IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND REPAIRING ROADS AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED MURDERED
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Postlethwaite Gore, of Langham
Street, Portland Place, Esquire, and Robert Green, of Ladbroke
Terrace, Bayswater, Gentleman, both in the County of Middlesex, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND REPAIRING ROADS
AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED MURDERED "
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Postle-
thwaite Gore and Robert Green at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 23rd November 1866.
We, WILLIAM HENRY POSTLETHWAITE GORE, of Langham Street, Portland
Place, Esquire, and ROBERT GREEN, of Ladbroke Terrace, Bayswater,
Gentleman, both in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND REPAIRING
ROADS AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates principally to the consolidation of new roads and to
the levelling and repairing.of old ones by the application or use of a steam
(or other self-acting) rammer..

page_text: In carrying out our Invention we provide a strong carriage of wood or metal
mounted upon wheels; upon this carriage we place a steam engine, and we so
connect this engine to the driving wheels of the carriage that it may be caused
to drive them continuously in order to transport the machine to and from its
work, and also to drive them with an intermittent motion when at work for
the purposes hereafter described. At the back of this carriage we mount in
vertical slides a heavy weight or rammer, say, for instance, of five tons weight
and with its lower face of about three feet square; this weight or rammer
we connect to the piston of the steam engine (either directly or by means of
chains or other gear) in such a manner that the motion of the latter alternately
raises the rammer and lets it fall on to the road. Each time the weight is
being lifted the carriage advances slowly (but not a certain distance equal to
the width of the rammer) so that the area of each blow overlaps that of the
blow previously given, and as the carriage alternately advances and lets fall
the rammer the road will be consolidated to the width of the rammer;
carriage is then turned and brought back again along another strip of road
slightly overlapping at the edges that last consolidated, and so forth until the
whole width of the road has been passed over. Two or more rammers working
alternately and overlapping each other may be used if preferred, and the
weight of the blow may be increased when the steam engine is direct acting
by admitting steam behind the piston whilst the rammer is descending. The
force of the blow may also be regulated as in the steam hammer by raising
the rammer to a greater or less height as occasion may require. In repairing
old or worn roads by the use of this steam rammer it will not be necessary
to take up the old paving, as the whole road may be rammed down to the
level of the lowest part.
the
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry, Postlethwaite Gore and Robert Green in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
HENRY POSTLETHWAITE GORE, of Langham Street, Portland Place, Esquire,
and ROBERT GREEN, of Ladbroke Terrace, Bayswater, Gentleman, both in the
County of Middlesex,.send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Henry Postlethwaite Gore and Robert Green, Her special licence
that we, the said William Henry Postlethwaite Gore and Robert Green,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
William Henry Postlethwaite Gore and Robert Green, our 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 CONSTRUCTING AND REPAIRING ROADS
AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said William Henry Postlethwaite Gore and Robert Green, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or one
of our 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 we, the said William Henry Postlethwaite Gore.
and Robert Green, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing, and on reference
to the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, that is to say :-
Our Invention relates principally to the consolidation of new roads, and to
the levelling and repairing of old ones by the application or use of a steam (or
other self-acting) rammer.
In carrying out our Invention we provide a strong carriage of, wood or
metal mounted upon wheels. Upon this carriage we place a steam or other
engine, and we so connect this engine to the driving wheels of the carriage
that it may be caused to drive them continuously in order to transport the
machine to and from its work, and also to drive them with an intermittent
motion when at work for the purposes hereafter described. At the back of
this carriage we mount in vertical slides a heavy weight or rammer, say, for
instance, of five tons weight, and with its lower face of about three feet square;
this weight or rammer we connect to the piston of the steam or other engine
(either directly or by means of chains or other gear) in such a manner that
the motion of the latter alternately raises the rammer and lets it fall on to the
road. Each time the weight is being lifted the carriage advances slowly (but
not a distance equal to the width of the rammer), so that the area of each

page_text: blow overlaps that of the blow previously given, and as the carriage alternately
advances and lets fall the raminer the road will be consolidated to the width
of the rammer; the carriage is then turned and brought back. again along
another strip of road slightly overlapping at the edges that part last con-
solidated, and so forth, until the whole width of the road has been passed
over.
Two or more rammers working alternately and overlapping each other may
be used if preferred, and the weight of the blow may be increased when the
steam engine is direct acting by admitting steam behind the piston whilst the
rammer is descending. The force of the blow may also be regulated, as in
the steam hammer, by raising the rammer to a greater or less height, as
occasion may require.
In repairing old or worn roads by the use of this steam rammer it will not
be necessary to take up the old paving, as the whole road may be rammed
down to the level of the lowest part.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention for "Improvements
in Constructing and Repairing Roads and in Apparatus to be employed
therefor," we will now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in
which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect;
and in order that the same may be distinctly understood we. have annexed
hereunto two Sheets of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same
with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In Sheet 1 of the annexed Drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2
a back view, and Figure 3 a front view of our improved steam rammer for
constructing and repairing roads. In Sheet 2 of the Drawings Figure 4 is a
longitudinal section, and Figure 5 a plan view of the same, and we would
here remark that although we show this arrangement only of the apparatus
for the sake of illustrating the application of our Invention we do not intend
to confine ourselves to that or any other particular arrangement of the
various parts so long as the peculiar and distinctive features of our Invention
are preserved.
a, a, is the framing; b, b, the boiler; c, c, the fire-box; d, d, the smoke
box, and e, e, the chimney; f, f, is a small steam engine for actuating the
driving wheels g, g, by means of an endless chain h, h. At the rear end of
the frame are two steam cylinders i, i, (placed in a vertical position) to the
piston rods k, k, of which two heavy weights or rammers l, l, working in
vertical slides m, m, are attached. The steam pipe n, n, is made with two
branches, so as to convey the steam from the steam chest or dome o, o, both

page_text: to the cylinders f, f, and to the cylinders i, i, so as to drive either of them
according as may be required. The exhaust steam from all the cylinders
passes into the chimney.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention "For
Improvements in Constructing and Repairing Roads and in Apparatus to
be employed therefor," together with the manner in which the same is to be
or may be performed or carried into practical effect, we would remark in
conclusion that we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly, the constructing and repairing of roads or ways by means of a
steam rammer substantially as herein-before described.
And, secondly, we claim the apparatus or steam rammer as shewn in the
Drawings annexed and above described, or any mere modification or imitation
thereof, constructed and operating in substantially the same or a similar
manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Postlethwaite Gore, on
behalf of myself and of the said Robert Green, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
W. HENRY P. GORE. (L.s.)