IMPROVEMENTS IN MA- CHINERY FOR ALTERING THE POSITION OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Dunn and William Irlam, both of the City
of Manchester, Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MA-
CHINERY FOR ALTERING THE POSITION OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES
ON RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 1st November 1858, and dated the 28th May 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Dunn and William
Irlam at the Office of the Commissioners of l'atents, with their Petition,
on the 28th May 1858.
We, THOMAS DUNN and WILLIAM IRLAN, both of the City of Manchester,
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ALTERING THE POSITION OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND
CARRIAGES ON RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
The first part of our Invention relates to machinery for turning ordinary
turntables by power. Heretofore pulleys formed of angle iron or of several
pieces have been employed to turn round turntables by power, thereby
necessitating holes to be cast or drilled in the rings of the top, by which it is
weakened. Our Invention consists in casting a flange at or near the lower
edgo of the ring of the turntable top, thereby giving greater strength with

page_text: very little more iron, and making a stronger machine at considerably less
cost.
The second part of our Invention consists in making the sides of turntables
of large dimensions, with bowstring sides or with tubular stays, to avoid the
necessity of deep pits.
The third part of our Invention is applicable to the machines called railway
traversers, and consists in making the ends of the traverser rails to swivel on
fixed studs; the weight of the inner ends of the rails overbalance the points,
and keeps them clear of the rails during the traverse, but when an engine or
carriage is being placed on the traverser, the wheels depress the points of the
rails until they bear on the rails of the permanent way. The ends of the rails
of the traverser may be made of iron or steel plates forming springs.
Our Invention consists also in employing cross tram rails placed on different
levels; the outer ones are level with the permanent rails, and the inner ones
are raised sufficiently to act as guide rails. By these improvements the low
shelving of the traverser is brought lower than heretofore. Also in making a
portion or portions of the cross tram rails capable of being raised and lowered,
so that one end of the traverser may rest on the main line, or that the whole
traverser may rest on the main line when the engine or carriage is rolled on
the traverser; the cross tram rails are to be raised by levers, screws, or other
machinery.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Dunn and William Irlam in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 26th November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wе, THOMAS
DUNN and WILLIAM IRLAM, both of the City of Manchester, Engineers, send
greeting.
WHEREAS 1er most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Thomas Dunn and William Irlam, Her special licence that we, the said
Thomas Dunn, and William Irlam, our executors, administrators, and assigns;.
or such others as we, the said Thomas; Dunn and William Irlam, our
exccutors, administrators, and assigns,, should at any time, agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the-term therein

page_text: 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 MACHINERY FOR ALTERING THE POSITION
OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES ON RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Thomas Dunn and William Irlam, our executors,
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of
our or their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 we, the said Thomas Dunn and William Irlam,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say):-
The first part of our Invention relates to machinery for turning ordinary
turntables by power, and it consists in casting a flange at or near the lower
edge of the ring of the turntable top, by which means greater strength is
obtained and a saving in labour is effected.
The nature of our Invention consists, secondly, in making turutables of
large dimensions with bowstring sides or with tubular stays, to avoid the
necessity of deep pits.
The third part of our Invention is applicable to the machines called
railway traversers, and the nature thereof consists in making the ends of
the traverser's rails of iron or steel plates forming spring points, which points
are depressed by the wheels of the carriage that is being pushed on to or off
the traverser.
Fourthly, in making the ends of the traverser rails to swivel on fixed studs,
and in such wise that the inner ends thereof overbalance the points, thereby
raising the points clear of the rails while the traverser is being moved, but
when an engine or carriage is being placed on or off the traverser the wheels
depress the points of the traverser until they bear on the rails of the per-
manent way, thereby forming the inclines for the wheels of the carriage.
Fifthly, in placing the cross tram rails for the traverser on different levels,
the outer rails are level with the permanent rails and the inner rail or rails
are raised sufficiently to act as guides; by these improvements the low
shelving of the traverser may be brought lower than heretofore.
And, sixthly, in making a portion or portions of the cross tram rails for the
traverser capable of being raised, and lowered by levers, screws, or other.

