IMPROVEMENTS IN BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, AQUEDUCTS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ERECTIONS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GAETAN
BONELLI, of Milan, Engineer, at present residing in the New Road, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Third day
of November, One thousand eight hundred and forty-six, in the tenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Gaetan Bonelli, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Gaetan Bonelli; my
exors, adñiors, and assigns, and every of them, by myself, and themselves, or
by my and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I,
the said Gaetan. Bonelli, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term of fourteen years therein expressed; should and lawfully might make,.
use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and. Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, AQUEDUCTS, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ERECTIONS;". in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,.
obliging me, the said Gaetan Bonelli, particularly to describe and ascertain

page_text: the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and to cause
the same to be enrolled in the High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part 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
Gaetan Bonelli, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
..
My Invention consists of a new mode of constructing iron bridges, viaducts,
aqueducts, and other similar erections. And in order that my Invention may
be fully understood and readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe
the means pursued by me. And I would at the outset state that my Invention
does not consist of any peculiar novelty in the parts employed, many of the
parts having before been similarly constructed.
In constructing a bridge according to my Invention, the parts employed
are, First, what I call caissons, or wedges with solid ends, united together
with bolts and screws. These caissons are each constructed in a suitable
manner for forming a regular part or segment of a large circle, of which about
the three-fifth parts of its length in the central part bear the floor, by means
of iron bars; and the floor in this part forms the chord of these three-fifth
parts of the arch. The extremities of the arch (each of about the fifth part
of the whole arch) bear the end of the floor by means of iron circles, as shewn
by the Drawing; and it results from the combination of these two arrange-
ments that the floor of the bridge presents a long straight line, perfectly
horizontal, which according to other systems of constructing bridges can only
be obtained by other means not offering the same strength or resistance.
Secondly, the manner of applying the suspending bars, which nearly if not
wholly prevents the oscillation which exists in arches constructed according to
other systems where suspension of the floor is resorted to. Thirdly, the
arranging longitudinal iron bars throughout the whole length of the span, and
strongly fixing them in the butment, such bars forming the chord of the arch,
and consequently retaining the butments by resisting the effect of the thrust
of the arch. I would here state that it is the combined using of the three
above-mentioned parts or arrangements which constitutes the novelty of my
Invention.

page_text: :
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cast-iron bridge of a single arch con-
structed according to my Invention, the chord of which is three hundred and
thirty feet. The floor of the bridge forms a horizontal line. The two large
5 arches formed by the caissons at their ends pass under the floor of the bridge,
thereby supporting that part of the floor, whilst the other part of the floor is
upheld by the suspending rods or bars, which all converge to a point below.
Figure 2, plan of the same bridge, showing the longitudinal iron bars, which
are placed throughout the whole length of the floor, and complete the system
of combination peculiar to this Invention. Figure 3 shews part of a plan of
the combination of the floor for the use of railways. Figure 4 shews a trans-
verse section on the line AB in Figure 1, shewing the disposition of the iron
bars suspended to the two arches; and this Figure also shows the means of
uniting the two arches for obtaining stiffness and strength. Figure 5 is a
5 transverse section on the same line AB, Figure 1; this Figure shews the
means used to prevent oscillation when the bridge is intended for the use of
railways. Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a caisson or wedge separately,
on a larger scale than the bridge at Figure 1; Figure 7 is also a view of the
same caisson, showing the suspending iron bars. Figure 8 shows the means
of fastening of the longitudinal iron bars to the large traverse keys, which
fastening binds them to the arches. Figure 9 shows the way of bending the
longitudinal iron bars upon the traverse keys which bind the arches. Figure
10 shews the fastening of the longitudinal iron bars at their extremities.
Figure 11 is a longitudinal section of a cross beam, showing the way in which
5 it is bound with iron bars to resist the pressure. Figure 12 is a vertical
section of the same beam. Figure 13 shows the manner in which the circles
are fastened. In each of the various Figures the same letters show the same
parts.
A, caissons or wedges of cast iron, a series of which forms the arch; their
disposition is intended to receive one or more double suspending iron bars to
which a floor of any construction is fastened; the ends a of each caisson or
wedge are solid in order to give the desirable strength. The caissons are fixed
at each end by four screws, each end having four holes a' for the passage of the
screw bolts. Each caisson or wedge shewn in the Drawing at the centre of the
bridge is twelve feet long, four feet six inches wide, and four feet six inches
high, increasing gradually as they come to butments, where their height is
seven feet six inches. These dimensions will however be varied according to
the span of the arch and the strength intended to be given in each particular

