IMPROVE- MENTS IN ELEVATED RAILWAYS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, THEOPHILUS P. CHANDLER, Jr of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania,
U.S.A, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ELEVATED RAILWAYS," and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
-
My invention has reference to elevated railways; and consists in arranging pairs
of rails one above the other on suitable supports, and between which rails the car
wheels run, the distance between the treading points of said wheels on the lower
and upper rails being greater than the height of the car, whereby the car body
may pass between the rails in turning corners or switching from one track to the
other; further in supporting the car body centrally upon said wheels, or upon one
side thereof, counterbalancing it with weights, and providing the said car with
adjustable counterbalancing devices to compensate for the varying load carried, the
said devices being preferably automatic in their action; further in providing the
car with a safety device adapted to catch upon the flanges or head of the upper rail
should the large supporting or drive wheel become broken or derailed; and in
details of construction set forth hereinafter.
The object of my invention is to provide a simple, economical and rapid mode
of travel for cities, or suburbs or for long distance travel where great speed is
required.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1, is a cross section of one form of my improved railway system and shows
the rails B secured to longitudinal stringers in the interior of the eleptical iron
casing or passageway A2 supported upon shoes A³ placed on masonry foundations A'.
The rails are arranged vertically one above the other and between them the flanged
wheels I run and support the car body C also made eliptical in cross section and
having a floor J and seats D arranged back to back on each of the wheels I.
In Figures 2 and 3 the former of which is a sectional elevation and the latter
a sectional plan view, the rails are secured to brackets (or girders if desired) A¹
which are supported by posts A. In this construction the rails are arranged close
to the supporting posts, so the car body is placed wholly on one side of the wheels I
which are of larger diameter than the height of the car, and have flanges forming
The wheels I are
annular grooves i which straddle the T heads of the rails B.
carried upon bearings H. secured to the frame G carrying the car body C which
latter is provided with a single row of seats D arranged close to the supporting
•

page_text: wheels, and preferably secured to a movable floor J carried upon levers K which
are hinged at one end and supported on springs M at the other.
These levers have rollers which work against cam parts k¹ of the levers K¹,
the upper ends of which are hinged to the sliding rods Ĺ which work through
the bearings H. The outer ends of said rods L support the bar N to which the
weight is secured. Springs M may be placed on rods L to tend to draw the
weight O toward the car, or the cam part ¹ lever K¹ may be made a slot in which
case spring M under lever K. would perform the above function. E are doors on
the ends and sides facing the seats D. F is a station platform and extends under
the car or may simply be placed to the side of the car as shown in dotted lines.
When the weight O is drawn toward the wheels I it just counterbalances the
carbody. Now as persons enter the car and take their seats, they force down the
floor J and levers K, which action oscillates levers K¹ and force out rods L and
their weight O, increasing its leverage in proportion to the demand. Of course it
is evident that the weight O may be adjusted by hand instead of being automatic.
The car body or its frame is provided with supports G to the upper ends of which
are pivoted horizontal rollers g. one of which are arranged on each side of the
upper rail B and above its head b. In going around curves these rollers press
against the body of the rail and relieve the flanges of the wheels I from excessive
strain and wear, and should one of said wheels I become broken or derailed the
car cannot fall because the head b of the rail B cannot pass between said rollers g,
and consequently the car hangs from the upper rail.
In Fig. 4 which represents a cross section of one form of my improved railway,
the parts are arranged substantially as shown in Fig. 1, except that the rails are
supported upon framing such as shown in Fig. 2, and the car is provided with an
adjustable counterbalancing weight O pivoted below the seats and arranged between
the two supporting wheels, and adapted to be adjusted to one side or the other of
the central vertical plane through said wheels, by a screw shaft O¹ which may be
worked by hand or otherwise. In place of using one large wheel of greater diameter
than the height of the car, one large and one small wheel might be used instead,
the large wheel being the runing and supporting wheel and the other the top or
guide wheel.
Fig. 5, shows a cross section of a locomotive for this system, in which the
boilers P P are arranged upon each side of the central supporting wheels which are
provided with cranks I' arranged at right angles and operated by pistons S. If
desired the lecomotive may be made with the boilers on one side of wheels I and
counter balanced by weights, water or coal located on the other side in the place
of weight O of Fig. 2.
By arranging two or more pairs of rails upon each side of support A as shown in
Fig. 6, the lower pairs may be utilized for accomodation trains and the upper pair
for express trains with but a small addition in cost. In depots a series of plat-
forms F may be arranged one above the other as shown, thereby requiring but a
small amount of space which, is an important feature in City depots.
These same supports A may be used for the telegraph wires in lieu of the posts
now in use.
Instead of a locomotive these cars might be propelled by electricity or a cable,
the means of propulsion being immaterial to my invention.
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
1st. A vehicle or car provided with two large supporting or drive wheels of a
diameter greater than the height of the car in combination with two rails
arranged in the same plane with said wheels and between which said wheels run,
whereby said car may turn curves or switch from one track to another, substantially
as and for the purpose specified.
2nd. A car or vehicle having one or more supporting wheels of a diameter
greater than the height of the car arranged in the same plane, one or more of which

page_text: are used as drive wheels, and its weight substantially balanced upon said wheels,
in combination with an upper and lower rail between which said wheels run, and
counterbalancing mechanism to balance said car upon its wheels should the same
become unbalanced or to vary its center of gravity, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
3rd. A railway consisting in rails arranged in pairs one above the other, between
which the supporting wheels of the car run in combination with a car having
supporting wheels upon one side only, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
4th. A railway consisting in rails arranged in pairs one above the other, between
which the supporting wheels of the car run in combination with a car having
supporting wheels upon one side only, and a counter balancing weight arranged
upon the other side of said wheels, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
5th. A railway consisting in rails arranged in pairs one above the other, between
which the wheels of the car run, in combination with a car having supporting
wheels upon one side, and a counter balancing weight arranged upon the other of
said wheels, and automatic mechanism to adjust said weight to counter balance the
car under its varying load, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
6th. A railway consisting of supports or posts carrying two or more pairs of
rails arranged one above the other, the rails of said pairs of rails also being arranged
one above the other, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
7th. A railway consisting of supports or posts carrying pairs of rails, the rails of
which are arranged one above the other, said pairs of rails being arranged on
opposite sides of the supports as shown, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
8th. The combination of supports A, rails B B' arranged in pairs one above the
other, and platforms F on a level with said rails B, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
9th. The combination of rails B having heads b, and car C with wheels I and
safety rollers gg carried by said car and arranged to catch upon said heads b
should said wheels I become broken or derailed, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.