IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING, RAISING, LOWERING AND TILTING RAILWAY WAGGONS OR TRUCKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOADING AND DISCHARGING VESSELS SP
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Taylor of Penarth in the County of Glamorgan
for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH APPARATUS
FOR TRANSFERRING, RAISING, LOWERING AND TILTING RAILWAY WAGGONS
OR TRUCKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOADING AND DISCHARGING VESSELS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Taylor at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st December 1882.
GEORGE TAYLOR of Penarth in the County of Glamorgan "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND CONNECTED WITH APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING, RAISING, LOWERING, AND
TILTING RAILWAY WAGGONS OR TRUCKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOADING AND
DISCHARGING VESSELS."
My Invention has for its object to facilitate the loading and discharging of vessels
with coal and other merchandise and consists of a system comprising adjustable
turn tables and carriers for the railway waggons or trucks combined with movable
staiths, tips, or stages all so arranged that the apparatus may be readily shifted to
suit the different hatchways of the vessel being loaded or discharged so that the
operation may be carried out with expedition and be simultaneously carried on at
different batches or places of the same vessel.
The Invention is applicable for loading and discharging vessels with various
kinds of merchandise, or with ballast, but for convenience I will describe it as
applied to the loading of vessels with coal.
The movable staith tip or stage (hereinafter called a movable staith,) is mainly of
the usual form or description of a fixed staith or of any other suitable construction,
but one distinguishing feature of the movable staith is that by wheels, sheaves,
rollers, or other means it is so mounted or supported upon or by rails, guides, or
ways as to make it movable or transportable. There are sundry accessories to the
movable staith and also certain appliances and machinery hereinafter described, all
of which form part of this Invention and are connected with the carrying out of
the objects thereof. These include movable or portable turn tables adapted for use
[Price 8d1

page_text: in passing railway waggons from one pair of rails to another. They are designed
to be supported and kept in position upon the rails and sleepers of the railway
siding, and they are so arranged that they can be moved to and used at that part
of the line or siding at or alongside of which the movable staith may from time to
time be used. Each turntable is constructed of a base plate or frame which rests
upon and is guided by the rails, and is otherwise further supported by blocks
resting on the sleepers. Upon this base plate is pivoted a plate or turntable
furnished with rails upon which the waggons stand to be turned, the said plate or
table being supported near its outer parts upon small wheels or rollers which run
upon a circular path on the base plate or frame to facilitate the turning of the
table and truck. The thickness of the base plate and turning table together is
such that the rails upon the latter stand only a few inches higher than the rails of
the railway or siding on which the turntable stands, so that loaded trucks may
easily be run onto them up short inclines formed of lengths of rail braced together
and either temporarily or permanently attached or hinged in an inclined position to
the base plate so as to lead from the permanent rails to the rails of the turntable.
The turntable may run by its guides upon the permanent rails and be hauled
from place to place by being temporarily attached at one or both ends to an axle
supported by a pair of wheels running upon the railway and driven by hand or
otherwise. I however prefer that these wheels and axles should be permanently
attached to the base plate of the turn table and be provided with adjustable
bearings so that the turn table may either rest upon the rails and sleepers for use
as above described, or be raised off them by a screw, lever, or other adjustment of
the bearings which throws its weight on the wheels when it is to be moved to
another position.
Instead of running the waggon upon its own wheels along the siding or wharf
and when opposite the staith turning it by means of a movable turntable into the
desired position for tipping as above described, I may transport it along the wharf
or siding upon a carrier running on wheels along the rails of the wharf or siding,
the waggon standing upon the carrier in a position transverse or at an angle to the
rails along which the carrier runs so as to be already in position for entering the
staith at once. In this case the rails upon which the waggon arrives at the wharf
or siding would be at a right or other angle, and sufficiently higher than the rails
on which the carrier runs, to admit of the waggon being run directly onto the
carrier.
The carrier consists of a wheeled frame carrying a platform having transverse
rails upon it which coincide with the ends of the rails upon which the waggon
arrives. This frame may be hung and the platform kept lower than the axles of
the wheels on which it runs in order to bring the platform as low as possible and
avoid too great a difference of level between the two permanent ways. The
platform may be either permanently fixed to, or may be so secured or rest upon the
framework as to allow of the platform being lifted off, and by this plan it may be
used instead of the ordinary platform for hoisting or lowering the waggon. The
carrier would thus convey the waggon to the staith when the platforin would be
raised for tipping the waggon, after which it would be lowered down upon the
framework and the carrier would be ready to take the waggon away without the
latter passing off from it.
