AN IMPROVED SYSTEM OF HYDRAULIC TRACTION ON RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John
Gedge and Son, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
SYSTEM OF HYDRAULIC TRACTION ON RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS."-A
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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 23rd November 1869, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11,
Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
SYSTEM OF HYDRAULIC TRACTION ON RAILWAYS AND OTHER ROADS," and have

page_text: petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same and have made
solemn Declaration that the same is a communication to me from abroad
by Giovanni Cavalli, of Turin, Italy.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said William Edward Gedge, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference being
had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawing and to the Figs: and
letters of reference placed thercon..
The great advantages of locomotion on railways caused their rapid
extension in all countries without difficulty in plains, but not so in
mountainous districts by reason of the great expense attending their
formation, rather than from the difficulty of overcoming the obstacles
met with, difficulties which however increase with the height of the
mountainous chain and so considerably raise the expense and the rates
as often to suspend the execution of such undertakings; thus several
projected railways have never been commenced because of the enormous
cost of long tunnels, or the great extension to be given to the line in
order to reduce the length of these costly tunnels and save the time
requisite for their construction, without however thereby escaping the
necessity of using the most powerful locomotives and of increasing
the rates for carriage. Expectations have been entertained that a
means would be found of profiting by the gratuitous power of natural
waterfalls; watercourses, or torrents in mountainous districts or of
artificial falls obtained by reservoirs to replace steam and powerful
locomotives for mounting and descending with safety the steepest
inclines with the least possible expense in making and working the
railway, and further in order to straighten and shorten the lines and
cross mountainous chains at less cost of time and money. Several
ingenious methods have already been proposed for employing hydraulic
power to tow or haul trains upon inclined planes, but nevertheless
the only ones adopted (some of which are for want of better still in
use) are upon the funicular traction system, consequently a satisfactory
means of employing waterfalls for traction upon railways still remains
to be found. A system of hydraulic traction is required by means
of which the train with its ordinary locomotive on arriving at the foot
of an incline will be drawn to its summit and continue its journey,

page_text: and in like manner that a train arrived at the top of an incline may
independently of its brakes descend the incline however steep with
perfect safety, and continue its journey without stoppage.
Combination of the Method the Subject of this Invention.-The
problem of causing a train to pass along an incline without the power
of its locomotives being thus presented, the Inventor of this system has
conceived the idea of placing the ascending branch of a syphon along
the inclined plauc in the middle of the rails, the other branch being
placed elsewhere, and of placing in this ascending branch a piston with
a crest or ridge passing above, the tubes of this branch of the syphon
necessarily slit as in the atmospheric system, so that the train fastening on
to the crest or ridge of this towing piston, then pushed by the water in
the syphon, must mount the incline. On the contrary the train to bo
lowered being attached to the said piston at the summit of the incline
on shutting off below the water of the descending branch of the syphon
and opening the escape cock of the water contained in the ascending
branch, the piston will descend conducting the train at the desired
speed. Instead of a single syphon in the middle two might be placed
one each side of the railway should experience show its desirability.
The towing or traction piston receives the force of the pressure due to
the difference of vertical height between the column of water contained
in the conducting branch and that carried in the ascending branch.
When it is desired to employ the said traction piston for drawing a
train on a horizontal way, it will only be necessary to introduce the
water at one or other end of the branch laid on the way, while the other.
branch of the syphon may always be placed elsewhere as local
circumstances may render expedient. The tubes of the ascending
branch of the syphon are secured to the ordinary sleepers and the rails
will be raised by laying them upon longitudinal sleepers as shown,
Figs. 1 and 3, Sheet I. of the annexed Drawings, when the size of the.
tubes render this necessary. To receive the water which may escape
along the slit or opening in the branch and at its summit the channel.
0, 0, 0, 0, Fig. 1 is made beneath. There is no necessity to permit
the water to escape at the summit of the syphon unless the piston is
to stop at this summit, in which case if the water conduit is not closed
at the bottom in good time it is as well perhaps in order to prevent the
bad effects of shocks to permit the water to flow out by an opening
made underneath the tube at a distance behind the summit equal to the
length of the piston. The quantity of water required for each ascent

