IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIP RAILWAYS AND CARRIAGES, AND IN MEANS FOR RAISING AND TRANSFERRING VESSELS THERETO
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Buchanan Eads, temporarily of the Royal Hotel,
Blackfriars in the City of London, Civil Engineer for an Invention of
“IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIP RAILWAYS AND CARRIAGES,
AND IN MEANS FOR RAISING AND TRANSFERRING VESSELS THERETO "
;
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Buchanan Eads at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th November 1883.
"
JAMES BUCHANAN EADS temporarily of the Royal Hotel, Blackfriars in the City
of London, Civil Engineer IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIP
RAILWAYS AND CARRIAGES, AND IN MEANS FOR RAISING AND TRANSFERRING
VESSELS THERETO
."
-
This invention relates to improved means for raising ships of any tonnage from
the water, on cradles over ship carriages adapted to run upon two or more lines
of rails and for lowering them upon those carriages in such a manner as to
maintain each of the said ships in proper position and distribute its weight
uniformly over all the wheels of the carriage ready for transportation thereon over
lines of railway.
One object of the invention is to ensure during the lifting operation such a
distribution of pressure under keel and bilges of the vessel by means of a secondary
series or system of hydraulic rams of short stroke, forming a part of the lifting
platform of the dock and acting on the cradle upon the carriage, as will properly
support all parts of the hull upon that cradle, and will maintain the vessel in
proper position, or will enable the operator to trim the vessel to a horizontal
position-on-the-cradle; if it is out of trim by reason of unequal distribution of the
cargo, or other causes.
Another object of the invention is to effect the transfer of the weight of the
said vessel when lifted on the cradle over the carriage, from the secondary rams,'
to the framework of the carriage, without materially altering the said distribution
of the supporting pressures, or allowing the ship to tilt from its proper position;
and to secure the vessel in position upon the said carriage with its weight uniformly
[Price 11

page_text: $
distributed over the carriage and all of the wheels on which it is mounted, so that
one shall not carry more than another.
The invention also relates to improvements in the construction of the platform
and framework of lifting docks, and their combination with equalizing trusses,
hydraulic governors, the railway tracks and the secondary system of hydraulic
rams, and also to improvements in ship carriages and cradles acting in connection
with the lifting platform and with the secondary system of hydraulic rams, for the
purpose of loading the vessel upon the carriage at the same time that it is being
raised out of the water, and of distributing and equalizing the weight of the ship
upon the cradle and carriage and the wheels upon which the said carriage is
mounted.
The invention also relates to a novel construction of transfer platform or table
for ship railways, forming a section of the line or lines of rail, the object in view
being to provide improved facilities for enabling two carriages for ships, or two
ships mounted on carriages, together with the locomotives which draw them, to
pass one another on a single line railway.
The invention further relates to a novel construction of turntable for ship
railways, the object in view being to provide safe and reliable means for deflecting
vessels mounted on wheeled carriages, and their locomotives, on to other lines or
sections of the same line at an angle to their previous line of travel.
For raising vessels out of the water I employ the well known hydraulic lifting
dock in which a series of vertical rams is arranged along each side of the dock,
which rams will hereafter be called the primary rams, and which operate by
suitable suspension rods or bars to raise and lower a platform of iron girders.
When lifted to the proper height, movable supports, guided by suitable bearings,
are projected under the lifting platform relieving the primary hydraulic rams and
cylinders of their load, and carrying it directly to the foundations and thereby
bracing the platform and holding it steady for the ship carriage to run on or off.
The iron girders or floor beams of the platform I connect and attach to a deep
bridge truss on each side, running along in front of the primary lifting rams, and
close up against them, The trusses are of such proper form and strength as will
suffice to distribute the effect of one sided or partial loading of the lifting platform
over all the primary rams, and I control the motion of the suspended lifting dock
thus connected into a rigid system by an hydraulic automatic governor at each of
the four corners, each governor consisting of two pairs of hydraulic cylinders; one
pair inverted over or against the other, and all of equal diameter and stroke.
