New and Improved Method for Hauling Canal Boats, Ships, and Sea Going Vessels upon Inland Canals and other Waterways upon the Endless Cable System.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 14th May, 1888
Complete Specification Left. 5th Feb., 1859
Complete Specification Accepted, 9th Mar., 1889
New and Improved Method for Hauling Canal Boats, Ships, and Sea
Going Vessels upon Inland Canals and other Waterways upon the
Endless Cable System.
WILLIAM EDWARD WINBY Civil and Mechanical Engineer The Beeches Newton
Road Spark Hill Birmingham I do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
It is for the better and more expeditious method of hauling Sea going Vessels, small
Craft, Canal Boats &c., upon Canals and other Waterways by means of Endless Cables,
worked through Conduits placed along the Towing Paths or other convenient way
alongside such Canals or Waterways as hereinafter described and illustrated by
Drawings.
The general arrangement is applicable to Canals having variable Traffic i.e. for the
passage of Vessels of large size as well as small Craft, Canal Boats &c. working upon
the same route by means of 1. 2 or more cables running alongside each other at
various speeds to suit the size of Vessels to be hauled, and all the cables running
alongside each other may be worked by the same. Hauling Engines with speed
arrangement to suit the speed required by each cable.
.
The Conduits are placed below the roadway or Towing Path as the case may be
with permanent way rails on each side of the Conduit to carry the Cable Gripper
Carriage, and paved up to allow of Animal haulage, the Gripper Carriage may also be
constructed with the ordinary road wheels to run upon paved or M°Adam roadway,
the permanent way rails in such case not being required. Guiding Wheels are placed
in the centre of the Gripper Carriage in front and rear or tail of Carriage with suitable.
flanges to run in the opening at the top of the Conduit. The Conduit is provided"
with Pulleys placed in boxes that are bolted to the underside of the Conduit. The
Pulley boxes are provided with manholes to examine Pulleys and to clean out the
Conduit. Capstans are placed at either side of the cable to guide the cable to the
curve of the canal where required. The return Cable may pass back on the same side
רנס...D

page_text: of canal or may pass under or over the canal to the opposite side when suitable
arrangements can be made for Ferrying over the Gripper Carriage for the return
journey. The Conduit may run at the side of the Towing Path or any convenient
position.
Dated this 10th day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and eighty eight (1888).
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New and Improved Method for Hauling Canal Boats, Ships, and Sea
Going Vessels upon Inland Canals and other Waterways upon the
Endless Cable System.
I WILLIAM EDWARD WINBY Civil and Mechanical Engineer, of the Beeches,
Newton Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention is to effect the hauling of canal boats, ships and other
vessels upon canals and other waterways in a better and more expeditious manner than
hitherto practised; and my said invention consists of the method of hauling canal
boats and other vessels by means of endless cables worked through conduits placed
along the towing paths or other convenient road alongside such canal or waterway
as hereinafter particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
The said method of hauling is applicable to canals having variable traffic, that is
to say, for the passage of vessels of large size as well as small craft, canal boats,
and the like working upon the same route by means of one two or more cables running
alongside each other at various speeds to suit the sizes of vessels to be hauled and all
the cables running alongside cach other may be worked by the same hauling engines
with speed arrangement to suit the speed required by each cable.
The conduits are placed below the roadway or towing path as the case may be with
permanent way rails on each side of the conduit to carry the cable gripper carriage
and paved up to allow of animal haulage. The gripper carriage may also be con-
structed with the ordinary road wheels to run upon paved or McAdam roadway, the

