AN IMPROVED MODE AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING SAND OR ANY OTHER SUITABLE SUBSTANCE OR SUBSTANCES ON THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John William Proffitt, Land Agent and Surveyor, of
Park Road, Peckham, in the County of Surrey, and William Lundi
Duncan, Gentleman, of 218, Pembroke Cottages, Caledonian Road, in
the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE AND
APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING SAND OR ANY OTHER SUITABLE SUBSTANCE OR
SUBSTANCES ON THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS."
Scaled the 14th July 1863, and dated the 23rd April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Proflitt
and William Lundi Duncan, at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 23rd April 1863.
We, JOHN WILLIAM PROFFITT, Land Agent and Surveyor, of Park Road,
Peckham, in the County of Surrey, and WILLIAM LUNDI DUNCAN, Gentleman,
of 218, Pembroke Cottages, Caledonian Road, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE AND
APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING SAND OR ANY OTHER SUITABLE SUBSTANCE OR SUB-
STANCES ON THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object to distribute sand or other suitable sub-
stance or substances upon the rails of railways and tramways in a more con-
venient manner than hitherto, such sand or other substance being deposited
upon the rails whenever the trains are unable to start or get up the inclines

page_text: through frost or any other cause that may prevent the wheels biting on the
rails, and consists of a receptacle or receptacles placed upon and partly round
the generator of locomotives, or at any other suitable place thereon, or
upon the tenders, break vans, or other carriages, such receptacle or receptacles
to be supplied with sand or any other suitable substance or substances so as to
use the same whenever required to cause friction upon the rails for tho
purposes aforesaid. This receptacle or receptacles are provided with one or
more pipes through which the sand or other substance or substances is to be
distributed on the rails, the said pipes being provided with valves, cocks, slides,
or any other suitable appliance, so arranged by convenient machinery as to
bring the same under the control of the engine driver or other person requiring
to use the same. The advantage to be derived by this mode of distributing
sand or other substance or substances upon the rails are, that the distribution
will be effected instantaneously, and in such larger or smaller quantities as
may be required, and that by placing a similar receptacle in or upon the
break van or any other carriage provided with a break, the train, with or
without the assistance of the break of the locomotive or tender, to the wheels
of which sand or other substances could also be applied, may be stopped in a
much shorter time; and further, that by being enabled to distribute sand or
other substance or substances on the rails of the inclines, a more regular
speed would be obtained, thereby keeping more exact time for starting at the
intermediate stations. The preference given to a receptacle or receptacles
placed upon and partly round the generator of the locomotive is, that by so
doing the sand or other substance or substances will always be kept in a
perfectly dry state, and also the action of the atmosphere will have a less
condensing effect upon the generator, and the said receptacle may have a
partition inserted so as to fill its upper part with charcoal or any other suitable
substance or substances, in order to keep the heat more concentrated. The
said receptacle or receptacles may be made of iron or any other suitable metal
or material, and will have one or more openings to supply the same, and any
suitable shape may be given to the said receptacle or receptacles as required;
and the pipes adapted to the receptacle or receptacles may be placed both
behind and in front of the wheels, so as to produce the same effect whichever
way the locomotive, tender, break van, or carriage may be proceeding.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John William Proffitt and William Lundi Duncan, in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JouN
WILLIAM PROFFITT, Land Agent and Surveyor, of Park Road, Peckham, in
the County of Surrey, and WILLIAM LUNDI DUNCAN, Gentleman, of 218,
Pembroke Cottages, Caledonian Road, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
we, the said John William Proffitt and William Lundi Duncan, Her special
licence that we, the said John William Proffitt and William Lundi Duncan,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such c rs as we, the said
John William Proffitt and William Lundi Duncan, our xecutors, adminis-
trators, 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, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING
SAND OR ANY OTHER SUITABLE SUBSTANCE OR SUBSTANCES ON THE RAILS OF RAILWAYS
AND TRAMWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
John William Proffitt and William Lundi Duncan, our executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John William Proffitt and William
Lundi Duncan, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in and for distri-
buting sand or salt, or salt and sand, or other suitable substance or
substances upon the rails of railways and tramways, so as to obtain a con-
tinuous biting power, and to apply such sand or salt, or salt and sand, in case

