CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TEAM OR RAILWAYS, AND IN THE CARRIAGES TO BE USED THEREON
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WILKINSON, of the Quadrant, Regent Street, in the Parish of Saint James, in
the City of Westminster, Ironmonger and Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster on or about the Thirteenth day of September last, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas
Wilkinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her special licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Wilkinson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, and every of them, by myself and
themselves, or by my and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such
others as I, the said Thomas Wilkinson, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, the Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF TEAM OR RAILWAYS, AND IN THE CARRIAGES TO BE USED THEREON,”
in such manner as to me, the said Thomas Wilkinson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or any of them, should in my or their discretion seem
meet; in which Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me,
the said Thomas Wilkinson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same

page_text: to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same (reference being thereunto had) will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Wilkinson, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention to
consist,―
Firstly, in a peculiar construction in the form of the rails, and embedding
them so as to present a more equal and uniform resistance, and whereby stone
and wood may be employed as rails as well as iron.
Secondly, in an alteration in the construction of the wheels of the locomotive
machines and other carriages, whereby they are capable of running upon
common roads at will.
Thirdly, in improvements in the construction of the carriage part and other
parts of the locomotive and other carriages.
Fourthly, in certain apparatus applicable to the cleansing and preserving of
railroads and other roads.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Thomas
Wilkinson, do hereby describe the manner in which the said Invention is to be
carried into effect by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the several Drawings hereunto annexed, marked I., II., III., IV., V., VI.,
and VII., and to the figures and letters marked thereon, and which Drawings
are to be deemed and taken to be part of this my description (that is to
say) :-
Firstly, as to the first part of the said Invention, that is to say, the
"peculiar construction in the form of the rails, and embedding them so as to
present a more equal and uniform resistance, and whereby stone and wood
may be employed as rails as well as iron." The rails, if of iron, are to be
composed in preference of bars of wrought iron, of which a transversal section
is represented in Drawing No. I. A, A, the upper parts, present a plane
surface slightly inclining towards the outer side of the road, furnished with an
inner edge B, raised laterally. Their lower surface has two projecting
strengthening ribs C, C, which correspond with the usual lines of the pressure
of the wheels, the tyres or bands of which are to be slightly hollowed in the
centre, as hereafter mentioned. These rails rest for their entire length on
longitudinal pieces of wood, a transversal section of which is indicated by the
letters D, D¹, D", which may be called sleepers. These pieces of wood are
sunk in trenches H, H, H, H, and are there supported as is hereafter
described; the bottom of these trenches should be previously strongly com-

page_text: pressed and consolidated, and after the pieces of wood or sleepers, with the
bearers or soles upon which they rest (hereafter described) are placed in the
trenches, all the intervals or spaces which exist on each side, and which are
indicated by the said letters H, H, H, H, are to be well filled up with a thin
cement, which will become hard and incompressible when solid, and of that
well-known description which will harden under the action of water (known
in France by the word "béton"), composed of quicklime, sand, and small
fragments of stone. In addition, stones should be driven into this cement by
rammers, the more effectually and firmly to fill up the sai intervals or spaces,
as then the resistance will be perfectly uniform at all points. This foundation
will possess a slight elasticity, which is necessary to produce a gentle motion,
and will conduce to the preservation of the locomotive machines, and of the
carriages, and also of the road itself. The preparation of the ground on which
the bearers or soles of the sleepers (hereafter described) are to be laid may be
the same as in railroads now in use, care being taken to compress and con-
solidate the ground, as already mentioned. The iron rails above described are
made to bear in full and in all their breadth upon the longitudinal sleepers
D, D, D. In order to embed the rails properly, and to obtain a complete juxta-
position of all the lower surfaces of the rails, grooves are cut in the sleepers,
into which the two strengthening ribs C, C, are made to fit exactly; and they are
fixed and secured firmly in the sleepers by iron bolts E, E, E, E, which cross
and pass through the projecting ribs C, C, the longitudinal sleepers D, D¹, D",
and cramps of iron F, F, and O, O, which are placed at proper distances in the
longitudinal sleepers. The iron rails may be called half-hollows, from their
peculiar form, which is similar to the half of a large wheel rut. The longi-
tudinal sleepers D, D₁, D", upon which the rails are fixed, as above described,
should be thick planks placed vertically, and varying from each other in
thickness so that they may be arranged in such a manner as to prevent their
joints from coming together or coinciding in their vertical height. They are
bound strongly together by the iron bolts E, E, already mentioned, besides
which there are the transversal pins L, and they are supported by a succession
of bearers or soles Y, Y, which rest upon the bed of sand which forms the
bottom of the trenches; the sleepers being, as a still further security, again
bound together and preserved immoveably in their vertical position by a
succession of thick oak planks I; I, screwed or fastened upon the sides of the
upper surface of the bearers or soles where they project beyond the outer
sleepers, which planks bear up closely and laterally against the bottom of the
outer sides of those sleepers. The dotted lines in the Drawing No. I. point out
the relative length and size of the iron bolts E, the pins L, and the iron cramps

