IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING RAILWAYS
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MELVILLE, of Upper Harley Street, in the County of Middlesex, Esquire, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date nt
Westminster, the Thirtieth day of April, in the seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Melville, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said John Melville, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Melville, my exors, admors, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might. make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING
RAILWAYS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the
said John Melville, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled
in Her said 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Melville, have ascertained and set forth the nature of my Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, in and by the
following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, observing that where several views are given of one object the same
letters of reference denote the same parts in each Figure.
My improvements in the construction and working of railways consist in
certain improvements in the form and construction of the rails upon which
the carriages run, and also in arrangements for increasing the adhesion of the
driving wheels of the engines to the rails for guiding and retaining the trains
upon the rails, and for retarding and bringing them to rest, and the prevention
of accidents at the passage of the curves; likewise for diminishing the effects
of concussion and vibration, and for preventing the loss of water attendant
upon the ordinary method of connecting the water tank with the feed pumps.
Figures 1, 2, and 3 represent a carriage mounted on a railway of an
improved construction, together with the means of guiding the carriage thereon,
and the arrangements for deadening the vibrations and concussions of the
carriage.
a, a, are the rails on which the carriages run; they are formed of timber,
and the upper surface is flat, with a plate of iron for the wheels to run
upon, the surface of which plate is slightly inclined at the curves, so that
the inner edge is rather lower than the outer ones. The wheels of the carriage.
are formed without flanges, but the carriage is guided and retained on the rails
by means of two horizontal wheels b, b, connected to the frame of the carriage,
and running in a groove formed midway between the rails by means of two
wooden rails c, c. At the curves it will be desirable to fix an iron plate for
the guide wheels to run along on the inner side of the outer central rail.
1
Figure 4 represents a tramway of an improved construction. a, a, are
sleepers of wood, with a portion of the inner side cut away at the upper edge
to receive an iron tram plate b, which is securely fastened to the sleeper with
wood screws. The side or flanch of the plate is vertical, and the bottom inclines
slightly inwards. The buffer shewn at one end of the carriage acts principally
by the elasticity of air. A number of strong hollow spheres of caoutchouc
d, d, filled with compressed air of any degree of tension, are placed in a
cylinder e, attached to the frame of the carriage, and the cylinder is closed by
a
piston f, attached to the spindle of the buffer, which moves in a guide fixed
across the month of the cylinder; discs of wood e¹ are interposed between the
spheres. When any pressure is thrown upon the buffer, the spheres, from the
elasticity of the air inclosed within them, as also in some degree from the elas-

page_text: ticity of the material of which they are composed, yield to the force and
become compressed, thereby allowing the piston f to advance further into the
cylinder e, and on the pressure being relaxed, the buffer is again forced out-
ward by the expansion of the air. The springs, which are shewn as supporting
this end of the carriage, are upon the same principle of construction. fis a
cylinder, open at bottom, and fixed between the axle guides; within this
cylinder is placed a hollow sphere of caoutchouc d' filled with compressed air;
and upon the top of the axle box is fixed a plug or piston g', which enters the
cylinder and forms the support upon which the sphere rests. The buffer
springs at the opposite end of the carriages are upon a different principle, and
are constructed as follows:-h is a flat drum or barrel, mounted in bearings i
attached to the carriage frame, and containing within it a strong helical spring;
one end of which is attached to the axis k and the other end to the barrel.
m is a chain, attached at one end to the barrel and at the other end to one
arm of a lever n, which turns upon a fulcrum o, attached to the back of the
carriage frame; the other arm of the lever is forked, and works upon the
spindle of the buffer between two collars or ruffs p. The tension of the spring
can be increased by turning the axis k, which is prevented from recoiling by a
pall q, which takes into the teeth of the ratchet wheel r fixed upon the axis..
The supporting springs at this end of the carriage are upon the same principle,
but somewhat differently applied. h², h¹, are two spring barrels, the axes of
which are supported by the axle guides ¹, ; a chain m² attached to the two
barrels passes over a block m³, fixed on the top of the axle box, and thus
supports the carriage.
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent some of my aforesaid improvements applied
to a locomotive engine and tender. The driving wheels are formed of segments
of wood a, a, inserted in a cast-iron boss or nave b, with the grain of the wood
standing in a radiating direction, and braced together near the circumference
by two flat rings of iron c, one on each side of the wheel, with pins d passing
through both rings, and secured by screwed nuts or by riviting. To promote
the adhesion of these wheels to the rails, the peripheries are scored with.
minute oblique or transverse grooves, or are indented with numerous small
holes, and then are armed with a composition formed of sand, or similar
substances, mixed with glue or other suitable viscid or adhesive matter; I
have found common-glue to answer this purpose well. The sand should be
heated previously to mixing with the glue, and the composition should be.
applied to the periphery in a semi-fluid state. The composition should be.
well rubbed into the grooves or holes, and the periphery thoroughly coated.
with the same, and immediately after the compound has been applied the whole.

