IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
-
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS.".
A communication from abroad by Ramon Bañolas and Victor
Joseph Carlier, both of Madrid, in the Kingdom of Spain.
Sealed the 11th May 1875, and dated the 19th March 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th March 1875.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
5 County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS AND
TRAMWAYS," a communication to me from abroad by Ramon Bañolas and
Victor Joseph Carlier, both of Madrid, in the Kingdom of Spain, to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists in mounting each of the wheels upon a short

page_text: to allow the axle a certain amount of radial motion around its external
point of support; the converse of this arrangement may however be
adopted. This result is obtained by means of arrangements enabling the
existing plant to be utilized.
The Invention is applicable to all kinds of carriages or trucks for
railways, tramways, the working of mines, and the like, and it enables
curves of the shortest radius to be traversed with facility, and without
loss of power or wear of the plant, thereby effecting a considerable
saving in the cost of traction, whilst retaining in the rolling stock a
strength or solidity at least equal if not superior to that of the systems
at present in use.
It is also proposed to construct the suspension springs of tramway cars
of india-rubber, this substance presenting numerous advantages from the
point of view of durability and certainty in the action of springs composed
thereof.
In applying the Invention to tram cars, for example, for which it is
particularly adapted, the interior bearings are held in curved guide
blocks, the extremities of which are united by preference by means of
diagonal cross bars, but other modes of fitting may be employed if
desired. These guide blocks are at their upper part furnished with
springs formed of a helical strip or band of steel, or with springs
composed of blocks of india-rubber, or of any other suitable description,
and upon which the frame of the vehicle is supported. The curved
guide blocks are also fitted horizontally with helical or other springs
acting against the axle box or bearing, for the purpose of ensuring the
parallel position of the axles of the vehicles when travelling in a straight
line, whilst at the same time admitting of their yielding sufficiently to
allow of the angular motion of the axles when the wheels have to pass
from a straight line to a curved line, and vice versa.
The exterior bearings are provided with a pin or stud at their upper
part, forming a joint, and entering an aperture of the same shape formed
in the axle box or other suitable support enclosing them; or the
bearings may be provided at the sides with two half cylinders entering
corresponding recesses formed in the axle box, the sides of which are
made oblique so as to admit of these bearings turning slightly upon their
centres.

page_text: When this system is to be applied to railway carriages, in order to
ensure to the whole the necessary strength and solidity, cach axle is held
at each end by an axle box and guard plate, the guard plates being
united by tension or cross bars, or other suitable means. In this case as
the curves to be traversed are of much longer radius than on tramways,
it is simply necessary to allow a small amount of play to the bearings in
their axle boxes, the internal surfaces of which are then recessed or
rounded off so as to admit of the necessary displacement of the axle
bearings. Between the axles of each pair of wheels there are fitted
blade springs, which are secured in the centre and attached at their ends
to the axle boxes. These springs are sufficient to maintain the axles
parallel, whilst admitting of their moving angularly on the curves. The
same result may be obtained by arranging on each side of the bearings
springs fitted in covers adjusted at each side of the axle box, or by any
other analogous arrangement.
If desired, the axles may be caused to turn around their internal
bearing, the external bearings being in that case guided so as to be
maintained in the are of a circle concentric with the internal bearings,
and fitted with the springs for obtaining the parallelism of the axles
when travelling in a straight line.
In order to ensure the breaks adapted to the wheels of the vehicles
travelling on railways operating satisfactorily, notwithstanding the
displacement of the wheel when passing over a curve, the break block
may be applied to the top of the wheel, or there may be interposed
between the present wooden block and the part serving to support it a
hinge which allows the break block to turn slightly under the action of
the projecting flange of the wheel, upon which it can always bear during
its displacement.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS," a communication to me
from abroad by Ramon Banolas and Victor Joseph Carlier, both of
Madrid, in the Kingdom of Spain, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:-
The said Invention consists in mounting cach of the wheels upon a
short axle supported in two bearings, which are arranged in such a
manner as to allow the axle a certain amount of radial motion around
its external point of support (the converse of this arrangement may
however be adopted). This result is obtained by means of arrangements
admitting of the utilization of the existing plant; such, for example, as
wheels, axle boxes, springs, and the like.
The Invention is applicable to all kinds of carriages or vehicles for
railways, tramways, the working of mines, and the like, and it enables
curves of the shortest radius to be traversed with facility, and without

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loss of power or undue wear of the plant, thereby effecting a considerable
saving in the cost of traction, whilst retaining in the rolling stock a
degree of strength or solidity at least equal if not superior to that of the
systems at present in use.
The arrangements herein-after described are those which it is preferred
to employ in order to ensure the efficient working of the system, but it is
obvious that these arrangements may be modified in various ways without
departing from the principle of the Invention.
The suspension springs of tramway cars according to this Invention
are constructed of india-rubber, this substance presenting numerous
advantages from the point of view of durability and certainty in the
action of springs composed thereof.
The improved system admits of the axles of a vehicle being arranged
at the necessary distance apart, and of the adaptation of three or four
pair of wheels if required without increasing the difficulty of travelling
over the track; the necessity for maintaining the absolute equality
between the diameters of the two wheels of the same pair is moreover
obviated.
The system admits of the employment of curves of short radius in the
construction of railways in general; thus, for example, it facilitates the
construction of tramways by enabling the radius of the curves employed
to be reduced to a minimum.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a diagram plan
illustrative of the Invention.
Figure 2 is an end view and partial section, and Figure 3 is a sectional
elevation of a tram car with the improvements which form the subject
of this Invention applied thereto.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 represent detail views and modifications to be
herein-after more fully referred to.
Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section, Figure 8 is a plan, and

