Improvements in Railway Bogie Cars for the Transport of Ordnance and other Heavy Loads and for Purposes of Defence.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Aug., 1887
Specification Accepted, 29th Nov., 1887
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Bogie Cars for the Transport of
Ordnance and other Heavy Loads and for Purposes of
Defence.
I, WILLIAM SMITH of Idlewild, Aberdeen, N.B. 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 :-
This Invention relates to various improvements in compound bogie cars and
adaptations thereof, such as were described in a former application for Letters Patent
filed by me, dated October 19th 1886 No. 13298.
The present invention relates first, to the buffers; and has for its object to cause
the buffers to maintain the normal symmetrical position relatively to the centre line
of the track when the carriage is running round a sharp curve. In the case of long
cars, the lateral deflection of the ordinary buffers in passing round sharp curves
would be so great as to cause buffer locking and necessitate very loose couplings.
According to the first part of my invention, this is avoided in the case of side buffers,
by mounting the buffers on a swivelling buffer frame connected at its inner end to
the end of the carriage frame by a central vertical pivot joint and supported by a
pin and slot connection on the end constituent bogie in such a way as will cause the
buffer frame to be guided by and follow the direction of the rails, so that the faces
of the buffers will always stand as nearly as possible in a plane radial to the curve
of the track. The buffers are thus kept constantly over the rails with less lateral
deflection in passing round curves than on an ordinary goods wagon.
.
In the case of centre buffer cars, the buffer and coupling are placed on the end of
a bar pivoted at its inner end to the under frame of the car, the face of the buffer
being curved to an arc struck from the pivot. The said bar is free to move laterally
between stops which allow it a range equal to the maximum deflection of the end of
the car.
The line of traction or propulsion is thereby kept over the middle of the
truck with little or no deflection in passing round curves.
The Invention has secondly for its object to compensate for vertical deviations or
deflections of the track, as at changes of gradient for example so that the load

page_text: shall under all circumstances be uniformly distributed over the constituent bogies.
In the case of carriages having longitudinal stiffening girders in the body so that
they are rigid from end to end, the roller bearings by which the body is supported
upon the different constituent bogies, are carried by pairs of equilibrating levers
whose ends are supported at the centre of two adjacent constituent bogies. Where
the car body has no longitudinal stiffening girders, the provision for preventing
vertical distortion of the body at changes of gradient, consists of a set of hydraulic
or pneumatic cushions inserted between each bogie and the car body. These cushions
are expansible and compressible and are formed of circularly corrugated cylinders
or bellows-like chambers closed at the ends and in communication freely with each
other by means of a pipe laid in a circuit in the bottom of the car with a branch
opening to each cushion, so that any excess of pressure in one cushion will be relieved
by the passage of the fluid into the other cushions under less pressure until equi-
librium is regained. The car body is thus practically afloat on the fluid contained
under pressure in the cushions.
The Invention has thirdly, for its object to provide lateral stability for railway
gun carriages when firing heavy ordnance. This part of the invention consists in
supporting the car on hydraulic jacks on which it may be brought to bear quickly
or replaced instantaneously on the wheels, these jacks being under the side frames
of the carriage and beyond the gauge of the rails, the jacks taking their bearing on
the ground. The jacks are supplied from accumulators on the carriage.
The Invention has fourthly for its object to provide for the supply of ammunition
to heavy and light guns in armour clad and turret cars; and it consists in the
construction of an armoured magazine under the gun platform and over the compound
bogies. The magazine has an oblong or circular railway laid round the interior on
which the boxes or trucks containing the ammunition, are borne on wheels. The
cartridges can be slung up under cover of the armour through hatches in the deck
and turret floor and the trucks passed along the railway when empty and replaced by
full ones.
In order that the invention may be more readily understood, I have represented it
in the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification.
In figures 1 and 2 of Sheet 1, a a are the buffer frames above referred to.