page_text: F and O. The longitudinal sleepers D, D¹, D", and their bearers or soles
Y, Y, are fastened together by the double branches of the cramps O, O, which
cross them, and form a clasp in returning under the lower face of the bearers
or soles Y, Y, where they are fixed. The joints of the several thick vertical
planks forming the sleepers D, D₁, D", and those of their bearers or soles
being always far enough from each other, and never occupying but a trifling
part of the total thickness, cannot occasion any flexion or yielding, so that the
longitudinal sleepers thus united present as much strength and stability as
if they were a continuous joist of a single piece of wood. The surfaces of
these sleepers should be slightly charred before they are used. For further
security in soils of little consistency, it might be advisable at convenient
intervals to drive small flat stakes or piles, made of the outer cuttings of timber,
and which are of little value, against the outer faces of the longitudinal
sleepers, but such a precaution would scarcely ever be requisite. The sleepers
D, D, D, and their bearers or soles Y, Y, being placed as before directed,
will be entirely and everywhere equally supported by the earth in which they
are embedded, and will neither give way nor separate, and will also resist
shocks and any tendency to yield laterally better than railways as at present
constructed. This power of resistance to these actions consists in the rigidity
peculiar to the longitudinal sleepers so strongly bound and firmly supported as
before described, and this power is increased by the rigidity of the rails them-
selves, which having a breadth of 'five inches and a half, would themselves
require an extraordinary force to make them yield laterally. Moreover, the
iron rails being entirely engrooved or embedded in the sleepers are completely,
as it were, combined or united with them, so that they reciprocally strengthen
each other, and as they cannot separate they ought to be completely stable, and
continue to retain the regularity of their first construction, thereby reducing
the resistance occasioned by the locomotive power, and also the expense.and
cost of the whole. In order to secure the railroad, with its longitudinal
sleepers both within and without, from the injuries which would arise from the
penetration of water, layers or beds of fine flexible bituminous cement
G, G, G, G, are employed, which layers are bound with the rails by means of
strong linen or felt (which latter is better) Z, Z, Z, Z, Z, saturated with a fat
bitumen. These pieces of linen or felt are inserted or held by their centre
between the rails and the sleepers, and on their two sides in the middle of the
layers or beds of bituminous cement, by which water would be prevented from
penetrating the soil, and therefore the soil cannot soften, or be converted into
mud, or produce vegetation, and the sleepers being thus protected from contact
with the air, and preserved against the alternate actions of humidity and drought,

page_text: their durability will be greatly and indefinitely increased. In addition to the
directions already given, the upper face of the sleepers D, D¹, D", should be
covered with a thin layer of. bitumen, which may be applied by a brush,
saturation, or in any other manner, and being adherent to the exterior layer
or bed of bitumen G, G, G, G, will give additional security against the effects
which would otherwise arise from the action of air and water. The rails being
placed as directed in their full breadth upon the sleepers, and being therein
engrooved and solidly fixed, will present an equal stability with them, and
having no projecting or overhanging sides or edges, and as the wheels bear
upon their plane surface, there will be no danger of a separation into splits or
leaves, nor any of those causes of irregularity and destruction to which the
rails as now used are liable, so that much greater durability is secured. There
will be a great consequent saving of expense, as steam engines of less power
will be required, and lighter machines and carriages may be used, and less
cost will be incurred for the wear and tear of the roads, steam engines,
It will also
machines and carriages, than upon railroads as now constructed.
be observed, that by the above construction of railroads there is no occasion
for the use of chairs or iron supports, as now employed.
To adapt the rails to the wheels of the carriages, the alteration in the
construction of which forms the second part of the Invention, the half-hollow or
demi-concave form of the rails already mentioned is adopted. Between the outer
projecting or raised edges or heels B of the rails, and their plane upper
surface, which here inclines slightly upwards, as is seen in the Drawing No. I.,
there is a groove, in which the lower part of a flat band of iron P rests, sup-
ported by the bottom against the heel B, and in the upper part it is fixed by
screws M against the outer sleeper D. This plat band when well united pre-
serves the projecting edge or heel against the rubbings or scrapings of the
wheels, and, above all, against the slidings of the casters, hereafter described,
which precede them. This edge of the rail projecting more, and being stronger
than the projecting edges of the wheels as now used, offers a more effectual
opposition to the displacing of the wheels. In effect it would require a very
great force to cause wheels heavily laden to rise against the raised side of the
rail towards p, and it is quite impossible that they can ever get beyond the
outer wooden edge which surmounts it at two inches and a half above the
surface of the rail, only very slight deviations could therefore ever occur,
and when they should take place the contact of the convexity of the outer
border of the tyres or bands of the wheel with the concave part of the rails
being only by an extreme edge or ridge, the friction would be as weak and
slight as possible. When rails rise above the surface of the road, and have

