IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James George Langham, the younger, and
Charles Maynard Owen, both of Uckfield, in the County of Sussex,
Gentlemen, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND
RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK."
Scaled the 17th January 1873, and dated the 22nd October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James George Langham
and Charles Maynard Owen at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 22nd October 1872.
We, JAMES GEORGE LANGHAM, the younger, and CHARLES MAYNARD
OWEN, both of Uckfield, in the County of Sussex, Gentlemen, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS
AND RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK," to be as follows:-
-
Our Invention consists of the improved construction and arrangement
of railways and railway rolling stock, herein-after described, the object of
our said Invention being to enable the same rolling stock to travel with
facility upon railways of different gauges.

page_text: Our said Invention is based upon an Invention described in the Speci-
fication of Letters Patent granted to Henry Austin and Joseph Quick,
and bearing date 11th March 1846 (No. 11,134).
According to that Invention, two pairs of wheels of similar diameter
were applied to each railway carriage axle, and the outer pair ran on the
broad gauge and the inner pair on the narrow gauge, the narrow gauge
rails passing within the broad gauge rails for a sufficient distance to
enable the wheels appertaining to the gauge to be passed onto to bo
securely travelling on the rails of such gauge before the wheels apper-
taining to the other gauge left the rails of that gauge. This arrangement
admitted of the same train of carriages passing from a narrow to a broad
gauge of rails without stopping, but was attended by the disadvantage
that it was necessary to make additional openings across the rails at
points or crossings for the flanges of the additional wheels to pass
through.
Now according to our Invention we so construct and arrange railways
and railway rolling stock as to obviate the necessity for making in the
rails the additional openings above referred to, and to enable railway
carriages and waggons to pass smoothly from one gauge of rails to
another without stoppage or slackening of speed. For this purpose we
arrange the wheels on the axles of the railway carriages and waggons
and lay the rails of the two different gauges on which such carriages and
waggons are to travel as follows:-We mount on each axle an additional
pair of wheels, of which the inner wheels run on the line of narrower
gauge and the outer wheels run on the line of broader gauge, but instead
of making all the said wheels of the same diameter, we make the two
outer wheels so much larger in diameter than the two inner wheels that
when the said outer wheels are running on the line of broader gauge the
inner wheels shall be so clevated as to pass clear over any railway points
or lines crossing the railway track.
We lay the rails of the two different gauges which are to be travelled
upon by the same carriages in such a manner as to form junctions by
the rails of the narrower gaugo terminating a few feet within the rails
of the broader gauge, the ends of the rails at such junctions being turned
outwards, as proposed in the Specification herein-before referred to; but
instead of laying the rails of both gauges on the same level, we lay tho
rails of the narrower gauge at such a height above the level of the per-
manent way as to prevent the outer wheels from touching it when tho

page_text: train is running on the said narrower gauge, and where the line
approaches any of the ordinary junction points or crossings the narrower
gauge ceases, and the carriages pass entirely on to the broader gauge, so
that the inner wheels may ride safely over and clear any rails inter-
secting the track on which the said carriages are running, and thus the
necessity for additional openings in such rails for the flanges of the inner
wheels to pass through is avoided.
When carriages furnished with additional wheels, as herein-before
described, are running on the narrower gauge, the outer wheels will
rotate freely in the air, the inner wheels sustaining the weight of tho
said carriages; but when the said carriages are running on the broader
gauge, the outer wheels will sustain the weight of the said carriages, and
the inner wheels will rotate freely in the air.
Our Invention is especially applicable to narrow gauge lines of
railway, and rolling stock constructed on the Bogic or moveable wheel
base principle, as these lines can be constructed very cheaply, and may
be introduced with advantage as local lines and as feeders and auxiliaries
to existing railways, the difficulties hitherto attending the "break of
gauge" being surmounted by our said Invention. Our Invention is
however applicable to all railways which it is desired to connect with
railways of different gauge.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James George Langham and Charles Maynard
Owen in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
GEORGE LANGHAM, the younger, and CHARLES MAYNARD OWEN, both
of Uckfield, in the County of Sussex, Gentlemen, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in
the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said James George Langham and
Charles Maynard Owen, Her special license that we, the said James
George Langham and Charles Maynard Owen, our executors, adminis-

page_text: trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said James George
Langham and Charles Maynard Owen, our 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 RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY
ROLLING STOCK," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
James George Langham and Charles Maynard Owen, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should
particularly describo 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said James George Langham and
Charles Maynard Owen, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
that is to say :-
Our Invention consists of the improved construction and arrangement
of railways and railway rolling stock, herein-after described, the object
of our said Invention being to enable the same rolling stock to travel
with facility upon railways of different gauges.
Our said Invention is based upon an Invention described in the Speci-
fication of Letters Patent granted to Henry Austin and Joseph Quick,
and bearing date 11th March 1846, No. 11,134.
According to that Invention two pairs of wheels of similar diameter
were applied to each railway carriage axle, and the outer pair ran on the
broad gauge and the inner pair on the narrow gauge, the narrow gauge
rails passing within the broad gauge rails for a sufficient distance to
enable the wheels apportaining to the gauge to be passed onto to be
securely travelling on the rails of such gauge before the wheels apper-
taining to the other gauge left the rails of that gauge. This arrangement
admitted of the same train of carriages passing from a narrow to a broad
gauge of rails without stopping, but was attended by the disadvantage
that it was necessary to make additional openings across the rails at

