Improved Support for Railway Waggon Covers and other Large Sheets.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improved Support for Railway Waggon Covers and other Large
Sheets.
I, DAVID BURNS, Canal Bank, in the city of Carlisle and County of Cumberland,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has reference principally to apparatus for supporting the sheets of
railway waggons used to protect the contents of the waggons from rain, but it is
applicable to any other large sheets used for a similar purpose, and which require to be
removed from time to time.
To the middle of one end of the waggon, or other structure, I place an upright rod
with a hook at the upper end. This rod I fix in guides which are fastened to the
frame of the waggon, and the bottom end of the rod also rests on a support fastened
to the waggon. By this arrangement the rod can be pulled out when not required.
At the other end of the waggon I place another upright rod which has a bend at
the top, and a similar hook attached thereto. This rod is round and is free to move
round its vertical axis; and it is so placed that when the bend at the top is pointing from
side to side of the waggon the book is over the middle of the end of the waggon.
This rod passes down through a guide fixed near the upper edge of the end of the
waggon. Below this guide I make the rod square in section, but the diagonal of the
square part must not exceed the diameter of the round part. The square part passes
down through a square hole made to fit it in the centre of a worm wheel, which I cast
with a journal projecting on each side by which the wheel is secured in a horizontal
position by pedestals fastened to the end of the waggon. By this arrangement this
rod can also be pulled out when not required.
The worm wheel is actuated by a worm or screw on a horizontal shaft running
along the end of the waggon to one of the sides, and there provided with a hand
wheel.
I provide a rope or chain, but prefer a rope, the length of a waggon with a loop at
each end, and this rope I fasten in any approved way to part of the centre line of the
sheet to be supported. The centre of the sheet should be attached to the middle of
the rope, but the length of attachment of the rope and sheet on either side may be

page_text: varied to suit circumstances; but a total length of attachment equal to the difference
of the length and breadth of the waggon will be found very suitable in most cases.
The sheet will then slope down at each side and end at the same angle.
It will sometimes be found more economical and convenient to form the sheet so
that, it will adapi itself to these gradients without forming creases, rather than to use
a flat sheet.
When a sheet has to be put over a waggon I turn the bend of the upright rod by
means of the worm towards the rod at the other end of the waggon. I then take a
sheet provided with a rope as already described and hook one end of the rope to
each rod.
I then by turning the worm move the bend of the upright rod towards the middle
of the waggon until I have made the rope sufficiently faut. The rope now carries a
great part of the weight of the sheet so that I can with ease arrange and secure the
edges of the sheet round the sides of the waggon. The sheet is thus left in a form
that prevents any water lying on it.
When it is necessary to take off the sheet I reverse the hand wheel and so bring
the hooks closer together, when I can with case unhook the rope and remove the
sheet.
I am aware that other plans have been tried for supporting the middle of waggon
sheets so as to run the water off and prevent it collecting in pools, but I claim as my
invention the plan herein described for tightening the rope or chain that carries the
sheet and the plan of attaching the rope to the outside of the sheet whereby the
labour and tear & wear of throwing the slicet over the rope is avoided.

page_text: I, DAVID BURNS Canal Bank in the City of Carlisle and County of Cumberland,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for LMPROVED SUPPORT
FOR RAILWAY WAGGON COVERS AND OTHER LARGE SHEETS and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to he particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention has reference principally to apparatus for supporting the sheets of
railway waggons used to protect the contents of the waggons from rain, but it is
applicable to any other large sheets used for a similar purpose and which require to be
removed from time to time. I shall herein describe the method of adapting it to
railway waggons by which it will be seen how it may be adapted to the framework of
other structures. In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed to describe the same with the aid of the accompanying
drawings, reference being had to the letters marked thereon.
At the middle of one end of the waggon I place an upright rod with a hook at the
upper end. This rod may extend about a foot below the upper edge of the waggon
and any convenient distance above it, depending on the size of the waggon and the
nature of the traffic on the railway; but three feet 1 consider a convenient height
above the edge of the waggon. The guide in which I fix the rod I make of cast iron
as being the cheapest, but if great strength be wanted it may be forged or made of
malleable cast, or cast steel. Fig. I is a side elevation of the guide. The back fg is
placed against the end of the waggon and it is secured in position by four bolts, the
bolt holes being shewn by the dotted lines near /&g. The recess e. f. holds the
edge of the sheet. a and b are projecting pieces with holes to fit the rod. The bottom
of the rod rests on c. a, b and c are strengthened by the flanges that run along each
side of the face of the guide and by corner pieces. e may be made separate from a
and band could even be dispensed with by tapering the rod from a to b, but I prefer
to cast all in one piece and to have a support and two guides for the rod as adding to
the security of keeping it in its proper position. It will be seen that the rod can be
readily removed when not required.
This rod is represented by A in Fig. III. It may be square but a round section
will be found most convenient. I prefer to make it of steel and taper it slightly in
each direction from the section where it passes through the guide a of Fig. 1. At this
point where it requires to be strongest it should be over one inch in diameter and
1 inches will be found usually a suitable size; but the exact thickness required in
each case will depend on the quality of steel and the weight of the sheet to be carried.
I form a shoulder on the top of the rod at a and screw the end for a half inch nut. I
theu provide a hook with an eye to fit a b. Fig. 111 and secure it in position by means of
a washer and nut.
•

