A NEW MODE OF CONSTRUCTING RAILWAYS SPECIALLY INTENDED TO BE EMPLOYED FOR THE TRANSIT OF CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES MOVED OR PROPELLED BY HUMAN POWER
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Morrison, of No. 10, Arlington Square, New
North Road, Islington, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "A NEW MODE OF CONSTRUCTING RAILWAYS SPECIALLY INTENDED TO BE
EMPLOYED FOR THE TRANSIT OF CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES MOVED OR PROPELLED
BY HUMAN POWER,"
Sealed the 26th November 1855, and dated the 28th May 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Morrison at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th May 1855.
I, JOHN MORRISON, of No. 10, Arlington Square, New North Road, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "A NEW MODE OF CONSTRUCTING RAILWAYS SPECIALLY INTENDED TO BE EMPLOYED
FOR THE TRANSIT OP CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES MOVED OR PROPELLED BY HUMAN
POWER" to be as follows:-
- This Invention-consists, firstly, in so constructing a single or double line of
rails as that it shall present an uneven or undulating surface for the wheels of
carriages or vehicles moved or propelled by human power to run upon, instead
of laying the rails as nearly level as is compatible with the uneven natural
surface of the ground selected for the construction of the line, as heretofore
practised in the construction of railways on which locomotive engines are
employed, as heretofore cominonly practised.
And, secondly, in the use and employment of four-wheel carriages or vehicles
of similar construction to those extensively used on common roads, and well

page_text: known by the name of pedomotive and manumotive carriages, from the
circumstance of their being moved or propelled by the hands or feet of the
person to be carried.
And although this Invention is designed more particularly for the use of
persons as a source of amusement, at the same time it may be used with
advantage and will be found to answer well for conveying persons and light
travelling luggage from villages contiguous to or not very far from a main
line of railway upon which locomotives run, and more particularly at those
parts of such line where the traffic would not be sufficient to pay the expense
of running a locomotive upon a branch line.
And I would here remark, that as the amount of undulation of the line
will depend in a great measure upon the purpose to which it is to be applied,
or, in other words, upon the nature of the traffic, it will be sufficient for the
explanation of this Invention to state that the rails are laid in the form of a
series of inclined planes, inclined in opposite directions; that is to say, for
a given distance the rails will be inclined or slope upwards, and then for an
equal distance they will incline or slope downwards, and this will be continued
throughout the whole line of rails at equal distances, or nearly so; the intention
being to facilitate and assist the movement of the carriages or vehicles thereon
when once set in motion, by reason of the impetus which the carriages have
acquired in moving down the inclined portions of the line, assisting in moving
the carringes up the adjoining inclines, and this in proportion to the velocity of
motion of such said carriages or vehicles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Morrison in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th November 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MORRISON, of No. 10, Arlington Square, New North Road, Islington, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letter.
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Morrison, Her special licence that I, the said John Morrison, y
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Morrison, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW MODE OF CONSTRUCTING
RAILWAYS SPECIALLY INTENDED TO BE EMPLOYED FOR THE TRANSIT OF CARRIAGES OR
VEHICLES MOVED OR PROPELLED BY HUMAN POWER," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Morrison, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Morrison, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists, firstly, in so constructing a double line of rails as
that it shall present an uneven or undulating surface for the wheels of
carriages or vehicles moved or propelled by human power to run upon,
instead of laying the rails as nearly level as is compatible with the uneven
natural surface of the ground selected for the construction of the line, as
heretofore practised in the construction of railways on which locomotive engines
are employed, as heretofore commonly practised.
And, secondly, in the use and employment of four-wheel carriages or
vehicles of similar construction to those extensively used on common roads,
and well known by the name of pedomotive and manumotive carriages, from
the circumstance of their being moved or propelled by the hands or feet of the
person to be carried.
And although my said Invention is designed more particularly for the use
of persons as a source of amusement, at the same time it may be used with
advantage and will be found to answer well for conveying persons and light
travelling luggage from villages contiguous to or not very far distant from a
main line of railway upon which locomotive engines run, and more particularly
at those parts of such line where the traffic would not be sufficient to pay the
expense of running a locomotive engine upon a branch line.
And I would here remark, that as the amount of undulation of the line will
depend in a great measure upon the purpose to which the line is to be applied,
or, in other words, upon the nature of the traffic, it will be sufficient for the
explanation of my said Invention to state that the rails are laid in the form of
a series of inclined planes in opposite directions; that is to say, for a given