page_text: points or crossings for the flanges of the additional wheels to pass
through.
Now according to our Invention we so construct and arrange railways
and railway rolling stock as to obviate the necessity for making in the
rails the additional openings above referred to, and to enable railway
carriages and waggons to pass smoothly from one gauge of rails to
another without stoppage or slackening of speed. For this purpose we
arrange the wheels on the axles of the railway rolling stock and lay the
rails of the two different gauges on which such rolling stock is to travel
as follows-We mount on each axle two pairs of wheels, the inner pair
of wheels to run on the rails of the narrower gauge and the outer pair of
wheels to run on the rails of the broader gauge, but instead of making
all the said wheels of the same diameter, we make the two outer wheels
so much larger in diameter than the two inner wheels that when the said
outer wheels are running on the line of broader gauge the inner wheels
shall be so elevated as to pass clear over any railway points or lines
crossing the railway track.
We lay the rails of the two different gauges which are to be travelled
over by the same rolling stock in such a manner as to form junctions by
the rails of the narrower gauge terminating a few feet within the rails of
the broader gauge, the ends of the rails at such junctions being turned
outwards, as proposed in the Specification herein-before referred to; but
instead of laying the rails of both gauges on the same level, we lay the
rails of the narrower gauge at such a height above the level of the ballast
and sleepers as to prevent the outer wheels from touching them when
the train is running on the said narrower gauge, and where the linc
approaches any of the ordinary junctions, points, or crossings, or a level
crossing with a common road, the narrower gauge ceases, a junction with
the broader gauge being formed, as herein-before described, and the
rolling stock passes entirely on to the broader gauge until such junctions,
points, or crossings are passed, when the broader gauge may cease and
the narrower gauge recommence, so that the inner wheels may ride
safely over and clear any rails or level road crossing intersecting the
track of the broader gauge on which the said rolling stock is running,
and no ordinary junctions, points, or crossings are allowed to intersect
the line of the narrower gauge at all, and thus the necessity for additional
openings in the rails for the flanges of the wheels to pass through is
avoided.
:

page_text: When rolling stock furnished with additional wheels, as herein-before
described, is running on the narrower gauge, the outer wheels will rotate
freely in the air, the inner wheels sustaining the weight of the said
rolling stock; but when the said rolling stock is running on the broader
gauge the outer wheels will sustain the weight of the said rolling stock,
and the inner wheels will rotate freely in the air.
Our Invention is especially applicable to narrow gauge lines of railway
and rolling stock constructed for use thereon, as these lines can be con-
structed very cheaply, and may be introduced with advantage as local
lines and as feeders and auxiliaries to existing railways, the difficulties
hitherto attending the "break of gauge" being surmounted by our said
Invention. Our Invention is however applicable to all railways which
it is desired to connect with railways of different gauges.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to
describe the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference
being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts
in all the Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 represent in elevation an axle A, furnished with two
pairs of wheels B, B, and C, C, according to our Invention. In Figure 1
the wheels B, B, are represented as running on the rails D, D, of the
broader gauge; and in Figure 2 the wheels C, O, are represented as
running on the rails E, E, of the narrower gauge. Whatever may be
the sizes of the wheels, the inner wheels C, C, should be two and a half
or three inches less in radius than the outer wheels, that is, supposing
the flanges of the wheels to be an inch and a quarter or an inch and a
half deep; an increase of twice that extent should be made to the radius
of the outer wheels, so as to enable the inner wheels to ride about an
inch or an inch and a half clear over any intersecting rails or level road
crossing, as represented in Figure 1, by referring to which it will be seen
that while the flanges of the wheels B, B, pass in the usual way through
openings, f, in the intersecting rail F, or in a level road crossing the
wheels C, C, ride clear of the said rail or road.
In the Drawings a difference of three inches between the radii of the
inner and outer wheels is represented, and although this exact difference
is not essential (all that is necessary being that the diameter of the inner
wheel, inclusive of the flange, should be somewhat less than the diameter

