A METHOD OR METHODS OF CONVEYING COALS AND OTHER MINERALS IN THE WORKINGS OF MINES OR BELOW GROUND, AND OF RETURNING THE EMPTY VESSELS AND CARRIAGES SO AS TO SAVE MUCH LABOUR AND EXPENCE
Year: 1808

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CHAPMAN, of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the forty-eighth year of
His reign, did give and grant unto mo, the said William Chapman, His
especial licence that I, the said William Chapman, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Chapman, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A METHOD OR METHODS OF
CONVEYING COALS AND OTHER MINERALS IN THE WORKINGS OF MINES OR BELOW
GROUND, AND OF RETURNING THE EMPTY VESSELS AND CARRIAGES SO AS TO SAVE
MUCH LABOUR AND EXPENCE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso obliging me, the said William Chapman, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within four calendar

page_text: months next after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto bad, will more fully and at largo
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Chapman, do hereby describe the nature of my said Invention to
be as follows, namely:-
That it consists in different methods of conveying coals from the rooms,
chambers, or boards from whence they are wrought down to the mother gate,
tram way, or subterraneous main road (by whatever denomination it may be
called), which leads to the pit or other outlet for the coals, and that it is only
applicable where there is sufficient declivity for a tram or wheel carriage to
run by its own gravitation upon a railroad in the headway or passage which
leads past the ends of the rooms where the coals are wrought down to the
main way, and that a further peculiarity of it is that it is applicable with
equal conveniency to sending of coals down from the ends of any and every
individual chamber upon the headway or passage in which it is used, and of
returning the empty vessels, buckets, or tubs, the means of sending down coals
or other minerals uniformly from any single determinate station, and from it
only by any method whatever, being not included in this Invention.
The Drawing Fig. I. exhibits a Plan of a part of a coal mine, in which the
part unwrought is coloured black, and the declivity of the passages is shown
by the direction of an arrow.
Figure II. shews in elevation the declivity of the seam in one of the passages
leading to the main way.
a, a, in both Figures, are the chambers from which the coals are wrought
and brought to the passage which leads to the main way, down to which way
they are usually taken by one or more boys to cach basket or tub, who like-
wise convey an empty one back; or where there is height sufficient it is
frequently done by horses; in both which cases, if the declivity be gentle, small
whcel carriages are generally used, which afterwards go forwards along the
main way, but if the declivity be steep sledges are made use of, which have
also a quantum of descent upon which they are not applicable because of their
pressing forward upon the horses or boys and being difficult to return. After
this explanation the description of my method or methods will be more
easily understood; they admit of diversity, but the following means of obtain-3
ing the end will explain the way in which it may be easily effected:-At the
head of the inclined passage is placed a barrel with a turn of rope, or a
grooved wheel round which a rope is passed, leading down both sides of the
inclined passage and across the main way, either over or under it, so as not to

page_text: interrupt the general intercourse on this way, on the downward side of which,
in continuation of the inclined passage, the rope passes through a pulley or
sheave at the head of a tram or wheel carriage t resting on a railroad, and
loaded sufficiently to keep the rope always tight, which, in this instance, has
its ends spliced together, and becomes an endless rope. On the rope barrel or
grooved wheel a brake wheel is necessary, or any other means, to suffer the
rope to move or to stop it as occasion may require.
On the inclined passage
a double railway should be laid, namely, on the side furthest from the openings
into the chambers of the mine there should be a continuous railroad, on which
the tram or wheel carriage t, laden with a due counterballance, travels up and
down, and on the side next the openings into the chambers a railway should
be laid with openings on that side to admit the tram or wheel carriage to be
put on and taken off the way, or prepared in any manner to answer that end.
The counterballance carriage C, which in its usual state of rest remains at the
foot of it's railway, is, including its own weight, to be laden with a weight.
equal to that of a light tram and basket, and half the weight of its coals, and
is attached by a short line to the endless rope. Before using this apparatus.
the rope wheel or barrel should bo braked with a weight or force sufficient.
to retain any loaden coal train in its place notwithstanding its preponderancy..
Things being thus prepared, and a signal or other notice given, the brakes-
man (who will be placed most conveniently at the lower end of the inclined
passage) cases or takes off the pressure on the brake (by means of a com-
municating rope), and suffers the loaden carriage to descend with any con-
venient speed to the foot of the inclined passage, when the brake is again.
pressed tight, and, according to circumstances, the coals are either removed to
another carriage, or the coals and carriage disengaged from the endless rope,.
and their place supplied by another carriage and an empty basket, which on
being attached to the endless rope, and the brake raised, will, by the return of
the counterballance to its first position, ascend to the same place the loaden
carriage come from, from which it is of course to be taken away into the
chamber and another loaden carriage affixed to the rope at any place where it
may be ready; and the same process goes forward as before if deemed ex-
pedient, which it will be where much work is going forward. Two or more
loaden carriages, as shewn in Fig. III. (which exhibits the foot of the inclined.
passage and its communication with the main way), may be sent down at the.
same time from the same chamber, in which case the counterballance carriage,
must be proportionably heavier, namely, equal to the weight of the light.
carriages and baskets, and half the weight of their coals. The counter-
ballance carriage remains attached to the endless rope by a line-from its

page_text: upper end, as already described, and the other carriages which are taken off
may be fastened by any simple means, one of which is, by a piece of platted
rope (tapered near its end) passed round the endless rope, with one or two
turns under the part of it next the carriage, and after passing of it obliquely
upwards in the cantlines of the rope, the tapered end may be secured by a
half hitch, namely, by passing the end of the platted rope under the preceding
turn of it and drawing it tight. In cases where the chambers are wrought on
both sides of the inclined passage, the counterballance carriage may be
dispensed with, as the coal carriages may go alternately down one side and up
the other, and even when working all on one side, but in the latter instance
the carriages would be alternately under the necessity of being put either
over or under the reciprocating rope, namely, of crossing the parallel road,
and in the former case the light carriages cannot, without the same incon-
venience, go back to the place which the loaden carriages drawing them up
are descending from. It is also obvious that by causing the rope to go always
the same way in place of reciprocating, that laden carriages may be put on any
where and light carriages taken off; but besides the inconvenience of more
attention, and of frequently putting the carriages across the parallel way, it will
generally be found deficient in expidition from those causes. To attain the
greatest expidition, and prevent coals being sent off from two or more
chambers at the same time, it will be expedient to have men appropriated to
the purpose of putting on and taking off the carriages at the entrance of the
chambers. For instance, if a single carriage be sent down two men will
answer the purpose, one of which may be putting on a loaden carriage at
the end of any one chamber, while the other is taking off the light one at the
end of the chamber which the preceding one left.
EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES.
Fig. 1. a, a, the rooms or chambers from which the coals are 'taken..
c, the counterballance carriage. t, the tightening carriage. s, the wheel
carriage, with its basket in the position of either commencing to leave the
room or chamber or having returned to it, both of which will be the same, as-
the counterballance carriage, after ascending to let a loaden basket down to
the main way, will, when taking up the light one, return to its original position
and no further, because it should be retarded there by a stop or sudden ascent
of the way. Z, the rope wheel at the head of the inclined passage, is here
shewn in a horizontal position, and is grooved to prevent the rope from
slipping. The rope is shewn by a red line, and 9, 9, are two guide rollers to'
direct it over the middle of each way. The remainder of the guide rollers or

page_text: sheaves are sufficient shewn on this and the subsequent Figure II. repre-
senting the elevation of the inclined passage, where the letters of reference are
the same, with the addition of the following, namely, b, the. brake wheel, upon
the same axis with the rope wheel, or otherwise connected with it. The
brake, pressing upon this wheel, with its necessary apparatus, is so well known
to all mechanics as to render any further explanation superfluous; and I have
only to observe that the whole apparatus of brake, brake wheel, and rope
wheel may be constructed on a sledgo so as to be easily moved from one
inclined passage to another whenever required.
Fig. III. is a Plan of the foot of the inclined passage, and its communi-
cation with the railway, in the former of which two loaden carriages or two
light ones are supposed to pass downwards or upwards at a time. s, &, shew
the loaden carriage arrived at the place where they are to be disengaged from
the endless or alternating rope; and s, s, in dotted lines, shew the light
carriages on a branch railway ready to be attached to the endless or alter-
nating rope, and to go up to the entrance of the room from whence the loaden
carriage came. x, x, are loaden carriages which have come down the inclined
passage and been set aside until the number shall have accumulated to what
is usually drawn by one horse. y, y, in dotted lines, shew light carriages
standing ready to be taken up the inclined passage; by these means the main
way is left open for communication with other parts.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Chapman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eight.
Signed, sealed, and delivered (being first
duly stamped) in the presence of
In Chancery.
EDW W. CHAPMAN.
GEO. AYRE.
George Ayre, of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gontle-
man, maketh oath and saith, that William Chapman, of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne aforesaid, Civil Engineer, did duly sign, seal, and, as his act and deed,
deliver the Deed Poll hereto annexed in the presence of this Deponent and
Edward Walton Chapman, of the same place, Gentleman, and saith, that the
name or characters "Will Chapman," thereto set or subscribed as the party
executing the same, is of the proper handwriting of the said William Chapman,
and that the names or characters "Edwd W. Chapman" and "Geo. Ayre,"

page_text: thereupon indorsed as the witnesses attesting the execution thereof, are of
the respective proper handswriting of the said Edward Walton Chapman and
him this Deponent.