IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY SLEEPING CARRIAGES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY SLEEPING CARRIAGES.”
"_A
communication from abroad by George M. Pullman, of Chicago,
Illinois, United States of America.
Sealed the 4th August 1871, and dated the 8th June 1871.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake
ȧt the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 8th June 1871, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN RAILWAY SLEEPING CARRIAGES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to
grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal

page_text: "
Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that
it has been communicated to me from abroad by George M. Pullman, of
Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming
a part of this Specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective sectional
view of the interior of a portion of a carriage containing one set of
berths on each side of the carriage, one side of the same being repre-
sented in the form for use as a day carriage, and the other side as a
sleeping carriage; Figure 2 is a cross section of one of the seats as used
for a day carriage, and Figure 3 is a cross section of one of the seats as
used for forming a sleeping couch.
This Invention relates to the method of constructing the seats and
berths of a sleeping carriage, so that they may be more readily and
conveniently changed from the condition of a day carriage to a sleeping
carriage, and vice versa, than by the modes of construction before
used.
The first part of this Invention consists in constructing the berth with
a rigid frame of the proper form to receive the bedding, which frame is
permanently attached to the side of the carriage by fixed hinges, and
when not in use is swung up in a diagonal position, the front edge being
secured to a suitable frame attached to the roof of the carriage, and thus
closing the recess and forming a closet in which the bedding in that
compartment can be placed when not in use, and be entirely secreted
and protected from the dust, smoke, and cinders. Also in the employ-
ment, in combination with a berth thus constructed, of a counterpoise
so arranged as to aid in turning up the same, so that the berth and its
contents may be more easily handled, with other peculiarities of con-
struction therewith, which will be hereafter described. And also in the
manner of constructing and arranging the seats of the carriage so that
the cushions of the same may be readily converted into lower berths, as
will be herein-after described.
A, A, are the upper berths, each formed of a rigid platform or frame,
and provided with a suitable enclosure for the bedding, and made by

page_text: preference about as wide as the length of the transverse' seats, as shown.
They are each permanently connected with the side of the carriage by
strong hinges at B at a suitable height above the seat, which supports
that side of the berth, the opposite side being supported, when it is used,
by the jointed suspenders C, which have a pin joint at each end and near
the middle to enable them to fold together when the berth is turned up,
as shown, one end of each suspender being attached to the front edge of
the berth, and the other end to the roof near the upper corner of the
carriage by suitable joint pieces.
When the carriage is used as a day carriage, the front edge of the
berth A is raised up to an angular position until the front side of it
nearly touches the roof of the carriage, and the lower edge is brought
into contact with the cornice frame or moulding N. The berth is beld
in this elevated position by a spring catch or other suitable fastening, in
which position it is entirely out of the way, and the mattresses, bedding,
and other accessories are shut out of sight in the closed triangular recess
in the upper corner of the carriage.
The upper berths when made broad as shown with the bedding and
other furniture of one section of the carriage placed upon them have
considerable weight, and to enable them to be easily handled they are
counterbalanced by means of weights D running on rods L to steady
them and cords E working over suitable pulleys and attached to the
front side of the berth so that the berths move easily up and down by
hand. The weights D upon either side of the carriage may be enclosed
in a closet in the centre of the carriage, and wire ropes or other cords
lead over the pulleys from them to each berth. If the upper berths are
made somewhat narrower they may be so arranged as to throw them
back against the side of the carriage into a perpendicular position, the
recess to receive them being in that case formed on the side of the
carriage. M represents one of the series of triangular partitions placed
between the berths, extending from the upper berth to the roof of the
carriage and inwardly in a diagonal direction to the cornice N, which
is usually placed just below the sides of the ventilating chamber in
carriages that are thus-constructed, as shown in the Drawing. The
partitions form the ends of the recesses when the berths are turned
up. The lower surface of the berth is finished in some appropriate
ornamental style and fits closely to the partition and cornice, forming a

page_text: neat and handsome inclined ceiling to the upper part of the carriage,
and, as already explained, an enclosure in which the bedding and other
furniture of the berths can be secured and carried free from dust,
smoke, and cinders. The seats are arranged in pairs facing each other,
as shown, and at a sufficient distance apart to give length for a berth
between the frames of the backs. The cushions forming the back and
seat of each chair are made separate from the seat frames, and hinged
together at F. When the lower couch has to be made up for sleeping
the seat cushions G are drawn forward until the cushion G' forming the
back lies horizontally on the seat frames, the cushions G meeting 1
together, and one end resting on the bar H, which turns on a hinge
from one of the seats or chairs, as shown in the Drawing. The other
ends of the cushions G. are supported by resting on a cleat of wood
fastened to the side of the carriage. A continuous horizontal couch is
thus formed by the four cushions, upon which bedding may be placed.
The back of the chairs may be made double to receive a sliding
partition I, which sinks between the backs when the carriage is used as
a day carriage, and is drawn up against the bottom of the upper berth
when used as a sleeping carriage, and is held up by the spring catches K,
thus affording an additional support to the upper berth. J is a moveable
head board, which when the berth is made up is slipped in to fill up the
space at each end of the berth between the sliding partition I and the
partition M; it is held in place by hasps or other suitable attachments
which will allow it to be readily removed and placed upon the upper
berth with the bedding and enclosed in the recess above the berth when
it is turned up.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I wish it understood that I do not.
claim the use of sliding head boards; but I claim,―
First. The construction and arrangement of the berth A hinged to the
carriage at B and supported by the jointed suspenders C or other
analogous devices, the whole so adapted to the carriage that when
turned up it forms one side of the closed triangular recess, as shewn.
Second. In combination with the berth A. the sliding partition I,
substantially as shown.
Third. In combination with the berth A the moveable head board J,
substantially as described.

page_text: Fourth. The construction and arrangement of a carriage seat with the
back and seat cushions hinged together and disconnected from the scat
frame so that the back cushion may be placed on the seat frame and the
seat cushion extended to meet the seat cushion of the opposite seat,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
0 Witness,
E. W. TYNDALL.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)