These cylinders and their pipe connections are filled with water. When the dock
is in motion the plungers of two of the hydraulic cylinders at each corner move
inwards, displacing their contents, while the plungers of the two others move
outwards, increasing the contents of their cylinders by equal amounts. The two
pairs of hydraulic cylinders of each corner are connected, one with the directly
opposite corner and the other with the transversely opposite corner, in such a way,
that the displaced water from the plungers moving into the cylinders at one
corner fills the displacement created by the withdrawal of the plungers at opposite
corners. In this way the four corners of the dock check and govern the amount
of each others motion.
Under equal and uniform loading of the dock, when neither side or corner has
to overcome greater resistances than the other, the governor cylinders have no
pressures to transmit to each other but simply fill each others displacement; but
in the event of partial or unequal loading, these governing cylinders will supply
the necessary force to keep the dock in perfect level, by drawing on the surplus
pressure developed by the primary hydraulic rams of the lifting dock at one side
or end of the dock where such pressure is in excess, and transmitting it to the
other side or end where it is wanted. At each or either end of the stroke, when
the dock is at rest the governor cylinders and their pipe connections can be
connected with a water pipe which supplies all leakage by gravity only, as they
are then under no pressure.

page_text: The platform of the lifting dock by which the vessels are raised I frame with
transverse and longitudinal girders, so as to support a secondary series or system
of hydraulic rams or presses of short stroke, and also the railway tracks. The
secondary hydraulic rams are independent of the primary lifting rams of the dock,
they move up and down with the platform and its equalizing trusses, together with.
the engine, pumps and connections for working the secondary system, the purpose
of which is to move the cradle supports on top of the ship carriage against the
ship's bottom at the keel, and bilges, and to sustain the weight of the ship on the
cradle above the carriage, and to distribute the sustaining pressures uniformly over.
its length, and thus carry the ship while it is being raised out of the water." The
rams are arranged in three rows under the keel and bilges of the ship, and are
connected into three batteries to prevent tilting and to enable the operator to.
rotate the ship around its longitudinal and its transverse axis for the purpose of
righting it. The pipe lines leading to the rams may be variously connected so that
each system of rams may be moved by itself, or any two or all of them simul-
taneously, and may thus set the supports of the cradle against the bottom of the
vessel floating over it. The rams are spaced equal distances apart longitudinally
and correspond in their position with the supports of the cradle and carriage over
it. At the ends of the ship, both fore and aft, there is but one row of keel rams;
supporting the vessel, while amidships, and as far as the shape of the ship's bottom
admits of it, there are three or more rows of rams, one under the keel or centre,
and one or two rows under each of the bilges, and one or both outside rows
arranged to connect with the centre ones.-The sectional area of every keel ram at
each end, however, is equal to the combined areas of the three or more rains of a
mid-ship section, and the pressures supporting the vessel, as it is being raised out
of the water and while being supported on those rams, are thus of equal amount.
over each cross section of the ship.
Upon the lifting platform of the dock I provide two or more lines of rails as a
track for the ship carriage to run on, and when the carriage is properly placed in
position the downward extensions of the cradle passing through the framework of
the carriage and being guided thereby, are precisely over the secondary rams
framed into the platform. In this position also, the crossbeams of the carriage, or
some of them, fit between side and end supports provided on the platform, and the.
carriage is thereby guided and held in proper position, and it can be locked and
held in such position so as to prevent any motion taking place sideways or endways
until such locks are withdrawn.
The ship carriage I construct as an iron framework of transverse and longitudinal.
girders, braced and connected together, and resting through intervening steel.
springs upon wheels arranged for two or more lines of rail, and placed together as
closely as is convenient or necessary, so as to limit the weight resting upon each
wheel to the desired amount. Each wheel has its independent axle and two axle-
boxes, and does not connect with the opposite wheel; but each two wheels adjoining
are coupled together by a frame uniting their axle boxes, and each pair of such
frames opposite each other is coupled together into a truck of four wheels by means
of a connecting I beam against which the frames of the axle boxes brace and which
keeps them in their true position. Each truck of four wheels so formed is hinged
to the adjoining transverse girder of the carriage frame, and this arrangement
admits of a perfect adjustment of each wheel to the rail, while otherwise the truck
and the wheels are held square to the frame-work of the carriage..
