A NEW SYSTEM OF SUSPENDED IRON ROADS OR WAYS, AND CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Cortazzi, of No. 1, Park Terrace,
Brockley Road, New Cross, in the County of Kent, for the In-
vention of "A NEW SYSTEM OF SUSPENDED IRON ROADS OR WAYS, AND
CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH."-A
communication from abroad by Casimir de Forel, of Elizabethgrad
(Government of Cherson). in the Russian Empire. Engineer.
Sealed the 19th February 1869, and dated the 2nd September 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Cortazzi.at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd September 1868.
I, EDWARD CORTAZZI, of No. 1, Park Terrace, Brockley Road, New
Cross, in the County of Kent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A NEW SYSTEM OF SUSPENDED IRON. ROADS OR WAYS, AND
CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," to. be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object a new system of suspended iron roads
or ways, and carriages or vehicles to be used in connection therewith
and consists in an arrangement of aerial or above ground iron road
[Price 8d.]

page_text: or way suspended from cables or fixed points of support, the bodies of the
carriages or vehicles being hung or suspended beneath the framework,
carried by the wheels which run on the iron road or way.
According to this Invention the suspended road or way consists of
one or more rails with a check or counter rail or rails so placed as to
prevent the wheels of the vehicles getting off the road or way, the
whole being suspended from one or more cables, or attached to suitable
scaffolding, framework, or pillars at a convenient distance above the
surface of the ground. The rail or rails on which the wheels of the
vehicles run are attached to and supported by curved bars, inverted
Tpieces or frames, which are connected by metal ropes, rods, chains, or
other equivalent means to the suspended cable or cables, which latter may
be supported by towers or pillars and moored in the manner usual with
the cables or chaius of suspension bridges. In some cases instead of
suspending the curved bars, inverted T pieces, or frames carrying the rail
as described, they are secured direct to the cross beams, girders, or arches
of the scaffolding or framing.
.
Two or more lines of rails may be arranged side by side suspended from
separate cables, or attached to one and the same set of scaffolds or
supporting frames, in which latter cases the distance apart of the vertical
pillars or supports of the scaffolding or framing and the length of the cross
arches or bearers must be proportionately increased to allow room for the
bodies of the vehicles to pass.
The framework of the vehicles when intended to run on a single rail is
composed of metal so formed as to carry the axles on which the grooved
or flanged wheels of the vehicles work, the framework being furthermore
formed with a part or parts extending below the level of the rail, to which
are attached the axles of the check rollers which bear against the counter
or check rail and also the rings from which the body of the vehicle is sus-
pended at the bottom of the same.
When a double line of rails supported by inverted T pieces is employed
the framework of the vehicle which may be of wood is carried up at
the respective sides of the road or way so as to carry the axles of the
wheels for both rails, the side frames of the vehicle being likewise
formed with axles to receive the grooved or flanged check roller or
rollers which in this as in other instances may be made adjustable so as
to act as a break cr breaks when tightened up against the check rail or
rails.

page_text: When the suspended or fixed framework which secures the road or way
to its support is arranged to carry four lines of rails, the framework of the
vehicle is so constructed as to carry the axles for the corresponding number
of grooved or flanged wheels, so that each set of four may have a common
axis in the framing.
In cold climates skates or shoes may be substituted for the wheels.
I prefer to form the rails on which the carriages run of three or more
flat plates or blades of best steel placed one upon the other in a similar
manner to the plates of the flat springs of carriages. The upper one on
which the wheels run is thicker than the others. The plates forming the
rails should be in as long lengths as possible, and some may be of wrought
iron. These plates may be fastened by bolts with countersunk heads and
nuts or split keys at the opposite end.
When it is necessary to erect a pillar or tower for supporting the road
in deep water hollow cast or wrought iron piles or tubes in long lengths
and provided with collars at the joints are used. These tubes or piles
can be carried to the required point slung on the outside of a vessel,
and by lowering one end of a length of tube or pile it can be got into
its place, and where the bottom is soft or sandy it will sink into the same
on being lowered. If the point where the pile or tube is to come should
be rock or a very hard formation, then a mass of metal of sufficient weight
furnished with a point or a chisel end, and of a less diameter than the
interior of the tube, can be let down therein, and by being worked up and
down, as in mining operations, will cause the removal of the obstruction,
and when deep enough the piece may be left in and assist thereby in
keeping the pile in place.
Motion may be given to the vehicles by steam or other power travelling
with them, or they may be moved by any suitable means, by power from
an independent source. Where the power travels with the vehicles it is
preferred to transmit the same by belts or bands to the pulley or pullies
on the axle of the wheels of the vehicles. In cases where it is required to
work the traffic across a river, an arm of the sea, or a valley, two lengths
of cord or cable are attached to the vehicles, one to draw them to one side
and the other to the other, which may be wound on drums or winches, as
will be readily understood. To prevent the lengths oi-cord or cable from
dragging or swaying bearers or guides are employed for this purpose and
placed where found most convenient. When desired an endless rope
or cable may be employed instead of the detached portions above
described.

