IMPROVEMENTS IN ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAYS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, СHARLES
DE BERGUE, of Arthur Street West, in the City of London, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of April, One thousand eight hundred
and forty-six, in the ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles de Bergue, my exors,
admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said Charles de Bergue, my exors, admňors, and assigns; or
such others as I, the said Charles de Bergue, my exors, adiñors, 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 Her said Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAYS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso, obliging me, the said Charles de Bergue, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and
to cause the same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of

page_text: SECTION
traction pipe of an atmospheric railway, shewing the valve and apparatus
hereafter to be described. Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the framing,
shewing the lower part of the framing and the piston attached thereto, the
section being taken through the red line A, B, of Figure 1, and the upper
part of the framing being removed; Figure 3 shews a transverse section of
the tube, valve, and portion of the framing, taken through the line C, D,
of Figure 1. The above Figures 1, 2, and 3 are drawn to a scale of one-
tenth size for a tube fifteen inches diameter inside measure.
Figure 4
shews & transverse section of the upper part of the tube and the valve,
the valve being pressed down upon its seat so as to close the opening.
Figure 5 represents a transverse section of the upper part of the tube and
valve, and of a portion of the framing, taken through the line y, z, in
Figure 1, the valve being open, and shewing the internal part of the framing
or mode of connecting that part of the framing which is placed inside the tube
with that which is on the outside. Figures 4 and 5 are drawn to a scale
of twelve inches to the foot or full size.
In Figures 1 and 2, E is the piston which may be of the ordinary construction;
F is the piston rod firmly attached by means of bolts or rivets to one end of
the internal framing G, G; the whole of the framing, that is to say, as well
that portion of it which is to be placed inside, as that which is to be outside
the tube, is composed of two plates of wrought iron, each of which is of the
form shewn at Figures 1 and 3. The sides of these plates are perfectly

page_text: straight or flat from end to end, with the exception of the parts G', G', which
are bent inwards as shewn at Figures 3 and 5, in such manner that the afore-
said parts G, G', come together, at which place they are to be firmly rivetted
or welded together. The plates G, G, are further secured by the counter-
balance weight H which is bolted between them; they are also further secured
by bolts I, I, I, I, which are constructed so as to form axles for the wheels
K, K, K', K', to run upon. The object of the wheels K, K, is to raise the
valve as the piston travels along the tube, and of the wheels K¹, K', is to keep
the valve open for the admission of air to the back of the piston, and also to
allow the connections G¹, G', of the framework G, G, G, G³, to pass along
with the piston when it is in motion. The upper parts of the frame G, G, G³, G³,
at G, G³, are to be attached to a carriage of the train in any suitable manner.
At each end of the upper part of the frame there is a wheel L, L', the axle
of which serves as a bolt for holding together the upper part of the framing
G2, G3, or such framing may be held together by bolts and stays independent
of the axles aforesaid. The wheels L, L', are nearly as broad as the top of
the valve, on the surface of which they run, and their object is to support the
weight of the piston and iron frame G, G, G, G, and also to close the valve
as the frame travels along, which is effected by the wheel L'.
I will now describe the nature and construction of the longitudinal opening
and valve which forms the principal part of my Invention. Figures 4 and 5,
as before stated, represent transverse sections of the upper part of the traction
tube, which I prefer to be constructed in the following manner, that is to
say:-On the top or upper part of the tube, and on each side of the opening,
there is cast a projecting rib or flange a, a. The inner surfaces of these ribs
or flanges are to be rendered sufficiently smooth by planing or otherwise, and
I prefer the same to be of the peculiar form shown in the Drawing, in which
it will be seen that the longitudinal opening is made a little wider at the top
than at the lower part or point marked b, at which place the opening is made
of a curvilinear form, thus forming other projecting ribs at c, c, which contract
the opening to about two inches, more or less. The corners of the projecting
ribs a, a, and on the inner edge thereof, are rounded a little so as to facilitate
the entrance of the valve. The valve is composed of five distinct parts marked
with the letters d, e, f, g, h.
Figures 4 and 5:-d is one of a series of plates of wrought iron, which
may be made twelve inches in length, more or less, and which must fit
casily into the contracted part of the opening from c to c.
The edges
of these plates, when api lied so as to close the opening, form portions of radial
lines, which if continued would meet in the centre of the tube. These plates

page_text: may be either quite flat, or bent a little in a direction of their length so as to
form a portion or segment of a circle, the radius of which would be equal to
that of the inner diameter of the tube. Above this plate there is a continuous
strap or band of india-rubber e, about one-eighth of an inch thick, and two
inches and three quarters broad, more or less, and the breadth of this strap
must be varied according to the width of the opening of the tube. This band
of india-rubber I prefer to be of the description which is technically termed
vulcanized or sulphurized, (that is to say) the india-rubber must be prepared
in such manner as to render it as permanently elastic as possible. f is a piece
of deal, pine, or other suitable wood, which is formed into a continuous length
by connecting together pieces of convenient length, which are to be joined end
to end by splicing, or otherwise. The edges of such pieces are to be planed
so as to fit easily into the upper part of the longitudinal opening, This piece
of wood may be flat, or hollowed on the under side, in a similar manner as the
plate of iron d before described, and so as to fit the flat or curved surface: of
the flexible material formed by the plate d. The corners of these pieces of
wood are to be hollowed, as shewn at f, f, so as to form a cavity or recess for
receiving the edges of the flexible material e, as shewn in Figure 4. The
object of employing wood in the construction of this valve is, first, that the
valve may be as little liable as possible to expand and contract lengthways
from the variations of the temperature or moisture of the atmosphere; and,
secondly, to give the valve a sufficient degree of stiffness and flexibility so as
to allow it to bend sufficiently to form the curve required when the valve is
being opened. On the top of this piece of wood there is a continuous strap or
band g of leather, or other suitable material, which, when the valve is in a
position for closing the opening of the tube, rests upon the top or edge of the
projecting ribs a, a. h is one of a series of plates, of wrought iron, of about
ten feet in length, or they may be made of any other convenient length.
These plates are to be bent down at each edge (as shewn in Figures 4 and 5)
so as to lap over, and thereby cover the projecting ribs a, a. The object of
bending the plate down, in the manner shown, is to prevent as much as
possible water and other extraneous matter getting into the traction tube, the
edges of the plate at i, i, being bevilled a little so as to prevent capillary attrac-
tion. This improved valve, therefore, consists of a series of plates of wrought
iron d and h, a continuous piece of vulcanized or other suitably prepared
india-rubber e, a continuous piece of wood f, made to fit the upper part of
the longitudial opening, and a piece of leather g, the object of the leather
being to give greater strength to the valve at those places where the metal
plates join each other, and also to assist in closing the tube when the under

