IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND ROLLING STOCK
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Le Clair and James De Rees, both of Newport, in
the County of Monmouth, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS
AND ROLLING STOCK."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Le Clair and James
De Rees at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th September
1880.
JOHN LE CLAIR and JAMES DE REES, both of Newport, in the County of
Monmouth. "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND ROLLING STOCK."
The improvements relate to small railways intended for transport and amusement
of passengers and others at fairs or in public gardens and such places, and consist of
a portable railway having] the rails arranged as a down and up incline, or in a
curve, together with a carriage allowed to travel thereon from one end being the
top of one incline to the other being the top of the other incline by gravity, said
carriage being so constructed that the body will revolve when travelling, or oscillate
endways or sideways, and thus combine a "swinging" and "gyratory" motion, or
one or the other motion simply.
The railway is conveniently made of wooden trestles with short lengths of metal
rails and longitudinal supports, so that the same will pack into a compact mass.
The carriage may be of wood or metal or both combined, and also made to take to
pieces and pack up.
The improvements further consist in furnishing the carriage with spring buffers
which strike against a spring or other frame fixed at the top of the further incline,
and so give impetus sufficient to start the carriage backwards and carry it back to
its original position to the top of the starting incline. Or the buffers may be placed
on the road and not on the carriage.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Le Clair and James De Rees in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th March 1881.
JOHN LE CLAIR and JAMES DE REES, both of Newport, in the County of
Monmouth. "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND ROLLING STOCK."
The improvements relate to small railways intended for transport and amusement
of passengers and others at fairs or in public gardens and such places, and consist of
a portable railway having the rails arranged as a down and up incline, or in a
curve, together with a carriage allowed to travel thereon from one end being the
top of one incline to the other being the top of the other incline by gravity, said
carriage being so constructed that the body will revolve when travelling, or oscillate
endways or sideways, and thus combine a "swinging" and "gyratory" motion, or
one or the other motion simply. The railway is conveniently made of wooden
trestles with short lengthis of metal rails and longitudinal-supports;-so that the
same will pack into a compact mass. The carriage may be of wood or metal or
both-combined,-and-also-made-to-take to pieces and pack up.
The improvements further consist in furnishing the carriage with spring buffers
which strike against a spring or other frame fixed at the top-of-the-further-incline,
and so give impetus sufficient to start the carriage back ward and carry it back to
its origional position to the top of the starting incline. Or the buffers may be placed
on the road and not on the carriage. The accompanying Drawing will serve to
illustrate a convenient mode of performing our Invention, but the details may be
varied; Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the railway on suitable supports with a car
on it; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3, end view of stairs and platform;
Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are respectively detailed elevation, half plan, and end view of car.
In all the Figures like letters are intended to represent like or corresponding parts,
A being the car; B, the under frame on which the wheels and buffers are mounted
as shown; C, the revolvable bed or frame mounted on a pivot and capable of
revolution on the small wheels C; D are guide pieces fitted with rollers E, and are
intended to keep the car on the line, they are shown in Fig. 6; F are buffers
which may be made as shown, or in other convenient form; H are supports
carrying the rails O; K is a balanced lever intended to actuate the platform M,
which is hinged at one end and made capable of being raised with the loaded car
upon it into the position of the dotted lines shown in Fig. 1, and so causing the
loaded car to start from the platform M, traverse the rails, and proceed to the
station N, where the buffer strikes a buffer or stop, and the car is by the rebound
given started backwards with sufficient impetus to carry it to its first starting
platform M.
We prefer to make the supports and rails of convenient sizes so that the whole
may be stowed away in the car for the sake of portability.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Le Clair and James De Rees, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fourteenth day of March, A.D. 1881.
JOHN LE A IT