IMPROVEMENTS IN PIERS, JETTYS, AND LANDING STAGES, AND IN MEANS FOR EFFECTING THE TRANSFERRENCE OF RAILWAY TRAINS TO AND FROM FERRY BOATS AND FLOATING VESSELS, AND FOR STAYING THE SAID TRAINS WHEN ON BOARD SUCH BOATS OR VESSELS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Kochs, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PIERS, JETTYS, AND LANDING STAGES, AND IN MEANS FOR EFFECTING THE
TRANSFERRENCE OF RAILWAY TRAINS TO AND FROM FERRY BOATS AND FLOATING
VESSELS, AND FOR STAYING THE SAID TRAINS WHEN ON BOARD SUCH BOATS OR
VESSELS."
Sealed the 17th December 1872, and dated the 21st June 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Kochs
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st June 1872.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD KOCHS, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN Piers, Jettys, and Landing STAGES, AND IN MEANS FOR
EFFECTING THE TRANSFERRENCE OF RAILWAY TRAINS TO AND FROM FERRY BOATS
AND FLOATING VESSELS, AND FOR STAYING THE SAID TRAINS WHEN ON BOARD SUCH
BOATS OR VESSELS," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its principal object to provide means for readily
effecting the transferrence of railway trains from the land to floating
vessels, and from the said vessels to the land, and is applicable more

page_text: particularly in cases wherein the vertical distance between the rails
on or in the vessel and the rails on land is subject to variations, as
for example, in the cases of ferries on sea channels, estuaries, and tidal
rivers.
For the said purpose I construct a number of tanks or caissons to 5
contain water, and I place in each caisson-a pontoon.
The said viaduct is formed in spans which are jointed or hinged
together, or by preference the first span is hinged by one end to a part
secured to the abutment on land, the other end resting on a roller
carriage which is mounted on the first pontoon, the second span being 1
hinged by one end to the said first pontoon, and resting by the other
end on the second pontoon, and so on for the remainder, the outer end
of the last span being provided with arrangements for connecting the
said end with the steam ship or vessel.
The said pontoons are fitted to rise and fall within their caissons and 1
are guided in their rising and falling, the guides extending above the
upper edges of the said caissons, that is to say, above the levels at which
the water is retained by the caissons at the time of "low water." The
said upper edges or the lines of overflow vary in height, as for example,
supposing a case in which the extreme variation of water level would
be twenty-four feet, and that the rails would be about level when the
water reached its highest level, the line of overflow of the first caisson
might be four feet below the high water level, the line of overflow
of the next caisson might be cight feet below high water level, and so on,
the line of overflow of the last caisson or caissons being at about "low
water" level,
Now supposing the viaduct to be about level and the water level to be
falling, the first span will be more and more inclined until the water
has fallen to the level of the upper edges or line of overflow of the first
caisson. As the water level continues to fall the second span is inclined,
the amount of inclination of the first span not increasing for the reason
that the caisson remains filled or nearly filled with water to the line of
overflow. When the level of low water is reached the whole or nearly
the whole of the spans, say, for example, six spans, will be inclined, and
if the length of each of the said spans be about one hundred and sixty
feet the inclination would in the case supposed be about "one in forty."
I prefer to add an extra span or extra spans to the outer end of the

