IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER CARRIAGES TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVEMENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fowler, junior, of Cornhill, in the City of
London, and Robert Burton, of Kingsland Road, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND
ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER CARRIAGES TO FACILITATE THEIR
MOVEMENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES."
Sealed the 25th February 1859, and dated the 27th August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fowler and Robert
Burton, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 27th August 1858.
We, JOHN FOWLER, junior, of Cornhill, in the City of London, and ROBERT
BURTON, of Kingsland Road, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND
ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER CARRIAGES, TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVE-
MENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the construction and
arrangement of locomotive and other carriages to facilitate their movements
on common roads and other surfaces. For this purpose the axle (or it may
be axles) of the carriage is supported at its ends by frames, and these are
supported on wheels which run upon rails laid by the carriage in its progress,
as will be herein-after explained. Each frame is furnished with two bearing
wheels, one placed directly behind the other, so that both of the wheels on one
side of the carriage run on one rail, and both of the wheels on the other sido

page_text: on another rail. The wheels have flanges on both sides of the tyre, and an
endless chain of short sleepers or bearers, each having a length of rail bolted
longitudinally to it, passes round each pair of wheels; and in order to prevent
the endless chain from sagging in between the wheels and to move the chain,
it is preferred to employ a small supporting pulley; and to aid in regular
laying of the rails in front of the bearing wheels, one of these has a toothed
wheel formed on its side, or mounted on its axis, which gears with another
toothed wheel on the axis of the pulley which supports the chain, as before
mentioned, so that this pulley is driven at a surface speed equal to the speed
at which the carriage is travelling. The turning of the carriage is facilitated
by mounting the bearing wheels in the frames in such a manner as to allow of
their traversing a distance sideways, or in the direction of their axes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Fowler, junior, and Robert Burton in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JoHN
FOWLER, jun, of Cornhill, in the City of London, and ROBERT BURTON, of
Kingsland Road, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and, fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said John Fowler and Robert Burton, Her special licence that we,
the said John Fowler and Robert Burton, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said John Fowler and Robert Burton, our
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 THE CONSTRUCTION AND
ARRANGEMENT OF LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER CARRIAGES TO FACILITATE THEIR MOVE-
MENT ON COMMON ROADS AND OTHER SURFACES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said John Fowler and Robert Burton, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same was to be performed, 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 Robert Burton, on behalf of myself
and the said John Fowler, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the construction and
arrangement of locomotive and other carriages, to facilitate their movement on
common roads and other surfaces. For this purpose the axle (or it may be
axles) of the carriage is supported at its ends by frames, and these are
supported on wheels which run upon rails laid by the carriage in its progress,
as will be herein-after explained. Each frame is furnished with two bearing
wheels, one placed directly behind the other, so that both of the wheels on
one side of the carriage run on one rail, and both of the wheels on the other
side on another rail. The wheels have flanges on both sides of the tyre, and
an endless chain of short sleepers or bearers, each having a length of rail
bolted longitudinally to it, passes round each pair of wheels; and in order to
prevent the endless chain from sagging in between the wheels, and to move
the chain, it is preferred to employ a small supporting pulley, and to aid in
regular laying of the rails in front of the bearing wheels; one of these has a
toothed wheel formed on its side, or mounted on its axis, which gears with
another toothed wheel on the axis of the pulley which supports the chain, as
before mentioned, so that this pulley is driven at a surface speed equal to the
speed at which the carriage is travelling. The turning of the carriage is
facilitated by mounting the bearing wheels in the frames in such a manner as
to allow of their traversing a distance sideways, or in the direction of their
axes.
And in order that our said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 is a plan, of apparatus constructed
according to our Invention, and combined with a cart frame. a is the frame,
and 6, the axle mounted on it; the ends of this axle are carried in bearings c, c,
fixed on the frame d; this frame has other bearings e, e, mounted on it, which
carry short axes f,f, so arranged as to be capable of sliding longitudinally as

page_text: with facility; 9, 9, are flanged wheels mounted on these axes; h, h, are strong
iron loops fixed to the frame a and passing through holes in the frame d, so as
to hold the two frames parallel to each other, as seen in plan, and yet allow of
the frame d adjusting itself to the irregularity of the ground by turning around
the axle b; i, i, are sleepers or bearers of sheet iron, each having bolted to it
two pieces of angle iron i, , placed together in the manner shown, so as to form
a rail for the wheels g, g, to run on; these sleepers or bearers are connected
together into an endless chain by loops j, j, which are cach formed with a tail
or stem entering between the angle irons, and bolted to them; k is a pulley
mounted on a standard, and which supports the sleepers or bearers; in passing
over the wheels in the arrangement shown, it is simply a friction pulley, but
it may be driven, as will be presently described; 1, 1, are friction rollers, over
which the sleepers or bearers pass easily, and they descend in front of the
wheels, and ascend behind them. Figure 3 is a side view of a locomotive
engine having apparatus constructed according to our Invention combined
with it. On the axle ba drum is mounted, so that it can turn freely on it,
and it is driven by a chain or strap passing to a pulley on the shaft of the
engine. To one side of this drum a pinion is fixed, which gears with teeth
formed on the periphery of one of the wheels g, and these teeth also enter the
spaces between the projecting pins × fixed to the sides of the angle irons, i
and in this manner the engine propels itself forward; the laying out the
sleepers or bearers in front of the engine is facilitated by causing the pinion on
the axle b also to gear with teeth formed on the flange of the pulley k.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Burton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
ROBERT BURTON. (L.S.)