IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE SUBSTANCES FROM RAILWAY TRUCKS' " TIPPING OF COAL AND OTHER PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Percy Graham Buchanan Westmacott of the Elswick
Works Newcastle upon Tyne Engineer for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE
SUBSTANCES FROM RAILWAY TRUCKS'
"
TIPPING OF COAL AND
OTHER
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Percy Graham Buchanan
Westmacott at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th
November 1882.
PERCY GRAHAM BUCHANAN WESTMACOTT of the Elswick Works Newcastle
upon Tyne Engineer." IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING
TIPPING OF COAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM RAILWAY TRUCKS
THE
The object of this invention is to provide a means for lifting railway trucks
from any part of a line of railway in conjunction with a moveable or fixed crane
and for then swinging them to one side of the line and tilting them endwise to
discharge their contents.-in the case of end tipping wagons or for discharging
hopper wagons the apparatus is more especially applicable for taking loaded
trucks from a line of railway at the side of a dock or quay and for discharging
their contents into the holds of vessels-For this purpose I use a flat platform or
cradle of about the length of a railway truck Extending along each side of this
cradle is a rail-these two rails are at the same distance apart as the two rails of
the railway and the cradle can be laid on to the railway so that its two rails shall
come just above the two railway rails-The two rails of the cradle are secured
to the top of two transverse plates one near each end-these plates rest upon the
top of the railway rails and have plates descending from them to come against the
inner sides of the railway rails so that the cradle when placed upon the railway
rails is kept from moving sidewise these descending plates are made to incline
inwards towards one another to facilitate the placing of the cradle in proper
position upon the railway rails.-The transverse supporting plates are made to

page_text: extend outwards beyond the rails and suspending chains attached to the lifting
chain of a crane are connected to them-One end of each rail of the cradle is turned
upwards to form a stop for the wheels of a railway truck to come against-the
other end of each rail is made to incline downwards and is tapered so that it may
form an inclined plane up which a railway truck may be run from the railway
rails on to the cradle.
When a truck has thus been run on to the cradle-the cradle with the truck
upon it may be lifted by the crane-the cradle when so lifted being slightly
inclined to keep the truck resting against the stops above mentioned.
The crane arm can now be swung round to carry the truck over the hold of a
vessel and the bottom door of the hopper wagon or the end door of the end tipping
wagon can be opened and in the case of an end tipping wagon the cradle and
truck can be tilted to discharge the contents of the truck into the hold. The
tilting of the cradle may be effected by another chain attached to that end of the
cradle at which the trucks are run on to and off from it-this second chain is carried
over a second sheave at the end of the jib arm of the crane Afterwards the jib
arm can be swung back and the cradle replaced on to the same line of rails or on
to any other line within range of the swing of the Crane-When this has been
done the truck can be run off and another truck be run on in its place and the
same operation repeated.
The sling chains of the cradle are provided with a turntable swivel to facilitate
the ready turning round of the cradle to suit the directions for the taking on or
off of the trucks.
In this way the contents of railway trucks may very quickly be discharged into
a ships hold or elsewhere and this can be done from any part of the line. The
continuity of the line of railway is not interfered with nor is it necessary to
provide numerous turntables or other contrivances at each of the several points
where the emptying of trucks may have to be carried on as has heretofore been
the case.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Percy Graham Buchanan Westmacott in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th May 1883.