page_text: projecting edges, as in the common railroads, they must necessarily be made
of wrought iron, because this species of iron only can resist the pressure which
acts principally on the inside edge of the rail; but as in this new system the
wheels bear in full upon the middle of the rail, other substances besides
wrought iron may be employed to form the rails, such not only as cast iron,
but hard wood rendered impermeable to moisture, and even hard and homo-
genous stone, resting on thick wooden planks, to give the necessary elasticity,
and occasion a gentler motion. These latter rails will suit in many situations,
and particularly for tramroads and the transit of goods. When cast-iron
rails are used, they will correspond in form and dimensions with the wrought-
iron rails already described, and be treated in the same manner, and therefore
no remarks are necessary respecting them. In the case of wooden rails, of one
of which a transversal section is represented in Drawing No. II., they are to
be longitudinal pieces of wood A, A, bearing fully upon the sleepers D, which
sleepers are of the same form and dimensions as the wooden rails. These two
pieces A, A, and D bear or lean laterally against the thick wooden plank C, C,
to which they are firmly united by iron bolts E, E, E, E, which cross or pass
through the wooden rail A, the projecting thick plank C, and cramps of iron
F, F, and b, b, which bind together these three pieces and the continuous
wooden bearers or soles Y, Y. The iron cramp or plat band b, b, b, b, has also
for its object in its upper part the retention or holding of a piece of wood a,
which bears on the rail A, A; an iron plat band B, against which slide the
casters, hereafter described, which precede the wheels of the carriages, is
inserted at its base in a groove made for this purpose in the wooden rail A, A,
and is fixed against the piece of wood a by screws M. The stone rails, of one
of which a transversal section is represented in Drawing No. III., A, A, are
blocks of hard stone, such as freestone, granites, &c., bearing fully on wooden
bearers or soles Y, Y. The stone rails and the soles or bearers are supported
laterally against thick vertical planks C, C, to which they are strongly united by
means of wrought-iron bolts E, E, E, E, which traverse or pass through at
the same time the stone rail A, A, the thick wooden plank C, C, and the iron
cramps or plat bands, with clasps F, F, b, b, which bind altogether.
The plat
bands 6, 6, also serve to hold a piece of wood a, as before described in the case
of the wooden rails, which bears upon the stone rail, and is intended to receive
the plat band B, against which slide the casters which precede the wheels of
the carriages. This plat band, as in the cases already described, is fixed
against the piece of wood A, by means of screws M, placed at proper intervals
and are lodged in grooves made for this purpose in the stone rails. The
different pieces which compose the system upon which the wooden or stone

page_text: rails lie (as in the cases where wrought or cast-iron rails are used) are placed
in trenches, the ground forming the foundation of which should previously be
strongly compressed and consolidated, and of which the vacancies or interstices
H, H, Drawings Nos. II. and III., are to be filled up, after placing the pieces.
with a thin cement (as before described in the case of wrought-iron rails) and
stones, driven in by rammers. The entire ground plot of the road, as well
within as without the rails, is to be protected from all penetration of water by
layers or beds of fine flexible bitumenous cement G, G, bound with the rails
on the outer side by means of strong linen or rather felt Z, Z, Z, saturated
with a fat bitumen, and which will cover the top of the projecting thick.
plank C, C, and the piece of wood a. In order to increase the resistance of
the timber or stone used as rails, and to reduce their inequalities of thickness,
and to render them impermeable to water, they should be placed in an oven;
and when they are hot, and their pores have been sufficiently opened, they are
to be penetrated or saturated with a strong solution of sulphate of iron, the
iron in which is to be precipitated at the moment of application by an alkaline
solution of potash or soda. They are then to be dried well and covered with a
layer of fat, oil, or grease, mixed with essential oil, to promote the penetration
into the pores for the purpose of filling them, and fine sand is to be afterwards
sprinkled over them, which is made to penetrate by strong pressure.
And as regards the second part of the said Invention, that is to say, the
"alteration in the construction of the wheels of the locomotive machines and
other carriages whereby they are capable of running upon common roads at
will," the tyres or bands of the wheels intended to run upon the rails (above
described as half-hollow rails), are to be flat like those used on common roads,
excepting that their edges (see the transversal section represented in the
Drawing No. I.) N, N, must be slightly rounded, and in order to render the
draught as light as possible, more especially in the curves or turnings, it is
proper that the wheels should rest upon the rails upon narrow surfaces only,
and for this purpose a slight concave fluting K. is hollowed with a lathe, or by
any other means, in the centre of the tyre or band, which then presents two
parallel sides slightly convex. By this the tyre or band bearing always on two
points a little apart from each other has a better hold or site, its pressure being
distributed and divided, bears less upon each point, and hence the wear and
tear upon the rails is Jess, and when turned upon common roads they will make
less impression upon them. This double bearing has the effect of diminishing
the oscillations and preserving the regularity of the progressive motion. In
the curves of a railroad the friction might be somewhat increased by employing
these wheels if the carriages now in use on railroads were employed, where the