page_text: In applying this Invention to a line of railway encircling a district so as
to form an endless railway, I employ an endless rope, cord, or cable for
moving the vehicles, and provide the vehicles with grippers for taking hold
of the said rope, cord, or cable. This rope, cord, or cable may be actuated
by a fixed steam engine or other power. Provision is made to allow of
vehicles being transferred from one line of rails to another at the required
points.
Owing to the small amount of friction of this system, and the high
speed which may be attained by the vehicles, atmospheric propulsion is well
adapted for the purposes of the Invention. This system of suspended iron
roads or ways and carriages or vehicles is intended to be used in lieu of
bridges, and to serve for the purposes of transport between different points
on land.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Cortazzi in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd March 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
CORTAZZI, of No. 1, Park Terrace, Brockley Road, New Cross, in the
County of Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Edward Cortazzi, Her special licence that I,
the said Edward Cortazzi, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Edward Cortazzi, my executors, 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 "A NEW SYSTEM
OF SUSPENDED IRON ROADS OR WAYS AND CARRIAGES CR VEHICLES TO BE USED
IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," a communication to me from abroad by
Casimir de Forel, of Elizabethgrad (Government of Cherson), in the
Russian Empire, Engiueer, upon the condition (amongst others) that

page_text: I, the said Edward Cortazzi, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said Edward Cortazzi, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof (that is to say):-
This Invention has for its object a new system of suspended iron roads
or ways, and carriages or vehicles to be used in connection therewith, and
consists in an arrangement of aerial or above ground iron road or way
suspended from cables or fixed points of support, the bodies of the carriages
or vehicles being hung or suspended beneath the framework carried by the
wheels which run on the iron road or way.
According to this Invention the suspended road or way consists of one.
or more rails with a check or counter rail or rails so placed as to prevent
the wheels of the vehicles getting off the road or way, the whole being
suspended from one or more cables, or attached to suitable scaffolding,
framework, or pillars at a convenient distance above the surface of the
ground. The rail or rails on which the wheels of the vehicles run is or are
attached to and supported by curved bars, inverted T pieces, or frames,
which are connected by metal ropes, rods, chains, or other equivalent
means to the suspended cable or cables, which latter may be supported by
towers or pillars, and moored in the manner usual with the cables or
chains of suspension bridges. In some cases instead of suspending the
curved bars, inverted T pieces, or frames carrying the rail or rails as
described, they are secured direct to the cross beams, girders, or arches of
the scaffolding or framing.
Two or more lines of rails may be arranged side by side suspended from
separate cabies,or attached to one and the same set of scaffolds or supporting
frames, in which latter cases the distance apart of the vertical pillars or
supports of the scaffolding or framing and the length of the cross arches
or bearers must be proportionately increased to allow room for the bodios
of the vehicles to pass.