page_text: 1
of a train is that contained in the said ascending branch of the syphon,
which water may also serve for the descent of another train that might
arrive before a second ascent, for which purpose it is necessary to well
regulate the water distributing keys.
Obturation or Closing of the Water Leaks.-Water might escape
through the slit or fissure of the tubes of the ascending branch of the
syphon in too great a quantity if a packing were not placed in it such
that the pressure of the water itself upon it prevents leakage while
permitting the passage of the crest of the traction piston. Two kinds
of packing are illustrated, Sheet II. of the Drawings, one at Fig. 5 and
the other at Fig. 6. For both methods the slit part of the tube is the
same, and on the two sides of the opening of the tube may be seen,
section a, b, c, d, of the iron guides, as well as the manner in which they
are fastened by metal screws v, v. These guides, between which moves
the crest of the piston, contract the slit of the tube to that a, a, Figs.
5 and 6, strictly necessary to contain the steel plate e, e, comprised
between the two half cylinders of the piston, and extending so as to
form the core of the crest of said piston (Fig. 5). To the two ends of
this plate are attached washers carrying the piston packing, and the
whole is strengthened by four angle irons. The packings of the guides
'are made with the same object as the packings of the pistons of
hydraulic presses, in which it is the water itself which presses them
and prevents its leakage. At Figs. 5 and 7 may be seen the section h;
k, f, g, of the cavity of the guides which is open on the inner side f, g,
on which side the water enters freely the instant the piston unmasks it
in reascending, and in the descent of the piston the water issues from
these cavities according to the flow- caused by the opening of the key
or cock placed at the bottom of the syphon. In fact the water enters
and fills the aforesaid cavities, pressing forcibly against their sides, and
it presses the packing x, B, x, of leather or other suitable material
against the sides of the crest e, e, of the piston (Fig. 5), and where
there is no piston, or the moment the piston has glided forward, these
packings press against each other, as at Fig. 7. To better secure the
position and the working of these packings (Figs. 5 and 7) springs m,
m, are employed at suitable distances apart. In the section h, k, f, g,
(Figs. 6 and 8) the cavity of the guides is also closed on the lower side
with the exception of the openings f, where as above stated the water
enters and issues; here the packings x, B, x, may work without the

page_text: springs. The cavities of the guides should be divided longitudinally by.
diaphragms into equal parts to prevent the water which enters them
from penetrating too far, and escaping by passing to the front of the
piston. For example if the length of the guides be 8 ft. 8in. (2. 60)
their cavity should be divided into four compartments of 2 ft. 2 in.
(0.65) in length by means of diaphragms i, i, (Sheet II., Figs. 9 and
10) it is necessary that at the point of junction of these guides the
diaphragm be divided in the direction of its thickness into two equal
parts, closely joining and in these places these semi-diaphragms must be set
in and held by screws to the head of the guides, whereas in the inter-
mediate places it is only necessary to set the diaphragms in compression
grooves. The compartments being made as above described may hold
their packings made simply as shown, Figs. 6 and 8 without the necessity
of fixing, excepting perhaps only at their end, and nevertheless so that
they may slide to the extent of at least one half the thickness of the
core plate of the piston erest. On the contrary, packings made as at
Figs. 5 and 7 must be secured where the springs are placed, and at the,
two ends against the diaphragms in order to fulfil the double purpose
of keeping the packing stretched all along the compartments, and to
retain the ends of these packings close against the diaphragms as at
Figs. 9 and 10; further it will be seen at Fig. 10 that the extremities of
the crest of the piston are made ogee, in order that they may in advancing,
more casily divide the packings and that in descending the packings
may better press together and thoroughly close any escape of water.
At the back of the piston the corners of four packings might at their
points of contact not thoroughly close all exit to the water by reason.
of too great a thickness of the packing, or by want of flexibility, in sucht,
case it will be necessary to shape the packings at these points as shown,
Fig. 10, that is to say, at a right angle.
In Figs. 14 and 15, Sheet II., is shown a modification of the packings,
Figs. 6 and 8. Here the acute angle diaphragms are suppressed and
the heads of the packings are made to adhere together, held in position
by means of two shoulders between which each head may slide to the
extent of half the thickness of the crest of the piston.. To allow suffi-
cient time for the pressure of the water inside to act, so that the
packings may thoroughly close after the passage of the piston crest,
this crest C, C, (Fig. 2, Sheet I.) is made a little shorter than the.
effective length S, S, of the piston, thus at the instant the packing opens

