IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED WITH MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE LOADING OF OCEAN GOING STEAMERS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Taylor of Penarth in the County of Glamorgan
for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN OR CONNECTED WITH MEANS OR
APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE LOADING OF OCEAN GOING STEAMERS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Taylor at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th Juno 1883.
GEORGE TAYLOR of Penarth in the County of Glamorgan "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OR CONNECTED WITH MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE LOADING of
OCEAN GOING STEAMERS.”
33
My Invention comprises improved apparatus and appliances for facilitating the
operations associated with the loading of ocean going steamers with coal at various
hatchways or places of the same steamer simultaneously.
The Invention relates partly to improvements on the system of apparatus
described in the specification of former Letters Patent granted to me (No 5727 of
1882) and the present Invention has for one of its objects to provide improved
means for bringing waggons from either high or low level railways to staiths and
shipping appliances to enable the loading of individual ocean-going steamors at
various hatchways at the same time. By my present Invention a reduction of the
height of the staith from its base and also in its weight is effected and instead of
cach staith requiring independent hoisting apparatus for lifting waggons from a
low level, a single hoisting apparatus will suffice for two or more staiths. By my
Invention moreover the loaded waggons are discharged in closer proximity to the
hatchways and as they may be tilted at a lower altitude less hoisting is required.
The length of the shoot may also be reduced the amount of breakage of the coal
is thereby reduced.
In carrying out my Invention I employ a specially arranged staging extending
along the dock or wharf, and of a height adapted for the loading of ocean-going
steamers. On this staging are lines of rails for the passage of waggons. Turn-
tables or traversers for turning or transferring the waggons into the proper
direction for being discharged at staiths or shipping apparatus connected with the
staging and for taking them away therefrom are provided either in association
TD 0.71

page_text: with the staging or with the staiths. These turntables are portable and capable of
being placed upon the said railways or upon the staging in a position to suit the
movable staiths and shipping apparatus hereinafter referred to. The railway lines
may be of an ordinary description, and in that case I adopt turntables similar to
that described in the specification above referred to but I may combine two turn-
tables together 1 prefer however that sections or lengths of portable railway
should be employed capable of being adjusted to fill up the varying spaces inter-
vening between the movable staiths or shipping apparatus and turntables and of
being secured by guides, grooves, or other means either upon rollers fixed on the
staging at short spaces apart or upon the staging or a permanent way laid theroon
so that the rails and the turntables and staiths connected therewith may have a
_continuous-rail-surface-or-level. The-loaded-waggons-as-above-mentioned-may-be-
brought upon the staging from either a high or a low level. In the former case
they may be transferred to the staging rails by turntables or traversers, or by
railway points, but in the case of a low level I design that they shall be run over
railway lines placed underneath the staging and specially arranged for the purpose
of bringing the waggons to a hydraulic lift or hoist communicating with the rails
on the staging in the proper position to enable them to run on those rails directly
they are lifted to the same level. When raised the waggons are taken on the
rails of the staging to a staith or other shipping apparatus and discharged, after
which they are passed onto a second line of rails and taken to a counterbalance
platform which may be placed alongside that of the hydraulic lift and are lowered
down to the rails on the low level to bo conveyed away. The platform of the lift
or hoist as well as the counterbalance platform has a turntable upon it so that
waggons may be transferred therefrom to a staith directly alongside. The hoist
and the counterbalance lowering apparatus are placed at intervals so arranged that
cach hoisting ram may supply two or more staiths with loaded waggons and each
counterbalance platform may lower the empty waggons from a corresponding
number of staiths.
My Invention also relates to movable staiths and shipping apparatus adapted for
use in connection with the staging and other apparatus before referred to. These
movable staiths may be similar to the one described in the specification above
referred to, or of any suitable description, but instead of making them portable by
supporting them on wheels, I may do so by mounting them permanently or
temporarily on traversers or carriages, or I may transport them by lifting them by
means of a crane or other machinery and carrying thein from place to place. I have
however designed a movable staith especially for high level stagings and other
purposes. This staith is of rectangular form suitably supported on wheels or other-
wise rendered portable either way along the staging on which it is placed for uso
at varying points to suit the hatchways of the steamers. The staith may be con-
structed to span either one or two lines of railway and is so arranged as to leave a
clear space for waggons to pass through it from either side. The height of the
staith from its base will be considerably less than is necessary for staiths for low
level purposes. Two portable turntables are intended to be used with each staith
and they may be secured to it in a manner that will enable them to be moved
therewith and to be turned up out of the way when not in use or they may be
placed on the staging and be inoved independently of the staith.
