Improvements in Carts, Railway Trucks, and similar Transport Vehicles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 15th July, 1893-Accepted, 11th Nov., 1893
COMEDIE DE ECIFICATION
[Communicated from abroad by Charles MarshALL, of Ruk Junction, in the
Province of Sind, in the Empire of India, Carriage Examiner on the North
Western Railway.]
Improvements in Carts, Railway Trucks, and similar Transport
Vehicles.
I, HENRY HARINGTON LEIGH, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., Fel. Ch. Inst. P.A.,
F.I. Inst., practising as Phillips and Leigh at 22, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the Administrative County of London, Engineer and Patent
Agent, 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 :-
The present invention relates to improvements in carts railway trucks and
similar transport vehicles and is especially applicable to army transport carts,
convertible railway trucks, as well as to any kind of transport vehicles which have
to be used over roads which are more or less as nature and limited traffic make
them, miles away from workshop facilities for repairs, and which will be sometimes
put to one use and sometimes to another.
The special features of utility which the present invention possesses are the result
of the following novelties in its construction.
The axle consists of a wood-beam interposed between two iron bars. The arms
are held to the axle by flanges and bolts.
The ends of the body are hinged to the floor and both they and the sides are
detachable. Supplementary sides are hinged to the main sides for the alternative.
purpose of deepening the cart or of providing a level top or cover for it.
The pole is attachable to the axle from either side. It is provided with sliding
sleeves intended to be slipped over a fracture and made fast in that position to the
broken ends. The yoke pin is removeable from the top, and the breast bar is
adjustable upon the pole end in respect of its height from the ground.
The saddle iron is a metal bar adjustably attached to the pole. Each curve of
it is provided with a suitable device by which it can be made fast to the belly band
of the pack or saddle.
The rim of the wheel is made up of as many felloes as there are spokes. The
outer ends of the spokes are wide so as to hold the spokes to the centre.
Both rim
and ends are embraced between two rings, one angular and one flat in cross
section. The nave is in two halves which enclose the inner ends of the spokes
and are held together by external cupped and flanged plates and a series of
bolts.
I have to point out that the application of the present invention to railway trucks
is limited to the bodies of the latter.
In order that the invention and the means by which it is to be carried into
practical effect may be thoroughly understood, I will now describe it and them in
detail, referring in so doing to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken
as part of this Specification are read therewith.
Fig. 1 is an inverted plan of a cart made according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation.
Fig. 5 is a sectional front elevation taken on the line 5-5 of Figures 3 and 4.
Fig. 6 is a front elevation.

page_text: Fig. 8 is a part sectional side elevation of a wheel.
Fig. 9 is a sectional side elevation taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 8.
Fig. 10 is a front elevation of a wheel nave.
Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the inside face of a half nave.
.
Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the inside face of a half nave.
THE AXLE.
This consists of a pair of straight iron or steel bars a, a. They are preferably
of channel section and are set back to back. bis a wood beam, preferably of
teak. These three members are bolted together in the respective positions
illustrated.
THE BODY.
The under frame c of the body is made of straight bars of channel section held
together at the corners by angles c¹ rivetted to them. d is a central transverse bar
of, preferably, a double channel section. It is made fast to the sides of the under
frame by means of U pieces d' rivetted thereto. e is the floor of the body. It is,
preferably, of iron or steel plate and is screwed down upon the under frame c and
the bar d. The sides are counterparts of each other. Each one consists of four
angle bars held together at the corners in any convenient way, and longitudinal
slats f. The slats may be replaced by metal plates 2 as illustrated in Figure 5.
The sides are of the same length as the floor on which they stand. They are held
to the floor detachably by means of posts and sockets. These posts are, preferably,
made of angle bars 9 with corner filling pieces 9 of wood, and are tapered on
their inner faces from the shoulders g2 upwards. h, h are sockets formed upon and
close up to the sides of the under frame, the inner sides of the sockets being
coincident with the outer face of the said frame. There are three sockets on each
side. This number, and their respective positions, may be varied, but three is a
suitable number for a mule or bullock cart. The foot of each post is cut down to
fit into a socket, thereby producing the shoulder 92 which acts as a stop or
abutment. The middle posts are made permanently fast to their respective sides.
