Improvements in Trucks or Waggons for Coal and other Goods in Bulk.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Trucks or Waggons for Coal and other Goods in
Bulk.
We, MICHAEL JOHN GRIFFIN, (General Yard Master), and PETER WINSLAIR
HOGAN, Car Foreman, both of Island Pond, in the County of Essex and State
of Vermont, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:--
Our invention relates more particularly to trucks for transporting coal which
is intended to be discharged into the tenders of locomotives, the truck being
so constructed as to sub-divide the contents and enable quantities of such size
as will ordinarily be required for filling a tender to be discharged separately
thereto.
The
With this object in view, the body of the truck is provided with a bottom
sloping from the centre toward each side thereof and upon this bottom are con-
structed bins or pockets consisting of a series of chambers, formed by a central
longitudinal partition and lateral partitions placed at suitable intervals.
outer sides of the bins are open, or at least partially open, and are closed while
being filled by a door or chute which is hinged to the outer edge of the
floor, and is adapted to swing to a vertical position so as to close the outer side
of the bin.
The door or chute is provided with side boards to prevent the coal from falling
off the side when discharging, and the partitions between the bins are made
double with a space between the two parts to receive the sides which are made
thin and occupy but little space. The floor between the halves of the partition
is cut to allow the inner ends of the sides to extend downward beneath the floor
when the chute is up. The door is also provided with spring slide or catch, mov-
able in proper guides to hold the door in its raised position, by engagement
with a staple fixed, to the upper part of the truck from which it is released by
means of a short rope.
For convenience in raising the door, a rope is attached to the outer edge thereof,
and carried over pulleys located within the space in the partitions and upon the
under side of the top or roof of the truck, said rope extending back to the centre
of the truck and being provided with a counter-weight which moves vertically
in a well or chamber.
This
In using our truck, an elevated track is to be provided alongside of the track
occupied by the locomotives when the tenders are being filled with coal.
track is to be elevated to such a height that the trucks when placed upon it,
will have their chutes just above the tender when said chutes are lowered. The
locomotive desiring a supply of coal will run alongside one of these trucks and
get in position to receive the coal from one of the pockets, and the door or chute

page_text: on being released will drop down into the discharging position, and the coal
from this pocket will slide out and into the tender.
Dated this 9th day of August 1898.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.
Improvements in Trucks or Waggons for Coal and other Goods in
Bulk.
We, MICHAEL JOHN GRIFFIN, (General Yard Master), and PETER WINSLAIR
HOGAN, Car Foreman, both of Island Pond, in the County of Essex and State
of Vermont, United States of America, 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:.
-
Our invention relates to improvements in trucks for carrying coal and other
goods in bulk, and consists in dividing the truck into a series of pockets or bins
having sloping bottoms discharging towards the outer side and with the outer
side normally-closed by a door or chute, which can be dropped down and used
for discharging the contents of the bin into any receptacle desired.
The invention further consists in certain novel features which will be herein-
after described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate dorresponding
parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved truck one of the bins being
shown as having its chute down or in a discharging position; and
Figure 2 is a cross section of the truck body, with one of the chutes lowered.
The truck is designed for use in transporting coal, and particularly for coal
which is intended to be discharged into locomotive tenders. The object sought
to be accomplished is to provide a truck in which the coal is divided into separate
quantities, which may be discharged one at a time, said quantities being of such
a size as will ordinarily be required for filling a tender; and to have the coal
discharge from the truck directly into the tender, thus saving the expense of
unloading into bins and then loading from the bins into the buckets or tubs
usually employed for filling tenders.
With this object in view, the body of the truck is formed with a bottom H
sloping from the centre toward each side thereof. Upon this bottom are con-
structed the bins of the truck consisting of a series of chambers A, formed by
a central longitudinal partition and lateral partitions placed at suitable intervals.
The slope given to the floor H of the bins is such as will permit the coal to
flow out of the bins. The outer sides of the bins are open, or at least partially
open, and are closed while being filled with the coal, by means of a door or chute B,
which is hinged at E to the outer edge of the floor, and is adapted to swing to
a vertical position so as to close the outer side of the bin.
The door or chute B is provided with side boards b. which are adapted to
prevent the coal from falling off the side when discharging. The partitions P
between the bins are made double with a space between the two parts to receive
the ropes F¹ and the side boards b which are made thin and occupy but little
space. The floor between the halves of the partition is cut to allow the inner
ends of the side boards b to extend downward beneath the floor when the chute

