IMPROVE- NENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER CARRIAGES, TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fowler, junior, of Cornhill, in the City of
London, Robert Burton, of Maberley Terrace, Ball's Pond Road, in the
County of Middlesex, and Thomas Clarke, of Saint James' Place, Hackney
Road, also in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
NENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER
CARRIAGES, TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER
SURFACES."
Sealed the 23rd September 1857, and dated the 16th June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fowler, Robert
Burton, and Thomas Clarke, at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 16th June 1857.
We, JOHN FOWLER, junior, of Cornhill, in the City of London; ROBERT
BURTON, of Maberley Terrace, Ball's Pond Road, in the County of Middlesex,
atid THOMAS CLARKE, of Saint James Place, Hackney Road, also in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND
OTHER CARRIAGES, TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER
SURFACES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the construction and
arrangement of locomotiveand other carriages, to facilitate their movement on
common roads and other surfaces, and consists in a method of causing the

page_text: wheels of carriages to lay for themselves rails on which to run. For this
purpose two metal hoops are placed one on each side of the wheel; these
hoops are a little larger in diameter than the wheel itself, and have simply
hinges jointed to them, the sections forming the endless railway on which the
wheel runs; as the wheel moves forward it carries with it the hoops with the
sections which are hinged to them, by pushing against the sections in front of
it, and so lays constantly for itself a road on which to run. In this way the
open joints are obviated, which are necessary when the sections of road are
carried by the wheel itself, and at the same time a very simple arrangement of
apparatus is obtained.
In order to increase the "bite" of the wheels on the road they may be
made V-form at their peripheries, and they run in similar grooves in the
sections forming the road, and the parts of each section on one and other side
of the V groove are connected together on the under side by steel plates, which
spring slightly when the weight comes on the section, so that the wheel is
tightly nipped by the two sides of the section of road.
In place of employing a series of sections attached to metal hoops, which
lay them in succession on the land so as to form a continuous railway,
as already described, only two such sections may be used, and they are then
lifted and drawn forward alternately along the land, in place of being carried
in succession over the wheel, as in the former case. In order to enable the
sections of road to pass each other, they are placed at different distances from
the centre line of the machine, and the wheel which runs on this road is also
made in two halves, or parts placed similarly at different distances from the
centre line of the machine, so that one of the parts of the wheel treads on one
of the sections of road and the other on the other section; when one section
is sustaining the carriage the other is moved on, and so on alternately.
In order to enable locomotive carriages to ascend hills, and pass over places
which it would be difficult to get them over, by applying the power to the
wheels, a small winding drum may be mounted on the carriage, and when a
difficult place is to be got over, a rope is taken out and made fast ahead, and
by throwing the drum into gear the carriage is caused to wind itself forward;
or if the locomotive carriage is used for hauling other carriages, the locomotive
carriage may ascend the hill, or pass the difficult place without its load, and
having made itself fast it may wind its load forward by the drum.
In order that the wheels on both sides of steam carriages may be driven
without in any way interfering with the steerage of the carriage, the driving
wheels on the opposite sides are mounted on short tubular axes, which have at
their other ends similar bevilled wheels. Through the two tubular axes a

page_text: solid axis passes, and it has a nut at each end to keep the wheels in their
places, and to keep the bevilled wheels in gear on opposite sides with two, four,
or other number of bevilled pinions, which are mounted so that they can turn
freely on axes which form the spokes of a large spur wheel mounted on the
solid axis, before mentioned; this spur wheel being driven communicates
motion to the two driving wheels, but does not prevent one of them from
turning faster or slower than the other when the carriage is required to turn.
SPECIFICATION.in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Fowler, Robert Burton, and Thomas Clarke in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
FOWLER, junior, of Cornhill, in the City of London, ROBERT BURTON, of
Maberley Terrace, Ball's Pond Road, in the County of Middlesex, and THOMAS
CLARKE, of Saint James' Place, Hackney Road, also in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Robert Fowler, Robert Burton, and Thomas Clarke, Her special licence that
we, the said John Fowler, Robert Burton, and Thomas Clarke, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Fowler,
Robert Burton, and Thomas Clarke, our executors, adminstrators, and 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 IMPROVE-
OTHER
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND
CARRIAGES, TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER
SURPACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Fowler,
Robert Burton, and Thomas Clarke, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under ouror their hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us or them, should particularly 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,

