Improvements in Gravity Cable Railways.
Year: 1887

page_text: Improvements in Gravity Cable Railways.
I, LA MARCUS ADNA THOMPSON of the City and County of Philadelphia, in the
State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Builder, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to a railway designed for use in cities, parks, sea-side and
other resorts for the conveyance of persons from one point to another in cars or
coaches propelled alternately over descending and ascending inclines, by means of
gravity and cables actuated by motive power.
I provide an elevated structure of iron, wood or other suitable material of any
desired length having a series of descending and ascending inclines and on the
ascending inclines 1 provide a rope kept in movement usually by a steam engine.
The car has a gripping device which comes into contact with the cable at the foot of
the descending incline or just beyond and grips the cable as soon as the speed of the
car falls to that at which the cable is driven.
The car is then drawn upward to the summit of the ascending incline where it is
released from the cable to be if necessary conveyed by gravity along another
descending incline to the next ascending incline where another cable is met and so on in
regular succession along the course of any desired length. So the cars are alternately
conveyed by gravity and propelled by a cable actuated by motive power from power
furnishing stations located at suitable distances apart along the road. I thereby
dispense with locomotive engines and the attending dangers and annoyances. Usually
the gripping appliance is arranged to operate automatically.
In order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect
I will proceed to describe drawings hereunto annexed.

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Figure 1 is a side elevation. showing in three sections a double track elevated
gravity cable railroad, and a passenger station between the outgoing and return
courses of the road; the cable and its actuating mechanism propelled by a steam
engine located beneath the station is also shown.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a terminal station showing a table for reversing
the car. -
Figure 4 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 5 is a cross section of the elevated railroad showing a station located centrally
between the two courses, and also the plant beneath for operating the cable and
elevating a car along, two of the ascending planes of the railway course running in
opposite directions..
Figure 6 is a transverse section of the elevated railway showing the supporting
columns and cross-beams and the I-beams and the sleepers for the tracks to
rest upon.
•
Figure.7 represents to a larger scale a plan view of the road bed.
Figure 8 is a transverse section of one of the railway courses, and also shows a
passenger car partly in section and partly in elevation mounted upon the rails, with
gripping mechanism thereunder and with the safety devices for preventing the cars
from jumping the rails and obviating accident.
Figure 9 is a plan view of the cable grip and automatic mechanism for operating
the same.
Figure 10 is a side view of a passenger car partly in elevation and partly in section.
showing the grip and mechanism for actuating the same.
Figure 11 is atop or plan view of the gripping device with the jaws thereof open.
Figure 12 is a longitudinal central section of the gripping device.
Figure 13 is a diagrammatic view and shows the directions in which the cable
travels along the outgoing and return courses of the elevated railway; and
Figure 14 is a perspective view of the actuating mechanism located upon a super-
» structure: beneath one of the, passenger stations of the elevated railway.
A represents the foundation into which the supporting columns of the super-structure.
are imbedded. This super-structure consists of supporting columns B B made of
wrought, cast or other suitable material fitted solidly into. the. bases and b, and
these bases are imbedded in the foundation A. These, metallic supporting columns B
and B, have upon their..upper extremities capitals 6', into, which are fitted shoes,62,
secured thereto by means of bolts 6³. Cast to the exterior surface of the supporting
[columns are brackets into which. are fitted, the cross-beams B'; held securely to
place therein by means of. bolts and nuts . In the shoes & snugly held in the
capitals of the supporting columns B, on, each side of the course is fitted the outer
longitudinal I-beam C. The inner longitudinal I-beam C¹ is held in shoes rigidly
-secured in any suitable manner. to the cross-beams B', or into a vertical support 67 bolted
to the cross-beam B₁ as shown in figure 6. ..Upon the lower flanges of the I-beams C
and C, of the out-going and return courses of the structure rest the sleepers D, made of
stout material: At suitable distances apart tie-rods D' are inserted through holes
provided in the body of the I-beams and C¹ to receive them and they are held
rigidly by means of nuts c on the threaded ends of the rods D₁. Upon the sleepers D
the rails e; e, e² and e³ are suitably secured, in any well understood manner. To the
shoes b and are attached the truss-chords 02 by means of bolts and nuts c²... The:
truss-chords. Care provided with vertical struts. c3, which, are suitably hinged to
the underside of the longitudinal. I-beams C and C₁ and to the respective truss-chords (2.
