A New and IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY FOR LOCO- MOTIVE PURPOSES
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Stephen Henry Emmens at the
.
· Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th February 1873.
I, STEPHEN HENRY EMMENS, of 8, Old Jewry, in the City of
› London, Scientific Referee, do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention for “A New and IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY FOR LOCO-
MOTIVE PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
My Invention is designed for the purpose of enabling minerals, goods,
or passengers to be conveyed between fixed stations over undulating
) ground or surfaces by automatic means with facility and dispatch, and
without the employment of locomotive engines or other motive or cattle
power machines attached thereto.
In order to accomplish this object I first survey the country through
and over which the minerals or goods have to be transported, and then
proceed to construct a line of rail in a series of inclined and level

page_text: sections comformable to the surface of the ground so surveyed in the
manner following:
Each section is formed preferably by a succession of posts carrying a
single line of rails with a crossing at the centre of the section. At each
junction and termination of any two sections I place drums carrying 5
endless ropes, wire, or chains, which revolve round the sections to which
they respectively belong. This rope is supported along the outer sides
of the railway by sheaves or brackets attached to the posts. At the
junction nearest the bottom of each inclined section and at each
junction of two level sections I place a steam, hydraulic, hand or other 1
engine, which I connect with the drums in such a manner that when set
in motion such drums and through them the endless ropes will be driven
in the direction desired.
Each endless rope carries two draw bars placed diametrically opposite,
fitting into self-acting clutch boxes or couplings fastened to the leading 1
waggon of each train. These clutches or couplings are provided with a
spring catch or latch which when coming in contact with protruding
levers placed on each side of the respective drums become by self-acting
means released from the travelling carriage. These draw bars are so
constructed that when not attached to the waggons they hold open 2
certain check gates along the line that would otherwise and not when so
retained stretch across the line. They are also provided with fingers or
projections that enable them on passing certain detents to start or stop
the engines attached to and actuating the drums.
The manner in which goods, minerals, or passengers are conveyed by 2
this novel form and construction of railway may by the following
description be readily understood :—
A train starting from any junction of two sections clutches the draw
bar nearest to it, and if it be about to ascend an incline or proceed along
a level, such coupling to the train of the bar at once starts the engine,'
and so gives motion to the drum which communicating a traverse to the
rope carries the train forward. If the draw bar at the other end of a
section be also attached to a train, it will necessarily be drawn in a
direction towards the one first-named, so that the two will pass each
other at the central crossing midway between the section such trains are.
travelling upon. If on the contrary there is no train waiting at the

page_text: opposite end of the section, then and in such case the draw bar on
moving releases the check gate, and thus prevents any train passing the
junction until such gate is again opened by the arrival of the draw bar,
consequently two trains cannot be together on the same section unless in
such a manner that they pass each other at the central crossing, as
herein-before first named.
On a draw bar arriving at a junction it strikes the detent of the engine
if at work and thereby stops it, but if another train should arrive at the
same time it either waits at the check gate until freed as above, but if
the check gate should be open it proceeds onward as before described,
but in cases where the train enters on a descent no detent is provided, as
the weight of the descending body is equivalent to the motive power
otherwise employed.
It will now be evident that a train travelling on this system may
proceed automatically for any required or given distance, and that
extraneous power is only called into play in the descent of inclines or on
levels, and further that the weight of descending trains is utilized
wherever other trains have to ascend simultaneously.
It will be understood that the engine giving motion to the drums for
driving the endless ropes are placed at the lowest levels, and where con-
sequently the greatest amount of water is naturally always to be found.
Finally, it will be understood that it is not essential that the trains
should proceed automatically as they may be accompanied by guards
who can attend to the attachment of the ropes, the opening and closing
of the check gates, to the starting and stopping of the engine, and to
other regulations and appliances upon the line of route.