PERCY GRAHAM BUCHANAN WESTMACOTT of the Elswick Works Newcastle
upon Tyne Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE
TIPPING OF COAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES FROM RAILWAY TRUCKS
"
The object of this invention is to provide a means for lifting railway trucks
from any part of a line of railway in conjunction with a moveable or fixed crane
and for then swinging them to one side of the line and tilting them end wise to
discharge their contents in the case of end tipping waggons or for discharging
hopper waggons the apparatus is more especially applicable for taking loaded
trucks from a line of railway at the side of a dock or quay and for discharging
their contents into the holds of vessels. For this purpose I use a flat platform or
cradle of about the length of a railway truck. Extending along each side of this
cradle is a rail these two rails are at the same distance apart as the two rails of the
railway and the cradle can be laid on to the railway so that its two rails shall
come just above the two railway rails. The two rails of the cradle are secured to the
top of two transverse plates one near each end-these plates rest upon the top of
the railway rails and have plates descending from them to come against the inner
sides of the railway rails-so that the cradle when placed upon the railway rails is
kept from moving sidewise-these descending plates are made to incline inwards
towards one another to facilitate the placing of the cradle in proper position upon
the railway rails. The transverse supporting plates are made to extend outwards
beyond the rails and suspending chains attached to the lifting chain of a crane are
connected to them. One end of each rail of the cradle is turned upwards to form
a stop for the wheels of a railway truck to come against-the other end of each
rail is made to incline downwards and is tapered so that it may form an inclined
plane up which a railway truck may be run from the railway rails on to the
cradle.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a side elevation and Figure 2 is an end
elevation of this platform or cradle and parts in connection therewith.
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the cradle to a larger scale.
a, a. are two curved bearers or transverse plates which when in position on the
railway rest transversely upon the rails at a a¹. b. b. are a pair of longitudinal
irons connecting the bearers or plates a. a. and they also have fixed to them the
rails c. c. which are to receive the wheels of the waggon. d. d. are ties and D D
is a floor which further serve to bind the structure together. The rails c, c, are at
a distance apart corresponding to the gauge of the railway and when the cradle is
standing on the line these rails are immediately over the main rails. At the front
the rails c, c, are tapered and their ends rest upon the main rails. They also have
on their inner sides prolongations c' c¹ which sink below the level of the main
rails and form inclined flange bearers. When a waggon on the railway approaches
the cradle the flanges of the wheels mount up upon these flange bearers and so the
wheels are led easily up on to the cradle rails c. c.
At their ends c. c. the rails c, are curved upwards to form a stop for the
waggon; or in some cases the cradle may be constructed to receive waggons upon
it, from either end then other stops would be provided in lieu of the curved ends c².
e. e. are inclines descending beneath the bearers of the cradle; they serve when the
cradle is lowered on to the railway to lead it at once to its place without any
trouble in adjustment. The cradle is lowered in a somewhat inclined position so

page_text: that the end at which the inclines e, e, are the deeper enters first between the main
rails of the railway and then as the cradle is further lowered it finds its own way
to its place by the aid of its inclines. The lifting chains f. f. are attached to the
four ends of the bearers or to transverse plates a. a. and the chains are led up in
pairs to two shackles g. g. one at either end of a beam & forming part of a
suspended turn table arrangement hereinafter described, by which a waggon having
been lifted from rails parallel to a quay wall may be turned one quarter round into
position to be tipped end wise to discharge its contents into a vessel laying alongside
the wall.
When a truck has thus been run onto the cradle-the cradle with the truck upon
it may be lifted by the crane-the cradle when so lifted being slightly inclined to
keep the truck resting against the stops above mentioned. The crane arm can-now
be swung round to carry the truck over the hold of a vessel and the bottom door
of the hopper waggon or the end door of the end tipping waggon can be opened
and in the case of an end tipping waggon the cradle and truck can be tilted to
discharge the contents of the truck into the hold. The tilting of the cradle may
be effected by another chain i, attached to that.end of the cradle at which the
trucks are run onto and off from it-this second chain is carried over a second
sheave at the end of the jib arm of the crane. The drawing shows the tilting
chain passed through an eye on the cradle and hooked upon the draw hook of the
waggon, this is a convenient arrangement. Afterwards the jib arm can be swung
back and the cradle-replaced onto the same line of rails or on to any other line
within range of the swing of the crane. When this has been done the truck-can-
be run off and another truck be run on in its place and the same operation
repeated.
The crane may be variously arranged, when there is much work to be done I
prefer a structure like a travelling crane.