The outer or corner posts are separate from both cart body and side. A side is
held to the floor in the following way. The two corner posts are set up in their
respective sockets. The side is next fixed by dropping the foot of its centre post
into the centre socket and passing bolts j through the bottom angle bar f and the
top of the under frame c.
k, k are the ends of the cart body or the front and tail boards. They are of
'the same size, each one being of the same height as the sides and as wide as the
distance between the latter when they are in a vertical position upon the floor e.
Each end is hinged to the cart floor instead of being held to it by posts and sockets.
The hinges which I make use of are of a peculiar construction. Each end is
hung on a pair of them. k¹ is a longitudinal socket. It is held to the end by a
plate rivetted thereto. k³ is a second longitudinal socket held to the end of the
under frame in the same way and immediately underneath the former. is a
U shaped bolt. Its legs are passed through the sockets k', k³, respectively, in
which they are held in any suitable way. It is preferable that the bolt should be
held permanently in the socket k¹, e.g.,.by a nut-head and releasably in the
socket by a screwed nut, as illustrated in Figure 6. 1, 1 are the usual chains
for supporting the ends k in a horizontal position.
As the front and tail boards are as wide as the floor less the joint thickness of
the two sides, it follows that cach will stand between and be supported by the said
sides when they are vertical. For the purpose of holding them rigidly in that
position, I provide a pair of tie rods m, one for each end board. A tie rod is used
by passing it through holes m¹ in the respective corner posts and sockets. m
standing up above the top of the board, all aligned with each other. Some suitable
provision is made for keeping a rod in its place, e.y., a nut head m³ on one end
and a slot and cotter m at the other.

page_text: The cover of the cart body is provided by a pair of supplementary sides n
which are hinged to the top edges of the main sides frespectively, and which are
wide enough to meet in the middle. They can also be used to increase available
carrying capacity of the cart by swinging them up into a vertical position upon
their respective main sides as illustrated in Figure 5. Some suitable device must
be provided for preventing the supplementary sides dropping below the horizontal
when they are being used as a cover. Such a device is illustrated in Figures 4
and 5. n is an arm pivotted by means of a rule joint to each end of one side n,
and long enough to rest upon the opposite main side. The two arms will therefore
support their side n.
n2 is a ledge carried by the lower, outer or side edge of the
said side n and which is therefore capable of supporting the opposite side n when
it is down. When the supplementary sides are not wanted either as sides or as
cover, they hang down inside the cart against their respective main sides.
THE POLE AND BREAST BAR,
o is the pole. Its bifurcated ends o¹, o¹ are fortified by being plated with metal
plates. o, o are two holes cut through the axle from side to side to receive them
from either end of the cart. The pole is held to the axle by a pair of holding
bars 03 which are passed through holes in the said bifurcations, one bar on each side
of the axle and close up to it. A supplementary pair of holes o* is provided for
either adjusting the length of the pole or for use in combination with the neigh-
bouring pair in the event of the end pair breaking out. The front end of the pole
is also fortified in the same way as the bifurcated ends above mentioned. Each
bifurcation carries one or more metal sleeves p, which fit it closely but not too
tightly to prevent their sliding thereupon in either direction. In the event of the
breaking of a bifurcation, a sleeve is slid over the fraction on to the next portion
of the broken bifurcation, and bolts p¹, p' are passed through the sleeve and it.
9 is the breast bar. It is held to the pole o by a yoke pin q¹, but can be fixed to
the pole either upon it from above or up to it from underneath. This adjustability
provides for fixing it at either of two heights from the ground according as to what
animals are yoked to it, e.g., whether bullocks or ponies. The yoke pin is made so that
it can be easily released in the event of the animals falling down. This is provided
for by using a headed pin and making its shank so that it can be passed through
the breast bar and pole from the top and be secured therein by passing a cotter q
through a slot in the end of it. The breast pole itself is shewn as made by the
combination of two wood pieces q with a metal web 95 between, their breast
surfaces being covered with leather q".