The truck also carries the springs, (usually one for each wheel), which support
the transverse girders by means of their longitudinal connections. The ship
carriages will be of various lengths to suit the lengths of the ships to be carried,
and will be provided with brakes. The cradles or supports which come in
immediate, contact with the ship's bottom form the uppermost part of the carriage
and are arranged to allow of a free vertical adjustment against the ship's keel and
bilges; and when so adjusted to the ship's bottom can be secured, upon the
transverse girders of the carriage by means of wedge shaped keys and screw nuts.

page_text: forming part of their construction. The cradles carrying the supports of the bilges
rest on levers hinged to the transverse girders near their centre, and extending out
towards the sides of the ship and beyond the transverse girders.-These longi-
tudinal beams or cradles are arranged to slide out or in towards or from the centre,
so as to adjust them to the width of the ship to be carried; and resting upon and
hinged to these beams, for purposes of final adjustment to the ship's shape, are the
supporting blocks which bear directly against the ship's bottom. The iron beams
upon which these supporting blocks rest constitute part of the cradles and are all
connected together longitudinally under each bilge by stout and broad timbers
sufficiently flexible to allow of a close adjustment to the shape of the ship's bilges.
Jointed to the cradle levers at their free ends and passing downwards through the
ends of the transverse girders of the carriage by which they are guided, is a stout
screw for each lever, reaching downward to near the level of the top of the rail,
with a hand wheel and nut near its upper end, forming its support upon the
transverse girder. The lower ends of these screws, when the carriage is in proper
position upon the lifting dock, are precisely over the bilge rams of the secondary
system of hydraulic presses framed in the lifting platform, and upon the lower ends
of these screws the bilge rams act and move them against the ship's bottom, lifting
the levers and with them the hand wheels and nuts off from their bearings on the
transverse girders, and thus support them, holding them until the ship has been
raised out of the water and in such position as to ensure their proper amount of
supporting pressure, each according to the size of the rams; and when the hand
wheels and nuts are run down upon their bearings on the transverse girders (and
the keel supports are keyed, as explained hereafter) and the pressure from the
secondary rams is let off and the rams are withdrawn, the weight they bore will be
borne by the transverse girders of the carriage. The keel supports are iron plates
situate above the centre of the transverse girders of the carriage, having each a
stem partly slotted leading down through the centre of the girder, where it rests
upon and is supported by a wedge-shaped key, also passing through the transverse
girder, and at right angles to it and sliding upon a longitudinal support, while the
slotted stems of the keel supports, straddling the keys, pass down to nearly the
level of the top of the rail, and are precisely over the centre rams of the secondary
system of bydraulic presses when the carriage is in proper position upon the lifting
platform.
These centre rams act upon the stems of the keel supports, lifting them off the
supporting keys and the transverse girders of the carriage, and force them up
against the keel of the ship, and hold them there until the ship has been raised out
of the water, giving each keel support its due amount of pressure according to the
size of the rams, Then the wedge-shaped keys are drawn in until they support
the stems of the keel supports in their position upon the transverse girders of
the carriage, and when the hydraulic pressure is let off, and the centre rams are
withdrawn, the weight which they bore will rest upon the transverse girders of the
carriage.
The connection between the tracks of the lifting dock and the tracks of the
permanent way is made by means of suitable approaches and a landing bridge
overhanging from the approaches to which it is hinged and supported on brackets
when the lifting platform of the dock is down, but resting on the lifting platform
and connecting with the approaches and uniting the tracks when the platform is
raised to its proper level. The approaches between the tracks are properly arranged
so as to clear the overhanging bow and rigging of the ship when moving up and
down.
Referring now to the improvements in ship railways I propose to make a section
of the track movable to run a ship train upon this movable track or platform; to
bodily shift the said track or platform laterally with its ship train upon it, and to
bring into coincidence with the lines of the permanent way a clear section of the
line upon the said table, so as to enable a ship train to pass, while another ship
train or carriage is on the siding.

