IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO FACILITATE THE LOADING OF SHIPS OR VESSELS WITH COAL, MINERALS, OR OTHER SUB- STANCES IN BULK
Year: 1864

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 OR APPARATUS TO FACILITATE
THE LOADING OF SHIPS OR VESSELS WITH COAL, MINERALS, OR OTHER SUB-
STANCES IN BULK."-A communication from abroad by Edouard Dincq, of
Jemmapes, in the Kingdom of Belgium.
Sealed the 29th November 1864, and dated the 25th June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 25th June 1864.
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 OR APPARATUS TO FACILITATE
THE LOADING OF SHIPS OR VESSELS WITH COAL, MINERALS, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES IN
BULK," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object to transport from railway trucks or
waggons into ships or vessels coal, or minerals, or other substances in such a
manner that the coal or other substance may be broken as little as possible.
To this end the coal or other substance is discharged from the waggons or
trucks on to a double inclined trough which is suspended on centres in an
opening on the wharf wall so that the inclined trough may be raised or lowered
when required.
This inclined trough is composed of two parts, one of which

page_text: is hinged to a fixed pivot while the other is hinged to the outer end of the
first part of the inclined trough which is capable of being fixed at any incli-
nation by means of pins which are inserted in holes made in a fixed sector for
the purpose. The outer end of the second half of the trough may be suspended
by a chain or rope or it may simply rest on the ship or vessel. It will be
understood that it is capable of being lifted up out of the way when the ship
or vessel is to be moved away. The waggons or trucks may be provided with
trap doors in their bottoms so that by opening these doors, the contents may
be allowed to slide gently into a hopper and from thence on to the inclined
trough and into the hold of the vessel. Or the waggons may be constructed
with tail boards and the platform and rails on which they rest when above
the hopper and inclined trough may be capable of being lifted up and turned
on a centre by means of a rack and pinion motion so as to tip up the waggon
and cause the contents to slide down into the hopper.
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 24th December 1864.
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 Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth 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 Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said 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, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO FACILITATE THE LOADING OF SHIPS OR
VESSELS WITH COAL, MINERALS, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES IN BULK," being a commu-
nication 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 and ascertain the nature of the said In-

page_text: vention, 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 per-
formed, 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):
This Invention has for its object to transfer from railway trucks or
waggons into ships or vessels coal, ore, minerals, or other substances in such a
manner that the coal or other substance may be broken as little as possible..
To this end the coal or other substance is discharged from the waggons or
trucks on to a double inclined trough which is suspended on centres in an
opening in the wharf wall, so that the inclined trough may be raised or
lowered when required. This inclined trough is composed of two parts one-
of which is hinged to a fixed pivot, while the other is hinged to the outer end
of the first part of the inclined trough, the whole being capable of being fixed
at any inclination. by means of pins which are inserted in holes made in a
fixed sector for the purpose. The outer end of the second. half of the trough
may be suspended by a chain or rope,. or it may simply rest on the ship or
vessel. It will be understood that the inclined trough is capable of being
lifted up out of the way when the ship or vessel is to be moved away. The
waggons or trucks may be provided with trap doors in their bottoms, so that
by opening these doors the contents may be allowed to slide gently into a
hopper, and from thence on to the inclined trough and into the hold of the
vessel. Or the waggons may be constructed with tail boards, and the platform.
and rails on which they rest when above the hopper and inclined trough may
be capable of being lifted up and turned on a centre by means of a rack and
pinion motion so as to tip up the waggon and cause the contents to slide down
into the hopper.
In the accompanying Drawing Figs. 1 and 2 represent in transverse and.
longitudinal section, an arrangement constructed according to this Invention...
In this instance the material is discharged into the vessel through traps or
apertures closed by hinged doors or sliding shutters adapted to the bottom of
the railway carriages or trucks.
Figs. 3 and 4 represent also in transverse and longitudinal section an arrange-
ment for discharging into vessels, the contents of carriages or trucks from
the extremities thereof, which are for that purpose provided with doors or
shutters. In this instance the platform and rails on which the waggons rest

