IMPROVED MEANS FOR PREVENTING THE ACCUMULATION OF SNOW IN RAILWAY CUTTINGS to be as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: Railway Cuttings.
I, WILLIAM LAMOND HOWIE, of Cornbrook House, Eccles, in the county of
Lancaster, Pharmaceutical Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS FOR PREVENTING THE ACCUMULATION OF SNOW
IN RAILWAY CUTTINGS to be as follows:-
"
The object of my Invention is to keep railway cuttings free of snow drifts
during snowstorms.
For this purpose I erect a screen or deflector in the cutting at or near the point
where the embankment begins to slope away from the original level, and so fix it
on supports of suitable material that some space shall be left free between the
lower edge of the deflector and the embankment. This screen is placed with its
upper edge leaning outwards from the rails, and at such an angle and at such
hoight above the level of the surrounding country that it may intercept and deflect
the wind carrying the drift snow, and direct it through the funnel like opening
formed by the deflector and the embankment face, across the rails at right angles
and up the opposite embankment beyond which in the eddy the snowdrift may
form on the level.
The deflector may be made continuous or in sections and constructed of wood or
other suitable materials, much like an ordinary close fence or shed but preferably
with a small space between each board, so that the wind passing through at these
slits may prevent the accumulation of snow on the sloping upper surface.
The supports of the deflector may be so made as to be capable of fixing it by
bolts and nuts at different angles, as may be necessary for embankments of varying
steepness, and cuttings of greater or less width or depth, and it will be necessary
so to fix or anchor the supports as to sufficiently resist the wind pressure which
will be exerted chiefly in an upward or uprooting direction.
Where the proximity of the deflectors to the passing trains is deemed undesirable
they may be made in sections to be removed from the supports in the summer
months and again fixed by suitable bolts and nuts to the permanent uprights on
the approach of winter.
The deflector will act with a wind blowing more or less at right angles to the
line, but it is not calculated to interfere with the natural clearing action of a wind
which blows parallel to or in the same direction as the rails. Nor although both
embankments of a cutting (as is usually necessary) may be furnished with the
deflectors is one likely to interfere with the action of the other.
Dated th:- Tanch Inc. of Dasombor 1001

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Preventing the Accumulation of Snow in
Railway Cuttings.
I WILLIAM LAMOND HOWIE of Cornbrook House Eccles in the county of
Lancaster, Pharmaceutical Chemist do hereby declare the nature of my said
invention for "IMPROVED MEANS FOR PREVENTING THE ACCUMULATION OF SNOW
IN RAILWAY CUTTINGS" 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 keep railway cuttings free of snow drifts
during snow storms.
For this purpose I erect a screen or deflector in the cutting at or near the point
where it begins to slope away from the original level and so fix it on supports that
some space shall be left free between the lower edge of the deflector and the slope
of the cutting. This screen is placed with its upper edge leaning outwards from
the cutting, and at such an angle and at such height above the level of the
surrounding country that it may intercept and deflect the wind carrying the drift
snow and direct it through the funnel like opening formed by the deflector and
the slopes of the cutting across the rails at right angles and up the opposite slope
beyond which in the eddy the snowdrift may form on the level.
The deflector may be made continuous or in sections and constructed of wood
or other suitable materials much like an ordinary close fence or shed but preferably
with a small space between each board so that the wind passing through at these
slits may prevent the accumulation of snow on the sloping upper surface.
The supports of the deflector may be so made as to be capable of fixing it by
bolts and nuts at different angles as may be necessary for slopes of varying
steepness and cuttings of greater or less width or depth and it will be necessary
so to fix or anchor the supports as to sufficiently resist the wind pressure which
will be exerted chiefly in an upward or uprooting direction.
Where the proximity of the deflectors to the passing trains is deemed undesirable
they may be made in sections to be removed from the supports in the summer
months and again fixed by suitable bolts and nuts to the permanent uprights on
the approach of winter.
The deflector will act with a wind blowing more or less at right angles to the
line but it is not calculated to interfere with the natural clearing action of a wind
which blows parallel to or in the same direction as the rails. Nor although both
slopes of a cutting (as is usually necessary) may be furnished with the deflectors
is one likely to interfere with the action of the other.
The accompanying diagram which illustrates my invention shows in cross
section a railway cutting whose slopes are fitted with a modification of my
improved deflectors for preventing the accumulation of snow in the cutting. In
this modification the deflecting screens A are carried at the upper ends of
supports B formed by old rails the lower ends of the supports being bolted or
otherwise secured to anchor rails C embedded in the ground and held down by

page_text: stone ballasting. The arrows indicate the direction of the wind which carries the
snow with it across the cutting as is indicated in the drawing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
As means for preventing the accumulation of snow in railway cuttings the
deflector or deflections A supported in inclined planes substantially as herein
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.