page_text: or closes, pushed or abandoned by the crest of the piston, this spot still
remains closed inside by the piston itself.
Of the Tubes. The above mentioned tubes of the ascending branch
of the syphon are carried between the rails by special cast iron bearings
or chairs, as shown Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet I. These special chairs are
placed at the ends of the tubes, and receive their two heads which are
placed, the one against the other, and these parts of both tubes and
chairs should be made on the lathe. In this method of joining the said
chairs are slid on to one of the tubes to permit the removal of the other,
and vice versa without the necessity of interfering with any other part
of the slit branch of the syphon. The union of the tubes is further
consolidated by the guides which join end to end in the middle of the
length of the tubes. The obturation between the ends of the slit tubes
is effected from their inside before placing the guides by filling up the
crevices with the ordinary cements, or by caulking them with oakum
or with lead, and so as to fill them right up against the chairs and rather
leave a hollow all round towards the interior than a projection which
might check the journey of the piston. The crevices or openings, at the
junction of the guides with each other and with the tubes, may be filled
in an analogous manner, and it may be desirable to leave such crevices
or openings expressly to fill them with an elastic material in order to
prevent the bad effects of longitudinal expansion. The aforesaid
ascending branch of the syphon necessarily reaches to the summit of the
inclined plane, where, as already stated, the water may escape by an
opening made beneath directly the piston stops, and that the flow of the
column of water in the conducting branch of the syphon has not been
soon enough arrested from below. At the bottom of the inclined plane
this slit branch of the syphon must continue a little until the crest of
the piston has sufficiently lowered in order that the apparatus which
unites the train with the piston may not interfere with the train
continuing its journey by releasing itself. From this point the aforesaid
slit branch of the syphon attaches itself to the water conducting branch,
by means of two elbow pipes, each being a segment the one-fourth of a
circle. The water coming from the conducting tube A (Fig. 11,
Sheet II.,) which will be supposed to descend with an incline of 45
degrees in a direction perpendicular to the railway enters the first elbow
pipe A, B; in the middle of this elbow at the lowest points are two
keys E and F for shutting the water on and off; at the point B joins

page_text: in the second elbow pipe B, C, which turns at a right angle to conduct
the water in C into the ascending branch of the syphon. The radius
of the curve of these elbow pipes should be great enough not to lessen
the motive power of the current of water within, and their union
joints should also be very strong. They may be made in the same,
or in an analogous manner to the above described chair joint of the slit
tubes, with this difference that the inner diameter of the chairs or
bearings, in this case a complete circle, will be a little larger than the
diameter of the heads of the tubes to be joined, the space thus left to
be filled with molten lead and then well caulked. The two above
mentioned keys are the only ones required for regulating the action of
the water; with that at F the slit ascending branch is discharged of its
contents, while the key E remains closed, and by opening this latter the
conducting or water supply branch may if necessary be emptied. The
key F should be made with a hollow slide (see Fig. 12, Sheet II.), in
order to preserve the cylindrical continuity within the tube when the
key is closed just as if there were no key, a necessary condition in order
not to interfere with the inner current of water. For the same reason
it is necessary that the other key E (Fig. 13), should be made with
a cock, and so as to avoid any great friction. In order that a single
person may work both these keys their vertical axles have been placed
near each other, these axles turn by turning for cach a small fly wheel
V, V, the shaft of which is provided with an endless screw gearing with
the toothed wheels R, R. For the key F the toothed wheel carries in
its centre the nut of the screw which terminates the axle of the key,
and in turning it sets this axle in vertical motion. For the key E the
toothed wheel is set fast on its axle. In the cock of the key E the
screw O, O, (Fig. 13), is made. with a somewhat small worm, in order
that in opening the key the conical shaft or body in turning one quarter
of a circle is slightly lifted, but only just sufficient however to lessen the
friction without, thereby preventing a hermetic closing on turning the
key in the opposite direction.
i
Method of Attaching the Trains.-In whatever manner the trains are
attached to the crest of the traction pistón the angle of its direction to
the plane of the way should be slight, in the first place in order.to
lessen the friction due to the tendency of the traction to cause the two
ends of the piston to rub in opposite directions against the insides of
the tubes; in the second place to lessen the lateral shocks caused by

page_text: the carriage of the train to which the apparatus is attached. It does
not appcar advisable to compromise the stability of the tubes by using
them to prevent any running off the rails, as there are many other
methods of preventing this in sharp curves or bends if any must be
made, for example, by placing on the outside of the curve other rails
supported by other higher and stronger chairs against which the wheels
would rub without being able to surmount them. The axle of the
piston should be brought as near as possible to the carriages of the train,
in order not to give too much length to the above mentioned fastening,
the bar or coupling chain used should be fastened by one end to the
two sides of the crest of the piston, and by the other beneath one of
the vehicles of the train to parts rendered as flexible and yet as capable
of resisting shocks as possible; and it is further necessary that the
coupling should have one part weaker than the other, so that if a
rupture must occur under some extraordinary shock it is this part
which breaks without however destroying the union, the traction then
being borne by a part expressly reserved for such an eventuality. All
these conditions may without difficulty be fulfilled by various kinds of
couplings or fastening apparatus if the train is arrested, and it is not a
difficult matter to cause a train to attach itself to and release itself from
the crest of the piston without stopping.
A method of effecting this is illustrated Fig. 1, 2, and 4 (Sheet I.)
The coupling of the train to the piston will be effected by means of the
double bar M, N, G, which is fastened, pivoting on the two points p
and q, of which pivots one only remains under tension, namely, that p
which is made of a less diameter but quite sufficient for ordinary service,
whereas all the other parts are relatively stronger. At the other end.
the two parts of the two coupling or attaching apparatus unite and
form a strong hook, as shown in its lowered position M, G (Fig. 2.)
This coupling hook being thus arranged on the arrival of the vehicle
carrying the fastening or coupling stirrup or link E, F; this latter meets
the back of the hook and passes beyond it turning on its pivots E, E;
the key is opened and the water then pushes forward the hook which
catches in the stirrup and the train is drawn along. The coupling
apparatus in this state is at E, F, G, N, M, Figs. 1 and 2, and it is then
easy to further secure the stirrup from the inside of the vehicle if
desired, by some simple apparatus which will have to be removed when
nearing the summit of the inclined plane in order not to prevent the