page_text: two axletrees remain parallel; but when the axletrees, on arriving at the
curve, are made to take nearly the direction of the radius of the curve, as will
be hereafter described, there is scarcely any friction whatever. The friction of
the wheels against the raised sides of the rails is obviated by means of slanting
ateral casters, Drawing No. IV., B, B, Figures 1 and 2, which are attached
to the precursor hereafter described, and placed immediately before the front
wheels. These casters, which are in the shape of a double convex lens, carried
by spring cheeks or holders resting continually against the rails, prevent all
friction of the felloes of the wheels against the raised sides. When the carriage
arrives at a curve, the castor B which touches the concave rail of the curve
receives an increase of pressure, and obliges the fore carriage to bear itself back
on the opposite side, and makes the carriage take the direction tangent to the
curve, that is, at right angles to its radius. The casters must turn very easily
upon their axes; they are to be coated all over with caoutchouc, and are kept
constantly greased by oiled sponges placed at the bottom of their cheeks or
holders. The plates of iron or plat bands P, Drawing No. I., and B,
Drawings Nos. II. and III., with which the raised sides of the rails are
furnished, being very smooth and even polished, it is easy to conceive that
when the casters might not turn the friction will be very gentle and the wear
almost imperceptible. As the tyres or bands of the wheels, as above described,
resemble sufficiently the tyres or bands of ordinary wheels, the carriages would
be able to run upon common roads or ways, and even in streets, so that
travellers and goods would be conveyed direct to any part of the interiors of
towns. It is, however, desirable that the common roads or ways on which
such carriages are to run should be even, and capable of producing an easy
motion, in order that the tyres or bands of the wheels should not be unneces-
sarily exposed to damage, for which purpose bitumenized roads are to be
preferred; or in case of macadamized roads, a flexible bitumen should be filled
into the interstices and inequalities, so as to render the surface even. A like
introduction of bitumenous preparation or pudding may be employed to render
the surface of paved streets and roads even, so that the middle only of the
upper surface of the stones remains visible, and their intervals being rendered
almost of the same level, the shocks experienced upon common pavement will
be in a great measure avoided.
And as regards the third part of the said Invention, that is to say, the
"improvements in the construction of the carriage part and other parts of the
locomotive and other carriages," it consists of a small movable apparatus
called the precursor, and of certain variations and alterations from the ordinary
arrangement and construction of the locomotive and other railway carriages

page_text: hereafter described, more especially adapting them to run equally on common-
roads, to enter into the interior of towns, and to turn freely there and on the
railway in every direction, and in curves of a small radius. The small movable
apparatus called the precursor, represented in the Drawing No. IV., Figures 1,
2, and 3, and designated by the letters O, Q, R, N, L, T, consists of a
triangular wooden frame R, T, R, which presents its base R, R, in advance.
This frame is attached by its centre to two points of the front axletree by
means of two shanks or rods of iron, which carry pivots N, N, upon which it
can balance itself. The fore part is sustained by two chains C, C, (Drawing
No. IV., Figures 1, 2, and 3, which are fixed to the furchels of the fore
carriage, and which can be lengthened or shortened at pleasure by means of
a screw bolt or pin and two nuts. The beam F, F, of the triangular wooden
frame, which serves as a lever, is at right angles to the front axletree. It
carries at its front part or head a small wheel Q,. and at its hind part or tail a
tongue of iron T, raised in the shape of a tenon which is perpendicular to it.
When the tail of the lever raises itself the tenon T enters into a cavity
(indicated by dotted lines in Drawing No. IV., Figure 1) in the beam, which
unites the fore and hind carriage, then these two carriages are immoveably
fastened together, and their axletrees being parallel the carriage is in the equal
condition of railroad carriages. When it quits the rails to enter upon a
common road it is necessary to restore to the fore carriage the power of
motion required by the movements of common carriages, for which purpose it
is sufficient to raise the fore part of the lever F, F, for then its tail being
lowered disengages its tenon T from the cavity it occupied in the junction
piece of the fore and hind carriages, and sets the fore carriage at liberty to
turn in every direction upon the perch bolt. The lever F, F, is held in this
situation by two arms of iron (which may be called rammers) M, V, X,
placed at each side of the turning circle of the fore carriage, and fastened to
its furchels by iron bolts M, to which and upon which they turn freely.
These rammers M, V, X, have stop notches V, into which enter the triangles
L of the lever F, F, and their hanging tail carries a caster X, the use of
which will be presently explained. Elevating and lowering movements of the
lever are effected by means of the little wheel Q, placed in the front, and by
the use of little mounds or elevations with two opposite inclinations, repre-
sented in the Drawing No. V., Figures 1 and 3, and designated by the
letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h; the little wheel (Q, in Drawing No. IV.,)
being there marked q. These little mounds or elevations are raised on the
roadway between the two rails, and there will be two of them at each extre-
mity of the railways, one in the centre a, b, c, d, to raise the little wheel g of

