Year: 1886

page_text: We, ROOKES EVELYN BELL CROMPTON Engineer and JORGEN HENRICK
FERDINAND SOLL Engineer both of the Arc Works Chelmsford Essex do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to electrical tramways and more particularly to the
providing of better means than heretofore for carrying the conductor or con-
ductors in a channel at or below the level of the roadway, also to various modes
of cleaning out these channels or culverts and preserving the insulation of the
conductor in a more perfect condition than has heretofore been the case. In one
part of our invention we form the conductor and its containing culvert as
follows: We propose to lay the track with tramway rails of ordinary girder
section, that is to say, having the usual rail grooved head deep web and broad
spreading foot; we secure in any suitable manner to one side of this rail a channel
of angle iron or irons of suitable form of section distanced sufficiently far from
the rail and so placed as to form the remaining sides of a continuous open top
culvert, continuous with the track itself and in which we fix our insulated con-
ductor or conductors-We make the cross section of this culvert of convenient
form to give sufficient space for the conductors and to ensure that the opening at
the top, through which the arm carrying the rubbing brushes or contact maker
enters, is sufficiently narrow so as not to be dangerous to the street traffic.
an object that this opening should be as narrow as possible and at the outside not
to exceed say about inch in width. This continuous channel formed of the tram
rail with the loose channel of angle iron bolted to it, we hereafter call the "culvert."
The tramrail we call the "rail," and the loose channel or angle iron side forming
the opposite side and bottom of the culvert we call the "loose side;" the arm
passing down from the car through the opening in the top of the culvert and
carrying at its lower end the brushes which make rubbing contact with the
conductors, we hereafter call the "brush arm."
It is
We can make the loose side either of say wrought iron rolled to the correct
section or of cast iron properly webbed and bracketted. In the latter case we
sometimes provide in it recesses for holding the insulators by means of wedges and
so avoid the necessity of bolting the same to it.
To avoid the difficulty which would be found in keeping the conductor con-
tinuously equidistant from the surface of the ground, and hence from the point of

page_text: attachment of the brush arm on the cars, we do not always connect the conductor
rigidly to the rail or to the loose side, but we sometimes prefer to secure it
(or them, if we use more than one conductor) by spring connections of any con-
venient form provided only that these spring connections are so placed and contrived
that the shock or jolt of heavy traffic, or that caused by the end of a loose rail
rising and falling under the pressure of the traffic, is not communicated direct to
the conductor but through the interposition of these spring connections. In this
manner the liability of breakage and displacement of the conductor is abated and
lessened.
In one form we make our conductor or conductors of a broad strip of flat
copper this copper strip we prefer to mount on its edge, that is to say with its
greater diameter vertical, the rubbing or contact surface being on one side. By
this arrangement we ensure that the brushes or rubbers attached to the cars, may
play through a considerable vertical distance without their leaving the rubbing
surface of the conductor.
The spring attachment may be secured to wooden blocks soaked in paraffin, or
to earthenware or porcelain or ebonite blocks, or any material suitable for insu-
lating them or the conductor from the tram rail or the loose side. We form the
spring connections so that any moisture which may run down on to them from
above, may drip off at an elbow or salient bend, placed somewhat lower than the
level of the conductor itself, and in this manner, we prevent a continuous film of
moisture being formed, extending from the train rail or loose side up to the con-
ductor itself, and which would be liable to cause a leakage of electricity. We so
arrange our insulating blocks, spring attachments and conductors, that certain
surfaces, viz: those exposed to the friction of the brushes or rubbers, and a portion
of the insulating blocks themselves, may form a smooth continuous surface free
from projections. The object of this arrangement is to allow us to introduce
mechanism for cleansing the whole of the culvert conductors and insulators, and
subsequently painting a portion of the surface of the insulating blocks with an
insulating grease or oil such as vaseline.
'We propose to attach to the cars, or in some cases to run along the culvert by
hand, a cleansing and greasing arrangement consisting of a scraper, followed by a
properly formed suction tube provided with an exhaust fan or extractor which will
remove dust, mud and loose particles loosened by the scraper, followed again by a
wiper to thoroughly wipe and dry the surfaces, followed again by a greaser which
will coat the insulating blocks with the insulating grease above mentioned.
*;
The brush or contact carrying arm we propose to make a strong thin flat arm,
having an insulated' copper core, protected by" steel rubbing pieces at the points
where it passes down through the slit in the top of the culvert. It carries at its
lower end long rubbing surfaces formed of thin plates of copper pressed against the
rubbing surface of the conductor by suitable springs. These rubbing surfaces and
their 'springs are so mounted and contrived that they can be forced into or with-
drawn from contact with the surfaces of the conductor by levers, and that when
they are so withdrawn from contact, the thickness of the arm and brushes is such
that the whole can be lifted out of the culvert through the groove or slit at the
top at any point. We prefer to attach these brushes to the cars by a frictional
connection in such manner that if by any chance the brush or arm should jam in
the culvert; the extra force thus caused will be sufficient to detach it from the car,
without damaging itself or the car. We form the rubbing contacts of these brushes
so long that if we find it convenient for better insulation or other purposes, to
make our conductors, not continuous, they will slide on over the breaks of continuity
without danger of catching or entanglement.
In some cases we form our culvert with one insulated conductor and make the
rail or loose side form the return connection, in others, we provide one insulated
conductor and one uninsulated one-In others we provide 2 insulated conductors.
In some cases such as in countries where there is little or no vehicular traffic
likely to cross the rails we propose to connect our continuous conductor to the upper

