A METHOD OR METHODS OP FACILITATING THE MEANSTAND, REDUCING THE EXPENCE OP CARRIAGE ON RAILWAYS AND OTHER: ROADS
Year: 1812

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE. PRESENTS: SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
CHAPMAN; of: Murton House, in. the County of Durhami, Civil Engineer, and
EDWARD WALTON. CHAPMAN, of Willington Ropery, in the Parish of Wallsend,
in the County-of-Northumberland, Ropemaker,.send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty. King George the Third, by. His
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal.of..the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date. at Westminster, the Thirtieth day of
December, in the fifty-third year of His reign, did give and grant unto us, the
said William Chapman and Edward Walton Chapman, our executors, admi-
nistrators; and assigns, that, we, the said William Chapman and Edward
Walton Chapman, our executors, administrators;, or assigns, or such others as
we, the said William: Chapman and Edward Walton Chapman, should at any
time agree with, and no others, during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and. lawfully might make, use, exercise; and vend, within that part of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain., and. Irelandi called England;: the
Dominion of Wales, and: Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of
A METHOD OR METHODS OP FACILITATING THE MEANSTAND, REDUCING THE EXPENCE
OP CARRIAGE ON RAILWAYS AND OTHER: ROADS;" in which: said Letters Patent
there is contained. a proviso, obliging us, the said: William Chapman and
Edward Walton 'Chapman, or the one. of us, by an instrument in writing under
hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of. one of us to cause a particular
description of the. nature of our said. Invention, and in what manner the same.
is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery.

page_text: within four calendar months next after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, as in and-by the same, relation being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
William Chapman and Edward Walton Chapman, do hereby describe the
nature of our said Invention, and that-the same is to be performed and carried
into effect in manner following (that is to say) :-
Our said Invention doth chiefly consist in the use of a chain or other
flexible and continuous substance stretched along the road to be travelled,
properly secured at each end and at suitable intervals, and in the applica-
tion of this chain round or partially round a barrel or grooved wheel in
such a manner as not to slip; when this grooved wheel, which is fixed
upon, before or behind, a carriage supporting or containing any internal
self-moving power, shall be put in motion by the said power, so that by the
revolution of the barrel or grooved wheel round its axis either one way or the
other, it shall necessarily draw the said carriage and any others which may be
attached to it within its powers of action. We also, as the carriage containing
the motive power will, thus loaded, be too heavy in various cases for the
strength of the existing iron or wooden rails if resting on four wheels only, so
arrange it for such ways (or other confined ways, where the ledges either of
the ways or of the wheels regulate the direction of the carriage) that it may
rest equally and more freely round curves or angles either on six or eight
wheels so as to reduce its pressure on each in the inverse proportion of its
number of wheels.
Having thus described the outlines of the seperate leading parts of our
Invention, we shall proceed to the means of carrying them into effect.
Fig. I., in the annexed Plan, is an elevation of a carriage containing the
motive power, be it steam, inflammable gass, or what it may. 1 is a grooved
wheel, round which the chain partially laps; this groove should be angular and
contain a number of y's of iron or other substance of the form of the Roman
letter V, with intervals between them, so that the chain when pressed into the
groove shall not be liable to slip; Q, Q, are two guide sheaves or pullies,
under which the chain leads in each direction of the road, and above which it
takes its course round as large a portion of the periphery of the wheel 1 as it
conveniently can. It is evident that on the advancing side of this wheel the
chain will be drawn tight into the groove, and that unless the chain be kept
heavily stretched it will be slack on the retiring side, and consequently slip, to
prevent which we press the chain into the groove by either the wheel 3 or 4,
accordingly as either of them shall be on the rear or retiring side. These

