Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Aug., 1886
Complete Left, 26th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 8th July, 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by The Firm of SIEMENS and HALSKE, of 94, Markgrafen
Strasse, Berlin, in the Empire of Germany, Electrical Engineers.]
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to the arrangement of underground conductors for electrical
railways. For the purposes of this invention that construction of permanent way is
employed in which two flange rails are laid side by side, the wheels of the carriage
running upon the one rail with the flange in the space between the head of this and
the second or guard rail, the two rails being connected together rigidly at their bases
by transverse bearers, and sunk with their heads level with the roadway.
With this construction of permanent way a perfectly unobstructed channel is formed
between the webs of the two rails which according to this invention serves to receive
the electric conductor with its necessary insulating supports and means for conveying
the current thereto as also the sliding or rolling contact apparatus for conveying the
current from the conductor to the motors on the carriages. The rigid connection of
the two rails is effected, firstly, by securing them at intervals to transverse bearers and,
secondly, by supporting them against lateral pressure by external angle brackets or
blocks fixed to the transverse bearers, or they may be secured by single dogs or clips,
clipping the lower flange of the rails.
The said space between the rails is also provided with means for draining off any
water that may collect therein, either by forming holes in the webs of the rails, or
by leaving an open space between their bottom flanges, the water being either allowed
to percolate through the foundation of the railway, or made to flow into a culvert
beneath the road, in which may be arranged the continuous conductors that convey
he currents to and from the stationary electrical generator from and to the electro-
lynamic machine on the carriage.

page_text: The continuous main conductor or conductors that convey the current to and from
the stationary generator, may either be arranged within the said space between the
two rails, in which case they may be bedded in concrete or other material that will
preserve them from moisture or they may be imbedded in the foundation below the
rails or at the side thereof. From these conductors branch conductors extend into
the said space between the rails, at certain distances apart, which serve to convey the
current from the main conductors to the sliding contacts carried by the carriage.
These branch conductors or contact pieces in connection therewith, are so arranged
that they may be readily disconnected and withdrawn through the slot between the
rails for renewal or repairs. They are arranged either so that the contact slide or
carriage makes contact therewith either by a downward or by a lateral spring pressure,
the said branch contacts being in either case so arranged in insulating seats that the
contact slide is prevented from coming in contact with the sides of the rails. There
may be arranged two sets of such insulated contacts in the space within the rails, the
one set being for conveying the current from the one continuous conductor to a
contact slide connected with the one pole of the dynamo machine on the carriago, and
the other for conveying the current from a second contact slide communicating with
the other pole of the machine back to a second, return current conductor.
The contact slides or carriages are of such a length that they always make contact
with two or more of the branch conductors as they pass along with the carriage.
They are formed with articulations so as to conform to the curves of the railway, and
they are either connected to the carriages by means of flexible conducting ropes that
drag them along in the trough, or they may be connected by laterally sliding
connections to articulated supports carried by the axle boxes of the carriage, which
can move laterally on their joints to suit curves and will also allow the contact slide
to adjust itself to the curve independently therefrom.
A
1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrical Railways.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL of No. 28 Southampton Buildings Chancery Lane in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare
the nature of this 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 relates to the arrangement of underground conductors for electrical
railways. For the purposes of this invention that construction of permanent way is
employed in which two flange rails are laid side by side, the wheels of the carriage
running upon the one rail with the flange in the space between the head of this and
the second or guard rail, the two rails being connected together rigidly at their bases,
by transverse bearers, and sunk with their heads level with the roadway.
With this construction of permanent way a perfectly unobstructed channel is formed
between the webs of the two rails which according to this invention serves to receive
the electric conductor with its necessary insulating supports and means for conveying
the current thereto, as also the sliding or rolling contact apparatus for conveying the
current from the conductor to the motors on the carriages. The rigid connection of
the two rails is effected, firstly, by securing them at intervals to transverse bearers,
and secondly, by supporting them against lateral pressure by external angle brackets
or blocks fixed to the transverse bearers, or they may be secured by single dogs or
clips, clipping the lower flange of the rails.
The said space between the rails is also provided with means for draining off any
water that may collect therein, either by forming holes in the webs of the rails, or by
leaving an open space between their bottom flanges, the water being either allowed
to percolate through the foundation of the railway, or made to flow into a culvert
beneath the road, in which may be arranged the continuous conductors that convey
the currents to and from the stationary electrical generator from and to the electro
motor on the carriage.
