IMPROVE- MENTS IN ENGINE PITS POR RAILWAYS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ENGINE PITS POR RAILWAYS."-A communication from abroad
hu Honey Lemos Rouse Civil Engineer residing at Alexandria Erent
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 18th June 1864.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINE PITS FOR RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
Ou railways it is the custom to bring the engines over a pit in the stations
for pricking out the clinkered coke between the fire-bars, and for repairs and
examination generally. These pits, "engine pits," are commonly situated
adjoining water cranes, so that engines in steam, with or without trains, take
water and have their fire bars pricked out at the same moment. In
"made ground" the foundations for these engine pits (when unavoidable in
those positions) often cost large sums of money. Sometimes, at an inter-
mediate station of a railway, an engine pit on the main line of rails would be
convenient, but express trains would then possibly run over the pit at a high

page_text: speed, which would be dangerous if the pit were made only of brick or stone
and with timber as is usual.
Now this Invention consists in the construction and employment of metal
pits, and that, by preference, wrought-iron pits, in any desired position between
the rails in which locomotives travel. The pits are made, by preference,
entirely of wrought-iron plates, angle iron, T-iron, and rivets, and the rails rest
on the pits on each side. The pit is like a square boat in the ground, and
the rails rest in chairs in the usual manner; when the rails are raised for
repairs the pit should be raised with them. In addition to the ordinary
rails, I employ a check rail or guard rail the whole length of the pit on the
inner side of each ordinary rail to prevent the engine or carriage wheels
leaving the rails and running off the line at or over a pit. The ends of the
check rails are rounded or "elbowed" as in crossings at a station. Pits for
shops or sheds do not require the check rail, because the engines or waggons
using them have no speed inside a shop.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINE PITS FOR RAILWAYS," (communi-
cated to me from abroad by Henry James Rouse, Civil Engineer, residing at
Alexandria, Egypt,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors or administrators, by an instru-

page_text: ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain 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 Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
On railways it is the custom to construct and use-what are termed "engine
pits" or "pits," as well in open station yards, sidings, and upon main lines of
rail as in covered workshops and sheds, for purposes of cleaning, construction,
examination, and repairs of locomotive engines and all other rolling stock
appertaining to railways, and which consist each of a sunken space or "pit"
between any two adjoining and corresponding rails carrying an engine, and
over which a locomotive engine may be brought for the purposes of pricking
out or removing the clinkere coke or other fuel from between the fire-bars,
and for purposes of repair, cleaning, and examination generally. Similar
"engine pits" or "pits" are used also largely for examining, repairing, or
cleaning the under sido of locomotive engines and all other rolling stock apper-
taining to railways in and about the workshops, steam sheds, and station yards
of railway establishments. External engine pits in station yards are com-
monly situated adjoining water cranes, so that engines in steam, with or
without trains, may take water and have their fire-bars pricked out at the
same moment. They are usually constructed of stonework entirely, or of
brick or stone work with timber sleepers under the rails, and with timber
piling or other artificial foundation in embankment or made ground where it
is sometimes unavoidably necessary to place them, and when so situate they
become costly structures owing to the additional work necessary to give them
the necessary solid foundation. It would be convenient and desirable to use
engine pits on the main line at intermediate stations of railways, whether in
cuttings or embankments, but as now made it would be somewhat dangerous
to adopt them where express trains would run over them at high speeds. In
engine shops or steam sheds any timber used in engine pits is liable to take
fire from the contiguity of red-hot cinders and fire-bars raked out or dropped
from the engine, and from other causes tending towards incendiary action.
Now this Invention communicated to me consists in the construction and
employment of "engine pits" or "pits" of metal, by preference, wrought iron,

