Improvements in Cars or Apparatus for Carrying Ships or other Large and Heavy Bodies upon Railways.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th May, 1892-Accepted, 25th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cars or Apparatus for Carrying Ships or other
Large and Heavy Bodies upon Railways.
I WALTER ROBERT KINIPPLE of No. 3 Victoria Street in the City of
Westminster Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
The invention relates to cars or apparatus by means of which ships or other
large and heavy bodies may be safely conveyed on railways having curves and
gradients and has for its object to provide improved arrangements or constructions
of such cars or apparatus.
I will refer to the body to be conveyed as a ship which will be understood to
mean also any other article to which the invention is applicable. For the safe
transport of ships on railways provision has to be made for the deviations in a
horizontal plane caused by curvatures of the line and further for the deviations in
a vertical plane caused by the changes of gradient.
:-
Such deviations are provided for in my invention in the following manner viz. :-
I construct a car with a number of wheels proportionate to the dimensions and
weight of the ship to be carried and attach such wheels either singly or in groups
of two or more as trollies, or bogies by means of frame work to a structure
(preferably of iron or steel) of corrugated or partly corrugated form which
structure by means of its corrugated or partly corrugated form will be sufficiently
flexible to adapt itself to the horizontal and vertical deviations of the railway.
On the top of this corrugated or partly corrugated structure I place what I term,
hydrostatic double-ended compensating rocking bellows which contain water or
other fluid and so act that at the changes of gradient of the railway one half of
each bellows would be raised and the other half lowered the bellows thus accomo-
dating themselves to the varying changes' of level and keeping a constant pressure
upon the underside of the structure on top of the bellows for carrying the ship
which structure may be a gridiron. pontoon or platform with or without longitudinal
and cross girders and will be strong and rigid both vertically and horizontally so
that the ship placed upon it will not be subjected to any objectionable straining
action.
At or about the centre of each bellows I provide a saddle having a spherical
surface and a pivot forming together a turntable which would allow the structure
carrying the ship a limited amount of vertical and horizontal movement by which
means on passing round a curve of the railway whilst the wheels and the corrugated
framework connected therewith will adjust themselves perfectly to the curves the
top structure carrying the ship will be free to move slightly horizontally and
vertically on the saddle in each bellows.
For small ships one double ended bellows may be used but for larger ships two
or more may be used.
At the varying changes of gradient causing changes of form of the bellows the
water or other fluid in the bellows will be displaced from one end to the other.
A minimum quantity of water or fluid will thus suffice in connection with this
arrangement and so reduce the dead weight to be carried.
In order to regulate the supporting power of the bellows to suit the varying
weights of ships to be carried I provide in connection with each bellows an adjusting
tank or reservoir or adjusting tanks or reservoirs containing water or other fluid
and I connect them by a pipe or pipes with the bellows and I provide means
whereby such tanks can be raised or lowered in order to obtain a varying head or
pressure of water or fluid in the bellows.

page_text: One of the objects of the adjusting tanks is to raise or nearly raise the rigid
structure carrying the ship from off the spherical saddle and so in conjunction with
the pivot acting as a centre to make the action similar to that of a water borne
turntable.
The sides and ends of the bellows will be closed by a flexible material such as
india rubber or india rubber cloth or leather for example protected from injury by
a casing of leather canvas, chain armour or other suitable material.
To provide for the vertical deviations I may use instead of bellows a series of
cups or hemi-spherical vessels with plungers or trough shaped vessels in either of
which bags or containers filled with liquid are placed such bags being connected
with adjusting tanks such as those hereinbefore referred to.
The whole of the trollies forming the car would be connected together by a
jointed draw bar extending the full length of the car along the centre line
thereof.
To provide for the horizontal deviations instead of employing the horizontal
curvature of the aforesaid corrugated structure I may attach to the under side of
such structure (which may or may not be corrugated) a series of girders or channel
shaped guides extending across the said structure and each pivoted thereto at the
centre of its length so that it may swing freely in a horizontal plane within certain
limits. Such swinging girders form guides for slide bearing blocks attached to the
upper side of the frame work of trollies having two or more wheels.