page_text: surface of the rail itself insulating it therefrom by the interposition of a strip of
insulating material.
In some cases we preserve the continuity of our conductor by connecting it to
the rail by the spring connections before described.
One form of spring connection may consist of forming the insulating strip of
vulcanized india rubber which will of itself in some cases afford sufficient
elasticity.
In dry countries where the two rails themselves may form the 2 conductors
being insulated from one another by the sleepers we propose to connect the ends
of the rails by spring connections and so avoid the break of continuity of the
conductor which is liable to occur through the jolts of heavy traffic.
For all these latter cases where the conductor is above the surface of the
ground and cross traffic not liable to interfere we can use our broad strip con-
ductor supported and insulated as hereinbefore described as for the interior of the
culvert.

page_text: Improvements in Electrical Tramways or Railways.
We ROOKES EVELYN BELL CROMPTON, Engineer, and JORGEN, HENRICK
FERDINAND SOLL, Engineer, both of the Arc Works, Chelmsford, Essex do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
Our invention relates to electrical tramways with the conductors underground,
or on the level of the roadway, and to methods of arranging the underground
conductor or conductors, and to means of cleaning out the culverts and of
preserving the insulation of the conductors.
We prefer to use the rails as one conductor, and to lay the other in a trough
along the inside of one rail. This conductor we call the conductor, and the trough
we cull the culvert.
The culvert is made by fastening a side piece of rolled or cast iron to the rail.
Fig. 1 shews one method of arranging the culvert. a is the rail, b b is cast-iron
troughing forming with a the culvert. f is the opening to admit the collector
attachment. The conductor is a strip of copper which is held on edge so that it
presents a flat vertical surface for the brush or rubber of the collector to rub
against. Any jolting of the car then does not lift the brushes or rubbers off the
surface or cause them to make bad contact. The conductor is shewn at c and is
supported by a spring d so curved that the moisture drips off the lowest part, and
does not lodge where it might spoil the insulation. e is insulating material.
Fig. 2 is another form of culvert. a is the rail & bb the side piece. cc are
two conductors bent into a spring form. The conductors may together serve as
one conductor, the rails being the other, or one may be the return & the other the
conductor proper. Both may then be insulated. In this form the conductors are
Bo close together that a brush or collector attachment which can touch both at
once can be drawn out by the opening f.
Fig. 4 shews another arrangement. a is the rail, b is the side piece c'the
conductor and d the spring support. e is insulating material.
Fig. 5 is one form of attachment. The collector can be removed through the
channel in the culvert by turning the rods n. n fixed to the cranks m. m until 7 is
directly under the channel.
Fig. 6 & 7 is an attachment suitable to the form of culvert shewn in fig. 3
g&h are two spring collectors to rub on c & e in fig. 2. i is the central support
& the collectors communicate with the motor on the car by the wires or strips k j.
h&g are carefully insulated from the support i & from each other if both lead &
return are inside the culvert. In these arrangements care is taken that the rubbed
surfaces of the conductors are easily accessible, so that they can be wiped or
greased by a suitable attachment to a car running on the tramway.
The attachment we prefer for collecting is shewn in figs. 8 9 & 10 on sheet 2.
Z is the collector, & it presses on the conductor c To get it out at the aperture at