page_text: the lever, and the other e, f, g, h, (Figure 3,) at the side for the movement of
the rammers M, V, X, Drawing No. IV., Figure 1, and m, v, x, Drawing
No. V., Figure 3. These little elevations should be constructed of earth well
beaten down, and to regulate their surface the passageway of the little wheel
Qor q, and of the rammers M, V, X, or m, v, x, are to be covered with flag-
stones, thick wooden planks, or a bed of bitumen. The objects of this appa-
ratus, called the precursor, are to render the carriages fit to follow alternately
on railways and common roads, and to diminish as much as possible the
rubbing or scraping resulting from the lateral friction of the wheels against
the projecting sides of the rails in the curves. These carriages should, there-
fore, have the fore carriage moveable independently of the hind carriage when
on common roads or in the streets of towns, and immoveable when on rail-
roads, this is effected as already described; and it is also necessary that the
cleaning blades which the precursor carries, and which will be hereafter
described, which approach very near to the rails, should be lowered when
the carriage comes upon the railroad, and raised when it quits it. The
mode of action of the apparatus just described is as follows:-When a
train moving on a railroad arrives at its extremity, the little wheel q meets
the first slope a, b, of the little mound at the end, Drawing No. V., Figures 1
and 3, and in raising itself to the summit b, c, of this elevation, it at the same
time causes the opposite or hinder part of the lever to descend, and with it the
two iron triangles L, Drawing No. IV., Figures 1 and 2, and 1, Drawing
No. V., Figures 1 and 3, (where from their position they appear as points
only,) these triangles bearing against the rammers M, V, X, or m, v, x, which
correspond to them, and are moveable on their points of suspension, repel the
rammers, and descend under their stop notches V, Drawing No. IV., Figure 1,
and v, Drawing No. V., Figures 1 and 3, which correspond with each of them,
as seen in Drawing No. IV., Figure 1. When afterwards the little wheel q..
Drawing No. V., continuing its course, descends the second slope c, d,
(Figures 1 and 3,) it causes the triangles to rise again, and makes them
enter into the stop notches, which hold the lever in the position seen in
Drawing No. V., Figure 2. The apparatus retains this position so long as
the carriages run upon common roads or streets, and as the movement just
described has made the tenon t, Drawing No. V., Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4,
come out of its lodgment, the fore carriage is at liberty to turn at will upon its
perch bolt. When, on the contrary, a carriage is about to enter upon a
railroad, the little wheel 9 meeting in a with the first slope of the mound
a, b, c, d, Drawing No. 5, Figure 3, raises itself upon this slope to its summit ;
this causes the triangles to leave the stop notches of the rammers v, when the.

page_text: pendant tail x of the rammer to the right, which is furnished with a caster, arriving
upon the first slope of the lateral mound e, f, g, h, placed at the same side, causes
the two rammers to retire backwards to permit the triangles to rise again
without meeting with their stops. Immediately after the wheel q descending the
second slope c, d, of its mound raises the triangles above the stops, and then
the head of the lever R, R, Drawing No. IV., Figures 1 and 2, and r, Drawing
No. V., Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, being quite down, the cleansers O, O, or o, to
be described hereafter, are lowered upon the rails, there to fulfil their functions;
and the tenon T or t of the tail of the lever having re-entered into its lodgment
re-establishes at the same time the parallelism of the fore and hind axletrees,
and fixes the fore to the hind carriage, so as to prevent its losing its proper
track on the railroad. In travelling on the curves of a railroad, the same lever
can serve to give to the front axletree a direction at right angles to the radius
of the curve, and thereby avoid the rubbing and scraping which results from
the friction of the wheels against the exterior curvilinear rails, which is very
injurious to the rails and wheels, which opposes to the power of draught a
resistance so great as to require curves in railroads on the ordinary system to
be made of a very great radius, in order as much as possible to diminish it,
and which necessity is often attended with great inconvenience and expense.
In traversing curves the front axletree may have the required direction by
means of little mounds or elevatious with double slopes, similar to those
already described; these mounds are to be placed facing the commencement
and at the end of each curve opposite their tangent points, and are half straight
and half curved; they differ from the mounds already described only in. pre-
senting in their centre a widened gorge or hollow, which receives the little
wheel Iq, Drawing No. V., at the head of the lever and directs it. The little
wheel q raising itself upon the first slope of the elevation, which is rectilinear,
causes the tail of the lever to lower, and arriving at the summit of the
elevation in the curved part, it is forced, by means of the channel in which it
is confined, to follow its curvature; the frame in which it is fixed is also obliged.
to follow this movement, so that the axis takes a direction tangent to a curve,
and the fore axletree which is always connected with this frame, and which is
at right angles to its axis, takes very nearly the direction of the radius of the
curve. Immediately after the above movement, the wheel 9, lowering itself
upon the descending slope of the mound, raises the tail of the lever, the tenon
of which, instead of entering into the hole or central lodgment corresponding
to the common axis of the fore and hind carriage, enters into one of a series
of lateral holes made on each side of the central hole or lodgment, the one

