IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR EFFECTING THE TRANSFERENCE OF RAILWAY TRAINS TO AND FROM FERRY BOATS AND FLOATING VESSELS
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Edward Kochs at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th January 1872.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD KOCHS, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR EFFECTING THE TRANSFERENCE OF
RAILWAY TRAINS TO AND FROM FERRY BOATS AND FLOATING VESSELS," to bo
as follows:-
My Invention has for its object to provide means for readily effecting
the transference of railway trains from the land to floating vessels, and
from the said vessels to the land, and is applicable more particularly in
cases wherein the vertical distance between the rails on or in the vessels
and the rails on land is subject to variation, as for example in the case
of ferries on sea channels, estuaries, and tidal rivers. For the said
purpose I construct a number of tanks or caissons to contain water,
and I place in each caisson a pontoon, the buoyancy of the pontoons
being sufficient to carry a viaduct provided with "rails" and any load
which the said viaduct may have to sustain. The said viaduct is formed
in spans which are jointed or hinged together, or by preference the first

page_text: span is hinged by one end to a part secured to the abutment on land,
the other end resting on a roller carriage which is mounted on the first
pontoon, the second span. being hinged by one end to the said first
pontoon, and resting by the other end on the second pontoon, and so on
for the remainder, the outer end of the last span being provided with
arrangements for connecting the said end with the steamship or ferry
boat. The said pontoons are fitted to rise and fall within their caissons
and are guided in their rising and falling, the guides extending above
the upper edges of the said caissons. The said upper edges vary in
height, as for example supposing a case in which the extreme variation
of water level would be twenty-four fect, and that the rails would be
about level when the water reached its highest level, the upper edges
or the line of overflow of the first caisson might be four feet below the
high-water level, the line of overflow of the next caisson might be
eight feet below high-water level and so on, the line of overflow of the
last caisson or caissons being at about low-water level. Now sup-
posing the viaduct to be about level and the water level to be falling,
the first span will be more inclined until the water has fallen to the
level of the upper edges or line of overflow of the first caisson. The
pontoon may now rest upon projections formed on or fixed to the
caisson or the afore-mentioned guides. As the water level continues to
fall the second span is inclined, the amount of inclination of the first
span not increasing for the reason that the caisson remains filled or
nearly filled with water, or that the first pontoon is resting on the
aforesaid projections. When the level of low water is reached the
whole or nearly the whole of the spans, say, for example, six spans, will
be inclined, and if the length of each span be about one hundred and
sixty feet, the inclination would be about " one in forty."
.
I prefer to add an extra span or extra spans to the end of the viaduct,
the said extra span or spans remaining level or about level as the water
rises and falls.
Arrangements may be provided for raising and lowering or adjusting
the outer end of the last span in order that it may be connected with
the steamship or ferry boat, and that the rails on the viaduct and on
the said ship or boat may meet together with sufficient accumes. Thi

page_text: It may be desirable to cause the end of the ship, boat, or floating
vessel to rest upon the outer end of the last span, or the said outer end
to rest upon the end of the said ship, boat, or vessel in order that a
train may be safely transferred from the rails on the viaduct to the
rails on the deck of the said ship, boat, or vessel.