IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR REMOVING SNOW FROM RAILROAD TRACKS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR REMOVING SNOW FROM RAILROAD
TRACKS." A communication.
Sealed the 8th August 1856, and dated the 18th May 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th May 1856.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR REMOVING SNOW FROM RAILROAD
TRACKS, to be as follows:-
Snow ploughs heretofore used for removing snow from railroad tracks have
been designed and constructed with a view to press the snow directly from the
tracks in a lateral direction. With this view they have been generally con-
structed of two vertical curved shares or surfaces, commencing at or very near
to the point of the snow plough, and immediately diverging laterally. In the
use of such ploughs it has been found that in deep snows the snow becomes
difficult
wedged or packed together at the sides of the track, making it very
for the plough and the cars to force their way through; by such ploughs,

page_text: moreover, the snow is only temporarily pressed away at the sides, and after the
plough has passed a considerable portion falls back on to the track again.
The present Invention consists in constructing the snow plough of a simple
inclined plane, of a width a little greater than the train, and commencing very
close to the surface of the rails, and rising at a gradual angle for some
distance without any lateral projecting surfaces, until the inclined plane has
reached to the depth of the snow; then two vertical surfaces curving laterally
are employed; the object of this arrangement being, by the action of the
simple inclined plane or wedge, in the first instance to raise up the snow
entirely, and then to press off the snow so elevated on to the top of the
surrounding snow; thereby avoiding the lateral packing and jamming of the
snow, as with the old. ploughs, and the return of the snow. after it has been
once removed.
にじ
When there is a crust of ice on top of the snow, two thin or sharp vertical
metallic plates may be attached to the sides of the plough in front, for the
purpose of cutting, through the ice or crust on top of the snow. The tops of
the plates or cutters, are.to be just high enough to reach the surface of the
snow and cut through any crust of ice formed there. This improved
trivance for removing snow may be placed on a single truck, or immediately
in front of the locomotive, and a heating apparatus may also be employed in
conjunction therewith for the purpose of diminishing the adhesion of the snow
to the surface of the clearer; or the inclined plates. may be made of double
plates of metal, and steam or hot water made to circulate between these
plates.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th November 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,. WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON; of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.: Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord. One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto;me, the said William
Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William Edward Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time. agree with; and no others, from time to time and at all times.
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise; and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, "ande Isle of Man; an' Invention for "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR REMOVING SNOW FROM RAILROAD TRACKS," being a communication
from abroad upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the 'said William
Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand,.and.seal, should
particularly.describe andrascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed; and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six .calendar months next. .and' immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent...
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William: Edward Newton,; do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following: statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
Snow ploughs heretofore used for removing snow from railroad tracks have
been designed and constructed with a view to press the snow directly from the
tracks in a lateral direction, and for this purpose they have been generally
provided with two vertical curved: shares or surfaces, commencing at or very
near to the point of the snow plough, and immediately diverging laterally.
In the use of such ploughs it has been found that in deep snows the snow
becomes wedged or packed together at the sides of the track, making it" very
difficult for, the plough and the cars to force their way through; by-such
ploughs, moreover, the snow is only temporarily pressed away at the sides, and
after the plough. has passed'a considerable portion falls back on to the track
again..
*:
Now, the present. Invention; as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent; consists in so constructing the snow plough, that a simple inclined
plane or wedge will 'act in the first instance to raise up the snow entirely, and
then two vertical surfaces, curving laterally will press off the snow so elevated
on to the top of the surrounding snow, by which means I avoid the lateral
packing and jamming of the snow, effected by the old ploughs, and the return
of the snow after it has been once removed.
...In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1' is a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a
perspective view of the improved implement.
: The improved snow clearer occupies a position in front of the locomotive..
C, C, and D, D, are two ordinary four-wheel trucks, which are attached by

page_text: bolsters to a lower frame or support E, E', in such a manner as to allow the
trucks to pass freely around curves, in the manner in which locomotive and
carriage trucks are now made to swivel. A, B, is an inclined plane, made of
metal or wood, and attached permanently to the lower piece E, E¹. The
portion A is made to project in front of the truck C, C; the plane A, B, rises
from the point A gradually, say, at angle of about twenty degrees to thirty
degrees; (where the snows are light, this plane might rise more rapidly.)
This plane A, B, is of uniform level transversely as far as the vertical piece F;
this piece F is so constructed as to present two vertical surfaces, meeting at
the point f, and curving laterally outwards, and rising from one to three feet,
proportioned to the usual depth of the snow in the section of country where
this snow clearer is used. The entire piece F is made to slide up and down
along the plane A, B, by means of a plate, with a flange or rim fitting over the
edges of A, B, or by means of projections on the under side of F fitting into
slots in the upper surface of A, B, in order to adjust it to any required position.
The proper position for the efficient action of this wedge-shaped piece F is
when the point f is placed just at the height of the upper surface of the
surrounding snow. The front vertical surfaces of the wedge have a double
curvature, curving slightly inwards as they rise up, so as the more easily to
deliver the snow raised from the track on to the surface of the surrounding
When the piece F has been adjusted in the proper position for the
depth of the snow, it can be secured there by means of pins or bolts, as shewn
in the Drawing.
snow.
The interior of the space between E, E', and B can be occupied with.
advantage by a series of circulating hot water or steam pipes, or by a boiler or
furnace, for the purpose of keeping the surface of the plane A, B, warm, and
diminishing the adhesion of the snow to the surface of A, B.
The advantage of my improved track clearer above described is, that the
snow is first raised above and then deposited upon the surface of the surround-
ing snow, instead of being pressed laterally away at the sides of the track, so
as to pack and jam there; hence, the resistance to the advance of the plough
is much diminished, and a train can force a passage through deeper snows
and with more rapidity than with any common form of lateral action snow
ploughs.
When there is a crust of ice on top of the snow, two thin or sharp vertical
metallic plates g and g¹ may be attached to the sides of the plough in front,
for the purpose of cutting through the ice or crust on top of the snow.. The
tops of the plates or cutters 9 and g¹ are to be just high enough to reach the
surface of the snow, and cut through any crust of ice formed there. This

page_text: improved contrivance for removing snow may be placed on a single truck, or
immediately in front of the locomotive. The space between E, E¹, and a, B,
may be occupied by a heating apparatus, as above, or this heating apparatus
may be omitted, or the plate A, B, may be made of double plates of metal,
and steam or hot water made to circulate between these plates.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved Machinery
for Removing Snow from Railroad Tracks," as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim,-
First, constructing snow clearers of a simple rising inclined plane A, B,
in combination with the curved pieces at F so arranged that the snow shall be
gradually raised at or near to the surface of the surrounding snow, and then
discharged over on the top of it, substantially as above described.
And, secondly, I claim the employment of a series of pipes or other heating
apparatus in the interior of a snow clearer, for the purpose of diminishing the
adhesion of the snow to the upper surface of the clearer.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twelfth day of November, in the year of
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)