IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE OR MOVEABLE RAILWAYS, AND IN THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAME TO VARIOUS CONSTRUCTIONS OF WHEELED CARRIAGES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Leahy, of Cardington Street, Euston
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE OR MOVEABLE RAILWAYS, AND IN
THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAME TO VARIOUS CONSTRUCTIONS OF WHEELED
CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 7th January 1871, and dated the 9th July 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Leahy at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th July 1870.
I, EDMUND LEAHY, of Cardington Street, Euston Square, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE OR MOVEABLE RAILWAYS,
AND IN THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAME. TO VARIOUS CONSTRUCTIONS OF WHEELED
CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
My improved portable or moveable railway consists of one, two, or
more bands of steel of, say, 6 inches wide, and any suitable strength or

page_text: thickness, provided they be sufficiently flexible. I always prefer to use
two or more bands, each of which are joined at their ends so as to form
continuous or endless bands. These bands are superposed one on the
other like the plates of an ordinary carriage spring, and being endless
bands form one continuous rail. In adapting this continuous rail to any
carriage I prefer to place one on each side, and maintain them in place
by means of flanged guide rollers, over which the rails pass, and are
guided down and laid in front of the running wheels, the felloes of
which run thereon, and when they have passed the endless rails are
picked up again and are conducted along a space provided for them at
the ends and top of the carriage.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edmund Leahy in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th January 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
LEAHY, of Cardington Street, Euston Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Edmund Leahy, Her special licence that I, the
said Edmund Leahy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Edmund Leahy, 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 PORTABLE OR MOVEABLE RAILWAYS
AND IN THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAME TO VARIOUS CONSTRUCTIONS OF WHEELED
CARRIAGES, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edmund Leahy, 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
"

page_text: 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 I, the said Edmund Leahy, 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 Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
:=
My improved portable or moveable railway consists of one, two, or
more bands of steel of, say, six inches wide, and any suitable strength or
thickness, provided they be sufficiently flexible. I always prefer to use
two or more bands, each of which are joined at their ends either by
welding, rivetting, or otherwise so as to form continuous or endless
bands. These bands are superposed one on the other like the plates of
an ordinary carriage spring, and being endless bands form one con-
tinuous rail. In adapting this continuous rail to any carriage I prefer
to place one on each side, and maintain them in place by means of
flanged guide rollers, over which the rails pass, and are guided down and
laid in front of the running wheels, the felloes of which run thereon, and
when they have passed the endless rails are picked up again and are
conducted along a space provided for them at the ends and top of the
carriage.
My improved endless rail is made in the form of a circular band, which
when at rest and lying on its side will assume the form of a perfect
circle, as shewn in the accompanying Drawing, at Fig. 1, which is a
diagram representing in black lines the endless rail or band in its
normal or perfectly circular state. The dotted lines represent the forni
the rail will assume when placed in a vertical position, as when it is
adapted to a carriage. It will be understood that the weight of the
band will cause that portion which is nearest to the ground to be.
flattened, as shewn in the diagram, while the upper part assumes the
form of an ellipse.
In carrying out my Invention and adapting this endless or continuous
band or rail to a carriage, such as an omnibus, I carefully preserve this
form, leaving the band free to assume its natural curve, as shewn in.
Fig. 2, which represents a longitudinal vertical section of an omnibus:

page_text: with my endless or continuous rail adapted thereto; Fig. 3 is a side
elevation of the same, and Fig. 4 an end elevation shewing one of the
compound endless bands or continuous rails a, a, adapted to each side of
the carriage. Fig. 5 is a detached sectional view of part of the endless
band or rail drawn upon an enlarged scale. It will be seen that the
endless rail consists of an inner band a¹, a¹, from three-sixteenths to one
quarter of an inch thick, and six inches wide, more or less. This band
is slotted at 1 to receive the pins, studs, or projections 2 made on or
fixed in the second or middle band a², which is also slotted at 3 to
receive a stud or pin 4 made on or fixed in the inner face of the outer
rail a³, which is corrugated on its outer face in order to increase its
durability without diminishing the flexibility of the compound rail. The
corrugations may either be longitudinal or transverse, and may be
obtained either by rolling in the solid or by being attached in separate
pieces to the outer band a³. I prefer to make the outer band with these
corrugations for the purpose above mentioned, but it is not absolutely
essential as perfectly smooth bands would answer the purpose, but would
not perhaps be quite so durable. When the continuous rails a, a, are
adapted to the carriage they are kept in place by the flanged rollers or
pullies b, b, b, which are attached to the body of the carriage or to a
separate frame connected therewith. I would here observe that these
rollers b, b, do not in any way affect or interfere with the curvature of
the endless band or continuous rail a, a, but simply act as guides for
keeping the rail in the proper vertical plane, so that it may be accurately
laid down in front of the running wheels c, c, for the latter to run upon.
It will be seen on referring to the side elevation, Fig. 3, that the
continuous rail a, a, except that portion nearest the ground, is concealed
from view by an external panelled casing d, d, which is connected with
or attached to the body of the carriage by the short metal bars e, e, at
each end of the carriage, and which form ladders or steps whereby
passengers may ascend from the platforms f, f, to the seats g, g, on the
top. These seats also serve to cover up and conceal from view the
upper part of the endless rails a, a, as shewn at Fig. 4.
Having now described my Invention, and having explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim, the adaptation to
carriages for common roads of endless bands composed of one or more
thicknesses of metal or other suitable material so as to form a con-

page_text: tinuous rail on which the ordinary running wheels may run as herein
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Leahy, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventh day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
EDMUND LEAHY. (L.S.)