IMPROVE- MENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO APPARATUS FOR CHANGING THE POSITION OF CARRIAGES ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
ORMEROD, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer,
and JOSEPH SHEPHERD, of Chorlton-upon-Medlock, in the same County,
Mechanical Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria did, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventh day of February, in
the thirteenth year of Her reign, give and grant unto us, our exors, adñors,
and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
we, the said Edward Ormerod and Joseph Shepherd, our exors, adñiors, and
years therein
assigns, should and lawfully might, during the term of fourteen
mentioned, make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of Her Majesty s
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO APPARATUS FOR CHANGING THE POSITION OF CARRIAGES
ON RAILWAYS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that if we,
the said Edward Ormerod and Joseph Shepherd, should not particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, and cause the same to be
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that then the
said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby

page_text: granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the
same, relation being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Edward Ormerod and Joseph Shepherd, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and
description, reference being had to the Drawings on two Sheets hereunto
annexed, and in which description and Drawings the same letters and numbers
of reference are used to indicate the same parts in all the Figures in which they
occur.
Our Invention consists, first, in the construction and arrangement of the appa-
ratus generally known as a traversing truck, and used for changing the position
of carriages on railways, by transferring them from one line to another of the
rails on which such carriages ordinarily run (and which for convenience we
designate as the permanent rails) in such manner as that the carriage may be
placed thereon and removed therefrom and transferred to another line of rails
without disturbing the fixedness of the permanent rails. This we effect by
means of an oscillating or vibratory frame or stage, adjustable, as occasion
requires, as an inclined plane, up or down which the carriage may be moved
from or to the permanent rails, and as a horizontal support for the carriage
whilst being traversed from one to another line of the permanent rails, with
suitable adjuncts for producing or maintaining such several adjustments.
Secondly, our Invention consists in the combination, arrangement, and
application of apparatus for placing on and withdrawing from the permanent
rails of the railway inclined planes, to be used when required to facilitate
the placing and removal of carriages upon and from traversing trucks or
lorries, ordinarily used for transferring carriages from one line of rails to
another.
We shall now describe the first part of our said Invention, with reference to
the Figures in the Drawings numbered 1 to 8, both inclusive.
Figure 1 represents an external side elevation of our improved traversing truck,
showing the oscillating frame in the inclined position; and Figure 2, the same,
with the frame in the horizontal position. Figure 3 is a longitudinal section,
taken through the line 1, 2, in Figure 4 ; and Figure 4, a plan of our improved
traversing truck; Figure 5 is a transverse section, taken through the line 3, 4,
in Figure 3; and Figure 6, an external elevation of one end of the same;
Figure 7 is a side elevation, and Figure 8 a plan, of the traversing truck, with
another arrangement of the oscillating frame.
A are the sides, and B the ends of a traversing truck mounted on wheels C,

page_text: which run on the cross rails D. The ends B are hollow or box ends, with
pertures at the top and bottom to allow the wheels C to project through
hem, as shewn in the Drawing. The wheels C rotate on axes X, which
are mounted in the sides of the box ends B. E are the two sides of an
oscillating frame, one on either side of the traversing truck, and connected
at each end by the cross bars F, and preserved in their proper position by
the two stays s. This frame is attached by its sides E to the extremities
of the axis M, passing through or supported by the truck sides A, and
being so suspended on an axes or centres, may be placed either in a hori-
zontal or inclined position with reference to the rails of one of the main
lines of the permanent railway G. Each of the sides E of the oscillating
frame has a rail H, either in one piece with it, or bolted, rivetted, or
otherwise fastened thereto. The oscillating frame with its rail His
exhibited in the inclined position in Figure 1, one of its extremities or
points P resting upon the upper side of one of the permanent rails G. The
lower side of the extremities or points are cut or planed so as to correspond
and coincide truly with the surface of the permanent rail when the oscillating
frame and its rails H are required to be placed in the inclined. position, as
shewn in Figure 1, for the ascent of a carriage from the main line or siding
of a railway to the truck, or the descent of a carriage from the traversing
truck to the main line or siding. The wheels N, N, in outline shew the
position of the carriage when the oscillating frame is in the horizontal position,
as shewn in Figure 2, or when the under side of the rails H are parallel with
and clear of the rails G of the permanent way, which is the position in which
the oscillating frame must be retained, as herein-after described, whenever the
truck or carriage has to be traversed across from one line of railway or siding
to another. Under the cross bars F are four wedges, one pair Q¹ being at
one end and the other pair Q' at the other end of the truck, best shewn in
longitudinal section in Figure 3, and in plan in Figure 4; these wedges pass.
through mortices made in the box end B of the truck, as shewn in Figures 5
and 6. The mortices are made with the bottoms and sides smooth to admit
of the wedges passing easily, and the bottoms of the mortices project from the
box ends of the truck on either side of those ends to afford a better support to
the wedges, as shewn in Figure 8. These wedges serve to raise either end of
the oscillating frame and to sustain or maintain the oscillating frame in an
inclined or horizontal position, as may be required. They are worked by.
means of two bent handles or levers K¹, K³, one of which is fixed on
the upper end of each of two upright shafts I', I³, turning in suitable
bearings attached to the inner surfaces of the sides A of the truck. At

