CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND VEHICLES FOR RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Paul Leprovost, of London Street, Paris, in the
Empire of France, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IM-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Paul Leprovost at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th May 1863.
I, PAUL LEPROVOST, of London Street, Paris, in the Empire of France,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND VEHICLES FOR RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS,"
to be as follows, that is to say:―
My improvements in railway carriages consist in constructing them chiefly
of sheet iron, in having an external or internal passage either nearly all round
the outside or in the interior of the vehicle, in providing a watercloset at one
end of the carriage, and a spiral staircase in the middle for ascending to the
top of the vehicle. The carriages are built of the same size as the ordinary
first class ones, except in height, but the roof is rounded, so that they can
pass under all tunnels with safety. At each extremity of the carriages steps
are placed for reaching the platform or passage which leads to the entrance
doors at each end of the carriage. Each carriage is divided into three com-
partments, communicating with each other by means of sliding doors. In the

page_text: passage at the end of one of the outer compartments I construct a watercloset
for the use of the passengers. This compartment has, in addition to the
entrance door placed at the end of the carriage, a side entrance door facing
the station, the steps of which are raised and lowered by the opening and
shutting of the door. In the middle compartments I construct a spiral stair-
case for ascending to the top of the vehicle, which latter is fitted up with
seats properly covered in, the passengers on which may be protected from heat
or cold, as the case may be, by means of Venetian shutters. The carriages
may be connected together by means of a small platform on hinges, passing
from one external passage to another. By this mode of construction and
arrangement it will be seen that I can carry a larger number of passengers
with much greater facility, and without increasing the size of the carriage, for
the spiral staircase being placed in the middle of the carriage, and having
only five steps, there is no danger in ascending to or descending from the roof
of the vehicle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Paul Leprovost in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th November 1863.-
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PAUL
LEPROVOST, of London Street, Paris, in the Empire of France, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Paul Leprovost, Her special license that I, the said Paul
Leprovost, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Paul Leprovost, 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 of "CER-
TAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND VEHICLES FOR RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Paul Leprovost, 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

page_text: 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 Paul Leprovost, 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 Drawing hereto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
Figure 1 represents part elevation and part, section of a railway carriage
constructed upon my improved plan; Figure 2 a plan and Figure 3 a trans-
verse section of the same; Figure 4 is an end view; Figure 5 is a part plan
of a railway carriage with an external passage.
My improvements in railway carriages and and other vehicles consist in con-
structing the same chiefly of sheet, iron, with an external or internal passage
either nearly all round the outside or in the interior of the vehicle, and in con-
structing a spiral staircase in the centre of the carriage to enable passengers to
ascend to the top of the vehicle, which is properly fitted up with seats and roofed
in, and which may be furnished with Venetian shutters to protect the passengers
from the heat or cold, as the case may be. The carriages are made of the
same size as the ordinary first class carriages, except as to height, but the
roof is rounded, so as to permit the carriages to pass under the tunnels in
safety. At each end of the carriage are placed the steps and platform A, A, A,
for reaching the entrance doors B, B, one at each end. Each carriage is
divided into three compartments, communicating with each other by means of
sliding doors D, D; in the middle compartment E is placed the spiral stair-
case for ascending to the top of the vehicle; F is the column; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
are the steps, and G is the door leading on to the top, which is fitted up
with seats, as shewn at H, H, and properly covered. The passengers on the
top may be protected from the effects of the weather by Venetian shutters.
On each side of the carriage is placed a small folding table I, and on the plat-
form at one end of the carriage is placed a watercloset J. In addition to the
two entrance doors B, B, placed one at each end of the carriage, there is
another, C, which is placed on the same side of the carriage as the water-
closet.J; the steps of this entrance door are lowered and raised by its opening
and shutting. Passengers can pass from one carriage to another by means of
the iron flaps K, K, which work on hinges, and can therefore be raised and
lowered at pleasure. By this mode of construction and arrangement it will
be seen that without increasing the size of the carriage (except as to height),
I can convey a larger number of passengers and with much greater facility

page_text: than by the ordinary carriages now in use, for by means of the spiral staircase
placed in the centre of the carriage I am enabled to make use of the top of
the vehicle without there being any danger in ascending to or descending
from it.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the means of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein laid down, and shewn in the accompanying
Drawing, but what I claim, and wish to be secured by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the construction of railway carriages and other vehicles chiefly of sheet
iron, and with an external or internal passage, either nearly all round the out-
side or in the interior of the vehicle, as herein-before described and shewn in
the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly, the construction of railway carriages with a spiral staircase for
ascending to the top of the vehicle, and in making use of the top for carrying
passengers, as herein described.
Thirdly, in providing a watercloset for the convenience of the passengers,
together with the various other arrangements herein described and shewn in
the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Paul Leprovost, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
PAUL LEPROVOST. (L.S.)
Ingénior mécanicien.