These truss chords are preferably provided with swivel nuts located centrally for
tightening and binding together longitudinally the several parts of the structure and
for strengthening the longitudinal I-beams C and C₁.
:
F represents one of the elevated passenger stations located on the line 'centrally

page_text: between the out-going and return courses of the road. Access to this elevated station
is had by means of stairways so that passengers may take the cars from the elevated
station going in either direction, that is to say, either to the "right" or to the "left"
of the course.
The stations along the line of the railway are located at suitable
distances apart and arranged so that as soon as the car J, is released from the cable H
at the summit of the ascending plane (just to the right or left of the centre of the
station according to the direction the car may be going) the brake may be operated
by the attendant-in-charge, and the car brought to a stop to receive and discharge
passengers. Upon the release of the brake the car will immediately start off and
be carried by gravity to a point where the car again settles onto the cable, and the
grip coming in contact therewith the car is carried over a short inclined plane in
the road-way and being then released starts off down a descending incline to the foot
of the next ascending one. On arriving at this point the car is again gripped to the
cable and conveyed it may be to an elevated passenger station at the summit of the
incline where it is released and stopped as before.
Beneath each station F upon an elevated super-structure of light and durable
construction (such for example as that shown in figures 1 and 5, consisting of
supporting columns B3 and 13 to which cross-girders D* are secured for supporting
the floor or platform D³) is placed a plant consisting of a steain or other motive power
engine G, for imparting motion to the cable H, for conveying the cars up the
ascending planes in both directions.
The driving engine G is preferably mounted upon a base g, rigidly secured to the
floor. Upon the platform are rigidly secured two standards g₁ and g² provided
with journal bearings 93, 9, and g in which the shafts h and h¹ carrying the
frictional driving-wheels H and H2, are journalled, and to which shafts h and are
rigidly secured gear wheels 12 and 13 meshing with each other. Rigidly secured to
one end of the shaft is a crank to which the piston connecting rod ³ of the
engine is pivoted.. Motion is imparted by the engine G to the crank which drives
the shaft actuating the gear wheels 2 and 3 and the frictional wheels H¹ and H².
These wheels carry the cable H, it passes forward over the drum and returns
between the tracks e and e¹ of the ascending plane guided by a series of
grooved rollers ², suitably journalled in the super-structure. At the summit of
the ascending plane I, the cable takes a slight downward course around the
roller and thence over guide rollers 0 and . The cable then passes around
the pulley and backward around the frictional driving wheel H², thence
it passes over the drum pulley 13 and backward in a horizontal-direction between
the tracks 2 and 3 of the ascending plane of the opposite course, along over the
guide rollers 14. At the point I the cable H passes downward over a series of
guide-rollers and 16 around the drum and thence it continues downward and
passes around the frictional driving wheel H', thereby completing the circuit. It
will thus be seen that by such an arrangement of cable operating mechanism the
passenger cars or coaches travelling over the ascending longitudinal planes of the
course in opposite directions may be readily and effectively operated by a single
plant located beneath the stations F, at suitable distances apart.
It will be observed that the cable H is so arranged as to travel between the
tracks e e¹ and e² e in opposite directions upon guide rollers at a sufficient distance
above the road-bed for the gripping mechanism provided under cach car to grip the
cable and at the summit of the incline to become disengaged therefrom. When
the car comes to the station to receive or discharge passengers it will have reached
a point in the road where the descent is by gravity alone and here it will be readily
stopped by the attendant-in-charge operating the brakes. When the brakes are
released the car will immediately start off and be carried by gravity alone over the
descending incline to the foot of an ascending incline where the car will be conveyed
to the summit by means of a cable operating as described. Such an elevated railway
may be constructed of any length.