page_text: viaduct, the said extra span or spans remaining level or about level as
the water rises and falls.
Arrangements may be provided for raising and lowering or adjusting
the outer end of the last span in order that it may be connected with
the steam ship or ferry boat and that the rails on the viaduct and
on the said ship or boat may meet together with sufficient accuracy.
This may be effected by pumping air into or discharging air from the
pontoon or pontoons sustaining the said outer end, or by the employ-
ment of hydraulic rams for raising or depressing the said outer end.
It may be desirable to cause the end of the ship, boat, or floating
vessel to rest upon the outer end of the last span, or the said outer end
to rest upon the end of the said ship, boat, or vessel in order that a train
may be safely transferred from the rails on the viaduct to the rails on
the deck of the said ship, boat, or vessel.
I
may connect
I prefer to adopt means for supporting or sustaining the pontoons and
viaduct during the passage of a train. For this purpose
the pontoons or the viaduct with hydraulic rams which are fitted to rise
and fall or to work to and fro in cylinders to which water is admitted.
The escape of the water from the said cylinders may be so controlled as
that the said pontoons shall subside slowly during the passage of a train,
or the said escape may be prevented by closing valves whenever a train
has to "run over" the viaduct. The pontoons may thus be made
of less buoyancy than if required to sustain a moving load of great
weight.
By the means above described trains may be run directly from the
rails on land on to the rails on the said deck.
My Invention, or the main features of the same, is or are also appli-
cable in the construction of jettys or landing stages not intended for
the passage of railway carriages or wagons.
In order to stay the train or trains of carriages or wagons when on
board the floating vessel I employ screws which work in nuts fixed to
some part or parts of the said vessel, the said screws being rotated until
their ends bear against the upper parts of the said carriages or wagons
or against bars fixed thereto.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
•
filed by the said William Edward Kochs in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD KOCHS, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Edward Kochs, Hor special
license that I, the said William Edward Kochs, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Kochs, 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
IMPROVEMENTS IN PIERS, JETTYS, AND LANDING STAGES AND IN MEANS FOR
EFFECTING THE TRANSFERRENCE OF RAILWAY TRAINS TO AND FROM FERRY BOATS 2
AND FLOATING VESSELS, AND FOR STAYING THE SAID TRAINS WHEN ON BOARD SUCH
BOATS OR VESSELS," upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the said
William Edward Kochs, 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 2
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
"

page_text: particularly in cases wherein the vertical distance between the deck ou
or in the vessel and the rails on land is subject to variations, as for
example in the cases of ferries on sca channels, estuaries, and tidal
rivers.
For the said purpose I construct a number of tanks, herein-after
termed caissons, to contain water, and I place in each caisson a pontoon
and on these pontoons I mount a viaduct.
The said viaduct is formed in spans, which are jointed or hinged
together, or by preference the first span is hinged by one end to a part
secured to the abutment on land, the other end resting on a roller
carriage which is mounted on the first pontoon, the second span being
hinged by one end to the said first pontoon and resting by the other
end on the second pontoon, and so on for the remainder, the outer end
of the last span being provided with arrangements for connecting the
said end with the steam ship or vessel.
The said pontoons are fitted to rise and fall within their caissons and
are guided in their rising and falling, the guides extending above the
upper edges of the said caissons, that is to say, above the levels at which
the water is retained by the caissons. at the time of "low water." The
said upper edges or the lines of overflow vary in height, so that when
the tide is falling the water is retained in one of the said caissons at a
lower level than the water in the next caisson on one side, and at a
higher level than the water in the next caisson on the other side,
whereby the said pontoons are sustained at varying levels so as that
the said viaduct becomes inclined, and if the parts are suitably pro-
portioned the incline may be of so easy a gradient as that an engine
with a loaded train may easily mount the said incline when the tide
is at low water. I prefer to add an extra span or extra spans to the
outer end of the viaduct, the said extra span or spans remaining level or
about level as the water rises and falls.
Arrangements may be provided for raising and lowering or adjusting
the outer end of the last span in order that it may be connected with
the steam ship or ferry boat, and that the rails on the viaduct and in
the said ship or boat may meet together with sufficient accuracy. This
may be effected by the employment of hydraulic rams for raising or
depressing the said outer end.

