IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEARING ROADS, RAILWAYS, TRAMWAYS AND THE LIKE FROM SNOW AND IN MACHINES OR ENGINES THEREFOR
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Forster of St Helens in the county of Lancaster
for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEARING ROADS, RAILWAYS, TRAMWAYS
AND THE LIKE FROM SNOW AND IN MACHINES OR ENGINES THEREFOR
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Forster at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th October 1883.
•
JOHN FORSTER, of St Helens, in the county of Lancaster, "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLEARING ROADS, RAILWAYS, TRAMWAYS, AND THE LIKE FROM SNOW, AND IN
MACHINES OR ENGINES THEREFOR
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This invention is designed not merely to clear the track, but to dissolve away
the snow instead of allowing it to accumulate in high banks on each side. It
consists in a machine drawn along by horses, or steam or other motive power, and
clearing away the snow by means of a revolving digger passing the snow into a
heater forming a part of the machine and thus melting it. The motive power
engine in large machines can be carried on the machine.
The machine consists preferably of two furnaces, one on each side, built of fire
tiles inside wrought iron frames, and constructed to emit no smoke or commit any
nuisance in the streets.
The flames from the furnaces pass over a bridge and under the receiver of the
machine to heat it, to the front end to heat the angle plate there, then return
through a range of pipes, which run lengthways of machine and fixed half way up,
heating the same, and on to back end and into chimney to which a cap is fixed. At
the sides of the receiver provision is made for cleaning out dirt and other substances
by scrapers. Immediately in front of and touching the receiver, so as to be warmed
by the radiation of heat from it and at a suitable angle (about 30 degrees), there
will be placed a row of fluted shovels three inches wide suspended by a curved
bar to suit curve of roads, and resting on the front edge of receiver. In some cases
a single smooth plate may take the place of these shovels.
The curved bar will keep the shovels from falling too low or outting into the

page_text: The shovels will be kept in position by round backed iron straps, one at top and
the other near bottom, fixed to allow shovels to move up by the unevenness of the
streets or roads.
At the end of the curved bar, levers will be attached on the outside of the
machine and be carried close to the driver's seat so that he may raise them when
necessary to suit the road or to clear it when not working.
In front of the shovels and nearly brushing against them is placed a winged
drum fitted with wrought iron blades, hinged to body, with spring catches at each
end to hold them while pushing snow back, then to let them fall so as not to carry
the snow over but push it up the shovels into the receiver.
This winged drum will revolve and travel along the ground, cutting into the
snow, with the blades, by its own weight, and driven by linked chains one at each
side of machine from toothed bosses of main carrying wheels and corresponding
toothed bosses at each end of winged drum.
This winged drum is fitted into the frame-work of the machine, and will have
belts fitted at each end to which levers are attached and carried close to driver's
foot so that he may lift it away from the ground when not working.
The whole of the above, namely, two furnaces, receiver with pipes, fluted shovels,
and winged drum, aro fitted into a wrought iron frame, being kept as near the
ground as is workable, with two main carrying wheels near the furnaces with
toothed bosses, which can be put in or out of gear by clutches and levers, for
driving winged drum; and steering wheels in front, fitted into a cross girder that
binds the front of frame together. The spindle of steering wheels having provision
for attaching horses or engine.
Provision is made over winged drum for driver
When the machine is travelling, the winged drum will cut into the snow with
the blades and back it up the fluted shovels, while the fluted shovels will cut and
break up the remainder by the forward motion, and being warm, the snow will pass
up them readily into the receiver on to the pipes and bottom, which being heated
will melt it rapidly to run off as water through the taps near the bottom into the
gutters and sewers.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Forster in the Patent Office on the 29th April 1884.
JOHN FORSTER of St Helen's in the County of Lancaster "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLEARING ROADS, RAILWAYS, TRAMWAYS, AND THE LIKE FROM SNOW AND IN
MACHINES OR ENGINES THEREFOR "
•
This invention is designed not merely to clear the track, but to dissolve away
the snow, instead of allowing it to accumulate in high banks on each side. Hitherto
all the snow clearers that I am aware of have been arranged on the principle of
plowing the snow to one side, or digging it up, and elevating it into a spout that
delivered it to one side or into a waggon behind, but none that I know of have
melted the snow and delivered the water at intervals as desired. My invention
does this, and is designed for use on railways, tramways, or common roads. The
present design shews an engine specially arranged for common roads, and to carry
its own motive power. On railways a machine without independent motive power
could be used.
Referring to the drawings-Fig 1 is a side elevation, and Fig 2 plan, the lower
half looking from above with engine and boiler removed, and the upper half looking
from beneath.
In these A A are two furnaces of any ordinary construction, one will do but I
prefer two for smoke consuming purposes, a hopper to feed coal into, a¹ fire bars,
a banging bridge, a³ lower bridge which to assist in smoke burning is formed
hollow, so that one can introduce air up through it into the furnace. A damper
can regulate the current, as is usually the case where air is admitted at the bridge.