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Fowler, on behalf of myself and
the said Robert Burton and Thomas Clarke, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, and in what mauner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention consists, first, in a method of arranging locomotive carriages
so that the wheels on both sides of the carriage may be driven without in any
way interfering with the steerage of the carriage. The driving wheels on the
opposite sides are mounted on short tubular axes, which have at their other
ends similar bevelled wheels. Through the two tubular axes a solid axis
passes, and it has a nut at each end to keep the wheels in their places, and to
keep the bevelled wheels in gear on opposite sides with two, four, or other
number of bevilled pinions, which are mounted so that they can turn freely on
axes, which form the spokes of a large spur wheel mounted on the solid axis
before mentioned; this spur wheel being driven communicates motion to the
two driving wheels, but does not prevent one of them from turning faster or
slower than the other when the carriage is required to turn.
Figure 1 is a plan of a locomotive carriage arranged according to the
principle known as Boydell's, and having in connection with it apparatus for
driving the wheels on both sides of the carriage, according to this Invention.
Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same. a, a', are the driving wheels,
mounted on tubular or hollow axes b, b', by which the carriage is supported
in the usual way; on the inner ends of the axes are fixed bevilled wheels c, c
and in between those bevelled wheels the large spur wheel d, shown separately
at Figure 3, is mounted on the solid axis e, which passes through the hollow
axes b, b, and in secured at each end beyond them by means of screw nuts.
The spur wheel d is arranged to carry bearings for two, or it may be other
number of radial axes f, f, on which the pinions g, g, are mounted, and these
take into the teeth of the bevilled wheels c', c'. The spur wheel d is driven
by the pinion on the crank shaft of the engine either directly or through the
intermediate wheels j and , and so motion is given to the driving wheels.
When the carriage is going straight forward the pinions do not travel in the
teeth of the bevilled wheels c, c', but when the carriage turns they do so, and
in this way the necessary compensation is obtained.
Another part of this Invention has for its object the facilitating loco-
motive carriages in the ascent of hills, and in passing over places which
it would be difficult to get them over, by applying the power to the
wheels. For this purpose a small winding drum is mounted on the
carriage, and when a difficult place is to be got over a rope is taken

page_text: out and made fast ahead, and by throwing the drum into gear the car-
riage is caused to wind itself forward; or if the locomotive carriage is used
for hauling other carriages, the locomotive carriage may ascend the hill or pass
the difficult place without its load, and having made itself fast it may wind its
load forward by the drum. The red lines in the Drawings already referred to
show the way in which the drum is arranged and driven. is the fly wheel of
the engine, from which a band passes to the pulley m fixed on the axis n;
this axis is mounted in bearings on the platform of the engine, and has a screw
thread cut on it, which takes into and drives the screw wheel o, formed on the
under side of the drum p. The drum may be thrown out of action by passing
the band from the fast to the loose pulley on the axis n.
Another part of my Invention applies to locomotive carriages which lay for
themselves a road on which to run, in the manner of Boydell's engine, and
consists in increasing the bite of the wheels on the road which they lay by
making the wheels of a V form at their peripheries, so as to run in similar
grooves in the sections forming the road, and the parts of each section on one
and other side of the V groove are connected together on the under side by
steel plates, which spring slightly when the weight comes on the section, so
that the wheel is tightly nipped by the two sides of the section of road."
Figure 4 is a transverse section of one bearer or section of the road of such
an engine, together with part of the periphery of the wheel which runs on it.
a, a, are the portions of the bearer on each side of the V-form groove; b is a
plate of steel, running from end to end of the bearer, and bent to the form
shown; cis part of the wheel, which, as will be seen, does not exactly fit into
the V-form groove, but as soon as the centre portion of the bearer begins to
sink under the weight it will be firmly nipped thereby, and thus the required
"bite on the road is obtained.
The last part of this Invention has for its object improvements in the
construction and arrangement of locomotive and other carriages, to facilitate
their movement on common roads and other surfaces, and consists in a method
of causing the wheels of carriages to lay for themselves rails on which to run.
In place of employing a series of sections which pass over the wheel and are
laid in succession on the land, so as to form a continuous railway, as in
Boydell's engine, only two such sections are used, and they are lifted and
drawn forward alternately along the land. In order to enable the sections of
road to pass each other, they are placed at different distances from the centre
line of the machine, and the wheel which runs on this road is also made in
two halves or parts placed similarly at different distances from the centre line
of the machine, so that one of the parts of the wheel treads on one of the

page_text: sections of road and the other on the other section. When one section is
sustaining the carriage the other is moved on, and so on alternately.
Figure 5 is a side view, and Figure 6 part of a transverse section, of a cart
arranged according to this part of the Invention. a is the axle from which
the body of the cart is carried in the usual way; at each end of this axis are
mounted the half wheels band 61, each of which has its portion or section of
road c, d, of the form shown in the Drawing; these sections are jointed at
their ends to the levers d, d, which again are jointed to the short levers e, e,
turning on centres fixed to the side of the cart. are levers, mounted on
centres d', d', carried by the levers d, d; and y. g, are spiral springs, attached
at one end to one of the levers, and at the other end to the levers d, d.
The levers f, f, are connected together by the bars h, h, on which the
forks h, h, are formed. The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When
the half wheel b has run to the end of its course on the section of road c then
the half wheel c takes its bearing, and as the cart proceeds the pin on the
i
half wheel c enters the fork ¹ on the bar /, and when it gets to the top of the
fork it lifts the section of road c off the land, carries it forward, and drops it
again in front of itself; this is all done while the half wheel b¹ is sustaining
the load; afterwards the operation is repeated, and in this way the cart
progresses on a firm road, which it lays for itself.
We would remark, that although we have shown this apparatus only as
applied to a cart, it will be readily understood that it can be applied with
advantage to a locomotive carriage, and then, in place of drawing the carriage
by shafts, the power is applied to the axle a, on which the half wheels are
mounted.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fowler, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
FRED HARRIS.
JOHN FOWLER, JUN. (L.S.)