page_text: It may be desirable to cause the end of the ship, boat, or floating
vessel to rest upon the outer end of the last span or the said outer end
to rest upon the end of the said ship, boat, or vessel in order that a
train may be safely transferred from the rails on the viaduct to the rails
on the deck of the said ship, boat, or vessel.
I prefer to adopt means for supporting or sustaining the pontoons and
viaduct during the passage of a train. For this purpose I may connect
the pontoons or the viaduct with hydraulic rams which are fitted to rise
and fall or to work to and fro in cylinders, to which water is admitted.
The escape of the water from the said cylinders may be so controlled
as that the said pontoons shall subside slowly during the passage of a
train, or the said escape may be prevented by closing valves whenever
a train has to "run over" the viaduct. The pontoons may thus be
made of less buoyancy than if required to sustain a moving load of
great weight.
By the means above described trains may be run directly from the
rails on land on to the rails on the said deck.
My Invention, or the main features of the same, is or are also appli-
cable in the construction of jettys or landing stages not intended for the
passage of railway carriages or wagons.
In order to stay the train or trains of carriages or wagons when on
board the floating vessel I employ screws which work in nuts fixed to
some parts of the said vessel, the said screws being rotated until their
ends bear against the upper parts of the said carriages or wagons or
against bars fixed thereto.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I have
attached hereunto two Sheets of Drawings illustrative of the manner
in which I may carry the said Invention into practical effect, and
have marked the same with letters of reference, corresponding marks
indicating the same parts in the various Figures.
Referring in this place to Sheet 1 of the said Drawings Fig. 1 repre-
sents a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of a viaduct adapted for use in
transferring trains to and from ferry boats; Fig. 3 being a side cleva-
tion; Fig. 4a plan, and Fig 5 a vertical cross section of a portion of the
viaduct, the thrce Figures last named being drawn to a larger scale than
Figs. 1 and 2.

page_text: In the example chosen for illustration the viaduct is formed in six
spans a numbered from 1 to 6, cach span being, say, about 100 feet in
length,
The aforesaid caissons are shown at band are also numbered. The
said caissons are in the example constructed of granite or other masonry
resting upon suitably prepared foundations and are in the form of hollow
water-tight or nearly water-tight tanks. Two of the said caissons are
shown in vertical section in Fig. 3, and one of them in side elevation
in Fig. 4, wherein it will be seen that ornamental towers c are crected
upon the opposite ends of each caisson, the said towers acting as supports
for the guides d, d, which guide the pontoon e as it rises and falls within
the said caisson or in the space between the said towers. The said
pontoon is or may be formed in the usual manner wholly or principally
of wrought iron, and is made, of such proportions as that it will be
capable by reason of its buoyancy of sustaining the permanent load,
that is to say, the weight of the portion of the viaduct resting upon the
said pontoon and also of sustaining any load which the said viaduct may
have to bear. If the subsidence or the rising and falling of the said
pontoon be controlled as herein-after indicated the buoyancy of the
pontoon need only be sufficient to properly sustain the said permanent
load.
The first span is hinged or jointed by one end to a casting which is
fixed in the land abutment, the other cud of the span being jointed to
a carriage which is mounted on rollers resting on the first pontoon e.
The second span is hinged to the said first pontoon, the other end of the
span being jointed to a roller carriage which is sustained by the second
pontoon, the third, fourth, and fifth spans being mounted and sustained
in the same manner on the remaining pontoons.
•
The arrangement allows the pontoons to rise to varying heights
without interfering with the passage of trains across the viaduct. Each
caisson is formed with passages g, g, for the influx and overflow of water,
the height of the "cills" of the said passages above low water varying
in the case of cach caisson. In the example the vertical height between
low water and high water levels is supposed to be twenty feet. The
overflow "cills" of the first caisson are about sixteen feet above low
water mark, the overflow cills of the second, third, and fourth caissons
being about twelve, eight, and four feet respectively above low water
level, the effect being that as the water level falls water is retained in