page_text: surface of the leather comes in contact with the upper face of the projecting
ribs a, a, and the atmospheric pressure bears upon the valve. The whole of
the parts above described for the purpose of forming a valve are to be firmly
rivetted or screwed together, the two plates h and d. being countersunk to
receive the head of the rivet, which must be flush with the surface of the
plate. If the parts are screwed together, the head of the screw will fit
into countersunk holes in the plate h, the plate d being drilled and tapped
to receive the screw. In constructing a valve of this description, it will be
necessary to observe that the india-rubber should not be compressed too tight
by screwing or riveting up, which would have the effect of pressing it out too
much from between the plate d and the wood f, and might also prevent it
from resuming its proper position if the edges were to be drawn out from
betwixt the plate d and piece of wood f. In order to prevent such an improper
pressure of the india-rubber, I recommend that at the place where each rivet
or screw is inserted, a circular piece of one inch, more or less, in diameter
should be cut out of the india-rubber, and a wood or other suitable washer of
at least the same thickness as the india-rubber, and sufficiently strong to resist
the pressure, is to be placed within the hole to sustain the pressure caused by
riveting or screwing the several parts together.
Having thus described the construction of my improved valve, I will next
proceed to describe its action:-
On referring to Figure 5, which represents a section of the valve as being
open, it will be observed that the edges of the india-rubber project beyond the
plate d about three-eighths of an inch, such edges being parallel or nearly so
to the plate d; but as the valve in closing is pressed into the longitudinal
opening, the edges of the india-rubber, being somewhat wider than such
opening, will be curled or bent upwards by coming in contact with the insides
of the projecting ribs, in which position the edges of the india-rubber will (by
reason of its elastic property) be. pressed closely against the sides of the
opening. This will have the effect of closing the longitudinal opening, and
excluding the air from the tube without the aid of composition, and also
independent of the external atmospheric pressure; but when the tube is
exhausted, the opening will be more effectually closed by the external pressure
of the atmosphere, which will have the effect of pressing the in lia-rubber still
closer into the curvilinear part of the longitudinal opening. The mode of
raising and closing the valve will be more clearly seen on referring to Figure 1,
and may
be described as follows, that is to say:-After the pipe has been
exhausted of air, and during the piston's motion, the wheels K, K, raise the
valve from the opening so as to allow the admission of air to the back part of

page_text: the piston, for the purpose of propelling the same, and also to allow the bent
part of the frame G, G, G³, G³, at G¹, G', forming the connection between the
piston arm and the carriage to pass along. The valve is kept open by means
of the wheels K', K', so as to allow a sufficient supply of air, and it is then
'pressed down so as to close the opening by the wheel L³, and make the tube
ready for re-exhausting for the transport of another train.
Note. I would observe, that the same principle of action in the valve above
described may be combined with the construction of valve at present used on
the Croydon atmospheric line of railway, that is to say:-the valve may be con-
structed so as to move at one edge upon a hinge joint, the underside of the
valve being composed of vulcanized or other suitably prepared india-rubber,
which may be made to project a little beyond the edge of the strengthening
plate or plates, forming portion of such valve, in such manner that as the
valve is closed or pressed down upon its seat, the projecting edge of the india-
rubber might be made to come in contact with a projecting rib, and be curled
or bent in the manner berein-before described. This description of valve is
also applicable to atmospheric railways in which compressed air is employed,
and where the valve is required to be opened inwards, and will I believe
effectually prevent the escape of the air.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details herein mentioned, so long as the peculiar
character of my Invention be retained; and that I do not claim the exclusive
application of wheels to open or close the valves of such traction tubes as
aforesaid, or of the weight II, or any other of the parts before described,
separately and apart from the manner in which they are applied for the
purposes of my said Invention; nor do I claim the application of vulcanized
or sulphurized india-rubber to valves for atmospheric railways generally;
but what I do claim as of my Invention is,-
Firstly, the general arrangement and combination of parts herein-before
described for supporting the piston F by means of the framing G, G, G³, G³,
and wheels L, L'.
Secondly, I claim the application of vulcanized or other suitably prepared
india-rubber in the construction of valves for the traction tubes of atmospheric
railways, in such manner that the edge or edges of the india-rubber may be
curled or bent against the sides of the longitudinal openings of such tubes so as
to prevent air from being admitted into or escaping from such traction tubes,
in manner herein-before described.
And lastly, the general arrangement and combination of parts herein-before

page_text: described, for forming a compound valve for closing the longitudinal openings
of traction tubes in manner aforesaid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles de Bergue, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.