Improvements in the Propulsion of Ships and other Vessels.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 16th June, 1893-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Propulsion of Ships and other Vessels.
I, HENRY DE MORGAN SNELL, of 53 New Broad Street, in the City of
London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
I construct propelling locomotives for ships, boats or barges in such a manner
that a locomotive can readily be removed from one vessel and rigidly attached to
another, so that while one ship, boat or barge is being loaded or unloaded the
locomotive may be used for propelling another which is ready to be moved, the
propelling locomotive being thus available for use with a number of different
vessels, such ships, boats or barges being of special construction or adapted and
fitted with special arrangements for securely attaching then to the locomotives.
1 employ two caissons at a distance apart from one another slightly more than
the width of one of the ships boats or barges to be attached to it and securely
connected together by a strong platform at some distance above the water level.
The depth of each caisson below the platform I make preferably slightly greater
than the depth of a barge.
Each caisson I provide with a propeller, preferably a screw propeller, driven by
engines working downwards on to the screw shaft, or the engines may be placed in
some other convenient position, the motion being communicated to the screw shaft
by means of gearing.
Boilers for supplying steam to the engines, bunkers for coal and stores and cabins
for the crew are disposed upon the platform.
When the locomotive is to be attached to any ship boat or barge, the caissons
and their platforms may he lifted on a pontoon so as to bring the platform above
the level of the top of the vessel to allow of this being drawn between the caissons
and under the platform.
When the ship, boat or barge has been drawn to its proper position between the
caissons the platform and caissons are lowered until the platform rests upon a
seating prepared for it on the top of the vessel and the locomotive is then secured
to the ship boat or barge by substantial fastenings.
For sea-going purposes the platform may also carry a central longitudinal
girder extending from it backwards and forwards to come above the central
longitudinal line of the ship, boat or barge and be secured to the vessel so as to
give sufficient longitudinal strength thereto if the vessel is not itself deep enough
to give the strength required.
In place of raising the caisson and connecting platform by a separate pontoon
when the locomotive is to be connected or disengaged the platform may be lifted
and lowered at these times to the extent required by pumping water out of or into
the caissons themselves.
Dated this 16th day of September 1892.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Propulsion of Ships and other Vessels.
I, HENRY DE MORGAN SNELL, of 53 New Broad Street, in the City of
London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
5 manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to enable the steam engines and propelling

page_text: mechanism used for propelling vessels to be detachable from the ship, boat or
barge to be propelled, in such a way that after a ship has been navigated from one
port to another by means of what I call the ship locomotive, the said ship
locomotive may be detached from the ship, boat or barge, which may then be left
at the port to discharge its cargo and reload, while the ship locomotive may be
attached to another ship, boat or barge and take it to its destination.
For these purposes I construct my ship locomotive of a platform which carries
steam boilers and propelling engines and which is to be placed across and to extend
beyond the sides of the ship or vessel that is to be propelled so as to give facility
for readily lifting or lowering the platform and for shifting it from one ship or
vessel to another. Preferably also I construct the platform with two caissons
descending from it one to come on either side of the ship and each caisson I arrange
to be propelled by a screw propeller at its stern. The caissons I also preferably
make deeper than the ships or vessels to be propelled so as to give greater facility
for lifting the platform as hereinafter described and also to better provide for a free
run of water to the propeller. When propellers of other kinds are used it is not
necessary to make the caissons deeper than the ship or vessel or even in some cases
except for the sake of giving stability to the ship it would not be necessary to use
them at all.
In the annexed drawings
Figure 1 shows a plan of a ship, boat or barge with a ship locomotive attached
to it, Figure 2 shows an elevation and Figure 3 a transverse section of the same.
In Figure 1, the ship, boat or barge, which I call the hull is marked with the
letter A. B B are the caissons each fitted with a screw propeller C on a propeller
shaft D. E is the platform carrying the boilers G and engines H which drive the
propeller shafts and also carrying coal bunkers I and cabins for the crew.
accommodation for officers and crew is conveniently arranged on the spaces K.
L is a girder for strengthening the ship locomotive and the ship, boat or barge
when necessary. This girder may be either of the lattice type shown in Figure 2
or may be an ordinary plate girder.
The
The caissons and platforms are formed of framework and sides of iron or steel
connected together so as to give the necessary rigidity to the whole structure both
when in position on the hull and also when resting upon the lifting pontoon by
which it is removed from one hull to another. The ship locomotive and hull when
connected are securely fastened together by substantial bolts M or by keys wedges
or other attachments instead of or in addition to such bolts.
The relative dimensions of the different parts such as would be suitable for one
application of the invention, are shewn in the drawings, for a light draught barge,
but these dimensions will vary according to the amount and kind of cargo intended
to be carried in the ship, boat or barge.
There may be one two or more boilers, the engines may be simple, compound,
triple or quadruple expansion. The screw propeller instead of being driven direct
from the engines as shewn in Figure 3 may be driven by means of gearing, the
engines being placed in any suitable position for this purpose.
The caissons may if desired be constructed with compartments and pumps for
filling the compartments with water or air-in this case they can be raised or lowered
in the water by pumping water into or out of them.
In order to move a ship locomotive from one hull to another I generally employ
a pontoon of construction somewhat similar to those employed for floating docks.
I bring the ship, boat or barge with the ship locomotive attached to it into position
over the pontoon. I then cause the pontoon to rise in the water by pumping water
out of it and when the locomotive rests upon the caissons I unfasten the bolts,
screws, wedges or other attachments by which the locomotive is fastened to the
ship, boat or barge.
I then continue to pump water out of the pontoon which will consequently rise
to a higher level, lifting the ship locomotive off the hull. I then draw the hull
clear of the ship locomotive by any of the ordinary methods of moving ships, boata

page_text: or barges in docks and harbours. I then in a similar manner bring another hull
into position under the platform of the ship locomotive and lower the pontoon till
the locomotive rests upon the hull. I then fasten the bolts, screws or wedges, I
then lower the pontoon a little more and remove the combined hull and locomotive
either by working the propellers or by any of the means usually employed for
moving ships in docks and harbours.
In place of employing a floating pontoon as above described for lifting and
lowering a ships locomotive to allow of its being detached from one hull and placed
on to another I may employ platforms that are lifted and lowered in other ways or
where there is a rise and fall of tide the bull with a locomotive upon it may at high
tide be brought between two fixed platforms so that when the tide goes down the
ships locomotive may rest upon and be supported by the platforms whilst the hull
descends with the tide and can be drawn away and another brought into its place.
When the caissons are constructed in compartments and fitted with pumps so that
by pumping water into or out of them they can be raised or lowered in the water
they can be detached from one hull and attached to another without the aid of any
further lifting or supporting appliance.
Parallel guide rails may be placed upon the hull and double flanged wheels upon
the locomotives. These wheels may be so fixed that they may be raised or lowered
by means of screws or hydraulic rams. When the hull is being brought up to or
removed from the ship locomotive the two may be guided into their proper relative
positions by means of the flanged wheels of the locomotive resting upon the guide
rails on the barge.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. The combination with a barge or vessel of boilers and propelling engines
carried by a platform which passes across the vessel and extends beyond both its
sides and readily detachable fastenings for connecting the platform and vessel
together so that when the propelling engines are not required for propelling one
vessel they can be placed onto and used for propelling another vessel.
2. The combination with a barge or vessel of two caissons one on either side a
platform connecting the two caissons passing across the vessel and carrying boilers
and propelling engines and readily detachable fastenings for connecting the platform
and vessel together.
3. The combination with a barge or vessel of two caissons one on either side
each fitted with a screw or other propeller, a platform connecting the two caissons
passing across the vessel and carrying boilers and engines for driving the screw
propellers and readily detachable fastenings for connecting the platform and vessel
together.
4. The combination with a barge or vessel of two caissons one on either side and
each of greater depth than the vessel, a platform connecting the two caissons
passing across the vessel and carrying boilers and propelling engines and readily
detachable fastenings for connecting the platform and vessel together.
Dated this 13th day of June 1893.
HENRY DE MORGAN SNELL.