Improvements in Suspended Railways or Tramways.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Dec., 1889-Accepted, 1st Feb., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Suspended Railways or Tramways.
I, THOMAS ALFRED APPLEING of No. 29 Chambers Street, Leman Street in the
City of London, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to suspended railways or tramways wherein a metal rail of T or
other section is suspended by rods or chains from a suitable support, and has running
upon it one or more divided wheels or pulleys similar to those described in Imrays
Specification No. 23 of 1884 (being a communication from me) from which are
suspended trucks or receptacles for carrying a load, the divided wheels being so
arranged as to allow the suspending rods &c. of the rail to pass between them.
According to my present invention I construct such suspended railways for
conveying persons or loads from a high level to a low level in such a manner, that
after extending at a certain incline in a straight direction, the rail is made to curve
round with a more or less sharp bend and then to continue downwards at an incline
in the contrary direction to that of the upper part, so that eventually the truck
arrives at or about the same locality, as that from which it started, but at a
considerably lower level. If desired, the rail may he made with two or more such
bends in the course of its length.
By preference I construct such suspended railways as follows. 1 construct an
elevated platform to the top of which is secured a strong suspending rope or chain,
passing down at an incline to a certain distance where it is secured to an elevated
support, from which it passes down at the same or a different incline and in
the contrary direction to the upper part, and is secured to a lower part of the
platform.
From this rope or. chain is then suspended the carrying rail, by preference of an
inverted section, which rail consequently runs at about the same incline as the
suspending rope or chain and in the same direction, forming a bend of a more or
less rapid curvature (when required) at the point where. it turns back again towards
the platform, where it may either terminate, or it may be carried beyond and made
to rise at an incline again to a certain height to which the trucks will rise on account
of the impetus attained by the descent.
If the rail terminates at the platform, the truck may be there made to run upon a
short length of supporting rail, which is then raised by any suitable means to the
higher level, where the truck is again run on to the upper end of the rail. Or again,
the rail may be continued at a moderate incline up to its upper starting point, and the
trucks be propelled up such incline by any suitable power.
The truck may be constructed in various ways, according to the purpose to which it
is to be applied; thus it may consist of one or more of the above mentioned divided
wheels, from which is suspended a car for containing one or more persons, or other
load; or it may consist merely of the said wheel or wheels, from the axis of which
is suspended a loop serving as a handle by which persons can suspend themselves
directly from the truck. In this case it would be necessary to provide a netting or
light platform running along underneath the rail, at a sufficient distance to allow the
person suspended from the truck to pass along freely without touching the netting
with the feet.
The rail may either be horizontal or inclined, and either straight or with vertical
undulations, according to the purposes to which it is to be applied.
ATA
1800
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Suspended Railways or Tramways.
I, THOMAS ALFRED APPLEING of No. 29 Chambers Street, Leman Street in the City
of London, Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to suspended railways or tramways wherein a metal rail
of Tor other section is suspended by rods or chains from a suitable support, and has
running upon it one or more divided wheels or pulleys similar to those described in
Imrays Specón No. 23 of 1884 (being a communication from me) from which are
suspended trucks or receptacles for carrying a load, the divided wheels being so
arranged as to allow the suspending rods &c. of the rail to pass between them.
According to my present invention I construct such suspended railways for
conveying persons or loads from a high level to a low level in such a manner, that
after extending at a certain incline in a straight direction, the rail is made to curve
round with a more or less sharp bend and then to continue downwards at an incline
in the contrary direction to that of the upper part, so that eventually, the truck
arrives at or about the same locality, as that from which it started, but at a con-
siderably lower level. If desired, the rail may be made with two or more such bends
in the course of its length.
By preference I construct such suspended railways as follows: I construct an
elevated platform to the top of which is secured a strong suspending rope or chain,
passing down at an incline to a certain distance where it is secured to an elevated
support from which it passes down at the same or a different incline and in
the contrary direction to the upper part, and is secured to a lower part of the
platform.
