An Improved Cable Railway, Tramway, or the like.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 7th June, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 7th Mar., 1894--Accepted, 7th June, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Cable Railway, Tramway, or the like.
I, JOHN BERNHART SMITHMAN, of Oil City, Venango County, Pennsylvania,
U.S.A., Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This my invention relates to cable railways, tramways and the like; the object
of the invention being to utilize the force of gravity in the propulsion of cars,
trucks or the like.
My invention is more especially applicable for railways or tramways constructed
on inclines.
The invention consists in the provision of a well at or near the top of the incline,
in which well a weight is suspended by a cable to rise and fall. The cable passes
over rollers along the track. Each car has the usual cable gripping device which
enables the conductor on the car to connect the car to or release the car from the
cable. The weight in the well is fitted with an annular ring which is capable of
expanding when the weight descends too rapidly. The well contains water or other
fluid to regulate the action of the weight. Any suitable automatic mechanism may
be attached to the weight to arrest its motion entirely when a car releases the
cable. Any suitable motor may be employed to raise the weight, and if worked in
conjunction with the power exerted by the weight of the car in descending the
incline, the power derived from the motor may be but very small. Other devices
may however be employed for raising the weights.
Dated this 7th day of June 1893.
W. H. MUNNS,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Cable Railway, Tramway, or the like.
I, JOHN BERNHART SMITHMAN of Oil City, Venango County, Pa. U.S.A.
Gentleman, 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 my invention relates to a new and useful improvement in cable railways, of
which the following is a full clear and exact description reference being had to the
accompanying drawings forming part of this Specification in which :-
Fig. 1 is a side view of a street car provided with my improved motor and
brake.
.
Figs. 2 & 3 are vertical sectional views of the vertical cylinder with the
automatic weight employed as a motor: and
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the same on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation partly in section of the automatic grip and its
attachments and
Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the same on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5.
Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of the end of the tunnel showing the attachments
at the end of the cable.
Figs. 8 and 9 are a side elevation and a vertical section, respectively of the grip
in different positions.
Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views of the upper end of the swinging grip; and
Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are other detail views hereinafter referred to.

page_text: Figs. 15 and 16 are horizontal sectional views of the tunnel and cable used with
a double track road.
Figs. 17 & 18 are detail views of the modified grip employed therein.
Figs. 19 & 20 are detail views of the slots and connections employed therefor.
Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each figure.
My invention relates to the operating of street railways, cars or other wheeled
vehicles upon grades or inclines, and its object is to economize the motive power
necessary to drive cars up such inclines, and it is especially applicable as an
auxiliary power for street railways.
It consists, broadly, in storing up, by means of a weight moving in a vertical
well or conduit at the upper end of the grade the power obtained by a car passing
down the grade under the influence of gravity, and utilizing said power to assist
the same or another car in ascending the grade; and also in the use of air or other
fluid or liquid contained in the cylinder for the purpose of regulating the ascent
and descent of the weight. A safety brake is thereby obtained for the descending
cars and a smaller motive force will suffice to move cars up the grade.
In the drawings Figs. 1, 2 indicate an automatic grip which may be attached to
or detached from a cable 3, which is located in a tunnel 4, which is built between
the rails upon the grade in the same manner as an ordinary cable road. This cable
passes over the pulley 5, and at its end is secured to a weight 6, which hangs in a
vertical hole or well 7. This weight is preferably of the same shape of and slightly
smaller than the conduit and is made in sections; it being sufficiently heavy to
slightly overbalance the car when it is about midway of the incline. The weight
may be of adhesive material upon its exterior if desired, and I construct it so as
to gage the annular space between the weight and the cylinder for the purpose
of retarding and regulating its velocity by means of the fluid which I employ
within the cylinder for that purpose; the fluid acting as a dash-pot upon the
weight, preventing its too rapid movement. A disc 18 is used to regulate the
diameter of the weight, discs of different size being employed where greater or less
resistance is desired.