page_text: To this end the invention consists in a strongly braced riged platform mounted
on wheels or rollers so as to be movable transversely to the main track upon
transverse rails and ironways and operated by the pressure of hydraulic rams or
other suitable machinery and furnished with a double track or two short sections
of the line equal to the length of a ship train, either of which tracks or sections can
be brought into coincidence with the main line.
Referring again to improvements in ship railways, and for the purpose of
deflecting ship trains on to other lines or on to sections of the same line used for
purposes of sidings, or to avoid curves in the main line of the road, I propose to
inake a section of the track movable and by pivotting it either at one end or at the
centre, enable it to move through the arc of a circle. To this end the invention
consists of a system of girders braced together carrying the tracks and supported
on wheels and rollers at. frequent intervals arranged concentrically around the
pivoting centre and moving on concentric lines of rail and iron ways around
that centre in a pit at the rim of which the tracks upon which the ship train is
to be deflected, terminate. To operate this turntable I employ hydraulic machinery
or suitable geared machinery or loaded traction wheels riding upon the concentric
lines of rail and attached to the table and operated by steam power.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Buchanan Eads in the Patent Office on the 24th May 1884.
JAMES BUCHANAN EADS temporarily of the Royal Hotel Blackfriars in the City
of London Civil Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIP-
RAILWAYS AND CARRIAGES AND IN MEANS FOR RAISING AND TRANSFERRING
VESSELS THERETO
"
This Invention relates to improved means for raising ships of any tonnage
from the water on cradles or supports over ship carriages adapted to run upon two
or more lines of rails, and for lowering them upon those carriages in such a manner
as to maintain each of the said Ships in proper position and distribute its weight
uniformly over all the wheels of the carriage ready for transportation thereon over
lines of railway.
"
One object of the Invention is to ensure during the lifting operation such a
distribution of pressure under the keel and bilges of the vessel by means of a
secondary series or system of bydraulic rams of short stroke forming a part of the
lifting platform of the dock and acting on the cradle or framework upon the
carriage, as will properly support all parts of the hull upon that cradle or frame-
work, and will maintain the vessel in proper position or will enable the operator
to trim the vessel to a horizontal position on the cradle, if it is out of trim by
reason of unequal distribution of the cargo or other causes.
Another object of the Invention is to effect the transfer of the weight of the
said vessel when lifted on the cradle over the carriage, from the secondary rams to
the framework of the carriage without materially altering the said distribution of
the supporting pressures or allowing the ship to tilt from its proper position and
to secure the vessel in position upon the said carriage with its weight uniformly
distributed over the carriage and all of the wheels on which it is mounted, so that
one shall not necessarily carry more than another.
The Invention also relates to improvements in the construction of the platform
and framework of lifting docks and their combination for the purposes of this
Invention with equalizing trusses, hydraulic governors, the railway tracks, and the
secondary system of hydraulic rams, and also to improvements in ship carriages
and cradles acting in connection with the lifting platform and with the secondary
system of hydraulic rams for the purpose of loading the vessel upon the carriage at
the same time that it is being raised out of the water, and of distributing and
equalizing the weight of the ship upon the cradle and carriage and the wheels
upon which the said carriage is mounted.
The Invention further relates to a novel construction of turntable for ship
railways the object in view being to provide safe and reliable means for deflecting
vessels mounted on wheeled carriages and their locomotives onto other lines or
sections of the same line at an angle to their previous line of travel.
The nature of my several improvements will be understood on reference to the
accompanying Drawings in which Fig: 1 is an end elevation partly in section of
an hydraulic lifting dock and vessel showing my improved arrangement of lifting
platform and secondary hydraulic rams, and also my improved ship carriage and
cradle or supporting framework, mounted thereon.
Fig: 2 is a plan of the hydraulic dock lifting platform and ship carriage, on a
slightly reduced scale, showing the method of grouping the secondary rams and
the position of the automatic hydraulic governors for steadying the platform.
Figures 3 and 4 show in diagram plan view and end elevation respectively, the
arrangement and connections of these governor cylinders.

page_text: Fig: 5 is a diagramn plan view of the preferred mode of grouping and connecting
the secondary rams on the lifting platform.
