An Improved Method of Utilizing Canals for Traffic, and Meanз therefor.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 1st June, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 12th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 26th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SIMULIFICATION.
An Improved Method of Utilizing Canals for Traffic, and Meanз
therefor.
We, WILLIAM BERTRAM COOK, Civil Engineer, of Blisworth and FREDERICK
WILLOUGHBY, Solicitor, of Daventry, both in the County of Northampton, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved method of utilizing canals for traffic and
means therefor.
Owing to the cost and delay entailed in the carriage and delivery of merchandize
over long distance canals, it is found that they are rarely used except in manu-
facturing districts and consequently have become unremunerative.
Now according to our invention we propose to overcome this drawback by
converting the canal into alternate sectious of water-ways and railways the water
being removed from those sections in which the railway is proposed to be run.
These sections are preferably so arranged that the long distance sections are
employed for the railway sections and the short distance sections for the waterway
sections and these are situated near manufacturing towns and districts. These
sections therefore are retained as now used as the collecting and distributing
portions of the system.
Upon the railways we employ trucks of such construction that they are capable
of receiving and carrying either loaded or unloaded canal boats.
The level of the bed of the railway sections at the parts where the locks exist
will be made at an inclination so that the rise to or fall from one level to another
will be as gradual as possible.
The transference of the canal boats to the trucks and vice versa may be effected
in any convenient manner. But for this purpose it will according to our plan be
found most advantageous to make the level of the bed of the railway sections
where they meet the waterway sections at such a depth below the level of the
water in said waterway sections that the trucks will be submerged at this part, so
that by merely removing a suitable bar extending across the waterway sections the
boats to be transferred, can be readily floated into position on the trucks. The
boats would be retained upon the trucks by any suitable means and would then be
ready to be conveyed along the railway section by a locomotive or other means to
the next waterway section. Here the trucks carrying the boats would again come
below the water level of the waterway section so that they could be readily
floated from the truck into the adjacent waterway section. The boats would then
proceed on their course along the waterway section until they arrived at the next
railway section. Here again they would be transferred onto trucks upon this
railway section. Thus by this alteruate transference and passage of the boat
along the waterway sections and the railway sections the journey would be
accomplished. We also where the locks are frequent and delay is thus caused
replace the present water-way by a rail system when the traffic is drawn by means
of steam or cable traction.
By our invention it will be possible for heavy goods and minerals to he
conveyed direct from the manufacturing district to a ship's side without the

page_text: necessity of breaking bulk and in a very much shorter lapse of time than now
possible when conveyed by ordinary canals.
Dated this 1st day of June 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
An Improved Method of Utilizing Canals for Traffic, and Means
therefor.
We, WILLIAM BERTRAM COOK, Civil Engineer, of Blisworth and FREDERICK
WILLOUGHBY, Solicitor, of Daventry, both in the County of Northampton, 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:-
This invention relates to an improved method of utilizing canals for traffic and
means therefor.
Owing to the delay and cost entailed in the carriage and delivery of merchandise
over long distances by canals, it is found that they are rarely used for this purpose
except in manufacturing districts and consequently in some instances they have
become unremunerative and practically useless for through traffic.
According to our invention we propose to overcome this drawback by converting
the canal or canals into alternate sections of waterways and canal-vessel-railways,
the water being removed from those sections in which the railway is proposed to
be made. The sections are preferably so arranged that the through or long
distance sections are employed for the canal-vessel-railways and the short distance
or terminal sections for the waterways, these last mentioned sections being situated
in and around manufacturing towns and thickly populated districts. These
sections are therefore retained and are used as now, that is to say as the collecting
and distributing portions of the system.
Upon the railways we employ trucks of such construction as are capable of
receiving and carrying either loaded or unloaded canal vessels.
The level of the bed of the canal vessel railway sections at the parts where the
locks exist, is made at such an inclination that the rise to or fall from one level to
another will be as gradual as possible.
In order that our said invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect we will proceed to describe the same more fully with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view shewing four canals or waterways
No. 1, No. 2 No. 3 and No. 4 utilized in accordance with our invention.
Figure 2 also shews a diagrammatic sectional view on an enlarged scale of the
course taken by the bed of the railway section where it passes through one of
the locks.
Figure 3 is another diagrammatic sectional view shewing the course taken by
the bed of the railway section, where it passes through several locks. This figure
also shews the junction of a railway section with a waterway section.
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic sectional view shewing on a further enlarged scale
the relative positions of the vessel and the truck when a transference from one
section to another is to be effected.
Figure 5 is a plan of the preceding figure.
In these figures A represents railway sections; B portions of waterway sections ;
Clocks; D the point where a waterway section meets a railway section and where
the transference of the vessels takes place; E one of the vessels; and F one