I may also make the carrier further serve as a turntable by making the platform
rotate, and thus the waggons may be transported to and from the movable staith,
or from place to place and which may be used in substitution for the platform on
which the waggons are ordinarily raised or lowered on the staith for the purpose of
being tipped. The platform or turntable of the carrier would in either case be
furnished with hinges or pivots at the front and catches at the back by which it
could be temporarily secured in a guide cage or framework or by chains or other-
wise within the staith into which it is run with the loaded waggon upon it. On
entering the staith the combined carrier and turntable enters at the side, and either
the whole, or the platform or turntable, is caught at front and back by hooks or a

page_text: bar secured to chains or otherwise and is raised or lowered and tilted by hydraulic
or other power. This bar or hooks is or are so suspended that they fall back by
their own weight out of the way of the carrier as it passes into the staith, but on
the tightening of the chains for hoisting, suitable guides throw the bar or hooks
into catches provided on the carrier for their reception.
On lowering the waggon after tipping the bar or hooks become automatically
disengaged and the carrier is free to pass out of the staith and by means of the
turn table platform the empty waggon can be run off the carrier and passed out
onto a different line of rails to that by which it entered either at the back or side
of the staith. The carrier can then be run back for another loaded waggon.
Several of these combined carriers and turntables can be kept at work at a time
for bringing up loaded waggons to each movable staith, and by having two pairs of
rails each movable staith may be supplied with waggons both at the back and the
side, thus allowing very rapid work in loading or discharging. A series of 3 to 6
or more carriers may be used for the side of each movable staith, and a similar
series for the back, one series taking away empty waggons and bringing full ones
whilst the other series is being discharged, or vice versa.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st June
1883.
GEORGE TAYLOR of Penarth in the County of Glamorgan "JMPROVEMENTS IN
AND CONNECTED WITH APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING, RAISING, LOWERING AND
AND
TILTING RAILWAY WAGGONS OR TRUCKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOADING
DISCHARGING VESSELS."
My Invention has for its object to facilitate the loading of vessels with coal, and
consists of a complete system comprising adjustable turn tables and carriers for
turning and transporting the railway waggons or trucks, combined with movable
staiths or tips all so arranged that the apparatus may be readily shifted to suit the
different hatchways of the vessel being loaded so that the operation may be carried
on simultaneously at different hatches or places of the same vessel.
The movable staith or tip is of any suitable construction, but one distinguishing
feature of it is that by wheels, sheaves, or rollers, it is made capable of travelling
upon rails, guides, or ways. There are sundry accessories to the movable staith
and also certain appliances and machinery hereinafter described, all of which form
part of this Invention. These include portable turn tables for passing railway
waggons from one pair of rails to another. They are designed to be supported
and kept in position upon the rails and sleepers of the railway line or siding, and
they are so arranged that they can be moved to and used at different positions on
the line or siding as required to suit the position which the movable staith may
from time to time occupy. Instead of running the waggon upon its own wheels
along the siding or wharf and using a turn table for turning it into the staith, I
may transport it along the wharf or siding upon a carrier, the waggon standing
upon the carrier in such a position as to be ready for entering the staith in a
direction suited for tipping. The carrier consists of a wheeled frame carrying a
platform having transverse rails upon it, which platform may be either permanently
fixed to the frame or may be so secured and rest upon the frame as to allow of the
platform being lifted off, and by this plan it may be used instead of the ordinary
staith platform for hoisting or lowering the waggon, the carrier being taken into
the staith, and the platform being caught by self connecting and detaching hooks
attached to the hoisting chains and raised, tilted, and lowered again. The carriers
receive the loaded waggons from a line of rails at a level coinciding with that
of the rails on the carrier, and by having two sets of carriers or a carrier and turn-
table each movable staith may have waggons supplied to it and taken away both
at the back and the side.
I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings the preferred form and con-
struction for the different apparatus comprised by my system, and I will proceed
to describe the Invention more fully with reference thereto.
Figures 1 to 4 show the general construction and arrangement of the staith.
Figure 1 is a front elevation (the platform being omitted); Figure 2 is a side
elevation (the platform being shown up, and tilted in dotted lines, and also in its
lowest position in dotted lines); Figure 3 is a plan of the top, and Figure 4 a hori-
zontal section just above the base showing the platform and the hydraulic cylinders
in plan. Figures 5. 6. 7 and 8 are detail views on a larger scale of one of the
transporting wheels of the staith and of the guiding and swivelling arrangements
therefor. Figure 9 is a plan, and Figure 10 a part side elevation of a carrier.
Figure 11 is a front elevation of the same carrier standing between the legs of the
staith and showing the appliances for connecting the carrier platform with the

page_text: hoisting chains. Figures 12 and 13 are part sectional elevations, and Figure 14
is a plan (one half of the turning platform being removed) of the portable turn
table.