Fig: 6 shows in cross section my improved carriage and cradle for supporting
ships on ship railways; Fig: 7 is a partial plan view of the same: Fig: 8 is a
partial side view of the same; Figures 9, 10, 11, and 12 show in plan, partial
plan, side elevation, and central cross section, my improved turntable for deflecting
vessels mounted on wheel carriages, on ship railways.
For raising vessels out of the water I employ the well-known hydraulic lifting
dock in which a series of vertical rams AA is arranged along each side of the
dock, which rams will hereafter be called the primary rams, and which operate
by suitable suspension rods or bars to raise and lower a platform B of iron girders.-
When lifted to the proper height movable supports a, a. guided by suitable
bearings are projected under the lifting platform, relieving the primary hydraulic
rams and cylinders A A of their load, and carrying it directly to the foundations
and thereby bracing the platform B and holding it steady for the ship carriage 0.
to run on or off-The iron girders or floor beams b. b. of the platform B I connect
and attach to a deep bridge truss on each side, running along in front of the
primary lifting rams and close up against them. The vertical members of this
bridge truss are lettered DD on the drawing. The trusses are of such proper
form and strength as will suffice to distribute the effect of one-sided or partial
loading of the lifting platform over all the primary rams AA, and I control the
motion of the suspended lifting dock, thus connected into a rigid system; by
hydraulic automatic governors at each of the four corners (see Figures 2, 3, and 4)
each governor consisting of two pairs of hydraulic cylinders E E and E¹ E¹, one
pair of cylinders being inverted over or against the other and all of equal diameter
and stroke. These cylinders and their pipe connections are filled with water.-
When the dock is in motion the plungers of two of the hydraulic cylinders at
each corner move inwards displacing their contents, while the plungers of the two
others move outwards increasing the contents of their cylinders by equal amounts.-
The two pairs of hydraulic cylinders of each corner are connected the one pair
with a pair at the directly opposite corner and the other pair with a pair at the
transversely opposite corner in such a way that the displaced water from the
plungers moving into the cylinders at one corner fills the displacement created by
the withdrawal of the plungers at opposite corners.-Thus each cylinder E is
connected with an inverted cylinder E at a directly or transversely opposite
corner. In this way the four corners of the dock check and govern the amount
of each other's motion.
Under equal and uniform loading of the dock when neither side or corner has to
overcome greater resistances than the other side or corner, the governor cylinders
"have no pressures to transmit to each other, and simply fill each other's displacement ;
but in the event of partial or unequal loading these governing cylinders will supply
the necessary force to keep the dock in perfect level by drawing on the surplus
pressure developed by the primary hydraulic rams of the lifting dock at one side or
end of the dock where such pressure is in excess, and transmitting it to the other
> side or end where it is wanted. Thus if the lifting platform B of the dock, in
Fig: 4, is descending, and undue pressure is put upon one side or corner (say at
the point W) the water will be forced out of cylinder E on the left and into
cylinder E on the right, thereby tending to keep down the right hand corner or
side of the platform and prevent it from tilting; at the same time water will be
0 drawn into cylinder E¹ on the left and out of cylinder E on the right, thereby
allowing the right-hand corner to descend as rapidly as the left. At each or either
end of the stroke, when the dock is at rest, the governor cylinders and their pipe
connections can be connected with a water pipe which supplies all leakage bý
gravity only, as they are then under no pressure.