I make the turntable next the front of the staith capable of being tilted within
the staith towards the front or either side, and as the waggons run into the staith
at either side, they may be thus tilted towards the opposite side and the load be
discharged into a side receiver or shoot which may convey it direct to the hatch-
way or which can be rotated or traversed towards the steamer on a circular or
other path affixed outside the staith. By tilting in this way the turning of the
waggons that would otherwise be necessary, is avoided. This mode of tilting into
a receiver at either side is also applicable to fixed staiths provided they afford the
waggons side access, or that they can be turned within the saith if they enter at
the back,

page_text: purpose that the turntable next the front of the staith shall be adapted to bo
run out from the staith towards the steamer and that it or a separate platforin
shall be supported by horizontally adjustable girders telescopic or otherwise which
may be moved outwards from the staith, and having appliances and guides by
which a loaded waggon may be carried or projected outwards and be tilted outside
the staith either by lowering the front of the turntable or platform or raising the
back of it. There will also be apparatus for raising the turntable and waggon
whilst within the staith, and for lowering the turntable or platform outside the
staith before the tilting is performed when necessary.
.
A convenient means of raising the platform or turntable which might be
necessary in some cases, as for instance in loading unusually large vessels, consists
in a hydraulic ram so applied as to be capable of raising the shaft on which the
pulleys of the hoisting and tilting chains pass from the platform or turntable to
the counterbalance.
The platform is counterbalanced and is operated upon by brakes or hydraulic
power in such manner as to be maintained in a horizontal position whilst being
raised and lowered with a truck upon it until the motion of one end of the
platform is checked, whereupon the motion of the opposite end is continued for
the purpose of tilting the platform, the counterweights being adjustable so as to
permit of the platform tilting to a definite extent that is to say, the counterweights
connected with the end of the platform opposite the end whose motion was
checked, come into separate action and in conjunction with the brakes and with
the adjustments of the counterweights of the other end of the platform onable tho
tilting to be performed and the horizontal position of the platform to be afterwards
assumed.
Instead of a staith such as that just referred to in which provision is made to
meet the necessities arising where considerable fluctuation exists in the height at
which the process of shipment is carried on, the staith or shipping apparatus to be
used in connection with the staging and turntables and portable railway such as
have been alluded to may comprise girders extending transversely from side to
side of the staging and framed or combined together at their ends a suitable distance
apart. These girders are supported at their ends by carriages which travel on
rails at the sides of the staging and are furnished with weights tending to counter-
balance the girders and enable them to be raised sufficiently high to be moved over
and clear of the portable rails in passing from place to place. When in use these
girders are lowered down into suitable spaces or openings between transverse
beams forming the surface framing of the staging, and the turntables when in
position for use may rest on the surface of, or be attached to, the girders. The
latter are of hollow box pattern and have inside them other girders capable of being
extended outwards and carrying or supporting a platform with rails upon it for
receiving the loaded waggon from the turntable above the girders. The platform
is supported at front by chains passing over pulleys fixed on a protruding end of
the horizontally adjustable girders and at the back by chains passing over pulleys
so supported by wheels or carriages upon the horizontally adjustable girder as to
retain the pulleys in a suitable position at the end of the encasing outer girders
and permit the adjustable girders to be moved inwards or outwards as desired.
These front and back pulleys are arranged to suit for bringing the platform up to
the level of the turntable rails, and the chains passing over them are connected
with counterbalance weights or hydraulic rams to be used for the purpose of
tilting, lowering, and raising the platform. When this staith or shipping apparatus
is not in use, or is being transferred from place to place, the projecting girders can
be moved back into the encasing ones and by letting down the back end of the
platform the latter assumes a vertical position which prevents it from interfering
with vessels or their rigging. If preferred the girders may be supported upon
suitable framing and be kept high enough for loaded waggons to pass underneath
them.
I further propose to use in connection with the turntables and staging and

page_text: railways thereon, a movable shoot or conveyor over which coal may pass to the
steamers hatchways. This shoot or conveyor would either be adjustably supported
at both ends in a portable vertical framing or it would be movably supported at
one end on the staging and at the other by chains connected with the staging or
with a movable vertical support which might be secured to the staging by con-
nections arranged to travel in guides, but in any case the shoot or conveyor would
be portable to enable it to be used conjointly with the other apparatus connected
with the objects of this Invention.
I design further to make the staging turntable next the steamer capable of being
tilted by hydraulic power so that a waggon may be passed onto it and be tilted
and the load discharged into a movable shoot or conveyor suitably placed alongside
the turntable or staging and leading to the steamers hatchway, and in this manner
the loading may be performed when the height of the steamer is such as to suit

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th December
1883.
