IMPROVEMENTS CONNECTED WITH THE RAISING AND LOWERING OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS BY PONTOONS
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I, JAMES BUCHANAN EADS temporarily of the First Avenue Hotel, High
Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS CONNECTED WITH THE RAISING AND LOWERING
OF SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS BY PONTOONS to be as follows :—
In my application for Letters Patent filed on the 24th November 1883 N° 5512,
I have described certain improvements in the construction of ship railways and
carriages and in means for raising and transferring vessels thereto.
In carrying out that invention I proposed to make use of the well known
hydraulic lifting dock in which a number of rams arranged in two parallel rows are
employed to raise or lower a platform or cradle of iron girders.
For the same purpose I have also devised a hollow float or pontoon which can be
filled with water wholly or partially to sink it, so that the ship to be raised can be
floated over it and by pumping the water out of the float or pontoon the ship can
be raised out of the water. I propose to employ one or more of these floats or
pontoons constituting a lifting dock in combination with the railway tracks, the
ship carriage and cradle, the secondary system of hydraulic distributing rams and
the hydraulic governor cylinders in the manner and for the purpose described in
my provisional specification hereinabove mentioned and for this purpose the pontoons
are constructed with longitudinal and transverse girders supporting the lines of
rails and the secondary system of hydraulic rams, the longitudinal girders also
serving as equalizing trusses for the action of the hydraulic governor cylinders.
The connecting pipe lines of these governor cylinders I propose to fit with one or
more stop valves for the purpose of checking the motion of the dock or arresting it
entirely by closing the valves and thus holding the dock supported or partially
supported on those hydraulic rams in any position of their stroke, up or down.
The lifting docks or pontoons are furthermore provided with means for holding
them steady in their correct position when raised to the proper height, so that the
lines of rails on the permanent way and on the dock shall be coincident and
remain unbroken while a ship and carriage is being moved on or off the dock, and
for this purpose I employ a series of guide columns resting upon proper foundations
and of sufficient weight to be able to support a downward pressure or load as well
as to resist an upward pull or thrust.

page_text: These columns are fitted on top with adjustable collars or equivalent devices
which bear against the upper side or top of the dock when it is raised to the proper
height, arresting its upward motion and holding it steady while the load on the
dock decreases as is the case when the ship and carriage are being moved off onto
the permanent way, or while the floatation of the dock increases by further pumping,
and the columns are also fitted with key slots and movable keys or equivalent
devices which can be operated at will, and when thrown into gear form lock
supports for the dock to rest upon at its proper height with the lines of rails of the
dock coincident with those of the permanent way.
In that position the dock can be grounded or settled upon these supports, and
can be held steady, while the ship and carriage are being moved on or off.
Thus I provide two ways or means of operating the dock to be used at pleasure
and to suit the various conditions that may arise. By using the grounding method,
the dock, after being raised with a ship and carriage upon it can be grounded on
the keys and must be filled with as much weight of water as equals the weight of
the ship and carriage to be moved off; and when another ship has been moved
upon the dock, when thus resting in part or wholly on the keys and columns, the
keys require to be withdrawn before the lowering operation can begin. By using
the other method however of supporting the dock when raised to its proper level
and bearing on top against the collars of the columns by surplus floatation, the ship
and carriage, when raised out of the water, can be moved off the dock at once upon
the permanent way, the columns in the meantime keeping down the dock to its
proper level and holding it there in forced immersion until such time as another
ship and carriage has been moved upon it, when the dock with its load can be
lowered at once by merely flooding it.
While the ship and carriage are being moved on or off the dock, the dock is also
held secure in addition to the supports or the keys or its bearings against the collars
of the column by the hydraulic governor cylinders filled with water which are
converted with their rams into supporting columns for the time being by closing
the valves in their pipe connections and thus rendering the column of water in the
bydraulic cylinders stationary.
The pumps for emptying the lifting dock may be mounted on the dock itself, or
with the view of leaving the entire surface of the dock free may be mounted on
shore and connected by pipes with the interior of the dock, the pipes being arranged
so as to allow of the vertical rise and fall of the dock while maintaining a water
tight connection.

