An Improved Appliance for Attachment to Tramway Motors and Cars for Removing Obstructions on the Tram Roads and Pre- venting Accidents.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 6th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Appliance for Attachment to Tramway Motors and
Cars for Removing Obstructions on the Tram Roads and Pre-
venting Accidents.
THOMAS FREDERIC LAXTON, Bond Street, Bradford Road, Batley, Yorkshire,
Mechanical Engineer. I do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
An appliance of iron and steel for fixing to the ends of tramway engines and cars.
It consists of angular and curved slipper castings which are connected by knuckle
joints with piston rods the heads of which are adjustable and fixed to the centres
of the piston rods and work independently of each other either vertically angularly
or horizontally in the centre of cast cylinders with enclosed steel springs on either
side of the piston head, the piston rods working through bored holes in each end of
the cylinder covers. The strength and temper of the steel springs confined in the
cylinders are fitted to compel the slipper castings to travel in close contact with
the tram road and work automatically over inequalities of the paving setts or
form of the road and travel over granite paved roads with varied heights of paving
on either the outsides of or between the tram rails, and the slipper castings are also
so applied that when met with by an obstruction the leaf or coil spring action in
the cylinders depresses the slippers and will not permit the obstruction to pass
under the engines or cars on which my appliance is fitted. The slippers are bolted
to angular and curved sheet iron skirting shaped to the formation of the road to
be worked over and the action of the two is identical and simultaneous. The
principle of my appliances works with coil or leaf springs equally well.
Dated the 27th day of October 1890.
THOS. FREDERIC LAXTON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Appliance for Attachment to Tramway Motors and
Cars for Removing Obstructions on the Tram Roads and Pre-
venting Accidents."
THOMAS FREDERIC LAXTON, Bond Street, Bradford Road, Batley, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performied, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
An appliance for the prevention of tramway or other accidents with engines and
carriages worked by steam air electricity horses gas cable ropes whatsoever to be
as follows.
An appliance for attachment to the ends of motors and carriages to travel in
close contact over any paved or macadam road with even or variable heights of
paving or macadam above or below the rails and over either flat, hollow or round
transverse conformation of roads and over the superelevation of outer rails and
paving at the corners of gradients and over high check rails leading off curves
near turntables in sheds and over high projecting granite setts badly blown up by
the action of wet and frost and over holes caused by the sinking of paving setts
near loose rail ends and working sleepers and over the drop and wallop of turn-
tables to contiguous roads in tramway depots.
Heretofore it has been usual to ascertain the difference between the highest part

page_text: of any road namely as on the Dewsbury Batley Birstal and Gomersal tram lines-
the highest portion is fully 2 inches above the level of the rails and this for long
distances measured at the crown of the road. The lowest portions being fully
"below the level of the rails-being however portions of the road that are good
and watertight but sunken. Now the difference amounts to 3 inches and that
compels a tramway engineer to bolt a fixed protector or safety guard a distance
equal to about four inches above the lowest portion of the road thus leaving only
about one inch general clearance for travelling over the highest part of the road
such as I have named at Dewsbury Batley, Birstal and Gomersal. Now with a
fixed protector passing over the lowest portions of the said road the bottom edge
of the bolted protector sheaves must stand about four inches above the top of
the setts and with india rubber sheaves a child can be forced by the bottom edge
to the pitch interstices of setts which form a key-the advancing power of the
engine casily turns the rubber sheave under and admits the child under the
engine to be killed whilst the india rubber sheave immediately after resumes its
original shape and position. Now with a low portion of road as already stated and
under similar conditions with a fixed or bolted metallic protector or guard closed
to the setts by hinges and levers the engines and protectors must be much heavier
than at Dewsbury to prevent derailment and damage thereby considerably lessening
the prospect of saving life.
Now the first part of my invention consists of steel castings-Fig. A. is left
hand, Fig. B. right hand, C. central, Sheet No. 3.—the bottom portions of which
are fitted with cast iron sole slides, D. D. D. Sheet No. 1. bolted as shown at E. E.
Fig. G. Sheet No. 1.