GEORGE TAYLOR of Penarth in the county of Glamorgan IMPROVEMENTS IN
OR CONNECTED WITH MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE LOADING OF
OCEAN-GOING STEAMERS
My Invention comprises improved apparatus and appliances for facilitating the
operations associated with the loading of ocean going steamers with coal at various
hatchways of the same steamer simultaneously and relates partly to improvements
on the system of apparatus described in the specification of former Letters Patent
granted to me (No 5727 of 1882) and has for its objects to provide improved
means for bringing waggons to staiths and shipping appliances and also to lessen
the height of the staith from its base and to reduce its weight and further to
obviate the necessity for independent hoisting apparatus for each staith for lifting
waggons from a low level.
By this invention loaded waggons may be discharged in close proximity to the
hatch ways and as they may be tilted at a lower altitudo less hoisting is required.
The usual shoot may be dispensed with or its length reduced and the amount of
breakage of the coal is lessened.
The Invention also relates to movable staiths and shipping apparatus for use in
connection with a staging and with hoisting and lowering platforms.
In carrying out the invention I employ a staging extending along the loading
berth. This staging is of a height to suit ocean going steamers, and has on it rails
extending longitudinally for the passage of railway coal waggons. The staging is
constructed to allow waggons to pass along underneath it upon railway lines laid
on the wharf to a platform placed on the top of a hydraulic ram sunk in the ground.
The platform is provided with a turntable onto which a waggon can pass and be
raised from the low level railway on the wharf to the high level rails on the staging
which run in a direction parallel with the loading berth. Waggons thus pass on
to the rails on the staging directly the ram platform arrives at the proper level.
Alongside the hoisting platform is a counterbalanced platform which also has a
turntable upon it and is used with a friction brake for lowering empty waggons
from the staging rails to the low level rails underneath.
In order that the invention may be more readily understood I proceed to describe
it with reference to the accompanying drawings relating to the apparatus and
method that I prefer for carrying it out.
Figure 1 is a side elevation. Figure 2 a plan and figure 3 a front olevation of a
staith for use upon and in connection with the staging alluded to. The staging is
shown in transverse outline by A. B is the wharf the water space being on the
right. C are rails leading to turntables D D' which are supported respectively on
a right angled platform, and are for turning the waggons within the staith. D³ are
chains attached to the corners of the front turntable and passing over pulleys and
guide pulleys E to the pulley E' of the hydraulic ram F, which is used for raising
the turntable when necessary for the purpose of loading exceptionally high vessels
or for lifting the turntable up into the upper part of the staith out of the way.
The turntable in the back part of the staith may also be similarly connected with
the ram. The waggons may enter the staith by passing up short inclines from
ordinary railway lines fixed upon the staging A as described in the specification
filed by me in relation to Letters Patent No. 5727 Deer 1st 1882 or from portable
lengths or sections of railway as described in the specification filed by me in

page_text: relation to Letters Patent No. 1395 16th March 1883. The turntables are not fixed
to the staith but are fitted loosely within the lower horizontal girders thereof. G is
a tipping platform on to which waggons are passed from the matching piece of
the front turntable D'. This platforin has guides G' secured together by braces G
and is supported by chains G2 which pass over pulleys G³ keyed on to shafts G' to
counterbalance weights HH2, the chains froin the front part of the tipping
platform being connected with the heavier weight H' and those from the back part
of the platform passing through openings in the weight, to the weight H³.
These weights and chains and the friction brakes H³ are used for lowering and
tilting the platform in a similar manner to the counterbalance operation described
in the specification filed by me in connection with Letters Patent No. 2696-1883.
Instead of tilting by lowering the front end of the platform the back end may
-be-raised-by-attaching to it by means of a hook or shackle one end of the chain I
which passes over pulleys I¹ to the hydraulic ram 12 to which the other end is
secured. By operating the ram I a portion of the chain I is taken up and the
platform G is tilted. By attaching chains from the four corners of the platform C
to the end of the chain I and operating the ram I the platform may be raised in
a horizontal position so as to suit for receiving the waggon from the front turn-
table D¹ when the latter is raised by the ram F.
A
Figure 4 is a side elevation, Figure 5 a plan, and Figure 6 a part front view of
another form of staith or shipping apparatus for use in connection with a staging
such as that before referred to. A is the outline of the staging. B. B are a pair of
open box girders supported on wheels C, which travel on rails D laid along the
staging. E are box girders sufficiently smaller in size than the girders B to enable
them to be moved telescopically inwards or outwards in the girders B. At the
outward end of the girders E and at the end of the girders B are pulleys E¹, over
which chains E pass through the said girders to the back part of the staith whore
they pass under pulleys E³ over pulleys E keyed onto shaft E to counterbalance
weights F and F¹.
