Improvements in Electrical Tramways and Railways.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 10th Mar., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrical Tramways and Railways.
I, FRANK MERWIN ASHLEY of Times Building New York, United States of
America, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to electric railways, the object being to provide a
successful operating railway system in which a conduit or subway is utilized.
The invention consists of the details of construction hereinafter described and
claimed.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the conduit showing apparatus for maintaining a
circulation of heated air therein.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view at the end of the conduit showing the air lock.
Fig. 3 is a plan of a part of the conduit showing a mechanical circuit closer.
Fig. 4 is a detail of an insulator joint in the main rails upon which the vehicle
travels.
Fig. 5 is a diagram of the circuits.
Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the trolley carried by the car and a cross section of
the conduit.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are respectively a plan, side elevation and bottom view of the
travelling switch.
Fig. 10 is a modification of the invention.
Fig. 11 is a detail used in the modification, and
Fig. 12 is a cross section of the conduit constituting a second modification of my
invention.
One of the features of my invention is an insulating joint for the rails upon
The two ends of the rail are
which the vehicle travels, illustrated in Fig. 4.
represented by the letter a and between them is interposed a block of insulating
material a having a vertical and a horizontal part. The vertical part stands
between the abutting ends of the rail and the horizontal part b, underneath the
end of one of the rails. The block is held in place by a spike 6' which passes
through the end of the rail and through the block into the support beneath. In
order to prevent bridging of this insulation by free water, I construct openings c
near the ends of the rails which communicate with a sewer or other drain. Any
water which flows to the location of the joint will escape through these openings and
not bridge the joint.
Another feature of the invention is the use of an entirely closed conduit
located in the road bed and an apparatus for maintaining a pressure of circulation
of heated air in the conduit for the purpose of keeping it dry. A represents the
conduit itself. It is entirely closed on all sides. At suitable locations it is
provided with spring pressed valves d, which open when the pressure of air inside
reaches a certain point. In Fig. 1 is shown a pump e, the outlet e¹ from which
leads through a heating drum and thence into the conduit. By this apparatus
beated air is forced into the conduit and the pressure therein maintained at a
uniform degree by the valves d. In this conduit a travelling switch consisting in
general of a body of iron mounted on wheels, and shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, runs.
It travels on rails on the bottom of the conduit, and as it is sometimes necessary

page_text: to remove this switch to repair it or inspect it, it is desirable to perform this
operation without great loss of air pressure in the conduit. To this end I have
invented an air lock which is shown in Fig. 2. At the extreme end of the
conduit is fixed a little car having upon it a short length of track, corre-
sponding to the track in the conduit upon which the travelling switch moves.
This car runs on tracks and is propelled by means of a cable f¹ operated by a
winch, or in any other manner. The travelling switch runs upon this car f
and is drawn out to a convenient point for observation or repair. The air lock
consists of the slide valve g which moves vertically and closes the entire conduit.
Beneath the conduit at the location of this valve is a chamber in which are
located two bell cranks g' which are pivoted on the opposite sides of the valve
and one end of which is loosely connected to the valve which is provided with a
cross bar for that purpose. The other ends of the bell cranks are connected
through links with their bell cranks which carry rollers standing in the path of
movement of the travelling switches. Directly below the valve is a pivoted
book which is operated by a rod 2 and bell crank levers at each end and thrust
rods 3. Springs 4 act upon the bell cranks, as shown, and tend to lift the valve.
The operatiou of this air lock is as follows: When a travelling switch approaches
from the left its first effective action is to strike and force down the end of bell
crank g. This opens the valve and carries the cross bar down into engagement
with hook ', the hook tilting backward to receive it. The valve is held in this
position by the hook until the wheels of the moving switch strike the rod h³ to
the right and forces it down, thus swinging the bell crank with which it is
connected and releasing the hook from the cross bar. The springs then act to
close the valve. The same operation takes place when the switch returns. It will
thus be seen that the valve remains open only long enough to permit the travelling
switch to pass it.