page_text: thus entered by the tenon being regulated and determined by the radius of the
curve, and which lateral hole so entered is situated to the right of the central
lodgment when the concavity is to the right, and on the opposite side if to the
left; thus the axletree being kept in its proper inclination for the whole
extent of the curve, the rubbing or scraping of the wheels upon the rails is
reduced to a minimum. At the end of the curve a second small elevation
like the former, but reversed in order, that is, the first portion being curved
and the last rectilinear, acting similarly but in an opposite order, brings back
the axis of the frame to the direction of the axis of the carriage, and afterwards
causing the tenon to re-enter into its central lodgment, re-establishes the fixed
connection of the fore and hind carriages, making their axletrees parallel,
which is the condition necessary for a rectilinear movement.
It may be here
noticed that the absence of all projecting edges to the wheels, and the power
possessed by the carriages of running and turning freely upon common level
roads, will render unnecessary the use of moving rails or switches and of re-
volving platforms, which in the ordinary system are requisite in all changes of
road and returns, as for such changes and returns it will be only necessary
to form bituminous stations or platforms, with slight elevations similar to those
already described, to allow of all necessary changes of direction. The following
are the variations and alterations from the ordinary arrangement and con-
struction of the locomotive and other railway carriages, the adoption of
which must be attended with great advantages for trains and locomotive
and other railway carriages destined to run equally on common roads :-The
locomotive machine (which in Drawing No. IV. is represented as the first
carriage) is to be preceded by a light carriage taking the place of its fore
carriage. This first carriage, represented in the Drawing No. VI., Figures 1
and 2, may be adapted to the use of travellers, but with two rows of seats only,
as is represented in that Drawing. It is mounted on two small wheels, which
are left to revolve freely upon their axletree; the axletree being fixed
immoveably to the framework of the carriage as in common carriages. This
carriage is constructed lighter than any other, the more easily to take the
necessary turnings and changes of direction for the train which commences
with it, these changes being given to it by the precursor before described, and
represented in Drawing No. V. as attached to a locomotive carriage which is
attached beneath and in advance of this first carriage in the manner pointed
out in that Drawing, with some slight and unimportant variations only neces-
sary to adapt it to this carriage. The second carriage, Drawing No. VI.,
Figures 3 and 4, is the carriage of the locomotive steam engine; it is also

page_text: mounted on two wheels, but of a large diameter, to admit of great speed in
the progressive motion without overworking the pistons of the engine. These
wheels are of necessity fixed immoveably upon a revolving axletree which
receives its rotary motion from the pistons of the steam engine acting upon
its
cranks as in the common locomotive machines, the progressive motion being
by that means given to the train. This first and second carriage are attached
to each other by the crossing of two beams, that is to say, the beam A, A, A,
Figures 1 and 2, which is fixed to the framework of the first carriage, and is
prolonged under the framework of the second carriage, and the beam B, B, B,
Figures 3 and 4, which belongs to the locomotive carriage, and is prolonged in
advance under the framework of the first carriage in its full length. The two
beams are attached to each other by means of a pivot or perch bolt C, C,
which allows them to move laterally. When the carriages are running upon
a straight line the two beams are exactly parallel to each other, the one over
the other in the positions indicated by the wood colored tints, and by the
letters A and B. When one of the two carriages takes an oblique direction
with reference to the other, as that of the first carriage indicated by the rose
colored tints in Figure 2, the two beams cross each other, and the beam of
the first carriage which then takes the position A¹, A¹, A¹, forms, with the
beam B, B, B, of the second carriage, an angle A¹, C, B. The beams are
maintained in their horizontal position by the curved pieces E, E, E, E, and
F, F, attached to the framework of the two carriages, and which perform the
functions of the turning circles of common moveable fore carriages. These
beams bearing always upon the arcs of their circles in all their movements, can
neither rise or lower themselves any more than the carriages to which they are
fixed, so that consecutive carriages with two wheels each thus attached bave
the stability of a carriage with four wheels, but with the liberty of moving
independantly of each other, and of turning in curves of a small radius and
round the corners of streets with the same facility as common vehicles with
moveable fore carriages; hence, the first carriage and the locomotive one
thus united may be called the first fore and hind carriage (as in reality they
together form but one complete four-wheeled carriage), firmly attached to each
other, but each possessing separately the power of turning laterally to the
right or left; the third and fourth carriages, Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8, are also
mounted each upon a single axletree, and upon two wheels, which are left at
liberty to revolve upon their axletree, which is fixed immoveably to the frame-
work of the carriage, as before described in speaking of the first fore carriage.
These carriages have four rows of seats each, and are also attached to each