page_text: The framework of the vehicles when intended to run on a single rail is
composed of metal so formed as to carry the axles on which the grooved
or flanged wheels of the vehicles work, the framework being furthemore
formed with a part or parts extending below the level of the rail, to which
are attached the axles of the check rollers, which bear against the counter
or check rail, and also the rings from which the body of the vehicle is
suspended at the bottom of the same.
When a double line of rails, supported by inverted T pieces is
employed, the framework of the vehicle which may be of wood, is
carried up at the respective sides of the road or way so as to carry the
axles of the wheels for both rails, the side frames of the vehicles being
likewise formed with axles to receive the grooved or flanged check roller
or rollers, which in this as in other instances may be made adjustable, so
as to act as a break or breaks when tightened up against the check rail or
rails.
When the suspended or fixed framework which secures the road or way
to its support, is arranged to carry four lines of rails, the framework of
the vehicle is so constructed as to carry the axles for the corresponding
number of grooved or flanged wheels, so that each set of four may have a
cominou axis in the framing.
In cold climates skates or slides nihy be substituted for the wheels.
I prefer to form the rails on which the carringes run of three or more
flat plates or blades of best steel placed one upon the other in a similar
manner to the plates of the flat springs of carriages. The upper one on
which the wheels run is thicker than the others. The plates forming the
rails should be in as long lengths as possible, and some may be of wrought
iron. These plates may be fastened by bolts with countersunk heads and
nuts, or split keys at the opposite ends.
When it is necessary to erect a pillar or tower for supporting the
road in deep water, hollow cast or wrought iron piles or tubes in long
lengths and provided with collars at the joints are used. These tubes
or piles can be carried to the required point slung on the outside of a
vessel, and by lowering one end of a length of tube or pile it can be
got into its place, and where the bottom is soft or sandy it will sink
into the same on being lowered. If the point where the pile or tube
is to come should be rock, or a very hard formation, then a mass of
metal of sufficient weight furnished with a point or a sharp end, and
of a less diameter than the interior of the tube, can be let down

page_text: therein, and by being worked up and down as in'mining operations will cause
the removal of the obstruction, and when deep enough the piece may be
left in and assist thereby in keeping the pile in place.
Motion may be given to the 'vehicles by steam or other power
travelling with them, or they may be moved by any suitable means by .
power from an independent source. Where the power travels with the
vehicles it is preferred to transmit the same by belts or bands to the
pulley or pullies on the axles of the wheels of the vehicles. In cases
where it is required to work the traffic across a river, a strait, or a valley,
two lengths of cord or cable are attached to the vehicles, one to draw them
to one side and the other to the other, which may be wound on drums or
winches, as will be readily understood. To prevent the lengths of cord
or cable from dragging or swaying bearers or guides are employed, and
are placed where found most convenient. When desired an endless rope
or cable may be employed instead of the detached portions above
described.
In applying this Invention to a line of railway encircling a district so
as to form an endless railway I employ an endless rope, cord, or cable, for
moving the vehicles,and provide the vehicles with grippers for taking hold
of the said rope, cord, or cable; this rope, cord, or cable may be actuated
by a fixed steam engine or other power. Provision is made to allow of
vehicles being transferred from one line of rails to another at the required
points. Owing to the small amount of friction of this system, and the high
speed which may be attained by the vehicles, atmospheric propulsion is
well adapted for the purposes of the Invention. This system of suspended
iron roads or ways and carriages or vehicles is intended to be used in lieu
of bridges, and to serve for the purposes of transport between different
points on land.
In the accompanying Sheet of Drawings similar letters of reference
are employed to denote equivalent parts in all the views, a representing
structures for supporting the cables; b, the cables themselves; c, connec-
tions between the cables and the curved bars, T pieces, or equivalent
devices to which the rails and counter rails are attached; d, the curved
bars, T pieces, or equivalent devices; e, longitudinal ties to same; f, rails
upon which the grooved or flanged wheels of the carriages or vehicles are
borne ;g, counter or check rails; h, wheels of the carriages or vehicles;
h', their axles; i, their frames; k, grooved counter or check rollers corre-
sponding to the counter or check rails, and serving likewise as breaks

page_text: when necessary; l, connections from carriage frames or travellers to
the bodies or receptacles of the carriages or vehicles; m, the bodies or
receptacles themselves; o, transmission cords or ropes by which motion
is communicated to the vehicles; p, carriers for supporting the slack
of the transmission ropes at intervals; Q, conical devices with jointed
arms attached to transmission ropes acting in combination with the
carriers P in supporting and adjusting the slack of the rope; r, driving
wheel; 8, driving strap or band; t, pneumatic tube and piston with its
arm; u, pulley on axle of carriage wheels to receive motion by strap from
motor.
The Drawings merely illustrate the general combination of the system,
and give nothing definite as to proportions, as these will vary with the
materials employed, the destination of the road, and local conditions.
Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of a way with one rail and counter
or check rail suspended to a system of cables, and having a travelling
vehicle to which motion is imparted by a transmission cord.
Fig. 2 is an end view shewing the curved bar and rail and counter
rail. The carriage frame i carrying the grooved wheel is placed on
the rail f, and the check roller k works upon the counter or check
rail J.
Fig. 3 represents an end view of a wooden way of which the T piece d
carries two wooden rails f, f, and a check rail y also of wood. The T pieces
are retained in their positions by means of the ties marked e.
On the way
is the vehicle which travels thereon; i, i, is the wooden frame of the vehicle
to which the axles are fixed; the wheels h are also of wood, one of them
is shown separately at the side of the view; k is the check rollor; m, the
receptacle or body of the vehicle for containing the goods, &c., to be
transported.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a way made of wood with two rails and
check rail.
Fig. 5 shows a carrier for supporting a transmission rope, and Fig. 6
shews the device which is used on the rope in connection with the
carriers to draw them. The number of carriers employed is regulated
according to the length of the way, and calculated so that the slack
of the transmission ropes may be supported at distances of from forty
to fifty metres in such a manner that on each side the slack of the
transmission ropes passes through the rings of all the rope carriers, and
these are drawn to carry the slack of the rope by means of the conical