page_text: compressing wheels may either have a rim suitable to go into the groove of the
wheel 1, upon the chain, or these wheels may have suitable cogs of sufficient
breadth to correspond with similar cross openings in the rims of the grooved
wheel sufficiently deep for the cogs of the former to press upon the chain. On
inspection of Fig. I., it will be seen that the alternate action of these wheels
can be quickly effected by changing the position of the weight 5 to either
before or behind its axis (whether it be that of the wheel 1 or another,) as it is
fixed on a lever with two short arms, so as on the change of position to draw
one of the pressing wheels into the groove, or one of its cogs across it, and
retire the other from it, both these wheels being so supported or placed as to
admit of the requisite change of position; 6 is a small pulley or sheave at the
opposite end of the carriage, with or without side rollers to guide the carriage
when moving with that end foremost. The diameter of the pulley 6 should
be as small as it conveniently may be, so as to enable it to pass over 7, 7,
which are y's, or forks placed at certain intervals into which the chain falls, and
is held so as to resist the action of the carriages, but at the same time will rise
out of any one of them when the carriage approaches so near as to cause the
line of chain between it and the fork to form a considerable angle below the
horizon; 7a is a transverse elevation of the fork (upon a larger scale),
shewing the vertical slit, in which after being guided there by the oblique
arms of the fork the chain rests by the gravity of the part suspended or sup-
ported on that point; 7 b shews in plan the position of the chain with one of
its links vertically in the slit. These forks will only be necessary at certain
intervals, where three or four of them may be placed at five or ten yards
asunder, so as to admit of sufficient length of chain to press it into the groove
by its weight, and give a moral certainty of some one of them holding; they
will be particularly useful when several locomotive engines with their trains of
carriages follow each other in succession, and also in situations where the road
varies its degree of ascent, because where it does so materially stronger chains
may then be used in the steeper parts, as the increased action cannot extend
beyond the forks; the ends of the chain may be tightened by, small horizontal
barrels or windlasses, which, if on the railway, should be low enough for the
axles of the carriages to pass over, and wherever high roads are passed, or
carriages have to cross the line of chain, it should fall into a proper groove or
channel to prevent its being injured. If in place of passing the chain partially
round a grooved wheel in the manner described, it should be deemed eligible
to give it one or more turns round a barrel, it will be necessary to prevent the
progressive revolutions of the chain from passing to one end of it; one of the
means of effecting this will be to place longitudinally upon the barrel six or

page_text: eight chocks or wedges of hard wood or metal.declining towards one end, as in
à capstan, so that the chain may slide in the line of the axis, and keep a proper
position without. overlapping itself. It is obvious that carriages using the same
chain. cannot pass each other in any direction; therefore, there must either be
two railways, one for each direction, or the alternate conveyance must take
place at the termination of given stages or lengths of way, which to keep up a
regular and uninterrupted succession should be performed in equal portions of
time..
7. We shall now, give an example of each, suited to railways of wood or iron.
Two parallel ways with their respective chains are easily conceived; the only
difficulties lie in the terminations, from whence all the successive carriages
return, and in places where to avoid additional. expence in deep cuts through
high grounds, in enibankments, or in framework over valleys, one road is made
to serve both ways."
Fig. II. shews the termination of a double way, in which every locomotive
engine with its train of waggons may travel the whole distance. The strong
parallel lines shew the way upon which the carriages have travelled to this
termination, and the strongly dotted or broken parallel lines shew that on
which the return carriages are to go; these carriages are expressed by the
Roman capitals N, N,-in-similar lines and are there ready to be taken off by
the locomotive engine shewn by the Roman letter M.attached by the line u, v,
to the train of carriages shewn by the capitals N, N, in strong lines which it.
has just brought to their termination, so as to admit their going individually
and uninterruptedly to their adjacent place of loading or delivering, whichever
it may be. In this and the subsequent Fig" shewing parts of railways, I
denote the forks already described; o shews the position of an upright short
post to guide the chain upon the way where there is any curve or angle, and which
post must necessarily be on the concave side of the bend of the chain; II. shews
the termination of the chain, either. with or without a windlass; the position
of the chain is shewn by a small waved line, thus Fig. II. also shews
that the locomotive engine has travelled to its termination onía continuous line
of railway, whilst the waggons attached to it have (to admit their being taken
away without impediment) been drawn on to the road parallel to it; to effect
this, the engine before it arrives at the point a, where the road diverges, must
have its track line, or other fastening, slackened off to a suitable length, and
after it has passed the point a, a person attending should put in the switch rail
(or bar turning on a pin at one end) to this point of the diverging road, so as
to cause the wheels of the train of carriages to turn off in that direction; when
this is done, the locomotive engine will be ready to take the contrary course