From this rope or chain is then suspended the carrying rail, by preferance of an
inverted T section, which rail consequently runs at about the same incline as the
suspending rope or chain and in the same direction, forming a bend of a more or less
rapid curvature (when required) at the point where it turns back again towards the
platform, where it may either terminate or it may be carried beyond and made to
rise at an incline again to a certain height to which the trucks will rise on account
of the impetus attained by the descent.
If the rail terminates at the platform, the truck may be there made to run upon a
short length of supporting rail, which is then raised by any suitable means to the
higher level, where the truck is again run on to the upper end of the rail. Or,
again, the rail may be continued at a moderate incline up to its upper starting point,
and the trucks be propelled up such incline by any suitable power.
The truck may be constructed in various ways, according to the purpose to which
it is to be applied; thus it may consist of one or more of the above mentioned
divided wheels, from which is suspended a car for containing one or more persons,
or other load; or it may consist merely of the said wheel or wheels from the axis of
which is suspended a loop serving as a handle by which persons can suspend
themselves directly from the truck. In this case it would be necessary to provide
a netting or light platform running along underneath the rail at a sufficient distance
to allow the person suspended from the truck to pass along freely without touching the
netting with the feet.
The rail may either be horizontal or inclined and either straight or with vertical
undulations according to the purposes to which it is to be applied.
In place of a rail of a T section I sometimes employ a rod or bar of iron or steel
of round, square, or other section, on which the carriage either runs with wheels or
slides, with a loop or eye; or a chain may also be employed for the above purpose.
The accompanying drawings shews a perspective view of one arrangement of my
above described improved suspended railway or tramway, in which the railway is
'formed by a chain Â fixed at its upper end to the scaffolding B. This chain extends

page_text: at a suitable inclination to the rigid curved rail A' round which the descending
truck passes on to the lower part of the chain A' which leads the truck back to the
scaffolding B at a lower point. For supporting the chain A. A' in an approximately
straight line it is suspended either from posts CC at suitable intervals apart, as
shewn, or from a suspending rope or chain D, as indicated in dotted lines. The
rigid curved rail A' is also suspended from a post U².
The scaffolding carries both at the upper and the lower ends of the chain a rigid
rail E E from and on to which the truck passes on to and from the chain A A³,
and opposite the ends of these fixed rigid rails is arranged a loose suspended rail E
that can be raised and lowered by suitable tackle, as shewn, so that when brought
into the lower position, in line with the rail E', the truck G can be run on to it
from the latter, after which the truck is raised by the tackle to the upper position
in line with the rail E so that the truck can then be run on to the latter
again.
Suitable stops and catches are provided for holding the rail F in position at the
upper and lower levels, and it may also be arranged to travel up and down between
vertical guides. There may be provided two such rails F connected to opposite ends
of the raising and lowering tackle, so that when the one rail is situated opposite
the lower rail E' for receiving a descending carriage the upper one is situated opposite
the rail E for conveying a truck on to the latter.
As before stated the wheels of the truck G are arranged as described in Patent
No. 23 of 1884 for allowing the truck to pass the suspending rods or chains of the
railway. At H is shewn the construction of a truck consisting merely of the wheels
with a handle hanging down therefrom for persons to suspend themselves from
the truck instead of sitting in a car. In this case a netting would be fixed beneath
the truck.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
A suspended railway or tramway, wherein an inclined rail, bar or chain suspended
at intervals from a supporting chain rod or wire rope, is made to extend from one
support to another and is there formed with a bend and continued with a downward
incline towards the starting point, where it may either terminate or be continued, or
be again formed with a bend for continuing the line as above described, substantially
as herein described.
2. In combination with the starting platform of the suspended railway or tramway
referred to in the preceding claim, a length of rail upon which the track runs at the
lower level, and which is then raised by suitable power to the higher level sub-
stantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1889.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.