IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ELIJAH.
GALLOWAY, of the Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of April, in the eighth year of Her reign, did; for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Elijah
Galloway, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Elijah Galloway, my.exors, admors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Elijah Galloway, my exors, adiñors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING
RAILWAY CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that
I, the said Elijah Galloway, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendaṛ
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Elijah Galloway, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed a are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters märked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention relates to the employment of metallic or wire ropes to move
carriages on railways, so that the said ropes 'move at a much slower rate than
the trains or carriages to which they give, motion. In order that I may be
enabled more clearly to explain the means by which this effect is produced
according to my Invention, I will refer to the Specification of a Patent
granted to Joseph Saxton, of Middlesex, Mechanician, on the Twentieth of
December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-
two, "for certain improvements in propelling carriages, and in propelling
vessels for inland navigation." In the Specification of that Patent there is
described a method of producing the increased velocity of the carriage or
carriages by what are called differential pulleys), so that the said carriages
move at a much greater velocity than that of his endless rope. This arrange-
ment, however, never came into practise, but I have reason to believe that the
principal of differential pulleys is capable of such modification and combi-
nation with other implements or arrangements as to render it highly useful
and valuable, and I have accordingly taken these Letters Patent for securing
to myself the right of applying the principle of differential pulleys, according
to the manner herein-after described.
And in order to make my improvements understood, I will refer to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters of reference
marked thereon.
A, A, B, B, and C, 'C, Figures 1, 2, and 3, represent a carriage, having a
set of differential pulleys, constructed according to my improved method,
applied thereto. It will be seen that I propose to use two sets of differential
pulleys a and b in this carriage. Each set is so constructed that the larger
can be made to revolve with the smaller, or be disengaged therefrom by means
of clutches worked by levers in the usual manner; but instead of passing the
rope entirely round the periphery a groove of any or either of the pulleys, if
we trace the ropes c, c, or d, d, the course of which are indicated respectively
by red or blue lines, we shall find that they each wind round a and b one half
of a turn or-circle. 'The object of this arrangement is 'to prevent the rubbing
or chafing 'action which the ropes respectively sustain at the point where they
are slid on and off a pulley, grooved in the manner shewn, round which it

page_text: entirely passes. It will be further seen that the lower pulleys a, a, consist of
four grooves, namely, two of each size. The object of this is, that the rope
at the point where it is led on and off, namely, at the lowest part of a), shall
run in different grooves, and consequently there cannot be any of the chafing
or rubbing action alluded to. Further, to prevent the possibility of this
injurious contact of the rope, the double-grooved pulleys are enibraced at the
point where the ropes are led on and off by a guard or shield d, Figures 1, 3,
& 4, which is affixed so near to the flanges of the grooves (though not
touching them) that the rope is thereby prevented from escaping the groove
in which it is intended to run. This gaurd or shield may be made to embrace
and enclose the rope all along its course in the grooves. By observing the
course of either the blue or red lines c, c, and d, d, Figures 1 and 2, the way
in which the rope is wound on and off will be clearly understood. It is neces-
sary further to explain, that if a rope where wound round two sets of pulleys,
in the manner here shown, and such pulleys had their axes supported by bear-
ings of the usual construction, the force employed to pull the train by means
of the ropes would produce considerable friction on the said axes, by pressing
them towards each other. In order to avoid this friction, I interpose the anti-
friction rollers e, e, (supported on an axis) between the rollers f, f, and 9, y,
which are affixed to the axes of the pulleys a and b, in manner shewn in the
Figures referred to. Now, the axes at a and b have oblong mortices in
the supporting frame, so that they are free to move horizontally to a small
extent, and it will be manifest that when the ropes c, c, and d, d, are pulled
for the purpose of moving the carriage, the pressure thus produced will be
communicated to the peripheries of the antifriction rollers and not to the
axes. The pressure, therefore, which without the interposing rollers would
have been communicated to the axes of a and b, is almost, if not entirely,
communicated to the rollers, and consequently the friction is unimportant.
Having now explained my arrangement of the differential pulleys, I shall
proceed to describe how I propose to work the ropes, and to attach the trains
to the carriages on which the said pulleys are affixed, and which carriages I
call the tug carriages. Figure 2 represents a plan of a portion of a railway,
shewn as broken off at h, h, and i, i, and the rope drums (not shewn in the
Drawing) are respectively worked when required to do so by stationary steam
engines or other available power, and when the rope c, c, is wound on to a
drum at the end j it is at liberty to unwind from a drum at the end k, which
has been disenged from the engine for that purpose; so also, when the rope d
is wound on to a drum at m, it is unwound thereby from one in the direction
of 1

page_text: Thus it will be seen that by pulling the ropes in opposite directions I use
two distinct ropes, having no connection with each other, and that I do not
employ an endless rope; the ropes, it is obvious, should be supported by
sheaves placed at proper intervals along the line in the usual manner where
ropes are used on railways. It is manifest, further, that a differential pulley
may be employed in the manner I propose without giving motion to both
ropes, for if either rope were fixed at its ends motion would be given to the
tug by pulling the other rope. It is manifest that in a long line of railway it
would be necessary to have several stations at which drums and engines are
affixed, and consequently that any one carriage can only be employed to move
a train over the distance which exists between any two of the stations. To
give a continuous motion to a train, therefore, it is necessary to have the means
of releasing the tug from the train during its progress some little time before
it reaches the end of its own locality, and of attaching the next tug thereto
without any considerable loss of speed to the train. There are various
methods of effecting this object, but I will here give those arrangements
which I prefer for that purpose.
In the arrangement shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3, I propose that the tug
shall be capable of passing under the train or the train over the tug. For
this purpose it is necessary that the wheels of the tug should not run on the
rails on which the carriages un, and if the rails be laid on what are termed
continuous bearings, as on the Great Western Railway, the wheels of the tug
may then run upon the continuous bearing timbers, as shewn at n, n, Figure 3;
and the wheels of the tug must be small enough to pass under the axes of the
carriages. In order to give room to the pulleys to pass underneath the car-
riages, I propose to construct them with each wheel on a separate axis, as
at o, o, Figure 3, and to attach each pair of wheels to a transverse bar, shewn
by the dotted lines p, p, attached by the bearings 9, 7, 7, 9, to the respective
axes. There are four springs r, r, r, r, on which the body of the carriage
rests, and it will be evident these wheels have the essential property of
remaining equidistant from each other, yet they are capable of accommodating
themselves to curves as they revolve independent of each other. All this, as
also the means afforded for the carriages to pass over the tugs, will be clearly
understood by carefully examining Figure 3, which represents a tug as being
placed under a carriage.
:
In this arrangement I propose to use for attaching and detaching the tug
from the train the apparatus shewn in Figure 1, where s represents one of a
pair of catches capable of taking hold of the wedge pieces t, t, Figures 1 and 2.
To explain the operation of these catches, let us suppose the conductor (seated

page_text: .
at u) has adjusted (by means of chains) the catches to their present height,
and that the carriage shewn at Figure 1 is running in the direction of the
arrow; it will pass over the tug, the inclined under edges of the catches
being lifted up as they pass over the wedge picces t, t; meantime, motion
having been given to the tug by means of the ropes which have been started
simultaneously and in opposite directions (through signals made by the electric
telegraph), the tug will gradually acquire a proper velocity, and come up to
and pass under the leading carriage, when the catches s will take hold of the
wedge pieces t, t, and the tug will thus draw the train over its own district;
when approaching its terminus the clutches of. the pulleys will be thrown out
of gear (by a man seated in an enclosed box, not necessary to be shewn, and
retarded by suitable brakes, so as to be brought to rest easily. The train by
its momentum would during this retardation have run over the tug and bo
taken up by the succeeding one in the same manner. It is merely necessary.
to add, that to avoid any inconvenience arising from any diagonal pull, I
propose to use horizontal guiding wheels v, v, v, v, in addition to the usual
flanges of the supporting wheels.
Figure 4 represents an arrangement whereby a tug may pass under the
train when the wheels are affixed on a straight axis, according to the general
practice. In this case it is necessary to lay the sleepers in the manner shewn
at w, w, and to lay the ballasting so as to cause its surface to form a channel
coinciding with the upper surface of the sleepers. This channel would give the
required room for the differential pulleys when arranged as shewn in the
Diagram. The mode of attaching and detaching the tug would in this case
be the same as I have already shewn, and described by Figures 1, 2, and 3.
I will now describe another arrangement of the apparatus and machinery
by which I propose to cause the tugs to run upon the space between the two
lines of a double line of railway. To explain this I will refer to Figure 5,
which is an outline plan; x, x, x, a, being the two ordinary lines of a railway,
and y, y, wooden rails laid between them. In this arrangement, the ropes,
sheaves, and drums are laid down between the two lines, and the tugs are
employed to draw the carriages in both directions, it being then necessary so
to regulate the time of the trains passing each other that they shall do so at
or near an engine station, so that there would be little time lost by the
transfer of the trains from one tug to another as they respectively bring along
the train on one line of rails and take back that on the other. All this will
be readily understood by the Drawing, and it is only necessary I should
explain the means I propose to employ for attaching and detaching the train.
For this purpose I propose to affix an arm, shewn in two positions (in

page_text: black and red) in the Diagram.. This arm turns on a pin a', and by the action
of the spring assumes, when, left to itself, the position shewn in the black at
the right of the Diagram: On the leading carriage of the train there is a frame
(d) suspended by axes (61, 61), see Figure 6, and capable of horizontal motion.
At the outer extremity of this frame there are two small rollers, and a chain
passes over these rollers (as shewn at Figure 6), and its two ends are carried
under the carriage and round the spring barrel c', to which it is properly
affixed. The effect of this arrangement is, that when the frame is inclined to
either one side or other of the carriage, the barrel spring, by winding up the
chain, pulls the frame d' into the position shewn at e¹ in the Diagram. Now,
the operation is this: the tug. being in a state of rest at the engine station,
and the train coming along by its own impetus in the direction of the arrow,
the outward inclined side of the arm z would push the vertical part of the
chain extending from roller to roller out of its way and freely pass it. The
tug in the mean time having acquired motion, overtakes the train, and then
the hook of the lever z catches the chain (d'), and the frame being first pulled
into a line parallel to the length of the carriage, such a portion of the chain is
unwound from the spring barrel c¹ as to prevent any shock to the carriage or
train. When the tug approaches the next engine station the frame and hook
respectively assume the position first described. By this arrangement it will
be seen that the pull upon the train will be in the proper direction, and the
diagonal strain will be communicated almost solely to the tug, and this will be
met by the horizontal guiding wheels of the tug. When it is desirable to lay
the ropes on the same line as that on which the carriages run, another method
of getting past the tugs may be employed; this is, so to lay the wooden rails
intended to carry the tug, and represented by the continuous bearing rails
(Figure 3), (but of which they would no longer form a part,) so as to descend
gradually by an incline when near either end of the limits assigned to each
tug. Tho tug would thereby gradually descend and dip down into the recess
thus formed, so that the whole machine would be lowered sufficiently to allow a
carriage having common axles to run over it. These inclines should obviously
extend far enough to allow the tug to come up under a train in motion,
and take up its positions in advance of the train before it rises too far out of
thie recess.
And further, it will be readily understood, that instead of having
differential pulleys arranged as I have shewn, the apparatus may be constructed
so that the duty of the lower pulley may be performed by the wheels of the
tug carriage, upon the centre of the axis of which the smaller pulleys would
then be placed, fitted with proper clutches. In this case, however, each pair
of the supporting wheels must be of a different diameter, and the distance of

page_text: the axles of the pulleys from each other must be varied. Thus, if one pair of
wheels were four feet diameter and the pulley on this axis were three feet.
diameter, the other pair of wheels might be four feet six inches in diameter,
when the pulley thereof should be forty and a half inches diameter; for it is
manifest that if the respective diameters of each pair of wheels and their pulley
bear the same proportion to each other, the working of the carriage by
this principle will be as effectually performed as if the supporting wheels.were
all of one size.
My object in proposing to make the wheels of different diameters is to give
such elevation to the larger pulley above the horizontal line as will carry the
ropes clear of it underneath, and thus prevent chafing, as I have shown in the
Diagrams already described. I should further explain, that this last-described
method, by which I dispense with one rope (obtaining the action by the adhe-
sion of the wheels on the rails, is not one which I propose to use generally.
It may be applicable with very light trains, or where the tug could be used as
the passenger carriage, but it is manifest that as the adhesion of the wheels"
would limit the application to cases where the tractive resistance is incon-
siderable its application would be comparatively limited.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I lay no claim to any
parts or portions thereof, whether separately or combined, save and except
that which is clearly understood as comprised under the following arrangements
or combinations:-
First, I claim the combining the use of wire ropes with differential pulleys
or differential wheels and pulleys for the purpose of propelling carriages.
Secondly, I claim the use of separate ropes for giving motion to the
differential pulleys employed in propelling carriages.
Thirdly, I claim the mode I employ for leading the ropes on and off the
differential pulleys used in propelling carriages (that is to say), the pulleys and
antifriction rollers, as arranged and shewn.
And, fourthy, I claim the several arrangements I have described for conve-
niently taking up and releasing the carriages.
In witness whereof, I, the said Elijah Galloway, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
ELIJAH (L.S.) GALLOWAY.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of October, in the
year of our Lord 1845, the aforesaid Elijah Galloway came before our
said Lady the Queen in His 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.