page_text: "
I JAMES BUCHANAN EADS, temporarily of the First Avenue Hotel, High Holborn
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for IMPROVEMENTS CONNECTED WITH THE RAISING AND LOWERING OF
SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS BY PONTOONS" and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
In the Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent were granted to me
bearing date the twenty fourth November one thousand eight hundred and eighty
three, No 5512, I have described certain improvements in the construction of ship
railways and carriages and in means for raising and transferring vessels thereto.
In carrying out that Invention I proposed to make use of the well-known hydraulic
lifting dock, in which a number of rams arranged in two parallel rows are employed
to raise or lower a platform or cradle of iron girders.
For the same purpose I have devised a hollow float or pontoon which can be filled
with water wholly or partially to sink it, so that the ship to be raised can be floated
over it and by pumping the water out of the float or pontoon the ship can be raised
out of the water I propose to employ one or more of these floats or pontoons
constituting a lifting dock, in combination with the railway tracks, the ship-carriage
and cradle, the secondary system of hydraulic distributing rams and the hydraulic
governor cylinders, in the manner and for the purpose described in the Specification
of my Patent hereinabove mentioned, and for this purpose the pontoons are
constructed with longitudinal and transverse girders supporting the lines of rails
and the secondary system of hydraulic rams, the longitudinal girders also serving as
equalizing trusses for the action of the hydraulic governor cylinders.
connecting pipe lines of these governor cylinders I propose to fit with one or more
stop valves for the purpose of checking the motion of the dock or arresting it
entirely, by closing the valves and thus holding the dock supported, or partially
supported, on those hydraulic rams in any position of their stroke up or down.
The
The lifting docks or pontoons are furthermore provided with means for holding
them steady in their correct position when raised to the proper height, so that the
lines of rails on the permanent way and on the dock shall be coincident and remain
unbroken, while a ship and carriage is being moved on or off the dock, and for this
purpose I employ a series of guide columns resting upon and secured to proper
Foundations and of sufficient strength to be able to support a downward pressure or
load as well as to resist an upward pull or thrust.
These columns are fitted on top with adjustable collars or equivalent devices
which bear against the upper side or top of the dock when it is raised to the proper
height, arresting its upward motion and holding it steady while the load on the dock
decreases as is the case when the ship and carriage are being moved off onto the
permanent way; or while the flotation of the dock increases by further pumping;
and the columns and pontoon are also respectively fitted with key slots and movable
keys or equivalent devices which can be operated at will, and when thrown into
gear, form lock supports for the dock to rest upon at its proper height with the lines
of rails of the dock coincident with those of the permanent way.
In that position the dock can be grounded or settled upon these supports, and can
be held steady while the ship and carriage are being moved on or off.
The pumps for emptying the lifting dock inay be mounted on the dock itself, or
with the view of leaving the entire surface of the dock free may be mounted on
shore and connected by pipes with the interior of the dock the pipes boing arranged

page_text: In the accompanying drawing.
Fig 1 is a plan view of a pontoon lifting dock constructed and arranged
according to my Invention.
Fig: 2 is a sectional elevation of the same on the line a. a. of Fig: 1, and
Figures 3 are detail views of one form of locking device for transferring, when
necessary, the weight of the pontoon, ship-carriage and vessel thereon, to the fixed
guide columns of the dock.
A is the pontoon dock, B the pipe or conduit by which the water is drawn out
therefrom. the basin or reservoir in which the pontoon is immersed, D D. the
guide columns for steadying the pontoon firmly, and anchored to the bottom of
the basin C.
E is the centrifugal or other pump for emptying the pontoon through the
telescoping tubes or pipes c. e'. F represents the ship-carriage, and G a vossel
thereon; H H are the hydraulic governing cylinders arranged in pairs at or near
the four corners of the pontoon dock. a. a. a represent the hydraulic pressure-
distributing rams carried by the pontoon itself.
