IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE RAILWAYS, AND IN THE MEANS OF THEIR APPLICATION TO CARRIAGES TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENTS ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Welch, of Southall, in the County of Middlesex,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE RAILWAYS, AND IN THE
MEANS OF THEIR APPLICATION TO CARRIAGES TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENTS
ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES."
Sealed the 22nd September 1858, and dated the 27th March 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Welch at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th March
1858.
I, JAMES WELCH, of Southall, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE RAILWAYS, AND IN
THE MEANS OF THEIR APPLICATION TO CARRIAGES TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENTS
ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of improvements in the form and structure of rail-
ways attached to carriages, and in the means of their application to such
carriages for the purpose of the easy conveyance of heavy loads over common
roads and other surfaces. The railways are used one on each side of the car-
riage, and are each composed of an endless chain of rails of a suitable length
jointed together. The bearing wheels of the carriage which run upon the
railways are each a double wheel having two sets of spokes and felloes with
an interval between each set, and a flange is placed inside and outside the
double wheel. Each of the railways is supported and guided round the bearing

page_text: wheels by two wheels or drums placed anteriorly and posteriorly between the
sections of the double bearing wheels. The drums run best as near to the
ground as practicable, and are secured to the bottom of the carriage by clips
elongated sufficiently to admit of their rising over any unusually large obstacle
in the road. The distance of the drums from each other is capable of adjust-
ment by means of a screw at pleasure, according to the length of the chain of
rails. Each link of the railway is composed of two parallel bars of iron having
a space left between them, and firmly fastened at one end to a foot or shoe of
iron and wood of a suitable length and breadth, and at the other end to a
piece of iron forming a joint with the foot of the adjoining link.
The circumferences of the drums pass into the spaces left between the parallel
bars of the links, and secure the railways in their proper position during their
progress round the carriage wheels. In order to enable the railway to cir-
culate over the drums with some degree of speed, and to obviate the violent
blow occurring at each of the joints in its passage over the wheel from one
drum to the other, the piece of iron before mentioned as composing a joint
with the foot of the next link is formed with a tongue projecting forwards
between the parallel bars of the adjoining link throughout or nearly through-
out its whole length. The point of each tongue takes the forward drum at
each joint of the chain, and by its means each link is conducted smoothly
onward to the next joint, and so on in endless succession, and the drums may
be covered with any suitable soft or elastic substance. A portion of the foot
of each link also projects backward towards and forms a rest for the succeeding
link, which has the effect of easing them off the hinder drum, and prevents the
depression of the rails between the drums on their passage over the bearing
wheel. An endless rope or chain passing in a groove over both drums may
also be used in like manner for supporting the links.
The feet of the links should be made of sufficient depth to prevent the
points of the tongues from striking against the ground as the rails descend
over the forward drum to take their place under the carriage wheels. When
the carriage is locomotive the railway may be fitted with a toothed rack
attached to one side of it, adapted to a pinion driven by the motive power.
The pinion may be made capable of being placed in or out of gear at pleasure,
according as the difficulties of the way may or may not require its aid in pre-
venting the driving wheels from slipping round upon the rails.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Welch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th
September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WELCH, of Soutball, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Welch, Her special licence that I, the said James Welch,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Welch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agreo
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 RAIL-
WAYS, AND IN THE MEANS OF THEIR APPLICATION TO CARRIAGES TO FACILITATE THEIR
MOVEMENTS ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Welch, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Welch, 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 state-
ment thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention consists of improvements in the form and structure of
railways attached to carriages, and in the means of their application to such
carriages for the purpose of the easy conveyance of heavy loads over common
roads and other surfaces. The railways are used one on each side of the carriage,
and are each composed of an endless chain of rails of a suitable length jointed
together. The bearing wheels of the carriage which run upon the railways
are each a double wheel having a flange inside and outside, and are composed
of two sets of spokes and felloes with an interval between each set. Each of
the railways is supported and guided round the bearing wheels by two wheels
or drums placed anteriorly and posteriorly between the sections of the double