The continuous main conductor or conductors that convey the current to and from
the stationary generator, may either be arranged within the said space between the
two rails, in which case they may be bedded in concrete or other material that will
preserve them from moisture, or they may be imbedded in the foundation below the
rails or at the side thereof. From these conductors branch-conductors extend into
the said space between the rails, at certain distances apart, which serve to convey the
current from the main conductors to the sliding contacts carried by the carriage."
These branch conductors, or contact pieces in connection therewith, are so arranged
that they may be readily disconnected and withdrawn through the slot between the
rails for renewal or repairs. They are arranged so that the contact slide or carriage
makes contact therewith either by a downward or by a lateral spring pressure, the
said branch contacts being in either case so arranged in insulating seats that the
contact slide is prevented from coming in contact with the sides of the rails. There
may be arranged two sets of such insulated contacts in the space within the rails, the

page_text: one set being for conveying the current from one continuous conductor to a contact
slide connected with the one pole of the electro motor on the carriage, and the other
'for conveying the current from a second contact slide communicating with the other
pole of the motor back to a second return current conductor.
The contact slides or carriages are of such a length that they always make contact
with two or more of the branch conductors as they pass along with the carriage.
They are formed with articulations so as to conform to the curves of the railway, and
they are either connected to the carriages by means of flexible conducting ropes that
drag them along in the trough, or they may be connected by laterally sliding
connections to articulated supports carried by the axle boxes of the carriage, which
can move laterally on their joints to suit curves and will also allow the contact slide to
adjust itself to the curve independently thereof.
Figs. 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings show various arrangements of the
conductors contacts and permanent way of electric railways constructed according to
this invention. In these arrangements the permanent way consists of the running
rail A and a guard rail B, both of which are rigidly fixed on transverse bearers C so
as to form a compound grooved rail. The means for fixing the rails consist of a
plate H secured by a screw bolt.so as to hold firmly the inner flanges of the two
rails A. B. which are thus kept apart to an extent corresponding to the diameter of
the fixing bolt, so as to provide a groove of the requisite width between the heads of
the rails. The rails are also secured on their outer sides by means of brackets D. Fig.
which serve not only to nip the outer flanges of the rails securely on to the bearer
and to prevent any outward motion of the rails, but also to prevent the rails from
being pressed inwards owing to any lateral pressure exerted by the material of the
roadway or by the traffic passing along the same. When the roadway is paved with
granite pitching, the outer brackets may be made of a box shape as at E, formed so
as to key into the granite pitching.
The space formed between the rails A and B serve as a trough or channel for the
reception of the fixed conductors and contacts and the moveable contact devices that
are carried by the rolling stock of the railway.
The fixed conducting devices consist by preference of continuous insulated and
enclosed conductors situated either in the lower part of the channel, or below or at
the side of the same, and on which are provided at intervals branch conductors leading
up to contact surfaces situated in more or less protected positions in the upper part of
the channel, the moveable conducting devices of the rolling stock being brought in
contact therewith as they pass along, so that the branch conductors serve to convey
the electrical currents from the continuous conductor through such moveable
conductors to the motors on the vehicles.
The continuous conductor G is, according to one arrangement of this invention,
imbedded in a mass of suitable plastic insulating material filling the lower part of the
channel, as shewn at Figs. 1 to 4, the upper surface of such bed being formed so as
to allow of the ready cleansing of the channel and the discharge of water therefrom.
The branch conductors J, Figs. 2 to 7, are also enclosed in an insulating covering.
These branch conductors and their covering may either be single or of a U-shape
as shown, fitting against the bottom and sides of the channel, the insulating covering
being either a body made to entirely enclose the branch conductor, as shewn at
Figs. 5 and 6, or only to partially enclose the same as shown at P, Figs. 3 and 4, so
as to insulate the same from the rails.
The conducting contact surfaces are, in the first named case, provided at the upper
ends of the insulating body, being protected by the overhanging heads of the rails;
in the last named case the contact surfaces are provided at the sides of the U-shaped
conductor and are protected by a light metallic blade spring, as shewn at Figs. 3
and 4, in addition to the protection afforded by the rail heads. In the first named
case, with upper contact surfaces, the current is conveyed to and from the contact
slide K, Fig. 5, of the vehicle by causing the latter to slide with slight elastic down-
ward pressure upon such surfaces; in the last named case, with lateral contact surfaces,
the current is conveyed to and from the contact slide K, Fig. 4 by causing the latter,

page_text: in passing between the contacts, to press the blade springs carried by the insulating
body P against the contact surfaces.