5
To the girders b of the lifting platform B on which the vessels are raised, I adapt
longitudinal girders B₁ B' (see Figures 1, 2, and 6) so as to support the secondary
series or system of hydraulic rams or presses F F, of short stroke, and also the

page_text: railway tracks G G.-The secondary hydraulic rams F F are independent of the
primary lifting rams A A of the dock, they move up and down with the platform E
and its equalizing trusses D D together with the engine pumps and connections
for working this secondary system the purpose of which is to move the supports c
constituting a cradle or frame on top of the ship carriage C, against the ship's
bottom at the keel and bilges and to sustain the weight of the ship on the cradle
above the carriage, and to distribute the sustaining pressures uniformly over its length
and thus carry the ship while it is being raised out of the water. The rams are
arranged in rows (there may be three five or more) under the keel and bilges of the
ship and are connected or grouped into batteries preferably three in number to
prevent tilting and to enable the operator to rotate the ship around its longitudinal
and transverse axes for the purpose of righting it.-The pipe lines leading to
the rams are so connected that each system of rams may be moved by itself, or any
two or all of them simultaneously, and may thus set the supports of the cradle
against the bottom of the vessel floating over it.-A convenient way of grouping
"these secondary rams is shewn in the diagram plan view Fig: 5 in which the
"letters X, Y and Z indicate three groups, the rams of each group being capable of
being operated independently of those of the other groups. The rams are spaced
equal distances apart longitudinally and correspond when the cradle and carriage
are in
proper position on the lifting platform with the supports or adjustable frames
thereof. At the ends of the ship both fore and aft there is but one row of keel
rams supporting the vessel, while amidships and as far as the shape of the ship's
bottom admits of it, there are three or more rows of rams one under the keel or
centre and one or two rows under each of the bilges, and one or both outside rows
arranged to connect with the centre ones.-The sectional area of every keel ram at
each end however is equal to the combined areas of the three or more rams of
a midship section, and the pressures supporting the vessel as it is being raised out
of the water and while being supported on those rams are thus of equal amount
over each cross section of the ship.
Upon the lifting platform of the dock I provide two or more lines of rails G G as
a track for the ship carriage C to run on, and when the carriage is properly placed
in position the downward extensions of the cradle passing through the framework of
the carriage and being guided thereby, are precisely over the several secondary
rams FF framed into the lifting platform B.-In this position also the cross beams
of the carriage, or some of them, fit between side and end supports provided on the
platform and the carriage is thereby guided and held in proper position and it can
be locked and held in such position so as to prevent any motion taking place
sideways or endways until such locks are withdrawn.
The ship carriage C (see Figs 1, 6, 7, & 8) I construct as an iron framework of
transverse and longitudinal girders H I braced and connected together and resting
through intervening steel springs K upon wheels L arranged for two or more lines
of rail and placed together as closely as is convenient or necessary so as to limit
the weight resting upon each wheel to the desired amount.-Each wheel has its
independent axle and two axle boxes, and does not connect with the opposite
wheel, but each two wheels adjoining are coupled together by a frame M uniting
the axle boxes, and each pair of such frames M M opposite each other is coupled
together into a truck of four wheels by means of a connecting I-beam N against
which the frames of the axle-boxes brace, and which keeps them in their true
position. Each truck of four wheels so formed is hinged to the adjoining transverse
girder H of the carriage frame and this arrangement admits of a perfect adjustment 5
of each wheel to the rail, while otherwise the truck and the wheels are held square
to the framework of the carriage.
The truck also carries the springs K (usually one for each wheel) which support
the transverse girders H through or by means of their longitudinal connections.
The ship carriages will be of various lengths and widths to suit the lengths of the 5
ships to be carried and may be provided with brakes. The supports c c¹ which
come in immediate contact with the ship's bottom form the uppermost part of the

page_text: the
carriage (see Fig: 1) and are so fitted and arranged as to allow of their free
vertical adjustment against the ship's keel and bilges and when so adjusted to the
ship's bottom they can be secured upon or fixed to the transverse girders of the
carriage C by means of wedge-shaped keys d and screw nuts e forming part of
their construction.-The outer supports or bilge blocks rest on levers C³ hinged to
the transverse girders near their centre and extending out towards the sides of the
ship and beyond the transverse girders.-Resting on the levers C¹ are
longitudinal iron beams or cradles (which may be arranged so as to be moved
when required towards or from the centre so as to adjust them to the width of the
ship to be carried; and resting upon and hinged to these beams for purposes of
final adjustment to the Ship's shape are the outer supporting blocks c¹ which bear
directly against the ship's bottom. The iron beams upon which these supporting
