Improvements in what are Commonly known as Switchback Railways,
Year: 1888

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in what are Commonly known as Switchback
Railways,
We FREDERICK HENRY GILL of 20 Bucklersbury in the City of London, Draughts-
man, and JOHN WILLIAM HARTLEY of Stoke-on-Trent in the County of Stafford,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In railways of this character as hitherto constructed, the passengers have to alight
and change cars for the return journey, which causes loss of time, besides detracting.
from the pleasure of the journey; and the object of this invention is. to obviate this
inconvenience.
In carrying out our invention, we construct our railway with undulations as before,
but at one or both ends we form a loop round which the car carrying the passengers
will pass. The highest point on the railway may be immediately in front of a loop,.
and the car will be carried over this point by means of a travelling band having
catches which seize the car, the said band being driven in any convenient manner;
otherwise the car runs by gravity.
When only one loop is employed, we prefer to place, at the starting point, a
traverser, onto which the empty car is run, the traverser being then shifted laterally,
or swung on a pivot to shunt the car onto the up line; or we may employ a traverser
at both ends.
The car may be mounted on two small bogies, or provided with an arrangement of
radiating or converging axles, which will permit of its going round the loops; or
guide wheels on the sides, working against a plate or rail, could be used.
The catches on the travelling band may be hinged, so that they would give as the
wheel axles pass over them, and then spring back to catch the axle or other part of
the car.
The rails, in addition to being undulating, may be laid in a wavy line, and they
may also be arranged to give a rolling or rocking motion to the car, a safety guide
roller working on the web of the rail being provided.
The cars which we prefer to use for this railway, on account of the curves, will be
made up of sections; the leading section will have four. wheels, but tho, succeeding

page_text: sections will have only two wheels placed near their rear ends, being provided at front
with an eye which takes over a hook or bolt of the preceding car section. In this
way, we can make up any length of car, which will readily go over the undulations
and round the curves. The number of seats on each car or section may vary from 2
to 4, but in any case we obtain an extended flexible wheel base, which adds to the
safety of the travelling.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in what are Commonly known as Switchback
Railways.
WO FREDERICK HENRY GILL of 20, Bucklersbury in the City of London, Draughts-
man,
and JOHN WILLIAM HARTLEY, of Stoke-on-Trent in the County of Stafford,
Engineer, 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 Switchback Gravity Railways in which there are two
undulating tracks, one for the advance, and the other for the return journey of the car
or cars, these tracks being connected together at the ends by loops, so that a continuous
track is formed.
Hitherto the difficulties experienced in getting the cars round the comparatively
small loops without danger, has been a bar to the employment of a continuous track
of this description; it has therefore become customary for the passengers to alight from
the cars on the completion of the first part of the journey, while the car is being
shunted on to the return part of the track.
As this arrangement is accompanied with loss of time, and also somewhat mars the
pleasure of the trip, we have endeavoured, by the present invention, to obviate the
necessity for changing cars, by constructing them and the track in a peculiar manner,
so that the curves may be traversed without danger or difficulty while the cars are
laden, and this without departing from the advantages which belong to the straight
form of Gravity Railways.
We will now proceed to describe a Switchback Railway embodying our invention,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings:
:-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an undulating continuous track, shewing the car rising
up the last incline on the completion of a journey.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1.