To each swinging girder there will be a trolly for each line of rails such trollies
preferably not being connected longitudinally. Transversely they might be con-
nected or kept separate as desired.
When the car passes round a curve of the railway each swinging girder will turn
about its pivot so as to be radial to the curve whilst the trollies will slide laterally
and be guided by the bearing blocks sliding inside the grooved girders.
There should be two groups of trollies without swinging girders to which trollies
the said corrugated or noncorrugated structure will be connected by means of pivots
or turntables so that such structure will turn slightly about such pivots and keep
perfectly rigid horizontally on passing round curves.
Dated this 15th day of August 1891.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Oars or Apparatus for Carrying Ships or other
Large and Heavy Bodies upon Railways.
I WALTER ROBERT KINIPPLE of No. 3 Victoria Street in the City of
Westminster Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention relates to cars or apparatus by means of which ships or other large
and heavy bodies may be safely conveyed on railways having curves and gradients
and has for its object to provide improved arrangements or constructions of such
cars or apparatus. I will refer to the body to be conveyed as a ship which will be
understood to mean also any other article to which the invention is applicable. For
the safe transport of ships on railways provision has to be made for the deviations
in a horizontal plane caused by curvatures of the line, and further for the deviations
in a vertical plane caused by the changes of gradient.
Such deviations are provided for in my invention in the following manner viz. :-
I construct a car with a number of wheels proportionate to the dimensions, and
weight of the ship to be carried, and attach such wheels either singly or in groups
of two or more, as trollies, or bogies, by means of framework to a structure
(preferably of iron or steel) of corrugated, or partly corrugated form, which

page_text: tructure by means of its corrugated or partly corrugated form will be sufficiently
lexible to adapt itself to the horizontal, and vertical deviations of the railway.
On the top of this corrugated or partly corrugated structure, I place what I
term, hydrostatic double-ended compensating rocking bellows, which contain water
or other fluid, and so act that at the changes of gradient of the railway one half of
each bellows would be raised, and the other half lowered, the bellows thus accom-
modating themselves to the varying changes of level, and keeping a constant
pressure upon the underside of the structure, on top of the bellows for carrying the
ship, which structure may be a gridiron pontoon or platform with or without
longitudinal and cross girders, and will be strong and rigid both vertically and
horizontally, so that the ship placed upon it will not be subjected to any
objectionable straining action.
At or about the centre of each bellows I provide a saddle, having a spherical
surface and a pivot forming together a turntable which will allow the structure
carrying the ship a limited amount of vertical and horizontal movement by which
means on passing round a curve of the railway, whilst the wheels and the corrugated
framework connected therewith will adjust themselves perfectly to the curves the
top structure carrying the ship will be free to move slightly horizontally and
vertically on the saddle in each bellows.
For small ships one double ended bellows may be used but for larger ships two or
more may be used.
At the varying changes of gradient, causing changes of form of the bellows, the
water or other fluid, in the bellows will be displaced from one end to the other.
A minimum quantity of water or fluid will thus suffice in connection with this
arrangement and so reduce the dead weight to be carried.
In order to regulate the supporting power of the bellows to suit the varying
weights of ships to be carried I provide in connection with each bellows an adjusting
tank or reservoir or adjusting tanks or reservoirs containing water or other fluid
and I connect them by a pipe or pipes with the bellows, and I provide means
whereby such tanks can be raised or lowered in order to obtain a variable head or
pressure of water or fluid in the bellows.
One of the objects of the adjusting tauks is to raise or nearly raise the rigid
structure carrying the ship from off the spherical saddle and so in conjunction with
the pivot acting as a centre to make the action similar to that of a water borne
turntable.
The sides and ends of the bellows will be closed by a flexible material such as
india rubber or india rubber cloth or leather for example protected from injury by
a casing of leather, canvas, chain armour, or other suitable material.
To provide for the vertical deviations I may use instead of bellows a series of
cups or hemi-spherical vessels with plungers, or trough shaped vessels in either of
which bags or containers filled with liquid are placed, such bags being connected
with adjusting tanks such as those hereinbefore referred to.