page_text: pieces. These carriers of the transmission ropes may be advantageously
replaced by vehicles for transport.
Fig. 7 represents a perspective view of a way, with two rails and a
counter or check rail attached to a system of cables, the carriage or vehicle
being shewn in position with its wheels on the rails faud its body or
receptacle m suspended below.
Fig. 8 represents an end view of a carriage frame i with its two
wheels h, h, and counter or check roller arranged for a way with
only one check rail. A side view of one of the wheels is shewn
separately.
Fig. 9 represents a way formed of plates, f, f, being the two rails, and g
the counter or check rail in section.
Fig. 10 represents an end view of a T-piece with two rails and counter
rail, and shews the wheels and framing of the carriage or vehicle in
position.
Fig. 11 represents a metal arch a for supporting a way having six rails f
and three counter rails g.
Fig. 12 shews a plan view of a way suspended to cables.
Fig. 13 is a side elevation shewing a way crossing a valley.
Fig. 14 a similar view of an incliued way attached to cables.
Figs. 15 plan, end, and side views of a way having four rails and two
check rails, and shewing also an end view of the carriage framing and
wheels with a part of its main body. Two of the wheels are worked by
the pulley which receives its motion from a strap in connection with a
motor in the vehicle or receptacle.
Figs. 16. views of way and carriage frame, the former being a way with
four rails and a check rail, the whole suspended to cables by means of
suspension ropes having diagoual ties, and the bars which support the rails
being kept in their proper relative positions by means of rings or circular
frames as shown. The vehicle of which parts are shown is arranged to
carry a motor, the two central wheels at each end being worked by pullies u
with which they are in communication. k, k, are the counter rollers for
the check rails.
Fig. 17 represents a side view of a way similar to that shown in
Figs. 15.
Fig. 18, cross sections representing two modes of forming the

page_text: transverse bars d¹ of the rail framing shewn in Figs. 15, 16, 19, and 21.
These bars are formed of plates of steel piled horizontally or perpen-
dicularly as shewn.
Fig. 19 represents a way having four rails and having a pneumatic tube
and apparatus marked t, the arm of which acts directly upon one of the
axletrees of the vehicle. h, h, are the wheels, and k is the check roller;
m is the body or receptacle of the vehicle.
Figs. 20 represent sections of different constructions of rails applicable
in carrying out this Invention.
Fig. 21 shews a way with four rails and two check rails represented
transversely with a corresponding carriage frame in position.
Fig. 22 represents a way with two rails and one check rail supported by
metal arches, f. f. being the rails, and y the check rails.
Fig. 23 is a plan view of an arrangement of suspension cables in which
the number is diminished towards the centres.
Fig. 24 represents a way with two rails fixed to a post or pillar.
The rails composing the road or way with their frames should always
be placed symmetrically in relation to their supports so that the entire
way may be properly balanced. The balancing of the bodies of the
vehicles with their loads is easily effected. The curved bars, T pieces,
or frames to which the rails are attached are always vertical, and their
length from the surface of the rails must be regulated by the diameters
of the wheels travelling on the latter. When the way is supported by
a series of fixed scaffolds or frames fixed in the ground at certain
distances apart a series of scaffolds may be replaced at a junction or for
crossing a river by ties or bands descending from a common cable fixed
at both ends and supported in the same manner as the cable of an
ordinary suspension bridge. The two methods of supporting the road
or way (that is to say, by cables and by scaffolds or frames) may be
employed conjointly. As the roads or ways constructed on this system
are very light it is better not to run the vehicles in trains.
should travel singly, the correct principle of working this system being
to employ but few carriages and to run them often. Although it is
preferred to employ iron and steel, yet in carrying out this system an
ordinary workman with a hatchet, some rough timber, and a few bundles
of rope might unaided establish a way with vehicles and so cross a
river of a kilometre in width. The best cables to employ will be such
They

