IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRIVING CARRIAGES ON TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Henry Leveaux, of Brook Green, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of “ IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRIVING CARRIAGES ON TRAMWAYS AND
RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS."
Sealed the 20th March 1874, and dated the 24th September 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Henry Leveaux
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th September 1873.
I, EDWARD HENRY LEVEAUX, of Brook Green, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRIVING CARRIAGES
ON TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS," to be as follows:-
The chief object of this Invention is to effect an economy in the
working of tramways adapted for street traffic.
In lieu of horse traction, as now commonly employed, I propose to
adapt the power of coiled springs or an equivalent means of storing
power to the propulsion of passenger carriages..

page_text: Supposing the ordinary form of tramway omnibus to be employed I
utilize the space under the seat and a portion of the space below the
floor of the carriage by arranging therein a series of barrels containing
coiled springs, and connected with the driving wheels of the carriage.
These springs when wound up by the means to be presently explained 5
will serve as a stored power for propelling the carriage.
The springs may be arranged in two groups at opposite sides of the
carriage, and connected together by transverse shafts and by gearing.
The first barrel of the series I propose to rotate so as to wind up the
spring contained therein, and ultimately all the springs of the series by 1
means of steam or other motive-power engines arranged at suitable
distances apart along the track or course to be traversed.
The places at which these engines are situate will form stopping
stations, where passengers may alight and enter. While this is taking
place the engine will be employed in winding up the springs so as to 1
prepare the carriage for continuing the journey.
The driving wheels of the carriage will be connected by gearing with
the spring motor, so as to multiply the speed of their rotation to a
suitable extent.
For transmitting the power of the engine to the spring motor a driving 2
shaft may extend under the foot and carriageway to a central enclosed
chamber between the tramways, and there (by means of gearing) give
rotary motion to a vertical socket mounted in the chamber.
A vertically sliding spindle pendent from the carriage, and fitted with
a gear wheel for driving the spring barrels, will when dropped into this 2
socket complete the connection between the arrangement of spring
barrels and the engine, and thus the spring motor may be wound up
ready for action with rapidity and economy. So soon as this has been
effected the spindle is to be raised clear of the rotating socket, and the
carriage is ready for starting or for continuing its journey.
3
It will be obvious that the means for connecting the carriage tem-
porarily with the prime motor, for the purpose of providing the stored
power, may be indefinitely varied, and that the means of storing the
power given out by the stationary engine may also be greatly modified
without departing from the nature and object of the Invention, which is 3
the providing of the carriage with a self-contained power for running

page_text: automatically through the agency of stationary engines or other motive
power so situated on the line to be traversed as to be enabled to renew
and keep up the power as it becomes expended in the journey.
The Invention applies whenever the friction of the carriage wheel on
the road is capable of being readily overcome by the stored up propelling
power, and whether for passenger or for goods traffic.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Edward Henry Leveaux in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th March 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
HENRY LEVEAUX, of Brook Green, in the County of Middlesex, Gentle-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Henry Leveaux, Her special
licence that I, the said Edward Henry Leveaux, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Henry
Leveaux, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRIVING CARRIAGES ON
TRAMWAYS AND RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Edward Henry Leveaux, 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 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.