The whole of the trollies forming the car would be connected together by a jointed
draw bar extending the full length of the car along the centre line thereof.
To provide for the horizontal deviations instead of employing the horizontal
curvature of the aforesaid corrugated structure I may attach to the under side of
such structure (which may or may not be corrugated) a series of girders or channel
shaped guides extending across the said structure and each pivoted thereto at the
centre of its length so that it may swing freely in a horizontal plane within
certain limits.
Such swinging girders form guides for slide bearing blocks attached to the upper
side of the frame work of trollies having two or more wheels.
To each swinging girder there will be a trolly for each line of rails, such trollies
preferably not being connected longitudinally. Transversely they might be
connected or kept separate as desired.
When the car passes round a curve of the railway each swinging girder will turn
about its pivot so as to be radial to the curve whilst the trollies will move laterally

page_text: girders.
gaw༦,
DIUCAS Sitting fuse and agamist the grooved
There should be two groups of trollies one under each pivot without swinging
girders to each of which group of trollies the said corrugated or non corrugated
structure will be connected by means of pivots or turntables so that such structure
will turn slightly about such pivots and keep perfectly rigid horizontally on passing
round curves.
And in order that my said invention may be well understood I now proceed more
particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner, in or under which the same
is, or may be used, or practically carried into effect, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is an elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan
of a ship car having two double ended bellows, and two pivots or turntables
arranged in accordance with my invention.
Figure 3 is a cross section (drawn to a larger scale) of Figures 1 and 2 the left
hand half being taken through the bellows at a a, and the right hand half being
taken through the pivot or turntable and bellows at bb.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal section (also drawn to a larger scale) through the
bellows, trollies, pontoon and other parts at c c Figures 2 and 3.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section (to a larger scale also) through the pivot or
turntable at dd Figures 2 and 3.
Figure 6 is an elevation and Figure 7 is a plan of a ship car having one double
ended bellows with a central pivot or turntable a leading group and a trailing
group of trollies surmounted by double ended bellows with an oval guide or pin
working in a slot formed in the framework in each of the said groups of trollies or
in the underside of the structure.
Figure 8 is a cross section (drawn to a larger scale) of Figures 6 and 7 the left
hand half of Figure 8 being taken at ee through the saddle having a spherical
surface, and a pivot and the right hand half being taken through the bellows
trollies and other parts at ff, Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 9 is a longitudinal section through the trollies, saddle or pivot, bellows,
portion of pontoon, and other parts at 9g Figures 7 and 8.
Figure 10 is a longitudinal section through the trollies, bellows, and portion of
pontoon at hh Figure 8.
Figures 11 and 12 are detailed sections (drawn to a still larger scale) of the
flexible margius of the bellows, shewing the forms of the flexible material at
different relative positions of the pontoon and trollies when travelling round curves
and over gradients.
Figure 13 is a cross section of one of the trolleys, fitted as aforesaid with cups or
henispherical vessels with plungers (or with trough shaped vessels with plungers)
and bags connected with adjusting tanks.
Figure 14 is a plan of a group of trollies, fitted up with guides, bearing blocks,
and a swinging girder pivoted at the centre of its length to the rigid structure or
pontoon.
Figure 15 is a longitudinal section at ii of Figure 14.
I will presume in the following description that it is a ship that is to be carried.
Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 and the detail views thereof I construct a car
with a number of wheels jį proportionate to the dimensions and weight of the
ship K. K. to be carried and attach such wheels (either singly or in groups of
two or more) as trollies or bogies by means of framework L, L, to a structure
(preferably of galvanized iron or steel) of corrugated or partly corrugated form M M
which may terminate at the outer edges of the trollies at SS see Figure 3 or be
turned up at its sides, and ends as shewn at R R in Figure 8 which structure by
means of its corrugated or partly corrugated form or flexible connections
between the trollies will be sufficiently flexible to adapt itself to the horizontal
and vertical deviations of the railway. On the top of this corrugated or

page_text: partly corrugated structure M M I place what I have termed hydrostatic double
ended compensating rocking bellows N. N. which contain water or other fluid and
so act that at the changes of gradient of the railway one half of each bellows will
be raised and the other half lowered the bellows thus accommodating themselves to
the varying changes of level as shewn by Figures 11 and 12 and keeping a constant
pressure upon the underside of the rigid structure O. O. on the top of the bellows
for carrying the ship K K which rigid structure O. O. may be a gridiron pontoon,
or platform with or without longitudinal and cross girders and will be strong and
rigid both vertically and horizontally so that the ship K K placed upon it (and
shored up therein as may be necessary) will not be subjected to any objectionable
straining action.
At, or about, the centre of each bellows, I provide a saddle P P having a
spherical surface and a pivot Q Q forming together a turntable which will allow
the rigid structure O. O. carrying the ship K K to have a limited amount of
vertical and horizontal movement by which means on passing round a curve of the
railway, whilst the wheels jj and the corrugated framework, connected therewith,
will properly adjust themselves to the curves, the top or rigid structure O. O.
carrying the ship K. K. will be free to move slightly horizontally and vertically
on the saddle P. P. and around the pivot Q. Q. in each bellows.
For small ships one double ended bellows may be used but for larger ships two or
more may be used.
At the varying changes of gradient causing changes of form of the bellows (see
Figures 11 and 12) the water or other fluid in the bellows will be displaced from
one end T to the other U see Figures 1 and 6. A minimum quantity of water or
fluid will thus suffice in connection with this arrangement, and so reduce the dead
weight to be carried.
In order to regulate the supporting power of the bellows to suit the varying
weights of ships to he carried I provide in connection with each bellows an
adjusting tank V or reservoir or adjusting tanks or reservoirs containing water or
other liquid and I connect them by a pipe W or pipes with the interior of the
bellows and I provide screws X X or other means whereby such tanks can be
raised or lowered in order to obtain a varying head or pressure of water or fluid in
the bellows. One of the objects of the adjusting tanks is to enable the rigid
structure or pontoon O. O. carrying the ship to be raised or nearly raised from off
the spherical saddle P. P. and so in conjunction with the pivot Q acting as a centre
to make the action similar to that of a waterborne turntable.
The sides and ends of the bellows are closed by a flexible material Y such as for
example india rubber, india rubber cloth leather or copper, or steel galvanized or
other suitable material protected from injury by a casing of leather, canvas, chain
armour or other suitable material at Z and further in order to so adjust the rigid
structure and keep it in a vertical position laterally as soon as it is just clear of the
saddle I provide tanks a' into which water or weights may be placed so that any
inequality in the weights of the sides of the rigid structure and ship may be
balanced or adjusted.
To provide for the vertical deviations I may use instead of bellows a series
of cups or hemi-spherical vessels in the trollies (see Figure 13) with hemi-
spherical plungers c' or trough shaped vessels with trough shaped plungers in
either of which bags d' or containers filled with liquid are placed such spherical
or trough shaped bags being connected with adjusting tanks V by pipes W like
those hereinbefore described. In the case of cups or hemi-spherical vessels each
trolley is so constructed as to carry one hemispherical cup with its plunger but in
the case of troughs and trough shaped plungers two or more trollies may be built
together so as to carry the trough shaped vessel or in the case where the sides and
ends of the corrugated or partly corrugated structure are turned up as shewn at R R
Figure 8 the aforesaid hemispherical vessels or trough shaped vessels together with
the containers in connection with adjusting tanks may be placed inside the said

page_text: corrugated structure under the ends of and for the purpose of balancing or adjusting
the rigid structure and ship on the central spherical saddle.
The trollies forming the car are connected together by a jointed draw bar e¹
extending the full length of the car along the centre line thereof. The lines or
trains of trollies, on each side of the said centre line will have bumping blocks f"
and linked connections g' so arranged as to allow the exact circumferential difference
in each length of the different lines of trollies due to the radius of each curve
along which the trains of trollies travel. The spaces or distances at the junctions
between the trollies connected by the corrugated floor or by flexible materials ll
will be adjusted in proportion to the circumferential increase or decrease of length
of the several trains of trollies whilst passing round curves.
