IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK, VEHICLES,
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to the Right Honorable James, Earl of Caithness,
of Portland Place, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK, VEHICLES,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James, Earl of
Caithness, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 25th February 1875.
I, the Right Honorable JAMES, Earl of CAITHNESS, of Portland
Place, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK,
VEHICLES, AND VESSELS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," to be as follows:
This Invention relates to a mechanical arrangement for washing, and
if necessary drying or wiping railway carriages or other rolling stock of
railways, whereby the costly hand labour at present required for cleaning

page_text: carriages is almost entirely dispensed with, and it is also applicable to
the cleaning of other vehicles, such for example as tram cars, and also
for cleaning ships' bottoms.
According to this Invention as applied to the cleaning of railway
rolling stock one or more revolving cylindrical brushes are placed
opposite or nearly opposite to each other at the proper distance apart,
between which brushes or rows of brushes the carriage or train of
carriages or rolling stock to be washed is to be run, the bristles or
whalebone of the brushes being sufficiently long to accommodate them-
selves to the inequalities of the surface, and to take the side steps of the
carriage. A similar set of horizontal revolving brushes, worked either
from the side brushes or separately, serve to wash the roofs of the
carriages. The centres or bodies of all these brushes may be tubular
and perforated, and may be supplied with water under pressure from
any convenient source, either from below or from above.
The spindle of the horizontal or roof brushes may carry a driving
pulley to be driven by a belt from a small steam engine or other
convenient source of power, and these brushes may be so connected by
bevel or other gearing with the side or vertical brushes as that all may
revolve together, or the two sets be uncoupled and worked separately.
Revolving wipers driven upon the same principle as the brushes may
be employed for drying the carriages.
The spindle of each of the vertical brushes is carried in supporting
arms, which are fitted to vertical pillars or standards, or to centres
attached thereto in such a manner as to admit of the arms carrying the
brushes being turned round radially in order to adjust their position to
suit the width of the carriage to be cleaned, and to bring the brushes
within the range of the carriage, or remove them out of the way thereof,
as the case may be.
It is preferred to employ two of such supporting arms connected
together by a vertical rod or bar, the lower arm being fitted around
the vertical pillar or standard, and provided with a handle for the
convenience of turning round the arms supporting the spindle as before
mentioned, whilst the upper arm is carried on a vertical pin attached to
the top of the pillar or standard.

page_text: On the vertical brush spindle there is mounted a pulley, to which
motion is imparted by means of a strap from another pulley fitted on
the before mentioned vertical pin, which also carries a bevel wheel
formed on or attached to the pulley or to its bearing, and driven by
another bevel wheel fast on the horizontal driving shaft.
Provision may also be made for varying or adjusting the height of
the brushes to accomodate them to different heights of rolling stock;
and in order to prevent inconvenience from splashing each brush should
be enclosed on the outer side by a screen, which may be attached to the
vertical rod or bar connecting the supporting arms so as to be adjustable
with the brushes.
It is also proposed to employ stand pipes for the purpose of directing
water on to the carriages so as to loosen or remove the deposit of dirt
adhereing to them before they arrive at the brushes, which stand pipes
are provided with branches for conducting or supplying water to the
brushes themselves, whereby the necessity for making the centres or
bodies of the brushes tubular and perforated is obviated.
Stand pipes may also be employed for projecting water on to the
carriages during their passage after having been subjected to the action
of the brushes for the purpose of completing the operation of washing
or cleansing such carriages.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James, Earl of Caithness, in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, The Right
Honorable JAMES, Earl of CAITHNESS, of Portland Place, in the County
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
38th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James, Earl of Caithness, Her special.

page_text: license that I, the said James, Earl of Caithness, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James, Earl of
Caithness, my executors, administrators, or 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK, VEHICLES, AND VESSELS,
AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James, Earl of Caithness, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 I, the said James, Earl of Caithness, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a mechanical arrangement for washing,
and if necessary drying or wiping railway carriages or other rolling stock
of railways, whereby the costly hand labor at present required for
cleaning carriages is almost entirely dispensed with, and it is also
applicable to the cleaning of other vehicles, such for example as tram
cars, and also for cleaning ships' bottoms.
According to my said Invention as applied to the cleaning of railway
rolling stock one or more vertical revolving cylindrical brushes are
placed opposite or nearly opposite to each other at the proper distance
apart, between which brushes or rows of brushes the carriage or train of
carriages or rolling stock to be washed is to be run, the bristles or
whalebone of the brushes being sufficiently long to accommodate them-
selves to the inequalities of the surface.
The spindle of each of the brushes is carried in supporting arms,
which are fitted to vertical pillars or standards, or to centres attached

page_text: thereto, in such a manner as to admit of the arms carrying the brushes
being turned round in order to adjust their position to suit the width of
the carriage to be cleaned, and to bring the brushes within the range of
the carriage, or remove them out of the way thereof, as the case
may be.
It is preferred to employ two of such supporting arms connected
together by a vertical rod or bar, the lower arm being fitted around the
vertical pillar or standard, and provided with a handle for the con-
venience of turning round the arms supporting the spindle as before
mentioned, whilst the upper arm is carried on a vertical pin attached to
the top of the pillar or standard.
On the vertical brush spindle there is mounted a pulley, to which
motion is imparted by means of a strap from another pulley fitted on
the before mentioned vertical pin, which also carries a bevel wheel
formed on or attached to the pulley or to its bearing, and driven by
another bevel wheel fast in the horizontal driving shaft.
Provision may also be made for varying or adjusting the height of
the brushes to accommodate them to different heights of rolling stock;
and in order to prevent inconvenience from splashing, each brush is
enclosed on the outer side by a screen attached to the vertical rod or
bar connecting the supporting arms, so as to be adjustable with the
brushes.
I also employ stand pipes for the purpose of directing water on to the
carriages, so as to loosen or remove the deposit of dirt adhering to them
before they arrive at the brushes, and also for projecting water on to the
brushes themselves in order to maintain them saturated therewith.
Stand pipes may also be employed for projecting water on to the
carriages during their passage after having been subjected to the action.
of the brushes for the purpose of completing the operation of washing or
cleaning such carriages.
Revolving wipers mounted so as to be adjustable, and driven upon
the same principle as the brushes, may be employed for drying the
carriages.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of

page_text: Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents an elevation and partial section
of my apparatus as applied to the washing of railway carriages;
Figure 2 is a plan shewing the arrangement of the brushes and gearing;
and Figure 3 is a side elevation of a portion of a railway track and
railway carriage with one of my brushes and the stand pipes for pro-
jecting water on to the carriage and on to the brush.
A, A, are the brushes mounted on spindles a, a, which are carried in
radial supporting arms b, b', fitted around vertical pillars or standards B, B,
so as to enable the arms b, b¹, to be turned round in either direction to
suit the width of the carriage C to be washed. The supporting arm 6'
of each brush is provided with a weighted lever handle 6* for the
convenience of turning round the same, and the two arms 6, 6¹, are
connected together by a vertical bar c, so as to ensure the requisite
strength and rigidity. The rotary motion of the brushes A, A, is derived
from the horizontal shaft D, which carries the driving pullies d, d, for
receiving motion from any suitable prime mover, and also bevel
wheels e, e, engaging with corresponding bevel wheels f, f, mounted
loosely on the upper cylindrical end of the vertical pillars or standards
B, B. Each of the bevel wheels f, f, has formed in one with or
attached to it a pulley 9, the motion of which is transmitted by means
of a strap h to a similar pulley i fast on the corresponding brush
spindle a, and thence to the brush. The upper end of each of the
pillars or standards B, B, around which the corresponding bevel wheel f,
pulley g, and arm 6 are fitted is made separate from the body of same,
to which it is attached by a key k, and these extremities or attachments
further form bearings 1, 1, for supporting the horizontal shaft D.
Screens m, m, carried by the connecting bars c, c, are employed on the
outer side of the brushes in order to prevent inconvenience by the
splashing of water therefrom.
E, E', are stand pipes provided with perforations in their sides for the
purpose of projecting water on to the carriage C and brush A respectively.
The pipe E has its perforations on the side, which is directed towards
the carriage so as to project water on to the same in order to detach or
remove the outer layer or deposit of dirt before the carriage comes to
the brush, whereas the pipe E¹, the perforations of which are formed in

page_text: First. The application and use of rotatory brushes carried in adjustable
radial arms or swivelling supports, substantially as and for the purposes
herein-before described and as illustrated by my Drawings.
Second. The application and use of rotatory wipers carried in adjustable
radial arms or swivelling supports, substantially as and for the purposes
herein-before described.
Third. The application and use of rotatory brushes to and in the
cleaning of the bottoms of ships or vessels, substantially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James, Earl of Caithness, have to ]
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day
of July, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.