page_text: each caisson to the level of the said cills of the overflow passages or
thereabouts. The pontoons are thus sustained at varying levels, the
first pontoon being sustained at a level of about four feet above tlie
second pontoon, and so on for the remainder, so that at low water level
the viaduct from the land abutment to the fifth pontoon forms a con- 5
tinuous decline of a gradient of about "one in forty." as represented in
Fig. 1. The fifth and sixth pontoons in the example illustrated are
intended to rise and fall to the full extent of the rise and fall of the
tide, the sixth span of the viaduct remaining about level at all states
of the tide. A rise of water of four feet from low water level would 1
bring the fifth span into a horizontal position, a rise of eight feet making
the fourth span horizontal, and so on until at high water the whole of
the viaduct would or might be caused to be level or horizontal or
nearly so.
In Figs. 1 and 2 a ferry boat A is represented as connected with the 1
outer end of the sixth or level span in order that a train of carriages
or wagons may be run down the decline and directly on board the said
boat or from the said boat and up the incline on to the land rails as
the case may be.
Figures 6, 7, and 8 are illustrative of the means which I prefer to 2
adopt for raising the outer end of the last span or for governing the
rising and falling of any or of all the pontoons. The said Figures also
illustrate another method of constructing the caissons.
In the said Figures a caisson b, shown in plan in Fig. 6, and in vertical
section in Fig. 7, is represented as formed of two concentric cylinders 2
each consisting of cast-iron plates bolted together, the space between
the said cylinders being filled with concrete. The pontoon e is also
made of a cylindrical form and is provided with four hydraulic rams
two of which appear at h, h, in Fig. 7, which rams work in cylinders i, i.
The said cylinders are connected together by piping k, and the said 3
piping is or may be in connection with suitable pumps which force
water into the cylinders i, i, whenever the pontoon has to be raised in
order to adjust the level of the rails on the viaduct with the level of
the rails on the deck of the ferry boat or to facilitate the connection
of the end of the viaduct with the end of the ferry boat.
In the said Figure the arrangement is represented as adapted to one
of the intermediate pontoons. In such a case it might not be necessary
to connect the piping with force pumps, but the said piping would be
3

page_text: wy wy
connected with a valve or with valves by means of which the influx and
cflux of water into and from the cylinders i, i, might be controlled
so as to govern the rising and falling of the pontoons, that is to say, to
regulate the rate of motion of the said pontoon during its rising and
3 subsidence, and thereby to prevent a too sudden upward or downward
movement of the said pontoon or by entirely closing the said valve or
valves a downward movement of the said pontoon during the passage
of a train may be prevented.
The same Figures also illustrate a modification in the method of
connecting the ends of the spans of the viaduct with the pontoon.
The end of one span is hinged by means of hinge pins 1, 4, to girders
m, m, fixed on the pontoon. The end of the other span is also hinged,
but the said hinge pins pass through slots formed in the lower members
of the girders of the said span or in parts attached thereto, there being
rollers mounted on the said pins, on which rollers the end of the said
span rests.
I do not, however, confine myself to this method of connection nor to
the one previously herein described as other methods may be found to be
more suitable.
Fig. 9 represents a cross section of a portion of the rail deck of a
ferry boat, and illustrates my herein-before mentioned method of staying
the carriages. In the said Figure n, n, are two carriages, and o, o, arc
the screws which are employed to sustain them in position.
The Figures on Sheet 2 represent a viaduct which is terminated by a
floating railway station alongside of which steamers may berth in order
to receive or discharge their loads, the said station being erected on
floating pontoons and rising and falling with the tide. The rising and
subsidence of the pontoons on which the said station is erected may
be controlled by suitable means or by such means as set forth when
describing Figures 6, 7, and 8 of Sheet 1. In this example the caissons
are rectangular as in Figs. 1 to 5 of Sheet 1, but are formed of metal
plates and concrete as in the example illustrated by Figs. 6 to 8 of
Sheet 1.
In the example herein-before described the viaducts have been
adapted to sustain trains of railway carriages or wagons, but in some
cases the viaduct may not be furnished with rails or may not be adapted
to sustain railway carriages or wagons.

page_text: It may be considored to be desirable in some or in all cases to close
or partly close the openings between the aforesaid towers c, c, and
between the under sides of the viaduct and the upper edges of the caisson
by means of aprons or shutters which are raised or lifted as the
pontoon rises in order to check the influx of large bodies of water into
the caisson.
Having now fully described and indicated the nature of my said
Invention, and the methods by which I may carry the same into
practical effect, I would in conclusion have it to be understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise details herein set forth or indicated;
but that I claim,-
First. The employment of tanks or caissons which retain water at
different surface levels above low water level, substantially as and for
the purposes herein-before set forth and indicated.
Secondly. Tho arrangement, construction, and action of the viaducts]
and the arrangements in connexion therewith, substantially as herein-
before described and indicated.
And lastly. The method of staying railway carriages and wagons when
on board a ferry boat, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Kochs, have here. 2
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.
W. EDWARD KOCHS. (L.S.)
Signed and sealed by the said William
Edward Kochs, in the presence of
Agent for the Patentec,
3, Smithy Door,
Manchester.