page_text: is up. The door is also provided with a slide e, movable in guides and held
upward by means of a spring e, so as to form a catch to hold the door in its
raised or closed position, by its engagement with a staple fixed to the upper
part of the truck, from which it is released by pulling on the short rope e
attached to the lower end of the slide e.
For convenience in raising the door, a rope F is attached to the outer edge
thereof, and carried over pulleys f' and f, located within the space in the par-
titions and upon the under side of the top or roof D of the truck.. This
rope F extends back to the centre of the truck and after passing
Over the pulley f, is attached to a counter-weight F which moves
ally in a well or chamber C, adapted to receive said counter-weights. The
counter-weight F should be made of such weight as to nearly if not quite balance
the weight of the door B.
vertic-
In using our truck, an elevated track is to be provided alongside of the track
occupied by the locomotives when the tenders are being filled with coal. This
track is to be elevated to such a height that the trucks when placed upon it will
have their chutes B just above the tender when said chutes are lowered. The
locomotive desiring a supply of coal will run alongside one of these trucks and
get in position to receive the coal from one of the bins. The catch e is released
by pulling upon the rope whereupon the door or chute B will drop down into the
discharging position, and the ceal from this bin will slide out into the tender.
This operation will take less time than to load the tender by the ordinary
method of using a large bucket and crane, beside requiring no extra help for
such work. It will also prevent the great waste due to the enormous handlings
of the coal necessitated by the ordinary method of coaling locomotives, and will
also make it unnecessary to provide as expensive a construction for the purpose
as is necessary where bins are used. The only special construction necessary for
using these trucks is an elevated track; this, however, is necessitated where coal bins
are used, and in that case they would have to be of greater elevation than where
our trucks are used.
By dividing the truck up into a series of bins, the contents may be discharged
at different times and in such quantities as desired. The truck itself thus acts
as the coal bin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is:
1. The combination in a truck having its body divided into bins extending
from the middle to the side thereof and provided with sloping floors, the outer
side of each bin being open, of a door for each bin, each of said doors being
pivoted at its lower edge to the car to swing outwardly and downwardly, and
side boards attached to each door, and of such length as to form a continuous
extension of the side walls of the bins when the doors are open, there being
provided a series of slots or openings in which are received the lower edges of
said side boards when the doors are closed, as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination with a truck having a coal bin formed with a floor sloping
towards and extending to a side of the truck, the outer side of said bin being
open, of a door pivoted by its lower edge to the outer edge of said floor and
arranged to swing outwardly and downwardly, forming a continuation of the same,
the said floor being formed with slots in the rear of each side edge of the door,
and side boards attached to the said side edges of the door, and of such
a length as to overlap the side walls of the bin when the door is at the outward
and downward limit of its movement, the inner and lower ends of said boards
being received in the said slots when the door is closed, as and for the purpose
set forth.
3. A truck body consisting of end walls, two spaced apart. longitudinal parti-
tions connecting said end walls, said partitions extending along the middle of

page_text: the truck, transverse double partitions extending at predetermined intervals from
a longitudinal partition to the adjacent side of the truck, floors sloping from a
longitudinal partition to an adjacent side of the truck and provided with slots
or openings near their outer edges and between a double partition, doors pivoted
at their lower edges to swing outwardly and downwardly and forming sides for
the truck and chutes for the bins formed by the partitions, cords attached to
the outer edges of the doors, each of said cords passing through the space of a
double transverse partition back into the space between the longitudinal parti-
tions and there provided with a weight, and side boards attached to the side
edges of each door and of such length that they will overlap the transverse
partitions when the door is fully open, the said side boards when the door is
closed entering the space between the double partitions and down into the said
slots in the floor, as set forth.
Dated this Sth day of March 1899
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.