page_text: suitable machinery, so that one end of the traverser may rest on the main line
or that the whole traverser may rest on the main line when the engine or
carriage is rolled on to or off the traverser, and that the whole traverser may
be raised when it bas to be moved laterally.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us,
reference being had to the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, and to the
figures aud letters marked thereon.
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is a section of part of an ordinary turntable, illustrating
the first part of our Invention. a is the top of the turntable, to which is cast
the pulley or ring a' in the usual manner; to this ring is cast the flange a².
The end of the chain is attached to the ring a', and after passing round the
guide pulley it is connected to a crane or other suitable mechanism, by
means of which the turntable is moved round. It has hitherto been customary"
to make the flange a² of angle iron rivetted to the ring a', which mode of
construction is very expensive, and necessitated holes to be cut or drilled
in the ring a', thereby weakening it; according to our improvement of casting
the flange a with the pulley or ring of the turntable top, greater strength is
obtained at less cost.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of a turntable of large dimensions, to which our
improved bowstring sides are applied; Fig. 3 is a transverse section of part
of the same on an enlarged scale. The platform consists of the side beams c
and cross beams e', which support the rails c; the platform swivels upon
a centre, and runs upon rollers in the usual manner. h, h, are the ends of the
rails of the permanent way. The sides of the platform are made on the bow-
string principle, that is to say, each side consists of five or other suitable
number of planks d, sprung into the shape of a bow, and stayed from the
sile beams c by the uprights d'; the planks d are secured to the beams c by
the bolts d, and the whole is made rigid by the diagonal stays d³ and longi-
tudinal tie rods '.
Fig. 4 is an elevation of a turntable of large dimensions to which our
improved tubular stays are applied; Fig. 5 is a transverse section, and Fig. 6
a side elevation of parts of the same drawn to an enlarged scale. In these
views the sides of the platform are formed of metal plates e, e, connected
below to angle irons, to which are bolted or rivetted the cross beams e', e¹, and
above to the tubular stays ; these tubular stays are of the same shape
and answer the same purpose as the planks d in Fig. 2. The cross beams
el, el, may be of the shape shewn in Fig. 4, or of any of the shapes shown in
Fig. 6. h, h, are the ends of the rails of the permanent way. The object

page_text: of this part of our improvements is to obviate the necessity for the deep pits
hitherto required for turntables of large dimensions, and it is evident that the
same object may be accomplished by making the sides of lattice work or
framework or of single plates.
On Sheet 2, Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a railway traverser to which our
improved spring rail is applied; the body of the traverser and the wheels
upon which it moves are constructed in the usual manner.
To the low
shelving fare fixed the iron or steel plates g, the ends of which project
beyond the low shelving f, to form springs. The plates g are fixed to the low
shelving by screw bolts or otherwise, and we prefer to place the last bolt or
rivet at about twelve inches from the ends of the low shelving, so that when
the points of the spring are depressed by the wheels of the carriage, the
springs may have more liberty of action than if the points of attachment were
nearer the ends of the low shelving. It is evident that when the carriage
wheels depress the points of the plates g, as shewn to the right hand of
Fig. 7, the ends of these plates form the inclines for the carriage wheels
to run up or down, and that when the carriage is on the traverser or when
there is no carriage on the traverser, the spring of the plates g raises the
points or ends above the rails of the permanent way, consequently the traverser
can be moved along its cross rails without obstruction from the points, which
are entirely self-acting.
Fig. 7 A is an elevation of part of a pit traverser to which our improved
spring points are applied.
Fig. 8 is a transverse section, Fig. 9 a plan, and Fig. 10 a side elevation,
of a railway traverser, illustrating the fourth and fifth of our improvements;
Figs. 11, 12, and 13 are detached views, ou an enlarged scale, of parts of the
same. h, h, are the rails of the permanent way; i, i, are the two outer cross
rails for the traverser, which are on the same level as the rails.h, h; and j,j,
are the two inner cross rails, which are raised a little above the rails of the
permanent way. The traverser consists of the side beans k, k, each formed of
two angle irons, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, and end cross beams 1, 1, in
which are the bearings for the axles of the wheels m, m, running on the cross
rails i, i, and the intermediate cross beams n, n, in which are the bearings for
the wheels o, o, and p, p; the wheels o, o, have internal flanges, and the
wheels p. p, have external flanges; these flanges pass on each side of the cross
rails j,j, as shewn best in Fig. 13, which thus act as guides to the traverser.
In shorter traversers, one cross rail j will be sufficient.
The cross tram rails i and j must be cut away near the rails h, as shewn in.