B is a broad thin Blue (or a series of flues close together with sloping sides coming
down to a common bottom). This Blue (or flues) carries the hot gases to a
chamber C with sloping front surface as hereafter described. From C a series of
preferably triangular sectioned tubes D, with apex uppermost, bring the products of
combustion back to an inclined flue E, this flue winds forward partially enclosing a
space between it and the tubes, and passes out by the chimney F, the part above
the bottom flue or flues B and behind the tubes D is walled in at back, and on
each side to form a tank G, and this tank is provided with mudcock and scraper
holes g g', and with a pipe G' leading to tank H, and having in its course a pump
or ejector g³ preferably when steam engine is used to propel one of those working
in the induced current system. This pump or ejector g³ (an ejector is shown in
drawings) draws the water collecting in tank G into storage tank H h is a small
pipe leading from tank H across the machine, and provided with a series of
perforations all the way across allowing some of the warm water to fall in a
narrow shower of drops into the mechanism below. I is a scraper or shovel, or
series of scrapers or shovels, in a frame resting on the hot surface of chamber C,
and sliding in guides, and capable of yielding to any inequalities on the surface
of the ground by means of a spring J, this spring runs the whole width of the
scrapers, the cross section being seen in Fig 1. These shovels can be all in one
piece, and very short, stopping off as is shown so as to leave a large area of the
sloping surface of chamber C bare: or can come to the top. K is a wheel of scoops
or vanes caused to rotate by suitable gearing with considerably greater peripheral
speed than the travelling speed of the carriage, by chain gearing from the driving
wheel L, or as shown in the drawing by means of intermediate wheel and chain
from the gear connecting the engine with the driving wheel. This scoop wheel is
formed of a series of wrought iron wings or scoops securely bolted or riveted to
the flat tangential faces of a cast iron hub. L is the driving wheel driven by means
of intermediate gear L' from the crank shaft m of engine M of ordinary construction.
m' is the boiler supply of the motive engine. O is the lifting apparatus regulating
the height of the bearings of wheel K. as they slide up and down in ordinary slides
or check plates in the frame. Q front steering wheels, steered in the usual manner

page_text: from the front as practiced in ordinary traction engines.
board on each side, clearing a track for the main wheels and
the middle where it can be attacked by the scoop wheel K.
carrying these ploughs. R is a second scoop wheel to assist
against and between the tubes E in chamber G.
T. The mode of action is as follows:
Pa plough or mould
throwing the snow to
p. p. are small wheels
in throwing the snow
The fire being lighted in furnace, and in the engine boiler, the products of
combustion pass through the lower flue or flues B into the chamber Cheating the
sloping front plate, and the shovel or shovels lying thereon, passing along through
the triangular tubes D and flue E to the chimney. In the mean time the engine is
set in motion, and by means of the gearing therefrom, the driving wheels also begin
to travel, and the scoop wheel K to turn. The ploughs P clear away for their own
wheels p. and for the driving wheels. The large scoop wheel K throws the snow
up onto the warm shovels, and up them over the warm surface of chamber C into
and among tubes D and, flues B, into the warm water thereon, the result of snow
previously scooped; in this it is assisted by the second scoop wheel R. The snow
falling on these hot surfaces is melted. The ejector g³ carries the water up into
tank H from which a little trickles back over the blades of scoop wheel K, from
the perforated pipe h, running right across the machine from one side of tank H to
the other. The rest of the water remains in tank G till it is full, when it can be
run out and emptied into the nearest drain. The sides of flue E. circling round the
space over tubes D.give additional radiation surface to melt the snow.
Having now described my invention and the best mode known to me of carrying
it into effect, I wish it to be understood that what I believe to be new and claim
under the Letters Patent is, the manufacture and use of the engines or machines
for clearing roads, railways, tramways, and the like from snow substantially as
herein described, also the following separate points substantially as, and for the
purposes described :-
1 The method of clearing away snow from public ways, which consists in
propelling a portable beating chamber armed with snow collecting apparatus, which
latter collects the snow in the heating chamber where it melts and from which the
water can be drawn at intervals.
2nd In a snow plough or clearer, the combination of a wheeled frame, a furnace,
a hot air chamber located near the road, and having its upper surface inclined
forward and downward, and one or more rotary scooping apparatus, whereby the
snow is delivered onto the heated surface. 3rd The arrangement of heating flues.
4th In a snow plough, a heated under flue or chamber, a heated upper flue, and
means for delivering the snow backward between said flues.
5th In combination with the heating chamber C having the inclined top, the
yielding scraper in advance thereof, and the rotary drum.
6th In combination with the wheeled frame provided with means for melting the
snow, the forward ploughs P pivoted to the arm, and provided with the sustaining
wheels P,
7th In a track clearer, the combination of the artificial means for heating and
melting the snow with means for spraying the snow with water.
In witness whereof I the said John Forster have hereunto set my hand and
seal this twenty fifth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and eighty four.