AN IMPROVED RAILWAY CARRIAGE FOR PASSENGERS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Newton MacCartney, of Glasgow, in
the County of Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED RAILWAY CARRIAGE FOR PASSENGERS."-A communication from
abroad by Edward Robbins, of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of
America.
Sealed the 22nd April 1870, and dated the 19th November 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Newton Mac-
Cartney, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 19th November 1869.
I, WILLIAM NEWTON MACCARTNEY, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
of "AN IMPROVED RAILWAY CARRIAGE FOR PASSENGERS," to be as follows,
that is to say :-

page_text: posts.
General Homework of bars, rous, Deams, and
Secondly. To the provision of yielding elastic or compressible platforms
for the purpose of diminishing the force of a collision.
Thirdly. To the provision of cushions for the sides and. top of the
interior of the carriage, instead of the customary projections of wood,
metal, or other hard bodies.
The form of carriage body which is preferred is that of a hollow
cylinder composed of thin plates of wrought iron or steel, riveted or
bolted together, and having ends of the same material, the carriage body
being pierced for windows, doors, and other openings, the margins of
which openings are stiffened by means of angle irons or other similar
contrivance. Attached to the concavity of the carriage body are hollow
ribs through which fresh air is admitted to the interior of the carriage,
which ribs also serve the purpose of stiffening the carriage body, and for
the purpose of additional stiffening, a ^ formed keelson or rib of iron
is used, which keelson or rib may be of such height as to support the
floor of the carriage at its mid width, the heating pipes herein-after
mentioned should also be adapted to serve as additional supports to the
floor. For the further strengthening of the body, a semi-tubular strip of
sheet iron is attached to each side of the carriage somewhat below the
mid height which semi-tube may be left hollow or have a beam of wood
enclosed within it, and it may communicate with the interior of the
carriage by apertures terminating in recesses to be suitably padded and
used as a foot rest for the passengers. The body of the carriage is
still further strengthened by the floor which is made of wrought iron
and firmly riveted to the concavity of the carriage. The carriage is
also provided with suitable means of ventilation. One apparatus for
this purpose being self-acting, opening an air duct by means of the
motion of the carriage. The air duct is protected by a screen of wire
gauze in order to arrest or prevent sparks from the engine or other
impurities from entering the carriage. The carriages are heated by
means of stoves, two of which are suspended from and outside the carriage
body; each stove has a hot air jacket, and from the top of the hot air
jacket of the one stove a hot air pipe is led through below the floor of the
carriage and enters the lower part of the jacket of the other stove and
vice versa, thus maintaining a double circulation from one stove to the

page_text: other; the smoke pipes are also arranged in such manner as to heat a
certain portion of the floor of the carriage.
In order to moderate the violence of railway collisions, the platform
and the end portion of the roof are formed of a boxed or chambered shape,
and are stuffed with an elastic or compressible material sufficient to
protect the passengers in a great measure from injury, and the strips of
metal or other material which support the clastic substance are arranged
so as to slide together and permit the gradual compression in case of
collision. The sashes of the windows are held securely within guards
between which and the carriage body they can be slid horizontally for
opening and closing, and the glass in the upper windows may be made
to turn on a pivot.
While preferring the truly cylindrical form of carriage body as that
which affords the greatest strength, stiffness, and resisting power with
the least weight and material, it may be composed wholly or in part of
two concentric cylinders or parts of cylinders with a filling of timber, or
it may be made somewhat flattened or of an elliptical shape in its cross
section, still retaining sufficient curvature or cylindrical shape.
It is to be understood that the warming apparatus herein-before referred
to is equally applicable to the warming of carriages of the ordinary con-
struction, in which case the pipes are of course arranged in slightly
different positions.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Newton MacCartney in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NAWTON MACCARTNEY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Newton MacCartney Her special
license that I, the said William Newton MacCartney, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William

page_text: Newton MacCartney, 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 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 "AN IMPROVED RAILWAY CARRIAGE FOR
PASSENGERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Newton MacCartney, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, 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 Newton MacCartney, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
My said Invention which relates to improvements in railway, and
part of which may also be used on tramway carriages, consists,-
First. Of a form and construction of railway or tramway carriage by
which a maximum of strength is obtained compatible with lightness
and capacity, thereby avoiding the necessity of a general framework of
bars and rods or of beams and posts as used in railway carriages hitherto
constructed.
Second. The provision of various apparatus for heating and ventilating
the carriage by means of ducts, tubes, and hot air pipes communicating
with stoves.
Third. In the provision of yielding elastic or compressible platforms
for the purpose of diminishing the force of collisions.
Fourth. In the provision of padding or cushions for the sides and top
of the interior of the carriage, instead of the customary projections of
wood, metal, or other hard bodies or substances.
And in order that my said Invention, may be properly understood,
I now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or