page_text: .
may be coated over with fresh sand. The silicious particles become by pressure
and use thoroughly imbedded in the fibres of the wood, so as to form a compact
surface of silicious matter of considerable adhesive and durable properties.
By renewing the coatings of the composition occasionally, as may be deemed
necessary, which may be readily done at little expense and without removing
the wheel, a rim will be formed partially elastic of silicious matter little liable
to wear. By employing a wheel of this description the engine will not only
have increased force of traction, accompanied by a greater steadiness of
movement, but the weight will also be diminished, thereby reducing the wear
and tear of the engines and the rails, and lessening the expences of 'locomotive
power. The open spaces in the wheels are for the purpose of diminishing
the weight and obtaining a somewhat greater degree of elasticity in the
direction of tho fibres. Wheels of this description may be constructed with or
without flanchés.
In connection with the tender is shewn my improved brake for retarding
the carriages or bringing them to rest. It consists of a block of wood e,
placed in an iron case f, which is open at the bottom, the block being retained
in the case by pins g. The case f is moveable in strong iron guides f
attached to the frame of the carriage, and is connected by a link h' to one önd
of a lever i, the other end of which is connected to a screw. j, whereby the
block can be raised off the rail or pressed down upon it with great force.
The blocks should be saturated with water before placing them in the cases,
and a supply of such blocks may be kept constantly in a vessel of water at
the stations, for the purpose of replacing them when they become too dry;
this
may be readily done by withdrawing the pin which connects the link h
to the case, and turning up the end of the link through a slit in the guides,
which allows the case to be withdrawn, when the block can be removed and
replaced with a fresh one, the blocks when saturated with water fitting easily
into the cases. With the view of preventing the loss of water, in lieu of the
flexible hose commonly used to connect the tank with the feed pumps; I
employ an arrangement of metallic pipes capable of motion in all directions,
as shewn in the Figures 5, 6, and 7, wherein m is the feed pipe proceeding
from the pumps; and n, a pipe connected to the tank o; and p are two
connecting pipes; the ends of the pipe o are made conical, and one end turns
in a horizontal socket 9, which has a short conical neck, working in a corre-
sponding vertical socket r, 'fixed upon the end of the feed pipe; the other end
of 'the pipe o works in a corresponding conical sockets, fixed upon one end of
the pipe p, the other end of which pipe p is made conical, and turns in a
corresponding horizontal socket t, from which descends a short conical neck,

page_text: which turns in a corresponding vertical socket v, fixed upon the 'end of the
pipe n. These several pipes are retained in their sockets by nuts and screws.
As an additional security for preventing the engines running off the -rails
when going round curves at a great velocity, I attach two horizontal wheels
u, u, to the fore part of the engine and within the rails, so that the deviation
of the engine to either side causes the horizontal, wheel on that side to come
in contact with the inside of the rail. These wheels are attached to the
vertical spindles w, w, and can be raised or lowered by means of the levers ; y,
and the rod z.. On approaching a curve, the wheel next the outer rail should
be put down, and may be raised again after the engine has passed the curve.
A mode of preventing accidents from the engine or carriages getting off
the rails at curves is shewn in Figure 9, and consists in placing a preventer
tram plate a between the rails and. nearly close to the inner rail, 'leaving a
little moro
space between them than is required for the flänches of the wheels,
in the cases where the wheels have flanches.
27
Having thus described my Invention, and the means of carrying the same
into effect, I shall now state what' I claim in reference thereto. I claim,―
Firstly, the improved construction of 'rail shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3,
and the mode of retaining the carriages thereon, by means of two horizontal
wheels attached to the frame of the carriage, and running in a groove formed,
as herein-before described; midway between the rails on which the carriages
run.
"
Secondly, the improved form or construction of tramway, as shewn in
Figure 4.
Thirdly, the method of increasing the adhesion of the driving wheel to the
rail, by constructing the driving wheel as herein-before described, and which
consists in forming the periphery of the wheel of wood with the grain of the
wood standing radially, and coating the surface with a composition formed of
slicious, or other suitable substances and glue, or other viscid and adhesive
matter.
Fourthly, the mode of diminishing the effects of vibration and concussion,
by the application of the buffer and supporting springs, herein-before
described.
Fifthly, the method of retarding or stopping the carriages, by means of a
block of wood saturated with water, and pressed forcibly not against the
wheels but against the rails, as herein-before described.
Sixthly, the method of preventing the engines running off the rails at the
curves, by bringing down a horizontal wheel to act against the inner side of
the outer rail at those points.

page_text: Seventhly, the mode of preventing accidents from engines or carriages
getting off the rails at the curves, by placing a tram plate beside the inner
side of the inner rail, as herein-before described.
Eighthly, the mode of preventing the waste of water, by the arrangement
of pipes herein-before described for connecting the tank with the feed pipes.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Melville, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
JOHN (L.B.) MELVILLE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fifth day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid John Melville came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.