The frame of the staith is constructed of four strutted legs A connected together
by horizontal and diagonal bracings which at the two sides and back are so
arranged as to leave a clear opening for the passage of waggons. When the staith
stands over a line of rails as shown, these side openings allow of traffic through the
staith when not in use. The legs and their struts are constructed of iron plates
and are made of box section, the adjacent sides of the vertical and its strut being
left open. The front and back legs are connected together in pairs by horizontal
girders B, the one at the back being so constructed as to allow the passage over it
of the waggon from the level of the turn table or carrier at rear of the staith onto
the platform in the staith, or vice versa. The ends of these girders are supported
on travelling wheels C running on rails D and each mounted in a swivelling
carriage hereafter described in detail with reference to Figures 5 to 8. In addition
to these travelling wheels, the front girder is supported on packing screws b
screwing into sockets directly beneath the vertical legs of the staith and taking a
bearing on the rail D when the staith is standing. Each screw has a capstan head
at its lower end by which it is turned and a loose shoe which embraces the head
of the rail. The rear girder may have similar screws or may be wedged or
otherwise packed. The top of the staith is framed together by four girders suitably
braced, which also serve to carry the overhead chain gearing.
The platform of the staith is constructed of two longitudinal girders E framed
together by transoms beneath them in such position that they can come below
the rail level in order to allow the level of the platform rails to come as low as
possible. F are the platform rails laid in open box girders G resting on the
transoms of the platform without being attached thereto and secured together by
two cross bars HI, of which H is pivoted at its ends in the girders E to constitute
a tilting platform for the truck. The ends of the cross bar I are the points to
which the tilting chains are attached. The main platform E is guided in its
vertical motion by angle irons fixed to the legs of the staith. K are a pair of
hydraulic cylinders arranged between the vertical and strut of the two back legs
of the staith, and k are the chains passing over sheaves on the hydraulic rams, one
end of each chain being attached to a fixed point and the other passing down
beneath a sheave k¹ and up again and is attached to a horizontal inovable beam L.
M is a horizontal shaft mounted in bearings on top of the staith immediately above
the hydraulic cylinders K, and N are four suspension chains attached to the
corners of the platform E and passing up over chain wheels n n' (of which n are
keyed on the shaft M) and down again to the beam L, to which all four chains
are attached, the chains N thus virtually forming continuations of the chains k.
O are spiral drums keyed on shaft M, and o are chains attached to and wound on
said drums and attached to the beam L so as to ensure the simultaneous action of
the lifting chains. P are a pair of hydraulic cylinders mounted in the back
framing of the staith, and p q are chains passing over sheaves as shown and
attached respectively by one end to the movable beam L, and by the other end to
the cross bar I of the tilting platform. By this arrangement the tilting chains
travel simultaneously with the hoisting chains, the former chains then running idle
round their sheaves so that the tilting can be performed at any point of the lift of
the platform. The tilting is effected by the rams of the hydraulic cylinders P
shortening the tilting chains independently. The arrangement of the tilting
chains is such that each chain passes over both rams to always ensure equal motion
of the chains. The chain p passes from beam L outside the frame over pulley p¹
(loose on shaft M) down the inside of frame under pulley p³ (fixed to frame) up
over the smaller sheave p³ on the one ram, down under pulley pt (fixed to frame)
up over the larger sheave p* on the other ram, down under pulley po (fixed to
frame) up inside the frame to pulley p' and down to the tilting platform. The
other chain 9 passes in a similar way successively over pulleys and sheaves q¹ q³

page_text: 939959 but then passes up outside the frame over pulley 97 loose upon the
shaft M and then over pulley q³ on the same shaft as the pulley p' and then down
to the tilting platform.
The hydraulic cylinders would be connected with mains suitably arranged, by
adjustable connections such as are used for other movable hydraulic machinery
and provided with suitable valves.
Figure 5 is an elevation, Figure 6 a half sectional elevation (at right angles to
Figure 5), Figure 7 is a half sectional plan, and Figure 8 is a sectional part plan
of one of the travelling wheels and its carriage. B is the end of one of the girders
on which the strutted legs of the staith are mounted, and C is one of the travelling
wheels. This wheel runs on a rail as shown, and its axle turns in bearings R' at
the underside of a swivelling carriage R capable of rotating about a vertical axis.
To this end the carriage is placed beneath a horizontal ring S fixed to the under-
side of the girder B and is so connected thereto as to be free to revolve about it.
It is recessed to embrace said ring and to admit between the bearing surfaces of
the ring S and carriage R a circle of antifriction balls t placed in holes in a live
ring T. The carriage may be turned by a worm Z gearing with a ring of teeth Z¹
around it as shown, the worm being operated by a ratchet lever or otherwise. The
travelling wheel C has no flange and is retained on its rail by a pair of lateral
guide rollers U at each side whose axes are mounted in sockets Ui attached to the
carriage R and are free to be raised therein by means of a lever U³ sufficiently to
enable these rollers to clear the rail when turning the wheel.