These steel castings have each two bars 3. & 4. Fig. F. Sheet No. 1. also each
a joint at the back ends, with each a buffer lug behind see 5. Fig. G. These
lugs slide in slots of front engine plating or angle irons H. Fig. 1. Sheet No. 3.
when fixed to cars and are secured by nuts & split pins at the back. Each joint at
back receives a forged rod J. Sheet No. 1. which is pinned to it extending vertically
through a hole bored in a bracket K. parallel with slot H. above & below this
bracket is fixed 2″ × 6″ × 4" spiral springs M. N. held in position by round screwed
plates O. P. which are adjusted and locknutted to any required positions on the rod.
In this way the three steel castings with side and centre bars 3. & 4. which form
the framing of the protector, are jointed and held in position for fore or aft buffering
use on any motor or car, and these three castings are also supported by the springs
as described and hang on the springs which carry the sole castings just level with
the paved tramroad, and the slots which are three inches in play enable an engine
or car driver at will to raise the castings from the position named to one two or
three inches above the ground which is done by a joint lever 8. Fig. O. Sheet No. 3.
working between spring catch and chain with eyelet for carrying chain fixed inside
the engine and on the car platforms.
Fig. O. Sheet No. 3. shows my method of fixing two steel are castings to the
car platforms or engine foot plater, and through them connecting a radial lever
keyed to a short spindle with square at one end, at the top of the lever is a joint
with spring pawl and handle, and at the other side of lever is a chain eyelet.
By introducing an ordinary square box spanner on the square end the protector can
be lifted from a bottom position to either 1, 2, or 3 inches of clearance from the
paved road the spring pawl securing the position as required. The chain is con-
nected to 7, and moves in groove 12, extending to a small jointed lever locknutted
to a cross bar which is bolted to each side of the protector framing. In ordinary
running and when the protector is in up position, an engine driver has only to
touch the lever at Fig. O. and the protector instantly falls into full automatic
action on the road, and travels by contact of sole castings slightly lower than the
protector sheaf already named.
The ordinary box spanner for lifting the protector at the square end of spindle
is preferable loose and removed when not required for use.

page_text: DRAWINGS.
The principle embodied by Fig. G Sheet 1 shows the down position N. indicating
the bottom spring under full compression. The bracket bolt 13. admits of
readjustment as may be required by wear of tyres or engine springs, and the
nuts O. P. can be adjusted at any time by releasing the cylinder W. from
bracket K. The section bar at the back indicates the ordinary bolting surface
which is generally found at that portion of the tramway locomotives. Fig. F. gives
a plain front view of the cylinder and bottom casting, showing casting bars which
receive the front steel frame bars for supporting the protector sheaves. Fig. R.
shows the principle embodied when a cylinder is not employed and when a bracket
with top and bottom nuts take the weight of automatic action of springs in either
direction. It also gives the highest position attainable, sce buffering slot H.
That position can be changed to one of 1, 2, or 3 inches lower at the discretion of
the driver.
The bolted connection of this spring spindle to bottom casting only admits of
vertical motion, whereas the joint action when preferred as shown at 5. Fig. G.
Sheet 1. admits of the front 6. being depressed in forward and downward position.
Fig. S. Sheet No. 2. gives front view of the protector erected for automatic action
and in lowest position employing three cylinders, which admit of vertical rise and
fall on the part of protector from either of the three positions and although the
front may be angularly pointed the rise is only sufficient for clearance as the sole
castings are immediately behind the front position of protector. This even rise and
fall is an important feature of the appliance, whether a flat circular or angular
shape of protector sheave is adopted. Although Fig. S. shows the method of
employing three cylinders, I also can work the appliance with two only by
connecting the bottom castings with spring spindle as shown at Y. Fig. R.
Sheet 1. Fig. T. Sheet 2. gives a side elevation of protector, 6. being the average
projection, Fig. 10. being the side framing of tram motor, and X. X. the side and
middle end uprights which give an ordinary curved end for engine skirting as an
ordinary tram car. The space U. gives the average clearance of skirting &
granite pavement of tram roads, and the relative side positions of cylinders are also
given in this view, and the centre or front engine bar X. is connected with the
front framing at each end.
Fig. 1. Sheet 3. shows one method of fastening angle iron to electric or cable
cars or steam engines to admit of bracketing and buffering positions already
described.