In the specification of my Patent above referred to I described an open platform
or frame of iron girders on which were mounted a system of hydraulic pressure-
distributing rams, the said open platform or frame together with its rams being
raised and lowered by means of stationary or "primary" hydraulic rams, arranged
in line on each side of the dock.
According to my present improvements I substitute for the open platform or
frame an enclosed cellular structure or pontoon, A, on which are mounted the
hydraulic distributing rams a. a. a arranged in series (sce fig: 1) after the manner
and for the same purpose as the so-called " secondary rams," described in the
Specification of any Patent above referred to. This pontoon A is provided with
valves and pipes by which it can be flooded and submerged, or partially emptied and
floated, and is arranged within a dock or basin C of suitable size and shape.
Within this dock and firmly anchored to, or built into, the foundations thereof,
are a number of guide columns or supports D D, arranged in line (sec Fig: 1)
towards each side of the dock, which work through guide tubes d. d forming part
of or carried by the pontoon A, and the tops of these guide columns are enlarged,
or are fitted with collars or heads d¹ d' against which the tops of the said guide
tubes d. d may bear, and thus by expelling a sufficient amount of water from the
pontoon it may be firmly upborne by its surplus buoyancy against the tops of the
several columns D. D, and remain immovable in its raised position while a ship
train is being moved on to or off from the section of the track a¹, a', a', a¹ which is
laid upon the platform or deck of the pontoon, and which in the raised position
coincides in level and direction with the lines of the permanent way on shore.
To expel or withdraw the water for the purpose of floating the pontoon A I
connect its interior by a suitably arranged pipe or conduit B, and telescoping tubes
e. e¹, with a centrifugal or other pump or pumps, E, on shore, and I provide valves
or sluices in the pontoon itself for flooding it with water for the purpose of
submerging or lowering the pontoon as will be readily understood.
The arrangement of compartments and valves in the pontoon may be similar to
that described in the Specification accompanying my application for Letters Patent,
dated 14th March 1884 N° 4892, in respect of a pontoon turntable; or any other
suitable arrangement of compartments and valves may be adopted.
The pump or pumps for expelling or removing water from the pontoon might be
carried on an elevated portion of the pontoon itself, such as is shewn at A' A¹ so as
to be always above the water level, in which case the necessity for employing tho
externally arranged conduit B and the telescopic tubes c. e¹ would be obviated.
By the use however of a suitable bydraulic packing ring e² no inconvenience is
found to arise from the telescopic arrangement of external pipes or tubes communi-
cating with a stationary pump on shore, as the pontoon is so steadied in its

page_text: movements by the fixed guide columns D. D. and hydraulic governor cylinders H H¹
that no damage to the externally arranged pipes is likely to result.
The action of the hydraulic governor cylinders is the same as that
described in the Specification of my Patent first above referred to, but as an
improvement upon the arrangement therein set forth, I propose for the purposes
of my present invention to fit the pipe lines h. ' connecting the said governor
cylinders with one or more stop valves h³ ³ whereby the interchange of water
from one cylinder, or pair of cylinders, to another may be arrested at pleasure, in
which case the pontoon dock may be supported or partially supported on or by
these hydraulic rams in any position of their stroke, up or down-The hydraulic
pressure distributing rams a. a. a carried by the pontoon itself are operated through
suitable pipe lines a³ a from the top of a suitable structure or from a vertical
portion or extension such as A¹ of the pontoon itself, so as always to be above the
water level as indicated in fig: 2.
The use of these hydraulic rams is to properly distribute pressure over the hull
of the vessel to be lifted, and hold it properly supported while the adjustable frame
or cradle mounted on the ship-carriage F is properly adjusted and fixed in position
to support the vessel and allow of the pressure from the rams being removed, all of
which is fully described and explained in the Specification of my Patent first above
referred to.
I have explained in what manner the pontoon dock may be held steady in
its fully raised position under the influence of surplus buoyancy, and I will now
explain an arrangement of locking device whereby the pontoon may be grounded
upon the guide columns D. D., and its weight be transferred thereto for the
purpose of holding the pontoon steady while a ship train or load is run on or off.
For this purpose the guide columns D, D. are formed with necks or portions of
reduced diameter d, near their upper ends and the guide tubes carried by and
forming part of the pontoon A, are slotted near their upper ends and provided with
bracket arms or guides d³ in which bars d' running longitudinally of the pontoon
are arranged to slide, and be operated by cranks and lovers from any suitable
part of the pontoon.-These bars, one on each side of the pontoon, carry lugs or
projections do which in the locking position are thrust through the slotted portions
of the guide tubes and come in contact with the necks or reduced portions of the
columns D. D., and engage with the surface of the larger circumference or edge of
the columns, and also with the underside of a portion of the guide tube above the
said neck-In other words the guide tubes are slotted or cut away towards one
side, and when these slotted portions coincide with the reduced portions or necks d³
in the guide columns or supports D, suitably shaped projections & carried by
bars d', sliding in guides d³, fixed to the guide tubes d., can be thrust in and will
lock the said tubes, and consequently the pontoon, to the columns and hold it
immoveable thereon.
Thus I provide two ways or methods of steadying the pontoon dock which may
be used at pleasure, and to suit the various conditions that may arise-By using
the grounding method the dock, after being raised with a ship and carriage upon it
can be grounded on the keys and must be filled with as much weight of water as
equals the weight of the ship and carriage to be moved off, and when another ship
has been moved upon the dock, when thus resting in part or wholly on the keys
and columns the keys require to be withdrawn before the lowering operation can
begin By using the other method however of supporting the dock when raised to
its proper level, and bearing on top against the collars of the columns by surplus
flotation or buoyancy the ship and carriage when raised out of the water can be
moved off the dock at once upon the permanent way, the columns in the meantime
keeping down the dock to its proper level and holding it there in forced immersion,
until such time as another ship and carriage has been moved upon it, when the
dock with its load can be lowered at once by merely flooding it.
While the ship and carriage are being moved on or off the dock, the dock is also
held secure, in addition to the supports on the keys or its bearings against the

page_text: collars of the columns, by the hydraulic governor cylinders filled with water which
are converted with their rams into supporting columns for the time, being by
closing the valves in their pipe connections and thus rendering the column of water
in the hydraulic cylinders stationary.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The construction and arrangement of pontoon docks for raising and lowering
vessels mounted on carriages, to and from ship railways, and retaining the pontoons
at a given level, substantially as described with reference to the Drawings.
2. The combination with a dock or basin C provided with guide columns D D
and a multiple track extending from the margin of the said basin, of a pontoon
carrying a section of the track and fitted with a series of hydraulic pressure
distributing rams a a; guides d d; and means, substantially as described, for
submerging or floating the pontoon and for holding it steady while a ship train is 1
being run or off as and for the purpose setforth.
3. The combination with a dock or basin C, a permanent railway line on shore,
and a set of guide columns or supports D D, of a pontoon or float A for raising or
lowering ships and other vessels, the said pontoon or float carrying a section of the
track and a series of hydraulic pressure-distributing rams, and being provided with
one or more cellular vertical extensions, or superstructures, for supporting above the
water level the engines or pumps by which the said rams are operated, or by which
the pontoon is emptied, substantially as described.
4. The combination with a pontoon lifting dock for ship railways, adapted to
be raised and lowered by the admission or removal of water, of firmly rooted 2
columns such as D D for guiding its ascent, hydraulic governor cylinders H. H' for
maintaining its horizontality, and stop cocks or valves such as h² and ³ in the pipe
lines connecting the said cylinders, for supporting or partially supporting the said
pontoon in any position of the rams of the said governor cylinders, substantially as
and for the purpose setforth.
5. The combination with a pontoon lifting dock or float working in or on guides
such as D D, and carrying a multiple track for the reception of a ship-carriage, and
also a series of hydraulic pressure-distributing rams, a a a, for the purpose setforth,
of a telescopic system or arrangement of pipes, and a stationary pump on land, for
the purpose of removing water from the pontoon while it is in motion, substantially 3
as setforth.
,