Improvements in Portable Electric Railways with Overhead Conductors.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Portable Electric Railways with Overhead
Conductors.
I, ARTHUR KOPPEL, of 32, Dorotheenstrasse, Berlin, in the German Empire,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In portable railways, that is to say, in railways which it is often necessary to
transport from one place to another, it is of great importance to be able to accomplish
the removal and transport of the same as easily and as quickly as possible. This essential
requirement cannot be fulfilled with such railways driven by electrical power if the
supports for the conductors are erected in the ground near the rails as in such a case
the said supports must be removed from the ground every time the railway is moved.
In order to overcome these disadvantages I attach the overhead conductors, according
to this invention, to supports which are rigidly or pivotally connected with the
sleepers or rails of the railroad in such a manner that it is rendered possible to easily
erect, take down and transport the railway and conductors and at the same time obtain
the necessary stability and security.
The connection of the supports for the conductors with the sections of the railway
and also the particular construction of the supports can be modified in various ways.
In one form of my invention I provide a support resembling a frame which is con-
structed as follows;-The middle sleeper of a rail section, which sleeper is connected
with the rails in the usual manner, is, at a convenient distance from the centre of the
rails, bent upwards on each side, has its two upwardly bent ends connected by a semi-
circular head piece or cross piece and is strengthened on each side by two wires which
may be secured to a common hook on the head piece or cross piece and to the outer
sleepers. The middle sleeper of the support, instead of being shaped as a sleeper, can
have any other suitable form.
This conductor support can be easily carried by two or four men according to the
weight of the rails employed and can be without difficulty transported as mounted
rail sections to the place where the railway is to be erected and can there be
connected together.
In a second arrangement each of the two outer lengthened sleepers carries at its
ends a pivoted bent frame of gas pipe or of round or figured iron. These frames are
so shaped that their upper parts bent to a semicircle, come in contact with one
another and are held vertically over the short middle sleeper, whilst the inclined
lower portions of the said frames serve to provide the necessary lateral support. The
upper parts are held together by means of clamps or the like.
This form of support can also be very advantageously employed for long sections ;
should the clamps be detachably or similarly formed the half supports can be turned
down on each side on the lower pivots so that a section is obtained which is very
easily transported. A further modification of this arrangement, which would permit
the employment of long sections, consists in cutting off the inclined rods of the
frames just above the point were they meet and in applying to the contiguous ends a
suitable tube shaped cross piece or connection which can be secured to the same by a

page_text: F
wedge or other similar device. A sec'ion having such supports does not take up more
space in transport than an ordinary transportable railroad section.
In some cases I form the frames of T-iron and rivet the cross piece or connection to
the side bars of the frame.
The crosspiece or upper connection may be formed in one piece with one of the
inclined side bars of the frame the other side bar being detachably connected to the
said crosspiece preferably at the bend in the same.
In a further inodification I form the support of a frame erected upon a lengthened
middle sleeper by means of sockets into which its lower ends fit or by other suitable
means, the said frame being stiffened by struts which connect it with the two outer
sleepers by means of lugs. In this case, also, transport is facilitated by turning down
the frame and struts.
In some cases I provide the necessary rigidity against movement, that is to say,
movement in the direction of the rails by connecting the support with two different
sleepers so that the crosspiece or upper part of the frame takes an inclined position,
that is to say, diagonally from one sleeper to another.
In an arrangement of this kind two adjacent sleepers are lengthened on opposite
sides of the track and the support is attached to their ends, the connection being
made for instance by means of a socket and wedge. The uppermost point of the
support, which may, for instance, be formed in two parts, is situated vertically above
the centre of the railway track and to the said point the insulating device for the
conductors is fitted.
In another construction of my invention the sleepers carrying the supports are not
lengthened as in several of the other arrangements. In this construction the support
is formed in three parts, namely, two bars or struts and a central connection. The
bars or struts consist of vertical rods which are bent below at right angles so that the
lower horizontally bent ends, each of which is provided with a notch for the foot of
the rail, pass under the rails inside the track. The inner ends of the said supports
are pushed under the rails until the notches enclose the rail and they are then rigidly
connected with sleeper and rail by means of bolts. When employing sleepers having flat
lower flanges or feet the horizontal ends of the supports are correspondingly altered
in shape so that their connection with the sleeper can be quickly and securely
effected.
Instead of connecting the conductor supports to the sleepers the said supports can,
as hereinbefore mentioned, be connected to the rails. In this case I may secure the
support for the conductors, which support is preferably formed of U-iron, to the rails
by means of clamping plates and bolts in the same manner as they are connected to
the sleepers.
Improvements in Portable Electric Railways with Overhead
Conductors.
I, ARTHUR KOPPEL, of 32, Dorotheenstrasse, Berlin, in the German Empire,
Manufacturer, 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 aud
by the following statement :-
In portable railways
that is to save in railways which it is often nococcors
to

