IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANS- MITTING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING RAILWAY TRAINS, SHIPS, BOATS, BARGES, AND SUCH LIKE VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL AND MECHANICAL PURPOSES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Weston, Engineer and Builder, of Norwood,
in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANS-
MITTING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING RAILWAY TRAINS,
SHIPS, BOATS, BARGES, AND SUCH LIKE VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL AND
MECHANICAL PURPOSES."
Sealed the 22nd September 1854, and dated the 6th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Weston at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th April
1854.
I, JOHN WESTON, Engineer and Builder, of Norwood, in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN TRANSMITTING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING RAILWAY TRAINS,
SHIPS, BOATS, BARGES, AND SUCH LIKE VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL AND
MECHANICAL PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the use of an air-tight flexable or elastic tube, or
hose, or bag, or web, or other covering, as a means of transmitting and apply-
ing the power or force of steam, or compressed air, or water, or other liquid
or fluid, in manner herein-after described, for propelling trains on railways,
ships, boats, barges, and such like vessels on water, and for other usefull and
mechanical purposes.
1st: Railway Trains.-Between each pair of rails of an ordinary railway I lay
down a longitudinal sleeper, on which sleeper I attach an air-tight flexable

page_text: tube or hose, on which sleeper and tube or hose, when the train is in motion,
revolves a drum or "driving wheel," which I attach to one of the carriages of
a train; which driving wheel presses the flexable tube or hose close on the
sleeper, so as to prevent the steam, or air, or water, or other liquid or fluid as
may be used, from passing under the driving wheel beyond its center.
The flexable or elastic tube or hose I divide lengthwise into suitable sections,
and provide proper mechanical arrangements for inflating each section with
steam, or compressed air, or water, or other liquid or fluid, and for the escape
of the same after use...
Assuming now that arrangements have been made similar to those described,
and that steam or compressed air was admitted into the flexable or elastic tube
behind the driving wheel, the effect of which, it will be evident, would be to
press the hinder portion of the driving wheel upwards, and thereby cause or
dispose it to revolve and propel the train.
The carriages with driving wheels I term "driving carriages," and for long
trains two or more of these driving carriages may be employed, and the sec-
tions of the flexable tube or hose so arranged as to enable their combined
action.
There may also, if found desirable, be two or more flexable tubes laid side
by side on one or more sleepers between the same pair of rails, and the
periphery of the driving wheels made broad enough to cover the whole of the
said tubes, either or all of which might be used at the same time.
2nd Boats on Rivers & Canals.-It will readily be seen that a similar
arrangement may be adopted for propelling or towing boats on rivers and
canals, for which purpose a tramroad may be laid along the river or canal for
the driveing or towing carriage to travel on, to which carriage the boat would
be connexted by a chain or rope, as at present used. It will likewise be readily
seen, that by slightly varying or modifying the arrangements, my Invention
may be applied to a number of other usefull purposes, such as raising and
lowering weights, mining materials, and workmen driving piles, and a variety
of other purposes, as will be fully explained in my Complete Specification and
Drawings:
on water.
3rd: Ships, Boats, & such like Vessels.-The following is a description of
an adaptation of my Invention for propelling ships, boats, and such like vessels
In some convenient situation lengthwise of the ship, boat, or other
vessel, I fix an iron or metal tube; inside of which tube I fix along its entire
length a steam or air tight elastic web or flexable division, each end of which
elastic web or flexable division I secure to one side of the metle tube, so as to
form a steam or air tight chamber, and provide proper mechanical arrange-

page_text: ments for the induction and eduction of steam, or air, or water, or other liquid
or fluid, as may be used to and from the said steam or air tight chamber. I
also provide each end of the other side of the metle tube with proper induction
and eduction ports, valves, &c., for the admission and emission of water.
Assuming now such an arrangement to have been made, and that steam or
compressed air was admitted into the steam or air chamber, the force of such
steam or compressed air, it will be evident, would tend to urge the flexable
and elastic division towards the opposite side of the tube, which, if previously
filled with water, would tend to displace it; and if the valves were arranged so
as to allow the water to escape from the back end of the tube towards the
stern of the vessel, would tend to urge or propel the vessel forward; or if the
water was allowed to escape in the opposite direction, would tend to move
the vessel backward. Although I have here spoken of one tube only, I do not
mean to confine myself to the use of one, as each vessel may be provided with
two or more.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Weston in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WESTON, Engineer and Builder, of Norwood, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Weston, Her special licence that I, the said John Weston,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Weston, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSMITTING
AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER FOR PROPELLING RAILWAY TRAINS, SHIPS, BOATS,
BARGES, AND SUCH LIKE VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL AND MECHANICAL PUR-
POSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Weston,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly

page_text: 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 John Weston, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists in the use of an air-tight flexible or elastic tube, or
hose, or bag, or web, or other covering, as a means of transmitting and apply-
ing the power, or force of steam, compressed air, water, or other liquid or
fluid, in manner herein-after described, for propelling trains on railways, ships,
boats, barges, and such like vessels on water, and for other useful mechanical
purposes.
First Railway Trains.-Between each pair of rails of an ordinary railway
I lay down a longitudinal sleeper, on which sleeper I attach an air-tight flexible
tube or hose, on which sleeper and hose, when a train is in motion, revolves a
drum or driving wheel, which I attach to one of the carriages of a train, which
driving wheel presses the flexible or elastic tube close on the sleeper, so as to
prevent the steam, or air, or water, or other liquid or fluid as may be employed,
from passing under the driving wheel beyond its centre.
The flexible or elastic tube I divide lengthwise into suitable sections, and
provide proper valves and other mechanical arrangements for inflating each
section with steam, or compressed air, or water, or other liquid or fluid, and
for the escape or discharge of the same after use.
Assuming now that arrangements have been made similar to those described,
and that steam or compressed air was admitted into the flexible or elastic tube
behind the driving wheel, the effect of which, it will be evident, would be to
press the hinder portion of the driving wheel upwards, and thereby cause or
dispose it to revolve and propel the train.
The carriages with driving wheels I term "driving carriages," and for long
trains two or more of these driving carriages may be employed, and the sec-
tions of the flexible tube so arranged as to enable their combined action.
There may also, if found desirable, be two or more flexible tubes laid side by
side on one or more sleepers between the same pair of rails, and the periphery
of the driving wheels made broad enough to cover the whole of the said tubes,
either or all of which might be used at the same time.
Second Boats on Rivers and Canals. It will be readily seen that a similar
arrangement may be adopted for propelling or towing boats on rivers and

page_text: canals, for which purpose a tramroad may be laid along the river or canal for
the driving or towing carriage to travel on, to which carriage the boat would
be connected by a chain or rope as at present. It will likewise be readily seen,
that by slightly varying or modifying the arrangements, my Invention may be
applied to a number of other useful purposes, such as raising and lowering
weights, mining materials, and workmen driving piles, and a variety of other
purposes.
Third: Ships, Boats, and such like Vessels.-The following is a description
of an adaptation of my Invention for propelling ships, boats, and such like
vessels on water. In some convenient situation lengthwise of the ship or other
vessel I fix an iron or metal tube; inside of which tube I fix along its entire
length a steam or air tight elastic web or flexible division; each end of which
elastic web or flexible division I secure to one side of the metal tube, so as to
form a steam or air tight chamber, and provide proper mechanical arrange-
ments for the induction and eduction of steam, air, water, or other liquid or
fluid, as may be used to and from the said steam or air tight chamber; I
also provide each end of the other side of the metal tube with proper induc-
tion and eduction ports, valves, &c., for the admission and emission of water.
Assuming now such arrangements to have been made, and that steam or
compressed air was admitted into the steam or air chamber, the force of such
steam or compressed air impinging against the elastic or flexible divisions, it will
be evident, would tend to urge it towards the opposite side of the tube, which,
if previously filled with water, would tend to displace it; and if the valves
were arranged so as to allow the water to escape from the back end of the
tube towards the stern of the vessel, would tend to urge or propel the vessel
forward; or if the water was allowed to escape in the opposite direction, would
tend to move the vessel backward.
Although I have here spoken of one tube only, I do not mean to confine
myself to the use of one, as each vessel may be provided with two or more.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a plan; and Figures 2 and 3, sections of a vessel, with my
Invention applied thereto. a, a, are tubes fixed longitudinally in the vessel
below the water line, and capable of being closed or opened to the external
water at either or both ends by suitable valves (not shewn in the Drawing),
and so arranged, that when they are in operation they open only in opposite
directions, although they have the capability of having that direction reversed.
The tubes a, a, are also provided with longitudinal diaphragms b, of some
elastic or flexible material, which are so attached to the tubes as to form on

page_text: one side of them a tight chamber, and on the other a channel for the passage
of the fluid in which the vessel is moving. The tubes a, a, are in communication
with suitable apparatus (by means of the branches a'), not shewn in the
Drawing, for admitting steam or other elastic fluid into the closed chambers,
produced by the elastic diaphragms.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-When it is desired to propel
the vessel forward, the valves at the fore end of the pipes must be so arranged
that they will open inwards, and those at the stern ends, so that they
will open outwards. It will be evident that the water from without will
fill the tubes a, a, from the fore end of the vessel, and upon the introduc-
tion of steam or other elastic fluid into the chambers formed by the elastic
diaphragms, it will be ejected, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2, at the stern end,
thereby propel the vessel; and upon the withdrawal or condensation of the
elastic fluid, the stern valve will close and the tubes refill, as shewn at Figure 3,
so as to be similarly ejected, and so on.
When it is desired to make stern way, the valves must be arranged vice
versa to the manner just described, and the elastic fluid admitted at the
branches a² at the stern end of the pipes.
At Figure 4 are two diagrams, which shew the use of an elastic tube e, in
place of a diaphragm; and I would here remark, that although I have in the
Drawing shewn two tubes placed interior of the vessel, a greater or less
number may be employed, and, if thought desirable, they may be arranged
exterior of the vessel.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Weston, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
WILLIAM TONGUE.
JOHN WESTON. (L.S.)