They are pivoted at c to the end cross-girders of the carriage frame. These
pivotal buffer frames rest upon the end constituent bogies of the carriage and are
connected thereto and guided thereby, by means of a pin d fixed in the frame of
the bogie and playing in a short longitudinal slot in the buffer frame. Figures 3
and 4 Sheet 1, shew the modification of the buffer frame to suit a centre buffer, the
bar e being pivoted at to the under frame of the car, the other end of the bar
being curved concentrically to the pivot to form the buffer head g which is free to
move laterally between the stops h h. Figures 1 and 2. Sheet 1, also show the
equilibrating levers k k etc. They are hung in pairs by links at the ends from the
middle frames or swinging bolsters of the constituent bogies. The bearing plates
and rollers supporting the car body are placed on the middle of each pair of
equilibrating levers instead of directly upon the constituent bogies, as in the specifi-
cation of my previous application for Letters Patent. The pivotal connections of
the car body with the compound bogies at ii and these centre-pins, which alone
control the car body in the longitudinal and lateral direction, are, as in my former
application for Letters Patent, carried by the centre pin bogie of the compound
bogie. Figures 3 and 4 Sheet 1, illustrate a car body which is not stiffened by
longitudinal girders and which is supported upon hydraulic or pneumatic cushions m m
to prevent undue vertical strains and distortion of the car body at changes of gradient.
These cushions m m are inserted between the upper bearing plate nnn over each
bogie, and the bottom of the car body (as shewn in section on a larger scale in
figure 5 Sheet 2). They are formed of corrugated metal plates rolled into the form
of bellows-like chambers or cylinders. The corrugations run around the cylinder
and are sufficiently deep to permit free vertical expansion and contraction of the
cylinder. The cylinders which are closed at top and bottom and have plain ends,

page_text: communicate freely with each other by the pipes 9 9 9 laid in a circuit in the bottom
of the car with a branch q' opening to each cushion or cylinder.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, Sheet 2. illustrate the provision for stability when firing heavy
guns. This consists in supporting the car on hydraulic jacks a a a whose cylinders
are fixed to, or immediately beneath, the side frames of the car and on which the
car may be brought to bear quickly by means of the hydraulic pressure from
accumulators. The car may be replaced instantaneously on its wheels by allowing
the water to escape from the jacks into the tank c, the water pressure from the
accumulators being at the same time admitted to the under side of the pistons d of
the jacks, thereby raising them sufficiently clear of the ground. Figures 3 and 6,
Sheet 2. illustrate the provision for the supply of ammunition to heavy and light
guns on armour clad and turret cars. E is an armour clad magazine under the
gun platform and over the compound bogies. The magazine has rails laid along
the floor near the sides connected at the ends of the car by turntables and forming
a railway circuit F. F around the interior of the car, on which the boxes or trucks
containing the ammunition run on wheels. The cartridges are hoisted through
hatchways in the deck and turret floor H H, the empty trucks passing along the
railway F, and being replaced by full ones.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that what
I claim is ;-
1. In a long railway car, mounting the buffer or buffers on the outer end of a
buffer frame or bar which is connected at its inner end by a vertical pivot to the
end of the car body frame, substantially as described for the purpose specified.
2. In a compound bogie car wherein the car body is supported upon bogie trucks
connected together in two sets each set being connected to the car by a single
pivotal connection, the herein described means of distributing the weight uniformly
over the whole of the bogies and so preventing vertical distortion of the car frame,
said means consisting of equilibrating levers interposed between the roller bearings
of the car body and the bogies and each supported on two adjacent bogies, substantially
as specified.
3. In a compound bogie car of the kind herein specified and in which the body is
not stiffened by longitudinal girders, the means of distributing the weight uniformly
over the whole of the bogies, such means consisting of a connected system of
hydraulic or pneumatic cushions constructed as described and interposed between
the car body and the bogies, as specified.
4. The herein described means of ensuring the lateral stability of an armour clad
turret car when firing, consisting of hydraulic jacks arranged beneath the body of
the car and taking a bearing on the ground, and operated as described.
5. In an armour clad railway car, the arrangement of circuit railway and trucks
beneath the floor of the car, for the supply of ammunition to the guns on the car, as
described.