IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY TRUCKS
Year: 1884

page_text: We, ROBERT WILSON of 18 Exchange Street Manchester, Engineer, and JOSEPH
CUNLIFFE of Whittle-le-Woods, near Chorley, Calico Printer, both in the County of
Lancaster do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY TRUCKS to be as follows:-
The object of the said invention is so to construct railway trucks that although
specially designed for travelling upon railways, they may be quickly and readily
adapted for travelling upon ordinary roada.
The invention is designed principally to be applied to trucks for conveying coal
coke or other minerals so that the same may be conveyed direct from the place of
production or sale to the place of consumption or delivery in the same truck,
without any necessity for unloading and reloading, thus also dispensing with the
use of carts for that purpose.
It will be evident, however, that the same invention is equally applicable to
railway trucks for carrying piece goods or other merchandise.
The same axles and flanged wheels keyed fast thereon are used as heretofore,
but the ordinary bearings outside the flanged wheels are removed and the frame of
the truck is supported upon bearings placed inside the said wheels. The front axle
of the truck is fitted with a bogie-frame to enable it to turn round corners with
the same facility as an ordinary lurry or truck when travelling upon common
roads, (the axle of the trailing wheels may also be fitted with a bogie frame if
preferred) a locking pin or pins being provided for the purpose of fixing this frame
rigidly when the truck is travelling upon the railway.
The bogie frame is also provided with a socket or sockets for fixing thereto a pole
or a pair of shafts for attaching a horse or horses when required.
An additional set of cast or wrought iron or steel wheels of a diameter rather
larger than the extreme diameter of the flanged wheels, and having rims adapted
for running upon ordinary roads is provided and the outer end of each axle outside
the flanged wheels is fitted to receive the boss or hub of one of these wheels, being
provided with a loose collar and screw nut, so that these wheels can be readily
applied or removed as required, and when applied will revolve loosely on the axles.
It will be evident that if a pair of shafts or a pole is fitted to the bogie frame
(the locking pin or pins being removed) and the set of loose wheels fitted on,

page_text: a horse or horses may be harnessed to the truck, which latter can then be drawn
along ordinary roads to the pit or other place where it is to receive its load; and
when loaded it can be taken direct to the railway siding, where by a simple
arrangement of the rails the trucks can be run straight on, and will be thereby
raised from the ground, when the loose wheels and the shafts or polo can be removed,
and the bogie frame being fixed by the locking pin or pins, the truck becomes an
ordinary railway truck.
The loose wheels and pole or shafts may be carried with the trucks to be applied
when requirod but it is found preferable to keep a certain number of wheels and
shafts at the stations or depots where the trucks are likely to be consigned so as
to be ready to use when required to take any trucks from the railway along an
ordinary road.
Dated thi 19th
1004

page_text: We, ROBERT WILSON of 18 Exchange Street Manchester, Engineer, and JOSEPH
CUNLIFFE of Whittle-le-Woods near Chorley, Calico printer both in the county of
Lancaster do hereby declare the nature of our invention. for IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY TRUCKS and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of the said Invention is so to construct railway trucks that, although
specially designed for travelling upon railways, they may be quickly and readily
adapted for travelling upon ordinary roads.
The invention is designed principally to be applied to trucks for conveying coal,
coke and other minerals so that the same may be conveyed direct from the place
of production or sale to the place of consumption or delivery in the same truck,
without any necessity for unloading and reloading, thus also dispensing with the
use of carts for that purpose.
It will be evident, however that the same invention is equally applicable to
railway trucks for carrying piece goods or other merchandise.
Such being the nature and object of our said invention we will now proceed to
describe 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 saine may be clearly understood
we have annexed hereunto. a sheet of drawings illustrative thereof and have
marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in
the following explanation thereof.
'
Fig: 1 is a longitudinal section, Fig: 2 a half transverse section and end view
and Fig: 3 is a plan view, (having the wood-work removed from one half) of a.
mineral truck constructed according to our invention; a a being tho wooden body
of the truck and bb the iron framework supporting the same.
We use the same axles cc and flanged wheels d d keyed fast thereon as heretofore,
but the ordinary bearings outside the flanged wheels d d are removed, and the
frame b, b, of the truck is supported upon bearings e e placed inside the said
wheels d d. The front axle c of the truck is fitted with a bogie-frame ff to enable
it to turn round corners with the same facility as an ordinary lurry or truck when
travelling upon common roads, (the axle c' of the trailing wheels may also be
fitted with a bogic-frame if preferred) a locking pin or pins gg (see Fig 2) being
provided for the purpose of fixing the frame ff rigidly when the truck is travelling
upon the railway.
The bogie-frame ff is also provided with a socket or sockets hh for fixing thereto
a pole or a pair of shafts for attaching a horse or horses when required. - This
socket is preferably hinged as shewn at Figs 1 and 3.
An additional set of cast, wrought-iron or steel wheels ii (Figs 1 and 3) of a
diameter rather larger than the extreme diameter of the flanged wheels d d and
having rims adapted for running upon ordinary roads is provided and the outer
end of each axle at the part marked outside the flanged wheels d d is fitted to
receive the boss or hub of one of these wheels i. i, being provided with a loose
collar and screw nut so that these wheels ii can be readily applied or removed as
required and when applied will revolve loosely on the axle cc.
It will be evident that if a pair of shafts or a pole is fitted to the bogie-frameƒƒ
as shewn in dotted lines at Fig. 3 (the locking pin or pins g g being removed) and
the set of loose wheels ii fitted on, a horse or horses may be harnessed to the truck
which latter can then be drawn along ordinary roads to the pit or other place

page_text: where it is to receive its load and when-loaded it can be taken direct to the railway
siding, where, by a simple arrangement of the rails as shewn at Fig 4, the trucks
can be run straight on and will be thereby raised from the ground, when the loose
wheels and the shafts or pole can be removed and the bogie-frame ff being fixed
by the locking pin or pins gg, the truck becomes an ordinary railway truck.
Instead of bending the ends of the rails downward as at Fig: 4. the sets kk may
be raised gradually as shown at Fig: 1.
The loose wheels ii and pole or shafts may be carried with the trucks to be
applied when required but it is found preferable to keep a certain number of wheels
and shafts at the stations or depôts where the trucks are likely to be consigned so
as to be ready to use when required to take any trucks from the railway along an
ordinary rond.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the naturo of our said
invention and in what manuer the same is to be performed we declare thot what
we claim is
In-railway trucks having a flanged wheel keyed or otherwise fixed fast on each
end of each axle as usual placing the bearings of such axles inside the maid flanged
wheels (instead of outside as heretofore) and fitting loosely on to the ends or
projecting portions of the axles, outside the said flanged wheels, removable wheels
of a larger diameter than the flanges so as to enable the said trucks to travel either
upon a railway or a common road, substantially as herein before described and
illustrated by the drawings annexed.
Dated this 93rd day of January 1885