like
longitudinal beams of wood, say three or more above and below, are to be laid
parallel to the side beams and to each other, for the purpose of forming the
top and bottom longitudinal framing of the carriage, and these are to be
secured in their positions and fastened together by transverse beams of wood,
as shewn in the horizontal view of the framing at Fig. 2. The transverse
beams B, B, need not be quite so strong as the former, but must be securely
fastened at all the joints and crossings to the longitudinal beams by suitable
bolts or other means, as shewn at C, C. Upright standards of wood D, D, of
the same substance and the same in number on each side as the transverse
beams, are to be securely connected to the outside longitudinal beams, and to
the ends of the transverse beams at top and bottom by mortices and tenons,
with pins, bolts, or screws, or in any other suitable mode affording stability.
These standards are to be further strengthened both above and below by
bracket pieces E, E, mortised into or otherwise secured to the standards and
to the longitudinal beams, and also to the transverse beams, and at those parts
where the openings for the doors are made, iron angle plates may be introduced:
The outer standards F, F, at each end of the carriage, must be equal in

page_text: number and substance to the longitudinal beams, and be connected to all the
top and bottom longitudinal beams, as shewn at Fig. 3. These must be
securely fastened thereto by mortising with bolts, pins, or other means.
Diagonal braces G, G, shewn in Fig. 4, may be attached to the upright
standards at each end of the carriage, with transverse braces above and below
on a level with the end of the longitudinal beams, as shewn at Y, Y, in
Fig. 2, and these must be all secured together, as shewn in the Drawing at
Eigs. 2 and 4. Between these and the lining of the carriage the vacant space
may be packed with wool or other elastic material to prevent the ill effects of
concussion; and I can afford additional security by placing transverse beams
at top and bottom, as shewn at z, z, which may be covered on the outside with
india rubber, or other elastic material, and act as additional buffer. In the
first and last carriage of a train it might be convenient to make use of these
recesses as boxes to hold tools, such as a jack, or instrument to lift weights and
other things. The inner parts of the end standards are to be further supported
at top and bottom by strong brackets H, H, as shewn in the partial view of
the framing at Fig. 5. For the purpose of giving additional strength to the
ends of the carriage 1 face the end standards with strong wrought plate
iron I, I, and turn these iron plates over at right angles above and below, for
the purpose of making them.fast by bolts to the top and bottom longitudinal
beams, as shewn in Fig. 1. I also strengthen the carriage by lining the door
cases with a substantial rectangular frame of wrought iron J, J, J, J, the
lower parts of which are inserted into the longitudinal beams. In these.
openings in. the sides of the carriages the doors are to be placed, with their
sliding glass windows constructed in the ordinary way.
Fig. 6 represents the external appearance of the carriage complete, at the
under part of which additional transverse beams K, K, are placed as a frame
for supporting the axles of the wheels, and the springs on which the carriage
rides. Fig. 7 represents the under side of one of these frames, with the axle
wheels, boxes, and. springs as attached; and Fig. 8 is an end view of tho
same. These wheels I'make of wrought iron by means of stamping, so that.
the entire wheel is formed from one piece without joints.
1. I beg it to be observed, that as my improvements apply to giving strength
to a railway carriage,. I do not intend to limit its adaptation to any particular
form of external ornament, or even of shape or dimensions of the carriage
itself:
I now: proceed to.describe the internal parts of the carriage by which. I
effect the security and comfort.of the passengers. The. framing or skeleton of
the carriage being constructed of strong beams, secured together in the was

page_text: shewn and described, its internal part is to be separated into compartments,
say into three compartments, each capable of receiving six or eight persons.
Fig. 9 represents a longitudinal section of the interior of a carriage, having
two compartments, that is, so much of a carriage as is occupied by two compart-
ments, separated by transverse partitions, the grain of the wood being horizontal.
Fig. 10 is a transverse section shewing four seats occupying the back or front of
the compartiment. The flooring of each compartment is affixed to the lower
transverse beams B, B, the ceiling or top to the upper transverse beams B, B.
The transverse partitions L are made fast to the standards D, D, and also to
the top and bottom transverse beams, thus constituting each compartment as
a distinct box, shell, or inclosure within the framing. These compartments
are divided by side partitions M, M, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, into
distinct sittings, which are packed all round, as well as the seats, with soft
cushions. There is a recess above cach sitting suited to receive a hat, bonnet,
or other light article, and each sitting is enclosed by a hinged-door N, N, N,
l'ent to the curve of the partitions, which door is to be likewise packed with
cushions within, and furnished with a footstool of soft material P. These
doors are each to be fastened by a spring catch; or instead of a door a strap
may be secured in front of the passenger, so that in the event of any acci-
dental concussion the passenger cannot be thrown from the seat, and cannot be
subjected to contusions, the soft packing effectually preventing any accident.
In an inferior class of carriages I should construct the framing as first described,
and make an interior packing of some cheap material, preserving as much
security as may be against the possibility of passengers being thrown from
their seats and injured in. In place of the packed and cushioned partitions I
should. sometimes, for inferior class carriages, affix strong hempen or other
netting or webbing in vertical positions, attaching them securely to the top
and bottom framing beams, for the purpose of preventing the passengers being
thrown backward or forward against each other in the event of a sudden
concussion. Q, Q, are loops or staples firmly secured to the framing of the
carriage, in order that the carriage may be readily raised under any circum-
stances requiring it.
Having now described the objects of my Improvements in the Construction
of Railway Carriages, and the means by which I carry the same into effect, I
desire it to be understood that I claim,-
Firstly, in the construction of railway carriages, the adaptation of strong
longitudinal beams extending the whole length of such carriages, arranged
and connected together by transverse and perpendicular beams, with brackets
and braces to form the framework or skeleton of the carriage, in the way

page_text: shewn in the Drawings, not confining myself to any particular number or
dimensions of the beams, brackets, or braces, nor to the dimensions and
exernal appearance of the carriage itself, as the novel feature in which niy
improvement consists is, the manner of giving strength to such carriages by
the firm construction of the framework in the way described, which will be
sufficient to resist effectually the pressure of any force that may be impressed
upon one or more of the carriages, by the whole effect of the momentum of
the train being thrown upon such of the carriages as may be suddenly arrested
in their rapid progress, or when stationary by any force which may act upon
them from behind or before or in any other direction.
I claim, secondly, the construction of internal boxes or shells, forming distinct
compartments of the carriage, separately or independently of the framing
within which they are affixed, and the use of internal doors or other securities
to every sitting within the carriages, with their fastenings, and the perfect
packing of the partitions, doors, and all internal parts, as described and shown
in the Drawing, for the purpose of preventing the passengers being thrown
from their seats or injured by any sudden stoppage.or concussion of the train.
. In witness whereof, I, the said Theodorus Cornelius Seegers, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.,