blocks rest constitute part of the cradles and are all connected together longi-
tudinally under each bilge by stout broad timbers shown in section in Fig: 1
sufficiently flexible to allow of a close adjustment to the shape of the ship's
bilges. Jointed to the cradle levers C³ at their free ends and passing downwards
through the ends of the transverse girders H of the carriage by which they are
guided, is a stout screw C³ for each lever reaching downward to near the level of
the top of the rail with a hand wheel and nut e near its upper end forming its
support upon the transverse girder. The lower ends of these screws when the
carriage is in proper position upon the lifting dock are precisely over the bilge
rams of the secondary system of hydraulic presses F F formed in the lifting
platform B, and upon the lower ends of these screws the bilge rams act and move
them against the ship's-bottom lifting the levers C₁ and with them the handwheels
and nuts e off from their bearings on the transverse girders and thus support them
holding them until the ship has been raised out of the water and in such position
as to insure their proper amount of supporting pressure each according to the size
of the rams. The hand wheels and nuts e e are then run down upon their bearings
on the transverse girders H, (the keel supports c being keyed as more fully explained
hereafter) the pressure from the secondary rams is let off and the rams are with-
drawn, the weight they bore being thereupon transferred to and borne by the
transverse girders. constituting the platform of the carriage. The keel supports c
are iron plates situate above the centre of the transverse girders of the carriage
having each a screw stem as above described, or a stem partly slotted leading down
through the centre of a pair of girders where it rests upon and is supported by a
wedge-shaped key d also passing through the transverse girders, and at right angles
to them and sliding upon a longitudinal support. The slotted stems of the keel
supports c straddling the keys d pass down to nearly the level of the top of the
rails and are precisely over the centre rams of the secondary system of hydraulic
presses when the carriage is in proper position upon the lifting platform or dock.
These centre rams act upon the stems of the keel supports lifting them off the
supporting keys and the transverse girders of the carriage, and force them up
against the keel of the ship and bold them there until the ship has been raised out of
the water giving each keel support its due amount of pressure according to the
size of the rams.-Then the wedge shaped keys d are drawn in until they support
the stems of the keel supports in their raised position upon the transverse girders
of the carriage and when the hydraulic pressure is let off and the centre rams are
withdrawn the weight which they bore will be transferred to and rest upon the
transverse girders or platform of the carriage The form of carriage which I prefer
is illustrated at Figs 6, 7 & 8 of the Drawings.
By employing a ship carriage and lifting platform such as that above described
a ship full of cargo may be safely removed from the water, transferred to the
carriage and be securely held thereon without injury to the hull during transport'
over land; while by a reversal of the order of operations above described the
vessel may be transferred from the carriage to the water at the termination of the
transport.
The secondary hydraulic rams by the arrangement above.described apply a self

page_text: t
adjusting pressure to the supports for the hull and distribute it over the entire,
bottom of the ship in such a manner as will avoid injurious straining of the
timbers, while the mechanical devices afford a simple and efficient means of
securing the supports in the positions they have assumed under this self adjustable
pressure of the rams.
In some cases it may be desirable to extend the bilge supports so as to apply a
certain amount of pressure to the lower part of the sides of the vessel.-In this
case I make the supports flexible to adapt them to the curve of the vessel and
connect them by tie rods, struts and braces with the screw threaded stems on which
the outermost secondary rams act.
This arrangement is shewn in Figures 6 and 8 in side and front views
respectively.
The dotted lines in Fig: 6 indicate the position these side or bilge supports
assume when the pressure of the secondary rams is relaxed.
The connection between the tracks of the lifting dock and the tracks of the
permanent way is made by means of suitable approaches.
In connection with my previously described improvements I .propose to make a
section of the track moveable, to run a ship train upon this moveable track or
platform to bodily shift the said track or platform laterally with its ship train upon
it and to bring into coincidence with the lines of the permanent way a clear
section of the line upon the said table, so as to enable a ship train to pass while
another ship train or carriage is on the siding.-For this purpose I make use of a
strongly braced rigid platform mounted on wheels or rollers so as to be moveable
transversely to the main track upon transverse rails and ironways and operated by
the direct pressure of hydraulic rams and furnished with a double track or two
short sections of the line equal to the length of a ship train, either of which tracks
or sections can be brought into coincidence with the main line.
For the purpose of deffecting ship trains on to other lines, or on to sections of
the same line, used for purposes of sidings, or to avoid curves in the main line of
the road I propose to make a section of the track moveable and by pivotting it
either at one end or at the centre enable it to move through the arc of a circle.