page_text: other by beams G, G, G, H, H, H, placed over each other in the same
manner as in the first fore and hind carriage. These carriages thus united
compose the second fore and hind carriage (or the second complete four-
wheeled carriage). The junction of the second with the first fore and hind
carriage is effected by a bolt passed through the double and single coupling
irons N, N, thus allowing of every direction of movement, so that the trains
may follow uninterruptedly all the inflections of the roads in the changes of
their course.
The third and fourth, and all consecutive fore and hind car-
riages, are constructed and arranged exactly in the same manner as the second,
and are likewise connected with each preceding and following fore and hind
carriage in the same manner as the first and second. The better to distin-
guish the beams and the other pieces of the framework belonging to each fore
and each hind carriage in the Drawing No. VI., a difference is made in their
tints in the different carriages. When the trains follow a straight line, be it
either upon a railway or upon a common road, the beams are all likewise
placed in a straight line in the longitudinal direction of the trains. When
the trains enter upon a curve in the railway, the concavity of which is to the
left, the precursor before described being forced to the left by the resistance
of the right edge of the rail forces in the same direction the first carriage to
which it is attached. This carriage then turns to the left upon its two wheels
(revolvs on their axletrees), and upon its pivot bolt C, as easily as the fore
carriage of an ordinary carriage, until it arrives in the situation indicated by
the rose-colored tints, Figure 2, which describe its position when it enters upon
a curve of a small radius. By this movement the beam A, A, having described
the arc of a circle round the pivot bolt, draws by this bolt the beam B, B, of
the locomotive carriage to the same side, and brings it to incline to the left
hand to follow the direction of the first. The pivot bolts being invariably
placed half way between the axletrees of two consecutive carriages, the oblique
directions which these carriages successively take form a polygon, which
follows and embraces exactly the directing curve, so that the wheels of all the
carriages pass exactly or at least very nearly over the line traced by the two
first wheels with the least possible friction. When the trains do not run upon
a railroad, but upon a common road, the directions and impulsions no longer
being able to be given by the precursor, and the raised edges of the rails are
determined by a very simple piece of mechanism composed of a chain band s
attached by its extremities to each side of the head of the beam of the loco-
motive carriage at the points I and K, Figure 2, and which pass over pulley
wheels L, M, L, fixed upon the front of the first carriage. This chain band

page_text: envelops by a double turn the great central pulley wheel M, and is with its
links so disposed as to be unable to slip in its groove, which is denticulated.
Upon causing this central pulley wheel to turn sideways, for instance, to the
left, the portion of the chain band placed to the left of the pulley wheel
shortening itself, and drawing upon the point of attachment K, whilst the
other side relaxes and lengthens itself, the carriage is forced to take the
oblique direction indicated by the rose colored tints. The necessary rotary
machine is given to the central pulley wheel in the one or the other direction
by means of a vertical rod which passes through its axis and rises to the con-
ductor's seat, where it presents a circular or coronal handle or rundle. The
beam A of the first or fore carriage, put into motion by the action of this
rundle, and taking an oblique position with reference to the beam B of the
second or hind carriage, and then drawing it sideways, forces the second
carriage and all the consecutive carriages, by the combined actions of the
other levers, successively urged in the same sense, to turn in the same direction
and to follow the same curve. The mobility of the carriages thus arranged
is such that requires but a very slight force to move them, and by means of
the movements and the spaces indicated in the Drawings, trains may turn
with facility in curves of a radius of ten yards, and consequently circular,
without inconvenience everywhere where ordinary carriages pass. As these
ends are thus attained without the wheels of the fore carriages being required
to turn under the bodies of the carriages, with the exception of those only of
the one preceding the locomotive machine, and of such others of the fore
carriages of a train as may be likewise intended to carry precursors (and which
require wheels sufficiently small in diameter to turn under the bodies of the
carriages for the play of the precursor upon their axes, as before described), the
wheels of the fore carriages (with the last-mentioned exceptions) may be of
large diameter, which will lighten the draught, and admit of great additional
speed in the progressive motion when running on common roads and in the
streets of towns. Their diameter with that of the wheels of the hind carriages,
may be increased to a very considerable size when the bodies of the carriages
are constructed of a breadth a little less than of the space between the wheels,
but as this might, in some cases, in narrowing the bodies of the carriages, give
an inconvenient and otherwise unnecessary length to a train, and be attended
with other objections, the bodies may be rendered broader, and be allowed to
project sideways over the wheels by allowing the latter to penetrate upwards
through the lower parts of the former under the travellers' seats, which would
not be attended with any inconvenience, as the spaces left for the admission