page_text: Fig. 4 is a back view of the car in the position of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the car traversing the curve; and
Fig 6 is a back view of the car in the position of Fig. 5.
Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are respectively side, plan, and end views of mechanism for
assisting the car (on the impetus failing) to mount the inclines at either end of the
track; and
Fig. 10 is a detached view of the mechanism for tightening the chain.
Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 show a slight modification in the means for assisting the
car up the incline, Fig. 11 being a side elevation of car and track, Fig. 12 a plan view.
of gripping mechanism, and Fig. 13 a cross section of a minor detail. Fig. 14 is a
diagram shewing in elevation the arrangement of the rope.
A is a structure carrying an undulating continuous track B, and C is the car which
runs upon it, propelled chiefly by gravity, but assisted partly by mechanism to be
presently more particularly described.
X is the point on the track from which the car starts, and the travel is in the
direction of the arrows.
The track consists of a continuous line of rails a a, Fig. 5, and of additional or
subsidiary rails a' a', which are situated outside the rails a a, and come into action at
the loops only, and need not extend beyond them. At the loops, the rails a a are
preferably removed.
Upon the rails a a run the main travelling wheels c of the car C. This car C is
provided with horizontal guide or safety wheels & mounted upon suitable axles D
depending from the car, and running under the head of the rails a a in a manner now
well known. The car has also a set of small subsidiary wheels e mounted on stud
axles carried by the under framing outside the running wheels c.
.
The wheels e perform no office until the car arrives at the curves, but as soon as a
curve is reached, they begin to run upon the subsidiary lines a' a¹. These lines are
preferably on a slightly higher level than the lines a and consequently the car is
lifted so as to raise the wheels c cloar of the rails a a, which may be removed at the
curves. At the same time, the safety wheels d leave the outer sides of the rails a a
(the upper flange or head being at this point cut away to permit it), and take under
the head and on the inner sides of the rails a¹ a¹ (see Figs. 4 and 5). The car is thus
entirely supported npon the subsidiary wheels e while rounding the curve, which is
done with the greatest safety. The wheels e being set at a suitable angle, and being
unimpeded by flanges, readily follow the line, while the safety wheels d maintain the
car upon the track, the main wheels c being in the mean time entirely inoperative. On
emerging from the curved portion of the track, the main wheels c and safety wheels d
take their old position upon the lines a a.
The car shewn in the drawing is constructed in two parts, the main part C, and a
supplemental part C. The main part is arranged to hold three transverse seats or
benches, but they may be differently arranged, if desired, and the supplemental
or after part of the car is arranged with two transverse seats or benches. It is, how-
ever, not absolutely necessary to use the supplemental cars..
This
The supplemental cars marked C₁ in Figs. 3 and 5, are constructed to carry four
passengers cach, and are mounted upon a pair of wheels. They are provided with
extension pieces L by which they are attached to the axle L* of the car immediately
in front (see Figs. 5*, Sheet II). On the axle of the preceding car is mounted a
sleeve L', which is tapered externally in opposite directions from the centre.
sleeve L is loose on the axle L*, so that it is free to turn axially. At the end of the
extension piece L is a fork L, which spans the sleeve L', and is attached thereto by
the centres L³, so that the sleeve I' is free to oscillate horizontally in the fork. As
an additional security, a strap L' may go round the sleeve and be attached to the
fork L.
To assist the car to surmount the inclines at the track ends, the following
mechanism is employed:
G is a shaft (see Figs, 7 and 9) mounted transversely of the line of the track in

