IMPROVEMENTS IN TURNTABLES FOR RAILWAYS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of 16, Castle
Street, Holborn (City), London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TURNTABLES FOR RAILWAYS." -A communication
Sealed the 7th July 1854, and dated the 24th February 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th February 1854.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn
(City), London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TURNTABLES FOR RAILWAYS" to be as follows:-
The balancing the platform of the turntable upon the revolving rolling
carriage which supports it in such a manner that either end of the said platform
may be depressed to rest upon a bed or bearing provided for it, while it receives
or has discharged from it an engine & tender or other burthen, & in furnish-
ing the turntable between the roller carriage and platform on opposite sides of
the centre with excentrics so arranged as to support the platform on a level
previous to turning it, & hold it steady during revolution, or to raise one end
& depress the other upon its bearings, when it is desired to receive or dis-

page_text: charge an engine or other carriage; also in furnishing the turntable with an
indicator, to shew when the platform is level, or in which direction it
inclines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 24th August 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, AUGUSTE
EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn (City), London,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, Her special licence that I, the said
Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my execu-
tors, 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 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 TURNTABLES FOR RAILWAYS,"
being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same 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 Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
do hereby declare the nature of the 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 object of this Invention is to construct a turntable which shall possess
the same strength and stability as the turntables in common use, but may
be constructed at a less cost, and which will require a comparatively small and
therefore less costly foundation. This Invention consists in balancing the plat-

page_text: form of the turntable upon the revolving roller carriage which supports it in
such a manner that either end of the said platform may be depressed to rest
upon a bed or bearing provided for it, while it receives or has discharged from
it an engine and tender or any carriage, and in furnishing the turntable
between the roller carriage and platform on opposite sides of the centre with
eccentrics, which are so arranged and can be so operated as to support the plat-
form on a level previous to turning it, and hold it steady in such position during
its revolution, or to raise one end and depress the other upon its bearings when
it is desired to receive or discharge an engine and tender or carriage. It also
consists in furnishing the turntable with an indicator, which shows the engine
driver or any other person when the platform is exactly on a level, or in which
direction it inclines, and thereby serves as a guide by which to move the
engine and tender, or any carriage upon a platform, to such a position as to
hold the platform in equipoise or on a level.
The accompanying Drawings represent a turntable constructed according to
my Invention.
Figs. 1 and 2 are longitudinal vertical sections through the centre of the
turntable and its foundations; the former Fig. representing the right-hand
end of the platform depressed upon its bearings, and ready to receive an
engine or carriage; and the latter Fig. representing the platform on a level,
and supported on each side of the centre by the eccentrics, as it would
be when having an engine or carriage upon it ready to turn. Fig. 3 is a
plan; Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section nearly in the centre; Fig. 5 is a
plan of the top roller plate; Fig. 6 is a plan of the bottom roller plate and the
rollers, the top roller plate being removed to show them.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several Figs.
The platform of this turntable is constructed in a similar manner to that of
some others now in use, being composed of longitudinal timbers A, A, and ties
or sills B, B, which are secured below them by bolts a, a, and plates b, b, run-
ning longitudinally under the sills; the sills form the floor upon which the
rails e, e, are laid. The platform is stayed to prevent deflection by tension
rods c, c, which are attached to ears d, d, which stand up from the plates b, b,
on either side of the longitudinal timbers and to pillar C, C, which are erected
upon the longitudinal timbers near the centre. It is further strengthened at
the centre by short longitudinal timbers D, D, which are bolted under the
timbers A, A, and sills B, B. A transverse horizontal shaft E of iron is placed
under the centre of the platform, and its ends secured firmly in the longitudinal
timbers forming the sides of the platform; the platform forms a balance, of

page_text: which this shaft is the axis. The shaft is supported along the whole of its
length between the sides of the platform, or at suitable intervals, in a bearing F
running across the centre or axis of the roller carriage, and it supports two
bearings G, G, for the rails c, e. The roller carriage consists of the bottom
and top plates H, H', a centre pin J, the two ring I, I', the rollers K, K, and
their axles f, f. The bottom and top plates in a turntable of the largest
size to carry an engine and tender, say, from forty (40) to forty-five (45)
feet in length or diameter, will not require to be of more than eight (8) feet
in diameter. The bottom plate H has two circular raised tracks 9, 9, and is
ored to receive the centre pin J. It rests upon a foundation of masonry about
three (3) feet below the level of the rails c, c.
This foundation will be very
small, compared with the foundation of the track usually provided for rollers
near the ends or outside of the table. The rollers K, K, are fitted loosely upon
their axles f, f, with a collar between each pair, and the axles support the
two rings I, I', which keep them at proper distances from a common vertical
axis to run on the tracks g, g, and keep the several pairs at proper distances
from each other. The inner ring I is connected with a central plate L,
which is bored through the centre pin J to pass through, and keep the
two rings concentric with the axis on which the table rotates; or instead of
having the central plate, the ring I may be connected by arms with a hub.
The top plate H is of the same size as the bottom plate H, and has two similar
circular tracks g, g, on its under side, which rest upon the rollers. The centre
pin J is firmly secured by keying or otherwise to the top plate II', and passes
through the plate L and the bottom plate H, the latter having a deep hub i, in
order to give the pin a deep guide. The bearing F for the shaft E of the
platform rests upon and is secured by bolts or other means to the top plate H',
and is so placed that the axis of the centre pin, if continued upwards, would cut
the axis of the shaft E. At equal distances from and parallel with the shaft E,
on opposite sides of it, there are two shafts M, M', whose ends have journals,
which are fitted to work in bearings secured to metal plates k, k, which are
attached to the sides of the platform. The central position of each of these
shafts for so much of their length as is included between 1, 1, and shown in
dotted lines in Fig. 3, is larger than the other portion, and made eccentric to
the journals, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where the section is taken through the
eccentric portion, and the journals are shown by dotted circles. Upon the top
side of the upper roller plate H' there are two raised pieces m, m, which
form bearings for the eccentric portions of the shafts M, M', to rest upon.
Each of the shafts M, M', is furnished outside the platform with a lever n, by

page_text: which it can be turned to bring that side of the eccentric portion which is
farthest from its axis undermost, as shown at M in Fig. 1, and thus coming
in contact with its bearing m on the top roller plate, elevate that end of the
platform which is on the same side of the shaft E; or it can be turned to such
a position as shown at M' in the same Fig., that it will not, when the end of
the platform on the same side of the shaft E is depressed to its lowest position,
touch the bearing m on the roller plate. The depressed end of the platform
always rests upon bearing pieces N, N, of which two are provided to receive
either end in all the positions the turntable is required to assume. These
bearings may consist of heavy timbers resting upon foundations of masonry,
or may be constructed in any other suitable manner, and they should be so
placed as to support the platform under the rails. The object of these is to
obviate all lateral strain upon the roller or centre pin when the platform receives
its load. The Drawing represents in Fig. 4 two sets of these bearings; one set
being shown in perfect outline, and the other set in dotted outline, supposed to
be seen through the platform, the two sets being arranged to bring the turn-
table in line with rail tracks at right angles with each other, and either set
serving for two positions of the turntable the reverse of each other. The turn-
table is caused to rotate, in a well-known way, by means of a pinion o, which
is secured on a vertical shaft p attached to the platform, and gears with a
circular-toothed rack 7, which is secured to the foundation work. The indicator,
which shows when the platform is exactly in equipoise or on a level, consists of
an index pointer 2, whose horizontal arbor works in suitable bearings in a
box R, which is supported by a pillar Q standing on one side of the platform.
The axis of this arbor stands in an imaginary plane which is perpendicular to the
platform, and passes through the axis of the shaft E. The arbor carries a small
toothed wheel S (shown dotted in Figs. 1 and 2), which gears with a toothed
sector t on the top of a small pillar P, which is erected on a standard T, secured
to the top of the roller plate II'. The toothed sector is described from the axis
of the shaft E, so that as the platform oscillates it always remains in gear with
the wheel, and turns the arbor and moves the index. The index is so adjusted,
that when the platform is on a level it stands in a vertical position, but when
the platform is not on a level it will point towards the highest end, and thus
show the way in which it is necessary to move the engine or carriage in order
to bring the platform to a state of equipoise. When an engine or carriage is
to be run on the turntable, the shaft M or M', which is nearest the end where
the engine or carriage is to be run on, is turned by its lever to such a posi-
tion that the eccentric part cannot touch its bearing m on the top roller

page_text: plate H', as indicated at M. The other shaft is turned to bring the eccentric
part in contact with its bearing m, and raise the other end of the table until
the first-named end is depressed far enough to rest on the bearing pieces N, N;
and in this position, indicated at M in Fig. 1, it is allowed to remain until the
engine or carriage is run on the table, when it is moved to a position corre-
sponding to that of the shaft M' in the same Fig. to allow the platform to be
balanced. When the engine or carriage is brought to the proper position to
bring the platform to a state of equipoise, the two shafts M and M' are moved
to the positions shown in Fig. 2 to bring their eccentric portions into contact
with the bearings m on the top roller plate, and thus give support to the plat-
form on opposite sides of the shaft E. The turntable may then be turned in
any direction. When it is desired to run off the engine or carriage, the support
of the eccentric on that side of the shaft E from which it is to be run off is
removed by turning its shaft M or M¹ to such a position that the eccentric
cannot touch its bearing m, which leaves that end of the platform free to
fall when the load is moved towards it. The rails on the turntable and the
rails of the track are so arranged relatively to each other, that the depressed
ends of the former are always at the same level as the latter, and will bear
on their chairs when the platform rests on the bearing pieces N, N. The
distance of the oscillation of the platform is somewhat exaggerated in Figs. 1
and 2, in order to make the operation more clearly intelligible by the Drawings.
The actual distance of the oscillation of the ends of the platform from their
position when in equipoise need not be more than three quarters of an inch, or
an inch, in a full sized turntable, as it is only necessary that the ends of the
table rise far enough from the bearing pieces N, N, to enable them to swing
perfectly free without any danger of contact.
1st. Balancing the platform of the turntable upon a transverse central
shaft E, or other suitable axis, resting upon the roller carriage in a line
intersecting the line of the axis upon which the turntable rotates, substantially
as and for the purpose herein set forth.
2nd. Supporting that end of the platform which is depressed for the
purpose of receiving the engine or carriage upon bearings N, N, or any other
suitable bed upon the ground, placed as herein set forth.
3rd. The shafts M, M', and their eccentrics arranged on opposite sides of
the centre of the platform so as to bear upon the roller carriage, for the purpose
of supporting and preventing the oscillation of the platform during its rotary

page_text: movements, and for elevating either end as may be desired, as herein set
forth.
4th. The employment for the purpose of indicating when the platform is
in equipoise or on a level of an index 7, whose arbor has its axis working in
bearings in a box attached to the platform, and receives motion as the platform
oscillates by means of a toothed pinion fast upon it and a stationary toothed
sector, or by any mechanical equivalents of the said pinion and sector.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.
A. E. LORADOUX BELLFORD. (L.S.)
A. E. LORADOUX BELLFORD. (L.S.)