IMPROVEMENTS IN TOWING BOATS ON RIVERS OR CANALS, A PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE TRACTION OF VEHICLES ON RAIL OR TRAMWAYS OR COMMON ROADS
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Baron Oscar de Mesnil at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
January 1866.
I, Baron OSCAR DE MESNIL, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TOWING
BOATS ON RIVERS OR CANALS, A PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS ALSO APPLICABLE
TO THE TRACTION OF VEHICLES ON RAIL OR TRAMWAYS OR COMMON ROADS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to that mode of towing or drawing boats or
vessels along rivers or canals when machinery contained in the boat or vessel is
made to act upon a chain lying in the bed of the river or canal, and by drawing
upon the said chain to draw the boat along; and this part of my improvements
consists in the use of a double pulley or drum to act upon the chain so that
the speed of the boat may be varied when required, by passing the chain
round the larger drum or pulley when a greater speed is required, and by
winding the said chain on the lesser drum or pulley when less speed is
required, and in so arranging the parts acting on or in connection with the
said chain that the said chain may be kept as much as possible under water
so as to avoid unnecessary strain on the chain and the drawing up of clay and
other impurities from the bed of the river or canal. To the outer end of a
shaft passing through the side of the boat (preferably below the water
line), and to which suitable machinery is capable of giving rotary motion, I
affix a double drum or pulley or two drums.or pulleys of different diameters

page_text: bolted or cast together, and near the bow and stern of the boat, and attached to
the side thereof below the water line I place in suitable bearings and brackets
guide rollers to support the chain and guide it in its passage to and from the
driving drums or pulleys, and between the said guide rollers and the said
drums I further guide the chain by fixing to the side of the boat below the
water line a wooden trough or tube open at the top, in which the said chain
is supported when passing to and from the said driving drum or pulley.
My Invention relates, secondly, to the same mode of towing boats on rivers
or canals when machinery in the boat acts upon a chain or rope in order to
draw on the said boat, and this second part of my Invention consists in using
in the place of a chain or rope a wire cable lying in the bed of the river or
canal. The said wire cable is made to engage with the pulley or drum, which
when it revolves draws on the boat. The pulley or drum I use in connection
with the said wire cable is that patented by Fowler, Burton, and Greig,
No. 2889, dated 24th November 1860, which is a grooved pulley, the grooves
of which are formed by a number of clips set round the periphery of the
pulley, each clip being composed of two cheeks or sides capable of partial
rotary motion, each round its centre, situated behind it and outside the grooves,
and when a rope or cable is placed in the groove of the said pulley and caused
to press upon the clips towards the axis of the pulley the clips move slightly
round their respective axes and firmly grasp or clip the said rope or cable,
and the hold of the rope or cable by the clips is increased exactly in propor-
tion to the pull. I fix the said Fowler's clip pulley on the end of a driving
shaft actuated from within the boat and passing through the side thereof or
situated in suitable bearings upon the deck, and I guide the said wire cable
to and from the said pulley by guide rollers supported in suitable brackets
below the water line and affixed to the side of the boat at the stem and stern
respectively, or in any other suitable position. I sometimes use two of Fowler's
clip pulleys of different diameters, joined together and affixed side by side on
the same driving shaft, so that by using one or the other to draw upon the
said wire cable greater or less speed is imparted to the boat as required.
The use of a wire cable instead of a chain for the purposes of traction is pro-
ductive of great economy, and realizes in many cases a saving of seventy-five
per cent. on the cost; it is also more elastic and durable.
This part of my Invention is also applicable to the traction of vehicles on
rail or tramways or on common roads. Along the middle or side of the road
or railway I lay down a wire cable extending as far as the vehicles are intended
to travel, and at each end I attach the said cable to suitable fixtures, and
I
support it when necessary by posts, rollers, or by other suitable means.,

page_text: connect the said cable with Fowler's clip pulley before referred to affixed to
a driving shaft working in suitable bearings in a car or carriage, which said
car or carriage is provided with a portable or other steam engine, or an engine
actuated by air or gas, to give motion to the said driving shaft and pulley,
which by pulling on the cable causes the car to advance. The said drum or
pulley may be placed either in the centre of the car or at the side thereof, and
may be either horizontal or vertical, and when a variation of speed is required
two or more the said pulleys of different diameters may be used as herein-
before described in respect of my improvements in towing boats.