The construction and operation of this deflecting table for ship railways will be
understood on reference to Figures 9, 10 11 and 12 of the drawings in which a
centrally pivotted turntable is illustrated in plan partial plan, elevation, and cross
section.
In these figures O indicates the turntable platform formed of a series of girders
braced together and carrying the tracks P.-This turntable is pivotted at o and its
weight is borne by coned rollers Q and groups of wheels R arranged at frequent
intervals to run concentrically around the pivotting centre on corresponding iron
ways q and lines of rail r securely laid on a massive foundation within a pit, at the
rim of which the tracks upon which the ship train is to be deflected, terminate.
To operate this turn table I employ hydraulic machinery or suitably geared
machinery or loaded traction wheels riding on the concentric lines of rail, and
attached to the table and actuated by steam power.
It will be observed that the turntable illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 is
constructed of concentric annular box girders 010¹ and of a rectangular frame
made of longitudinal and transverse girders 02 02 and 03 03 braced together by
diagonal tie rods and mounted to roll upon coned bowles or rollers Q and wheels R.
The coned bowles or rollers are mounted on radial rods or spokes connected with
a collar mounted loosely on the central pivot pin and they constitute with the
hollow box girders 01 0¹ above, and iron ways q below, a complete roller bearing
of great strength and durability.-The wheels are of gradually increasing size
towards the periphery of the turntable and the rails on which they are to run are
laid at a suitable height for each set or ring of wheels.
Further details of construction will be evident from an inspection of the
Drawings.
multinle track
By thus constructing and mounting the turntable carruing n

page_text: I obtain great rigidity in the table itself and an ample wheel base for supporting
and turning the table with its carriage and load.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention of "Improvements in
the construction of ship railways and carriages and in means for raising and
transferring vessels thereto and explained in what manner the same may be
carried into practical effect I wish it to be understood that I claim :-
"
First: The use in connection with ship railways of a rigid lifting platform or
dock operated by primary rams and fitted with secondary rams proportioned and
arranged substantially as described with reference to the drawings, in combination
with a multiple track or section of the line fixed on the lifting platform and a wheel
carriage provided with an adjustable frame or cradle arranged as above described,
whereby the weight of the vessel when lifted on its cradle may be transferred from
the secondary rams to the wheel carriage and uniformly distributed and maintained
thereon as set forth.
Second: The use in combination with a rigid lifting platform or dock for
transferring vessels from the water to a wheel carriage adapted to run on a
multiple track on land, of hydraulic governors constructed and arranged
substantially as described with reference to the Drawings for the purpose of
controlling the motion of the dock and maintaining its horizontality.
Third: In a dock for ship railways the combination with the primary rams A,
lifting platform B, equalizing trusses DD, and a multiple track for the reception of
a wheel carriage such as C, of the hydraulic automatic governor cylinders E E
and E' E and their respective pipe connections, as and for the purpose described
with reference to Figures 2. 3 and 4 of the Drawings:
Fourth: The use in combination with the primary rams A, rigid platform or
dock B for raising and lowering vessels, and automatic hydraulic governor cylinders
such as E E and E¹ E¹ for maintaining the horizontality of the said platform, of
the secondary rams F F arranged in separately controllable groups, as described
with reference to Fig: 5 of the Drawings, whereby provision is made for righting
the vessel and preventing its tilting.
Fifth The use in connection with ship railways of ship carriages each provided
with an adjustable framework or cradle, such cradle being adapted, when the
carriage is in position on the lifting or lowering platform or dock, to be forced up
by hydraulic rams with a uniform pressure against the ships bottom and sides, and
to be locked to and supported on the said carriage by mechanical devices such as
wedge-shaped keys and screw nuts when the pressure of the said rams is relaxed.
Sixth The particular construction and arrangement of wheel carriage and
adjustable framework or cradle described with reference to Figures 1, 6, 7 and 8
of the drawings for the purpose set forth.
Lastly The adaptation to multiple track ship railways of pivotted deflecting
tables constructed and operated substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof I the said James Buchanan Eads have hereunto set my hand
and seal this seventh day of April in the year of our Lord Oue thousand eight
hundred and eighty four.