Over the railway lines from which the trucks are to be lifted I provide a
travelling frame moveable on wheels along rails parallel to the railway lines. The
frame supports a carriage at a considerable height above the railway. The carriage
is able to travel transversely along horizontal beams fixed at the upper part of the
frame. The lifting power is derived from a pair of hydraulic cylinders mounted.
vertically on the frame, and each has as is usual in hydraulic cranes two sets of
guide pulleys, and these are moved further apart as the ram issues from the
cylinder. The lifting chain is attached at one end near or upon one of the cylinders
it passes around the guide pulleys and then away to the lifting carriage. The chain
passes by the side of one of the transverse overhead beans on which the carriage
travels and thence over a guide pulley on the carriage. Then it descends to a
pulley or snatch block one of a pair attached to the beam 1, which carries the
bean h, previously mentioned by the turntable swivel m. shown to a larger scale at
Figure 4. Tracing the lifting chain onwards from the first pulley ke it goes up
again and over another pulley on the carriage and resumes its horizontal course
alongside of the horizontal supporting beam. On reaching the outer end of the
beam the lifting cbain passes around a guide pulley and crosses to the other of the
two beams forming the read for the carriage and from this point it may be traced,
back by a precisely similar course to the other hydraulic cylinder. Thus when the
bydraulic cylinders take up the chain, the two bites descending from the guide
pulleys on the carriage to the snatch blocks k. k, on the lifting beam are shortened
and the lifting beam . with the load is raised. The carriage can then be traversed
along the overhead beams by a tackle connected with it for the purpose and so the
waggon on the cradle is brought to the tipping point. The carriage has also upon
it an additional pair of pulleys for the tipping chain and a bite of this chain bangs
down between these pulleys and supports a snatch block from which a single chain i
passes to the end of the cradle as already explained. The tipping chain passes
around the sheaves of an hydraulic crane cylinder in the same way as the lifting
crane.
When the cradle is lifted the tipping chain is gathered up by its cylinder. At

page_text: the proper time the tipping is effected by lowering on the main tackle whilst the
tipping tackle is held fast by the valves of the tipping cylinder being kept closed.
The coal or material thus tipped out of the waggon is thrown on to an inclined
plane which leads it to the hold of the vessel to be loaded. Other cranes besides
hydraulic cranes can be employed.
Shear legs will in some cases be found convenient.
I neither claim nor do I limit myself to the use of any special form of crane.
The beam is suspended by a rod or spindle m¹ which passes to the top of the
beam through a coned ring of hard steel m³, supported upon the beam. On the
upper end of the spindle there is a nut m³, and beneath this another ring m⭑
similar to m². Also between the rings m² and m there is a frame carrying hard
rollers m³. These rollers run very easily even with a heavily loaded truck
suspended from the spindle m¹. The beam has is seen in Figures 1 and 2 has a
notched hoop ¹ fixed to it and the pawl lever o. which is provided with a
spring o' drops into the notches when they come to it. The pawl lever can ba
lifted out of the notches by a cord attached to it. As it is usually required
to turn the suspended waggon through a quarter circle four notches are provided.
Figures 5 and 6 represent a turn table swivel adapted to be used when the
cradle is raised and lowered by a single lifting chain. The parts m¹ m² m³ m
and m³ are lettered in accordance with the description already given. This
turn table swivel serves to facilitate the ready turning round of the cradle to suit
the directions for the taking on or off of the trucks.
In this way the contents of railway trucks may very quickly be discharged
into a ship's hold or elsewhere and this can be done from any part of the line.
The continuity of the line of railway is not interfered with nor is it necessary to
provide numerous turntables or other contrivances at each of the several points
where the emptying of trucks may have to be carried on as has heretofore been
the case.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same I would have it understood that I claim :-
First. The suspended platform or cradle so constructed that when lowered upon
a line of railway it adjusts itself thereon and so constructed that waggons may
then be run from the railway on to the platform or cradle and be lifted with
the platform or cradle and swung to a position from whence the waggon may be
discharged.
Second. The combination with such a platform or cradle of a turntable swivel
admitting of the waggon when suspended being turned from the position in which
it stood upon the railway to that best suited for its discharge.
Third. The combination with such a platform or cradle of tackle by which when
suspended with a waggon upon it, the platform or cradle may be inclined and the
waggon emptied substantially as described.
In witness whereof I the said Percy Graham Buchanan Westmacott have
hereunto set my hand and seal this twelfth day of May in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
PERCY G B WESTMACOTT (L.S.)