CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS RELATIVE TO CANALS
Year: 1806

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WOODHOUSE, of Heyford, in the County of Northampton, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twentieth day of February,
in the forty-sixth year of His reign, grant unto me, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said John Woodhouse, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should and lawfully might, during the term of years therein mentioned,
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS RELATIVE TO
CANALS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said John Woodhouse, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, to cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one calendar month next and imme-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW. YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Woodhouse, do hereby declare that my said improvements relative to
canals are described in manner following, and comprized under the four
following heads (viz³):

page_text: rust, the application of certam contrivances for weigning boats, barges, or
other vessels, either loaded or unloaded,
Secondly, in an improved method of conveying, boats, barges, or other
vessels from one level of a-canal to another without the use of locks.
Thirdly, for the application of a signal or telegraph to enable the lock
keepers to inform each other when any boat, barge, or other vessel is, ap-
proaching the locks, whereby very considerable quantities of water may be
saved.
Fourthly, in a new method of raising boats, barges, or other vessels that
are sunk.
.
First, as-to-application of certain contrivances for weighing boats, barges, or
other vessels. I cause an horizontal frame of timber to be erected over a lock,
of sufficient height above the surface of the canal to admit the boats, barges,
or other vessels to pass under it, and of competent strength to support the
weight of the boats, barges, or other vessels, with the cargo, intended to be
weighed. Upon this frame or platform place as many weighing machines, of
the best construction, as are applicable to this purpose, and capable of sus-
taining and weighing the said boats; barges, or other vessels. Let the
weighing machines be so arranged on the frame or platform that chains or
bars depending from the short ends of the levers may form two parallel. rows,
át such a distance asunder as to admit the boat or boats, barge, or other
vessel or vessels intended to be weighed, to pass between them, and in length
somewhat shorter than the boats, barges, or other vessels. Across the bottom
of the lock place as many pieces of timber or iron as there are pairs of chains
or bars depending from the levers of the weighing machines. If these cross
pieces be timber they must be loaded with metal, so as just to sink in water.
To each end of these cross pieces-a-strong chain-must be fastened, and each
of the chains or bars depending from the machines must terminate in a strong
book, and be furnished with an adjusting screw or wedge capable of lengthen-
ing or shortening the bars or chains. When a boat, barge, or other vessell is
intended to be weighed it must be made to swim into the lock, and the cross
pièces drawn up by their chains until they come into contact with the bottom
of the boat, barge, or other vessel. The chains of the cross pieces are then
to be hook'd to the depending bars or chains, and to be made equally tight
by the adjusting screws or wedges. A sufficient quantity of water is then to
be let out of the lock (into a side pond, and when the lock is empty to be let
into the lock again, by which means no water is lost), to leave the boat, boats,
barge, or other vessel or vessels suspended by means of the cross pieces and
chains to the weighing machines. Now, in order to ascertain the whole weight

page_text: sustained, it is only necessary to connect the main levers of all the machines
together by means of a bar or bars, or other obvious means, parallel to their
centres; and a weight or weights suspended from this bar or bars will act at
the same time on all the machines, and indicate the weight of the boat or
boats, barge, or other vessell or vessels, and the cargo. It will be proper to
erect a roof over this apparatus to protect it from being injured by the
weather. When it is expedient to erect án apparatus of this description
where there are no locks, a side lock may be made for the purpose, and the
water drawn out of it, so as just to leave the boat, barge, or other vessel or
vessels suspended; or the boat, barge, or other vessel or vessels may be lifted
out of the water by any other well-known mechanical means, and suspended
underneath the machines, as before described.
Secondly, my improved method of conveying boats, barges, or other
véssels from one level of a canal to another without locks is described as
follows The upper and lower levels of the canal are to be brought to within
such a distance of each other as shall be somewhat more than the length of
the boat; bargė, or other vessel or vessels intended to be conveyed. Each of
the levels are to terminate in two canals, each wide enough to admit the boat;
barge, or other vessel or vessels. The space between the two levels must be
divided lengthwise into two spaces by a wall or partition of timber, of a
sufficient strength, and carried up with the ends and side walls a sufficient
height above the top level to fix the machinery upón; turning a proper arch or
arches in the end wall, next the lower canal, for the boat, barge; or other
vessel or vessels to swim underneath. Each of these spaces must be suffi-
ciently large to admit a water-tight vessel, which I call a conductor, capacious
enough to swim the boat, barge, or other vessel or vessels in. Each of these
conductors must be furnished with a stop gate or paddle at each end; and the
ends of the upper and lower canals must also have stop gates or paddles: The
two conductors must be suspended by a competent number of ropes or chains,
one end of each to be made fast to strong pieces of iron or timber fastened to
the sides of the conductors, and meeting over the centre; and the other ends
fastened to two drums or wheels upon two horizontál shafts. I prefer the flat
rope used for drawing coals. Each drum and shaft should be in several
lengths, connected together so as to form a sufficient length, somewhat more
than the length of the conductor, and to be of a sufficient strength more than
equal to the weight of the conductor when filled with water. These drums
must be of equal diameters, and placed horizontally over the conductors,
parallel to each other. Every other of the ropes fastened to each conductor
must pass over the drum; that is; over the the said conductor, and be fastened'

