Improvements in Elevated Railways with Suspended Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Feb., 1897-Accepted, 27th Mar.,
1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by EUGEN LANGEN'S ERBEN, of Werthstrasse 14,.
Cologne, Germany.]
Improvements in Elevated Railways with Suspended Vehicles.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,.
in the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, 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 an improved construction of elevated railway with.
suspended vehicles whereby a sufficient hold on the line of rail is afforded the
vehicles for enabling these to run on steep inclines, where a mere increased.
frictional grip of the running wheels afforded by pressing the lower safety wheels
against the underside of the rail or rail bearers, such as has been heretofore
proposed, would not be sufficient.
The invention consists in providing the vehicles with toothed driving wheels,.
which gear with a toothed rack formed on the underside either of the rail or of
the rail bearer.
The accompanying drawing shews a portion of an elevated railway with.
suspended vehicle having the above described invention applied thereto.
Fig. 1 shews a cross section of the railway and of a portion of a vehicle,.
Fig. 2 shews a side view;
Fig. 3 shews a plan of the pivotal frame of the carriage,
Figs. 4 and 5 shew respectively an enlarged cross section and side view of the
rail bearer.
According to the present invention the longitudinal rail bearer F, which may be
carried by a curved arm O from suitable uprights, has its underside formed as a
rack, the teeth of which may, in the case of a box shaped bearer, be formed of
transverse bolts Z secured to the two side cheeks as shewn, or in the case of solid
bearers they are formed as ordinary rack teeth on the underside thereof. The
running wheels R of the vehicle being arranged to run on the rail on the top of
the bearer F, the toothed wheels E are arranged below the same, in gear with the
rack teeth Z, whereby the running on very steep inclines is rendered possible.
When the toothed rack is carried by a solid rail bearer, the teeth of the toothed
wheels must be made broad and with the tips of the teeth formed with a concave
curvature in the direction of their width in order to maintain a proper engagement
thereof with the rack teeth when the vehicle is deflected laterally to an angular
position. When the rail bearer is of a box shape, the teeth Z must be of such a
length that there shall be a sufficient length thereof on each side of the wheel E..
as shewn at Fig. 1 to allow of the lateral motion of the wheel when the vehicle is.
deflected. As compared with an ordinary rack railway, the above described
elevated railway with rack and pinion propulsion of the suspended vehicles has
the great advantage that any disengagement of the toothed rack and toothed
wheels is impossible, and also, that stones and dirt cannot lodge between the
teeth.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
In an elevated railway with suspended vehicles, the combination of a driven
toothed wheel situated at the top of the vehicle, beneath the line of rails and a
toothed rack connected with the said rail, with which the said toothed wheel gears
for the purpose of enabling the vehicles to run on steep inclines, substantially as
described.
Dated this 26th day of February 1897
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.