page_text: Figs. 11 and 12, so that the lines of the permanent way may be unobstructed
when the traverser is not in use.
The points q. 7, of the traverser swivel upon fixed studs 7, 7, see Fig. 10,
and the inner ends of the points overbalance the outer ends, consequently
after the points have been depressed by the wheels of the carriage, as shown
to the right of Fig. 10, they regain the position shewn at the left-hand end of
Fig. 10, that is to say, the inner ends being heavier than the outer ends, lift
the points clear of the rails of the permanent way; the joint between the low
shelving rail of the traverser and the points is scarfed and overlapped. By
means of these improvements the low shelving of the traverser can be brought
lower than heretofore.
Fig. 14 is a sectional elevation, and Fig. 15 a plan, of the machinery
required to illustrate the last part of our Invention. Figs. 16, 17, and 18 are
detached views of parts of the same; the traverser may, in this instance, be
made without moveable or flexible points, as the object of these improvements
is to raise and lower certain portions of the cross tram rails, to accomplish the
same object as the moveable or flexible points. t, t, are the rails of the per-
manent way. The traverser consists of the low shelved rails,, side beams
s, s, and cross beams s', s', supporting the wheels or rollers s², s. The cross
tram rails u, u, between the rails t of the permanent way, are placed a little
above the level of the said rails, in order that the flanges of the wheels s² may
pass over them without obstruction, but that portion of each cross rail placed
between the lines of the permanent way and marked v, is fixed to a frame v³,
which hinges at v³, 2, and bears upon the excentric w; each of these excentrics
is fixed on a shaft w', furnished with a handle w. The mode of operation
is as follows: When it is requisite to remove a carriage from one line of
rails to another, the traverser is brought over the lines of the permanent way,
as shown in Fig. 15, and the excentrics w are brought into the positions
shewn at the left-hand side of Fig. 14, and in Fig. 16; the low shelving of
the traverser then bears upon the lines of the permanent way, and the carriage
to be moved is then run thereon in the usual manner; the excentrics are then
brought into the positions shewn at the right-hand side of Fig. 14, and in
Fig. 17, to raise the cross rails v to the level of the cross rails u, the traverser
with the carriage upon it is then moved along the cross rails, the flanges of the
wheels s being clear of the rails t, t. When the carriage is to be run off the
traverser, either one or both the rails v are lowered by turning the excentrics
w, as above described. We wish to remark that screws or other suitable
mechanism may be employed to raise and lower the rails v.

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the details herein set forth, as they may be considerably modified;
but what we do claim is,-
First, casting the flange to the ring of a turntable in the manner and for
the purposes described in reference to Fig. 1.
Secondly, the improved mode of constructing turntables with side beams,
as shewn and as described in reference to Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Thirdly, the application of spring points to railway traversers, as shewn and
described in reference to Figs. 7, and 7 A, or any modification of such self-
acting spring points.
Fourthly, the improved mode of constructing self-acting balanced points
for railway traversers, as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 9 and 10.
Fifthly, the placing the cross tram rails for railway traversers on different
levels, so that the higher cross tram rail or rails may act as a guide or guides
to the flanges of the wheels of the traverser, as shewn and described in
reference to Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
And, lastly, the raising and lowering of a portion or portions of the cross tram
rails of railway traversers for the purposes described in reference to Figs. 14,
15, 16, 17, and 18.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Dunn and William Irlam,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fifth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-eight.
Witness,
II. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
THOMAS DUNN.
(L.S.)
WILLIAM IRLAM. (L.S.)