To further regulate the action of the power, I construct the weight as shown in
Figs. 2 and 3, in which 8 is a rod to which the cable is attached. This rod passes
through the upper end of the weight into a cavity therein and fastened upon the
rod are two collars 9 and 10. Two disks 11 and 12 surround the rod these disks
are fastened to the casing and are made as air-tight as possible, and the weight
hangs upon a spiral spring 13 surrounding the rod 8 & bearing upon the collar 9.
To the disk 12 are pivoted swinging distenders or lever-fingers 14, which pass.
through holes in the incasing weight, and press against small plates 15 upon the
inside of a rubber collar or cylinder 16, fitting in an annular recess around the
weight these lever-fingers being operated by the lower conical end of the rod as
shown.
The spring 13 is of such strength that when the weight is in position the collar 10
barely touches the disc 11, and the space within the case is filled with oil or similar
fluid. Now if the car which has been connected with the other end of the cable
moves too rapidly up the incline, the spring which was compressed by the weight,
will expand and forcing the rod downwardly, will drive out the lever-fingers against
the rubber collar and distend the same, thereby decreasing the annular space
between the weight and the sides of the well, and proportionately decreasing its
speed. If the cable should break the spring, being released, will force the band 16
against the sides of the conduit and prevent its fall to the bottom of the conduit.
To further assist in this regulation, a rubber or flexible disc 17 is secured between an
inner annular shoulder upon a collar 18 and a cap 19 at the top of the weight. Now if
the weight moves upward too rapidly or a car moves down the grade, the fluid in
the conduit presses downwardly upon this disk and causes it to act as a valve, its
free rim being depressed and thereby brought nearer the conduit sides, thus
decreasing the speed of the weight.
To regulate the change of equilibrium which takes place as the cable is drawn.

page_text: within the conduit, I preferably fill about one third of the well with oil as shewn
in Fig. 1, so that when the weight enters the oil, its specific gravity is corre-
spondingly decreased. When the oil is thus used, I balance the car and the power
when the car is one third up the incline, instead of half-way up as before.
The automatic grip which I employ is shown upon Sheets 2 and 3 of the drawings,.
2) being the swinging grip-beam pivoted near its center between the supporting
hangers 21.
Two semi-circular guides 22 are provided, between which the upper end of the
grip-beam moves, and when in vertical position, it is held rigidly by two swinging
dogs 23, which drop into off-sets in its upper end and are limited in their downward.
movements by the headed pins 24 attached thereto and moving through slots in the
support to which the dogs are pivoted. A three-armed lever 25 is pivoted within
the grip-beam near its lower end, the lower arm taking into the recess of a sliding
trigger or block 26, which trigger is struck by suitable stop-plates 27 near the ends.
of the tunnel.
Upon the two upper arms of the lever, rest the diagonally-placed trip-rods 28,.
which pass upwardly through the beam and are normally flush with the lower face-
of the off-sets at its upper end. When, however, the sliding trigger 26 strikes one-
of the stop plates 27 the lever 25 is tilted and thereby one of the dogs 23 is lifted
to allow the tilting of the grip-beam into its inoperative position, as shewn in
Fig. 8.
The lower end of the grip-beam terminates in a double catch 29 which is adapted.
to enter the slot in a link 30, secured at the end of the cable, which link, when drawn.
to the end of the tunnel, is held in place by the spring-ratchets 31, closing in behind
the shoulders upon the wings of the link, as shewn in Fig. 7. Spiral springs may
be used to force the trip-rods downward into contact with the lever-arms, if
desired. In Figs. 10 & 11, I shew the rollers 32, which are held in the upper end
of the grip-beam to lessen the friction of the dogs when they are pushed upward
by the trip-rods, each roller having a groove near each end, into which take the
inner and outer plates 33 & 34, which bold the rollers in place, a W-shaped spring 35.
forcing them into their outer position, as shewn in Fig. 11. To one side of the
upper end of the beam is attached the operating cord 36, which passes thence over
suitable pulleys 37, to the platform for operation by the grip-man. If desired, a.
cord or lever may be attached to the end of the dogs 23, and the dogs controlled
therewith as desired by the grip-man & the mechanism within the grip-beam can.
thus be dispensed with.