The branches J of the conductor G are either connected directly with the latter as
at Figs. 1 to 4, or by means of an insulated intermediate conductor as at Figs. 5 to 7.
Their width does not exceed that of the opening or slot between the rail heads, so that
when a branch conductor is turned round by means of a fork-shaped key, so as to
be in line with the slot, it can be taken out through this without disturbing the
permanent way. The removal of a contact will not interfere with the proper
transmission of the current from or to the main conductor, to or from the moving
contact of the vehicle, as the said branch conductors are at such distances apart that
the contact slide is always in contact with at least two of them at the same time.
The contact slide is constructed of a number of separate lengths connected together
by articulated or flexible joints, so that it can pass round sharp curves; it may either
be connected directly to the lower part of the carriages as shewn at Figs. 8, 8, 8,
or it may be separate therefrom and connected to it by a flexible cord containing the
conducting wire. The contact slide, through which the current passes continuously,
must be insulated from the rails, for which purpose it is provided with insulating
guides that fit between the slot of the rails, as at Figs. 4 and 5, which guides serve at
the same time as supports to the slide. If this is carried underneath the vehicle, it is
fixed to a framing that is independent of the action of the buffers and bearing springs,
being supported on the axle boxes, and if necessary provided with supporting wheels T.
In the construction shewn at Fig. 8, the frame M is formed of three parts, namely a
fixed part between the axles of the wheels, and two moveable parts at each end of
the vehicle, these being pivoted at the axle boxes, and so arranged that their free
ends Z and the suspension rods connecting them to the slide K always adjust themselves
to the curvature of the line. The suspending rods or bars connecting the slide to
other parts of the framing are carried by plates O that can slide transversely on the
framing, so as to allow of their always maintaining a position corresponding to the
curvature of the slot. The connection of the framing M with the axle boxes will of
course require to be of a sufficiently elastic nature to allow of a certain amount of
vertical motion of the wheels when passing over rail joints or slight obstacles without
interfering with the action of the contact slide.
The latter is insulated from the framing M and rails, and is connected to the
electro motor on the vehicle by special conductors N.
For removing any water from the channel of the rails there may be provided either
lateral holes in the webs of the rails, as at Figs. 1 and 4, in which case the conductor G
as also the fixing plate H are enclosed in a continuous bed of concrete or asphalte
which may also serve as insulating covering to the conductor as before stated, and
which, being formed with a smooth surface, is kept clean by means of brushes
attached to the framing of the vehicle; or, as shewn in Figs. 6 and 7, the water may
be allowed to drain through the space left between the bases of the two rails, either
directly into the ballast, if this is of a sufficiently loose nature, or into a special
conduit or drain which may be situated either bolow each rail as at Figs. 7, 7ª or
between the rails of two separate line as at Figs. 7°.
This drain may contain the main conductors G carried by insulators, as shewn, and
there may be both a positive and negative or return conductor, the branch conductors
from which may both pass into the same channel between the rails, where they make
contact with separate slides on the vehicle, as indicated at Figs. 7, 7ª 7b.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. Constructing electric railways with double rails having a channel between them
within which are contacts or conductors branching from a main conductor situated
either within or below or at the side of the said channel, the said contacts being made
to convey the currents from and to the conductor or conductors to and from contact
slides moved along in the said channel by the vehicles by means of connections passing

page_text: through the slot of the rail, substantially as herein described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
2. Constructing the branch conductors referred to in the preceding claim of Ụ form
with lateral contact surfaces enclosed between an insulating body P and a conducting
spring covering, substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 3 to 4 of
the drawings.
3. Constructing the branch conductors referred to in the first claim of U form
entirely enclosed in an insulating body, and having contact surface at their upper
ends, substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the
drawings.
4. Arranging the branch conductors of the positive and negative main conductors
to enter the same channel between the two rails A B so as there to make contact with
two separate contact slides, substantially as herein described with reference to
Fig. 7, 7, 7, of the drawings.
5. The herein described construction of articulated contact slide K carried by a
frame M suspended from the axle boxes of the vehicle, the ends of which frame can
adjust themselves to the curvature of the line, while the connection of the slide with
the intermediate joints thereof are capable of shifting laterally, substantially as
described with reference to Figs. 8, 8, 85 of the drawings.