page_text: and revolving of the wheels could be sufficiently inclosed and secured, thus
still leaving the wheels of a much larger diameter than could be allowed to
those of ordinary railway carriages to answer the purposes above described,
unless the bodies of these latter were very much elevated, as with them_it
would be necessary, for the play of the front axletree or fore carriage upon
their axes in taking the turnings and curves occurring in their route, that
their wheels should be left at liberty to turn with them under the bodies of
the carriages. The framework of the waggons which carry ordinary mer-
chandize is arranged in the same manner as that of the carriages for travellers,
but the waggons which carry earth, sand, lime, coal, &c., and all materials
which can be discharged in the mass, are arranged differently. The best mode
for discharging them is that which is formed by the instantaneous lowering of
the bottom, divided in its longitudinal sense into two compartments, which can
be lowered at pleasure. As this could not be effected because the axle-
trees and the cross-beams would interfere with this movement, therefore the
form pointed out in the Drawing No. VII. is given to these waggons. They
have each four wheels of equal size, the axletrees are placed at the extremities
of the body. They turn each upon a central pivot bolt P, P, Figures 1 and 2;
they are attached to each other by two beams Q, Q, and R, R, fastened together
by a bolt S, S, which passes through the double and single coupling irons
T, T, to allow of a lateral movement. When it becomes necessary to turn the
front axletree, inclining, for instance, to the left, drawing the beam into the
position indicated by the rose colored tint, and the letters q, q, Figure 2, causes
the hind beam to take the position r, r, which forces the hind axletree to take
a direction convergent with that of the front axletree; so that, notwithstanding
the great diameter of the wheels, the waggons turn with very great facility
even in curves of ten yards' radius without inconvenience and without injurious
friction. For discharging, the waggons are made to arrive upon a spot which
presents two rails or two guides for the wheels in a straight line, represented
by Figure 3, so that the axletrees may be rendered parallel and the two beams
be placed in the longitudinal axis of the carriage. Then the pins of the two
traps in the bottom are removed, which falling right and left U, U, V, V, tho
material to be discharged falls immediately into the cavity, occupying the space
between the grooves which hold the wheels.
And as regards the fourth part of the said Invention, that is to say,
the "apparatus applicable to the cleansing and preserving of railroads
and other roads." The rails of this system having projected edges, foreign
or extraneous substances that might be thrown upon the road or

page_text: carried thereby, wind, such as sand, dust, leaves, &c., might remain upon the
road and interfere with the draught. To, avoid this inconvenience the two
angles of the fore part of the frame of the precursor attached to the first
carriage of a train, or a carriage running alone upon a railroad, are prolonged,
as is represented in the Drawing No. VI., Figures 1, 2, and 3, so as to come
over the rails and be a little in advance of the fore wheels; upon these angles
are fixed blades of strong iron plating O, O; the front of these blades, cut
obliquely, follows the form of the rail, and they approach within a line of it, that
is, almost touching it, and behind they rise, enlarge, and bend outwardly taking
a.form something like an ox's horn, and by the swift progression of the car-
riage they gather, carry away with them, and cast aside all extraneous and
adventitious substances found on the rails. Brushes P, P, placed beneath
and behind these blades, clear away the dust and fine sand which might remain
upon the rails, and leave them quite clean, by this contrivance the rails will
be always as clean as projecting rails, and will be more easily kept so, as the
coating or covering of the earth in bitumen between the rails and on their sides
will prevent all formation of mud and dust and even of vegetation upon the roads,
so that the extraneous matters on the roads will be principally such as have
been brought there by the wind. This cleansing apparatus is only necessary
to be attached to the precursor of the first carriage of a train, or of a single
carriage.
And whereas, as regards the four several parts of the said Invention, I
claim the arrangements and construction of each and every of the said four
parts, as above described, for the several purposes to which they are severally
and respectively applicable, as herein-before mentioned. And such Invention,
so described as consisting of four parts, being to the best of my knowledge
and belief entirely new and never before used in that part of Her Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, the Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, or in any of Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification
of the said Invention, and that I do verily believe this my Specification doth
comply in all respects fully and without disguise with the proviso in the said
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained, wherefore I do hereby
claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to the said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Wilkinson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
THOMAS (L.B.) WILKINSON.
B

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twelfth day of March, in the
second year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said Thomas
Wilkinson came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained
and specified, in form above written. And also the instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute, made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and