page_text: with such waggons as may be ready assembled or be afterwards collected for
it. It is, however, obvious that as it has to travel on another line of way, and,
draw itself by another chain, that some preparatory alteration must now take.
place; it may be easily done by the following process:-
It is clear that without inconvenience to any succeeding train of carriages.
the chain may be seperated or detached any way between b and c, because
the forks at and beyond 6 will prevent, the chain from being hauled away by
any action upon it in that direction. Anywhere between 6 and a, or on that
side of 6, the chain should be capable of being casily seperated either when
slackened off at the extremity, or drawn up together by a light luff tackle with
its opposite blocks a sufficient distance asunder when the chain niay be sepe-
rated or unhooked, which will in general be best done when the parts overlap
each other a yard or two; the hook at each extremity may then be inserted
into such link as is suitable, by which means less accuracy is requisite, and the
rejunction of the end of the chain, leading from the adjacent termination at t
with the end of that belonging to the. other way, may be effected in a similar
manner. The switch rail s, a, being then put into its place, the engine and its
train of waggons may proceed on the return way, and the former line of chain
be rejoined, but on this rejunction it will be found that the part leading from
the extremity at t will be apparently elongated, and virtually so as to the
lengths extended before and 'subsequently to the passage of the engine along
the return way, which is an inconvenience attendant on the engine coming by
one chain and returning by another, because during the whole process of its
motion it transposes the local position of every portion of the chain it. passes
over, and advances it to an extent equal-to what. is requisite to lap over the
grooved wheel when lifted up between, the two guide pulleys.. This effect
must necessarily vary the points of rejunction of the chain between 6 and a, and
also 'require at due intervals of time portions; of that end of the chain which the
engine advances towards to. be taken off, and adding to the retiring end, for
which purpose it will be eligible that the chain be composed of certain lengths
(ten or fifteen yards, more or less,) connected, together by shackles or other
means, so as each portion may easily be detached from one chain and added to
the other in the progressive .course. of their revolution. This inconvenience
will not take place. when the 'engine returns by the same chain on which it
advanced, namely, when one engine only travels upon a stage, as will shortly
be described. In the first instance where locomotive engines in incidental
succession pursue each other on one road and return by another.
Fig. III. shews where the loaden and light ways casually unite in one. In
this case, as both the chains must run along the single way, there would be

page_text: some danger of their entangling by one lifting the other; therefore it will be
advisable in these parts, where the ways are thrown into one, to have two
additional rails, one a little within, and the other without their correspondent
rails, so as to keep the chains asunder, as shewn by the strong dotted lines
at (a) Fig. III., when a railway is laid out in successive stages, so that only one
engine travels on each and returns with the carriages brought to it from the
adjacent stage, then a single way only is requisite, excepting at their point of
interchange, which may be so managed as to be done simply by an easy
transfer of the carriages without any detaching of the ground chains, for which
see Fig. IV., where the railways of the two stages are made simply to overlap
each other for a duc extent to hold the carriages. They must have from eacli
end, as shewn by the strongly dotted or broken lines, a converging or slanting
communication with each other, along which each engine by its lengthened
track line drags its train of waggons (as in the explanation of Fig. II.) ready to
be taken onwards by the opposite engine. It will obviously occur, that one
stage will be sufficient in short distances or even in longer ones with a
correspondent reduction of the quantity to be daily conveyed, and likewise that
more than one locomotive engine may be employed on the same stage of a
single way, provided they follow each other in close succession both ways, or if
the first in one direction become the last in the other. Whenever two colleries
send their coals down the same waggon way, and that way a double one, then
on the system of stages each colliery may appropriate one of the ways to its
own soperate use, and should it so happen thate these ways in particularly
places unite in one, the difficulty of entanglement of their chains may be easily
done away by each colliery having the drawing forward apparatus of its
locomotive engine a few inches beyond their middle, towards the side most
distant from each other, or it may be done by the method described in Fig. III.
Where coals from the same colliery are sent from different pits, some incon-
venience, but easily superable, will arise at the junction of the branches. If
this junction be at such distance from each pit as to make a stage, the whole
process will be sufficiently easy from what has already been explained. If
otherwise, let A, B, and C, D, Fig. V., denote the two branches and their
junctions. The chain, if the locomotive engine travels to each pit, may
previously to the arrival of the engine from the termination of the conjoint
stage be prepared without delay to its passage along any branch, it requiring
only the means described in the explanation of Fig. II., which may be carried
into effect during the absence of the engine. Or if the branch C, D, be short,
the loaden waggons may be brought upon it close to the junction by horses or
other animal power, so as to be ready to be taken away by the engine which