The cars will not descend the planes at a dangerous speed but at a rate say from

page_text: ten to twelve miles an hour, more or less, according of course to the way the road is
constructed.
A starting or terminal station W of the elevated railway is shown in figures 3 and 4.
There is a turn-table V in the centre between the waiting rooms for reversing the
cars J to change their course. Access to this elevated station may be had by means
of a stair-way w. The railway is so arranged near the terminal station that the car
will acquire sufficient momentum by gravity to carry it over the summit w¹ of the
incline and onto the turn-table V. By means of the turn table the car is then
transferred to the other line ready to be started off down the descending plane w²
upon the release of the brakes of the car J, by the attendant-in-charge.
In figure 10 is shown a passenger car or coach J of a construction suitable for use
on a railway embracing the special features of my invention. This car J is provided
inside with seats for the passengers on each side; it is mounted upon front and rear
trucks and of the usual well known construction, save that the bolsters of the
trucks (secured centrally to the car floor by means of bolts or otherwise) project in
both directions laterally from the centre thereof beyond the car wheels. These
bolsters are made of very strong or stout material and serve as safety devices in case
an axle should break to avoid accident; they then come into contact with the longi-
tudinal I beams C and C on both sides of the course and support the car as will be
readily understood by reference to figure 8. There are also lugs on the trucks which
project beneath the upper flanges of the I-beams and which serve to prevent the
truck rising and leaving the rails as also is clearly shown in Figure 8.
To the underside of the rear truck of each car J, is provided a frame-work L,
consisting of three transverse beams 1, and four longitudinal beams suitably secured
together and rigidly fastened to the truck. Through the centre of this frame are two
longitudinal guide-ways 12 and 13 made of any suitable material and rigidly secured
to the transverse beams 1. Along the supporting guide-ways 12 and 13 gripping
jaws m and m¹, U-shaped in cross-section as shown in figure 8 are made to slide.
These jaws m and m² are provided with tongues to which are attached lever arms m²
and m³ by means of bolts and nuts m² m² and the opposite extremities of these lever-
arms are secured to T-shaped brackets me and m² secured to the longitudinal beams
by means of bolts and nuts m8 m³. To the rear extremities of the jaws m and m¹ are
secured by means of rivets m¹0 or otherwise two longitudinal arms m" and m2. These
longitudinal arms m" and m¹² are hinged to an arm having a U-shaped extremity m¹³
by means of a stout bolt and nut m¹ as shown in figure 12 forming a knuckle joint.
This arm m¹³ carries a fixed collar m¹5 and coiled around this arm is a retracting
spring me which abuts against the fixed collar m¹ and at its opposite end against the
vertical depending beam m" rigidly secured to the underside of the rear platform of
the car J. The tie rod n is provided with oppositely projecting ends n' and n² which
are secured respectively to the depending arm m and the cross-beam 7 thereby
rigidly holding the depending arm m" in position beneath the rear platform of the
car. The depending arm m" has bolted to it a T-shaped bracket m18 to which the
connecting-arm n³ is fulcrumed and this arm is secured at one extremity by means
of a bolt n to the arm m¹³ and at its opposite extremity by means of a bolt n³ to a
longitudinal rod 12 suitably supported. under and extending the entire length of the
car. The rod n is bolted to an eccentric n rigidly attached beneath the front plat-
form of the car to the vertical rod n held in bearings n and n³ provided therefor.
This rod n is provided with a ratchet-wheel 10, which rests upon the platform and in
close proximity thereto is provided a pawl n¹¹ pinned to the platform.
10
This pawl n is called in action when necessary by the foot of the brake man-in-
charge of the car for engaging the ratchet-wheel no and holding the depending rod n
in a certain fixed position. To the lower extremity of the vertical depending rod n
is rigidly secured a dog o¹. To the road-way at this point, that is to say, where the
cable comes in contact with the gripping device under the car J, and parallel with the
rails is provided a strong or stout longitudinal timber O, as shown in figures 2 and 8,
and a similar timber O¹ is provided at the summit of the incline plane leading to the

page_text: passenger station F. The jaws of the gripping device are normally closed by the
retracting spring me coiled around the longitudinal arm m13 and it becomes necessary
to open them at the proper time to grip the cable. This is automatically accomplished
by means of the dog o¹ coming in contact with the projecting stout longitudinal
timber O, secured rigidly to the road bed in a line parallel with one of the tracks.
