AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR ADAPTING RAILWAY VEHICLES TO LINES OF DIFFERENT GAUGE
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake
& Co. Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings London for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR ADAPTING RAILWAY VEHICLES
TO LINES OF DIFFERENT GAUGE" communicated to him from abroad by John
William Hall Hullet of Port Augusta in the Province of South Australia
Engineer
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st June 1883.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings London, "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR
ADAPTING RAILWAY VEHICLES TO LINES OF DIFFERENT GAUGE [a communi-
cation to him from abroad by John William Hall Hullet of Port Augusta in the
Province of South Australia Engineer
The object of this invention is to provide means for preventing inconvenience
expense, and delay caused by the break or variation of gauge on Railways which
object is obtained by an arrangement of the wheels upon the axles of the vehicles
enabling the rolling stock to automatically adapt itself from one gauge of rails to
another and different gauge.
In carrying the said invention into practice I provide upon each of the axles of
the vehicles a number of wheels (say four or more) according to the number of
different gauge lines over which the vehicles may have to pass, these wheels being
placed at such distances apart as will correspond with the gauges to be travelled
over. By means of this arrangement immediately a break of gauge occurs the
wheels on the axles adapted to such gauge automatically come into operation.
The object may be better attained in some cases by making one or both wheels
with both an inner and an outer flange and in others by making each wheel
separate.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
.
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st December 1883.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. AN IMPROVED METHOD OF, AND MEANS FOR,
ADAPTING RAILWAY VEHICLES TO LINES OF DIFFERENT GAUGE" A communi-
cation to me from abroad by John William Hall Hullet, of Port Augusta, in the
Province of South Australia, Engineer
This invention relates to the construction of railway or tramway vehicles or
rolling stock whereby the inconvenience, expense and delay caused by breaks or
variation of gauge on railway or tramway lines are prevented.
The said invention comprises an arrangement of wheels upon the axles of
vehicles, whereby the said vehicles automatically adapt themselves from a railway
of one gauge to another of different gauge and can therefore travel on railways of
different gauges without interruption and without the intervention of manual,
mechanical, or other power
In the accompanying drawing
Figures 1 and 2 are elevations showing different arrangements of wheels upon
the axles
Figure 3 is a plan showing the arrangement at a junction or crossing
According to the said invention I arrange upon cach axle of a vehicle four
or more wheels according to the number of lines of different gauges over which
the stock may have to pass. The said wheels are arranged at distances apart
corresponding to the gauges of the railways to be travelled over.
Immediately a different gauge occurs the wheels adapted to such gauge auto-
matically come into operation.
The boss of the inner wheel is made about an eighth of an inch larger in
diameter than that of the outer wheel and the axle is made to correspond.
In cases where the slight difference between the gauges will not allow of
duplicating the wheels I may make one or both wheels with an inner and outer
flange as in Figure 1. In other cases, however, each wheel may be made
separately as shown in Figure 2.
In Figure 3 I show how the permanent way is constructed to enable the wheels
not running on the rails to pass over the said rails at crossings or junctions. The
notches cut in the rails allow the wheels which are not in use to pass readily, whilst
the guards which are placed against the rails opposite to the notches protect the
ordinary traffic from the risk of accident by going off the line at these points
By making the portions of the axles from the inside of the inner wheel to the
outer extremity, of a larger diameter than the other part, I provide for the
increased strain which may be thrown on to that portion of the truck when a
loaded wagon passes from a broad to a narrower gauge. I wish it understood that
I do not confine myself to the use of only four wheels on each axle as I may arrange
on such axle as many pairs of wheels as there may be railways of different gauges
to be travelled over; and also provide the said wheels with double flanges
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim:
The method hereinbefore described of adapting railway or tramway vehicles to
run upon railways or tramways having different gauges, which method consists in
arranging upon each of the axles of the said vehicles a pair of wheels to corre-

page_text: spond with the gauge of each railway over which the vehicles have to travel, the
wheels, in cases where the difference between two gauges is only slight being
provided with double flanges, all substantially as shown and described.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my hand
and seal this First day of December in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three
W ROBT LAKE (L.S.)