A WHEEL- WAY AND ITS CARRIAGE OR CARRIAGES, FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF PASSENGERS; MERCHANDISE, AND OTHER THINGS ALONG ROADS, RAIL AND OTHER WAYS, EITHER ON A LEVEL OF INCLINED PLANE, AND APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FRANCIS SNOWDEN, of Oxford Street, in the Parish of Saint George, Hanover.
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanist, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the. Fourth did, by.
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom.
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at Westminster the
Eighteenth day of December, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-four,
in the fifth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said William
Francis Snowden, my exors, adñors, and assigns, His especial licence, futi
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Francis Snowden,
my exors, admors, and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A WHEEL-
WAY AND ITS CARRIAGE OR CARRIAGES, FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF PASSENGERS;
MERCHANDISE, AND OTHER THINGS ALONG ROADS, RAIL AND OTHER WAYS,
EITHER ON A LEVEL OF INCLINED PLANE, AND APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that if I, the said
William Francis Snowden, shall not particularly describe and ascertain, the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to bo
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that then the

page_text: said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby
granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the
same, relation being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Francis Snowden, do hereby declare that my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, is set forth and
explained by the following description, illustrated by the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say :-
That part of my Invention which I have denominated a wheelway consists
of a hollow trunk within which a machine is to travel, called by me a
Mechanical Horse. To this is attached a horizontal toothed wheel, taking into
the teeth of a rack placed sideways along the whole length and within the
trunk, and which toothed wheel being made to revolve by a steam engine or
other power, will cause the mechanical horse to be propelled and by proper
attachments to draw tram carriages forward upon a platform or road laid on
the top of the trunk. The carriage or carriages which form the second head
of my Invention are to be attached to the mechanical horse, or not, dependant
upon certain variations in their construction, and upon their adaptation to the
above-mentioned wheelway or to other roads or railways; and instead of
receiving motive force from the mechanical horse when adapted to the wheel-
way the carriages are intended to give the propelling power thereto by
mechanical means, actuated by manual or horse labour, instead of employing
steam, which said mechanical means may also be adapted to propel the
carriages upon other roads or railways without the agency of the mechanical
horse, as herein-after described. One of the modes in which I propose con-
structing my wheelway is shewn by the Drawings at Fig. 1, a cross section,
and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section. I form and lay a hollow trunk upon suit-
able sleepers and bearers resting upon the surface of the ground, or sometimes
below the surface in an excavation, for the purpose of accomodating it to the
undulations of the ground or other circumstances, and thereby of preserving
the level of the way, or an approximation to a level, as may be requisite. This
trunk consists of side rails a, a, suitably braced together and supporting a
platform b, b. In a groove or recess in these side rails the wheels or rollers c, c,
run, upon which my mechanical horse A is supported. At the upper part of
the mechanical horse antifriction rollers d, d, are placed in a horizontal position
runing against the sides of the rails for the purpose of guiding the mechanical
horse and preventing side friction. On the top of the mechanical horse a
toothed wheel e is placed, attached to a vertical shaft f, which works in an
opening of the platform. This toothed wheel takes into rack 9 on one of the

page_text: side rails a, and a rotatory power being given to the toothed wheel by means of
the shaft f, actuated by a steam engine or any other first mover, the mechanical
horse will be driven forward. I place a steam engine upon a carriage, the
wheels of which shall run upon the platform. The construction of the steam
engine I do not claim, but I exhibit it as a convenient mode of giving rotatory
impulse to the shaft f and toothed wheel by means of bevel gear for the
purpose of impelling the mechanical horse forward. To the tail of the engine
carriage I attach the tram waggons, as in Figure 2; and when the platform is
without side rails or flanges, I place rods extending from the under side of the
tram waggons, which are to act in the opening of the platform for the purpose
of keeping the waggons in the proper track. The tram waggons may be
attached to the mechanical horse itself instead of the engine carriage, and
there can be a rack on both sides of the truck with two leading toothed wheels
actuated by a pinion upon the shaft f. The side rails and platform may be
formed of iron, wood, stone, or any other suitable material.. Under some
circumstances I may find it desirable to enlarge the runing wheels of the
mechanical horse, in which case I propose to employ a large truck, a section of
which is shewn at Figure 8, and a plan or horizontal view at Figure 4, with
part of the platform removed to exhibit the interior, and the mechanical horse
is shewn removed from the trunk at Figure 5. In these Figures, as in the
former, a, a, are the side rails of the trunk, and b, b, is the platform as a
covering to the trunk; c, c, are the runing wheels of the mechanical. horse;
and d, d, are the horizontal antifriction rollers for guiding the mechanical
borse in the trunk; is the toothed wheel upon the perpendicular shaft f,
taking into the rack 9, 9, attached to the side rail. The steam engine or
other moving power may be connected to the mechanical horse in any con-
venient way, but I prefer placing it upon a platform supported by the standards
h, h, and the toothed wheel being made to revolve, will, by taking into the
teeth of the rack, impel the mechanical horse forward. The wheels of the
tram carriages may in this case move in the grooves within the trunk, as the
mechanical horse does, instead of running on the platform above, the body of
the tram carriages being supported by standards similar to h, h. This mode of
directing carriages along railways by means of the internal rack and the
confined running wheels is particularly desirable where the carriages are
required to travel with great velocity, as in transporting passengers as well as
goods from place to place. further propose to adapt this description of
wheelway and mechanical horse to the towing of vessels on canals or rivers,
by erecting such wheelways upon strong standards by the canal or river
side, a section of which contrivance is shown at Figure 6. are the

