AN IMPROVED RAILROAD, AND METHOD OF PROPELLING CARRIAGES THEREON BY MACHINERY, FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONVEYING PASSENGERS, LETTERS, INTELLIGENCE, PACKETS, OR OTHER GOODS WITH GREAT VELOCITY
Year: 1829

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MAXWELL
DICK, of the Town Irvine, in the County of Ayr, North Britain, Bookseller
and Publisher, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-first day of May, in the tenth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Maxwell
Dick, His special licence, that I, the said Maxwell Dick, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Maxwell Dick, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from'
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of" AN IMPROVED RAILROAD,
AND METHOD OF PROPELLING CARRIAGES THEREON BY MACHINERY, FOR THE PURPOSE
OF CONVEYING PASSENGERS, LETTERS, INTELLIGENCE, PACKETS, OR OTHER GOODS WITH
GREAT VELOCITY;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging
me, the said Maxwell Dick, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar

page_text: months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference. being thereunto had, will more fully and
at large appear.
'
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Maxwell Dick, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in the erection of suspension lines of railway, by
means of which a velocity of communication by wheel carriages may be gained
hitherto unknown in the annals of commerce, in the erection of which sus-
pension railways there will require to be built or erected numerous columns,
pillars, or other supports, to be, of different heights and constructions, as
circumstances or the particular situation of the country may require, so as to
favor as much as possible a rising, falling, or..undulating surface, crossing of
rivers, mooses, or other obstacles, the whole intended to run from stage to
stage in direct lines, or verging as little as possible from them, it being quite
practicable to form the rail upon an angle of several degrees upon any five-
mile, stage,, in order to keep, clear of any house or other object that may
require.to be avoided, although at, the same time, the moro straight the line
be, the .better both for safety and velocity. The plan of my Invention, as
hereafter explained, and exhibited in the Drawings, admits of surmounting
every surface of country; whether the ling of road rises or falls much or little,
is.leyel or undulating, matters not. Any road upon which my Invention is to
be applied.: must, be divided, into stages, their distances to be determined
according.to.circumstances; five-miles stages, however, I would recommend as
the most convenient....But that in order that my Invention and the use of it
may be the better, understood, it may be necessary to state that there is already
in use Mr. Palmer's patent single suspension railways, upon which carriages
with two wheels.are. used, one, wheel placed before the other, and having two
receptacles for goods, which are suspended one on each side, and drawn by a
horse or horses on a path below. My Invention, however, differs entirely
from Mr. Palmer's, mine having four rails, as shown in the Drawing, two of
which are bearing and two as safety rails. Upon these safety rails the safety
wheels of the carriage only act, in the event. of; the carriage receiving any
sudden.impulse upwards, by means of which safety, rails and the- under wheels
coming in contact the upward motion is at once checked, and the carriage
proceeds forward at a velocity and with a safety beyond anything before gained

page_text: by wheel carriages upon any other, railroad. The columns, pillars, or other
supports upon which my railroad shall be erected may consist of, stone..and
lime, cast or wrought iron, or any other material that may be found to answer
the purpose. The distance betwixt each columin; pillar; or other support must
be regulated as experience upon a large scale can determino. In the mean-
time, however, I should suppose from"twenty to thirty yards, but much must
depend upon the height and strength of the pillars, the strength of the:rails,
and the weight or load to be borne by them. The tops of these columns,
pillars, or other supports to be surmounted with strong cast metal or wrought:
iron frames, upon which the rails are to be strongly secured; and through which
frames, as exhibited in the Drawings, the carriage" passes. These frames are
also furnished at top or bottom, just as the line of pull may be, whether rising
or falling, with vertical grooved friction wheels, into which wheels; from the
particular shape or curve in that part. of the frame, the drag line is always
directed. The rails being enclosed within the frames; also prevents any
possibility of the drag line being, by any sudden gust of wind or. otherwiso
thrown over the rail, which without-such. protection would be the case. The
dimensions, relative magnitudes, shapes, and other particulars; of which' frames
are capable of many 'variations; according to the kind of carriages and purposes
to be answered, and the circumstances under which the work is to be.
formed; but that the .said : frames and other particulars may, from 'their
descriptions, and explanations which I have given, and will in this my Specifi-
cation give, be determined with facility by any person of ordinary: skill and fit
to be intrusted with the execution thereof, I have. given 'three-Drawings of
them, varying in their shapes, according to the arrangements of their rails and
the form of the carriages to be used: therein, the principal of which I'hold;
however, to be the same; and all of my own Invention: The rails may biò
made of bolt; bar, wire, or other shaped iron; or. even ofrrope, or any, other
materials which may be found to answer the purpose; I, however, do=prefer
and recommend bolt iron, such as is commonly used in the manufacture of
chain cables, and-of-diameter suited to the strength required; and.in lengths
as long as possible; as the fewer the: joinings, the better: The joinings I
propose. should be screwed or welded-together, so that the whole may form
one uninterrupted-length of rail, and lest the screws should weaken the rail,
I would advise to add a strap of iron tor the inner part of the rail; so as to
make up the deficiency in point of strength; each line of rail I propose .to
be done in the same way, aud 'the whole fastened down securely in.their places
upon the frames, with pins, bolts, screws, or otherwise, the liends of whichi
per=

