IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILROAD CARS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bernard Joachim La Mothe, of the City and State
of New York, in the United States of America, Doctor of Medicine,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILROAD
CARS."
Sealed the 27th June 1854, and.dated the. 6th May 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bernard Joachim La Mothe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th May 1854.
I, BERNARD JOACHIM LA MOTHE, of the City and State of New York, in the
United States of America, Doctor of Medicine, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF RAILROAD CARS" to be as
follows:-
The cars are constructed with two sets of bands of steel or other metal,
arranged and fastened to each other in the following manner :-
One set of bands run in a transverse direction, placed at about twenty (20)
to twenty-four (24) inches, more or less, apart, each band to extend from one
side of the floor to the other, and bent according to the shape required for the
car.
The said transverse bands run either singly or in pairs, one passing precisely

page_text: over the other, or may be further multiplied. The other set of bands, also
single or in pairs, or further multiplied, run in a longitudinal direction, are bent
likewise to the required shape of the car, and placed also at distances of about
twenty (20) to twenty-four (24) inches, more or less, apart.
In every case there must be not fewer than three bands meeting at each
intersection; the longitudinal bands must pass between the transverse bands,
which are placed one over the other, or the transverse bands between the
longitudinal bands, which are similarly placed.
The bands being thus arranged must be firmly secured together in said
position by means of rivets or screws, placed in each of the intersections formed
by the transverse and longitudinal sets, and must be securely connected with
the floor of the car.
This new arrangement and multiplication of bands, together with the manner
of securing them, possesses very great advantages over every other mode of
constructing railroad cars, as it combines strength and elasticity with lightness
in a far greater degree than has heretofore been obtained.
The above frame is lined inside throughout with yielding and clastic material,
in order to prevent the infliction of wounds or bruises in case of accident to the
trains.
The other portion of the car may be finished in the ordinary manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Bernard Joachim La Mothe in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd November 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BERNARD
JOACHIM LA MOTHE, of the City and State of New York, in the United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, A.D. One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Her-
self, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Bernard
Joachim La Mothe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Bernard Joachim La Mothe, my executors, administrators; and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time

page_text: 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILROAD CARS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Bernard Joachim La Mothe,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, 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 Bernard Joachim La Mothe, 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 (that is to say) :-
:-
My said Invention consists in constructing railroad cars with steel or other
metal strips or bands in such a manner as to obtain a light, cheap, and strong
car. In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side view of a car as fitted
with my improvements; Fig. 2 is a plan of the top of the car and frame of
the same; Fig. 3 is an end view; and Fig. 4 is a plan of the floor, centre
beam, and springs, as from beneath. A, A, A, are a series or set of bands of
steel, or equivalent material, running in a transverse direction, and placed at
about twenty to twenty-four inches (more or less), apart. The bands composing
each set extend from one side of the floor to the other, being bent according to
the shape required for the car, as seen at B, B, Fig. 3; said transverse bands
are composed of one, two, or more strips of metal, one passing precisely over
the other. c, c, c, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, represent another series or set of bands of
steel, or equivalent material, either single, or two or more thicknesses together,
which bands run horizontally and longitudinally around the car, and are
interwoven with the transverse bands above mentioned. These longitudinal
bands are also bent to the required shape at the ends D, D, of the car, and
placed about twenty or twenty-four inches apart, more or less. In every case
there must be at least three bands at the points of intersection; either the
longitudinal band must pass between the transverse bands, which are placed
one over the other, or the transverse band between the longitudinal bands. The
two sets of bands being thus arranged, must be secured together in said position
by means of rivets or screws and nuts through cach intersection of the sets of
bands, as seen at 1, 1, 1; and the longitudinal bars E, E, E, which pass along
the roof of the car are turned down at the ends, as seen in Fig. 3; and all the

page_text: bands which run vertically are to be securely connected with the platform or
floor of the car, either by extending the ends of said bands across under the
floor of the car and fastening them thereto, or by means of bolts F, F,
Fig. 4, passing from one side to the other, or in any other manner equally
efficient.
The two sets of bands may be made to form any angle whatever, although
in the construction of railway carriages the rectangle presents the greatest
facility for completing the frame..
"The arrangement of springs and centre beam which receive the first shock
in cases of collision is shewn in Fig. 4, wherein G is the centre bar or beam,
firmly bound with iron, extending the whole length of the floor. H is a spring,
made semicircularly or of any other desired shape, composed of steel leaves or
plates, connected with and in part a continuation of the lower longitudinal
band or bands which surround the floor of the car. I is a double spiral spring,
made of steel rods or bars, passing through holes made in the spring H, and
properly secured to the centre beam G. K is a spring, of vulcanized india-
rubber, or some other equivalent substance, placed in direct line between the
centre beam G and the spring H.
The platform is to be put directly over the said springs, except a part of the
spiral springs I, which must project from eight to twelve inches, more or less,
beyond said platform, and act in conjunction with the bumper or buffer now in
ordinary use. An arrangement of springs, similar to that connected to the
bottoms of the car, as described, can also be affixed to the top, whenever
deemed expedient, to act in conjunction with those below, in neutralizing
the first shock in collisions, &c.
When carriages are to be so used as not to be exposed to the dangers of
collision, and so forth, the centre beam and springs, designed as a protection
under such circumstances, can be omitted in the construction of the car.
These (which may be termed life preserving) cars should be lined through-
out inside with yielding and elastic substances, to act as a non-conductor, and
also to protect persons from the metal sides in case of collision. "The other
parts of the car may be finished in any manner preferred.
What I desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-
First, I claim the method herein described of constructing the frame of
railroad or other cars by continuous elastic bands of steel or other equi-
valent material, substantially in the manner and for the purposes described and
shewn.
Second, I claim the centre beam G covered or bound with iron to prevent

page_text: said beam breaking; and in combination with said beam I claim the arrange-
ment of the springs H, I, & K, substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Bernard Joachim La Mothe, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, A.D. One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
BERNARD J. LA MOTHE, M.D. (L.S.)
Witnesses,
GEO. P. WRIGHT,
289, Broadway, New York.
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
289, Broadway, New York.