page_text: ∙NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Henry Leveaux, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
The chief object of this Invention is to effect an economy in the
working of tramways adapted for the accommodation of street traffic.
In lieu of horse traction as now commonly employed I propose to
adapt the power of coiled springs to the propulsion of passenger
carriages.
Supposing the ordinary form of tramway omnibus to be employed I
utilize a portion of the space below the floor of the carriage by arranging
therein a series of barrels containing coiled springs, and connected with
the driving wheels of the carriage. These springs when wound up by
the means to be presently explained will serve as a stored power for
propelling the carriage.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a tramway
carriage fitted according to this Invention, and shewing the mechanism.
applied thereto for winding up the coiled springs; Fig. 2 is an inverted
plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of the spring
barrels and the gearing connected therewith.
Fig. 4 shews in elevation (applied to a tramway carriage) the mechanical
arrangement which I employ for winding up the springs of such
carriages; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same.
Below the floor of the carriage and near the middle of its length are
two groups of spring barrels A, A¹, there being five barrels in cach
group, but any greater or less number may be used as found convenient.
These barrels are fitted to sleeve shafts (see Fig. 3), which shafts are
strung upon fixed axles B, B¹.
In order to provide for the simultaneous action of all the springs when
required, or for the action of one group of springs only at a time, I
adopt the arrangement shewn in Figures 2 and 3, and which I shall now
.describe. C is the winding shaft having its bearings in side plates D fitted
to the under side of the carriage framing, which plates also serve to
carry the axles B, B'. The manner of driving the shaft C will be here-

page_text: after described.
On this shaft is keyed a pinion c, which gears
into a
spur wheel a, made fast to the spring barrel 1, which is the first of the
group of spring barrels A. This barrel 1 is mounted loosely on the
sleeve shaft which carries (loosely mounted) the barrel 2, and these
barrels are severally connected to the sleeve shaft by means of a coiled
spring, the direction of the coil of the spring in the barrel 2 being the
reverse of that of the spring in the barrel 1. The barrels 3 and 4 are
similarly arranged, both as respects their being mounted loosely on a
sleeve shaft ĉommon to both, and the mode of connecting them thereto
by coiled springs. The barrels 2 and 3 are connected together by a pin b,
which acts as a driver either to wind up the coiled springs in the
drums 3, 4, or to transmit the power stored up in those springs, as here-
after explained. The barrel 5 is mounted on a separate sleeve shaft, and
to that barrel is made fast a spur wheel a¹. This barrel is connected
with the barrel 4 by means of a driver b. A somewhat similar arrange-
ment to that described with respect to the group of spring barrels A is
continued through the group of spring barrels A³, the barrel 6 being
fitted with a spur wheel a², which gears into the wheel a' carried by the
barrel 5, for the purpose of transmitting the winding up motion to the
group of springs A', or of transmitting the power of those springs when
desired through the group of barrels A to the driving wheels of the
carriage. The other barrels 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the group A' are so con-
nected together as to ensure the winding up of their several springs
through the rotation of the adjacent barrels. Midway between the axles B
and B' is an axle E, supported in the side plates D. This axle serves to
carry a loose pinion e, into which gear two spur wheels e¹, e², mounted
loosely on their respective shafts B, B¹. The wheel e¹ is connected by
means of a pawle and ratchet teeth with the barrel 1, and the wheel e² is
similarly connected with the barrel 10. These two barrels are each
fitted with a friction brake h, which when thrown into action will
prevent the running down of the groups of springs with which they are
in connection. These brakes are put into and out of action by means of
brake rods H, H', which extend to opposite ends of the carriage, and may
be operated by bevilled gearing, as indicated at Fig. 2.
F is a shaft having its bearings in the side plates D, and serving to
communicate through spur gearing f, f₁, f², rotary motion to the axle G
of the driving wheels. On this axle two pinions 9 are mounted loosely,
and on their bosses clutch teeth are formed to receive respectively the