page_text: the form proposed being that of a rectangular or square-sided box or pan let
into the ground, and carrying the rails upon its upper rim; and in certain
cases, hereafter described, there are or may be, in addition to the ordinary
main rails, check or guard rails extending the whole length of the pits, and
placed on the inner side of the main rails, and curved or elbowed at the ends
in a similar way to the check rails in "crossings" at stations. The check
rails are for the purpose of preventing engine or other wheels from leaving the
line at or on the pits.
The following is the mode in which the "metal engine pits" or "metal
pits are constructed:-They are, by preference, made of wrought iron
riveted together with angle irons and tee irons, having flanges on their top
rims for the purposes of carrying the rails and stiffening the edges of the pits.
These flanges are to be either of plain boiler plate or bar iron connected to
the sides and ends of the pits by angle iron or tee iron, or they are to be of
chequered or stamped plate, the chequered or uneven surface being under-
most so as to secure a good hold in the ground; or the flanges are of an entire
rolled section to be attached at once to the sides and ends of the pits. The
bottom plates of the pits are of rough fluted, chequered, or other stamped or
rolled plate for the purpose of giving foothold for the workman who may be
engaged in attending to the engines or other rolling stock over the pits. The
transverse and longitudinal ribs of tee iron or angle iron forming the framing
or stiffening of the pits are placed on the outer side of the pits, leaving a clear
uninterrupted surface inside, and forming a good hold in the ground sur-
rounding them outside. Gussets and stiffening pieces are used also where it
is found necessary for the purpose of ensuring the rigidity of the whole system.
The forin of the metal pits may vary according to the space that may be
allotted to them or other circumstances, and one or both ends may be made
sloping in the form of inclined planes with transverse pieces of angle, tee, or
other iron to give foothold to the workmen in descending or ascending; or
steps are provided either of wrought or cast iron bolted or otherwise fastened
to the sloping end or ends; or the means of access to the pits may be by portable
iron or other ladders or gangways, in which case the ends of the pits may be
vertical. The metal pits may be provided with a box or locker for tools and
a place to keep a lamp, such box or locker being attached to the inside of
the pits in some convenient place. As regards dimensions, the metal pits are
made for railways of any gauge, and their length may vary from a length
only sufficient for a portion of or for a single engine, tender, carriage, or
waggon to a length capable of taking any number of the same combined.
The various kinds of iron used in manufacturing the wrought-iron pits are

page_text: either of the usual kind of rolled or stamped form, or of specially rolled or
stamped iron to suit the form of the pits in as near their entire section as
possible. The main rails and check rails, whether of iron or steel, or any
combination of metals bearing upon the upper rim of the pits, are either the
usual double-beaded rails, flanged rails, bridge rails, or any other known
section of rails, or some specially rolled section of rail which may form part
of the rim of the pits; the main and check rails may be rolled together in one
section or separately. The bearings or seatings of the rails are either to be
on or with cast-iron chairs, or on or with wrought-iron chairs, brackets, lugs,
or steps bolted, rivetted, or otherwise secured to the flanges of the pits, or con-
tinuous bearings bolted, rivetted or otherwise fastened as the case may require,
and for the purpose of uniting the main rails on the pits with the adjoining
main rails of the line either the ordinary fishing plates are to be used, or in
the event of the sections of rails on the pits being different to those of the
line, fishing plates or seatings so formed as to unite any two dissimilar sections
may be used.
The above description refers principally to wrought-iron pits, but this
Invention includes pits formed wholly or partly of steel; it also includes pits
made of buckled plates or other stamped plates wholly or partly; also pits of
corrugated iron wholly or partly. The mode of forming these pits is some-
what similar to that described for the wrought-iron pits, varying in detail
according to the nature of the plates used and the mode of framing necessary.
I sometimes form these pits wholly or partly of cast iron; the cast-iron pits
are cast in sections or entire; where they are cast in sections the joints are
made with flanges or laps bolted together with bolts and nuts, and caulked
with iron cement, or other suitable cement or caulking, or otherwise fastened.
The cast-iron pits may have the chairs for the rails cast with the pits or
separately, and they may have cast-iron rails in lieu of rolled rails cast with
the pits in cases where cast-iron rails will be sufficiently strong and durable,
otherwise the rails are of the kinds already described. The description of
the sloping ends, steps, or ladders for the wrought-iron pits apply also to the
cast-iron pits.
The following details are common to every description of metal pit appli-
cable to railways, namely:-There is a slight inclination or fall of the bottom
inside towards one or more points for the purpose of drainage. In all the
top rims or flanges of the pits, holes are provided for the purpose of ramming
or punning the ballast, earth, or whatever the ground may be, so as to form a
solid bearing or bed for the pits. There are also holes, handles, eyes, or lugs