page_text: of frost, or snow, or other substances being deposited upon the rails, in a more
convenient manner than bitberto, with a view to increase the adhesion of the
wheels of the locomotive, especially when through the effect of frost or other
causes they are sliding upon the rails, or when it is required to assist the action
of the break either to stop a train or to decrease the speed of the same, as
also to assist the trains getting up the inclines of railways.
In order to make the Invention more fully understood, we will in this
description refer to the annexed Drawings, in the various Figures of which
corresponding parts are indicated by the same letters of reference.
The Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show respectively a longitudinal and a transversal
clevation and a top view of a locomotive provided with the apparatus; the
Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views, showing the use of the distributing valve II;
and Figs. 6 and 7, front and side elevation views of the rods F and G, and of
their corresponding pinions.
A represents the generator of a locomotive, provided on its upper part with
a receptacle B, having at each end of its bottom part six openings, to which a
similar number of pipes C and D are adapted and disposed in such manner as
to have one before and one behind each wheel. The interior of the receptacle
B is filled with sea-side or other suitable sand through the doors E, and such
sand will be allowed to run out upon the rails by moving the rods F and G, a
which are connected with the distributing valves H. Figs. 4 and 5 show one
of these valves H, which moves on a pivot a, provided with a lever b, the end
of which is connected to one of the rods For G; part of the rods F and G
form a rack gearing in the pinions F and G', which are moving freely on the
pivots K, the racks being kept in gear by the bolts L. The handle pat
the ends of the rods F and G being close to the driver, the latter may instanta-
neously move the said rods F and G to any required degree, thereby causing
the distributing valves H to open more or less, according to the amount of sand
he wishes to let out upon the rails; instead of sand, crushed or ground ashes
or other convenient substances may be used. The preference given to a recep-
tacle placed upon or partly round the generator is, that by so doing the sand
or other substances will always be kept in a perfectly dry state; and in order
that the action of the atmosphere should have a less condensing effect upon the
generator, a partition M may be inserted in the said receptacle, thereby
dividing the same into two distinct compartments; the first N to be filled with S
sand or other substance or substances, the second N', and which may be inside
or next the generator, to be filled with charcoal or other suitable substance
being a non-conductor of caloric; the said receptacle is also provided with
doors E to supply the sand or other substance, and if a partition be inserted in

page_text: the said receptacle, the compartment N' is also to be provided with doors.
The openings P are made to allow the escape of the moisture that may be con-
tained in the sand. The receptacle may be made of iron or any other suitable
metal or material, and any suitable shape may be given to the same. The
pipes C and D are placed both before and behind the wheels, in order that the
apparatus may be used whichever way the locomotive, tender, break van, or
carriage may be proceeding. On tramways, or when an additional break power
is required on railways, the above apparatus may be adapted and applied to one
or more of the carriages.
Instead of the valve H, cocks, slides, or any other suitable appliance may bo
used, so modified as to obtain the object in view of distributing instantaneously
sand or other substances for the purpose aforesaid; and the means of working
the said valves H is represented in the Drawings as being done with the
rods F and G, may be effected by any suitable appliance.
The apparatus above described may be modified in its form and dimension
according to the description of the locomotive; the receptaclo B may be
equally applied on the tender, break van, or carriage, or on a carriage of a
tramway; in this latter case it will be preferable that the apparatus properly
modified should be placed under the carriage. Instead of one receptacle for
the sand, two or more modified accordingly may be used.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do not claim
as our Invention or the exclusive use of any of the several parts of the
apparatus herein-before described and referred to, except when the same are
employed in and for the purpose of our said improvements; but we hereby
declare that we claim as our Invention, the adopting apparatus as herein-before
described for obtaining a biting and breaking action on the rails and wheels of
railways and tramways.
In witness whereof, we, tho said John William Proffitt and William Lundi
Duncan, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-first day
of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and