The tight conduit A shown in detail in Fig. 6 is constructed so that its top plate
is flush with the surface of the street. Along the bottom of the conduit and in
each corner are placed two rails ii which extend throughout the conduit and are
supported upon suitable blocks of insulated material 2. The rail i is continuous
and the rail is in sections insulated from each other. The main rails upon
which the vehicles travel are similarly constructed electrically; that is, one of
them is in sections corresponding to the rail and the other continuous, and the
sections of the rail are electrically connected with the sections of the main rail
by branch conductors suitably insulated. At the points where these branch
conductors enter the conduit stuffing boxes are provided to effectually seal the
opening. In this conduit, as before mentioned, the travelling switches C move,
one accompanying each car; this switch is shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. It is a body
built up preferably of iron plates bolted together. Its ends are rounded or
V shaped. The body is mounted upon wheels running upon the rails i¹ and as
the wheels and axles are of conducting material the current is conveyed by the
switch from one rail to the other as it travels along. The upper surface of the
switch runs close to the top plate of the conduit, but two rollers cc prevent the top
of the switch from rubbing against the top of the conduit. In the upper part of
the switch is a cavity c¹ in which is located a block of soft iron c² which has a slight
vertical play therein. The upward movement of the block is limited by cross pieces,
as shown. This block is provided with two downwardly projecting rods c which
respectively connect with levers e pivoted intermediate of their extremities to
lateral studs c. The opposite ends of these levers connect by means of links c
with other levers c8, the latter being pivoted to the sides of the switch and carrying
at their free ends brake shoes c which bear upon the upper sides of the wheels.
When the weight of the block is allowed to bear upon this system of levers the
brakes are applied to the wheels.
To prevent sparking when the switch passes a joint in the sectional rail, I have
provided an automatic circuit closer, shown in Fig. 3. The abutting ends of the
rails are provided with contact plates, which are bridged by an arm, pivoted

page_text: at
and normally held out of contact with the plates by a spring. A bell crank
lever engages at one end with the arm 3 in the manner shown and at the other
end carries a roller which projects into the path of movement of the travelling
switch. When the switch reaches a joint in the rails its rounded end strikes the
rollers and swings it outward, thus closing the circuit between the adjacent sections
of the sectional rail before the wheels of the switch pass over the joint. When
the switch has passed the joint the spring again opens the circuit between the
sections.
I next refer to the construction of the car or to the apparatus carried thereby
for collecting the current. Somewhere beneath the car, preferably beneath its
axles, is placed a small truck K which I call a trolley. This trolley has four small
wheels, two at each end, which run upon the regular tracks supporting the vehicle.
The trolley is secured to the car body by chains or other flexible connections, so
that its weight may rest wholly upon the track. At the center of the trolley
frame is an electro-magnét k having its poles pointing downward and running close
to the top plate of the conduit. The function of the trolley is to take the current
from the sectional main rail, deliver it to the motor on the vehicle and thence
carry it off to the return continuous rail.
The operation of the system is as follows: Generator G, which is located at the
central station, supplies current to the continuous rail in the conduit. This
current is transferred to the sectional conductor by the travelling switch, and
from the sectional rail the current is delivered through the branches to the sections
of the main rail and is thence taken by the trolley wheels through wire 1 to the
magnet on the trolley, thence by wire 2 to the controlling mechanism, such as a
rheostat r, which may be used to control the motor on the car, thence through the
motor and finally through the trolley wheels to the return rail and the generator.
This circuit may be run directly through the electro-magnet k², as described, or
this magnet may be connected in a branch circuit. The iron body of the travelling
switch which accompanies the car, and more especially the movable block of iron es,
serves as the armature of the electro-magnet 2 and as the car travels over the
road the magnetic attraction between the magnet and this armature causes the
switch to move in unison with the car. When the attraction of the magnet ceases
the action of the switch is naturally retarded, but in order to prevent it being
carried beyond the influence of the magnet by its inertia, I have provided the
brakes hereinbefore described, which are set immediately upon the release of the
block by the electro-magnet. The switch therefore stops within a short distance
and is always ready to be picked up by the magnet.
In the modification shown in Fig. 10 the trolley, instead of being placed beneath
the car, is placed above it, and the branches are led from the sectional conductor
in the conduit up through the poles supporting the trolley wire and connected with
insulated sections of the trolley wire instead of insulated sections of the main rail,
as before described.
Fig. 11 shows the method of insulating the sections of the trolley wire and at
the same time connecting the ends of the branch wires with one of the sections
of the trolley wire. j is a block of insulating material, to the opposite sides of
which are clamped two metallic plates and respectively, by means of a bolt j³.
The ends of the trolley wires are respectively held by these plates and the end of
the branch wire is held by one of the plates, as shown.