page_text: provided for the purpose of lifting or lowering the pits in place or removing
them by means of tackle, and the rails and check rails being attached to the
pits will be raised or lowered with them as part of them. To render an
alteration in length of a pit an easy operation the pit already in place to be
lengthened or shortened need not be entirely taken away to be replaced by
another of different length, but the end portions may be so constructed, if
necessary, that they can be taken away, leaving the middle portion in the
ground, to which can be attached new end pieces. The metal pits of every
description when made for exportation, and when of too great length to be
shipped entire, may be prepared in detached plates, bars, tee or angle irons,
or in pieces or sections for the convenience of shipment, to be united when
arriving at the place for which they are intended. The metal pits may be
coated by either of the processes called galvanizing, glazing, or enamelling,
or by any other process for the prevention of oxidation, the coating being
applied to the material before being put together or to the pits when
complete. The check rails as well as main rails are or may be attached to
all metal engine pits where trains or engines pass over them at high speeds,
as, for example, on main lines of railways; but for those pits that are used
for sidings, station yards, engine and tender shops, or carriage and waggon
shops or sheds, where the speed over the pits would be slow, or where engines
are never taken, check rails would or need not be used, and in such cases the
flanges of the pits carrying the main rails would be narrower than those
where check rails are used, and there would be no holes for punning or
ramming the ballast or ground, the narrowness of the flange obviating the
necessity for the holes, and the punning or ramming would be done from the
outside edge. The metal pits may be placed on a curved line of rails or
railway, and the main and check rails may be curved on the pits to suit the
curve of the line, either by the marginal flange of the pits being made suffi-
ciently broad to include the curvature of its length of rails, or in a very sharp
curve by the pits being curved or polygonal, so as to present a uniform
support under the curved rails, and the tilting of the outer rail may be
effected either by packing or by special chairs or rails for the purpose. In
all the situations where the ordinary engine pits may now be placed, and also
in situations where they cannot be used without additional cost and danger,
namely, in embankment or made ground, and where the heaviest express
trains may run over them at high speeds, the metal engine pits are applicable
from their self-supporting form and materials, and they will be perfectly fire-
proof. These pits can be shifted from one place to another when required,

page_text: and their construction allows of the greatest working space within them; the
space between the sides can be as wide as the gauge of the line by having the
rails of a section projecting only outwards from the pit.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, of the accompanying Drawings as an isometrical view,
shewing one form of a wrought-iron pit suited to the main line of a railway,
and capable of supporting engines and tenders. This may be called "a main
line engine pit." It is of the heavy description of pit. At a a portion is
shewn removed, for the better illustration of the mode of construction; b, b, b,
are steps at the end of the pit for the purpose of access to it; c is the ordinary
double-headed main rail, and d the check rail; e, e, are cast-iron chairs made
to support both main and check rails; f. f, are holes in the sides of the pit
for the purpose of lifting or lowering it in place; 9, 9, are holes in the upper
flanges through which the soil is to be punned or packed solid around the pit;
h, h, are stiffening wings or gussets for the purpose of keeping the pit rigid
transversely. Figure 2 is a transverse section of the pit shewn at Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a portion of the upper flange of the same pit, shewing a detail of
the rails, chairs, and punning holes. The same letters refer to similar parts
in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Figure 4 is a transverse section of a wrought-iron boiler plate pit similar
to the last in arrangement, except that the rail and check rail are of the
bridge form and are rolled together in one section. The rails are attached at
once to the flanges of the pit without the intervention of chairs. This pit is
also of the heavy description, and is designated a main line engine pit. k, k,
are the rails and check rails.
Figure 5 is the transverse section of another kind of boiler plate pit. It
has no check rails, but main rails of the bridge section only. This is suited
to bear the weight of engines and tenders, but is not for the main line; it is
for engine sheds or shops, and may be termed the "engine shop pit."
Engines and trains do not run over it at full speed as they do over the "main
line engine pit." 1, l, are the rails of bridge section attached to the flanges
without chairs.
Figure 6 is a transverse section of a boiler plate pit of a lighter description
than shewn by the preceding Figures. It has no check rails, but has flanged
main rails. It is intended for carriage, waggon, or general rolling stock
sheds or shops, but not for engines and tenders. It is named the "carriage
shed pit." m, m, are the flanged rails attached without chairs.
Figure 7 is a transverse section of another still lighter description of boiler
plate pit, intended for the lightest of rolling stock. It is made narrow on its
top flanges, and has specially rolled rails, the flanges of which form the flanges

page_text: of the pit. n, n, are the specially rolled rails attached without chairs. This
pit is called the "light carriage pit."
Figure 8, Sheet 2, is an isometrical view, shewing one form of a pit, with
sides, bottom, and ends of corrugated iron, suited to the main line, and
capable of bearing heavy engines, tenders, and trains, either resting on it or
passing over it at full speed equally with the pit shewn at Figure 1, Sheet 1,
and in all respects, except the corrugated iron, it is similar to the pit shewn
at Figure 1, Sheet 1, and the same letters of reference apply to similar parts
in all the Figures on Sheet 2. Figure 9 is a transverse section of the
corrugated iron pit shewn at Figure 8. This Figure is similar in all respects,
except the corrugated iron, to Figure 2, Sheet 1.
Figure 10 is a transverse section of a corrugated iron pit, with rail and
check rail of the bridge form, and is similar, except the corrugated iron, to
that shewn at Figure 4, Sheet 1.
Figure 11 is a transverse section of a corrugated iron pit answering in
description to the boiler plate pit shewn at Figure 5, Sheet 1.
Figure 12 is a transverse section of a corrugated iron pit answering to
the description of boiler plate pit shewn at Figure 6, Sheet 1.
Figure 13 is a transverse section of a corrugated iron pit answering to the
description of boiler plate pit shewn at Figure 7, Sheet 1. In constructing
the corrugated metal pits the corrugation may run as shewn in the Drawing,
or longitudinally or otherwise.
Figure 14, Sheet 3, is an isometrical view, shewing one form of a cast-iron
pit of the heavy description, suited to main lines and for engines and tenders.
This pit is shewn put together in sections by flanged joints bolted with bolts
and nuts. For all the parts that are similar to those in the wrought-iron pits
the same letters of reference denote similar parts. In addition to those letters
of reference the following are necessary for all the Figures on this Sheet:-
0, 0, are the flanged joints; p, p, are ribs cast on each segment to stifen
the pits transversely. Figure 15 is a transverse section of the same cast-
iron pit.
Figure 16 is a transverse section of a cast-iron pit for the same purpose,
and answering to the description of pit shewn at Figure 4, Sheet 1.
Figure 17 is a transverse section of a cast-iron pit for the same purpose,
and answering to the same description as that shewn at Figure 5, Sheet 1.
Figure 18 is a transverse section of a cast-iron pit for same purpose, and
answering the description of pits shewn at Figure 6, Sheet 1.
Figure 19 is a transverse section of a cast-iron pit for the same purpose,
and answering the description of pit shewn at Figure 7, Sheet 1.

page_text: And baving now described the nature of the said Invention communicated
to me as aforesaid by the said Henry James Rouse, I declare that I claim
constructing pits for railways, whether under sheds or roofs or not, of wrought
iron or other suitable metal, substantially in manner herein-before described
and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of December, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.S.)