Improvements in Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 9th July, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Vehicles.
I, CHARLES LEWIS PULLMAN, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America,
Manufacturer, 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 :-
The object of my invention is to improve the construction of passenger cars, and
particularly those employed upon surface or elevated street railroads, so as to
increase their seating capacity without increasing their size; to facilitate the
operation of such cars; to improve the means of entrance and exit to the car and
assure the safety and convenience of the passengers thereby; to provide a
convenient station for the conductor and for the driver or operator of the car; and
to improve other of the structural features and arrangement of parts as hereinafter
described.
My invention is adapted to be employed with cars now just coming into use which
have seats both inside and outside the car. A feature of my invention relates to
providing these double deck cars with easy and safe means of entrance and exit to
the upper or outside seats. In all surface and elevated passenger cars which have
heretofore been in practical use in cities and for suburban traffic, a platform is
provided at each end of the car, and usually both front and rear platforms have
steps leading therefrom for the use of passengers in entering and alighting from the
car. The driver of the car is usually stationed on the front platform while the
conductor is stationed on the rear platform and the passengers are usually permitted
to enter or alight from either platform. The conductor is thus obliged to watch the
movements of passengers at each end of the car, and when passengers alight or enter
from or by the front platform they are in close proximity to the forward wheels of
the car, and frequently accidents are caused by the passenger missing his footing
and falling beneath the wheels.
I obviate these and other objectionable features in the construction of street
railway cars by dispensing with the end platforms and dividing the car transversely
below the deck line into two compartments each occupying one end of the car and
communicating with each other by a central vestibule provided with side entrances
through which the passengers enter and leave the car near its middle instead of at
its ends as in the previous construction.
This vestibule is covered partially by a narrowed middle section of the car roof
and its floor is formed by the car floor. The vestibule may be separated from the
end compartments by transverse partitions having sliding doors.
The car is thus practically divided into several compartments, viz.; a central
vestibule which may be partially or wholly enclosed and provided with seats and
adapted for smoking room; a seating compartment at each end of the car opening
off the vestibule and preferably separable therefrom and a roof compartment with
seats so arranged as to utilize all the available space without interfering with the
comfort of the passengers or subjecting them to inconvenience. The conductor's
station is in the vestibule and enables him to oversee all the passengers and to
rapidly collect the fares, while a special cab is provided for the driver at an.
elevation and apart from the passengers so that he is in the best position to control
the car.
A feature of my invention relates to the provision of stairways leading to the
roof seats. These stair-ways, in the preferred construction, are two in number, cach
located substantially in the plane of the sides of the car, and each stairway being
located centrally of the length of the vestibule and having common steps at the
bottom and branching toward their tops into two flights, which flights land the

page_text: that four passengers may enter or leave the stairways at the same time.
There are
thus provided two separated or divided entrances upon each side of the car near its
middle, and the car may be thus rapidly filled or unloaded without confusion or
delay.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, the car having roof seats, a driver's
cab and a canopy.
Figure 2 is a plan view, parts broken away, to show the arrangement of the roof
seats, the vestibule and one of the compartments.
Figure 3 is a transverse sectional central view of the car.
Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 3, showing a modification of the arrange-
ment of the roof seats; and
Figure 5 is a perspective view taken from the centre of the vestibule, showing the
arrangement of the steps leading to the upper deck.
The body of the car is divided transversely into two end sections or
compartments 6, 7. The roof 8 extends over these compartments and is narrowed
at its middle, such narrowed portion forming in conjunction with the floor 9 a
central vestibule between the compartments. The roof timbers 10 are arched at the
narrowed portion above the stairways, as clearly shown in Figure 5, to afford head
room above such stairways. Entrance to the vestibule is afforded by steps, preferably
divided into two flights 11, 12 at each side of the car and provided with hand
rails 13.
The ends of the car are preferably rounded, as clearly shown in the drawings, and
the usual end platforms are entirely dispensed with, the space heretofore occupied
by such platforms being enclosed by the roof and side walls.
The interior arrangement of seats within the compartment 6 and 7 may be
considerably varied, but as shown in the drawings I have provided each of said
compartments with seats 14 extended along the sides and around the ends of the
car, except that in one section I have made provision, by means of the enclosed
space 15, for carrying the operating levers or cords to the driver's cab 16 which is
preferably stationed at the extreme end of the car and brought down as low as
possible without interfering with the light or the head room inside the car.
inner ends of the compartments 6 and 7 may be closed by the transverse stationary
walls 17, having the sliding doors 18.
The
To enable passengers to reach and leave the roof seats safely and expeditiously,
I employ the winding stairways 19 which consist of long steps divided above mid-
height into two flights leading to the respective ends of the car, as clearly shown in
the drawings. The last of the long steps provides a platform whereon passengers
may cross from the roof seats at one end of the car to the roof seats at the other
end, without descending to the floor of the vestibule. These stairways are
approached from the floor of the vestibule and they land near the outer sides of the
roof and facing in the direction of its length, that is, at the ends of the passages 20,
respectively. Adjacent to these passages are the top seats 21 arranged preferably
longitudinally of the car and facing outwardly. The passages 20 afford foot room
for persons occupying the seats 21. The space between the seats 21 may be
utilized for carrying baggage or parcels and may have also a seat 22 arranged at
one side thereof, as shown in Figure 4.
°
I have shown a canopy 23 to shelter the outside passengers from the sun and
inclement weather.
The best managed city passenger railroads at the present time provide against
the passengers entering indiscriminately from both sides of the car, or train of cars,
by putting up gates or other barriers across the entrances which it is desired shall
not be used. I have shown in Figures 1 3 and 4, gates 24 of the well known lazy-
tongs construction.
Numerous advantages are secured by the construction and arrangement above
described. The additional security to passengers is, of course, of first importance,