page_text: permanent way runs in such case not being required. The conduit is provided with
pulleys placed in boxes that are bolted to the underside of the conduit.
The pulley boxes are provided with man holes to examine pulleys and to clean out
the conduit.
Capstans are placed at either side of the cable to guide the cable to the curve of the
'canal where required.
The return cable may pass back the same side of the canal or may pass under or
over the canal to the opposite side where suitable arrangements can be made for
ferrying over the gripper carriage for the return journey. The conduit may run at
the side of the towing path or in any convenient position.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation the combined gripper carriage and hauling
crab together with a portion of the permanent way on which the said combined gripper
carriage and hauling crab travels and also the metallic conduit in which the endless
cable works the said Figure 1 exhibiting one of the pulley boxes (shown partly in
section) in connection with the cable conduit.
Figure 2 represents in cross section the permanent way and pulley box, its man hole
and parts connected therewith and figure 3 represents the combined gripper carriage
and hauling crab partly in end elevation and partly in cross section together with the
permanent way and the cable conduit in cross section.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawings.
The combined gripper carriage and crab is supported on four wheels A A the said
wheels being protected by splasher plates or guides a, a and travelling upon the
rails K, K² of the permanent way, the said permanent way as well as the cable conduit
and appliances in connection with it being laid below the level of the towing path or
way along the side of the canal or waterway. The frame of the crab is made of cast
steel or iron and is marked B B in Figure 1 and is constructed upon the well known
bar principle. It is carried upon movable bearings provided with cushions of india
rubber or steel marked c and best seen in Figure 3. The towing rope connected to
the boat or vessel is attached to the hook J at the rear end of the frame B, B of the
crab. The tail end D of the crab B is furnished with a bracket or projection E shown
in section in Figure 3.
This bracket or projection carries the axle or shaft G of the oblique cast steel wheel
or roller F (see Figures 1 and 3) which bears against one of the rails K² of the
permanent way on which the crab travels. The said shaft G of the oblique wheel F
works in fixed bearings H H the said shaft having the inclination represented in
Figure 3. By the use of the oblique roller F bearing against the inner side of the
rail K² nearest the canal or waterway in the manner represented in Figure 3 the crab
is steadied and the lateral strain upon the said crab by the towing or hauling rope
attached to the hook J is counteracted.
1 will now describe the parts of the permanent way and the cable carrying
appliances of the apparatus used in working my improved method of hauling.
The metallic conduit is marked R and is best seen in Figure 3. It is made in four
pieces bolted together as represented. The upper portions or slot beams R², R2, of
the conduit being made of rolled trough shaped steel bars and the rails K K² of the
permanent way being made of rolled trough shaped steel bars the bars forming the
slot beams and rails being bolted together side to side. The lower portions or sections
of the cable conduit are bolted to the slot beams or bars R R2. This construction of
permanent way and cable conduit is described in the provisional specification of the
application filed by William Edward Winby and William Marston Winby on the
second day of February 1889 No. 1918 and constitutes no part of the present
invention.
The construction of the pulley box in which the cable supporting pulley works
together with the manhole of the same is best seen in the cross section Figure 2.
The said pulley box is constructed substantially in the same way as that described

page_text: in the specification of Letters Patent granted to William Edward Winby and William
Marston Winby on the 18th day of August 1887 No. 11277 for cable tramways,
excepting that the jointed manhole cover L when turned down requires no filling up
block or frame to make good the towing path. The bottom of the manhole is made of
sufficient depth and the said hole is of sufficient width for the passage of the pulley e
into and out of it. In the lower part of the pulley box is a pipe or channel by which
water that may enter the pulley box is carried away and the box cleaned out. The
pulley box is bolted to the side sections or parts of the cable conduit by internal
flanges as seen at M, M Figure 2, the said pulley box replacing the lower sections or
parts of the conduit.
The pulley e in the pulley box is provided with a guard the cable passing over the
pulley and guard at g (see Figure 1).
It will be seen by reference to Figure 1 that the lower section of the conduit enters
the necks or ends of the pulley box at i, i thereby making the conduit continuous or
without break at the pulleys.
As the cable conduit and parts in connection with it are placed below the level of
the towing path or way of the canal they do not interfere with the ordinary traffic of
the canal should animal haulage be also used.
Where different speeds are required for various kinds of traffic the method of hauling
described and represented is arranged side by side the different speeds required being
given to the cables at the hauling stations.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention of "New and improved method for hauling canal boats ships and
sea going vessels upon inland canals and other waterways upon the endless cable
system."
First The method of hauling by means of a combined travelling crab and gripper
carriage propelled by an endless cable passing through a metallic conduit placed under
the towing path or other convenient place along the canal or other waterway sub-
stantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly The arrangement of travelling crab through which the hauling power is
conveyed to the boat ship or vessel and the oblique bearing pulley or wheel of
the crab used in conjunction with the method of hauling claimed in the prior
claim substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated the Fourth day of February 1889.