page_text: the lower end of each of these upright shafts respectively, is fixed a
Jever J, J, each of which is attached by a pin and joint to one end of a
connecting rod r, s, the other end of which is attached to and works on a
stud on the sliding nut h, placed on the adjusting rod R, and having a set
screw to fix its position. The rod R is provided at each end with a screw,
one right-handed and the other left-handed. These screws work through the
cross pieces 0¹, 0%, which are tapped to receive them, and in which they are
secured by lock nuts n. The cross pieces 01, 0, connect the pairs of wedges
Q', Q, and the distance between the two pairs of wedges is adjusted by means
of the right and left handed screws on the rod R, and secured by the studs h
and their set screws. The wedges have their points all directed outwards
under the ends of the oscillating frame, as seen in Figures 3 and 4. When
either of the handles K and K is moved in the direction of the bent arrow
in the Drawing it turns the shaft I' or I', to which it is attached, and thereby
the connected lever J' or J' is moved simultaneously with the handle, and
forces outward the pair of wedges Q' or Q' at the same end of the truck, and
at the same time the pair of wedges at the other end are drawn inward by
means of the connecting. and adjusting rods ², R, and 72.
extends between the two sides of the truck, serves also
adjusting rod R, as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 5.
the handles K, K³, are placed within reach of the attendant, and do not
project far beyond the ends of the traversing truck. Although we have
described these wedges and their adjuncts as the means by which we raise or
depress either end of the oscillating frame and maintain it in the required
position, we do not confine ourselves to this particular arrangement, as it will
be obvious that various other means may be employed for effecting the same
objects. The arrangement above described is peculiarly applicable for trucks
to be employed in traversing heavy carriages, but when light carriages are
required to be traversed, or when the carriages are so short that the front
wheels will not pass beyond the axis M sufficiently to depress the end of the
frame towards which the carriage is moving, and tilt up the other end before
the hind wheels of the carriage have got on the frame, the wedges and their
geering may be dispensed with altogether, and the oscillating frame brought
to the horizontal position by the equilibrium of the carriage upon it, and may
be retained in that position during the traverse of the truck, as will be
hereafter more particularly described.
The stay S, which
as a guide for the
The extremities of
We will now describe the manner in which the carriage is transferred
from one to another line of rails by the traversing truck. D are the rails
of the cross road or traversing rails upon which the wheels of the traversing