This dog o' is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in figure 9 turning the
eccentric and moving the horizontal rod n¹² extending the entire length of the car
actuating the fulcrumed connecting rod n³ hinged to the horizontal arm m13 and
operating the two lever arms m¹ and m¹² hinged thereto and to the jaws m and m¹
of the gripping device thereby opening the jaws to receive the cable. At the forward
end of the timber O the dog of returns to its normal position and the cable is embraced
by the jaws m and m'. The jaws will close on the cable whilst the car is running at
a higher speed than the cable and the cable consequently does not at once become
tightly nipped but as the speed of the car decreases the links m³ become more nearly
at right angles to the cable until such a nip is obtained as suffices to draw the car
forward.
To the cross-timber bars and 1 of the front and rear trucks and of the car
(see figure 10) are attached brackets n³ to which grooved guide pulleys N and N¹
are suitably held. These guide pulleys N and N₁ serve to guide the cable in a
straight course beneath the car and prevent it from coming into contact with the
trucks or axles of the car thereby causing damage by frictional contact.
Along the ascending planes of the road-bed parallel with the rails are run wooden.
plain surfaced rails U and U' and to the horizontal beams of the gripping frame-
work L, are suitably attached locking dogs u and u'. These dogs are so arranged
that they act only in case the grip should from any cause fail to take hold of the
cable in ascending one of the planes; they then prevent the car taking a retrograde
movement and the car is quickly and effectively stopped. This is effected by the
dogs u and u ploughing into the rails U and U; accidents will thus be prevented
and the safety of the passengers riding over the railway ensured.
Each car is to be provided with suitable brake mechanism operated by a hand
wheel from the front platform j, of the car for stopping the car whenever required.
I have described my invention with special reference to its use in cities as a means
of rapid transit, it is nevertheless obvious that the invention is equally susceptible of
being used with practical success at sea-side and other resorts for pleasure and
amusement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
:-
1. Gravity cable railways substantially as described having descending inclines
and ascending inclines and propelling apparatus kept in movement by stationary
steam engines or other stationary motors on the ascending inclines and cars running
thereon the whole so arranged that gravity carries the car along the descending
incline to the propelling apparatus which then being made to engage with the car
carries it continuously forward.
2. Gravity cable railways substantially as described having descending inclines
and ascending inclines and cables on the ascending inclines kept in movement by
steam engines or other motors and cars provided with gripping apparatus ; the whole
so arranged that gravity carries the car along the descending incline to the running
cable on the ascending incline which being then gripped the car is carried
continuously forward.
3. In gravity cable railways substantially as described a gripping appliance on
the car arranged substantially as specified to hold the cable lightly whilst the speed
of the car is greater than that of the cable and to grip it as soon as the car tends
to travel at a lesser speed.
4. In gravity cable railways substantially as described the combination substantially

page_text: as specified of gripping apparatus on the car and parts fixed in the roadway operating
therewith to automatically open the gripping apparatus to admit or to release the
cable.
5. In gravity cable railways substantially as described the arrangement of the road
and the running cable substantially as specified so that the car is drawn by the cable
up an ascending incline and so brought on to a descending incline where being
stopped by the brake it will start again by gravity when the brake is released.
6. In gravity cable railways substantially as described the arrangement of the road
and the running cable substantially as specified so that the same endless cable serves
to draw cars travelling in opposite directions up rising inclines on the up and the
down roadway.
7. In gravity cable railways substantially as described the arrangement of the road
and the car substantially as specified so that projections on the car overlap and
underlap the upper flanges of I-beams carrying the roadway in such manner that the
car cannot leave the track and is securely supported in case of the fracture of the
axle or wheels.