AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING CARRIAGES, WAGGONS, ENGINES, AND OTHER VEHICLES ON RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Scott, residing in Shrewsbury, in the
County of Salop, Carriage and Waggon Inspector of the Shrews-
bury and Birmingham Railway Company, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING CARRIAGES, WAGGONS,
ENGINES, AND OTHER VEHICLES ON RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS."
Sealed the 18th April 1854, and dated the 4th November 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Scott at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th November 1853.
I, JAMES SCOTT, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
5 for AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING CARRIAGES, WAGGONS, ENGINES,
AND OTHER VEHICLES ON RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAS" to, be as follows:-
This Invention has reference to a portable apparatus which may be
carried with the engine or guard's van, so that in the event of an
engine or a carriage being thrown off the line it may be readily
replaced by means of this apparatus in much less time than the same
can be done by means of the appliances at present in use, such as
screw jacks, crow. bars, planks, &c.
The apparatus consists of two portable rails, which are kept in their

page_text: proper position by two bars, made with a knee at one end to take hold
of the permanent rail, and with holes in the other end to allow the
portable rail to extend to any distance that the wheels of the vehicle
may have been projected from the permanent rail when thrown off the
same by accident.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th May 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JAMES SCOTT, residing in Shrewsbury, in the County of Salop, Carriage
and Waggon Inspector of the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway
Company, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Scott, Her special licence that
I, the said James Scott, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Scott, my executors, 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, 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 APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING CAR-
RIAGES, WAGGONS, ENGINES, AND OTHER VEHICLES ON RAILWAYS AND TRAM-
WAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Scott,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said James Scott, do hereby declare

page_text: 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:
The nature of this Invention, as already stated in the Provisional
Specification filed in the Office of Commissioners of Patents and Great
Seal Patent Office, has reference to a portable apparatus which may
be carried with the engine or guard's van, so that in the event of
an engine or a carriage being thrown off the line it may be readily
replaced by means of this apparatus in much less time than the same
can be done by the appliances at present in use, such as screw jacks,
crow bars, planks, &c.
The apparatus consists of two portable rails, which are kept in their
proper positions by two bars with a knee, at one end to take hold of the
permanent rail, and with holes in the other end to allow the portable
rail to extend to any distance that the wheels of the vehicle may have
been projected from the permanent rail when thrown off the same by
accident.
But for the better exemplification of this Invention, and particularly
to describe and ascertain in what manner the same is to be performed,
as required by the condition in the aforesaid Letters Patent contained,
the following statement (referring to the illustrative Drawings hereto
annexed) is now added, viz. -I take, as illustrated by Fig. 1, a bar of
iron three and a half inches inches broad by two and a quarter inches
thick, and from five feet to eight and a half feet in length, and I make
a hinge joint in it (a), and I then form the ends (b, m). I also take,
as illustrated by Fig. 2, another bar of iron of the same size as the
former, and I make a hinge joint in it (a), and I then form the
ends (b, n). I then make three mortices, three and a half inches by
one inch, in both the bars or rails, for the slide bars to
go through, and
I make one mortice in each of them one inch square for the ends of
studs, as shewn in Figs. 3, and 4; I then make two iron studs, one
and a half inches square and I fix one on each side of Fig. 2, as shewn
at e, c. I now make two iron studs, one and a half inches square, and
I fix one in each side of Fig. 2, as shewn at e, e. I then take a bar of
iron three inches broad by seven eighths of an inch thick, and I make
two slide bars kneed and hooked at one end to fit on the permanent.