page_text: Figure 9 is a longitudinal section of the framing of a railway carriage,
shewing the application of the improvements thereto.
The system consists essentially, as will be seen on reference to Figure 1,.
in arranging each of the wheels A of a vehicle for railways or tramways
upon a short axle B, which is free to turn upon its external point of
attachment C, whilst its inner point of support D is capable of sliding
freely and describing the arc E. In this manner the wheels are free to
yield to the action of the rail upon their flange, and place themselves
spontaneously in such a position that the prolongation of their axle tends
toward the centre of the curve described by the track. Under these
conditions curves may be traversed with equal facility to the straight
portions of the line, and no friction or biting at the point of contact
between the wheel and the rail can take place. This arrangement is
adapted for curves of very short radius for tramways or mines.
Figures 2 and 3 represent its application to a tramway car, and
Figures 4, 5, and 6 show the details of the construction of the axle and
its supports. In this arrangement the inner bearings D are maintained
in curved guide blocks or slide ways E, the extremities of which are
united by preference by means of cross bars F which are sufficient to
hold them together, but other modes of fitting may be employed if a
desired. These guide blocks or slide ways are at their upper part
furnished with springs G formed of a helical strip or band of steel, or
with springs composed of blocks of india-rubber, as before mentioned, or
of any other suitable description, and upon which the frame H of the
vehicle is supported, as shewn clearly in Figures 3 and 5. The curved 2
guide blocks E are also fitted horizontally with helical or other springs I,
for the purpose of ensuring the parallel position of the axles of the
vehicles when travelling in a straight line, whilst at the same time
admitting of their yielding sufficiently to allow of the angular motion of
the axles when the wheels have to pass from a straight line to a curved
line, and vice versa.
A similar result may be otherwise obtained, as herein-after described.
The outer bearings C are provided at their upper part with a pin or
stud 1 (as shewn in Figure 4), which enters an aperture of similar shape
formed in the axle box or other suitable support enclosing them, thus a
constituting a joint or pivot around which the axle can turn.

page_text: In the modification shewn in Figure 6 the bearings are furnished at
the sides with two semi-cylindrical projections 2 which enter corre-
sponding recesses formed in the axle box, the sides of the latter being
made sufficiently oblique to admit of the bearings turning slightly upon
their centres.
When this system is to be applied to railway carriages the arrangement
shewn in Figures 7, 8, and 9 is by preference adopted in order to ensure
the necessary strength and solidity. In this case each axle is sup-
ported at each end by an axle box and a guard guide plate J, the inner
guard plates being united by tension or cross bars I, or other suitable
means. As the curves to be traversed are of much longer radius than
on tramways it is simply necessary to allow a small amount of play to
the bearings in their axle boxes, the internal surfaces of which are then
recessed or rounded off so as to admit of the necessary displacement of
the axle bearings. Between the axles of each pair of wheels there are
fitted blade springs K (as shewn in Figures 1 and 8), which are fixed at
the centre and attached at their ends to the axle boxes.
These springs
are sufficient to maintain the axles parallel, whilst admitting of their.
moving angularly on the curves. A similar result may be obtained by
arranging on each side of the bearings springs fitted in cases situate at
each side of the axle box, or by any other analogous arrangement.
If desired, the axles may be arranged as before stated, so as to turn
around their inner bearings, the out bearings being in that caso guided
so as to be maintained in the arc of a circle concentric with the inner
bearings, and fitted with the springs for ensuring the parallelism of the
axles when travelling in a straight line.
In order to enable the brakes adapted to the wheels of the vehicles
travelling on railways to operate satisfactorily, notwithstanding the
displacement of the wheel when passing over a curve, the brake block
may be applied to the top of the wheel, or there may be interposed
between the present wooden blocks L (Figure 9) and the part 3 serving
to support it a hinge M. which allows the brake block to turn slightly
under the action of the projecting flange of the wheel, upon which it can
always bear during its displacement. This mode of arranging the brake
blocks may also be employed for tramways, the cars necessarily having
to slacken their speed considerably on turning the corners of the streets,
and in general at all parts of the journey where sharp curves occur.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to
be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The mounting each wheel upon a separate axle supported by a
bearing at each end, substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The peculiar mode of constructing, arranging, and fitting the
axles and their connections, whereby the axles are rendered moveable or
capable of turning round their outer bearing, whilst their inner bearing
is free to slide horizontally or of turning round their inner bearing, whilst
their outer bearing is free to slide for the purpose of enabling the wheels
to adjust themselves to the direction of the tangent of the curve described
by the track, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by
the accompanying Drawings.
Third. The application to tramway cars of india-rubber suspension
springs, as herein-before described.
Fourth. The combination with axles arranged in the manner before
mentioned of springs for effecting the automatic return of the axles to
their normal position after the wheels have left a curve around which
they were travelling, substantially as herein-before described and illus-
trated by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of
September, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)

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