page_text: are capable of being lifted up at one end and being turned on a centre in
order to bring the floor of the waggon into an inclined position, so that upon
opening the door or shutter at the end, the contents of the waggon will slide
down either into a hopper or on to an inclined trough direct into the vessel.
The raising or tipping of the waggon is effected by means of a rack and pinion
motion.
Figs. 5, 6, and 7, are views representing the latter modification adapted
for discharging the contents of the railway trucks or waggons from their
ends into carts running upon common roads and Fig. 8 shews a similar
arrangement for discharging the trucks or waggons on to the ground.
The inclined planes or shutes A, B, B, D, which are employed for loading
vessels from railway trucks as shewn at Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 may be set at
any angles by means of the points of support A and B, the shutes at the
point A being fixed and at the one B moveable and capable of being adjusted
to any desired inclination.
This adjustment may be effected in various ways, but in the Drawing an
arrangement is shewn in which it is effected by means of bolts & passing
through the holes in a bar or sector C, C¹. In certain cases it would be
advantageous to set the inclined planes in juxtaposition and render one of
them moveable in such manner that the shute may be lengthened or shortened,
the moveable inclined plane being made to run upon wheels for that purpose.
The counterweight N is intended to facilitate as much as possible the move-
ment of the inclined planes upon the fulcrum A. The inclined plane or
shute B, D, (upon the lower part of which is a counterweight Q for the
purpose of keeping it in equilibrium upon its fulcrum B) may by pressing upon
the counterweight with the hand, be made to assume the position B, D', as
shewn in dotted lines in order to allow a vessel to approach the wharf, after
which the inclined trough may be brought down upon the edge of the boat or
vessel to be loaded with coal or other matters. The waggons or trucks from
which the vessels are to be loaded may as above stated be constructed in the
manner most suited for the purpose, for instance, they may be so constructed
as to allow of their being emptied at bottom through hinged or sliding doors,
traps, shutters, or shutes as seen in Figs. 1 and 2; or the waggons or trucks
now in use upon most railways might be employed and made to open at their
ends as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. In order the better to guide the coal or other
material in its descent segmental pieces U, Fig. 4, made of iron or other
material of sufficient strength are affixed to the tail boards of the trucks. The
moveable traps or shutters T¹, Fig. 2, in opening, rest upon the side of the
well or hopper H in the position most suitable for depositing the coal or other

page_text: material with as little violence as possible upon the inclined planes down
which it passes to the vessel to be loaded. When the ordinary trucks which
open at their ends are employed the arrangement represented at Figs. 3 and 4
of the Drawings is to be adopted. It will be seen on referring to these
Figures that the carriages are unloaded without leaving the rails, which
together with the trucks are themselves converted into inclined planes by
means of the moveable table T which rocks upon fulcra A', A", and is worked
by means of the simple mechanism shewn in the Drawing, and which consists
of a pinion taking into a rack capable of being worked up and down in
guides t, t, which travel with the parallel shields in which they are invariably
engaged round the axle of the pinion. This axle carries a winch handle m
upon which it is only necessary to act with gentle pressure either to raise or
lower the platform T and with it the truck to be unloaded. The shaft of the
pinion is provided with a ratchet wheel and click for retaining the platform in
any desired position. The truck or carriage is prevented from running off the
platform (when this latter is raised into an inclined position) by means of a
chain O passing round the hinder axle of the carriage and attached to hooks
or rings fixed to the platform between the rails; or this chain might be made
to support the carriage at two points of the hinder axle, at a uniform tension
by taking into the grooves of two pullies instead of these hooks or rings.
As it is important to be able to distribute the load uniformly over the whole
length of the vessels, which are generally very light and capable of offering
but little resistance, it will be sufficient for this purpose to increase the number
of shutes. In loading for example a vessel of from 90 to 100 feet in length
4 or 5 inclined planes or shutes will be employed corresponding to as many
trucks for the purpose of distributing simultaneously the coal or other
material over the whole surface of the vessel, where it may be levelled by hand
as usual if necessary. The supply and passage of the coal or other material
down the shutes may also be regulated and facilitated by means of attendants
who are stationed in the passages P.
Figs. 5 and 6 are cross section and longitudinal views shewing the Inven-
tion worked in the same manner as the preceding one, and adapted for
loading common road waggons direct from the railway truck, and Figs. 7
and 8 represent the same arrangement adapted for discharging the load upon
the ground.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent as aforesaid, and having explained the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent, the use of an inclined trough such as that herein shewn for

page_text: receiving the contents of railway waggons or trucks and discharging the same
with as little breakage as possible, I also claim the mode herein set forth of
discharging railway trucks or waggons by tipping the same so as to convert
their floors into inclined troughs down which the contents will slide as above
described.
In witness whereof; I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (LS.)