page_text: truck travel when traversing or changing the position of a carriage from one
line of railway to another.
The cross line of rails D is placed at right angles to the main line of
railway or siding, and the level of the rails D is higher than the level of the
permanent rails G. The wheels of the traversing truck have two flanges upon
each wheel; these flanges roll upon and over the upper surfaces of the rails G
of the permanent way when crossing them, and by this difference in level of the
two railways, the permanent rails of the main line of railway or siding are left
free, and are not cut or interrupted, to admit of the transverse passage of the-
truck wheels. When the traversing truck is required to be used for changing
the position of a carriage, it is moved or traversed on the cross rails D until
it is placed in the position exhibited in plan in Figure 4. In this position the..
rails H of the oscillating frame E are over and parallel with the rails of that
line or siding of the railway from which the carriage is required to be
removed. To enable the carriage intended to be removed to be placed on the
truck, the oscillating frame with its rails is brought into the inclined position
shewn in Figure 1, by means of the wedges Q1, Q³, and their geering, in the
following manner:-The attendant draws the handle which is at the end of the
truck farthest from the carriage (which we will suppose to be K³) in the direction
of the bent arrow, by which he turns the vertical axis I', and with it the
lever J', fixed thereto, and which forces the wedges Q³ at that end of the truck
under the cross bar F at the same end, and at the same time, by means of the
connecting rods and r¹ and adjusting rod R, the wedges Q' at the end next to-
the carriage are drawn from under the cross bar F at that end, by which
means the end of the oscillating frame which is farthest from the carriage is.
raised and the end nearest to the carriage is depressed, until the points of the
rails H nearest the carriage meet and rest upon the permanent rails. The
frame will then be inclined, as shewn in Figure 1, and the carriage to be-
removed is then forced up the incline until all its wheels are placed on the
rails H, as shewn in that Figure. When the carriage has thus been placed on.
the oscillating frame, it must be prevented, by scotches placed against its
wheels, running off the frame. The attendant then moves the handle K² in:
the contrary direction to that in which it was before moved, by which the-
previous action of the wedges is reversed, the wedges raising the depressed
end and permitting the descent of the elevated end of the frame; until.the-
frame with the carriage upon it is brought into the horizontal position, when:
the under surfaces of the frame sides will be above and quite clear of the main,
rails of the permanent railway or siding, and in this position the truck with,

page_text: the carriage upon it is ready to be traversed upon the cross rails D across the
main line, and may then be traversed accordingly until it arrives across the
main line or siding to which the carriage is intended to be removed, in such
a position that the rails H may be over and parallel with the rails of that
main line or siding. The frame is then brought to the inclined position in
whichever direction the carriage is intended to descend by moving the cor-
responding handle K³ or K³, and so actuating the wedges, as before described,
and the scotches which prevented the descent of the carriage being removed,
it is made to descend upon the main line or siding.
We will now proceed to describe two other arrangements of the oscillating
frame in combination with the traversing truck, which will be found extremely
useful for general purposes.
In these cases the wedges Q', Q, with their geering are dispensed with,
and the oscillating frame must be inclined by the attendant, or by the wheels
of the advancing carriage intended to be placed on the truck, which will, as
they come to bear upon the points P of the rails H, depress them until they
rest on the permanent rails, and the carriage is then forced up the incline, as
aforesaid. When the inclined frame is restored to the horizontal position
by the equilibrium of the carriage placed upon as before described, it must be
supported in that position by stops at the opposite end of the oscillating frame
to that at which the carriage is received. These stops may be placed under
the cross piece F at or near to the farther end of the oscillating frame. In
a truck so constructed the carriage descends at the same end of the oscillating
frame as that at which it ascended.
Another arrangement of an oscillating frame or incline in combination
with the truck is shewn in Figure 7 and Figure 8. In this traversing
truck the oscillating frame is provided with two axles or points of sup-
port M, M², at a small distance, and equidistant from the middle of the
truck, and is sustained on both, except during the passage of the carriage
on to or off from the oscillating frame. In this arrangement the point of s
support nearest to the end at which the carriage to be moved is received
becomes the axis, about which the oscillating frame moves as the car-
riage is placed on the truck. The carriage having been received on the
incline, the oscillating frame is brought into a horizontal position by the equili-
brium of the carriage frame, and the truck having been traversed, the carriage 3
is moved towards the end at which it is to pass off from the oscillating frame,
and its weight causing the end of the oscillating frame towards which the
carriage is moved to be depressed, and come in contact with the rails of the

page_text: permanent line or siding, the carriage is passed from the truck to the rails of
the line to which it is to be transferred. In a truck constructed according to
this arrangement, as lastly described, all stops are unnecessary, and a carriage
may be passed on to or off from the truck at either end of the oscillating
frame.
We will now proceed to describe the second part of our Invention with
reference to the Figures in the Drawings numbered 9, 10, 11, inclusive.
In the mode now commonly practised on railways, in placing or removing a
carriage upon or from a traversing truck of the ordinary kind, it is usual to
employ detached rails to form inclined planes from the rails of the permanent
railway to the end of the truck, to which they are connected by means of
notches, hooks. tenons, and mortices, or other means. These detached rails
are liable to be lost or misplaced, and much additional trouble and incon-
venience is created by these rails having to be carried about by the attendant
from one line of railway to another whenever the truck has to be used for
traversing. They are also liable to be left by inadvertence upon the rails,
or across the permanent railway, so as to come in contact with the wheels
of a passing train, which may be thereby thown off the rails and serious
accidents produced. To obviate these disadvantages, the plan has also been
adopted of making short lengths of the rails of the permanent way moveable
on joints, so as to be capable of being raised from the level to an inclined
position, thus forming an incline up or down, which carriages may be moved
upon or from the truck. This plan is open to the objections that the
fixedness of the lines of the rails of the permanent railway is thereby dis-
turbed, and if the moveable lengths of rails should accidentally be left in the
inclined position accidents may be occasioned by the wheels of a passing
carriage coming upon or against them; also the fore pair of wheels of a
carriage having six wheels are liable to be left without support during the
passage of the carriage on to and off from the truck. According to our
o improvements the detached rails are dispensed with, and the rails of the
manent way are not interfered with, and the occasional rails which form
our incline plane are constructed and connected together in such manner
as to be moved simultaneously into their proper position upon the rails of
the permanent way when required for the purpose of placing or removing
5 a carriage upon or from the truck, and to be withdrawn simultaneously out
of the way of the wheels of a passing train, by the simple action of a counter-
balance weight and apparatus. connected therewith. The gearing and appa-
ratus by means of which the movements of the rails are effected is similar
per-

page_text: in principle to those connected with ordinary railway switches. Figure
represents a longitudinal elevation of this part of our improvements; Figure 1
a plan; and Figure 11, a transverse section of the same. In these Figures, i
order that the various parts may be better distinguished, the rails of the perma
nent way are coloured blue, and the moveable or sliding rails red. a, a, ar
the permanent rails of one line of the railway; 6', 63, are two moving or slidin
rails, on the upper side of which the wheels of a carriage are (in Figure 9
represented as ascending or descending up to or from a traversing truck o
the ordinary kind, the end of which is exhibited at T, in Figure 9. The unde
surfaces of the rails 6, 6, are made to bear very truly upon the upper side o
the permanent rails a³, a³, whenever they are placed over them for use, and
bear upon them with a solid continuous bearing throughout their length. I
is on these under or bearing surfaces that the inclined rails 62, 63, move or slide
into and out of position as required. c, d, are sliding plates or bearings, on the
same level with the upper surfaces of the rails a³, a³, and made very truly to
correspond with the under surfaces of the rails 61, 62, which when put in motion
slide upon the plates simultaneously in a transverse direction to the main rail-
way and parallel to the rails a¹, a²; g is a handle by which the sliding rails
are moved when required to be placed upon the main rails, as herein-after
described. This handle turns on an axis d, the necks or ends of which work
in bearings h, attached to the sides of the cast-iron box j. The handle g is
connected with the sliding rail 6' by means of the connecting rod l, one end of
which is attached by a joint and pin a³ to the square piece or socket of the
handle (see Figure 11), and the other end in like manner to the sliding
rail 6'. e', e, and e* are three combined counter levers, placed horizontally
upon the short vertical axes s¹; and ƒ ƒ³, and f³ are corresponding levers,
placed on the vertical axis ; the axes s³, s³, are supported in the cast-iron
boxes k³, ³, as herein-after described. The levers e¹, f, are connected with
the sliding rail 6 by means of the connecting rods g³, 9³, one end of each of
which is attached by a joint and pin to the lever, and the other end in like
manner to the sliding rail by an eye and pin a', which pin works through a
slot in the slide plate. The levers e, f, are in like manner connected with
the sliding rail 6 by means of the connecting rods 93 and 9, the ends of
which are connected with the rail 6 below the slide plates by pins a³; the
slide plates have slots to allow the pins a³ to work freely through them.
The levers e, f, are connected with each other by the connecting rod g³, in
Figure 9, the ends of which are attached to the respective levers by joints and
pins. is a counter lever, fixed upon the same axis d on which the handle 9

page_text: 9,
is fixed, and carries a counterbalance or weight W at its extremity; j is a
cast-iron box or recess, placed and very firmly fixed in the ground or ballast of
the railway, for the purpose of containing the axis d of the handle the
lever i, and counterbalance weight W; k, l, are boxes or recesses, made of
cast or wrought iron, to support the slide plates c¹, and also to hold the levers
e, &, and e, and f,f, and f, and their axes s', s³, before mentioned. Each
of these axes is supported at its lower end or foot by a footstep V, which is
truly bored to fit the foot, and is bolted to one of the sides of the box k¹ or l³,
which holds it. The upper bearing nicks or pivots of the vertical axes are
supported by and work in the slide plates c³, which are truly bored to receive
them. The plates c¹ form covers for and are supported by the recesses or
boxes k, l, and are firmly secured thereto respectively by bolts. In Figure
10 the plate is supposed to be removed from over the box ¹; the plates c³
are securely bolted to the main rails. These boxes k³, ³, are placed and very
firmly fixed in the ground or ballast of the railway. The sliding rails when
not in use are in the position shewn in Figure 10. When a carriage is
required to be placed on the truck, the attendant pushes the handle g towards
the rails in the direction of the arrow in Figure 11, by which, through the
connecting rod 1, the rail b¹ is made to slide over the plates c³ towards the
fixed rail a'. As the sliding rail moves it draws in the same direction the
levers e, f, by means of the connecting rods g', 9, and at the same time the
levers e, f, are forced outwards, and through the connecting rods 9³, 9', draw
the sliding rails 63 inwards, and the sliding rails b', b, thus continue to con-
verge simultaneously until they arrive over and rest upon the fixed rails a³, a³,
as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 10. The levers e³, f³, move simulta-
neously with the other levers, and by means of the connecting rod 9, Figure 9,
(shewn by dotted lines) in Figure 10, assist the action and further ensure simul-
taneous and parallel motion of the sliding rails 6' and 6. After the truck has
been loaded and the sliding rails are no longer required on the main rails, the
attendant leaves hold of the handle, the counterbalance weight W will at once
reverse the previous motions and withdraw the sliding rails to their original
position, as shewn in Figure 10, and the permanent railway will be left free
and clear for the passing trains.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in
5 which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we are
aware that various descriptions of traversing trucks with bearing rails on a level
with or at a slight elevation above the level of the permanent way and upon
or at the sides of the truck have been used, also that inclined planes for placing

page_text: the carriages on such trucks have been used, we do not therefore claim
as of our Invention or the exclusive use of traversing trucks with bearing
rails or of inclined planes except when the same are constructed and com-
bined as above described, nor do we claim the details or several parts of the
arrangements above referred to when taken separately and not combined
for the purposes above described. And we hereby declare that we claim
as of our Invention,―
First, a traversing truck or lorry for changing the position of carriages on
railways from one to another line of rails, having an oscillating frame or
stage moving about an axis or centres, supported by the side or frame of the
truck, and regulated by a system of wedges combined and arranged as above
described.
Secondly, we claim a traversing truck or lorry for changing the position of
carriages on railways as aforesaid, having an oscillating frame or stage moving
about an axis or centres, supported by the sides or frame of the truck, and
regulated by the weight of the carriage, and stops at or near one end of the
oscillating frame, as above described.
Thirdly, we claim a traversing truck or lorry for changing the position of
carriages on railways as aforesaid, having an oscillating frame moveable about
two axes and regulated by the weight of the carriage in passing on to or from
the rails of the oscillating frame, as above described.
Fourthly, we claim a traversing truck or lorry for changing the position of
carriages on railways as aforesaid, constructed and arranged so that the
carriage may be received sustained during the traverse, and discharged by
means of one and the same pair of rails laid continuously or without break on
a moveable frame or stage.
Lastly, we claim the combination, arrangement, and application of apparatus
in manner herein-before described for placing on and withdrawing from the
permanent rails of a railway inclined planes, to facilitate the placing and
removal of carriages upon and from traversing trucks or lorries ordinarily used
for changing the position of such carriages on railways.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edward Ormerod and Joseph Shepherd'
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Second day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
EDWARD (L.S.) ORMEROD.
JOSEPH (L.s.) SHEPHERD.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Second day of August, in the
year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid Edward Ormerod and Joseph Shepherd
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Third day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty.