Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, ROBERT GORDON, of 74 Elgin Crescent Notting Hill London, England,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 expedite and economize the transportation of
freight in large quantities, without handling or breaking bulk, between points
located at considerable distances apart and over routes comprehending both inland
and ocean traverse, as, for example, from Chicago or Duluth in the United States,
to Liverpool, Manchester, or other inland cities of England. To this end my
invention, generally stated, consists in a method or system of transporting freight
by loading the same into tanks or compartments, conveying the same from an
inland port to the seaboard, either by water or on a ship railway, or partially by
both, then connecting said tanks to a sectional sea going vessel or ocean carrier,
transporting them thereby to a transoceanic port, and upon their arrival thereat
detaching them from the ocean carrier, to be either unloaded at the port of arrival
or further transported, by inland navigation or ship railway, to an inland port of
discharge. My invention further consists in certain novel devices and combina-
tions, including a sectional vessel suited for ocean service, a freight tank adapted
to be connected detachably thereto, and a sectional vessel adapted for the trans-
portation of said freight tank on inland waters. The improvements claimed are
hereinafter fully set forth.
In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1, is a vertical longitudinal section
through a sectional seagoing vessel or ocean carrier adapted to the practice of
my invention; Fig. 2, a horizontal longitudinal section through the same; Fig. 3,
a transverse section through the stern section of the same; Fig. 4, a similar section
through one of the freight tanks or load compartments; Fig. 5, a view in perspec-
tive of a freight tank, detached, and; Fig. 6, a longitudinal section through an
inland carrier or vessel designed for inland transportation under my invention.
In the practice of my invention, I provide what I term an ocean carrier, the
same being a large and powerful sectional steam vessel, constructed in accordance
with the most approved engineering principles and practice as a beam or girder,
having an upper chord or trussed framing 1, of sufficient strength to sustain all
probable strains, an auxiliary or supplemental lower chord 2, serving to retain the
Cn

page_text: bow and stern sections 3, 4, of the vessel, in proper relation when the freight tanks
or midship sections 5, are removed, and a lower chord composed of the bow and
stern sections 3, 4, and a series of removable parallel ended freight tanks or compart-
ments 5, adapted to be fitted between the bow and stern sections and to be secured
thereto and to each other by suitable connections or couplings. When so connected,
the entire structure constitutes a beam or girder, the bow and stern sections and
intermediate freight tanks forming the lower chord, the auxiliary lower chord
connecting the bow and stern sections being the promenade or working deck of the
vessel, and the upper chord supporting the necessary strains. The upper and lower
chord systems are connected or built up by a suitable truss, so designed as to secure
a proper distribution of strains throughout the structure.
The constructive details of the ocean carrier may be varied indefinitely as to
design and arrangement, but I deem it essential that the weight of the structure,
with the engines, boilers, and other accessories, should be distributed, as equally as
- may be, between the bow and stern sections. The bow sections may be caused to
move longitudinally upon the girder, so as to afford suflicient space for the insertion
and removal of the midship freight tanks 5, or an excess of room may be left
between the bow and stern sections beyond that requisite for the accommodation
of the freight tanks, into which coal bunker sections, indicated by dotted lines 6,
in Fig. 2, may be inserted and secured to the adjacent bow and stern sections, air
tight passages being thereafter opened through these into the fire rooms. In lieu
of keelsons of the ordinary construction, heavy bridge bars or beams 7, may be
introduced longitudinally into the several sections, and may be connected either by
suitable automatic couplings, or may be coupled by hand, access being, afforded
through wells or passages 8, into which air under pressure may be forced to displace
the water, during the connection and disconnection of the sections. After being
connected through the keelson bars, the entire structure is to be subjected to strong
tension, so that all the, several sections shall be rigidly connected into a single
mass, and to more fully attain this end; bolts are passed through the bulkheads and
frames of the contiguous transverse faces of the freight tanks and bow and stern
sections.
The corresponding faces of the several sections are of similar forin and pattern,
so that any one freight tank section may be fitted into the space vacated by the
withdrawal of any other section. A system of overhead or travelling cranes 9, is
to be adapted to traverse the auxiliary lower chord or promenade deck of the vessel
in order to hold and handle the freight tanks and place them in their proper
relative positions. The tops of the freight tanks constitute, when brought together,
the main deck of the vessel, and upon this deck and on the bow and stern
sections of the vessel, are fixed substantial hinge connections 10, composed of
strong eyes provided with removable coupling pins, which, when in place, will
admit of a limited degree of movement of the freight tanks in adjusting their
positions for the connection of the keelson bars. After having been brought into
place, and secured to each other and to the end sections of the vessel, the freight
tanks are to be rigidly connected to the auxiliary upper chord of the vessel by a
system of tension rods and struts 11...
The motive power of the ocean carrier consists of engines 12, located in the
stern section and driving 'one or more screw propellers 13, the engines being
supplied with steam by boilers 14, located both in the bow and stern sections, in
order to effect as uniformi a distribution of weight as prácticable. Duplicate sets
of engines and twin screws are preferably employed, in order to ensure safety in
the event of breakage or derangement of machinery at sea, and masts and rigging
are dispensed with. In practice, I contemplate the employment of from three to
ten freight tanks with each ocean carrier, the steam power of which shall be
adequate to a moderate speed of say from eight to twelve knots per hour.
The complement of loaded freight tanks being secured in position in an ocean
carrier as above specified, the vessel steams with them over its transoceanic route,
and, where practicable, up an inland water course as far as the same is navigable.

page_text: At the head of navigation, the freight tanks are detached and removed and replaced
by other loaded tanks, with which the ocean carrier makes its return voyage. The
arriving freight tanks are then run upon cradles or trucks and carried over a ship
railway to its terminus, at a point located upon a line of inland navigation, as
a port on Lake Erie in the United States or Canada, from which their further
transportation is effected by an inland carrier, as presently to be described.. The
construction of the ship railway employed, and its appliances need not be herein at
length set forth, as the same do not, per se, constitute part of my present invention
and are moreover, fully detailed in Letters Patent of the United States granted to
Captain James B. Eads and others, for structures relating to the transportation
of vessels upon railways. The advantages of a ship railway are more readily
attainable under my invention than as heretofore proposed, from the fact that only
the freight carrying portion of the vessel requires to be transported and the con-
struction of freight tanks in separate sections which I have devised, correspondingly
facilitates the loading and hauling of the same.
Upon the arrival of the freight tanks at the terminus of the ship railway, they
are transferred to a lake, river, or canal, and transported over the same to their
destination by what I term an inland carrier, which consists of a sectional vessel,
having a bow section 15, and a stern section 16, which may be either connected or
separate one from the other, and which correspond at their adjacent ends in form
and dimensions with the freight tanks before specified, so that when connected
thereto they will fit accurately, and, in combination therewith, constitute a
navigable vessel The bow and stern sections are of comparatively short length,
and the stern section is provided with boilers, engines, and one or more screw
propellers, the propelling power being sufficient to move the vessel at a moderate
speed, say from eight. to ten knots per hour over inland waters. Said sections are
likewise provided with suitable apparatus, as for example a system of water ballast
compartments 17, and pumps 18, for lifting the freight tanks above their normal or
sea going draft of water, so that the entire vessel, including the attached freight
tanks, may be floated and navigated on the draft permitted by the rivers or lakes
which it is designed to traverse.
The ocean
In the case of transportation from Liverpool to Lake Superior ports by way of
the St. Lawrence' river, the canal system now in course of completion, which will be
provided with locks 265 x 45 x 14 feet in dimensions, will afford passage for
vessels 250 feet in length, 40 feet beam, and 14 feet draft of water.
carrier will, in such service, transport the freight tanks to Montreal, and make the
return voyage with other loaded tanks received at that port, and the arriving freight
tanks will be transported by the inland carrier through the canals, lakes and rivers,
to the port of destination, a ship railway not being employed. The tanks may be
similarly conveyed by an inland carrier from New Orleans to a point at the head of
navigation on the Mississippi, and if ship railways be built from Liverpool inland,
as projected, the freight tanks may be carried therefrom to inland towns and there
discharged and reloaded.
Under my invention, the portions of the ocean carrier containing the propelling
apparatus may be maintained continuously in service, and delay in the loading and
unloading of freight being avoided by the provision of a sufficient number of freight
tanks at the ends of the route, the transportation of freight may be effected with a
material economy and increased expedition, relatively to the systems heretofore in
use which involve handling and breaking bulk between terminal points.
It will be obvious that the details of construction of the occan and inland
carriers and freight tanks employed may be varied in sundry particulars without
departing from the spirit of my invention, and beyond the recital of the
embodiment of the general features of construction and capabilities hereinbefore
specified as characteristic of the vessels employed in the operation of my invention,
it will not be necessary to herein fully and at length set forth the specific and
detailed construction thereof, which is a matter within the ordinary skill and
ability of those familiar with the art of naval construction. Improvements devised

page_text: by me in the construction of vessels of such character will, moreover, constitute the
subject matter of subsequent applications for Letters Patent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of any said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The improvement in the method of transporting freight which consists in
loading the same into floating tanks or compartments, connecting said tanks to a
sectional ocean going vessel provided with propelling power, as a part of the hull of
said vessel, transporting said tanks by said vessel to a transoceanic port, detaching
said tanks from said vessel, and transporting them, by propelling power independent
of said vessel, to an inland point of discharge, substantially as set forth.
2. The improvement in the method of transporting freight which consists in
loading the same into floating tanks or compartments, connecting said tanks to a
sectional ocean going vessel provided with propelling power, as a part of the hull of
said vessel, transporting said tanks by said vessel to a transoceanic port, detaching
said tanks from said vessel and connecting them to an inland going vessel as a part
of the hull thereof, and transporting them by said inland going vessel to an inland
port of discharge, substantially as set forth.
3. The improvement in the method of transporting freight which consists in
loading the same into floating tanks or compartiments, connecting said tanks to a
sectional ocean going vessel provided with propelling power, as a part of the hull of
said vessel, transporting said tanks by said vessel to a transoceanic port, detaching
said tanks from said vessel and placing them upon trucks or carriages on a ship
railway and transporting them over said railway to an inland port, substantially
as set forth.
4. The combination with an ocean going steam vessel having a bow and a stern
section connected at a distance one from the other by an upper chord or framing, of
one or more freight tanks or compartments of corresponding immersed transverse
section with the adjacent portions of the bow and stern sections of the vessel and
connected removably thereto, substantially as set forth.
5. The combination of one or more floating freight tanks or compartments as
described, and an inland going vessel provided with propelling mechanism and
having a bow and a stern section of corresponding immersed transverse section at
their adjacent ends with said freight tanks or compartments, substantially as
set forth.
6. The combination of a freight tank or compartment, a sectional inland going
vessel, and lifting mechanism as described, located upon said vessel and adapted to
elevate the freight tank when connected thereto to a draft of water lighter than its
normal or sea going draft when loaded, substantially as set forth.
7. In a sea going vessel for the transportation of freight in removable floating
tanks, the combination of a bow section, a stern section, an upper chord or frame
and a supplemental lower chord, said chords connecting the bow and stern sections
above the water line and at such distance apart as to admit of the insertion and
connection of one or more freight tanks or compartments, substantially as set forth.
Патра This Twenty Seventh day O AUQUSE A D) 1XX
Dated this Twenty Seventh (Inv of AuœUSE A D LXX
Witnesses:
W. DE M. MARLER.
WILLIAM MCIJUNAN.
ROBERT GORDON.
Carpmael & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.