To provide for the horizontal deviations instead of employing the horizontal
curvature of the aforesaid corrugated structure M M I may attach to the under-
side of such structure (which may or may not be corrugated) a series of girders or
channel shaped guides H H (see Figures 14 and 15) extending across the said
structure and each pivoted thereto at the centre of its length at so that it may
swing freely in a horizontal plane within certain limits.
Such swinging girders form guides for slide bearing blocks k¹ k' attached to the
upper side of the frame work L L of the trollies.
To each swinging girder H H there is a trolley for each line of rails such trollies
being connected together or not as may be desired. When the car passes round a
curve of the railway each swinging girder will turn about its pivot i so as to be
radial to the curve whilst the trollies will slide laterally and be guided by the
bearing blocks k¹ k¹ sliding inside and against the grooved girders h¹ at h¹.
There should in every car be a group of trollies to carry the saddle and pivot
to which trollies the said corrugated or non-corrugated structure is connected and
by means of pivots Q and saddles P P the rigid structure will turn slightly about
such pivots, as in a waterborne turntable and be kept perfectly rigid horizontally
on passing round curves.
Figures 6 and 7 the leading trolly m² and the trailing trolly n' are each surmounted
by a double ended rocking bellows. In each trolly there is an oval shaped pivot or
guide o working in a curved slot p' formed in the framework of the trollies which
arrangement will be sufficient to admit of any lateral or vertical movement of the
cars whilst passing over the steepest gradient, and along the sharpest curves.
The said leading and trailing trollies and double ended hydrostatic bellows, are
preferably arranged so as to balance, or adjust the said rigid structure and ship on
the central spherical saddle, to effect which the bellows are connected by pipes
with the adjusting tanks V which can be raised or lowered, to such levels heights
or positions as will enable a balance to be obtained or effected thereby as herein-
before described. Or in the case where the sides and ends of the corrugated or
partly corrugated structure are turned up as shewn at R R in Figure 8 the afore-
said hydrostatic bellows in connection with adjusting tanks may be placed inside
the said corrugated or partly corrugated structure for the purpose of balancing the
said rigid structure and ship.
On Figures 1 and 6 engine houses are shewn at q' q' in which hydraulic pumping
machinery will be placed to provide pressure for giving motion to machinery for
propelling the ship car, when in sidings, and for maintaining a full supply of water
in the bellows and adjusting tanks to be drawn either from storage reservoirs a¹ a¹
or compartments provided in the rigid structure or elsewhere.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In cars or apparatus for carrying ships or other large and heavy bodies
upon railways a corrugated or partly corrugated structure mounted upon trollies
and carrying bellows upon which a structure is mounted adapted to support the

page_text: ship or other body so as to compensate for horizontal and vertical deviations in the
railway substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. In cars or apparatus for carrying ships or other large and heavy bodies upon
railways, bellows which are arranged as hereinbefore described to support the
structure carrying the ship or body and compensate for changes of gradient
substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In combination with the subject matter of either of the preceding claiming
clauses adjusting tanks or reservoirs for obtaining a variable head or pressure of
fluid in the bellows substantially as hereinbefore described.
4. The modification wherein cups or hemispherical vessels or troughs are employed
containing bags of fluid upon which bear plungers or the like in combination or
not with adjusting tanks substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
Figure 13 of the accompanying drawing.
5. The modification of the corrugated structure arrangement wherein there is
used a series of girders or channel shaped guides pivoted to the structure and
forming guides for bearing blocks attached to the framework of the trollies all
arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 14 and 15
of the accompanying drawings.
6. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting apparatus for
conveying ships or other heavy bodies upon railways substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.
7. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting apparatus for conveying
ships or other heavy bodies upon railways substantially as herein before described
and illustrated by Figures 6 to 10 of the accompanying drawings.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
*OUTH TO EAT OUT T