Figures 9. 10. and 11 represent a carrier mounted on wheels travelling on appro-
priate rails under the staith, the frame being constructed of three longitudinal
girders V to which the axle bearings are attached, the axles passing above said
girders which are connected by two transverse girders V' fixed upon them and
suitably braced. This carrier has a removable platform constructed of two longi-
tudinal girders W connected by a pair of transverse open box girders W' suitably
braced and carrying rails X within them to receive the waggon. The box girders
W rest on the longitudinal girders V and between the transverse girders V₁ of the
carrier. We are adjustable stops fixed to the top flanges of the girders W¹ to
determine the position of the waggon. The ends of the girders W terminate in
gudgeons for the hoisting chains of the staith to engage with, in order to hoist
the removable platform with the waggon upon it. In this case the hoisting chains
terminate in hooks Y which by working against fixed guides Y' on the legs of the
staith, are caused to engage or disengage themselves with or from the gudgeons of
the girders W as the hooks are raised or lowered between the full line and dotted
position, the distance between the points of attachment being such that the chains
will tend to swing outwards from the carrier against the guides Y¹ so as to
automatically detach themselves and leave the way clear through the staith. In
the case of a carrier with removable platform, the back hoisting chains would pass
around the sheaves of the tipping-cylinders P so as to act also as tipping chains,
the special tipping chains being dispensed with. When such carriers are used
within the staith it is necessary to have a matching piece of railway on the back
girder B of the staith if it is desired to run the waggon on its own wheels off of
the carrier through the back of the staith onto another carrier (or a turntable such
as hereafter described) running on another railway at the back of the staith
parallel to the first. The carrier used outside of the staith would differ from that
above described inasmuch as it would have no removable platform, the girders V'
being omitted, the girders W' being fixed to the longitudinal girders V.
Figures 12. 13. and 14 represent a portable turntable adapted to rest directly
upon the railway on which the trucks travel. It is constructed of a foundation
ring A and cross girders B whose ends are cranked downwards so as to pass under
the ring to which they are rivetted, both the girders and ring laying directly on
the railway rails. C is a frame connected to the ends of girders B and to bearers D
passing under the ring A at either side of the permanent rails, this frame carrying
short matching pieces of rail E corresponding to the level of the rails on the

page_text: turning table. F are cross axles mounted in the bearers D and each having a pair
of rollers G running loose on eccentric portions of the axle immediately above the
permanent rails, the axle being provided with a ratchet adjustment by which the
rollers may be brought to bear on the rails to enable the turntable to travel
thereon. H are packing screws at opposite sides of the frame C which may be set
to bear on the permanent way to prevent the turn table canting, in running the
waggon on or off at right angles to the permanent way. If necessary the turntable
may be also dogged down to the rails to prevent it being displaced by the waggons
in mounting the inclines next described. I are pairs of inclined rails pivoted to
the frame C at the level of the matching rails E and bevelled off at their other
ends to match with the permanent way. The turning table is composed of a
plate K and a pair of open box girders L in which the rails are laid, the plate
having a socket working on a centre pin rising from the foundation. M are four
pairs of rollers mounted in carriages on which the ends of the girders L rest, the
ring A forming the path for the rollers to run on, the sides of the carriages dipping
at either side of the ring to allow of the girders L coming close down to the ring.
By placing two such turntables directly behind the staith upon two separate lines
of railway, a succession of waggons may be brought up to the staith on one line and
run off by the other after being tipped.
The waggons, carriers, and turntables may be propelled by hydraulic capstans
placed in suitable positions on the staiths or elsewhere.
the
Having described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of performing
same, I would observe that although I have shown the construction of staith
which I prefer for carrying out my Invention in practice, this particular construc-
tion and arrangement forms part of the subject matter of another application for
Letters Patent already made by me, and I declare that what I claim as the Invention
to be protected by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is.
1. The combined employment of portable staiths, portable turntables and
carriers forming a complete system of apparatus for use in connection with suitable
railways for enabling railway waggons to be discharged at variable points along a
dock quay or wharf for loading vessels, substantially as specified.
2nd. The employment in combination with a line of railway, of a portable turn-
table resting on the rails of the railway itself, from or to which rails, trucks are to
be transferred to or from the turntable, substantially as herein specified.
3rd A carrier for railway waggons provided with a removable platform capable
of being lifted off with the waggon upon it, and of being hoisted and tipped in the
staith in lieu of the staith platform, substantially as shown and described.
In Witness whereof I the said George Taylor have hereunto set my hand
and seal this first day of June, A.D. 1883.