IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, AND IN CARRIAGES TO RUN THEREON
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PROSSER, junior, of Shaftsbury Terrace, Pimlico, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Ninth day of November, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Prosser, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Prosser, my exors, admors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Prosser, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF ROADS, AND IN CARRIAGES TO RUN THEREON;" in which said Letters Patent.
is contained a proviso that I, the said William Prosser, shall cause a parti-
cular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Prosser, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say):
My Invention relates,-
First, to a mode of constructing roads with tramways of wood, and also
combined with guide rails for the guiding carriages thereon.
And, secondly, the Invention relates to modes of applying apparatus to
carriages moving on tramways of wood, in order to guide carriages theron.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood, and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to explain the Drawing hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents the section of a road or way laid down with two tram-
ways of wood a, a; and I prefer that the grain of the wood should be in an
upward direction; but this is not absolutely necessary, though I believe it
will be found that wood placed with the grain in an upward or inclining at an
angle, will be found to wear longer than when the grain of the wood is in a
horizontal direction. 6 is a central or guide rail which retains the carriages
from going off the tramways a, a, and guides them correctly thereon. The
object of the first part of my Invention is so to arrange tramways of wood
in combination will a guide rail that the carriages used may run on wheels
with plain tyre, thus preventing the injurious effects which would result from
carriages having wheels with flanches if running on rails or trams of wood,
and guided thereon by the flanches of the wheels acting against the inner
edges of the tramway's of wood' in a similar manner to what the flanches of
railway wheels now act against iron rails. It will be evident, that trams of
wood could not be practically brought into use if the carriages were to be
guided by ordinary flanched wheels; hence, in order to obtain the advantages
of wood in constructing tramways thereof, it becomes necessary so to arrange
them that the carriages may be guided by some means which will not
injuriously act on the edges of the wood trams or ways; and I wish it to be
understood that I do not claim the making of tramways of wood generally,
but only when combined with guide rails! And I also wish it to be under-
stood that I do not claim guiding rails when combined with iron rails, which
has heretofore been proposed. The great object of this part of my Invention
is to obtain surfaces of wood for the plain wheels of carriages to run on, as
the same will not only be found less expensive in construction, but at the
same time offer less hard and rigid surfaces for the wheels to travel on, and

page_text: passengers will be less subject to noise and shocks. Wood will also be found
to offer more adhesion for the, driving wheels of locomotive carriages,
consequently less attention will be required to getting good gradients. In
laying down trams of wood I prefer that the wood should be subjected to the
best preservative processes known; I believe that practised by Mr. Payne
under his Patent to be the most suitable for the purpose yet known; and
care is to be observed, that the trains are to be placed and fixed on hard
surfaces of concrete or otherwise.
Figure 1 shews an axle c with two running wheels d, d, of a carriage with
plain tyre, and in the same axle is applied a guide wheel e, by means of which
and the guide rail b the carriage is guided; at the same time I do not confine
myself to this mode of using a guide wheel, so long as a guide rail.is.com-
bined with tramways or surfaces of wood, though I believe the plan,shewn to
be as simple as any for that purpose.
:
I will now describe the second part of my Invention, which relates to
another mode of guiding carriages which have wheels with plain tyre when
running on trams or ways of wood, and where no guide is employed, and
consists of a mode of constructing the carriages or frames of locomotive
engines by arranging guide wheels in such a manner as to prevent the
travelling wheels from running off the rails, and obviate the necessity of
having flanches on the running wheels, as is the usual custom with railway
wheels; and in the event of an accident arising from the axle of the travelling
wheels breaking, the guide wheels come into use as running wheels, and
press upon the rails and carry the carriage which would otherwise fall to the
ground, the modes of doing which will be more particularly described.
Figure 2 shews a side view, and Figure 3 an end view. The same letters
indicate the same parts wherever they occur. A, A, is the framing of a
locomotive engine having my improvements applied thereto; B, B, are the
ordinary or travelling wheels which run upon the rails C; D, D, are the
guide wheels, which it will be seen only press upon the rails at one point of
the periphery of the wheel, but yet sufficiently to keep the engine from going
off the rails; these wheels D are kept firmly in their position by the supports
E; it will be evident by examining the Drawing, that should the axle For
the travelling wheel break and the carriage descend, that the guide wheel
would come in contact with the rails and run thereon; and it will also be
evident 'that the guide wheels may be used outside of the rails in place of the
inside, but not so conveniently.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would remark, that
what I claim is,―

page_text: ! First, the mode of constructing roads by combining tramways or surfaces
of wood with guide rails, in order that carriages with wheels having plain tyre
may run thereon.
And, secondly, we claim the mode of applying guide wheels to carriages, as
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Proctor, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
W (L.s.) PROSSER, Jr.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of May, in the
year of our Lord 1845, the aforesaid William Prosser, junior, came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her 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.
Enrolled the Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-five.