IMPROVEMENTS IN SUP- PLYING CATTLE WITH FOOD AND WATER ON RAILWAYS, AND IN THE APPARATUB OR MEANS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Reid, of Granton, in the County of Mid
Lothian, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUP-
PLYING CATTLE WITH FOOD AND WATER ON RAILWAYS, AND IN THE APPARATUB
OR MEANS CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Sealed the 1st May 1866, and dated the 11th November 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Reid at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
November 1865.
I, WILLIAM REID, of Granton, in the County of Mid Lothian, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SUPPLYING CATTLE WITH FOOD AND WATER ON RAILWAYS, AND IN THE APPARATUS
OR MEANS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention, which has for its object the supplying of food and water to
cattle when in the wagons used for conveying them by railways, consists of
erecting at railway stations, sidings, or other suitable points on a line of
railway a set of supports, posts, or pillars, to which are attached either
hoisting gear or lowering gear, or hooks, by means of which a trough or
troughs may be raised to a height sufficient to enable the animals when in the
train to drink or feed therefrom, the water or food being previously placed in

page_text: the troughs for that purpose. The essential feature of this Invention being
the application of a set of troughs, however fixed or otherwise raised or
lowered and separate or detached from the trucks or wagons themselves.
The troughs may be fitted with a hose for supplying the water from the usual
tanks at railway stations. It is obvious that there are numerous mechanical
devices which may be employed for the purpose of more effectually carrying
this Invention into practice; for instance, in lieu of supporting the troughs in
such manner that they may be raised or lowered to meet the mouths of the
cattle they may be arranged on a wall or pillars, in a fixed position, at a
height that would enable the cattle in the train to drink or feed freely
therefrom, or they may be made capable of partly revolving in or upon their
supports; or the side of the trough near the cattle may be constructed with a
sliding part, either of which arrangements enables the height of the outer lid
of the troughs towards the line of rail to be adjusted. A tank may.be fixed
at one or both ends of a set of troughs, or of one continuous trougb, by which
the trough would be at once supplied with water on the approach of a train,
or a tank may be fixed at both ends and at intermediate places on a line of
troughs. It is obvious that there are numerous methods under which troughs
may be fixed, so as to be capable of horizontal or vertical motion. In places
where the troughs are fixed between two sets of rails they may be made
reversible, or with double lips, so that a train on either pair of rails may be
supplied with one and the same set of troughs, and under the latter modification
two trains can be supplied at once. In fixing a set of troughs between two
lines of rails it may be found that the ordinary space is too narrow, in which
case the troughs may either be raised or lowered, or made so that they may
be shut by a parallel motion of the sides, the troughs being suitably
constructed with hinged joints.
As constituting this Invention, and as novel and original, it is intended to
claim the use of a trough separate and distinct from the trucks, but which
may be brought sufficiently high up or lowered down and close enough to
them to enable the cattle to feed or drink freely therefrom. It is to be
understood that the term "cattle" herein used is intended to include all kinds
of animals conveyed by trucks on railways.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Reid in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th
May 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
REID, of Granton, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Reid, Her special license that I, the said William
Reid, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Reid, my executors, administrators, or 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN SUPPLYING CATTLE WITH FOOD AND WATER ON RAILWAYS, AND IN
THE APPARATUS OR MEANS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Reid, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Reid, 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, that is to say :—
My said Invention, which has for its object the supplying of food and water
to cattle when in the wagons used for conveying them by railway, is based
upon an Invention of "Improvements in the Arrangement and Construction
of Wagons or Vehicles for the Conveyance of Cattle upon Railways," for
which Letters Patent, bearing date the 21st day of December 1864, were
granted unto me, and numbered 8174, and consists in erecting at railway
stations, sidings, or other suitable points on a line of railway, a set or sets of
supports, posts, or pillars, to which are attached either hoisting or lowering
gear or hooks, by means of which a trough or troughs may be raised to a

page_text: height sufficient to enable the animals when in the train to drink or feed.
therefrom, the water or food being previously placed in the trough for that
purpose. The essential feature of this Invention being the application of a
set of troughs, however fixed or otherwise raised or lowered and separately
or detached from the trucks or wagons. The trough may be fitted with a
hose for supplying the water from the usual tanks at railway stations.
It is obvious that there are numerous mechanical devices which may be em-
ployed for the purpose of more effectively carrying this Invention into practice,
for instance, in lieu of supporting the troughs in such manner that they may
be raised or lowered to approach the mouths of the cattle, they may be
arranged on a wall or pillars in a fixed position, at a height that would enable
the cattle in the train to drink or feed freely therefrom, or they may be made
capable of partly revolving in or on supports, or the side of the trough near
the cattle may be constructed with a sliding front, either of which arrange-
ments enable the height of the outer line of the troughs towards the line of
rails to be adjusted. A tank may be fixed at one or both ends of a set of
troughs, or of one continuous trough, by which the trough would be at once
supplied with water on the approach of a train; or tanks may be fixed at
both ends, and at intermediate places on a line of troughs. It is also obvious
that there are numerous methods under which troughs may be fixed, so as to
be capable of horizontal or vertical motion. In places where the troughs are
fixed between two sets of rails they may be made moveable, or with double
lips, so that a train on either pair of rails may be supplied by one and the
same set of troughs, and under the latter modification two trains can be
supplied at once. In fixing a set of troughs between two lines of rails it may
be found that the ordinary space is too narrow, in which case the troughs
must either be raised or lowered, or made so that they can be shut by a
parallel motion of the sides, the troughs being suitably constructed with
hinged joints.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and several modifi
cations for carrying the same into practical effect, I would observe in
conclusion that I do not confine or restrict myself to the precise details or
arrangements herein-before described and referred to, as many variations may
be made therefrom without deviating from the true principle or main features
of my Invention; but what I consider novel and original, and therefore claim as
the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent,
is, the use of troughs or vessels for supplying food and water to sheep, oxen,
and other animals when in railway trucks or wagons, such troughs or vessels
being constructed and arranged at railway stations or other convenient places,

page_text: and separate and distinct from the trucks, either in a fixed position or
moveable to suit the different sizes of animals requiring to be fed or watered
as herein-before described, or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Reid, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM REID. (LS.)