page_text: previously to its doing so may, by lengthening its track line, draw the light
waggons into the byeway or sliding g, h, ready to by taken away from thence
by the horses which bring the loaden ones. To enlarge further on the methods
necessary for change of conveyance along railways would be superfluous, as
the explanations are already sufficiently explicit for those conversant in them,
and its also obvious, that, whenever expedient, one engine may be made to
travel two or more stages by simply uniting the chains at the ends of each stage.
There yet remains to be pointed out the application of our method to high.
roads, which is more peculiarly suitable where the roads are tolerably level,
and the materials for repairing them bad or expensive. If these roads be of
suitable width, they may be left for general purposes, except a narrow space
on one side, not much more than the width of a foot path, which will answer
for conveyance by alternate stages.
Fig. VI. shews the plan of an eligible road for this purpose; and
Fig. VII., its profile or transverse section, in both of which the references are
the same.
1, 1, are two parallel rows of large paving stones of Scotch or other
granite, at a suitable distance for the tread of carriage wheels; 2, 2, ranges of
hard smooth stones or other substances, bevelled in their face, and rising three
or four inches above the level of the pavement, so as to guide the carriage
wheels from getting off the way; c, d, is a pavement over any cross road, with
a groove in the middle for the chain to fall into. The guide stones on each
entrance from the cross way, from the extrados, or outside of a Gothic arch,
both for the purpose of admitting carriages to quit the chain road at these
These roads may pass through
places, and to direct them fairly on to it.
villages, but must necessarily pass by or terminate at towns, in which case the
terminations will be similar to one of the divisions of Fig. VI., and the loco-
motive engine must pass so far on to the pavement as to admit at least the
foremost carriage of its train to be drawn off clear of the way. Then on the
engines return to its chain road, or even previously to it, the returning train
of carriages may be fixed to its other end. As the engine may have append-
ages to clear away any impediments in the track of its wheels, and nothing can
be thrown out of geer by its motion, it is evident, that on a well-made chain
road it may travel with its train of carriages at the rate of seven or eight
miles an hour. The preference of the road last described must depend on its
comparative cheapness, because a tram way, namely, one formed of flat iron
rails with a rising ledge, has, unless for very heavy carriages, superior
advantages.
Fig. VIII. shews a carriage of six wheels for the engine, which may rest equally,
or nearly so, on each of its wheels, and move freely round the curves or past