page_text: teeth of a pair of clutches g³, which slide on feathers on the shaft G, and
are operated by the clutch rods 93. This pair of pinions and clutches are
used for the purpose of driving the carriage in opposite directions as
desired.
When the course of the carriage is to the right hand the pinion into
which the wheel f¹ gears will be thrown into action. When however
the direction of the carriage is to be reversed the spur wheel f³ is put
into action. For this purpose it drives a pinion g³, which gears into the
adjacent pinion g. This pinion g³ runs loosely on a shaft 9' having its
bearings in radius rods 9° pendent respectively on the shafts F and G,
and thus transmitting motion to the shaft G, that shaft will be driven in
a reverse direction to that given to it when the motion is transmitted
directly or without the intervention of the idle pinion g³.
When the full force of the spring power is required to be exercised
the barrels 1 and 10 will be released from the action of the brakes h.
In that case the two groups of coiled springs will transmit their power
through their respective spur wheels e¹, e³, to the pinion f, and so
through the wheel f¹ to the shaft G of the driving wheels. If however
the brake is put upon the barrel 10 the springs of the group A will
transmit their motion through the spur wheel a³ to the spur wheel a³,
which
and thence through the group of springs A. to the spur wheel e¹,
will now be driven by the two groups of springs combined, and will
communicate motion through the pinion e to the wheel e³ (now acting
as an idle wheel), and thence by the gearing f, f¹, and 9, g', to the
shaft G.
When the barrel 1 is held fast by its brake the power of the springs
will be transmitted in a reverse direction, in which case the wheel e will
receive the impelling power of all the springs combined, and transmit it,
as already explained, to the shaft G. This arrangement allows of the
driving force stored up in the springs being regulated to suit varying
circumstances.
I will now describe the means which I employ for winding up the
spring barrels. Along the track or course to be traversed I provide a
series of motive-power engines arranged at suitable distances apart (say,
a convenient length for a run). The places at which these engines are
situate will form stopping stations, where passengers may alight from
or enter the carriages. While this is taking place the engine will be

page_text: employed in winding up the springs so as to prepare the carriage for
continuing the journey.
Referring to Figures 4 and 5, I is a stationary engine, which serves to
give motion to a belt wheel K, the belt from which passes to a pulley L,
keyed to a horizontal shaft M, which shaft is supported in bearings.
placed below the roadway, and for the sake of convenience enclosed in a
metal casing or tube. Close to one side of the tramway track over which
the carriage is intended to run a box N is sunk in the roadway, and through
this box passes the shaft M. Keyed on to the shaft within the box is a
chain wheel O (see also Fig. 1), and around this chain wheel passes an
endless chain P, which serves to drive a chain wheel Q carried by a pair
of radius arms R, which have for their supports the shaft M. The axle
of the chain wheel Q is fitted with a sleeve so shaped as to connect with
the driving axle C, and to permit of its instant disconnection therefrom
when required. The box N is fitted with a lid to cover the chain wheels
when out of action.
When it is desired to wind up the spring barrels the carriage is
brought up to position, as shewn at Fig. 1. The lid of the box N is
thrown back, and the chain wheel Q is raised to the dotted position, and
the sleeve of its axle is slidden into connection with the shaft C. The
engine at I is then set in motion, and by means of its connection with
the shaft M it will be caused to rotate the chain wheels, and through the
sleeve or other couplings give rotary motion to the shaft C, and thereby
wind up the spring barrels.
To prevent overwinding a friction coupling may be introduced at any
convenient part of the apparatus, or a means of forcibly disconnecting
the sleeve or other coupling from the shaft C may be provided. When
the chain wheel Q has been disconnected from the carriage it will be
returned to its depressed position, and the lid of the box will be closed.
It will of course be necessary to provide that the stored power of the
springs shall more than suffice for completing the run to the next station,
in order to avoid the possibility of the carriage being brought to a stand
still before the power can be renewed.
I would remark that instead of fitting the spring barrels and the
arrangement of gearing to the under side of the tramway or other
carriage, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2, the whole mechanism may be
mounted in a tender, as shewn at Fig. 6, and the carriage may be drawn

page_text: or propelled by being coupled to the tender. This arrangement will
allow of spring power being at hand and ready for instant application in
cases where delay such as is requisite for winding up the barrels might
prove inconvenient.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
the Mode of and Apparatus for Driving Carriages or Tramways and
Railways and other Roads," 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,―
First. Providing for the winding up of the spring barrels employed
for driving tramway and other carriages in the manner above described.
Secondly. The arrangement of spring barrels as described and the
gearing and brake mechanism in connection therewith for effecting the
propulsion of wheel carriages.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Henry Leveaux, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.