page_text: to the other drum. For example, if there be for a boat of thirty tons
burthen. thirty ropes to each conductor, cach rope. capable of sustaining the
weight of five tons, fifteen of these ropes belonging to each conductor will be
-fastened to each drum, and the other fifteen ropes of each conductor will pass
over the drum over each conductor respectively. The ropes must be of such
a length that when one of the conductors is opposite the upper level the other
conductor will be opposite the lower level. The druins must be so placed,
that when the ropes are wrap'd round them, the centre of all the ropes wrap'd
upon each other round the drum. shall be over the centre of the conductor
when joined to the upper canal, and the centre of the lower canals must be
under the centre of the first-wrap-of-the-rope round the drum. A counter-
balance to the weight of the ropes is effected by their coiling on the drums.;
and the height of the lift being given, it is easy to find the diameter of the
drums to produce this effect, or one drum, formed of several parts, equal to the
length required, whose centre is over the centre of the partition wall, and of
such a diameter as to extend nearly over. the centres of the conductors, or the
drum may be made smaller and fixed over the centre of the dividing wall, and
small drums, pullies, or rollers fixed so that the ropes may descend! perjen÷
dicularly over. the centre of the spaces in which the conductors rise and fall
-alternately. The ends of the canals must be trucly made, and covered with
leather, which must be stuffed between the. leather and wood to form an
clastic body, so that when the ends of the conductors are forced against them
by a spring or any other contrivance, may be water-tight. To pass a boat,
barge, or other vessel from one level to another, for example, from the lower-
level to the upper level, open the gate or paddle in the lower conductor, and
the corresponding gate or paddle in the lower canal, and swim the boat,
barge, or other vessel into the conductor, which will displace a-quantity of
water from the conductor, equal in weight to the weight of the vessel and
cargo, so that the conductor, with its contents, is exactly of the same weight
whether the boat, barge, or other vessel is in it or not. When the vessel is-
in the conductor, and the gates or paddles shut, the apparatus is to be set-in
motion by a pinion acting in a wheel fixed on the axis of the drum, or by any
other mechanical contrivance; and the top conductor being, with the water in it,
equal to the weight of the lower one, will descend, and the bottom conductor, with
the vessel in it, will rise. When it arrives at the upper level the top conductor
will have descended to the lower level. It is obvious that one vessel may be
lower'd in one conductor while another is rising in the other conductor, since
the equilibrium is not destroyed by the vessel entering the conductor. It may
be expedient to give the descending conductor more weight than the ascending

page_text: one, to produce motion in the apparatus with more ease, which may be
effected by not suffering the descending conductor to go quite so low as to
bring the surface of the water in it to the level of the water in the lower canal,
so that when the paddles are opened a small quantity of water will run out of
the conductor into the lower canal. To stop or prevent this apparatus from
moving with too much velocity, a common break may be applied upon a wheel
fixed upon the axis of the drum, or any other contrivance which will produce
the same effect. The strength of this apparatus, and number of ropes, will
Grooves
depend upon the weight of the vessel intended to be conveyed.
should be made at a small distance from the paddles at the ends of the canal,
and a spare paddle or gate kept, in order that the paddles and grooves, which
are constantly to act, may be kept clean and in good repair. It is necessary
to keep the spaces into which the conductors descend empty, which may be
effected by means of a culvert, or by the application of a pump.
Thirdly, my application of the tellegraph or signal, to the purpose of canal
navigation, will produce a very considerable saving of water in passing locks
when they are so far distant from each other that the lock-keeper cannot seo
the boats from one lock to another; for, since it takes no more water to pass.
a given number of boats, ten, for example, up the locks, and as many down,
provided the pass alternately, then it would to pass ten boats in succession in
either direction by the assistance of the telegraph or signal. The telegraph
or signal may be a straight piece of timber, of sufficient height to be seen by
the next lock-keeper, with a board framed into the upper end of it, about
eighteen inches long and one foot broad, having a round hole cut through it,
about eight inches in diameter, a frame being fixed in the ground to receive
this piece of timber when raised perpendicular, and in which frame it will
turn round. Therefore, when the first lock-keeper has a boat in view upon
the canal, he turns the flat side of the board towards the next lock, which
informs the next lock-keeper that there is a boat coming in that direction.
The middle lock-keepers are furnished with two telegraphs or signals to givo
information each way. By this communication the lock-keepers always know
if there are any boats near, by which means a great deal of water may be
saved. Any other kind of signal or telegraph may be applied to this purpose,
but the above appears to me the simplest.
Fourthly, my method of raising a boat, barge, or other sunken vessel is as
follows: I moor two loaded boats alongside of the sunken vessel, with two or
more pieces of timber long enough to project over each side of the loaded
boats half the breadth of a boat, with a pulley or roller fixed at each end of
the timbers for one or more ropes or chains to pass over, one end of the ropes

page_text: or chains fastened to the boat sunk, and the other end to an empty boat on
the outside of each of the loaded boats. When all these ropes or chains aro
tightened or made fast by unloading tho loaded boats into the empty ones the
sunken boat will thereby be raised.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Woodhouse, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and six.