An Improvement in Railway Turntables.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 13th Feb., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Railway Turntables.
I, ROBERT HUDSON, of Gildersome Foundry, Gildersome, near Leeds in the
County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-.
tained in and by the following statement :---
This invention relates to an improvement in railway turntables of the kind for
which Letters Patent were granted to me and to Charles William Lyon, bearing
date the Eighteenth day of July, 1888, and numbered 10420, the movable part of
which rotates upon antifriction metallic balls capable of rolling freely in a circular
race provided therefor.
My present improvement is also applicable to turntables of other construction
and has for object the prevention of the canting or tilting of the table when the
load is just entering upon or just leaving the same. In order to effect this I place
at four points a washer or plate each of which is secured to the outer casing or
foundation by a bolt in suchwise that the table can rotate freely beneath the
several washers or plates which overhang the moving part of the table as at B,
or D, of the accompanying drawings. If the method shewn at D, be adopted the
rail ends on the table, are undercut to allow of the washers to clear them.
It will be obvious that as a vehicle enters upon the table furnished as above
described, such table must maintain its horizontal position with the exception of so
much play as is required to admit of the free working of the same.
In lieu of the bolts, plates or washers, other equivalent means may be employed
such as causing the rails that lead to or from the table, to overhang or encroach
somewhat upon it and secured to the outer casing in suchwise as at E, that the
table cannot tilt or cant to a serious extent when the load is entering upon or
leaving the table.
By these means I am enabled to dispense with the central holding down plate
and bolt described in the aforesaid Specification and in place thereof simply use a
guide pin e as shown.
In the annexed drawings,
Fig. 1 is a plan (with part of the movable portion removed) of a turntable of the
kind referred to comprising the improvement in its several forms according to my
present invention.
Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section on the line A, of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 shews in sectional elevation in part the modification or equivalent means
above referred to for preventing the said canting or tilting of the movable part b,
of the table by causing the rails i, external thereto to overlap the said part as shewn
at B' the rails upon the part being shortened to prevent fouling.
b
In all the figures, a, is the outer casing or foundation of the turntable, b, the
movable part, c, the circular race for, and d, the antifriction metallic balls upon
which the part b, rotates, e, the central guidepin, f, f, f, f, are bolts and nuts and
9, 9, 9, 9, the washers or plates overhanging somewhat the parts h, h, h, h, cast or
fixed upon the part b, as shewn at B, or the ends of the parts h, and the rails may
be undercut to admit the washers or plates g, as shewn at D. The part C, shows
a portion of the table b, removed and exposes the antifriction balls d, and the
race c.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The dispensing with any centre holding down plate and bolt and preventing
the depression of one side or edge of a railway or other turntable and the canting

page_text: up of the opposite side or edge when a vehicle enters or is leaving it, the use of
bolts and nuts f, f, f, f, and washers or plates 9, 9, 9, 9, and the bars h, h, h, h,
either cast or fixed thereon, substantially as described and shewn for the purpose
specified.
2. The dispensing with any centre holding down plate and bolt and preventing
the depression of one side or edge of a railway or other turntable and the canting
up of the opposite side or edge when a vehicle enters upon or is leaving it, the use
in somewhat shortening the rails upon the part b, and projecting the rails external
to such table the same amount and thereby to overhang the said table as shewn
at B, Fig. 3, or otherwise, substantially as described.
Dated this 5th day of November 1891.
THOS. E. CRAVEN,
For the Applicant.