IMPROVEMENTS IN GUNNERY AND GUN AND OTHER CARRIAGES, AND THE MEANS OF CONNECTING THE SAME
Year: 1837

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM COLES, of Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, Esquire,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Groat Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of Septeinber, in the first year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Coles, Her especial license, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said William Coles, my exors,
admiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Coles,
my exors, adiiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GUNNERY AND GUN AND OTHER
CARRIAGES, AND THE MEANS OF CONNECTING THE SAME," in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William Coles,

page_text: shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said William Coles, do hereby declare the nature of my invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed. and to the figures and letters
marked thereon, that is to say:
The object to be attained by my improvement in gunnery, gun car-
riages, and other carriages, consists in the introduction and arrangement
of a new species of ordnance resembling a star branching off in various
directions, each arm forming a gun, which being placed on a pivot, as
shewn in a two-wheel carriage, together with a display of other ordnance
of different calibre, the axes on which it revolves has a tenant working
in a groove and a bolt through it, and also one spiral spring so fixed that
it permits the guns when fired to rebound right or left; whereas the guns
upon frame of carriage Figure 5, when fired, rebounds and finds resist-
ance from an elliptic spring between the cross stays of the carriage. Two
other modes of adapting this piece of ordnance will be shewn, videlicet,
vertical and horizontal. The first consists of a small platform having two
wheels underneath, to revolve sideways; a plug which is fitted and keyed
or bolted into a universal joint socket is its axis. The plug may be fixed
in many positions, on a ship's deck, capstan, cathead, or timberhead, on a
wall. or any other position. There are two spiral springs fitted into
two boxes at bottom, and a rope passes through them and over two
pulley wheels at the other end, and hooked on to the centre flange which
carries the gun; the bottom part of flange has a tenant, and works
forward and backward in a nortice or groove in the platform A, and
when fired off the springs allow the guns to rebound and to revert to
their former position. An upright frame 13 for working the guns in a
vertical position is added to the above, and bolted through both at

page_text: bottom, having also a cross stay, the ordnance is bolted through it at the
top, when the thimble at end of ropes are booked on to the long frame.
the springs allow it to rebound when fired, and to revert to its former
position.
My improvements, as shewn in the two-wheel carriage, Figure 5, are
peculiarly adapted for the protection of railroad property. The large guns,
three or four pounders, and bolted to bed of carriage; the branch or
ordnance gun is placed on its pivot; and by the use of two racks fastened
to the frame of carriage and a double pinion, two rows of guns of small
calibre are lowered at once; the upper row is raised by the hand, whilst
the lower is primed and fired; the upper is also lowered and discharged.
This instrument, when placed upon a revolving table on a railroad, or on
a castle or fort, when well protected from the enemy, would be a térror
to the evil doers.
The object of my Invention or improvement in other carriages, more
particularly for railways or tramroads, is, in the first place, to reduce the
friction upon the axles of the wheels on the rails, and by the introduc-
tion of two-wheel carriages prevent that. contact when turning curves
upon the rail, which four-wheel carriages are always liable. Secondly,
to ameliorate the effects of concussions of such carriages one against the
other. The former consists in a novel or improved arrangement of anti-
friction wheels or rollers, which bear upon the axles of each other,
thereby transferring the weight of the body and its contents from the
axle of the quickest motion to that of the 'slow motion, whilst the latter
consists in an improved construction and arrangement of elliptic spring
buffers and spring fastenings to connect the same, for the purpose of re-
ducing or ameliorating the concussion of one carriage against the other,
or of the engine or tender. All of which improvements are exhibited in
the accompanying Drawings, as applicable to two-wheel.or four-wheel
carriages.
Figure 1; is a side elevation of a four-wheel railway carriage with my
improvements applied thereto; Figure 2, is a plan or horizontal view of
the carriage: framing of the same;. .Figures 8, and 4, represent similar
views of the two-wheel carriage. A; A, is.the framing of the carriage;
B, B..the running wheels, having anti-friction wheels C, 'C, bearing

page_text: upon their axle; D, D, are smaller anti-friction wheels bearing upon
the axles of C, C. The axles of the upper wheels are fixed, and do not
revolve with the wheels. The middle and lower axles, with their boxes
or collars, work up and down in a groove of the framework of the
carriage. The whole weight of the load and frame is borne off by the
upper friction wheels. E, E, are strong iron bars, which pass through
each end of the carriage, and are bolted or attached to an iron which
passes through one cross stay, and is thereby connected to the spring
buffer, which buffer is also affixed to a similar iron attached to the other
cross stay, against which the spring buffers are protected from being too
much compressed or clongated, care being taken to allow sufficient room
for the action of the springs either way. F, F, the spring buffers. G, G,
are two springs fixed in the cross stay, and pressing against the connect-
ing rod to keep it in a straight line to receive the bolt which connects
the carriages. I, II, are two dovetail irons fitted into grooves, with
chain to each, and also a bolt which passes through the end of carriage,
and through a coiled spring fitted into a box for that purpose, and con-
nected to the next carriage. This mode of attaching the carriages
renders them secure and flexible, and when pulling sideways have always
two bearings to draw from, and when going straight forward three.
I, I, I, are three cross stays to which the springs and the spring buffers are
attached. K, K, are two circular tubes forming also stays under which
the middle axle works, and through the ends of which the upper axles
are screwed and bolted. L, L, are two supports for the upper axles, to
confine the wheels in their place, with screws to fix them. The two-
wheel carriage differs from that
cross stays and one spring buffer.
through the body of carriage, and
part of frame.
above described, by having only two
The axle of the upper wheels passes
likewise forms a stay for the upper
Having now described the nature of my several Inventions or im-
provements in gunnery, gun carriages, and other carriages more par-
ticularly denominated locomotive carriages for railroads, tramroads, &c.,
I now claim, first, as my Invention, the novel and peculiar adaptation of
the guns, platforms, and frame, as aforesaid, and their mode of being
worked. And, secondly, I claim as my Invention or improvement in

page_text: other carriages the novel and peculiar adaptation of the mode of employ-
ing the friction wheels. And, thirdly, the peculiar adaptation of spring
buffers and spring fastenings, as shewn in the above Drawing or other-
wise.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Coles, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
WILLIAM (L.S.) COLES.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of March. in
the year of our Lord 1838, the aforesaid William Coles came before our
said Lady the Queen, in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifica-
tion aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.