page_text: side rails securely attached to the iron framework. c, c, are the wheels or
rollers of the mechanical horse, running upon the lower flanges of the side
rails. b, b, is the arm or stem for supporting the carriage in which the
conductor places himself, and 9, 9, are racks bolted to the frames of the wheel-
ways. Attached to the carriages are the toothed wheels e, e, and their
pinions ff, which turn on axles in suitable bearings, and the conductor in the
carriage (which is placed merely to convey him), by turning the winch gives
the rotary power to the pinion that actuates the toothed wheels; and the teeth
of these wheels taking into the fixed racks cause the mechanical horses and
their attached carriages to advance, when the towing ropes, made fast to
barges or other vessels and to the stern of the carriage or elsewhere, will, by
these means, tow such barges or other vessels forward.
The carriages, which form the second head of my Invention, may be connected
with these wheelways, or under certain modifications may be made to travel upon
ordinary roads. Figure 7 is an elevation of such a carriage, and Figure 8 is a
plan or horizontal view of the same, the under sido being connected to the
mechanical horse above described. I propel this carriage by animal labour
instead of steam power. A is the mechanical horse, which is formed by a long
piece of timber, or box of iron, supported upon wheels or rollers c, c, which travel
in the grooves of the trunk, as above described. From the center of this mecha-
nical horse a standard h rises to form the main support of the superstructure
of the carriage. The toothed wheel affixed to the shaft f takes into the
rack of the trunk as aforesaid; and on the top of the shaft there is a pinion i
which is actuated by the large toothed wheel k, k, k, k. From the center of
the wheel k the upright main shaft l rises, to which is attached at the upper
part a cross arm m, m, with yokes at its extremities. To each of these yokes
I attach a horse or other animal, as shewn in the Figure, and cause them to
travel round in the circular track n, n, n, n, at the bottom of the carriage.
By these means the power exerted by the horses carries round the large
toothed wheel k, which turns the pinion i, and the toothed wheel e, upon the
same shaft f; and this toothed wheel taking into the rack of the wheelway
causes the carriage to be propelled forward. At each end of the mechanical
horse upright shafts p, p, are screwed in, which shafts have shoulders to
support horizontal bearings that extend from the carriage. In any convenient
part of these shafts handles may be affixed, for the purpose of enabling the
shafts to be turned round, which will raiso or depress the back or front part of
the carriage. This adjustment is provided for going up and down hill. When
I adapt these carriages to run upon ordinary roads, I necessarily dispense with
the mechanical horse, and attach runing wheels of the ordinary kind. A

page_text: carriage of this description is shewn at Figure 9, and a plan of its operative parts
at Figure 10. The horses being attached to the yokes as before explained,
and put in motion, the cross arm m, the central shaft 7, and the large toothed
wheel will be made to move round, when the teeth of the large wheel,
taking into the pinions i, i, will cause those pinions and their shafts to turn.
Upon each of these shafts are two horizontal bevel wheels 9 and R, taking into
vertical bevel wheels stand respectively, affixed to the axles and u, which
turn in loops under the connecting beam w: At the outer extremeties of these
axles the runing wheels are attached in the ordinary way so as to slide round
freely. It will, however, be perceived that the rotation of the large toothed
wheel will cause the pinions to turn, and these, by means of the bevel gear upon
their shaft, will drive the axles round. Now in order to give rotary motion to
the runing wheels, so as to drive the carriage forward, palls, a, a, are attached
to flanges on the revolving axle, which palls respectively drop into the teeth of
a ratchet wheel, fixed to the nave of each runing wheel, and as the axles go
round carry the runing wheels also. But when the carriage is required to
travel in a curved direction, as in turning sweeps or angles in the road, the
conductor turns the handle of the worm q, which worm, working into the
wheel at the top of the shaft Z, causes that shaft to turn; and the pinion at
the bottom of the shaft, taking into the semicircular rack attached to the
front beam w of the carriage, moves that beam, and also the axles u and v,
into an oblique position; and by means of connecting rods the hinder beams
and axles are also drawn into a similar position.
The ratchets and palls above described may be advantageously adapted to hay-
making machines, and drills or other machines, where the rotation of the runing
wheels communicate motion to other parts of the mechanism. The 'wheels of
the carriages above described are to be made of the ordinary kind of wood; but
the circular part or run I propose to form by placing a series of blocks or pieces
side by side, and attaching them together, so that the grain of the wood shall
radiate from the centre to every part of the periphery. The pieces of wood thus
disposed are to be bound together by two rings of iron, placed on the sides of
the circular rim of the wheel, instead of the ordinary tire or tyre iron. By this
contrivance the ends of the wood will run upon the ground, and the wheel will
be much stronger and enduring than when made of bent timber. In raising
ponderous bodies up steep ascents on carriages, by means of standing engines
or other stationary power, I propose to employ a whoalway of the kind shewn
in Figure 11, which consists of a series of toothed wheels and pinions taking
alternately into each other, and acting together as a train, the moving power
being communicated at either extremity, or indeed in any part of the train.

page_text: The carriages which are to contain ponderous bodies move on wheels or
rollers that run in grooves in a trunk, much in the same way as the mecha-
nical horse first described. The carriages have racks attached to them which
take into the teeth of the toothed wheels, and by the rotation of the wheels
the carriages are conducted forward and backward, as shewn in the Figure.
This description of wheelway may, however, be so placed that the train of
wheels and pinions shall turn nearly in a horizontal position instead of a
vertical position as above, which would be the most eligible mode of
adapting. This contrivance must depend upon circumstances; and a similar
construction of wheelway may be advantageously employed for transporting
ponderous bodies from one level to another, as in raising coal or ore up the
shafts of mines, the descending carriages passing at the same time.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Francis Snowden, have hereunto
subscribed and set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
WILLIAM FRANCIS (L.s.) SNOWDEN.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of June, in the
year of our Lord 1825, the aforesaid William Francis Snowden came before
our said Lord the King in His 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 Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.