page_text: of the trucks used for carrying the vessels. In Figure 1 the sections No. 2
and No. 3 have been formed into railway sections while the sections No. 1
and No. 4 have been retained as waterway sections. The dotted lines represent the
bed of the waterway sections prior to their formation into railway sections, and the
thick unbroken lines represent the bed of the said waterway sections after their
conversion into railway sections.
As will be seen on reference to Figures 1 and 2 the ascent or descent of th:
railway to or from one level to another at those parts where the locks occur is
effected by inclines which should be as gradual as possible say 1 in 100, or any
easier gradient as found most convenient.
The level of the bed at that part where a railway section meets a waterway
section is made at such a depth below the level of the water in the said waterway
section that the trucks F when run down this portion will be partially or com-
pletely submerged as seen at Figure 4. This portion of the canal we may term
the transference space.
A sluice gate is provided at that part where the water-
way section opens into the railway section so that by shutting this gate the vessel
is prevented from passing into the transference space D until a truck is ready to
receive it. This gate also serves to shut off the water from the transference space
so that if desired the said space can be emptied by allowing the water it contains
to flow away through the outlet d. It will be found convenient to construct the
transference space D narrow as seen at Figure 5 so that only one boat can be
transferred at a time; the quantity of water required within the space D would
then be comparatively small. The trucks are preferably provided with end doors
which can be opened inwardly to receive the vessel and be closed again when the
vessel is in place within the truck.
"
The railway sections may be provided with one or two pairs of rails and in the
latter case one pair would serve for the "up" traffic and the other for the "down
traffic the said two pairs of rails meeting at a point near the entrance to the
transference space D.
The conveyance of the merchandise in accordance with our improved method or
system is effected in the following manner.
The vessels laden with their cargoes, having reached the end of a waterway
section are brought up one by one close to the aforesaid sluice gate b and a truck
shunted into the transference space D. Water from the waterway section is then
admitted to the transference space until the truck is submerged, and the water
levels in the canal and in the transference space are the same.
The sluice gate 5
is then opened and the vessel floated from the waterway on to the truck, where
the said vessel is securely held in place by any suitable device with which the
truck is provided. The sluice gate having been closed again the water in the
transference space is allowed to flow away through the outlet d. This truck with
its vessel is then removed from the transference space and another one shunted
into its place. This fresh truck, having been loaded with a vessel, is in its turn
replaced by another and so on until a number of vessel-laden-trucks have been
collected together to form a train. A locomotive or any other moving power is
then couple to the train of trucks and several vessels are thus conveyed at the
same time along the railway section to the next waterway section. Here the
trucks are shunted one by one into another transference space similar to the one
already mentioned. Water is then allowed to flow into this space, the gate across
the waterway section opened, and the vessels floated from the trucks into the water-
way where they continue their course by water until they arrive at the next
railway section at which point they are again transferred on to trucks. By this
alternate transference and passage of the vessel along the waterway sections and the
railway sections the journey is accomplished.
According to our invention it will be possible to convey goods and minerals by
canal vessels without the necessity of trans-shipping or breaking bulk and in a
very much shorter space of time than is possible when conveying merchandise by
ordinary canals.

page_text: In some cases it may be found advantageous to provide several transference
spaces D instead of only one as above mentioned, so that the transference of several
vessels can be effected simultaneously.
We may in some cases dispense with the sluice gate hereinbefore mentioned and
allow the water to remain in the transference space during the transfer of the
vessels, the truck being merely run into and out of the water, or we may transfer
the vessels by moving them on or off the trucks by any other means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The improved method of utilizing canals for traffic consisting in transforming
them into alternate railway and waterway sections substantially as described and
for the purpose specified.
2. The means for enabling canal vessels to be transferred from one section to
the other, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The transporting of merchandise in canal vessels by canal-vessel-railways
and by waterways substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 12th day of August 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.