page_text: as possess the maximum of strength within a smail diameter. They
may be made either of fine iron wire or of fine steel wire, as
ordinary wire ropes are manufactured, and should in all cases be
protected from oxidation by the means usually adopted. Other wire,
silk and fibrous or other materials, may be employed in making the
core of the cable. A good cable may be made of hemp protected by a
suitable coating. The cables may be placed side by side, care being
always taken to allow of room for repairing.
Their number may be
reduced towards the centre, as shewn in Fig. 23. Care should be taken
to employ cables of sufficient strength, the strength of each cable being
increased in proportion as the number of cables employed is reduced.
It is better that each should carry its own load independently, although
a given part of the load may be sustained by two cables jointly, which
however should not cross one another, but may be connected by
equidistant lateral ties. Curved frames of the section shewn at d in
Figs. 1 and 2 may be made in a continuous piece with the rail, but
should be trellised to avoid undue weight and so as to present as little
surface as possible to the action of the wind. Single ways suspended
from cables of great span may in some instances be strengthened
laterally by guy ropes running, for example, from two moored cables one
on cach side. Three fixed cross bearers will permit the road or way to
make a curve whether at a station or otherwise. The curved bar or
carriage frame i, shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 with its grooved wheel h,
together form as it were a hook which may be placed on the rail at the
side, and being properly ballasted by the body or receptacle m of the
carriage and its load will run along the way without interference from
its supports. The check rollers may be put in position after the carriage
frames have been placed in position with their wheels on the rails so that
the rollers may be said to serve as keys. The axes of the rollers are made
movable at one end so that by suitable devices (actuated from the body
of the vehicle) such as keys working on screws or short levers fixed to the
axles of the rollers, the latter may be caused to approach or recede from
the counter rails and so act as breaks. Three or four pullies may be used
in place of two check rollers, one behind the other, care being taken to
articulate them so as to allow of their passing freely round curves; by this
means the length of the carriage framing and the number of wheels in file
may be increased.
In cases where two rails are employed, as in Fig. 7, if the rails be
placed near together the body of the vehicle may be constructed to

page_text: extend upwards at each side of the way so as to bring its centre of
gravity to a higher point, but by making the ways wide and keeping
the bodies of the vehicles low they will run steadier and act better when
passing along curves. To this end the heavier parts of the load should
be placed as close as possible to the axle, which latter
may in some
instances have a little end play. The axles may be lubricated in the
ordinary manner. The width of the rails plus the distance between them
and the vertical supports determines the length of the cross parts of their
frames or T pieces and the depth and width of the rails depend upon the
nature of the materials employed and the circumstances under which they
are used, as also upon their length between the points of support or cross
bearers.
The arches or other structures for carrying a fixed road or way may be
made of wrought or cast iron or other materials (wood being desirable if
rendered incombustible) and they should be constructed in accordance with
the rules of art in such manner as to give the way a regular line without
steep inclines, though inclines as steep as 4 in 100 will be admissible where
there are no sharp curves.
For crossing over rivers, mar-hes, and straits, spans of one, two, and
even three kilometres may be adopted with a single length of cable
without intermediate supports. For spans exceeding what the cables
will bear supporting pillars or piles or buttressed towers may be placed
at suitable distances apart Where there is a solid foundation for
receiving an ordinary pillar to carry the cables between the mooring
points the pillars should not go in water of greater depth than 30 metres
as would generally be the case, for example, in the Straits of Dover.
Instead of forming islands or breakwaters, pillars on a simpler and
perhaps better principle might be constructed on metal piles, each pillar
base being formed by twelve piles divided into four groups of three piles
each. These are then united in three pyramids forming four solid angles
of a rectangle or square. These piles fixed to the solid bottom emerge
above the water to a sufficient height to be above the highest water
level; they are then united together by a metal frame forming the base
of the pillar. On this base is erected the pillar whose width should be
greater than its depth, and which should be built in a similar manner
to that in which metal lighthouses are erected. Four standards rising
pyramidically are bound together at equal distances by cross bars and
strengthened by traces, but without any exterior casing. The tower is