With the mechanism shewn if the weight is at its lower point, as the car comes.
to the top of the grade, and over the link, the grip-beam is swung into vertical
position, thus entering into the slot in the link and becoming locked by the dogs 23..
When the car is thus assisted down to the foot of the incline, the spring-ratchets 31
engage and hold the link and the sliding block 26 striking the stop-plate, swings
the lever 25, and thus disengages one of the dogs 23, and the grip beam is auto--
matically released and swings upward. The next car, proceeding in an opposite
direction is stopped at the foot of the incline, when the grip-beam is swung into.
The lower end of the beam
engagement with the link & the car is backed up.
engaging the spring ratchets, pushes them back and the link is released, the hook
upon the beam engaging the ends of the link. The weight then pulls, or assists in
pulling the car up the grade, and as the other end of the sliding-block 26 engages.
another stop-plate the grip is released, the shoulders of the link resting against the
ratchets placed in the tunnel at the top of the incline, and the car continues on its.
course.
On Sheet 4, I illustrate my invention as applied to a double track railway. . In
this form, I drill the hole for the weight near the top of the track used for the
up-cars; the cable passes thence over a pulley 39, down this track to the foot of the
incline, thence over a pulley 40 through a conduit between the two tracks, to and
around a pulley 41 into the tunnel of the second or down track. In this form, I
preferably slot the lower end of the brake-beam as shown in Fig. 17 and secure to.

page_text: the cable two stops 42, which when the weight is at its upper position are located
the one just below the spring ratchets 43 at the foot of the up track and the other
at the lower end of the down track. The second set of spring ratchets 44, is
located at the head of the down-track, and each set has stops 45 to prevent the
spring ratchets from contracting with the cable. A pulley 46 is supported upon a
flexible arm 47, under the end of the cable in the tunnel at the head of the down
track, in order that the cable may be held in proper position for the engagement
of the grip beam with the stop..
With this system the operation is as follows:-As a car approaches the top of
the grade on the down track, the grip-beam is drawn into a vertical position before
it reaches the spring-ratchets. The cable enters the slot in the end of the beam
which, upon the movement upon the car pushes aside the ratchets, the stop
thus engaging the slot in the grip.
The car passes down the incline drawing up the weight, and when the foot of the
grade is reached, the sliding block 26 strikes the stop-plate as in the single track
system, and releases the upper end of the grip-bar allowing it to swing into its
inoperative position.
When the block 26 strikes the stop-plate at the foot of the down track, the stop
on the cable has passed the spring ratchets at the foot of the up-track, and these
hold the cable in this position. The next car, being one upon the up-track, as it
reaches a point a little past the spring-ratchets at the foot of the grade, the
grip-beam is drawn into a vertical position, the cable enters the slot therein, the car is
backed up, the beam forcing the ratchets aside, the stop engages the beam, and the
car is drawn up the incline where the grip is released as before.
If desired, a differential drum, shown in Figs. 13 & 14 may be used at the top
of the incline, the necessary depth of the vertical conduit being thereby lessened.
The spiral spring in the weight may be so proportioned that it will act as a
cushion if the weight is subjected to sudden stoppages. The pivoted ends of the
spring-ratchets in the tunnel may be cushioned longitudinally if desired by springs
or rubber pads.
In the single track, no springs are necessary for the ratchets at the upper end,
these ratchets being arranged as shown in Fig. 12.
If it is only desired to regulate the speed of a down-going car I omit the ratchets
at the foot of the grade, and so gage the space between the weight and the hole,
by the disk 18, or the rubber collar 16, or by the size of the weight itself, that when
the cable is released, the fluid in the conduit passes upward slowly around the
weight, which descends gradually to the bottom ready for the next car.
The vertical well or conduit may be cased if desired, and many other variations
may be made in the form and arrangement of the parts, without departing from
my invention, which I consider as lying broadly in the weight moving in the
vertical conduit at or near the top of the incline and provided with the cable, which
is seized and released by means located upon the car.
The advantages of my invention are obvious, since the heretofore useless power
of the down-going car is stored up to be used in assisting the same or another car
up the grade.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
The herein described cable railway, tramway or the like all substantially as and
for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and illustrated in the drawings hereunto
annexed.