IMPROVE- MENTS IN FIREPROOF RAILWAY VANS, TRUCKS, AND CARRIAGES, AND IN FIRE- PROOF CASES FOR THE RECEPTION OF GOODS' OR MERCHANDIZE TO BE CONVEYED BY RAILWAY
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel West, of Egremont Place, Euston Road, in
the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FIREPROOF RAILWAY VANS, TRUCKS, AND CARRIAGES, AND IN FIRE-
PROOF CASES FOR THE RECEPTION OF GOODS' OR MERCHANDIZE TO BE CONVEYED
BY RAILWAY."
Sealed the 30th September 1864, and dated the 13th May 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel West at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th May
1864.
I, DANIEL WEST, of Egremont Place, Euston Road, in the County of
5 Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIREPROOP RAILWAY VANS, TRUCKS, AND CARRIAGES, AND
IN FIREPROOF CASES FOR THE RECEPTION OF GOODS OR MERCHANDIZE TO BE CON-
VEYED BY RAILWAY," to be as follows:-.
This Invention relates to the construction of vans, trucks, or carriages from
sheet or plate iron, copper, zinc, or other metal of thin substance for lightness
and also of metal cases for containing goods or merchandise to be transported
on railways so as to secure the same from accident by fire. Upon the usual

page_text: wheels and frame of the van, truck, or carriage I construct a strong flooring o
plank, to be covered when needful with sheets of any metal as above named
or the flooring might be made altogether of metal of suitable substance
Adopting any convenient length, breadth, and height for the body I form the
sides, ends, and top of the van, truck, or carriage to contain the goods o
merchandize, making the same of sheet or plate iron, copper, zinc, or other
metal, which might be corrugated or flat, and strengthened at the edges and
at intervals with bars or ribs of angle or other shaped iron, so that the whole
might be rivetted, screwed, or otherwise fastened together. The sides and
ends of the body would generally be formed of panels or horizontal breadths
one above another to make the desired height, or vertical breadths side by side
to make the length of the body. The edges of these panels or breadths of
sheet or plate iron, copper, zinc, or other metal might be strengthened with
flanges or angle iron to be screwed, rivetted, or otherwise securely fastened.
These panels, horizontal breadths, or vertical breadths, would be made to be
screwed or fastened together at the four angles of the body and at their edges,
so that when separate they would be portable, and upon being conveyed to a
distant place they might be readily screwed or securely fastened together to
form the body. The roof or top of the body, likewise of metal as before
named, might be made to open in several portions or breadths removable at
pleasure and provided with fastenings to secure them when closed. This
would admit of the goods or merchandize being put in, and when necessary
trodden compactly down if not previously formed into bales. Cross tie bars
or stays of iron within would sustain the pressure upon the sides of the body.
Openings with doors or shutters might be made at the sides or ends of the
body to be securely closed and fastened when the body is filled. The body of
the van, truck, or carriage might be constructed of sheet or plate iron, copper,
zinc, or other metal, screwed, rivetted; or fastened to an internal or external
frame or frames of iron or wood, or partly of iron and partly of wood, but I
prefer the before-described mode of construction...
In the construction of fire-proof cases I adopt any convenient form suitable
for the reception of the goods or merchandize intended to be transmitted from
place to place. Thus I may form them square or cylindrical, but in all
instances I propose to adopt such proportions as will allow of their packing
without waste, of room in the carriage intended. to receive them. They will be
made of sheet or plate iron, copper,, zinc, or other metal, and of such strength
by the use of stays, angle iron, or other support (when the metal employed is not
sufficiently-stiff) to allow of the goods or merchandize contained therein; to be

page_text: subjected to compression by the force of levers, hydraulic or screw power, or
any other mechanical force, whenever it may be desirable to reduce the bulk
of the goods, such as cotton, wool, hemp, or other elastic merchandize, to a
smaller bulk for conveyance by railway. The top and bottom of the cylindrical
or other cases should be made of strength to sustain the expansion of the
goods within, and screw bolts or other suitable fastenings would hold the whole
together when full. According to the different sizes of these cylindrical, square,
or other shaped cases, several or a pumber of them would contain the full and
proper load in tons for a van, truck, or carriage, the dimensions of which might
be larger or smaller to suit particuliar convenience. The cases being filled
with goods previously to their being loaded for conveyance may be securely
fastened upon the floor of the van, truck, or carriage to be unloaded at the
place of delivery.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Daniel West in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th November 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
WEST, of Egremont Place, Euston Road, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the. Thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Daniel West, Her special license that I, the said Daniel West, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns,.or such others as I, the said Daniel West, my
executors, administrators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS. IN FIREPROOF RAILWAY VANS,
TRUCKS, AND CARRIAGES, AND IN FIREPROOF CASES FOR THE RECEPTION OF GOODS
OR MERCHANDIZE TO BE CONVEYED BY RAILWAY," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Daniel West, by an instrument in writing, under
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and. in what manner the same was to be performed,

page_text: 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Daniel West, do hereby declare the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
--
:
The object of this Invention is to provide a safe means of conveyance upon
railways for combustible goods or merchandize. To this end I construct
closed vans or carriages of sheet or plate iron, copper, zinc, or other metal
sufficiently thin to secure lightness, in which vehicles the goods may be readily
packed and from which they may as readily be discharged. I also construct
fireproof metal cases for containing goods or merchandize to be transported
on railways and fit them upon railway trucks provided to receive them, and by
this means secure the goods from accident by fire. Upon the usual carriage
frame of a railway van or truck I construct a strong flooring of planks, to be
covered when needful with sheets of any metal as above named, or the flooring
might be made altogether of metal of suitable substance and adopting any
convenient length, breadth, and height for the body.
I form the sides, ends, and top of the van, truck, or carriage to contain
the goods or merchandize in the manner shewn in the accompanying Drawing,
in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of my improved fireproof
van, and Fig. 2 is an end elevation partly in section.
a, a, are plates of sheet iron, copper, zinc, or other metal (which may be
corrugated instead of flat to give increased strength to the structure if thought
desirable) forming the sides and ends of the van. These plates are connected
together by being rivetted at their edges to vertical and transverse bars of iron
b, b, and at the angles angle bar iron c, c, is employed for connecting by
means of rivets the sides and ends together and to the frame or floor d of the
van. For convenience the sides and ends of the van may be composed or
consist of detachable panels or pieces, which may be fastened together at the
four angles of the body and at their edges by bolts and nuts, so that when
separate they would lie in small compass, and upon being conveyed to a
distant place might be readily fastened together to form the body. The roof
or top of the van I form of curved metal plates è, e, the edges of which overlap
the one the otlier, as shewn at Fig. 1: The ends of these plates I secure
by bolts and nuts to longitudinal angle iron bars f, and the end plates e*, e*,

page_text: I further secure by bolting them to a curved angle iron rib g affixed to the
ends of the van at the upper edge thereof. This arrangement admits of
the roof being opened by the removal of sections of the covering plates for the
admission of the goods which may require, as in the case of cotton, hemp, or
other fibre not previously formed into bales; to be packed tightly to be
trampled into a compact mass. Internal stays or rods of iron from side
to side would sustain the expansive pressure from within caused by treading
the goods compactly down. In the sides of the van I provide hinged doors
h, h, or it may be sliding doors or shutters, which are to be securely closed
and fastened when the van is laden, and may be used for removing the goods
when they have arrived at their destination.
Fig. 3 shews in side elevation and Fig. 4.in end view a truck fitted with a
series of fireproof cases according to the second part of my Invention. The
cases may be of any convenient form suitable for the reception of the goods
or merchandize intended to be transmitted from place to place. In the
Drawing I have shewn them as made cylindrical and of sheet iron or other
metal rivetted together. At the upper end of these cases i, i, are lugs i*
which project through slots cut in metal covers k, and bars / passed through
the lugs serve to secure the covers in their places. When it is intended to
subject the merchandize that is to be packed in the cases to compression by
the force of levers, hydraulic or screw power, or any other mechanical force
for the purposes of reducing the bulk of such merchandize, such as cotton,
wool, hemp, or other fibre, the top, bottom, and sides of the cylindrical or
other cases should be made of strength to sustain the expansion of the goods
within. According to the different sizes of these cylindrical, square, or other
shaped cases, a given number of them would contain the full and proper load in
tons for a van, truck, or carriage, the dimensions of which might be larger or
smaller to suit particular convenience. The cases being filled with goods
previously to their being loaded for conveyance, are to be placed on the floor
of the van, truck, or carriage, and by means of a protecting chain m supported
by standards n from the carriage frame, the cases will be maintained in
position during their transit. Cleats can be fixed on the floor to prevent the
cases from moving.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
Fireproof Railway Vaus, Trucks, and Carriages, and in Fireproof Cases for
the Reception of Goods or Merchandize to be Conveyed by Railway," and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim, constructing

page_text: fireproof railway vans, trucks, and carriages, and cases for the reception of
goods. or merchandize in the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel West, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
DANIEL KEMP WEST,
Civil Engineer,
2, Euston Road, N. W.
DANIEL WEST. (L.S.)