page_text: distance they will incline or slope upwards, and then for another equal distance
they will incline or slope downwards, and this will be continued through-
out the whole line of rails at equal distances, or nearly so; the intention
being to facilitate and assist the movement of the carriages or vehicles thereon
when once set in motion, by reason of the impetus which the carriages will
have acquired in moving down the inclined portions of the line, assisting in
moving the carriages up the adjoining inclines, and this in proportion to the
velocity of motion of such said carriages or vehicles.
And in order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I will
now proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with of carrying the
same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Drawings
annexed to these presents, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference
marked thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a Diagram illustrative of the mode of laying rails according to
this Invention; Figures 2 and 3 respectively exhibit a top plan view and
transverse section of one-half of the entire length of an endless double railway.
specially intended to be used as a source of amusement; Figure 4 is a detached
portion, hereafter referred to. At each of the foregoing Figures I employ
similar letters of reference to denote corresponding parts, in so far as such parts
appear or can be seen at each of the said Figures respectively.
At Figure 1, A, A, represents the direction in which the rails are arranged
or disposed longitudinally, said rails being constructed for the sake of economy
in the manner exhibited in cross section at Figure 8; at which said Figure,
B is a piece of timber or plank of about twelve feet long; these I place end to
end throughout the entire length of the proposed line of rails, and support them
at or near their points of junction upon transverso pieces of timber a, termed
"sleepers" to which the planks B are firmly bolted, or otherwise securely
fixed, in the manner usually practised in the construction of railways. In
laying these planks, I propose to give them a rise of about three inches in
every eighty or one hundred feet, more or less, of such said planking, and a
corresponding fall to the adjoining eighty or one hundred feet, or thereabout,
and so on, for each incline throughout the entire length of the proposed line;
and if the natural surface of the ground upon which the line is to be formed
is much out of a level with the horizon, I then trim it until I got it sub-
ciently level for practical purposes, observing that the nearer the bases of the
several inclines are to a level, the more perfect will be the effect of the impetus
of the carriages thereon when turning in the opposite direction to that in

page_text: which they first moved. Having thus secured the several lengths of planks,
I next proceed to connect the rails thereto, as follows:-I take a piece of
timber B, about twelve feet long and one inch and a quarter square, of such
quality as will cast or twist the least, and this I place upon the planks B so as
to break joint therewith, that is to say, the ends of the piece B' come to about
the middle of the entire length of two adjoining planks, (as at Figure 4,) and
in this position I securely fix by screws or other convenient fastenings the piece
B' to the planks B, B, at about the middle of the width thereof, and in this
manner I proceed to connect the pieces B' to the several planks B throughout
the entire length of the proposed line, and if necessary I leave sufficient spaco
between the ends of the timbers to allow the same to expand and contract
freely; I then tako a piece of wrought bar iron C of good quality, and about
twelve feet long by one inch and a quarter wide, more or less, and this I
fix by screws placed at suitable distances asunder to the piece of timber
B', breaking joint therewith, as before stated with reference to the timbers
B and B'; and in this manner I proceed throughout the entire length
of the proposed line, also leaving space between the ends of the several
bars of iron for expansion and contraction, as at Figure 4. In constructing
an endless railway, as at Figure 2, the curves D, D, at the extremities thereof
will require the timbers B and B' to be bent to suit the desired curvature
of the line, which may be done by any of the known methods of bending
timber. The bars C must also be shaped to the curvature of the timber
before being fixed thereto. The planks B, B, at these curved parts may,
however, for the sake of economy be in snitable short straight lengths, con-
nected together in any convenient manner. I propose also that the curved
portions of the line of railway between the points A and B should be as
near as may be level, and that the first length of incline adjoining the
aforesaid curved portions should descend therefroin, in order that the impetus
of the moving carriage or vehicle as it ascends the same may be sufficiently
checked by the time it comes upon the level part of the curved extremities
of the line, either to slacken the speed of the carriages or to stop them easily,
if required.
And I would here remark, that I do not intend to limit or confine myself to
the above mode of connecting the several parts together, as other modes might
be adopted equally efficient, and have only given the above as an example of
what I believe to be a cheap modo of constructing a line of railway on the
principle of my said Invention, as above stated.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention of "A New Mode of Constructing Railways specially intended to be

page_text: employed for the Transit of Carriages or Vehicles moved or propelled by
Hunan Power, together with the best means I am acquainted with for
carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that what
I claim as my Invention is, the mode above set forth and described of con-
structing undulating railways, when such railways are to be used in com-
bination with carriages or vehicles moved or propelled by human power, as
above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Morrison, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
BENJ BROWNE,
2, Studley Road, Stockwell.
JOHN MORRISON. (L.B.)