In the modification shown in Fig. 12 the magnet carried by the vehicle is located
in a conduit; that is to say, the conduit is divided into two longitudinal
compartments by partition m. The lower compartment is air tight and in this the
travelling switch runs. The upper compartment is open to the atmosphere through
a slot of usual construction and an arm from the car projects through this slot and
carries at its lower end an electro-magnet which attracts the armature on the
travelling switch. The branch conductor leads from a sectional rail in the lower
conduit to the sectional conductor in the upper conduit from which the current is
taken by a brush, in the manner shown.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. In a railway track, the construction and arrangement of two abutting ends of
rails, said ends being provided with openings c leading to a drain, for the purpose
set forth.
2. In a railway track, two rails having their abutting ends separated by a block
of insulating material and being provided with openings c leading to a drain, for
the purpose set forth.
3. In a railway track, the combination of two abutting rails and an L-shaped
block of non-conducting material separating the same, the vertical portion of
the block separating the rails and the horizontal portion resting beneath one of
the rails.
4. In an electric railway, the combination of a closed conduit, and a travelling
switch moving in the same, the latter consisting of a body mounted upon wheels,
an armature carried by but movable independently of the body, brake shoes
bearing upon the wheels, and a system of levers connecting the armature with
the brake shoes whereby a movement of the former will be imparted to the latter,
as described.
5. In an electric railway, a conduit containing a main and a sectional
conductor, a stationary circuit closer adapted to electrically connect the sections
of the sectional conductor, in combination with a travelling switch adapted to
convey current from the main to the sectional conductor, and means whereby the
travelling switch will automatically operate said circuit closer, substantially as
described.
6. In an electric railway, a conduit containing a main and a sectional
conductor, a circuit closer adapted to electrically connect the sections of the
sectional conductor, a bell crank lever connected at one end with the circuit
closer, in combination with a travelling switch adapted to convey the current
from the main to the sectional conductor and engage with said bell crank to
operate said circuit closer.
7. In an electric railway, a sealed conduit, a switching device moving in
said conduit, means for maintaining a pressure of air in the conduit and an
air lock at the end of the conduit through which the switching apparatus may
pass.
8. In an electric railway, a sealed conduit, a switching device moving in said
conduit, means for maintaining a pressure of air in the conduit and an air lock at the
end of the conduit through which the switching apparatus may move, said air lock
being automatically opened and closed by the switching apparatus, substantially as
described.
9. In an electric railway, the combination of a closed conduit, a travelling
switching apparatus moving therein, a railway track forming a portion of the
working circuit and supplied with current through the said travelling switching
apparatus, a car moving on said track, a trolley carried by the car but running on
the car track, and an electro-magnet carried by the trolley and acting upon the
travelling switching apparatus.
10. In a conduit system for electric railways, a conduit divided into two
longitudinal compartments, one sealed and the other open, a circuit controller
running in the sealed compartment, a collector running in the open compartment,
an electro-magnetic apparatus carried with the collector and controlling the
movements of the circuit controller, substantially as described.
11. In an electric railway, a conduit divided into two compartments, a
continuous and a sectional conductor in one compartment, a travelling circuit
closer moving in contact with both of said conductors, an armature carried by
said circuit-closer, a sectional conductor in the other of said compartments, the
sections of the two sectional conductors being respectively connected together,

page_text: a collector carried by the car and moving in contact with the second sectional
conductor, an electro-magnet also carried by the car, the armature of said
circuit closer being under the influence of said electro-magnet whereby the
circuit closer is caused to move with the car and maintain the circuit to the motor
carried thereby.
12. In an electric railway system, a travelling circuit-closer consisting of an iron
frame or body constituting an armature, mounted upon wheels but free to move
vertically and independently thereof, brake shoes carried by said body or frame
and standing adjacent to the wheels, and an electro-magnet carried by the
moving car, the said frame or body being under the influence of 'the magnet, for
the purpose set forth.
13. In an electric railway, the combination of an over-head wire divided into
sections, an underground wire divided into corresponding sections, branch wires
connecting the corresponding sections of the two wires together, and a hanger located
at the joints, between the sections of the over-head wire, the same consisting of
two metallic plates bolted to the opposite sides of a block of insulating material,
the ends of the wire sections being connected respectively to the two metallic
plates and a said branch wire connected to one of said metallic plates, substantially
as described.
Dated this 5th day of February AD 1804
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.