Im- PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VEHICLES TO BE USED ON RAILWAYS OR ON ORDINARY ROADS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME OR BE
MADE KNOWN, I, WILLIAM PIDDING, of the Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent made under the Great Seal of Great Britain, and bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of March, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
two, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Pidding, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Pidding, my
exors, adñors, or assigns, or such others as I, the said William Pidding, my
exors, adiñors, 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, (to
wit, fourteen years) from the date thereof,) should and might lawfully make,
use, exercise, and vend, within Her most Excellent Majesty's Kingdom of
England, Her Dominion of Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the
Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all and
every Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VEHICLES TO BE USED ON RAILWAYS OR ON
ORDINARY ROADS;" in which said Royal Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that I, the said William Pidding, shall cause a particular description of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed and carried

page_text: into practical effect, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
herein in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
had thereto, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Pidding, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention of
"Improvements in the Construction of Vehicles to be used on Railways or
on Ordinary Roads," to be the same as described and represented in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the illustrative Sheet
of Drawings hereunto annexed, and the Figures or Diagrams thereon, marked
or numbered 1 to 12 inclusive.
But I would, before entering fully into the description of my present im-
provements in parts of vehicles, observe that in the Specification of a Patent
granted to me on or about the Twenty-first" November, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-six, I claimed the construction of wheels adapted to four-
wheeled common road carriages, and by the application of such wheels so
described to the front axle of such carriages, they admit of being made of the
same diameter as the hind wheels, the carriage body in turning not requiring
to turn over them, as is ordinarily the case. These wheels differ from the
usual construction of wheels for common roads, inasmuch that the spokes are
not fixtures in the nave, but rock on the end next the centre, so as to form
with the axle either an acute or an obtuse angle, and are kept in their place
by means of springs, as a substitute for these springs or in addition thereto.
The first part of my present Invention consists in a substitution or addition
of an elastic material for the spokes themselves, such as whalebone, lance and
other springy woods, steel or other springs, or in combination of these, in plates
thinly laminated, and formed into the form of the necessary section, or in any
way that the combination may require; the spokes of all such wheels are to be
made elastic for a portion of their length, only two-thirds, three-quarters, five-
sixths, or any other fraction of the length, as experience may dictate, being
made of a springy or otherwise elastic material, and the remainder of the spoke
rigid. The rigid spokes, which may be made as numerous as the circum-
stances of material and construction may require, are furnished with a series of
catches acting on each other, by which means the strength, power, or force of a
series is concentrated to that which bears the pressure or weight of the load.
The second part of my Invention consists in the application and addition of
"catches" to the spokes of my above-mentioned wheel, by which a portion of
the force exerted by the springs of a fixed number of spokes, say, 3, 5, or 7, is

page_text: exerted at the same time in each spoke as it attains its vertical bearing on the
ground, thus rendering it more secure. Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing
illustrates this part of my Invention. In it, a, a, represents one of my patent
wheels, with the addition round the nave of a series of the catches b, b, c, c,
d, d, by which it will be seen that the spoke S¹ is not only kept in its place
by the force of its own springs, but also by those of spokes S³ and S³, and so
on, with the spokes. By this means the action of many springs is secured
whilst the spoke or spokes resting on the ground moves laterally.
The third part of my Invention consists in an improved construction of the
nave, by which friction is materially diminished, and compensation afforded
for the wear and tear of the materials used. Figure 2 of the Drawing is
a vertical section of the nave through the plane of the wheel; in which a
is the axletree; b, 62, 63, 64, 6, antifriction rollers, by the use of which
lubrication becomes unnecessary; c, c, a cylindrical ring made of alternate
radiating plates of metal, secured to each other by means of catches, and
corresponding receivers very accurately fitted to each other.
For this pur-
Between these
pose I recommend their being pressed into moulds or cast.
radiating metallic plates I place pieces of sheet vulcanized india-rubber
to insure their keeping in their respective positions; around this periphery
of alternate radiating plates of metal and vulcanized india-rubber, I place
an outer ring d, d, of highly compressed vulcanized india-rubber. The
result will be that as the radiating plates c, c, wear out in the interior, they
will be pressed by the outer elastic ring d, d, against the friction rollers 61, 62,
63, 64, 6, and insure no change in the internal diameter of the inner ring.
The fourth part of my Invention consists in adopting axletrees of different
lengths so as to allow of the tires of my divided tire wheel being brought nearer
the axletrees, as shewn in Figure 3, where the divided tires a, c, of the wheels
b, b, are brought nearer to the axles e and f respectively; my object being to
turn the vehicles with as little alteration as possible of the spokes of my divided
tire wheel which rest on the ground for the same purpose, to allow the tires of
one set of wheels to lap over the axletree of the other set; this I effect by
making the one set which overlaps the other, of larger diameter, or by crank
bends in the axletree of one set. Instead of connecting the axles of the anti-
friction rollers of my improved nave by a pentagonal, hexagonal, or other
polygonal connecting plate, or casting cogs round the periphery of each, working
in similar cogs, the pitch line of which would have the same diameter as that
of the internal surface, of my ring of radiating plates may be used, or, indeed,
any of the other improved modes of working antifriction rollers. I now pro-

