Im- PROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS. AND IN ROLLING STOCK TO BE USED THEREWITH."
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Temple Humphreys, of West Limerick,
Ireland, and of 28, Westbourne Park Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer and Surveyor, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS. AND IN ROLLING STOCK TO BE USED THEREWITH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said, Henry Temple
Humphreys at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 10th February 1870.
I, HENRY TEMPLE HUMPHREYS, of West Limerick, Ireland, and of
528, Westbourne Park Road, in the County of Middlesex, Oivil Engineer
and Surveyor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS, AND IN ROLLING STOCK TO BE USED THEBEWITH,"
to be as follows:-
The improvements have for their object the economically constructing
and working of railways and rolling stock, and as regards railways
consist in so suspending or supporting plates, planks, rods, bars, rails,
girders, and such like, one or more of them, on posts; cylinders, pillars,
walls, and such like, that such plates, planks, or equivalents as above

page_text: may be raised at any convenient and desired height off or from the
ground, and in so fashioning such plates or equivalents as above that
they may form suitable supports furnished with guides, rails, grooves,
flanges, or otherwise suitably arranging such plates, planks, or equivalents
to receive for the purposes of driving or moving thereon the flanged or
other wheels of the improved rolling stock next to be described.
Further the improvements consist in constructing rolling. stock to be
used with the improved railway above described or with other suitable
railway with a frame; or skeleton, or members consisting of or composing
a series of longitudinal girders placed parallel to each other or nearly so, 1
and forming a longitudinal way or channel through the carriage open at
the ends, and in applying the driving or other wheels on or by which
such carriage is or may be carried or driven on the improved or other
suitable railway within such way or channel..
Further in so suspending or supporting such rolling stock that the 1
axles of the wheels thereof may be at or near the centre of gravity of
such carriage, preferably above such centre of gravity.
-
1
The improvements may be performed by making the plates, planks, or
equivalents and the guides or rails thereon of metal or of wood, in one
or more pieces, or of both combined, and of any suitable form; and the 2
pillars or walls for carrying such plates, planks, or equivalents con-
stituting the road or railway may be constructed of metal or of wood,
in one or more pieces, or of both combined, or they may be made
wholly or partially of brick, cement, concrete, or stone; the said pillars
or walls may be spaced and erected at equal distances or otherwise, and 2
may be erected plumb or at any angle, and varied in height to suit
the desired gradients.
.
Where points. and crossings are necessary any suitable modifications
of construction may bo uscil whereby a convenient-length-of-plates,-
planks, or equivalents constituting the road with or without its supports 8
may be rendered moveablo radially or laterally. In cases where it may
be desired to use only one rail or groove and only one wheel running
thereon, and in some cases when using two wheels, I employ guides with
side or bottom wheels running therein, thereon, or thereunder, inclined
at an angle or, otherwise and made to run on the sides.or underneath the a
plates, planks, or equivalents proper, or on or underneath additional
plates or side rails or supports prepared to receive them, and thus prevent
oscillation, and in some cases I apply power to these side or bottom.

page_text: -
guide wheels, but I prefer to use two wheels with a short axle, and also
to make the guage of the rails or grooves on the plates or girders
above described about eighteen inches..
The improvements in carriages may be performed by making the
frame, skeleton, members, or girder above described of metal or of
wood, or of both combined, in such shape that the carriage shall have
when built up two main longitudinal side compartments which may be
subdivided if desired either transversely or longitudinally, and fitted
for the reception of passengers, goods, or motivo power, and also have
one main longitudinal top compartment or girder, which may be also
subdivided either transversely or longitudinally, and form the roof of
the carriage, which in some cases may be fitted with seats for passengers
or receptacles for goods, and to which the two side longitudinal compart-
ments may be conveniently suspended or affixed. Between the two
suspended side longitudinal compartments and in the space or channel
thus formed may be arranged and fitted the axles and wheels for carrying
and driving the carriage, proferably as near to the roof as convenient.
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Temple Humphreys in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th July 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
TEMPLE HUMPHREYS, of West Limerick, Ireland, and of 28, Westbourne
Park Road, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer and Surveyor,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs. and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Henry Temple Humphreys, Her special
licence, that I, the said Henry Temple Humphreys, my executors,
administrators and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Temple
Humphreys, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully

page_text: might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS, AND IN ROLLING STOCK TO BE USED
THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry
Temple Humphreys, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the samo was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Temple Humphreys, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, that is to say :-
The improvements have for their object the economically constructing
and working of railways and rolling stock, and as regards railways
consist in so suspending or supporting plates, planks, rods, bars, rails,
girders, and such like, one or more of them, on posts, cylinders, pillars,
walls, and such like, that such plates, planks, or equivalents as above
may be raised at any convenient and desired height off or from the
ground, and so fashioning such plates or equivalents that they may be
or form suitable supports, guides, rails, grooves, flanges, or otherwise,
suitably arranging such suspended or supported plates, planks, rails,
or equivalents to receive for the purposes of working, driving, or
moving thereon and thereunder the driving, gripping, or other wheels
or equivalents of the improved rolling stock next to be described.
Also in constructing rolling stock to be used with the improved
railway above described, or with other suitable railway, with a frame or
skeleton or members consisting of or composing a series of longitudinal
ginlers placed parallel to each other or nearly so, and forming a
longitudinal way or channel through the carriage open at the ends, and
in applying the driving, gripping, or other wheels or equivalents on
or by which such carriage is or may be carried or driven or "braked"
on the improved or other suitable railway within such way or channel
or otherwise; and in so suspending or supporting such rolling stock a
that the axles of the carrying and driving wheels thereof for working
upon the railway as above may be at or near the centre of gravity of
such carriage, preferably above such centre of gravity.

page_text: Also in applying to rolling stock above described gripping wheels
and skid brake acting on the under side of rails by lovers or screws, or
both combined, when increased adhesion is required to the driving
wheels of the locomotive.
Further in the construction of engines fashioned as above described,
having their various working and driving parts, such as the cylinders,
slide valve chests, boilers, and so forth, in duplicate, arranged side by
side and supported on or suspended to the frame, as above described.
The improvements may be performed by making the plates, planks,
or equivalents, and the guides or rails thereon of metal or of wood, in
one or more pieces, or of both combined, and of any suitable form for
receiving the carrying, driving, and gripping wheels, and the pillars or
walls for carrying such plates, planks, or equivalents constituting the
road or railway may be constructed of metal or of wood, in one or more
pieces, or of both combined, or they may be made wholly or partially
of brick, cement, concrete, or stone; the said pillars or walls may be
spaced and erected at equal distances or otherwise, and may be erected
plumb or at an angle and varied in height to suit the desired gradients.
Where points and crossings are necessary any suitable modifications
of construction may be used whereby a convenient length of planks,
rails, or equivalents constituting the road, with or without its supports,
· may be rendered moveable radially or laterally. In cases where it may
be desired to use only one rail or groove and only one wheel running
thereon, and when using two wheels, I employ guides or rails and use
side guide wheels and bottom or under wheels running therein, thereon,.
or thereunder, inclined at an angle, or when working. thereunder
inclined or vertical, and made to run on the sides, and to run or grip
underneath the plates, planks, rails, or equivalents proper, or on or
underneath additional plates, rails, or supports prepared to receive them,
and I apply a skid brake suspended by links from the leading or other
wheels of the locomotive, and in the same manner as the under gripping
wheels, and connected with a transverse worm wheel shaft in order that
the skids on either rail should act together. I prefer to use two wheels
with a short axle, and also to make the gunge of the rails or grooves on
the plates or girders above described about eighteen inches, and so to
dispose such rails or equivalents_that_the. carrying or driving-wheels-
may work vertically or nearly so on the upper part, surface, or table

page_text: of such rails, and the gripping or under wheels when used and when in
play work vertically or at a slight angle against or upon the under part,
surface, or table of such rails.
The improvements in rolling stock may be performed by making the
frame, skeleton, member, or girder above described of metal or of wood,
or of both combined, in such shape that the carriage, truck, or locomotivo
shall have when built up two main longitudinal sido compartments or
platforms, which may be subdivided, if desired, either transversely or
longitudinally, and fitted for the reception of passengers, fuel, machinery,
steam generators, water, goods, or apparatus for obtaining motive power,
and also have one main longitudinal top compartment, platform, or
girder which may be also subdivided, either transversely or longi-
tudinally, and form the roof or top of the carriage, truck, or locomotive,
which carriages in some cases may be fitted with seats for passengers
or receptacles for goods, and to which the two side longitudinal com-
partments, platforms, or girders may be conveniently suspended or
affixed. Between the two suspended side longitudinal compartments,
platforms, or girders and in the space or channel thus formed may bo
arranged and fitted the axles and wheels for carrying and driving the
carriage, truck, or locomotive, also in some cases the motive power
géaring, preferably as near to the top as convenient, and the gripping
or under wheels may be so constructed that by means of levers, or by
other suitable means they may be kept constantly or otherwise bearing
against, upwards, or upon the under surface of the rail or equivalent as
may be required when ascending steep inclines or otherwise, and when i
- intended for and to be used as a brake only a flat or other convenient.
skid may be substituted for the gripping or under wheels.
.
It is obvious that the details of the said improvements may be con-
siderably varied without departing from-the-spirit of-the-Invention, the
accompanying two Sheets of Drawings therefore are intended only as
an illustration of a convenient mode of performing the said improve-
ments, in which, in Sheet 1, Figure 1 shows a longitudinal elevation of
the railway and longitudinal section of a carriage on same. In this caso
a, Figures 1 and 2, are wooden piles driven at convenient intervals along
the line of route; 6, Figures 1, 2, and 3, represent the plate, plank, rail, a
or equivalent constituting the road, which in this case is made girder
fashion and formed with two double-headed rails 1, Figures 1, 2, and 3,