Figs. A. B. & C. show the right hand-left hand-and central steel castings with
front plate line indicated and as bolted to steel bars below.
Having described the method of fixing the sole joint and bar castings for
travelling in close contact with the paved road and also for instantly raising
or lowering them to the road at will from a height of from 1, 2, or 3 inches,
I have to fix two angular steel bars, 2 x 3 full width of engine by set screws
introduced at the back of each steel casting bar as per holes. Sec 3. & 4. Fig. F.
Sheet No. 1. These two bars have a front position and each extend round the
three steel castings and give surface for bolting thereto-one steel plate 7' x
which covers the bars and at the bottom side is parallel to the road but 2 inches
above it. See 6. 6. 6. 6. Figs. G. R. S. T. Sheets Nos. 1. & 2. at which place
introduce whalebone-bassweed-noorland heather-split horn or other flexible
substances drawn with copper wire in sycamore or other wood bars, spaces admitting.
for this being shown at 6. 6. 6. 6. Figs. G. R. S. T.
The sycamore, beech, oak, or other wood bars with whalebone is held in position
by small bolts and connected with not less than 2 inches of covering of the front
sheet plate, the layers of whalebone and bassweed extend two inches below the front
bottom plate, and bar, and is of sufficient thickness to resist the pressure of human

page_text: limbs but gives way at any one part when confronted with a rigid obstruction or
raised paving sett, and having passed it instantly springs back to original position.
I also employ a cylinder V. instead of, and at will, in place of a bracket and top
and bottom nuts K. O. P. Fig. R. which I bolt to the engine frame plate 9. or to
car angle plate Fig. 1. Sheet No. 3. exactly as the bracket already described.
The cylinder is fitted with a spindle from the joint, and only differs from the spindle
already described in having an adjustable round locknutted plate in the middle
with a spring above and below as Fig. G Sheet No. 1. The top and bottom of the
cylinder gives the resistance each way and access to the cylinder is obtained by
cover W. Fig. G. bolted as shown at X. Fig. F. Sheet No. 1.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what ||
claim is :-
==
1. Novelty for the application of an adjustable method causing the protector to
travel over varied heights of paving with the least obtainable amount of friction,
see Fig. 10. Sheet No. 2. by the use of tuned spiral springs on jointed rods
with screwed round nuts, working with either brackets K. Fig. R. or cylinders
Fig. G. Sheet No. 1.
2. For the application of steel slipper castings D. D. D. Sheet No. 1. with bars
to receive front plate and with buffer connections Y. Y. Figs. G. & R. Sheet No. 1.
for working in slot Z. Fig. I. Sheet No. 3. for fore or aft travelling.
3. For the application of whalebone-moorland heather-bass weed-split horn &c.
drawn with copper wire in sycamore or other wood bars Figs. 6. 6. 6. 6. Sheets
No. 1. & 2. and fitted at the bottom of protector to pass setts and small rigid
obstructing bodies.
4. For the methods employed to obtain a parallel rise or fall of the protector
complete and for the advantage of being able to raise it through the sole castings
and springs on either side for automatically passing superelevated curves without
unduly disturbing opposite side.
5. For the advantage of being able to brush the tram roads free of either snow
or dust, and being able to lower the whalebone and bassweed brushes as worn, by
the sliding action of bolts in protector sheet.
6. For the advantage obtained by bolting the upright spindle for motion in
cylinders or brackets as shown at Figs. M. V. & R. Sheet No. 1. which by springs
cushions the fall of it, and contact of the renewable sole casting D. D. D.
Sheet No. 1. with the road whether travelling on uniform height of road or not.
The said renewable sole casting being the lowest part of the appliance secures
the plated whalebone-bass weed-moorland heather etc. against the possibility of
damage whatsoever.
7. For the method employed to raise and lower protector 1, 2, 3 or more inches,
at will and hold it secure in either of these positions by "spring pawl" affixed to lift
lever and chain eyelet working between cast steel arc plates with radial lever, see
Fig. O. Sheet No. 3.
Dated this 5th day of March 1891.
THOMAS FREDERIC LAXTON.