IMPROVEMENTS IN THE INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS AND FITTINGS OF THE COMPARTMENTS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OF SHIPS' CABINS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Powley Alexander, of 14, Southampton
Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and
Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE INTERNAL
ARRANGEMENTS AND FITTINGS OF THE COMPARTMENTS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES
AND OF SHIPS' CABINS."--A communication from abroad by William
D'Alton Mann and William Wadbrook Paterson, both of Brussels,
in the Kingdom of Belgium. Engineers.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Powley
Alexander at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 19th March 1875.
I, EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the
County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS AND FITTINGS OF THE COMPARTMENTS OF RAILWAY
CARRIAGES AND OF SHIPS' CABINS," a communication to me from abroad by

page_text: and according to then positions, either the backs of the sofas, or form
upper beds or berths.
Soft cushions or long sacks are attached by a flexible joint to the
upper beds at the proper point to permit them to complete the formation
of a comfortable and well shaped back for the sofas when so used, or
reversed to complete and give a level surface to the beds when adjusted
for reclining upon.
Long boxes or cases of irregular form, that is, having a small com-
partment at either end projecting to the front are constructed under the
seats or sofas for the purpose of containing each the matresses, pillows,
blankets, and curtains necessary to make two complete beds. The
middle portion of the front of the box is hinged to enable the interior to
be more casily cleaned. The matresses are made with longitudinal
flexible joints permitting of convenient folding for stowage.
Suitable bolsters are provided for the beds, two of which are placed
behind each sofa back during the day, thereby forming an elastic or
yielding support for the same, and elastic safety buffers are attached to
the transverse partitions at cither end to support the bed when forming
the back of the seat in the absence of the bolsters. Sliding bolts or
other catches engaging into sockets or brackets placed one on either
side of the compartment for each bed serve to secure or hold such beds
in a horizontal position; other sockets or brackets also placed on either
side of the compartment at a higher level, and into which the bolts or
catches engage may also be employed in order to maintain the beds in a
conveniently elevated position when not in use.
Strong rods are placed transversely in the compartment at a suitable
height and position to support the curtains used for screening the beds.
at night, and safety straps provided with hooks at the extremity are
secured to the bottom and near either end of the beds, the hooks being

page_text: hooked on to the curtain rods when the beds are secured either in the
lower or upper brackets. Other similar straps may be used attached to
a suitable hook in the beds (when in a horizontal position) for the
purpose of holding up the sofas in a convenient position to enable the
matresses, blankets, and other contents of the boxes to be easily
withdrawn. The bed curtains are provided with convenient hooks for
attaching them when required for use to the curtain rods, which rods
have also attached to them strong hooks for holding the garments of the
passenger.
A luggage rack is placed longitudinally over the windows of the
compartment and large double hooks are provided, four of which are so
placed as to form with their lower parts a rack for umbrellas and
walking sticks, whilst their upper parts form hat hooks.
Window curtains are also provided having suitable hooks for attaching
them to fixed rods and enabling them to be removed with facility for
.cleaning.
Fixed windows are fitted into the side of the carriage, and a moveable
window which may be made with double frames, both with glasses or one
with wire gauze is fitted in the centre of the side of the carriage, the
moveable frames being provided with a lock and with a bolt and lever
for the purpose of securely closing the window or sustaining it in
different positions of clevation or opening by resting the bolt or brackets
placed at different elevations.
Each compartment is furnished with a step ladder for the purpose of
getting into the beds, such step ladder forming a support for the table
top, and being hinged or jointed for the convenience of stowage when not
in use under the middle of the seat. The table top is removeable and is
made to fit securely when in use on the top of the ladder, but when not
required for use is fitted into a rack or properly inclined support for
holding it under the scat.
Pipes for conveying hot water or steam should such systems be used
may be employed for warming the carriage which is provided with
ventilator, roof lamp, and if required with a spittoon.
Candle holders fitted by a book into sockets made for the purpose in
the brackets which contain the sockets for the bed bolts or catches
before referred to are also provided for the reception of reading lamps.

page_text: These lamps are made to burn candles and are provided with reflectors
so hinged that they can be turned or inclined to the position most
suitable for reading, a set screw being provided for securely holding the
reflector at any desired angle. The base of the reflector is so shaped as
to form a cup to catch any grease that might drop.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edwin Powley Alexander in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, Her special
license, that I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin
Powley Alexander, 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 INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS AND FITTINGS
OF THE COMPARTMENTS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OF SHIPS' CABINS,'
munication to me from abroad by William D'Alton Mann and William
Wadbrook Paterson, both of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Engineers, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin
Powley Alexander, 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.
"
a com-