page_text: hook detaching itself on the train surmounting the incline when its
proper locomotive resumes the traction and carries it on its journey.
In the descent of a train the action will be reversed, then the hanging
stirrup F will hook itself directly on to G, assuming at once the position
E, F, G, N, M, and arrived at the bottom of the inclined plane, the
hook stops along with the piston and falls of itself from G to G, and
the stirrups thus released may be pulled up from within the vehiclo
which carries it.
The operations to be performed by the guard in charge of the water
keys or taps placed at the bottom of the inclined plane are simply that
on the arrival of a train which is to ascend so soon as he perceives that
the coupling stirrup or link has passed over the coupling hook, he will
open the key of the ascending water and staud ready to close it directly
the train has arrived at the summit of the inclined plane. When
another train arrives, and is to descend, so soon as it has fastened on to
the coupling hook the guard opens the key of the water outlet and the
train descends with the water at the desired speed. On long inclines it
is desirable in order to secure the opening of the discharge key at the
proper moment to place at the summit of the incline a second guard,
who by means of a small air tube would give the signal for opening the
aforesaid key.
Experience will decide which amongst the various means which might
be adopted is most suitable for each of these details. It would even
not be difficult to establish simple apparatuses by which the trains might
in passing and of themselves close these keys at the proper time and no
guards be required.
The system of traction above described, although particularly intended
for use on inclines, may nevertheless when suitable be applied upon the
horizontal parts of a railway; it is also applicable whatever the length
and gradient of the incline if sufficient hydraulic power be at command.
The quantity of water and its necessary pressure within the syphon
depends upon the power required for the traction of a given train. In
every application of this system of hydraulic traction by syphon it will
be necessary to fix the maximum weight of a train in relation to the
expense, and the time for effecting the daily traffic, this weight must
naturally be limited to that which is to be carried in the 20 or 21 hours
of the day, and the power of the syphons for the various inclines of the
railway will be determined by these weights.

page_text: :
Of the Curves or Turns in the Line.-The curves of the line should
be placed at the summit of the inclines, because at these points the
speed of the trains which have ascended the incline being small and
those which arrive to descend naturally reducing their speed for
descending these curves may have a very short radius; it is, therefore,
desirable for this other reason to separate long inclines into several
parts, and this will also lessen the cost of the line. If, nevertheless, the
necessity should arise, the slit branch of the syphon may be made
curved, it not being difficult to turn and bore curved tubes, but it may
become necessary to slightly increase the inner diameter of these curved
tubes, in order that the same piston fitted to the rectilineal part may
also pass in the curved part, which may be effected without the windage
or play much exceeding th of an inch, a windage which may still be
closed by the packing of the piston. A piston of 3 ft. 6 inches (1.5) in
length, having a diameter of one foot (0". 30) with the aforesaid windage
may pass a curve of 333, feet (100 mètres) radius, and if this radius
were 666%, feet (200 mètres) a windage of about the 10th of an incli
(about of a millemètre) will suffice, the windage which must be left in
évery case.
It will be evident that this system may be also used for carrying
waggons and other loads up or lowering them down inclines upon.
ordinary roads.
This Invention may be summed up as a means of utilizing natural
currents of water or a pressure of water obtained by artificial reservoirs
by leading the water into the ascending branch of a syphon laid between
the rails of a railway or elsewhere, so that the pressure of the water.
pushes a piston along the syphon tube, and thereby carries a train or
other load attached to the said piston to the top of an incline, escape of
water by the slit or fissure in the syphon tube through which the crest
of the piston projects to be attached to the train being prevented by a
simple packing opened by the crest of the piston in its passage, and
closing immediately behind it under the pressure of the water itself;
the same syphon being also used for the descent of a train at a regulated
speed, because the piston to which the train is attached can only travel
down the tube as fast as the water is permitted to escape at the bottom,
and thus no breaks are needed.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it distinctly under-

page_text: stood that I do not confine myself to the use of any of the details
herein given, as they may be varied without departing from the main
characteristic of this Invention, which I declare to be and I claim the
use of a syphon as a hydraulic traction apparatus on railways and other
roads, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
ninc.
W. E. GEDGE. (L.S.)