THE SADDLE IRONS.
The two saddle irons are connected and held together by a straight bar r¹ which
passes from one to the other under the pole. I prefer that the two irons r and this
bar r¹ should be in one piece as illustrated in Figures 1 and 7. Each iron decreases
in thickness towards its outer end and lies, when the animal is yoked to the pole,

page_text: to 11. s is the arm. s is a collar formed upon it at a short distance from that
portion of it which enters the box. As much of the arm as projects beyond the
collar enters a suitable bore in the central wood beam 6 of the axle, both arms
being carefully aligned. They are held to the axle by two rings s² which stand on
the respective arms proper between the boxes and the collars s', and tie rods s³.
$4, so and sare, respectively, the usual box, cap and linch pin. The nave consists of
two half naves, 7, 8, which are, with the exception of a central axial extension s³
on the outer face of the latter, counter parts of each other. The box is held to
the back half nave by screws passed into the latter through a collar on the former.
$10, $10 are the sockets in which the inner ends of the spokes are received.
of a socket is cut in one half nave and the other half in the other of them.
half nave has a circular cavity s¹² which receives a filling block s¹³ the periphery of
which provides bottoms for the sockets $10.
Half
Each
t, t¹ are the cupped and flanged plates already mentioned. Their function is to
embrace the two half naves and hold them and the inner ends of the spokes firmly
together. They accomplish it as follows. Each plate is cupped about half the
thickness of a half nave. The front plate t is centrally bored and tapped to screw
on to the nose of the arm. The back plate t¹ has a central opening through which
projects the extensions already referred to. The two plates t, t¹ are held together
by bolts and nuts 3, one between each pair of spokes.
The felloes, u, u, are all of the same length, viz., the distance between two spokes.
As all the latter extend through the rim of the wheel up to the periphery of it and
as their outer ends are as wide, measured transversely of the rim, as the latter
itself is, it follows that the felloes are separated from each other in the wheel rim
by the spokes, and that some special means must be provided for holding them. in
position. These means are as follows. The outer end u¹ of each spoke is notably
wider than the remaining portion of it. I do not limit myself to the precise contour
which shall be given to the end, but I prefer one characterised by two diverging
or outwardly tapered sides u² as illustrated in Figure 8, because when the felloes
are inserted sidewise between the spoke ends, they are held between the latter
against both centripetal and centrifugal motion. The sides of the spokes prevent
the felloes moving towards the nave, and the tapered sides u² of the outer ends of
the spokes, prevent them moving radially away from it. u is an angle, and u*, u
are segments of a flat, ring. These embrace the wheel rim between them in the
manner illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, and are held in position by means of a series
of bolts and nuts which are passed through them and the rim. I prefer that
the ends of a segment shall coincide with the centre line of either a spoke or of a
felloe.
The four central spokes-those which meet each other at right angles-may be
made in one piece. The outer ends of the spokes may be shouldered, and the
felloes have sockets or grooves formed in them to receive the said ends. In short,
I do not limit myself in respect of the methods by which the spokes and wheel rim
and tire are held together. prefer those illustrated, but they may be modified
aud any other substituted, especially if metal spokes are used. The latter might
be rivetted to the tire.
u is the well known tire. u is a tool box.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. The cart body constructed generally as set forth.
2. The combination with cart floor, hinged ends, removeable sides and supple-
mentary sides, as set forth.
3. The combination with the pole of sliding sleeves, as set forth.
4. The wheel constructed generally as set forth.
5. The combination of two half naves, cupped plates and holding bolts, as set
forth.

page_text: 6. The combination of spokes having enlarged outer ends and felloes shaped as
to their outer ends to correspond, as set forth.
7. The improved saddle iron, as set forth.
Dated this 15th dox of Tale 1902
HENRY H. LEIGH,
Chartered Patent Agent.