page_text: suitably placed bearings, and having upon it a spur wheel G₁, which takes into a spur
pinion G upon a pulley shaft H; which is driven by a band from a gas engine or other
motor.
I is a pulley or chain wheel, over which passes an endless pawl chain K. The
pawl chain also passes over a second pulley or chain wheel l' mounted upon another
shaft . The pawl chain K is placed between the lines of the track, passes over, and is
supported by a guide plate K¹, and it consists of links connected together by pins, on
the outer ends, of which are grooved carrying rollers, provided with projecting rubber
tyres, as seen in the detail view Fig. 7*. The gearing is driven so as to advance the
pawl chain upwardly, that is, in the direction of the travel of the car up the incline:
The car C is provided with suspended pawls e', which trail over the pawl chain, and
when the car dwells upon the incline, take into the projections thereof. By this
means, the car is advanced to the top of the incline, where the chain leaves the pawls,
and where, on the completion of the journey, the car is stopped, and secured by the
weighted catch or stop L** (see Fig. 3) catching against one of the pawls c'. The
pulley I is provided with a ratchet arrangement (see Figs. 7 and 9) to prevent the
travel of the pawl chain in the wrong direction. To regulate the tension of the pawl
chain, the pulley shaft is mounted in bearings carried by slides J J. On
loosoning the set screws j¹¹, the bearing may be moved backwards or forwards by the
screws JJ, and the set screws are again tightened, a proper tension being thereby
produced.-
The driving shaft. G is provided with a loose pulley to which the driving band from
the engine may be transferred, when the travel of the pawl chain is not required.
Grooved carriers with projecting rubber tyres may also be used to support the pawl
chain.
In the modification shown in Figs. 11 to 14, a travelling wire or other cable is
used, and the car is provided with an arrangement of grippers, which seize the
travelling cable at the proper moment, and the car is thus assisted up the last incline.
M is the cable, or it may be cables, which may be disposed in the manner indicated
by the diagram Fig. 14, and driven by one or more gas or other engines.
C is the car. To the underside of the car are secured bracket pieces Ñ, one on
either side of the car, in which are mounted vertical pivots for gripping levers O(see
the plan view Fig. 12). To the outer ends of these lovers are attached springs 01,
the action of which is to keep. the gripping jaws always together. These gripping jaws
are preferably formed as shewn in Fig. 13, by which means the cable is provented
from sagging between the pulleys, and thereby falling out of the grip. The springs 01
are attached at their opposite ends to stays 02 secured to the car frame.
impetus on the car decreases below the speed of the rope's travel, the rope causes
the grippers to grip it, the hold being tightened as the weight of the car is felt.
As the
To ensure the grippers acting simultaneously, cach lever O is provided with an arm P,
and these two arins, which are on opposite sides of their respective levers, are
connected by a connecting bar or link Q, so that any movement of one lever is
immediately communicated to the other. We may use one, two, or more sets of tlieso
gripping levers to each car.
•
R is a safety contrivance to prevent the car running back on the incline, and
consisting of a suitably mounted pawl which takes into a rack-R' secured to the track
between the rails the whole length of the incline.
S is a wedge piece secured to the track, and extending on either side of the pulley 1',
which wedge piece serves to open the gripping jaws without shock, and guide them
to the cable. For this purpose, the levers O are provided on their underside with studs
and antifriction rollers O* which strike against the wedge piece S, as the car
advances, and open the gripping jaws a distance equal to the thickness of the rope.
A similar wedge piece may be also arranged for the pulley at the top of the incline,
to allow the gripping jaws to close quietly as they leave the cable.
By preference we employ arrangements of mechanism such as that above described
for advancing the car at either end of the track, but in some instances, we may
dispense with that at the half journey, in which case, however, the starting point of

page_text: the car must be higher than any other part of the track. We have thus shewn it in
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, but we have also indicated the double arrange-
ment of advancing mechanism. We may employ brakes for our cars, which may be
actuated by an attendant on the car.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
.
1. Constructing the track of continuous Gravity Railways with subsidiary rails
arranged as above described to take up the cars through auxiliary and safety "wheels,
and carry them round the bends independently of the main travelling wheels.
2. Constructing cars for Gravity Railways with auxiliary and safety wheels in the
manner hereinbefore described and shewn in the drawings, for the purpose set forth.
3. The construction and arrangement of suitably driven endless pawl chain, as
shewn and described, for assisting the cars to surmount the inclines of a Gravity
Railway.
4. The means herein shewn and described with reference to Figs. 11 to 14 for
assisting the cars up the inclines of Gravity Railways.
5. The construction of supplemental cars for Switchback Gravity Railways, and
the means for attaching the same to the preceeding car, as described and shown.
6. In Cars for Switchback Gravity Railways, the combination of a main portion
arranged to run on at least four main and subsidiary wheels, with supplemental
portions each provided with a pair of main and subsidiary wheels, as shewn and
described.
7th. In a recreational gravity railway, the combination with a straight track having
looped ends, of subsidiary rails at the loops; cars having subsidiary wheels for
the loops, and means for hauling the cars up the last incline at one or both ends of the
track, as herein shown and described.
T
" A
1000
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicants.