A SAFE FOR SHIPS AND OTHER NAVIGABLE VESSELS CARRYING MAILS, SPECIE, AND OTHER VALUABLES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew M°Neill, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Shipwright and Naval Designer, for the Invention of "A
SAFE FOR SHIPS AND OTHER NAVIGABLE VESSELS CARRYING MAILS, SPECIE,
AND OTHER VALUABLES."
Sealed the 20th May 1870, and dated the 24th November 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew M'Neill at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th November 1869.
I, ANDREW MCNEILL, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
5 Shipwright and Naval Designer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "A SAFE FOR SHIPS AND OTHER NAVIGABLE VESSELS CARRYING
MAILS, SPECIE, AND OTHER VALUABLES," to be as follows (that is to say):-
This Invention has for its object a means whereby mails, bullion, and
other valuables conveyed by ships or other navigable vessels will be
O protected from theft and fire, or being lost at sea by foundering or other
accident, and consists in the use of a suitably shaped safety chamber
constructed of plates of iron or steel or other suitable metal. The safe

page_text: or chamber for a vessel of, say, from 1000 to 2000 tons register may
consist of a rectangular box of, say, 12 feet by 12 feet by 8 feet, con-
structed of, say, steel plates of any suitable size revitted together and
strengthened internally by angle, T, or other suitably shaped iron or steel,
and lined throughout with plate metal, which again is sheathed with
wood. A space of some inches intervenes between the external and
internal shell of the safe, which is filled in with gypsum and alum or
other suitable non-conductor of heat. The safe has fitted in the side
or on the top a suitable door or hatch also formed hollow to receive a
charge of non-conducting material. This door or hatch is fitted so as to
be perfectly water and air tight, by preference using the Lancashire
packing, i.e., vulcanized india-rubber and canvas in combination to
make good the joints. The door has close fitting hinges and slide bolts
worked by a lever, which will force the inner plate of the door into
rcesses containing the packing. A safe of these dimensions will have a
displacement of 1152 cubic feet equal to 33 tons, and would contain
about 150 mail sacks. The safe is placed in an iron or steel casing, the
bottom of which is attached to the main deck beams, and the sides of
which extend up to a little above the upper deck. The fixed case is
made sufficiently large to allow of a space of, say, 4 inches round the
sides and bottom of the safe which rests on blocks at the bottom and is
held in position by fixed vertical guides in which the angles of the safe
slide. When the door of the safe is placed in the side thereof a door is.
constructed in the side of the case large enough to allow the safe door
to open through it. When the safe is placed within its case it is
covered either with ordinary hatch covers or with a deck house secured
down by latch hooks to prevent the same being carried away by a sea
or other accident. The hooks are attached to the sill of the house or
the hatch covers, and engage into eyes rivetted into the side of the
case or coombings. The hooks are connected together by levers .acted
upon by the safe as it rises causing all the hook bolts to disengage, and
thereby detach the deck house or hatch covers (as the case may be).
The safe is fitted externally with a number of ring bolts for lifting it on
board and for securing it and taking it in tow should it get adrift at sea.
The lower part of casing is fitted with a valve opening outward to
let off any leakage from the hatch above, and the safe casing near the
top or a short distance below the upper deck is perforated with a
number of small holes to admit water in case the vessel to which it is
fitted should founder, in which event the safe would float up, and

page_text: disengaging the hooks permit the hatch covers or deck house to go
adrift, and allow the safe to float out as the wreck sinks, which it will
soon clear and will be washed on shore, or be picked up by some passing
vessel, and name of the vessel to which it belonged being painted or
otherwise marked upon the door would lead to the restoration thereof to
the owners.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Andrew M'Neill in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th May 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
M'NEILL, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Shipwright and
Naval Designer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in tho
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Andrew M'Neill, Her special licence
that I, the said Andrew M'Neill, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrew M'Neill, my executors,
administrators, and 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 "A SAFE FOR SHIPS
AND OTHER NAVIGABLE VESSELS CARRYING MAILS, SPICIE, AND OTHER VALUABLES,"
to be as follows (that is to say) :-
1
This my said Invention has for its object a means whereby mails,
bullion, and other valuables conveyed by ships or other navigable vessels
will be protected from theft and fire, or being lost at sea by foundering.
or other accident, and consists in the use of a suitably shaped safety
chamber constructed of plates of iron or steel or other suitable metal.
The safe or chamber for a vessel of, say, from 1000 to 2000 tons register
may consist of a rectangular box of, say, 12 feet by 12 feet by 8 feet,
constructed of, say, steel plates of any suitable size and thickness,
rivetted together and strengthened internally by angle, T, or other.

page_text: suitably shaped iron or steel, and lined throughout with plate metal,
which again is sheathed with wood. A. space of some inches intervenes
between the external and internal shell of the safe, which I fill in with
gypsum and alum or other suitable non-conducter of heat. I fit the
safe in the side or on the top with a suitable door, which I also form
hollow to receive a charge of none-conducting material. This door or
hatch I fit so as to be perfectly water and air tight, by preference using
the Lancashire packing, i.e., vulcanized india-rubber and canvas in
combination to make good the joints. The door has close fitting hinges
and slide bolts worked by a lever, which will force the inner plate of the
door into recesses containing the packing. The safe I fit with a self-
acting flagstaff having a signal attached which will render the position.
of the safe visible at a great distance. I also attach a buoy rope to the
safe which is fastened inside the vessel of length sufficient to moor it at
a depth of, say, 100 fathoms. If the depth be greater than the .length.
of the rope the buoyancy of the safe will break the rope and so allow it to
float away adrift. A safe of these dimensions will have a displacement
of 1152 cubic feet 33 tons, and would contain about 150 mail sacks.
The safe I place in an iron or steel casing or chamber, the bottom of
which is attached to the main deck beams, and the sides of which
extend up to a little above the upper deck. The fixed case is made:
sufficiently largo to allow of a space of, say, 4 inches round the sides
and bottom of the safe which rests on blocks at the bottom and is held
in position by fixed vertical guides in which the angles of the safe slide.
When the door of the safe is placed in the side thereof I construct a
door in the side of the case large enough to allow the safe door to open
through it. When the safe is placed within its fixed case or chamber
I enclose it on the top either with ordinary hatch covers or with a deck
house secured down by latch hooks to prevent the same being carried
away by a sea or other accident. The hooks are attached to the sill of
the house or the hatch covers and engage into eyes rivetted into the side
of the case or coombings. The hooks are connected together by levers
acted upon by the safe as it rises, causing all the hook bolts to disengage
and thereby detach the deck house or hatch covers (as the case may be).
The safe I fit externally with a number of ring bolts for lifting it on
board and for securing it and taking it in tow should it get adrift at sea.
The lower part of casing I fit with a valve opening outward to let off
any leakage from the hatch above, and the safe casing near the top or a
short distance below the upper deck I perforate with a number of small

page_text: holes to admit water in case the vessel to which it is fitted should
founder, in which event the safe would float up, and disengaging the
hooks permit the hatch covers or deck house to go adrift and allow
the safe to float out as the wreck sinks, which it will soon clear and be
washed on shoro or be picked up by some passing vessel, and name of
the vessel to which it belonged being painted or otherwise marked upon
the door would lead to the restoration thereof to the owners.
I much prefer to cover the safe with deck house so constructed that
it may be the means (in case of the foundering of the vessel to which it
is fitted) of saving the lives of from (say) fifty to one hundred of the
passengers or crew, and will carry provisions and water equal to a
month's consumption for the refugees. The water tanks, bread, and
provision lockers I fit under the berths, which tanks and lockers. I
propose should be at all times filled, and that the house should be
provided with a small cooking stove and fuel.
A house of, say, twenty feet long by sixteen feet wide would easily
carry one hundred persons with sufficient provisions and water to last
them upwards of a month. The position of the inmates would thus be
rendered much more comfortable than being exposed to the hardships
and dangers of an open boat. The house itself may be constructed of
plates of metal in the ordinary way with a simple and speedy method for
securing the doors, so that they may be perfectly water-tight. Ventilation
may be easily obtained through the top of the house, through the stove
pipe, and other passages fitted with floating valves, which close when
immersed in the water, preventing its entering the interior of the house..
It is a well-known fact that great numbers of lives are lost owing to
the danger of boats swamping or capsizing alongside, together with the
great difficulty experienced in safely launching boats in a heavy sea.
In the case of a vessel fitted with the above safe and house that danger is
entirely removed, as the vessel itself must sink beneath the water before
the house can float away, consequently there is nothing against which
the house is in danger of striking.
In the event of a vessel (to which my Invention is applicable).
foundering as soon as the water inside the vessel reaches the upper deck,
it will flow into the case surrounding the safe, the buoyancy of which.
will cause it to ascend the slides forcing up the lever, which will disengage
all the fastenings of the house, thus leaving both safe and house free to
float away as the vessel sinks.

page_text: That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and under-
stood I have hereunto annexed Drawings illustrating so much of
the practical application as will be necessary to make it clear to all
acquainted with such matters.
Like letters and figures marked on the Drawings are used to indicate
similar parts.
Figure 1 is a vertical elevation showing a transverse section of a ship
fitted with my mail and specie safe covered with the safety deck house;
Figure 2 is a top view or plan of the safe and its surrounding chamber;
and Figure 3 is a side elevation of the safe removed from its chamber, and
fitted with, Figure 4, an air-tight door, seen from the interior, and
Figure 5 an edge view of the same; Figuro 6 is a longitudinal sectional
elevation of the deck house with the holding down and releasing gear
connected therewith.
A, body of tho safe constructed with a an outer and b an inner metal
shell with an internal sheathing of wood, and strengthened by C, Z, L,
or other suitably shaped iron ribs; d, space between the inner and outer
shell of the safe, which is filled in with gypsum and alum or other
suitable none or poor conductor of heat, and which in the modification
shewn is fitted with D a chambered door also filled with some poor s
conductor of heat and so fitted into its frame that by the shooting of the
bolts it is rendered air and water-tight, as hercin-before explained, by
means of e locking bolts formed with teeth on the edge of one of their
inner ends which gears into f small toothed wheels working in fixed
journals and actuated by a key with a cranked handle. g a flagstaff
weighted at foot and pivoted to the safe; G, the deck house fitted with
ha door which can be immediately closed and made water-tight by
means of "port bars" with hand screws taking into eyes on the door, or
as shewn in the Drawings by i an axle pin secured into the door; k, water
tanks and provision lockers; 1, sleeping berth; m, hatch or man-hole on a
the top of the deck house; n, the latch gear for securing house and
releasing the safe when immersed; P, hull of the ship; q, main deck;
7, upper deck.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my
said Invention, and the best means I am acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise detail, proportions, or dimensions herein.
before described and set forth, as it will be readily seen that the same.

page_text: may be considerably varied without departing from the Invention; but
what I claim is, safes for ships and other navigable vessels carrying
mails, specie, and other valuables constructed, arranged, and operating
substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described
and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew M'Neill, have hereunto set
my hand and affixed my seal, this Twenty-third day of May,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
10 Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
of 44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
ANDREW (L.S.) M°NEILL.