IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS OR TRAMWAYS AND IN CARRIAGE WHEELS TO BE USED THEREON
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN RAILWAYS OR TRAMWAYS AND IN CARRIAGE WHEELS TO BE USED THEREON."
-A communication from abroad by William Wharton, junior, of
Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania. United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his Petition, on
the 8th October 1860.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS OR TRAMWAYS, AND IN CARRIAGE WHEELS TO BE USED
THEREON," a communication from abroad by William Wharton, junior, of
Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of rail-
ways or tramways, and carriage wheels intended to run thereon, whereby the
carriages are rendered self-transferring from the main line on to a siding or

page_text: branch without the necessity of using switches or moveable points. According
to this Invention it is proposed to make the points, or those parts of the way
when a siding or branch runs out of the main line, in such a manner as to
remain always open, whether for the thro' traffic on the main line or for the
branch traffic, and in conjunction with these permanently open and fixed
points is laid a guide rail, so disposed that by imparting a lateral thrust to the
wheels of the carriage intended to be transferred to the siding or branch, those
wheels will be caused to leave the main line and enter the branch line.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to make those wheels of the
carriage to be transferred, and which are on the side of the line next to the
guide rail of a greater width than usual, so that as they pass the guide rail
(which should stand up higher than the ordinary rail) they will be forced or
pushed by it laterally into the branch, the flanges of the wheels passing
through the open points. The guide rail may be placed either inside or
outside of the line of rails, and the wheels to be acted upon by them may have
annular projections or rims formed upon them, or special wheels for the guide
rails to act upon may be employed. Those carriages which are not required
to leave the main line are provided with the ordinary railway wheels, and
consequently they will not be acted upon by the guide rails.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Henry Johnson, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators,
ör 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

page_text: .
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS OR TRAMWAYS, AND IN CARRIAGE
WHEELS TO BE USED THEREON," a communication from abroad by William
Wharton, junior, of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should par-
ticularly 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 John Henry Johnson; 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
railways or tramways and carriage wheels intended to run thereon, whereby
the carriages are rendered self-transferring from the main line on to a siding
or branch without the necessity of using turn-tables or moveable points.
According to this Invention it is proposed to make the points on those parts of
the way where a siding or branch runs out of the main line in such a manner
as to remain always open, whether for the through traffic on the main line or
for the branch traffic, and in conjunction with these permanently open and
fixed points is laid a guide rail so disposed that by imparting a lateral thrust
to the wheels of the carriage intended to be transferred to the siding or branch,
those wheels will be caused to leave the main line and enter the branch line.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to make those wheels of the
carriage to be transferred, and which are on the side of the line next to the
guide rail, of a greater width than usual, so that as they pass the guide rail
(which should stand up higher than the ordinary rail) they will be forced or
pushed by it laterally into the branch, the flanges of the wheels passing
through the open points. The guide rail may be placed either inside or
outside of the line of rails, and the wheels to be acted upon by them may
have annular projections or rims formed upon them, or special wheels for the
guide rails to act upon may be employed. Those carriages which are not
required to leave the main line are provided with the ordinary railway wheels,
and consequently they will not be acted upon by the guide rails, but will pass
the points without leaving the main line.
:

page_text: And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on (the Sheet) of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a plan view of a railway track and a turn-
out or siding communicating therewith, whereby railway carriages may be
transferred from one track to another; Figure 2 is a plan view of a track and
turn-out, illustrating a modification of the improvement; Figure 3 is a
transverse section of the track, Figure 1, taken along the line 1, 2; and
Figure 4 is a transverse section taken along the line 3, 4.
In Figures 1 and 3 A represents one rail, and A' the opposite rail of what
may be termed the main track with which the rails B and B' of the siding or
turn-out communicate, the latter rails having a sharp curve, such as is required
for city railroads at the intersection of two streets, the curved rail B' of the
turn-out joining the rail A¹ of the main track at the point a, so that one shall
form a continuation of the other. Near this point the rail A¹ of the main
track is discontinued for a sufficient distance to leave a space b large enough
to freely admit the flanges of the wheels, a similar space for a similar purpose
being allowed between the end of the curved rail B and the inside of the
rail A of the main track. Near the point where the curved rail B¹ meets the
rail A a guide rail D is permanently secured to the track, this rail being
situated inside the rail A at such a distance from the same as may be
determined by the peculiar construction of the wheels to be described here-
after. It will be observed, on reference to Figure 3, that the guide rail projects
above the rails of the main track and turn-out, and on reference to Figure 1
that it projects in both directions beyond the open space b, which interrupts
the continuation of the rail A¹, and that one portion is curved to correspond to
the curve of the rail B, so that the distance between the points, shewn by the
dotted lines 1 and 2, will be equal for a purpose rendered apparent hereafter.
Between the curved end of the guid rail and the inside of the rail A of the
main track there is a space d for admitting the flanges of the wheels. E and
E represents two trucks or carriages which have to transverse the direct rails
of the main track, and F and F two others intended to turn from the main
line on to the turn-out or siding, represented by the rails B and B. The first
mentioned trucks E and E¹ are provided with wheels of the ordinary con-
struction, so that as they move in the direction of the arrow the flanges of the
wheels on one side will pass through the space between the end of the rail B
and the inside of the rail A, the flanges of the opposite wheels passing through

page_text: the space d between the inside of the rail A' and the curved end of the
rail D, the latter cannot therefore interfere with the direct course of the
truck Ę in the direction of the arrow to the point occupied by the truck E'.
The trucks F and F¹, however, which have to turn out from the main track
on to the curved rails B and B of the turnout, are provided on one side with
wheels G, each of which has on the inside an annular projection x, the wheels
on the opposite side of the truck being in the present instance of the ordinary
construction. Now the distance between the edge of the annular projection
of each wheel G from the flange of the same, compared with the locality of
the guide rail D, is such that as the truck F moves in the direction of the
arrow, the edge of the annular projection will bear against the inside of the
guide rail, and as the latter is curved to correspond with the curved rail B¹ it
will be evident that the flanges of the wheels G must be directed to the space-b,
which interupts the continuation of the rail A¹ of the main track, and conse-
quently that the threads of the wheels G instead of traversing the rail A¹ will
traverse the rail B₁ of the turnout, the wheels on the opposite side of the truck
taking the direction of the curved rail B. In the modification illustrated in
Figure 2, the guide rail D is situated on the outside of the rail A, near the
point where the curved rail B of the siding meets the said rail A, the wheels
G, G, of the trucks F being provided with annular projections; these, however,
instead of being situated on the inside of the flanges, are formed by continuing
the treads of the wheels, so that they may project beyond the outer edge of the
rail A to such a distance as to bear against the inside edge of the guide rail D,
and be directed by the latter on to the curved rail B of the turn-out, the flanges
of the opposite wheels of the truck being consequently directed through the
space which interrupts the continuation of the rail A¹, and the treads of these
wheels taking the direction of the rail B' of the turn-out. It will be evident
that the trucks or carriages provided with ordinary wheels will follow the
direct course of the main line or track in this modification of the improvement,
and that the result generally will be the same as that described in reference to
Figure 1.
It will also be evident that whilst the same principle is maintained of
transferring the vehicles from the main track to the turn-out by means of
a lateral thrust imparted by the guide rail D, and without the aid of moveable
points or switches; the disposal and arrangement of this guide rail may be
modified, and that the construction of the wheels for acting in conjunction
with the said guid rail may be also modified as regards the diameter and
disposal of the annular projection, and that wheels separate from the ordinary

page_text: carriage wheels, but forming equivalents to the annular projections on the
same may be used in conjunction with guide rails.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the general construction,
arrangement, and combination of rails or trams, and of the carriage wheels
to be used thereon, in the manner and for the manner herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal this Eighth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)