Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways and Tramways.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Mar., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 24th Dec., 1892-Accepted, 28th Jan 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways and
Tramways.
I, Lord ALFRED SPENCER CHURCHILL, of 16 Rutland Gate, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
It has often been proposed to propel a vehicle by an electric motor upon it the
two poles of the motor being in connection with two brushes upon the vehicle
resting upon two parallel surfaces or rails upon the ground in connection with the
two poles of a dynamo fixed in any convenient position. In such cases however the
brushes or contact makers on the vehicle have been comparatively small and this
has made it necessary that the rails or surfaces on the ground should extend almost
continuously. This is a source of leakage and also of great danger owing to the
liability of the current being short circuited through a person or animal passing
across the line.
According to this invention I make the brushes or contact makers on the vehicle
of considerable length which allows of the surfaces on the ground being com-
paratively small and distant from each other. Thus if each contact maker on the
car is say 25 feet long the surfaces on the ground connected to one pole of the
dynamo may be 20 feet or nearly so apart as it is only necessary for the contact
maker to rest on one surface at a time. If therefore the surfaces connected to one
pole of the dynamo be placed midway between those connected to the other then
there will be some 10 feet between any two surfaces of opposite polarities a space
it is practically impossible to bridge over accidentally.
Dated this 31st day of March 1892.
ALFRED S. CHURCHILL.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Electric Railways and
Tramways.
I, Lord ALFRED SPENCER CHURchill, of 16 Rutland Gate, in the County of
Middlesex, 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 :―
It has often been proposed to propel a vehicle by an electric motor upon it the two
poles of the motor being in connection with two brushes upon the vehicle resting
upon two parallel surfaces or rails upon the ground in connection with the two
poles of a dynamo fixed in any convenient position. In such cases however the
brushes or contact maker on the vehicle have been comparatively small and this
has made it necessary that the rails or surfaces on the ground should extend almost
continuously. This is a source of leakage and also of great danger owing to the
liability of the current being short circuited through a person or animal passing
across the line.
According to this invention I make the brushes or contact makers on the vehicle
of considerable length which allows of the surfaces on the ground being com-
paratively small and distant from each other. Thus if each contact maker on
the car is say 25 feet long the surfaces on the ground connected to one pole of the
dynamo may be from 20 to 24 feet or nearly so apart as it is only necessary for the
contact maker to rest on one surface at a time. If therefore the surfaces connected

page_text: to one pole of the dynamo be placed midway between those connected to the other
then there will be some 10 to 12 feet between any two surfaces of opposite
polarities a space it is practically impossible to bridge over accidentally.
The wire or other metallic conductor conveying the main electric current may
be placed either under ground or above as may be deemed advisable, only care
must be taken to carefully insulate this conductor whether it be above ground, or
below. Opposite every electrode a properly insulated wire must connect with the
main wire or other metallic conductor.
A similar wire or other metallic conductor must be placed on the reverse side of
the line for conveying the return current, by adopting this method all earth
currents will be dispensed with and insulation of the wires will be rendered more
perfect.
The electrodes may be of any convenient form or size but preference is given to
the following method of construction. A larch pole of 2 feet in length is driven
into the ground to the requisite depth and on the top of this is placed a disc of
glazed earthenware with a hole through the centre. A piece of sheet iron about
2 feet long, and 1 foot wide, is bent over this in a dish like form, and is bolted
to the supporting pole. By adopting this plan the electrode will be kept thoroughly
dry and insulated, and the wire brush on the carriage will make contact with this
as it passes.
In forming the brush or contact maker of 25 feet in length, to be attached to
the carriage, I prefer that the wires on this continuous brush should be from 10 to
12 inches long, in order to ensure elasticity this brush should be fitted to the
carriage about the height of the axle or thereabouts so as to enable about 5 or
6 inches of the wires on the brush to rub against the electrode as the vehicle passes
along, and thereby to convey the electric current to the motor. This brush must
be in metallic connection with the motor.
Figure 1 is a plan (with the upper part removed), Figure 2 is a side elevation,
and Figure 3 is an end elevation of a railway carriage and apparatus for propelling
the same in accordance with my invention.
A A are metallic plates supported on posts B B, from which they are insulated
in any convenient manner. CC are cables connected to the poles of a dynamo
or other source of electricity. Each cable is connected by wires D D to all the
plates AA on the same side of the railway. È E are metallic brushes or contact
makers fixed on the underside of the foot board of the carriage, they are of
sufficient length to be always in contact with at least one of the plates A. The
brushes or contact makers É on the two sides of the carriage are connected by
wires to the poles of an electric motor (not shown in the drawings) upon the
carriage and by which it is propelled.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 show a modification in which the plates A are situated inside
between the rails, in other respects the arrangement is the same as that already
described and the same letters are placed upon the parts.
It will be obvious that part of the current can be used for lighting the carriages,
for applying the brakes and other purposes.
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 combination of a dynamo or other source of electricity, two conductors
each connected to one of its poles and to one of two series of plates or surfaces at
a considerable distance apart, two brushes or contact makers carried by the vehicles
and of such a length as to be always in contact with at least one of the plates or

page_text: surfaces and an electric motor upon the vehicle and having its poles connected to
the brushes or contact makers substantially as described.
2. Apparatus for propelling vehicles by electricity upon railways and tramways
substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
Dated this 24th day of November 1892.
ALFRED S. CHURCHILL.