page_text: case as heretofore when making similar erections. A¹ is a cross forming the
sloping or empty space on the sides; the traverse parts under and above this
cross are one foot high at the top of the arch, and increasing gradually from
the top to the butments, where they are two feet six inches, the empty space
remaining of two feet six inches in the whole length; A" is a central par-
tition forming a vertical traverse parallel with the two extremities a, dividing
the length of the caisson into two equal parts, and is especially intended to
receive the suspending iron bars in the same way as the united ends of the
caissons. B, Figure 4 and Figure 5, are the upper cross bars fastening the
two arches, and forming cramp hooks by means of bendings at their ends at b,
and which are fastened to the wedges or caissons by bolts and screws 6¹, pre-
venting the arches having any oscillation by keeping their distance and giving
a horizontal stiffness; C are the suspending iron bars set astride the vertical
traverse A" and the joined extremities a, a, of the caissons, and going through
the caissons to support the cross beams of the floor. Those suspending bars
(of wrought iron) being two inches square and inclined towards the centre of
the arch; D are the cross beams of the floor supported by the suspending iron
bars C, the extremities of which go through the said cross beams and support
them by means of screws and nuts. These cross beams are for common
bridges ten inches wide, one foot high, twenty-five feet long, and about six
feet distant the one from the other. E are longitudinal beams designed to
receive the flooring; F are counter butments; G, iron circles, filling up the
space where there are no suspending iron bars, and bearing the extremities of
the floor by means of iron beams g; the cross beams D are laid upon these
iron beams, and the longitudinal beams E upon the cross beams; H are
longitudinal iron bars (of wrought iron) set under the floor of the bridge, and
designed to give strength to the whole system; they are two inches wide,
three inches high, and run all along the floor; they are bent at h so as to
receive the transverse keys which bind the two arches; the part h¹ of this
binding is united by means of screws and bolts h", the longitudinal iron bars
are fixed on each side in the butments by a ring i, in which is put a bolt.
J, K, are wrought iron keys binding the longitudinal iron bars H with the
arches; these keys bind the two arches composed of caissons together and
at the same time prevent oscillation. It will be found to result, from the above
combination of parts into an arch suitable for a bridge, viaduct, or other similar
erections, that great strength and stiffness can be obtained at comparative small
cost. When the bridges are intended for railway trains the construction differs
in the following parts where it offers the resistance required and prevents any
oscillation; L, diagonal iron bars which coming from the two sides of the

page_text: caissons join together at their extremities and are strongly fixed at the end of
the cross beams which are bound with iron bars; M is the floor of the bridge,
composed of cross beams bound with iron bars and longitudinal beams disposed
suitably to receive the rails; these cross beams by their form allow the floor
to have sufficient width for the passage of two trains.
I would state that, although I have only shewn a bridge in the Drawings,
an engineer will readily perceive that the same structure is equally applicable
as a railway or other viaduct, and he would make the necessary additions for
a waterway across a similar erection when for an aqueduct.
Having thus described the nature of my. Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the details herein described, so long as the peculiar combination of
parts or systems is retained; but what I claim is the mode of combining
parts into a bridge, viaduct, aqueduct, or other such like erections, as herein
described.
In witness whom of I the onid Canton Desall: Lan