page_text: but incidental to this are the advantages of bringing all the passengers, either
entering or leaving the car, directly under the eye of the conductor or other
attendant whose station will be upon the platform 9 where he may observe whether
the persons attempting to enter or leave the car are in a safe,position before giving
the signal to start. His central position also enables him to collect the fares as the
passengers enter the car, or fare boxes may be placed upon the central platform
and an attendant stationed there to see that those entering the car deposit fare.
The central entrance and exit also gives the passenger the additional protection of
the length of the car while reaching the nearest adjacent side-walk from
such exit.
The arrangement of the stairways at the centre of the car instead of at the ends
has obvious advantages. In this way the passengers ascend from or descend upon
a wide platform at the middle of the car at some distance from the wheels and under
the eye of an attendant stationed upon the platform. The stairways are also much
less unsightly when placed at the middle than at the ends of the car, and of course,
the dispensing with the end platforms and the utilization of the space heretofore
occupied by them for seating space not only increases the seating capacity of the
car, but at the same time it affords the passengers in either of the sections an
unobstructed view through the end of such section.
It is obvious that many of the structural features which have been herein-
described may be somewhat modified and that some may be dispensed with in a car
where others are employed.
I do not limit my invention therefore to the precise details of construction nor
combination of parts described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
First. A street-car divided transversely below the roof line into two com-
partments, and a central passage or vestibule between said compartments, a stairway
or stairways rising from the floor of said vestibule midway between its ends and
providing separated or divided entrances on one or both sides of the car.
Second. A street railway car having a central vestibule divided entrances through
the side walls to such vestibule, seating compartments in the ends of the car com-
municating with the vestibule, and a continuous roof structure covering the
compartments and a portion of the vestibule, substantially as described.
Third. In a street railway car, the combination with a central vestibule, of
compartments on opposite sides of said vestibule and communicating therewith
outside or upper deck seats, and two stairways rising from the floor of said vestibule
on opposite sides of the longitudinal centre thereof and having diverging flights of
steps landing near the margins of the roof.
Fourth. In a street railway car, the combination, with a central vestibule, of
seating compartments on opposite sides thereof and divided therefrom by transverse
partitions, doors in said partitions, and divided entrances to said vestibule,
substantially as described.
Fifth. A street railway car divided transversely into two compartments occupying
the ends of the car, a vestibule or passage from which access is had to said
compartments, divided entrances through one or both sides of the car to said
vestibule, seats arranged longitudinally upon the roof and facing outwardly with
passages along the margins of the roof and providing foot room for the roof seats
and stairways leading from the vestibule and landing at the ends of said passages,
substantially as described.
Sixth. A street railway car having a central vestibule or passage, entrances
through the side walls of the car and seating compartments communicating with said
vestibule and a cab for the driver located at the extreme end of the car, substantially
as described.
Seventh. The combination with the entrance platform of a passenger car, of a

page_text: collapsible gate pivoted at one side of the entrance and adapted to be extended
whereby to form a barrier and to be turned on its pivot whereby it may be moved
out of way, substantially as described.
Eighth. A street railway car having seating compartments in its ends below the
roof line, 'a central vestibule communicating with said compartments, a continuous
roof structure narrowed over the vestibule, stairways rising from the vestibule
at each side of the narrowed portion of the roof and roof seats substantially as
described.
Ninth. A street railway car having seating compartments in its ends below the
roof line and seats arranged upon the roof, a central vestibule communicating with
said end compartments, also with the roof seats by stair-ways landing at the margins
of the roof and' a' continuous roof narrowed over. the 'vestibule, the roof timbers
being arched over the stairways, substantially as described.
Tenth. A street railway car having seating compartments in its ends below the
roof line and roof seats, a central vestibule and having long steps at the base
divided above mid-height into two diverging flights and the last of said long steps
providing a platform whereon passengers may cross from one end of the car roof to
the other, substantially as described.
Dated this 20th dow of MoL 1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.