System of Lever Drawbridges with Overhead Conductors for Electric Railways.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Mar., 1898--Accepted, 25th June, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
System of Lever Drawbridges with Overhead Conductors for Electric
Railways.
I, ALFRED CLEMENTS, of 83, Cannon Street, in the County of London, Assistant
Secretary of the British Thomson-Houston Company, Limited, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to me from abroad
by the Union Electricitats Gesellschaft of Berlin, Germany) and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
The present invention relates to the arrangement of the overhead conductors
of electric railways on lever drawbridges, which, when open, necessitate an inter-
ruption of the line. The arrangement must be such as can easily be applied to
all existing bridges.
In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is an elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan
view of the invention.
The letters A and B represent two pairs of poles erected on the piers of the
bridge. The current conductor device arranged over the roadway on the bridge
consists of two frames E which are each formed of light T-iron conductors, guy
wires N and N¹ and cross beam F. These cross beams turn in bearings L on the
poles A and B so as to permit the frames E to be moved in a vertical plane or in
the direction of the arrows (Fig. 1) whereby they are brought into the position
shown by the dotted lines. This movement is effected by the bridge as soon as
it is raised, by means of the vertical bars S which are link jointed to the frames E
and the bridge sections, as indicated by the letters C and D.
The trolley wire or overhead conductor T on the roadway beyond the draw-
bridge is provided at its end with a kind of frog M, which is suspended from the
poles by means of guy wires P for the purpose of anchoring the overhead con-
ductor. When the bridge is closed the contact fork J on the frame E receives the
frog M so as to form an unbroken or continuous line of electrical conductors.
When the bridge is opened the line is interrupted again by the movement of
the contact fork J toward the position shown by the dotted line and the current
cut off from the entire movable part. Insulators U are arranged on the different
guy wires. The T irons forming the conductors on the frames E are widened
at their ends G so that when the two frames are brought together the trolley
wheel can safely pass across the conductors.
As the conductor wire is interrupted by the raising of the bridge a cable must
be laid in the water which again forms a connection between the overhead parts
on either side of the bridge so as to maintain the service beyond the bridge.
It should be noted that by the arrangement of parts herein shown the overhead
conductors or the part carrying the electric current is kept quite rigid while the
bridge is opened.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said in-
vention (as communicated to me from abroad) and in what manner the same is
to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
A lever drawbridge for electric railways provided with two frames forming
overhead service conductors, said frames being pivoted to poles erected on the
piers and connected with the drawbridge sections by pivoted bars whereby the
frames are always maintained in a rigid position in the closed and open positions
of the drawbridge.
1000
ALFRED CLEMENTS,
Applicant.