page_text: pose to make my divided tires of hardened steel, or to have them case-hardened
or hardened by chilling, and to cover them with gutta percha, vulcanized india-
rubber, felt, or in mixed layers of each or all of these, or of any compound of
gutta percha or india-rubber, or both; I also propose to bring the spokes
nearly in contact with each other, as shewn in Figure 3, round the nave, and
even closer, and also in one or more additional points in close contact, with or
without some greasy or other lubricating substance to reduce friction. The
points where the spokes come in contact may be covered with vulcanized india-
rubber or other proper material to prevent the entrance of dust, dirt, grit, or
other extraneous substances; my object being to strengthen the spokes as much
as possible, besides bringing them in their proper position on the ground, and
allow of their being of less weight and of slighter construction than would
otherwise be the case.
The fifth part of my Invention consists of certain improvements connected
with the second part of my former Invention, dated as aforesaid, Twenty-first
November, One thousand eight hundred and forty-six, which relates to a
method of laying rails for common road carriages to travel on, similar to that
shewn at a, b, c, d, in Figure 4. I now propose to make the chains for my
endless chain rail, as shewn in an enlarged scale in end views, Figures 9
and 10. The springs a, a, Figure 10, are to be attached to the portable rails
b, b, and the chair is to be furnished with a socket at S to receive the projecting
bar of the portable rail. By this arrangement the springs a, a, will turn the
chain to the right or left when turning, added, as shewn at a, b, c, d, Figure 8,
to the links of the portable rail shewn at Figure 4. I now substitute a
perfectly circular rail a, a, as shewn in Figure 6, to be run over by an endless
chain b, b, of antifriction rollers traversing round the endless rail c, c. The
arrangement for keeping the circular rail in its vertical position is as follows:-
A double framework d, e, f, is to be placed vertically, so as to allow of the
endless rail working freely between friction rollers placed on each side of the
arms, the whole being supported at g.
This mode of conveyance may be
applied for goods and passengers or otherwise, for ploughing, harrowing,
irrigating, sowing, manuring, or other agricultural processes, over roads, hills,
or ditches, on uncultivated as well as cultivated ground, by the modified
arrangement shewn in Figure 7. The apparatus, as shewn at Figures 6 and 7,
may be thinly covered with vulcanised india-rubber, to exclude grit, dust, &c.,
and so protect the working of the rollers and other parts, in which a' repre-
sents a ring or wheel of gutta percha or india-rubber, or compound of either of
these, or both; 61, a ring of wheel of metal or other conductor; it may be

page_text: formed of small or thin rings, in order to render it the more pliable; a', a ring
of the first-named substance; 62, one of metal, using alternately gutta percha
or india-rubber, or both, and metal; and to apply heat to the elastic material
when off the ground, and cold to the metal, so that when it comes in contact
with the gutta percha, &c., which it will do when the endless chain of anti-
friction rollers runs over the gutta percha and metal, the latter will convey or
communicate its cold to the former, and make it sufficiently rigid to bear a
considerable weight without bending. The Drawing shews how they are made
to act by heat and cold; heat is applied by means of flame, steam, hot water,
heated rollers, or plates of metal placed on, under, or between each ring to
admit of their bending with ease; and plates or rollers of very cold metal
(rendered so artificially) are placed on, under, and between each just before
passing under the endless chain c, c, of antifriction rollers d, d, and endless
rail e, e, all of which are cooled artificially; and it may sometimes be
advantageous to cool them to many degrees below zero. The rings rest on
rollers placed at convenient distances to keep them all separate, and a collar
may be affixed at each end to keep them in their respective positions; they
may be heated when deemed advisable; the whole apparatus can be connected
by means of any convenient mode attached to the arm or other projection or
arrangement. The outside ring must have vulcanised india-rubber attached
to it on each side, and pulled by means of strings or otherwise to a centre con-
nected with f, to prevent dirt entering between the rings. When the chain of
antifriction rollers and the rails are made sufficiently cold (artificially), and
when the rings of gutta percha are numerous and very thin, the heating and
cooling process may be dispensed with elsewhere, or the heating apparatus can
be applied to that portion of the rings on which the antifriction rollers do not
rest. The whole can be propelled by steam or other convenient motive power,
or by animal or manual strength.
Another mode of construction consists in the use of a wheel formed of a
tube of india-rubber composed thereof, or other suitable material filled with a
fusible metal, such as mercury, tin, and bismuth, or mercury, lead, and bismuth,
or any other such admixture as may be found most serviceable in practice, or
with certain or various resinous, waxy, greasy, bituminous, or other suitable
substance or substances or compound, or with brimstone or other substance or
substances, which by the application of heat becoming liquified, and by the
I also use the arrange-
application of cold resume or assume the solid state.
ment shewn at Figures 11 and 12, where Figure 11 represents the circles of
combined bands, and Figure 12 an enlarged view, in vertical section, of a

