Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application. 28th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 15th Apr., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways.
A communication by JAMES HERVEY BATES, of Hoboken, in the County of
Hudson and State of New Jersey, United States of America, Electrical
Engineer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Man-
chester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn, in the County of
Middlesex Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates chiefly to railways provided with a conduit and operated
by electricity taken from a conductor in the conduit.
The invention consists in improvements in the conduit; in the contact trolley ;
in the relation of these parts to each other, and in other matters described
hereinafter.
The invention may be best understood from the subjoined description, and the
It must be
accompanying drawings, of what may be considered its best form.
understood, however, that said description and drawings are illustrative merely, and
that the invention is not limited to the specific things shown and described.
In their general features, the parts shown in the drawings are as follows:-
THE CONDuit.
This is of any suitable form and construction. The slot rails and the interior
lining are extended below the top of the conduit so as to form a petticoat, as it is
technically called, and cause water and dirt entering the slot to be delivered
centrally, instead of finding their way to the side of the conduit. Inside the
conduit are brackets which support the electric conductor or conductors, and the
latter may serve as rails for the trolley to travel ou.
THE CONTACT TROLLEY.
This is in the form of a car travelling in the conduit on rollers upon rails,
supported by the brackets in the conduit. The middle part of this trolley is
depressed and formed into a gutter under the slot of the conduit, so that water and
dirt entering the slot and falling upon the trolley will be received in the gutter and
delivered at the ends of the trolley into the body of the conduit and will not go to
the sides of the trolley where they would interfere with the electric current.
Extending upward from the trolley through the slot are insulated conductors, which
convey the current between the main conductor in the conduit and the motors on
the cars.
The trolley is independent of the car on the track above, but is moved
by it, by means of chains or other suitable connection. In some cases, two
conductors are provided in the conduit, which form a complete circuit through the
trolley and the motors in the car above, and in other cases it is proposed to use the
ground or the metal work of the permanent way, or both, for the return circuit.
In the drawings :―
Figure 1 is a cross section of the conduit, showing the trolley therein, partly in
section and partly in end elevation :
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the trolley :
Figure 3 is a bottom view of the same: and
Figure 4. a top plan view of the same :

page_text: Figure 5 is a section showing the arrangement of one of the trolley wheels; and
the other figures are details.
In the figures-
1 is the slot in the top of the conduit, formed by means of the slot rails 2.
These are shown as composed of channel irons extending below the top of the
conduit and forming a second slot 3. 4 is one of the yokes used in forming the
conduit, and 5 is the interior lining of the conduit. 6 represents the street paving.
7 are brackets secured to the sides of the conduit and carrying at their ends
petticoated insulators 8.
9 are conductor or contact bars, secured to the insulators 8
by fastening clamps 10. 11 is the main conductor or feeder, which supplies the
electric current to the bars 9. 12 are the trolley wheels which roll upon the bars 9
and form an electric connection with them. These wheels are connected by means
described later on with the motors on the car above. 13 are boxes in which the
wheels 12 are mounted. The drawings show four of these, one at each corner of
the trolley frame. 14 is the main body of the trolley frame, preferably of non-
conducting material and turned down at the edges to constitute a petticoat for the
trolley. 15 is a sheet-metal covering for the upper surfaces of the trolley. From
the centre of the trolley, arms extend upward through the slot to a poiut above the
street level. The upper ends of these arms are provided with supports 16, which
carry a cap that protects the upper ends of the trolley arms from water, dirt, etcetera.
17 are conducting strips in the trolley arms 18, and of course protected by
insulation. The exterior surface of the trolley arm may be covered with. sheet
metal to protect it. 19 is the cap over the top of the trolley arm, supported by the
pieces 16. 20 are petticoated insulators, supported on brackets 21, which are
secured to the trolley arms, or, if preferred, to the pieces 16, which may be
extended sufficiently downwards for that purpose. 22 is the gutter or depression
in the middle of the body of the trolley, extending from end to end and under the
slot, whose purpose is to receive any drippings from above and discharge them at
the ends of the trolley into the space 23 at the bottom of the conduit.
electric connections to join strips 17 to the motor of the car above, and 25 are
insulated electric connections joining said strips with the trolley wheels.