By means of these counterbalance weights and friction brakes acting on the
friction pulleys F waggons passed on to the platform G may be lowered and by
arresting the weight at any given point the platform may be tilted by lowering
its front part. H are chains secured at one end to the front bracket or standard of
the girders B and at the other end to the front part of the girders E to more
securely support the latter when being used. The girders E are traversed in and
out telescopically by means of pinions on short shafts (not shown) mounted above
the middle of the girders B and provided with winch handles the pinions gearing
with racks fixed along the top of the girders E.
I, I, are a pair of hydraulic cylinders and rams attached to the front standards
of the girders B and having chains K passing therefrom over pulleys K¹ and
thence to the back end of the waggons to which they may be hooked or attached
for the purpose of tilting the latter by raising the back end thereof and allowing
the waggon to pivot on its front axle. L is the hatchway of a vessel with a tilted
waggon shewn above in dotted lines.
Figure 7 is a plan and Figure 8 a side elevation of a turntable adapted for use
in connection with the staging before alluded to, and with a movable shoot in
order to effect the turning and tilting of railway coal waggons and the passage of
coal therefrom to the hatchways of the steamers. This turntable has a supporting
box girder foundation or framing A having at its centre an inverted conical
opening into which the turning pin B works. This turning pin has a conical
point at its lower end to guide it into the central position in the conical opening
or recess when the turning platform is being lowered upon the supporting frame.
At the end C a segment of the circular turning platform is cut off in order to
steady the turning platform when being tilted as hereafter described. A space is
left between the end C and the raised stop C¹ for the insertion of a triangular
block of wood C² to form a stop for taking the thrust of the turning plate in the
operation of tilting. At the back of the supporting frame is a pair of hydraulic

page_text: rains D. To each of the pulleys E is attached a chain which passes under
pulley E over the ram pulley E under guide pulley E³ on one side of the
supporting frame to the opposite side of the supporting frame then under guide
pulley E over ram pulley E and is secured to the cylinder of the said ram.
Each of these chains is thus subject to the two rams and when the latter are
operated the shaft G to which the two drums H are keyed revolves and raises tho
girder I by chains attached thereto and winding on the drums the girder I carrying
with it the girders and rails K on which the waggon stands thereby tilting the
saine. At each of its four corners this apparatus is provided with wheel's upon
which it can be moved from place to place along the staging in order to put it into
position as required alongside a hatchway. The side with the stop C₁ is next to
the water space of the dock and waggons are passed on to the turntable either
from portable railways or from short inclines leading from ordinary railway lines.
When upon the turning platform the waggon is turned thereon with its proper
end towards the dock so that it may be tilted for the purpose of loading ocean
going steamers. The turntables and tipping platforms hereinbefore referred to
have the usual stops to retain them and the waggons in position and the hydraulic
machinery is supplied with pressure water by connections such as are usual for
portable hydraulic machinery. The supporting platform of the tilting turntable
has guides affixed for keeping it in position for receiving waggons from the
railway rails in connection with which it is used. When laid on an ordinary railway
and used with inclines the frame A would be packed up from below the blocks
where necessary. The tilting rails and girders K are secured together by transverso
girders K, and are kept in position on the girder I by pins inserted in the holes K³.
When a shoot is required it would bo hinged to the frame A beyond the stop C¹
and would be held in position by any suitable means and turned up or allowed to
hang down out of the way when not in use.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same I declare that what I claim as the Invention to bo protected by tho
hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is:
1 The combination and arrangement of machinery or apparatus substantially
as herein described and partly shown in figures 1, 2 and 3 for effecting the
transfer of coal from railway waggons to the hatchways of ocean going steamers,
such machinery or apparatus consisting of portable staiths travelling on an clevated
staging having railways laid on it and a hoisting and lowering apparatus for
transferring the waggons to and from said staging, whereby one hoist is able to
serve for more than one staith.
2nd The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the staith
substantially as herein described and shown in figures 1, 2, & 3.
3rd The combination and arrangement of apparatus for shipping coal from
railway waggons substantially as herein described and shown in figures 4, 5 and 6.
4th An apparatus for shipping coal from waggons consisting essentially of a
horizontal and telescopically extending, travelling frame substantially as described
and shown in figures 4, 5 and 6, provided with any suitable tipping gear
5th The combination of portable turning and tilting table and tipping gear
substantially as herein described and shown in figures 7 and 8.
In witness whereof I the said George Taylor have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twenty seventh day of December A.D. 1883.
MAVron