page_text: raised to the required height for supporting the cables on the top by
a system of large pullies, each independent of the other, one cable
or a pair being carried by at least three pullies placed one after
another. The cables are usually only moored to the solid ground at each
end.
The carriages or vehicles may be constructed to carry their own motive
power as already described but in many cases a man riding in the
réceptacle m will be able (by actuating a crank or treadle) to propel the
vehicle. In order to ensure proper adhesion the growes of the driving
wheels may if necessary be fitted with leather or gutta percha on the
outside. To prevent the slack of the transmission rope from swaying
light rigid guides descending from the way may be employed, and can be
turred under all the space destined to be travelled over by the vehicles, and
transversely tied lightly together below, but as a rule it will be better to
avoid such complications in order to maintain the simplicity and safety
of transit of the vehicles.
When motion is communicated to the vehicles by an endless rope a
single motor placed in any convenient situation gives motion to a very
large pulley or wheel working vertically in a line with the centre of the
road or way eithor at the terminus or beyond it. A similar wheel is
placed at the other end and a transmission rope passes over the two
wheels, one of its slacks passing over and the other under the road or
way. The slack of the rope should be properly supported at intervals
by carriers. When the axles of a vehicle are provided with self-acting
grippers (which may either work automatically or be regulated from
the interior of the vehicle) such grippers will grip the transmission rope
on its passage so that the vehicle will be drawn along by the motion
of the rope; before the vehicle reaches its destination the rope will be
released by a paul or click, wheroupon the vehicle will stop or may
be stopped by the action of its breaks. It is preferred to fit the groove
of the driving pulley or wheel with leather or gutta percha; on its motion
being reversed the transmission rope will draw the vehicles a contrary
direction.
When part of an endless way is intended to serve as a bridge the
buttressed towers may each be arranged to support the necessary cables
for two lines of way running side by side and firmly connected together
by the tops of the cross bearers and transversely. The two lines of way
diverge on approaching the towers, where each has its separate arch, and

page_text: to form a continuous way they are united at their ends by means of a
curve, placed clear of the towers, the way being carried at the points
of junction by fixed framing, scaffolding, or staging near which the
platforms are placed. The motive power employed may be a stationary
steam engine actuating a very large pulley or wheel (say from 3 to 5
metres in diameter), which transmits its motion to the endless ropes,
which in this case are carried by pullies whose axes are placed vertically,
and which may be situated either below the way or along its outer or
inner circuit. In order to prevent swaying of the transmission ropes it
is desirable to dispose the vehicles at equal distances apart along the
endless way.
A part of a single line of way situated between two fixed supports may
be arranged to open like a gate, so that the vehicle which it carries may
be removed, another taken up and the movable length of way again
closed so as to complete the circuit.
Where several lines of way run side by side portions situated between
fixed points of support and of the proper length to receive a carriage or
vehicle may
be made capable of moving laterally like a drawer when
opened, and so arranged with short side lengths of additional way of the
proper gauge that vehicles may be transferred (as by an ordinary railway
traveller), from one line of way to another by the lateral movement of the
detached portions of way, whereupon the continuity of the line of way
just left by the shunted vehicle will be restored by the short additional
Or a section of
length of way that previously stood on one side.
the way may be pivotted similarly to an ordinary railway turntable, and
be so arranged as to turn to the left for the removal of a vehicle and
to the right for receiving one.
Two sections of way between fixed points of support may be pivotted,
so that while one is turned out of the line of the main route the other
the other will preserve the continuity of the main line of way.
When atmospheric power is employed to move the vehicles the arm
of the tube is turned below or under to act directly upon the axletrees
of the vehicles. The tube may be placed either above, below, or at the
sides. The compressed air system allows of separate carriages being
worked apart from each other by an entire system of pistons one after
the other to act on any number of separate vehicles, giving a
tinuous run of trains. The fixed engine supplying the compressed air
con-

page_text: may be placed where most couvenient, the supply tubes for conveying
the air to the tube on the road or way being attached thereto according
to the height of the road.
For the streets of towns it is preferred to employ the metal framing
or pillars for supporting the improved ways, which should be about as
high as the first floors of the houses, but should not interfere with the
buildings.
Roads or ways and vehicles according to this Invention offer great
facilitates for the conveyance of passengers, and will afford all the
conveniences of an omnibus services.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Cortazzi, have hereunto set
set my hand and seal, this Second day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred sixty-nine.
EDWARD CORTAZZI (L.S.)