Improvements in Sea-shore Railways, and Rolling Stock therefor.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 15th May, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 24th Mar.,
1834
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sea-shore Railways, and Rolling Stock therefor.
I, MAGNUS VOLK, of 10 St. Mary's Place Brighton, in the County of Sussex,
Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to sea-shore railways and rolling stock therefor, the object
being to enable lands which are intermittently or permanently covered by the
waters of seas or rivers to be utilized for railroads or tramroads without inter-
fering with the navigation of such waters.
In carrying out my invention I lay and securely fix the rails to the shore by
suitable means, the level of the rails being kept approximately level with such
shore.
The gange must be such as to give the necessary stability to the cars and will
depend upon the maximum depth of water over the rails and upon the degree
of exposure to the wind and sea during gales.
The carriages are constructed with a steel frame or base, portions of which
are made hollow to contain the wheels, axle boxes, springs and parts connected
therewith the said frame or base being of a shape which will offer a minimum
It is practically
of resistance to the passage of the carriage through the water.
air tight and thus acts similarly to a diving bell, preventing the water from rising
up inside and carrying sand or the like into the axle bearings, and the wheels
from churning up the water.
an air
To provide for any possible leakage of the air from the base I place
pump on the carriage and adapt it to be actuated by the machinery which drives
the carriages, the necessary connection being effected by means of tubes.
The ends of the hollow portions of the base are brought down as close as
possible to the top of the rails so as to act as guards and to remove obstructions
from the rails.
In cases where a sandy or muddy deposit covers the rails, I provide a pump
driven by the said machinery for forcing a stream of water through a suitable
arrangement of pipes on to the tops of the rails thus leaving a clean surface for
the wheels to travel upon.
The deck, saloon and other parts of the carriage are supported at the requisite
height above the bottom framework or base according to the depth of the water,
by means of steel tubes of suitable section or an open framework in which the
edges of all the parts are brought to a sharp edge fore and aft so as to facilitate
the free passage of the supports through the water.
The carriages may be driven by an electric motor or a steam or gas engine the
necessary connections between the machinery in the elevated carriage body and the
wheels being advantageously effected by ineans of a shaft and worm gearing
encased in an oil bath, or of connecting rods, or chains, or of toothed gearing.
Dated the 15th day of May 1893.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Sea-shore Railways, and Rolling Stock therefor..
I, MAGNUS VOLK, of 10, St. Mary's Place, Brighton in the County of Sussex,
Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to sea-shore railways and rolling stock therefor, the object
being to enable lands which are intermittently or permanently covered by the
waters of seas or rivers to be utilized for railroads or tramroads without inter-
fering with the navigation of such waters.
In carrying out my invention I lay and securely fix the rails to the shore by
suitable means, the level of the rails being kept approximately level with such
shore.
The gauge must be such as to give the necessary stability to the cars and will
depend upon the maximum depth of water over the rails and upon the degree of
exposure to the wind and sea during gales.
The carriages are constructed with a steel frame or base, of a construction which
will offer a minimum of resistance to the passage through the water and the wheels,
axle boxes, springs and parts connected therewith are contained in casings which
preferably are practically air tight.
The carriages may be driven by an electric motor or a steam or gas engine the
necessary connections between the machinery in the elevated carriage body and the
wheels being advantageously effected by means of a shaft and worm gearing
encased in an oil bath, or of connecting rods, or chains, or of toothed gearing.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a carriage or vehicle for a sea-shore railway,
constructed according to my invention.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same; and,
Figure 3 is a sectional plan.
Figures 4 and 5 are transverse and longitudinal sections respectively of one of
the legs of the carriage together with the travelling wheels, driving mechanism and
the casing surrounding the same.
a is the deck or platform of my improved carriage which is supported upon four
legs b, b, suitably braced and tied together and each preferably carried upon a
four-wheel bogie, which four-wheel bogies necessitate the use of two pairs of
rails c, c, namely, one pair for each side of the carriage.
d, d are the bogie frames, e, e are the wheel axles, and f, fare the casings or
bells which surround the bogies, the said casings being hermetically fixed to the
castings g at the upper part of the bogie frame, which castings also serve to carry
the legs b, b.
In order to permit of the movements of the bogies relatively with the legs b, b
and at the same time to prevent the entrance of water between the legs and the
castings, a stuffing box is formed in each casting g and a packing gland arranged
in conjunction therewith (as shewn most clearly in Figures 4 and 5) the lower ends
of the legs being made vertical to permit of the application of such stuffing boxes
and glands.
By making the casings f practically air-tight as described, they act similarly to
a diving bell and thus prevent the water from rising up inside the casings and
carrying sand or the like into the axle bearings, and the wheels from churning up
the water. To provide for any possible leakage of air from these casings I place
an air pump on the carriage and adapt it to be actuated by the machinery which
drives the carriage, a tube i being led from the pump to each casing. The said

page_text: casings are brought down as closely as possible to the rails so as to act as guards.
and to remove obstructions from the rails and they are also preferably provided
with sharp edges fore and aft so as to facilitate their free passage through the
water; the legs b, bare also advantageously similarly provided with sharp edges.
In cases where a sandy or muddy deposit covers the rails, I provide a pump for
forcing streams of water through pipes on to the tops of the rails, such streams of
water washing off any deposit and thus leaving clean surfaces for the wheels to
travel upon.
11
is the worm and the worm wheel through which motion is communicated to
one of the bogie axles, and m is the casing which affords bearings for the shaft of
the worm and which contains oil for effecting the proper lubrication of the parts.
o is the shaft which connects the motor upon the deck of the carriage to the worm
shaft n; the connection between the shafts o and n, as shewn, being effected by
means of a universal joint p in order to allow of the inclination of the legs.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A carriage for sea-shore railways adapted to be propelled by means of a
motor mounted upon the said carriage and the motion of which is communicated to.
the travelling wheels through the medium of worm or other gearing, substantially
as described.
2. A carriage for sea-shore railways in which the travelling wheels are enclosed.
in air-tight casings to which air is supplied in order to prevent the entrance of
water into the said casings, substantially as, and for the purposes, described.
3. In a carriage for a sea-shore railway, the combination with the travelling
wheels of pipes so arranged as to deliver jets of water on to the rails, substantially
as, and for the purposes, described.
4. The improvements in sea-shore railways and rolling stock, hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 15th day of February 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.