page_text: portion of the periphery of the same; the endless bands A, A, consist of plates
of copper or other suitable metal, shown in section in Figure 12, connected or
joined together with vulcanised india-rubber. To these metal plates I convey
different degrees of temperature, producing heat and cold rapidly, and I thus
liquify and solidify the fusible metal or other appropriate meltable substance
in the interior of the band, and the india-rubber connexions between cach
metallic plate, and at the sides, allow the band to bend when the fusible metal
or substance aforesaid in the interior is liquified. I sometimes find it desirable
to use several bands together, in order more speedily to heat and cool them.
To add to the strength of any of the above materials, substances, or compounds,
I in certain cases insert in the tubes, in addition to the said substances, solids
such as plaister of Paris, chopped whalebone fibres, chopped hemp or flax,
sawdust, chopped wire, or any suitable infusible material or materials, calcu
lated to add strength to the substances aforesaid or compounds when not in a
melted state.
The endless chain of antifriction rollers before described, running round
rails, both of which are to be rendered cold by artificial means, are made to
run on such a tube, and heat is applied to the remaining portion to melt the
substances or compounds contained therein; it may be desirable sometimes,
in order to increase the surface submitted to the action of heat and cold, to
have several tubes; in all such cases, either with gutta percha as before
described or with fusable materials, it will be sometimes necessary to use the
chaius I have described as connected with my carriage an endless bent, jointed,
or linked rail; and in order that the pressure be always equal, I have a
moveable plate A, Figure 9, in the socket, the wheel resting on the upper
surface a, a, which will always remain horizontal, whatever the indulation of
the ground, and also to answer the purpose of allowing the carriage to turn
to the right or left, by sliding in the portion marked H, Figures 9 and 10;
the springs connecting H with A compel the latter to resume its proper
position when off the ground.
The sixth part of my Invention consists in further improvements in the
fourth part of my former aforesaid Patent, relating to my arrangement for
relieving the horse from the weight of the postillion in one-horse carriages.
In addition, I now propose the mode (represented in Figure 8, in which a, a,
and b, b, are the centre lines of the axletrees,) of turning with ordinary wheels
and turning plates or wheel when using my frame attached to the two shafts
as formerly described when four wheels are used. For making those parts of
the bodies of railway or other vehicles not usually comprised in the word

page_text: "framing,"
," such as the panels, roofs, and other portions, I use a composition
producing similar results to the substance called papier maché, being light,
durable, and impervious to the effect of the sun, whose rays are in hot climates
most injurious to wood-work, cracking the wood and blistering the coloring
used thereon. The component parts of this composition in its raw state are
straw, grasses, vegetable fibre, raw spent graves, sawdust, bran, dried leaves,
fecula, or manufactured mineral wire or plate when required, chopped leather,
resin, gutta percha, glue, gum, bitumen, or other similiar binding substances,
or fecula alone may be used, heated and compressed until it becomes a sub-
stance of similar appearance to horn, and this may be coated with any of the
usual coating or varnishing preparations. When I use straw, vegetable fibre,
and the other vegetable substances above mentioned, I reduce the whole into
a pulpy matter, similar to the operations in paper making; and having so done
by any of the known processes, I make coach panels or other portions of
railway or other vehicles therewith, using Fourdrinier's, Hadden's, or any.
known and non-patented machinery or apparatus applicable to the purpose or
purposes; and I also form the composition into metal moulds prepared of the
shape of the back, front, sides, doors, or other portion of any vehicle, from
which I obtain the said portions ready for fitting to each other, provision being
made in the moulds accordingly, drying and hardening the same while in the
moulds by caloric action thereon.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the mode or modes,
or process or processes by which I carry the same into practical effect, I declare
it is not my intention to claim the exclusive use of any of the parts taken as
parts separately, which I have mentioned in my description, as shewn in the
annexed Drawing; nor do I claim any machinery or apparatus whatever, for
the purpose of manufacturing, putting together, or otherwise treating the
different portions forming in combination my Invention, such parts or portions
either having been in use for other or similar purposes, or of natural existence;
but I claim the whole of the combination of parts or substances herein-before
described, and in part illustrated by the annexed Drawing at Figures 1 to 12,
as "Improvements in the Construction of Vehicles to be used on Railways or
on Ordinary Roads."
In witness whereof, I, the said William Pidding, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
WILLIAM
(L.S.) PIDDING.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that ou the Twenty-third day of September,
in the year of our Lord 1852, the aforesaid William Pidding 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 Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord