Iм- PROVEMENTS IN ÆRIAL TRANWAYS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry John Puckle, of Woodcote Green, Epson,
in the County of Surrey, and Richard Fennelly, of No. 122, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN ÆRIAL TRANWAYS."
Scaled the 8th July 1873, and dated the 21st January 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry John Puckle and
Richard Fennelly at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 21st January 1873.
WC, HENRY JOHN PUCKLE, of Woodcote Green, Epsom, in the County
of Surrey, and RICHARD FENNELLY, of No. 122, Cannon Street, in the
City of London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ERIAL TRAMWAYS," to be as follows:-
According to this Invention, in constructing an aerial tramway a wire
rope is strained tight, and is supported at intervals over uprights or
posts, to which it is fixed. Upon this rope the wheels of the tramway

page_text: carriages run, and the loads are carried from the axles of the wheels on
either side of the rope in receptacles like panniers, so that the centre of
gravity of the load in the two receptacles is vertically under the strained
rone.
When the tramway is laid upon an incline the carriages descend by
gravity, but upon level ground or to rise an incline traction by horse or
other power is resorted to.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry John Puckle and Richard Fennelly in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st July 1873.'
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, HENRY
JOHN PUCKLE, of Woodcote Green, Epsom, in the County of Surrey, and
RICHARD FENNELLY, of No. 122, Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 1
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in
the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Henry John Puckle and
Richard Fennelly, Her special license that I, the said Henry John 1
Puckle and Richard Fennelly, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Henry John Puckle and Richard Fennelly,
our exccutors, administrators, and 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, usc, a
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for " Im-
PROVEMENTS IN AERIAL TRAMWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Henry John Puckle and Richard Fennelly, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their hands a
and scals, or under the hand and scal of one of us or them, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to bo

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side clevation, and Figuro 2 a front elevation of one of
the tramway carriages, together with a portion of the fixed wire rope
tramway, and a supporting post or staple of bar iron. The frame of the
carriage is formed in picces, bolted or rivetted together, as shown, and is
got out of plane flat bar iron of suitable size, say 3" x 2". The trun-
nion frames of the carriage are formed by welding pieces together to the
shape shewn. All the bracing shewn in the upper part of the carriage
near the wheel is necessary, or the wheel would become jambed by the
load, and cease to run freely on the wire rope. The gudgeons or bushes
for the wheel and pannier trunnions are formed by "capping blocks,"
as shown, simply bolted to the iron plates. There is a staple for fastening
the tow line centrally, as shewn, so that the draft of the tow line may
have no tendency to cause the wheel to run askew on the cable. The
panniers or buckets are formed, as shewn, square at top, with semi-
circular or segmental bottoms, as shown in the side view. They are

page_text: formed of thin sheet iron, rivetted to small pieces of angle iron, to form
the side, corners, and bottom. The trunnions are made of inch round
iron, rivetted to the pannier at such a height as to throw the centro of
gravity high enough to make them turn easily; this gives room for
handles underneath, through a corner of which a staple hanging down
over the lower bar is placed to prevent the pannier turning by accident
en route.
This is lifted by the man discharging before tipping tho
pannier.
The post or staple shown in these Figures is of bar iron, and is such as
is used when passing over rock, where such staples can be readily and
securely fixed. The cable is fixed by a clip to the top of the supporting
staple. In other situations timber posts or framing, such as is shewn
at Figure 3, may be employed to carry the cable. This Figure is an
elevation of a post or frame adapted to carry a double line of rope tram-
way. The cables are supported upon iron caps. In Figure 6 such
supports are seen in plan.
Figure 4 represents a double post support, with an arrangement for
intermediately tightening the rope. The interval between the two caps
over which the rope is strained is bridged with a wooden capping piece,
with half-round iron screwed thercon for the passage of the wheel and
pannier carriage. a, a, shows an iron hoop worked by a nut and screw,
which not only tightens the iron rope, but prevents the slack from one
portion of an incline passing to another, which might inconvenience the
working.
Figure 5 is an elevation of a junction between two self-acting inclines,
a being the point of arrival, and 6 the point of departure. c, c, shews
two transverse travelling frames on wheels for passing the carriages on
arrival from either to the other side loaded and empty simultaneously.
Figure 6 is a ground and general plan of the skeleton framing, of
which (Figure 5) is an elevation. a, a, being the points of arrival, and b, b,
the point of departure. c, c, shews the rail for the traveller, which shifts
the carriage and panniers on arrival from side to side, and d, d, represents
the traveller frames in plan, with the moving portion of the ways ncccs-
sary to complete this operation.
The Drawing represents the tow line and gear for working such an

page_text: incline, so that the descent of loaded carriages may draw up the empty
ones. The working is controlled by a brake e.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that we claim an
nerial tramway consisting of a stationary strained rope, carrying pannier
carriages, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry John Puckle, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-first day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-three.
HENRY JOHN PUCKLE. (L.S.)