page_text: of the outer wheel, exclusive of the flange), we will proceed with our
explanation on that basis, the Drawings being made to correspond.
Figure 3 represents in plan the junction of the broader gauge of rails
with the narrower gauge; Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the manner
in which the rolling stock passes from the rails E, E, to the rails D, D,
and vice versa. The black circles indicate the tread of the wheels B, B,
(the flanges being omitted), and the red circles indicate the tread of the
wheels C, C, (the flanges being omitted). It is desirable that the
rails D, E, should be so laid relatively to each other that all four of the
wheels B, B, and C, C, should not run simultaneously for any appre-
ciable distance on the said rails respectively, as their so doing would
occasion a grinding on the rails, operating like a break, because of the
surface speed of the outer wheels being greater than that of the inner
wheels. We therefore prefer to set the outer rails D, D, at an incline
of 3 inches in the last 21 feet, so as to give a gradient of 1 in 72, which
the outer wheels B, B, ascend or descend smoothly and without any
shock. In passing from the narrower to the broader gauge the said
wheels B, B, take a bearing on the outer rails as soon as they arrive at
the point where the difference in height between the inner and outer
rails is equal to the difference of radius between the two pairs of wheels;
and conversely, in passing from the broader to the narrower gauge, the
wheels C, C, take a bearing on the inner rails as soon as they arrive at
the same point. If that difference be 3 inches, as represented in the
Drawings, and the broader and narrower gauge lines overlap each other
6 feet, with an inclination of 3½ inches in 21 feet in the outer rails, as
before described, the point at which both pairs of wheels will have a
simultaneous contact with both pairs of rails will be at a distance of
3 feet from the ends of the rails, and the moment that point is passed
the outer wheels, rising up the incline, carry the inner wheels clear of any
contact with the inner rails, and permit the said inner wheels to rotate
freely in the air; or conversely, the inner wheels, running on their own
level rails, carry the outer wheels clear of any contact with the declining
outer rails, and permit the outer wheels to rotate freely in the air.
If desired by way of additional precaution, guard rails may be placed
at the points of junction in the usual manner; but we do not consider
them necessary, as the one pair of wheels is safely guided on to its
proper rails by the other pair of wheels running on its own rails.

page_text: According to the dimensions herein-before referred to, it will be scen
that although the outer wheels, when entering on the broader gauge, do
not take a bearing on the outer rails for the first three feet thereof (in
which space there is a rise of half an inch), the tread of the outer wheels
is never more than half an inch distant from the surface of the outer
rails, and as the flanges are an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half
deep, it follows that the flanges of the outer wheels will operate as guides
against the outer rails from the extreme ends thereof. Conversely, in
passing from the broader to the narrower gauge the outer wheels,
running down the incline, do not bring the inner wheels in contact with
the inner rails until such wheels have passed over the first three feet of
such inner rails, during which space the tread of such inner wheels is
never more than half an inch distant from the face of the inner rails,
and consequently the flanges of the inner wheels operate as guides
against the inner rails from the extreme ends thereof. As a further pre-
caution we turn the ends of the rails outwards, as shown in Figures 3.
and 5, to prevent the wheels missing them.
By referring to Figure 4 it will be seen that at a the inner wheels
run on the inner rails, the outer wheels rotating clear, that at the said
outer wheels are over but not touching the outer rails, that at c the
outer and inner wheels both bear on their respective rails, that at d
the outer wheels run on the outer rails and the inner wheels are lifted
off the inner rails, and that at e the inner rails have terminated. Thus
by the incline proposed the four wheels will be at one point only in
simultaneous contact with the four rails.
When the rolling stock is running on the narrower gauge the outer
wheels will rotato freely in the air, the inner wheels sustaining the
weight; but when the said rolling stock is running on the broader gauge
the outer wheels will sustain the weight, and the inner wheels will rotate
freely in the air.
Figure 5 is a diagram showing in plan the arrangement of the rails at
a crossing. By referring to this diagram it will be seen that at each side
of the crossing G the narrower gauge E, E, ceases and makes a junction
(as herein-before described) with the broader gauge D, D, to which the
train is transferred, and on which it runs, its inner wheels being carried
clear over the intersecting rails F, F, as represented in Figure 1. After
passing the said intersecting rails the train again passes on to the
narrower gauge.

page_text: The arrangement of the rails at junctions and turntables is essentially
similar to that above described with respect to a crossing.
The width of our improved rolling stock should not exceed that of the
ordinary rolling stock used on the broader gauge line on which it is
intended to run, in order to allow of the said improved rolling stock
passing the platforms of the stations on the said broader gauge line.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we claim as our said Invention,-
Firstly. The mode herein-before described of adapting railway rolling
stock to run on lines of different gauges by providing each axle with two
pairs of wheels, the one pair suited for the narrower gauge being of so
much less diameter than the other pair suited for the broader gauge
that the flanges of the smaller wheels shall pass clear over points,
intersecting rails, and level crossings, while the larger wheels run on
their own rails.
Secondly. Arranging the rails for the aforesaid rolling stock at points,
intersections, and level crossings so that the said rolling stock shall at
such places be made to run on its larger wheels, essentially as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, wc, the said James George Langham and
Charles Maynard Owen, have hercunto set our hands and scals,
this Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three.
25
Witness,
GEO. EARL,
Uckfield.
JA. GEO. LANGHAM, Jr. (L.S.)
C. MAYNARD OWEN.
(L.S.)