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
accompanying Sheets of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention has for its object the rendering a compartment of
a railway carriage or of a cabin of a ship easily convertible from a saloon
compartment, with sofas, table, reading lights, and other accessories,
into a sleeping compartment comfortably fitted with good beds, and with
curtains to secure privacy, whereby space is economised in vehicles
intended for transport over distances involving a day and a night's
travelling, by making the same compartment fulfil in a satisfactory
manner the requirements of both a sitting or saloon room and a sleeping
or bed room.
In order to render such convertible compartments practically useful it
is essential that the arrangements for the alternate conversions should be
of the simplest character, permitting rapidity in effecting the same, and
producing so complete a change that the features of the one condition
entirely disappear in giving perfection to the other. Again since dead
weight in either a railway carriage or a ship is highly objectionable, it is
necessary that these fittings should be as light as possible. Another
great desideratum in railway carriages is the placing of as much of the
weight as possible as near to the floor or the line of traction as is
practicable.
In bed or sleeping carriages as ordinarily constructed the bedding,
together with a heavy upper berth, has been disposed when not in use
near the top of the carriage, increasing greatly its oscillations and vastly
reducing its stability.
One part of this Invention consists in not only largely diminishing
the usual weight of the upper berth, but in disposing it as well as the
entire bedding and appurtenances of the beds much nearer to the floor
of the carriage than heretofore.
The improved arrangements are applicable either to a compartment in
a railway carriage especially designed as a saloon and sleeping carriage,
having a corridor along the side into which the said compartment opens,

page_text: when not required for use is fitted into a rack or properly inclined
support for holding it underneath the seat.
Pipes for conveying hot water or steam, should such systems be used,
may be employed for warming the carriage, which is provided with
ventilator, roof lamp, and, if required, with a spittoon.
Candle holders or lamps, fitted by a hook into sockets made for the
purpose in the brackets which contain the sockets for the bed bolts or
catches, such as are before referred to, are also provided for the reception
of reading lamps. These lamps are made to burn candles, and are
provided with reflectors so hinged that they can be turned or inclined to
the positions most suitable for reading, a set screw being provided
for securely holding the reflector at any desired angle. The base of
the reflector is so shaped as to form a cup to catch any grease that
might drop.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet
of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the Figures:-
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) of the Drawings is a longitudinal vertical section.
of a compartment of a railway carriage provided with. seats and beds.
arranged transversely, and representing the compartment disposed as a
saloon, or for use by day with the bedding and appurtenances com-
pactly stowed away as proposed.
Figure 2 (Sheet 2) is a transverse vertical section of the same com-
partment showing the arrangement of the table and step ladder,
whether in use or stowed away, reading light, luggage rack, umbrella
rack, curtain rods, hat and clothes hooks.
Figure 3 (Sheet 3) is a sectional plan of the same compartment
showing a portion of a side corridor or passage which may or may not
be adopted for affording access to the different compartments.
Figure 4 (Sheet 4) is a longitudinal vertical section of the same com-
partment showing the beds and curtains partly arranged for the night,
and illustrating the manner in which access is afforded to the bedding
case or locker underneath the seats.

page_text: Figure 5 (Sheet 5) is a transverse vertical section of the same com-
partment showing the beds ready for use, and the application of both
bolts and straps for supporting the upper beds and the curtains for
screening the beds.
A, A, are the seats or sofas properly supported at the front and hinged
at the back by hinges B, B, which are by preference so constructed as to
permit of the seat being easily removed when found desirable; one of
these hinges is shown in detail section, front view, and plan at Figures 6,
7, and 8 (Sheet 6); C, C, are beds, berths, sofas, or upholstered frames,
also attached to the transverse partitions of the compartment by other
hinges at D, D, constructed in a similar way to the hinges B, B, so as to
enable the said beds to be readily removed or detached and disposed at a
suitable height from the floor; Figures 9, 10, and 11, (Sheet 6) represent
a detail elevation, section, and plan of one of the sockets for the hinge
pins of these hinges; these beds or upholstered frames are designed to
form at will and according to their positions the backs of the sofas A, A,
as shown in Figure 1, and beds or berths, as shown in Figure 4;
E, E, are soft cushions in the form of long sacks attached by a flexible
joint at a to the beds C, C, at the proper point to permit them to com-
plete the formation of a comfortable and well-shaped back for the
sofas A, A, as shown in Figure 1, or reversed to complete and give a
level surface to the beds C, C, as shown in Figure 4; F, F, are the long
boxes, cases, or lockers having a compartment F¹ at each end projecting
to the front, constructed under the seats or sofas A, A, for containing
the matresses, pillows, blankets, and curtains necessary to make up two
complete beds. The middle portion of the front of the box is hinged
at to render the interior more accessible for being cleaned. G, G, are
the matresses made with longitudinal flexible joints for the convenience
of folding; H, H, are the pillows; I, I, suitable bolsters for the beds,
two of which are placed behind each sofa back C during the day so as
to form an elastic support for the same, as is clearly shown in Figure 1;
K, K, are elastic safety buffers (shown dotted in Figure 1) attached to
the transverse partitions at each end for the purpose of supporting the
bed C in the absence of the bolsters I, I; L, L, are the bolts attached
to the beds, which when the beds C, C, are in a horizontal position are
engaged with or slid into sockets in the brackets M, M, one of which is
placed on each side of the compartment for each bed, as shown clearly
in Figure 4; L', Figures 12 and 13 (Sheet 6), is a detail section and