page_text: must be countersunk, or finished so as to render the whole top surface of the
rail smooth, and free of all opposition to the carriage wheels.
Plate first represents a plan or view of the rail of which I most approve,
whereon the carriage is suspended and passes right under the rails, they being
four in number, of an oblong arrangement, the two upper being the bearing and
the two under the safety rails. These rails are all kept parallel with each other
by means of braces or stays formed of iron, to which the rails are securely.
fastened at every three or four feet distant from each other. These braces or
stays may be varied in strength, pattern, or distance from each other, as may
be thought necessary. The carriage is furnished with deeply-grooved wheels,
which run upon the upper rails, and with flat surface safety wheels on the
under rails, as represented in plate 1st, Figure 1st. The method I propose
of dragging the carriage along the railway is by means of fixed or stationary
engines acting with drag lines or rope, which if the line of rail be double
would act in an endless round; but if a single line of railway, then the
engines shall be interchangeable and reciprocal, which method of drawing
carriages by means of rope or line is already well known.
But I add,
as an improvement to the present engine in use, the application of two
toothed wheels and pinions, by means of which toothed wheels and pinions a
velocity with light carriages is gained far exceeding anything before gained by
wheel carriages, a plan or sketch of which engine is given in Plate 1st, Figuro
9th, exhibiting hand cranks upon each axle, which with all light carriages is
intended to be wrought by manual power; but when heavy carriages are to be
used, the power of steam, horse, or other power may be added; Figure 1st
being the moving or starting power, round the wheel of which the line of
rope is taken two or three times, then passed down upon a large barrel wheel
(Figure 4th) intended to take up the whole line or rope, Figure 1st, or moving
power, being so constructed as to ungear from the engine when required to
pass out the line or rope in return; thus, by the alternately active and passive
the agency of two lines or ropes, are the powers of fixed engines made to act
in.opposite directions, thereby causing a road to be traversed both ways.
Figure 2, the velocity power; Figure 3d, the greatest velocity power.
.
Plate 1st. Figure IId represents a top frame with rails and braces; Figure
III. represents a top frame with vertical friction-grooved drag line wheel at top;
and Figure IV. the same, with friction wheel at bottom; Figure V., a vertical
section of Figure III..; and Figure VI., a vertical section of Figure IV.
Figure VII. represents a rail brace or stay. Figure VIII. represents a rail
brace with friction wheels, to be used when the rail ascends a hill.

page_text: Plate 2d. Figure 1st represents another form of top for the rails, and
Figure 2d, the form of brace or stay to be used with it; Figure 3d represents
another top, where two single rails only are to be used; and Figure 4th, a
brace or stay for the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Maxwell Dick, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.
Taken and acknowledged by Maxwell, Dick
(party hereto), at Irvine, the Seventeenth
day of November, Eighteen hundred and
twenty-nine, before me,.
MAXWELL (L.S.) DICK.
This is the Specification referred to by the Affidavit sworn to by William
Carpmael, the 21st day of November 1829, before me,
W. CARPMAEL.
SAM. C. Cox.
Edward Macquistan, of the Town of Irvine, and in the County of Ayr,
Gentleman, maketh oath and saith, that he is acquainted with Maxwell Dick,
of the Town of Irvin, Bookseller and Publisher, and that he, this Deponent,
was present and did see the said Maxwell Dick sign and seal the Specification
hereunto annexed, and that the seal and signature thereon are the seal and
signature of the said Maxwell Dick. And this Deponent further saith, that
he was also present when the said Maxwell Dick acknowledged the said Speci-
fication as the Specification of bis Patent which he desired to have inrolled.
And this Deponent further saith, that the signature thereon of William Gillies,
a Justice of the Peace of Irvine, & County aforesaid, is the signature of the
said William Gillies, it having been subscribed in the presence of this Depo-
nent, and at the time the said Maxwell Dick acknowledged the said Speci-
fination
Sworn at Irvine, this Seventeenth day of
November 1829, before me,
WILLIAM GILLIES. J. P.
EDWARD MACQUISTAN.

page_text: of the Town of Irvine, in the County of Ayr, North Britain. And this Depo-
nent further saith, that the signature on the Specification hereunto annexed is
the signature of the said Maxwell Dick. .
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the oath of William Carpmael the
Specification aforesaid was inrolled; word for word, as above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord One
.thousand eight hundred and twenty-nino.