page_text: rail, and I make several round holes of seven eighths of an inch m
diameter in the other end, as shewn in Figs. 5, and 6; I then make
a slide bar kneed and hooked at one end to fit on the top of the
permanent rail, and in the other end I make mortice f, as shewn in
Fig. 7. I then make a slide bar kneed and hooked at one end to fit on
to the top of the permanent rail, and in the other end I make mortice h,
as shewn in Fig. 8; I then make cotter g, for mortice f, in Fig. 7;
I then make cotter i, Fig. 9, for mortice h, in Fig. 8; I then make
two iron pins or bolts, seven eights inches, iron, with heads for
slide bar's holes, Figs. 5, and 6. I form the ends of Fig. 3, as shewn
at A, A, and B. I form the ends of Fig. 4, as shewn at c, c, and d.
MANNER OF APPLICATION.
square
When the wheels of an engine, carriage, or waggon are thrown off'.
the permanent rails, the portable rails, Figs. 1, and 2, are put down and
beded upon the ballast, so as to allow the slide bars when they have
been hooked on to the top of the permanent rails, having previously
been put into the mortices, to rest about level, which prevents the hooks
from being strained when the weight is passing over them.
The end, 1, of Figs. 1, and 2, are then placed close to the flanges
of the wheels, the joint a, a, allowing 1, 7, to extend to the exact
distance which the wheels may have been projected from the permanent
rail when thrown off. The iron pins being put into the round holes in
slide bars, as shewn in Figs. 5, and 6, keep the ends 1, 1, of the portable-
rails at the proper gauge of the permanent rails.
The end m, of Fig. 1, is kept in its proper position by driving
into the mortice f, as shewn in Fig. 7.
cotter g,
The end n, of Fig. 2, is kept in its proper position by driving cotter i,
Fig. 9, into mortice h, as shewn in Fig. 8. The end of the stud c, in
Fig. 1, resting against the permanent rail regulates the distance
required for the flange of the wheels to pass between the inside of the
portable rail and the knee of the hook of slide bar, Fig. 1.
The end of the stud e, in Fig. 2, resting against the permanent rail
regulates the distance required for the flange of the wheels to pass
between the top of cotter i, and the portable rail, Fig. 2.
MANNER OF APPLICATION.
When the wheels of an engine, carriage, or waggon are thrown off'.
the permanent rails, the portable rails, Figs. 1, and 2, are put down and
beded upon the ballast, so as to allow the slide bars when they have
been hooked on to the top of the permanent rails, having previously
been put into the mortices, to rest about level, which prevents the hooks
from being strained when the weight is passing over them.
The end I, I, of Figs. 1, and 2, are then placed close to the flanges
of the wheels, the joint a, a, allowing 1, 1, to extend to the exact
distance which the wheels may have been projected from the permanent
rail when thrown off. The iron pins being put into the round holes in
slide bars, as shewn in Figs. 5, and 6, keep the ends 7, 7, of the portable.
rails at the proper gauge of the permanent rails.
The end m, of Fig. 1, is kept in its proper position by driving
cotter g, into the mortice f, as shewn in Fig. 7.
The end n, of Fig. 2, is kept'in its proper position by driving cotter i,
Fig. 9, into mortice h, as shewn in Fig. 8. The end of the stud c, in
Fig. 1, resting against the permanent rail regulates the distance
required for the flange of the wheels to pass between the inside of the
portable rail and the knee of the hook of slide bar, Fig. 1.
The end of the stud e, in Fig. 2, resting against the permanent rail
regulates the distance required for the flange of the wheels to pass
between the top of cotter i, and the portable rail. Fig. 2.

page_text: Steam or other motive power being then applied, the wheels move
forward on the portable rails until they reach the points m, and n; the
wheel at m then drops off the portable rail, with the flange in its
proper position inside the permanent rail; the wheel at n is conducted
to its proper position on the permanent rail by the taper point n in
Fig. 2.
The reason for having two mortices near that end marked B, (Fig. 3,)
and A, (Fig. 4,) is to allow the slide bars (5 and 6) to be shifted from
one mortice to another in case that the one should happen to be opposite
a chair of the permanent rail, which would prevent the hooks of the
slide bars from taking a proper hold of the top of the permanent rail.
The end c, c, of Fig. 4, is also formed to prevent it from coming in
contact with the chair of the permanent rail.
When the bridge rail is used only one mortice is required, and the
end of Fig. 4 does not require to be formed as shewn at c, c.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the saine is to be performed, I would remark that although
I have given practical directions as to the sizes of the various parts, yet
the same may be varied in size and in strength according to the weight
of rolling stock in use on the different railways where it may be used..
The foregoing Specification and accompanying Drawings set forth the
dimensions calculated to be used to sustain the weight and pressure of
any ordinary engine, carriage, or waggon in general use at present.
And I wish it to be understood that what I claim is, the improved
apparatus for shifting or replacing engines, carriages, or waggons on
railways and tramways by means of portable rails, as above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Scott, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
JAMES SCOTT. (L.S.)