page_text: the angles of a railway. 1, 1, the fore pair of wheels are, as usual on railways,
fixed to the body of the carriage: 2, 2, and 3, 3, the other, two pair, are fixed
(on axles parallel to each other) to a seperate frame, over which the body of
the carriage should be so poised as that two-thirds of its weight should lie
over the central point of the four wheels where the pivot 4 is placed, and the
remaining third over the axis '1, 1. The two-thirds weight of the carriage
should rest on conical wheels or rollers, bearing upon the curved plates c, c,
so as to admit the ledgers of the wheels or those of the way to guide them on
its curves or past its angles, by forcing the transome or frame to turn on the
pivot, and thus arrange the wheels to the course of the way, similarly to the
carriage of a coal waggon. And if the weight of the locomotive engine should
require eight wheels, it is only requisite to substitute in place of the axis 1, 1,
a transome such as described (laying the weight equally upon both), and then
similarly to two coal waggons, attached together, the whole four pair of wheels
will arrange themselves to the curves of the railway. In using locomotive,
steam, or other engines for mines, there will be a want of draught for the fire
under the boiler or air tubes, because of deficient height for the chimney or
vertical flue, and also above ground, where necessary to pass under bridges for
high roads, we, in these instances of want of draught, attach to the locomotive
engine the blowing apparatus of a common winnowing machine, to force a
current of air under the bars of "the fire-place, which apparatus should of
course receive its motion from the engine.
We have also invented a method of using an endless chain of limited 'length
for travelling an unlimited distance, an eligible method of using which is
shewn by 'the dotted lines annexed to Fig. I., which have not been mentioned
in the explanation of it, but which will now be described.
A is a carriage of four wheels (suitable to the railway), supported on which
is little (a), a short post or frame, with an eye bolt or other point of connection
with the end of a long spar, either of one piece or framed hollow, 'to make it
light and give it the power of lateral resistance; s, s, s, shew the outlines of
this spar, which, accordingly to circumstances, may be forty, fifty, or sixty feet
long. One end of it, as already mentioned, is attached to the carriage A,
which must be by a moveable joint, and the other end d must be attached in
a similar manner to the fore part of the locomotive engine.; vis a grooved wheel,
affixed to the carriage (shewn here for clearness at the tail of it, but which
will be best in its centre), round which wheel the endless chain, shewn by the
dotted lines c, c,-so far as it differs from the ground chain already described;
passes and returns to the locomotive engine, supported and directed by the
pullies u, u, some of which are attached to the spar and others to the engine

page_text: carriage. In this plan the counteraction to the engines power must evidently be
the forks 7, 7,-which of course must be continuous throughout the whole line
of progress and with intervals, suited to the distance between the carriage A,
or ratherfits wheel v; and the guidé pully 2 of the locomotive engine. It is
expedient at least that two of the forks 7, 7, should have hold of the chain,
and if they be five yards asunder, 'the spår s, 3, s, will be sufficient of fifty feet
length, or if eligible, two lengths. of 'spar may be used with an intervening
carriage of support. The peculiar.. advantages: and...disadvantages of this
method, conipared with those of the ground chain, will depend on local. and
adventitious circumstances. When a rope or other flexible substance is used
in the place of a chain, it will be necessary, that knots.or protuberances should
be fornied on this substitute, wherever it shall be expedient for it to be held by
the forks, mentioned in the description of Fig. I. It is already known to the
public, that self-acting locomotive engines have been used for the purposes of
drawing carriages after them. But the object of this Specification is not to
include as our Invention, what has heretofore been publickly done or granted
to any preceeding Patentee, but simply to claim for. the purposes, explained,
such position, application, and greater or less combination of the things
mentioned, as falls within our description, so far as such combination has
neither been publickly carried into effect, or been included in the Specification
of any prior Letters Patent, granted to any person or persons whomsoever.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Chapman and Edward Walton
Chapman, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-seventh
seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and thirteen.

page_text: NATHAN WILLIAM TODD, of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
Gentleman, maketh oath and saith, that he was on the Twenty-seventh day of
February last personally present, and did see William Chapman, of Murton
House, in the County of Durham, Civil Engineer, and Edward Walton
Chapman, of Willington Ropery, in the County of Northumberland, Rope
Manufacturer, the persons described in the Deed Poll or Specification herunto
annexed, sign, seal, and as their several act and deed, deliver the said Deed
Poll or Specification, and that the names or signatures of "Will Chapman" and
"Edwd W. Chapman," as the parties executing the same, are of the respective
proper handswriting of the said William Chapman and Edward Walton
Chapman; and that the names
and that the names or characters of "N. W. Todd" and
"R. Casely" set and subscribed as witnesses to the lue execution thereof,
are of the respective proper handswriting of Roger Caseley, of Newcastle
aforesaid, gentleman, and him this deponent.