page_text: bearing wheels. The drums run best as near to the ground as practicable, and
their axles are secured to the bottom of the carriage by clips elongated
sufficiently to admit of their rising beneath the body of the carriage with the
drums and chains over any usually large obstacle in the road. The distance
of the drums from each other is capable of adjustment at pleasure by means of
a screw, according to the length and required tension of the chain of rails.
Each link of the railway is composed of two parallel bars of iron having
a space left between them, and firmly fastened at one end to a foot or shoe of
iron and wood of a suitable length and breadth, according to the load and the
nature of the ground, and at the other end to another piece of iron forming a
joint with the foot of the adjoining link. The circumferences of the drums
pass into the spaces left between the parallel bars of the links, securing the
rails in their proper position and supporting them at the joints during their
progress round the carriage wheels. In order to enable the railway to cir-
culate over the drums with some degree of speed, and to obviate the violent blow
occurring at the joints of the rails in their passage over the bearing wheel
from one drum to the other, each of the pieces of iron before mentioned as
composing a joint with the foot of the next link is formed with a tongue pro-
jecting forwards beyond the joint of its own link between the parallel bars of
the next adjoining link throughout or nearly throughout its whole length
towards the next joint, the points of each of the tongues taking on to the
forward drum at the antecedent joint of the chain, and conducting each link
smoothly onward over the drum to the next joint in endless succession. With
the same object, a portion of the foot of each link also projects backward
beyond its joint towards the next joint, and forms a rest for the succeeding
link, which has the effect of easing them off the hinder drum, and preventing
the depression of the rails between the drums on their forward passage over
the bearing wheel. The drums may be covered with any suitable soft or
elastic substance, or an endless rope or chain passing in a groove over both
drums may also be used in like manner for supporting the links and pre-
venting concussion and noise. The feet of the links (which for lightness may
be partially composed of wood) should be made of sufficient depth to prevent
the points of the tongues from striking against the ground as the rails descend
over the forward drum to take their place under the carriage wheels. When
the carriage is locomotive the railway may be fitted with a toothed rack
attached to one side, adapted to a pinion driven by the motive power. The
pinion may be made capable of being placed in or out of gear at pleasure,
according as the difficulties of the way may or not require its aid in preventing
the driving wheels from slipping round upon the rails.
.

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed more fully
to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a side elevation of apparatus combined according to my
Invention applied to a carriage; Figure 2 shows a plan of so much of a
carriage having apparatus applied thereto as will enable me, aided by the other
views shown by the Drawing, to describe my Invention; Figure 3 is a longi-
tudinal section, and Figure 4 a plan, of some of the links forming part of one
of the endless chains used. The carriage is arranged with one supporting
axle a having a double wheel b at each end, as shown; it is also provided with
two guide wheels in front, but the weight or load is to be sustained by the
bearing wheels b which run upon the two endless chains, hereafter described,
constituting a portable railway; c and d are two wheels or drums, the peri-
pheries of which pass between the parallel bars of the links by which the endless
chains are carried round and secured in their places as the carriage is moved
forward. The axes of these drums are to be arranged with a slide and screw,
or other contrivance, not shown in the Drawing, for the purpose of adjusting
their distance apart, according to the length of chain and degree of tightness
required. is an additional drum revolving on the same axis with the hinder
drum c and outside the bearing wheel b; its office is to receive the backward
projecting parts e, e¹, of the feet e, e, on the upper portion of its circumference
as the links leave the drum c. The links of the chain of rails are each about
eighteen inches in length from joint to joint, or they may be of any other
suitable length, and the drums are of a size proportioned to the length of the
links, their diameter being about double the length of the links; f,f, are the
parallel bars of the links, and h, h, are the tongues, each forming a part of a
link and projecting forwards beyond the joint of its own link between the
parallel bars of the adjoining link towards the next joint. The tongues are
merely for the purpose of preventing concussion at the joints of the links on
their coming into contact with the forward drum d in passing over it. The
links have feet of wood secured to them of sufficient height to carry the points
of the tongues in their descending motion clear of the land or surface over
which the carriage is passing; e¹, el, are the parts of the feet e, e, projecting
backwards beyond the joint of the link to which they are fixed towards the
next joint, and set outside the line of the rails. They are merely for the
purpose of forming a rest, and they take on to the top of the outer drum c', in
order to prevent the jerk that would otherwise occur at that point. The
peripheries of the wheels c, d, which support the endless chains are coated with

page_text: soft or flexible material, further to prevent any jar between them, but this is
not essential.
I have not thought it necessary to show in a Drawing the elongated clips
by which the axles of the drums are attached to the body of the carriage, nor
the rack on the rails, nor the pinions to be used for driving the carriage when
constructed as a locomotive engine, as such parts will readily be applied by an
engineer.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to any
of the parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the details shown, so long
as the peculiar character of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,
the combination herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Welch, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
JNO. ALCOCK.
JAMES WELCH. (L.S.)