page_text: one on each side, suspended or supported on or by the metal cap or
shoe d, Figures 1, 2, and 3, fashioned to receive said rails, also the bolts.
for securing them, and the top or head of the pile a to which said cap.
or shoe may be secured in any convenient manner..
Figure 2 shows a plan view of the railway; Figure 3 a cross section
of the carriage and railway on a larger scale. In crossing large valleys
or towns or under other circumstances the piles, pillars, or supports may
be furnished with ties, struts, braces, and when desired with side or
bottom or under rails or pieces to receive the guide wheels m, m, or
under gripping or guide wheels mentioned above. e, e, Figures 1 and 3,
show the longitudinal side compartments of the rolling stock as
mentioned above, and h, Figures 1 and 3, the longitudinal roof or top
compartment. k, k, Figure 3, are ties or braces furnished at intervals
to strengthen the side walls of the sido compartments e, e; f, S,
Figures 1 and 3, are the upper carrying wheels in the position shown
though they may be placed nearer the roof or nearer the base if desired;
m, m, Figures 1 and 3, are the under wheels; g, g, Figure 1, are steps
for passage to and from either side of the carriage.
In Sheet 2, Figures 3, 4, and 5 show sectional elevation, plan, and
sectional end view respectively of some arrangements of a locomotive as
described above, in which 6 is the railway, a, Figure 5, one of the piles or
supports thereof; ff, the upper driving wheels; m, m, lower gripping
wheels; c, c, Figure 3 and 4, bogie wheels; d, Figure 3, skid or brake';
9, 9, Figure 4, steps for passage from one side to the other; h, h,
Figures 3, 4, and 5, vertical boilers. The lower gripping wheels m, m,
are shown barely touching the rails (their natural position), when
required to grip they are pulled forward by the screw apparatus of the
adjusting rod k and caused by the shifting from the vertical of the
suspensory rods 1, 2, to grip to any extent required on the under surface
of the double headed rail 6 as shown; by a similar arrangement the skid
or brake dis brought into play. The spaces o, o, Figure 4, are for
tanks to hold water; p, p, for bunkers for fuel; q, q, platform.
.
I would mention that the following advantages among others may be
obtained by the use of the foregoing improvements :-The-centre of
gravity of the whole rolling stock being greatly lowered compared with
that in use on ordinary_railroads_a_considerably narrower-guage-of-rails--
or a single central rail is rendered practicable whilst at the same time a
great reduction in the constructional cost and maintenance of the

page_text: railroad is effected. Moreover in respect of original cost of the system
the ground simply requires clearing in most cases to be ready for use;
rain and land drainage cannot affect permanent way; no ballast is
necessary; culverts and side drains are dispensed with altogether, and
the natural drainage of the country traversed not interfered with; very |
sharp curves are permissable from the narrowness of the guage rendering
it easy to contour round spurs and valleys, thus avoiding heavy banks
and cuttings; the gradients of most roads crossed can be left unaltered
by simply raising the height of the posts and alternatives in their
vicinity; obstructions on and running off the line are practically
prevented; root and other crops can be grown around the posts on the
enclosed railway land. In some cases in towns the line can be carried
well over streets and houses, and thus necessitate very little outlay for
land. Also by means of the use of vertical under gripping wheels great
adhesion is obtained, and very steep gradients can be worked, and under 3
guide wheels may be applied to every carriage if desired. Telegraph
wires can be slung from the railway posts, and liability of the line being
blocked up by snow is greatly diminished.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Temple Humphreys, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
J. C. COOPER, J.P.,
Cooper Hill,
Limerick.
H. TEMPLE HUMPHREYS. (L.S.)