page_text: elevation of the particular form of self-acting catch which I prefer to
employ in lieu of the sliding bolts, one of each of which catches is
fitted to the side of the compartment close to the outside edge of each
bed, and in such a way that in lifting the upper bed into a horizontal
position the inclined and hinged catches L' are forced back into the
partition, but immediately the bed is clear above them they fall or are
pushed out again by the action of a spring m, when the bed may be
securely rested on them. The catches turn on knuckle joints at n, and
the springs m serve to prevent rattling of the catches when travelling;
o is the socket for receiving the hook of the reading lamp when
required. N, N, are other sockets or brackets provided on both sides of
the compartment into which the sliding bolts L may also engage with a
view to supporting the beds C, C, in a conveniently elevated position
when not in use, or the said sockets may be replaced by the self-acting
catches L¹; 0, 0, are the strong rods which are placed transversely in
the compartment at a suitable height and position for supporting the
curtains required for screening the beds at night. In practice it is
found that cords suspended from the roof, and sides are preferable.
P, P, (Figures 4 and 5) are the strong safety straps which are attached
to the bottom near each end of the beds C, C, and are provided with
strong hooks at the extremity for attachment to the curtain rods or
cords O, O, when the beds are secured in the brackets M or N;
Q, Q, are other straps which may be used by attaching them to a
suitable hook in the beds C, C, (when in a horizontal position) for
holding up the sofas A, A, in a convenient position to enable the
matressses, blankets, and bedding appurtenances to be easily withdrawn
from the boxes or lockers F, F¹, when making up the beds for the night;
R, R, are the bed curtains provided with hooks for attaching them
when required for use to the curtain rods or cords O, O; S is the
luggage rack placed longitudinally overthe windows of the compartment;
T is a large double hook, four of which are so placed as to form with
their lower parts a rack for umbrellas and walking sticks, whilst the
upper parts form hat hooks; U, U, are the window curtains also pro-
vided with hooks for attaching them to fixed curtain rods or cords of
their own, and enabling them to be removed with facility for cleaning;
V, V, are strong hooks attached to the rods or cords C, O, for holding
the clothing of the passengers; W, W, are fixed windows in the side of
the compartment and corridor, when the carriage is constructed with a
corridor; X, X, are moveable windows which may be made with double

page_text: frames, both frames being fitted with glasses, or one of the frames with
wire gauze; Y is a lock or fastening with bolt and lever for securing
the window X when closed, or for sustaining it in different positions of
clevation, or opening by allowing the bolt in the former case to project
under an inverted bracket Z or to rest on the brackets or projections Z'
(see Figure 1) when the window is more or less open; c is the step
ladder for facilitating access to the upper beds C, C, whilst it also forms
à support for the table top d; this step ladder is jointed or hinged
at e to enable it to be shut up, and when not in use to be stowed away
under the middle of the scat A between the projecting ends of the boxes
or lockers (see Figure 2). The table top d is so constructed as to fit
securely when required for use on the top of the ladder c; when out of
use it is placed in the rack for properly inclined support under the seat;
g, g, are the heating pipes for conveying hot water or steam, should
such systems be used for warming the carriage; h is the ventilator;
i, the carriage lamp; is the reading lamp fitted in its bracket; and
is the spittoon.
Figures 14 and 15 (Sheet 6) represent respectively an enlarged section
and elevation of the reading lamp; this lamp is made to burn candles,
and has a reflector p so hinged at q that it can be inclined upwards or
downwards or turned horizontally round the top of the lamp to the
position most suitable for reading. A set screw is provided which
securely holds it at any vertical angle required, whilst the fixed pin s
engaging in a slot in the collar of the grease cup which carries the
reflector prevents its accidental displacement. The cup v serves to catch
any grease that might drop; w is the hook of the lamp which fits into a
socket hole made either in one of the sliding bolt sockets (see Figure 14)
or in the self-acting catch at o (Figures 12 and 13), or in any special
bracket or holder. The bottom of the lamp, on which rests the spring
for raising the candle, is held in position by a bayonet fastening y in lieu
of screw threads as heretofore for greater convenience of removal and
replacement.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I am aware that
various arrangements have been before used, or proposed to be used, for
converting the compartments of railway carriages from an ordinary
saloon compartment suitable for day service into a sleeping compartment

page_text: Fifthly. The binging of the beds and sofas or seats in such a manner
as to admit of their being readily removed or detached for the purposes
of cleaning and repairs, as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Sixthly. The peculiar combination of bolts or catches, brackets and
straps, for securing or holding the beds or sofas in the several positions
required, substantially as hercin-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Seventhly. The use of self-acting catches for supporting the beds, con-
structed substantially as hercin-before described and illustrated by
Figures 12 and 13 of the Drawings.
Eighthly. The use for the purpose above mentioned of the candle
lamp constructed with an adjustable reflector, grease cup, and bayonet-
jointed base or bottom, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Powley Alexander, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.