26 represents chains connecting the trolley with a downwardly projecting bar 27,
which is secured to the car. These bars project downwardly into the conduit at
each end of the trolley, and serve to move the trolley and cause it to travel with
the car.
28 are metal plates secured to the trolley arms to protect them from wear.
by the edges of the slot. 29 are the bearings for the trolley wheel axles, secured
to the inside of the boxes 13. 30. are grooves in the lower edges of the boxes 13,
which convert said edges into a double petticoat.
24 are
Figure 7 shows one form of clamp for securing the conductor bars 9 to the
insulator 8.
In cases, however, where the trolley depends upon the wheels 12 for its support,.
the bars 9 are preferably arranged above the insulators, and; in that. case, are
secured by clamps of the form shown in Figures 8 and 9..
In any case, the bars 9
may be electrically connected with the feeder 11, either through these clamps, or
in any other suitable manner. In some cases, it may be desired to make the bars 9
continuous conducting bars. Ordinarily, however, the bars are independent of each
other. 31 are wheels adapted to run upon the slot rails and to support the trolley
when other support is lacking, as it would be when the trolley wheels are passing
the spaces between the adjacent contact bars 9, or at crossings and switches. The
wheels 31 are secured to trolley arms 18 by means of clamps 32 and bolts 33, by
which they may be adjusted if desired. They are shown in the drawings as raised
slightly above the slot rails to permit a proper pressure, due to the weight of the
trolley between the trolley wheels 12 and the conductor bars 9.
In Figures 5 and 12 are shown the trolley wheels as flanged, though they may
be used, if need be, without flanges.
In Figures 10 to 16 inclusive, the trolley is shown in skeleton form and composed
of tubes.

page_text: In these ngures-
34 is the back bone from which rise the uprights 18 heretofore described. A
good method of securing these parts together is shown in section in Figure 14.
The conducting strips 17 extend to the interior of the back bone.
At each end
of the back bone are cross pieces 35 connected at their ends to the wheel boxes 13.
These cross pieces are depressed at their middle portions, so that moisture will not
flow on them towards the wheel boxes. The electric connections 25 are in the
interior of the tubes 34 and 35 forming this frame, and the tubes may be filled
with an insulating material if desired. Figure 16 shows a convenient method of
bracing the trolley arms 18. 37 is a bar extending from wheel box to wheel box
parallel with the back bone, and 38 is a brace extending to the arm 18.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In an electric railway, the combination, with the slotted conduit, of a trolley
mounted therein, and electrical connections extending from said trolley to the
railway car motor, and to the feeder within the conduit; said trolley frame having
its edges turned down to make it a petticoated insulator.
2. In an electric railway, the combination, with the slotted conduit, of a trolley
mounted therein and having the edges of its frame extended or turned downward;
wheels supporting the trolley frame and located wholly inside the down-turned
edges; and electrical connections extending from the trolley to the car motor and
to the feeder.
3. In an electric railway, the combination, with the slotted conduit, of a trolley
mounted therein and provided with an arm extending up through the slot;
electrical connections extending from the trolley to the car motor and to the feeder
within the conduit; and the cap 19 carried by the arm.
4. In an electric railway, the combination, with the slotted conduit, of a trolley
mounted therein and provided with a gutter in line with the slot; an arm projecting
from the gutter up through the slot, electrical connections passing through the
arm from the trolley to the car motor; a cap 19 at the upper end of the arm; and
an electrical connection between the trolley and the feeder in the conduit-all
electrical connections of the trolley except the wheels being insulated.
5. In an electric railway, the combination, with the slotted conduit, of an
electric conductor or feeder therein; contact bars; a trolley; wheels supporting
said trolley frame upon the bars, and set inward away from the down-turned edges
of the frame; and insulated electrical connections between the trolley wheels and
the car motor.
Dated thin 07th da
1000
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.