page_text: transport from one place to another, it is of great importance to be able to accomplish
the removal and transport of the same as easily and as quickly as possible. This
essential requirement cannot be fulfilled with such railways driven by electrical
power if the supports for the conductors are erected in the ground near the rails as
in such a case the said supports must be removed from the ground every time the
railway is moved.
In order to overcome these disadvantages I attach the overhead conductors to
supports which are rigidly or pivotally connected to the sleepers or rails of the rail-
road in such a manner that it is rendered possible to easily erect, take down and
transport the railway and conductors and at the same time obtain the necessary
stability and security.
The connection of the supports for the conductors with the sections of the railway
and also the particular construction of the supports can be modified in various ways.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is an end elevation; and,
Figure 2 a side elevation of a support for the conductors made in accordance with
my invention.
Figure 3 is a plan; and,
Figure 4 a perspective view thereof:
Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 are views similar to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively of a
slightly different construction of a support:
Figures 9, 10, 94 and 10 are views of details:
Figure 11 is a perspective view (drawn to a smaller scale) of a section of a railway
constructed according to my invention:
Figures 12, 13 14 and 15 are views similar to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively of
a further construction of conductor support:
Figures 16, 17 and 18 are views similar to Figures 1, 2 and 3 respectively of another
arrangement:
Figure 19 shews three views of a detail drawn to a larger scale :
Figures 20, 21 and 22 are views similar to Figures 1, 2, and 3 respectively of a
further construction of support :
Figure 23 is an end view of another arrangement:
Figure 24 is a vertical section; and,
Figure 25 a horizontal section thereof; and,
Figure 26 is a view of a detail drawn to a larger scale.
In the construction of my invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 I provide a support
resembling a frame which is constructed as follows:-The middle sleeper A of a rail
section, which sleeper is connected with the rails in the usual manner, is, at a
convenient distance from the centre of the rails, bent upwards on each side, has its
two upwardly bents ends connected by a semicircular head-piece or cross-piece H and
is strengthened on each side by two wires B which may be secured to a common
hook I on the head-piece or cross-piece H and to the outer sleepers. The middle
sleeper of the support, instead of being shaped as a sleeper, can have any other
suitable form.
This conductor support can be easily carried by two or four men according to the
weight of the rails employed and can be without difficulty transported as mounted
rail sections to the place where the railway is to be erected and can there be. connected
together.
In the arrangement shewn in Figures 5 to 8 of the drawings each of the two
outer lengthened sleepers & carries at its ends a pivoted bent frame of gas pipe or of
round or figured iron. These frames are so shaped that their upper parts b which are
bent to a semicircle, come in contact with one another and are held vertically over
the short middle sleeper, whilst the inclined lower portions C of the said frames serve
to provide the necessary lateral support. The upper parts are held together by means
of clamps or the like.
This form of support can also be very advantageously employed for long sections;
should the clamps be detachably or similarly formed the half supports can be turned

page_text: down on each side on the lower pivots so that a section is obtained which is very
easily transported. A further modification of this arrangement, which would permit
the employment of long sections, consists in cutting off the inclined rods C of the
frames just above the point where they meet and in applying to the contiguous ends
a suitable tube shaped cross piece or connection which can be secured to the same
by a wedge or other similar device. A section having such supports does not take up
more space in transport than an ordinary transportable railroad section.
In some cases I form the frames of T-iron as shewn in Figures 9 and 10 and rivet
the cross-piece or connection b¹ to the side bars C¹, C¹ of the frame.
The cross-piece or upper connection 62 may be formed in one piece with one of the
inclined side bars c² of the frame as shewn in Figures 9 and 10 the other side bar
being detachably connected to the said cross-piece preferably at the bend in the same
as shewn at v.
In the construction shewn in Figures 12, 13, 14 and 15 I form the support of a
frame Derected upon a lengthened middle sleeper by means of sockets into which
its lower ends fit or by other suitable means, the said frame being stiffened by struts E
which connect it with the two outer sleepers F, F by means of lugs g.
In this case,
also, transport is facilitated by turning down the frame and struts.
In some cases I provide the necessary rigidity against movement, that is to say,
movement in the direction of the rails by connecting the support with two different
sleepers so that the cross-piece or upper part of the frame takes an inclined position,
that is to say, diagonally from one sleeper to another. This is shewn in
Figures 16, 17 and 18.
In this arrangement two adjacent sleepers are lengthened on opposite sides of the
track and the support B is attached to their ends, the connection being made for
instance by means of a socket C and wedge c. The uppermost point of the support,
which may, for instance, be formed in two parts, is situated vertically above the
centre of the railway track and to the said point the insulating device for the conductors
is fitted.
In the construction of my invention illustrated in Figures 20 to 22 the sleepers
carrying the supports are not lengthened as in several of the other arrangements, but
each support is formed in three parts, namely, two bars or struts B¹ and a central
connection D. The bars or struts B₁ consist of vertical rods which are bent below at
right angles so that the lower horizontally bent ends, each of which is provided with
a notch for the foot of the rail, pass under the rails inside the track. The inner ends
of the said supports are pushed under the rails until the notches E enclose the rail
and they are then rigidly connected with sleeper and rail by means of bolts. When
employing sleepers having flat lower flanges or feet the horizontal ends of the supports
are correspondingly altered in shape so that their connection with the sleeper can be
quickly and securely effected.
Instead of connecting the conductor supports to the sleepers the said supports can,
as herein before mentioned, be connected to the rails. In this case I may, as shewn in
Figures 23 to 26 secure the support B for the conductors, which support is prefer-
ably formed of U-iron, to the rails by means of clamping plates and bolts in the same
manner as they are connected to the sleepers.
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:
1. A portable electrical railway with overhead conductors wherein the conducting
wires are secured to supports which are rigidly or movably connected with the sleepers
or rails of the railway, substantially as herein before described.
2. A portable electrical railway of the kind described in Claim 1 in which the
supports for the conducting wires are secured to the middle sleeper and are stiffened
by wires or rods, as set forth.
3. A portable electrical railway of the kind described in Claim 1 in which bars

page_text: extend from the ends of the sleepers and are connected together above the railway as
hereinbefore described.
4. A portable electrical railway wherein the support for the conducting wires is
formed of two frames which extend from two sleepers on opposite sides of the railway
so that the said support lies in an inclined position above the rails as set forth.
5. The supports for the overhead conductors of portable electric railways hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the various figures on the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 11th day of October 1897.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.