page_text: the top the rod q is moved along by the crank r. This turns the rods n n n
which are rigidly connected with the short cranks m m m, & brings the collectors
directly under the main support o. The whole can then be lifted out through the
aperture.
Fig. 11 Sheet 3 shews a culvert with two conductors c c formed of springy
tubular material. They are arranged to be easily accessible to the cleaning
apparatus described below. Fig. 12 shews a similar arrangement with a single
conductor.
Fig. 13 shows an arrangement suitable for hot and dry countries.
ductor c is here placed upon the rail, being insulated from it.
Fig. 14 is a section of Fig. 12 through 8 8.
The con-
Fig. 15 is another arrangement. The conductors c c are fixed by means of
earthenware plugs tt to the insulating supports e e.
Fig. 16 shows a similar arrangement with one conductor.
Fig. 17 is a cross section of fig. 15 through u u. In these arrangements the
conductor is a flat strip beld with its long edge vertical.
Considerable trouble arises in electrical tramways from dirt & mud falling into
the culvert, & from the insulation of the conductor or conductors getting damaged
by water or dirt, and from the rubbing surfaces getting dirty, or wanting proper
lubrication. To obviate these difficulties we provide an attachment which is either
mounted on a separate car, or fixed to one of the ordinary carriages. This attach-
ment is provided with a scraper which loosens any mud or dirt. This is followed
by the nose of a sort of funnel up which a powerful draught is caused by a fan.
The loosened mud or dust is thus drawn up & discharged on the street or car.
This is followed by an arrangement for wiping or scraping the surface of the con-
ductor. After this comes an arm provided with means of lubricating the conductor
with a suitable insulating grease such as vaseline.
l
Figs. 18 & 19 Seeet 4 show one form of this attachment. u is the main frame,
which is attached to the car or carriage. vv is a subsidiary frame guided
accurately by the wheels ww & held by the rods x x & pressed down by the
springs y y. In front is the scraper z with its end a cut as shewn. It is pivotted
at k & the spring gives if it meets any serious obstruction. Any dust or mud is
sucked up the funnel b by the fan d & thrown out by the nozzle e. f is a wheel
for scraping the conductor c & is supported by the bracket g. h is an arm with
a soft pad i pressing against the conductor c well saturated with vaseline oil by
a tube down the channel j.
The fan is driven by a motor placed in shunt to the motor on the car or carriage.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. In an electrical tramway the construction or arrangement of a conductor or
conductors formed of a strip held with its rubbing surface or surfaces in a vertical
direction so as to allow the collector or collectors to have vertical play as set forth.
2. In an electrical tramway mounting the conductor or conductors on springs
substantially as set forth.
3. In an electrical tramway supporting the conductor or conductors on springs
or other supports curved or sloped to facilitate the moisture getting away substan-
tially as set forth.
4. In an electrical tramway the arrangement or construction of a collecting
attachment (such for instance as is illustrated by Figures 8, 9 and 10) arranged so
that it can be withdrawn through the narrow channel in the culvert.
5. In electrical tramways the construction or arrangement and use of culverts
and conductors substantially as set forth so as to admit of their being more easily
scraped and cleaned.
6. For use in electrical tramways the construction or arrangement of apparatus
for scraping and cleaning the culverts substantially as described.

page_text: 7. For use in electrical tramways apparatus for wiping and greasing the con-
ductor or conductors constructed or arranged substantially as set forth.
8. In electrical tramway apparatus greasing the conductor or conductors with an
insulating grease or lubricant as set forth.
9. In electrical tramways the construction or arrangement in combination
substantially in the manner set forth of the parts of culverts so that cleansing is
facilitated, with conductors of the character described so arranged as to be easily
accessible to the greasing or lubricating means.
10. In electrical tramways the construction or arrangement in combination of a
culvert formed as described with a conductor formed of a strip held in a vertical
direction by springs or supports curved or sloped to facilitate running off of the
moisture substantially as set forth.
Dated the 5th day of October 1886.
WM BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the said Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton
and Jorgen Henrick Ferdinand Soll.