page_text: At the other end of the waggon I place another upright steel rod which has a bend
at the top and a pin for a hook as shewn in Fig. LII. B. This rod requires to be of the
same strength as the other. It should be round where it passes through the top guide
so as to be free to move round its vertical axis. It is placed to one side of the centre
of the waggon so that when the horizontal part at the top is pointing transverse to the
waggon the hook is over the middle of the end of the waggon; that is, it will usually
be placed about sixteen inches from the centre of the end of the waggon. The part
below the top guide I make of a square section, but the diagonal of the square part
must not exceed the diameter of the round part. The square part passes down through
a squaro bolo made to fit it in the centre of a worm wheel which I cast with a journal
projecting on each side, by which the wheel is secured in a horizontal position by
pedestals fastened to the end of the waggon. The rod may be tapered upwards from
the top guido and the square part should taper slightly downwards so that it fits closely
and rests in the square hole in the centre of the wheel.
I prefer to cast the top guide that holds the rod, the pedestals that hold the worm
wheel, and those that hold the worm shaft all in one piece. Fig. II shows a side view
of this arrangement. The back fg is bolted against the end of the waggon, m, m being
the bolt holes. efis the recess for holding the oilgo of the sheet. a is the guide through
which the rod passes. c is the worm wheel and bb the projecting journals cast on to
it and by which it is held in position by the pedestals n. n; ll are the bolt holes of the
pedestals. Through the centre of the journals b and the wheel c passes a squaro hole
to hold the lower end of the steel rod. d is the shaft of the worm and the worm.
The shaded part i represents the two pedestals that carry the worm spindle. kis the
hand wheel that turns the worm.
The worm may either be put between the wheel and the waggon, or external to the
wheel as desired. When the worm is between the wheel and the waggon the shaft of
the worm must be carried quite to the side of the waggon, but if the worm be on the
outside of the worm wheel thero is room for the hand wheel and the spindle may be
made any length desired.
By turning the hand wheel I turn the worm and this turns the worm wheel. The
worm wheel by means of the square hole in its centro grasping the steel rod turns the
rod so that the bend at the top will point in any required direction. The worm, again,
wont allow the worm wheel to move so that the rod once put into position will retain it
till the hand wheel is again moved.
I provide a rope or chain, but prefer a rope, which may be of wire, the length of the
waggon provided with a loop at each end. This rope I fasten in any approved way to
part of the centre line of the sheet to be supported. I have found the following a
suitable way of doing so in most cases-Fasten the very centre of the sheet to the
middle of the rope by means of a small bolt provided with washers. About four feet
from the centre on either side and along the longitudinal centre line of the sheet I sew
two strong flaps and these 1 secure to two flat rings of the form shewn in Fig. VI.
which in turn I bolt to the rope. The flaps and rings are so proportioned that at this
point the rope is about 2 inches above the sheet. Theso sizes will allow a sheet of
the ordinary proportions to droop at the same angle all round. The sheets should
he strengthened at the points of suspension, but otherwise an ordinary rectangular
sheet will be found quite suitable, though a special sheet might be devised that would
adapt itself with less creases.
Figs. 1V and V respectively show the end and side clevations of a waggon with
stretcher and sheet.
In Fig. IV a, b, c is the rod, d the worm and e the hand wheel. f, g, h, ij shews!
the outline of the sheet when in position.
In Fig. V a, b, c, d, e is the rope that carries the shoet; af and eg the two rods
that carry the rope; hf and gi the two guides; j k l m n o the outline of the
cover when in position, but with the corners folded in so as to shew the guides at
either end.
When a sheet has to be put over a waggon I turn the bend a, b, Fig. IV of the bent rod
towards the rod at the other end of the waggon. I then take a sheet provided with a rope ….
!

page_text: as already described and I hook one end of the rope to each rod. I then by turning
the worm move the extremity of the bent rod towards the middle of the side of the
waggon as shewn in Fig. IV. until I have made the rope sufficiently taught. The rope
now carries a great part of the weight of the sheet so that I can with ease arrange and
secure the edges of the sheet round the sides of the waggon. The sheet is thus left
nearly in the form shewn in Figs. IV and V so that no water can lie upon it.
When it is necessary to take off the sheet I reverse the hand wheel and so bring
the ends of the rope closer together, when I can with case unhook the rope and remove
the sheet.
When the waggon is required for traffic not requiring sheeting I pull out the
two rods, when they and the sheet can be applied to any other waggon fitted with
guides.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is:
1. The plan of tightening the rope or chain which carries the middle part
of a sheet by means of a worm and worm wheel substantially in the manner herein
described.
2. The supporting of a railway sheet by a rope or chain attached to part of the centre
line of the sheet on the outside, whereby the labour and tear & wear of throwing the
sheet over the rope is avoided.