page_text: manner in or under which the same is or may be used or practically
carried into effect, that is to say,--
On the accompanying Drawings Figure 1 is a part side elevation of my
improved passenger railway or tramway carriage; Figure 2 is a part longi-
tudinal section of the same; whilst Figure 3 is a transverse section on the
line a, a, Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line b, b,
Figure 2. On the different Figures corresponding parts are indicated by
the saine letters of reference.
The body A of the carriage shown in these Figures is formed of a hollow
cylinder composed of plates of iron, steel, or other metal riveted or bolted
together. Attached to the top of the carriage A throughout its length are
two angle iron or A formed strips C, C, (seen particularly in transverse
section at Figures 3 and 4) which support and are attached to a roof plate
D. The strips C, C, besides serving to stiffen the body of the carriage
longitudinally also serve (in conjunction with the roof plate D) to enclose
an air duct or passage E for supplying fresh air to the carriage, which duct
or passage is opened alternately at one end or the other, according to the
direction of the carriage's motion, by a self-acting apparatus. This
apparatus consists of two flap valves F, F, of these that one which is fore-
most in the direction of motion is opened by the pressure of the current
of air caused by the forward motion of the carriage. Placed in front of
each Hap valve F is a screen or sieve G formed of wire gauze or other
suitable material to arrest sparks, cinders, and other mechanical impuri-
ties, and behind each of the flap valves F a recess or pocket I is placed to
arrest such of the particles as may pass through the screen or sieve G. In
order that the particles arrested in these recesses or pockets I may be dis-
charged, the recesses or pockets are provided with openings a as shown at
Figures 1 and 2. From the duct E the air is conveyed into the body of
the carriage by the pipes J through the openings e, and discharged into
that portion of the interior of the carriage between the floor K and the
seats L by the openings or apertures d, or the openings or apertures may
be formed in the tubes J so as to discharge the air into the space beneath
the floor, the air passing up through suitable openings or gratings in the
Hoor into the body of the carriage. The pipes J besides conveying air
nto the interior of the carriage also act as stiffening ribs to the carriage
body.
For the purpose of additional stffening a A iron or keelson M (seen more
particularly at Figures 3 and 4) is attached to the bottom of the comin

page_text: on the inside throughout its length, and the keelson is of such height that
it acts as a support to the floor at its mid width in the manner shown,
the floor K being riveted or otherwise attached to it, or two supports
similar to that shown at M, Figure 7 may be used to stiffen the floor,
in lieu of the Airon M as herein-before described and shown at Figures
8 and 4.
In order to still further stiffen the body of the carriage and render it
less liable to roll if thrown off the rails, there is attached to each side of
the carriage somewhat below its mid width a semi-tubular strip of sheet
iron N. This seini-tube may if necessary be further stiffened by a beam
of wood enclosed within it, or it may be entirely hollow, or it may be
made to communicate with the interior of the carriage body A, by
apertures so as to present lockers or recesses to be suitably padded, and
of convenient size and elevation for a foot rest for the passengers. The
body of the carriage is still further stiffened by the flooring K which is
of wrought iron or steel and firmly riveted or bolted to the concavity
of the carriage. The body A of the carriage is pierced for doors O,
windows P and PI, ventilators Q, and other necessary openings, the sides
of which openings are strengthened by angle irons or by any other suit-
able material. In lieu of placing the doors O at the ends of the carriage
as shown on the appended Drawings, they may be formed in the sides of
the carriage. The sashes of the windows P are held securely within
guards R, between which and the carriage body they are susceptible of
being slid horizontally for the purpose of opening and closing the windows.
The glass of the upper window P¹ may be made to turn on a pivot. The
carriage may be made in the form of a saloon, as shown on the
appended Drawings, or it may be divided into compartments, in
which case the partitions will act as stays and binders to the carriage
body.
For the purpose of heating the carriage two or more stoves S, (seen
particularly at Figure 5,) are employed which stoves are suspended from
the outside of the carriage body, or one stove only may be used. Each
of the stoves S are provided with hot-air jackets T from the upper
portions of which hot air pipes U ascend, which pipes entering the
space V beneath the floor K are carried forward or backward as required
and are thence passed through the bottom of the carriage and enter
the lower part of the jacket of the other stove, thus accomplishing a
double circulation from each stove jacket through the bottom of the

page_text: carriage to the other stove jacket. The stoves are so attached to the
bottom of the carriage body that when not in use they may be easily
removed. The smoke pipes W, W, of the stoves S are likewise con-
ducted into the space V beneath the floor K, and passing to the ends of
the carriage enter the chimneys X, thus serving to warm those parts of
the carriage nearest the ends in the same manner as the centre portions
are heated by the hot air pipes U. The heating apparatus above men-
tioned has been described in reference to carriages of the form shown on
the appended Drawing, but it is obvious that it may be applied to
existing railway carriages of the ordinary construction, in which case the
heating pipes may be placed above the floor and under the seats.
In order to moderate the violence of railway collisions the platform Y
of the carriage and also the end portions Z of the roof are formed in
the shape of a box or chamber which is stuffed or packed with shoddy,
wool, hemp, sponge, caoutchouc, cork, coiled wire, or other elastic or
compressible substance which on an endwise collision of two carriages,
will by its compression act as a cushion and weaken or deaden the force
of the blow. Where the platform is stuffed with hemp, or other fibrous
material it is floored or covered with a sheet of india-rubber. The strips
of metal or other material which support the compressible platform are
made to slide together or under the end of the body of the carriage to
permit the compression in case of collision to break the shock gradually,
and any necessary connection between the body of the carriage and the
coupling bar or bars that support the platform which would obstruct the
sliding of the supporting strips on which the compressible platforın rests,
should be made sharp, as shown at x, Figure 6, so as to cut said strips
when pushed against them in case of collision. In lieu of this mass of
ompressible material as india-rubber, shoddy, wool, hemp, cork, coils of
vire, oakum, or other elastic or compressible material being placed in
he platform Y of the carriage it may be placed under or within the
ody of the carriage at the ends, and the platform made to slide back
pon and against the said elastic and compressible material in case of
ollision. The collision buffer and platform above described in reference
my improved railway carriage may be adapted to existing passenger
ailway carriages of the ordinary construction.
In order to lessen the danger to life and limb from collisions, " over-
arns, ," "breakdowns," and like casualties, the entire inside of the carriage,

page_text: sides, roof, and ends are covered with padding or cushions as shown at
Figures 2 and 4.
In lieu of the cylindrical form of carriage as shown on the appended
Drawings being employed the carriage body may be made somewhat
flattened at the bottom, as shown at Figure 7, or the carriage may be
made of an elliptical or nearly elliptical form in its cross section, or it
may be composed of two concentric cylinders or parts of cylinders, still
retaining sufficient curvature or cylindrical form in the sheet iron shell
which forms the body of the carriage so as to give it the requisite strength.
and stiffness without employing a framework of bars, rods, or beams.
While any of the forms of carriage above set forth may be employed
the cylindrical form is that which I prefer as affording the greatest
strength, stiffness, and resisting power compatible with the least weight
and material.
It is further to be understood that whilst the compressible platform Y,
shown particularly at Figure 6, acts as a collision buffer it is not intended
to supersede the ordinary coupling bars and buffers which are placed
underneath and entirely distinct from the compressible platform, as shown
at c, Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings.
Figure 5 is a part longitudinal section of a modification of my Invention,
showing a series of foot rests g, which may be introduced into the carriage
if desired.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be
used or practically carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion
that what I consider novel and original, and therefore claim as the
Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,
First. The body of a passenger railway carriage made of wrought iron,
steel, or other metal, the different parts or sheets being riveted or
otherwise firmly fastened together, the whole forming one continuous
shell of a cylindrical or approximately cylindrical shape, the shape itself
being such that together with the thickness of the metal it provides the
requisite strength and stiffness without the necessity of employing a
general framework of bars, rods, hoop, and other details at present
emploved.

page_text: Second. The stove, hot air jacket, and apparatus generally for heating
either iron or wooden carriages, aud constructed as herein-before set
forth.
Third. The yielding platform Y constructed as and for the purposes
herein-before set forth.
Fourth, The hollow annular ribs J extending completely around the
interior of the cylindrical, or approximately cylindrically shaped_
shell of the carriage in the manner and for the purposes herein-before
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Newton MacCartney have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April
One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
WILLIAM NEWTON MACCARTNEY. (L.S.)