IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY OR TRAMWAY INTER- .COMMUNICATION FOR CITIES AND TOWNS, AND IN THE STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR.”
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Telford Macneill, of No. 1, Warwick
Street, Cockspur Street, in the County of Middlesex, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY OR TRAMWAY INTER-
.COMMUNICATION FOR CITIES AND TOWNS, AND IN THE STRUCTURES AND
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR.”
"
Sealed the 29th October 1872, and dated the 3rd May 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Telford Macneill
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd May 1872.
I, THOMAS TELFORD MACNEILL, of No. 1, Warwick Street, Cockspur
Street, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY OR TRAMWAY
INTERCOMMUNICATION FOR CITIES AND TOWNS, AND IN THE STRUCTURES AND
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows:-
:-
My Invention has reference to an improved system of intercom-
munication by subterranean railways or tramways in cities and towns,
whereby at a comparatively small cost of construction two or more lines

page_text: of railway running in different directions are so arranged in connection
with each other that a passenger starting from a station on the one line
may readily pass either to another station on the same line or to a
station upon the other line or either of the other lines.
For this purpose I construct one or more subterranean lines of railway 5
or tramway extending, say, from the east end to the west end of the
town or city, and at a somewhat higher or lower level I construct one or
more other lines extending, say, from the north end to the south end, so
that this latter line or lines crosses or cross over or below the first-
named line or lines at one or more points. At these crossings I construct 1
stațions arranged in communication with both lines, so that a passenger
desirous of passing from one line of railway to another running in a
different direction on alighting at the station where the said line crosses
the other can there ascend or descend to the level of the other line.
In large towns I prefer to construct several such lines of railway 1
extending in one and the same direction at convenient distances apart,
and several other lines at a different level running transversely to them
also at convenient distances apart, so as to render the whole area of the
town readily accessible by the network of subterranean railway lines thus
formed. Each line will have stations at all the points where it is crossed 2
by the other lines, so that a passenger starting from a station on one
line can pass readily to any station on any of the crossing lines.
Each line of railway consists by preference of two separate tunnels or
tubes running parallel with each other at some distance apart, each
tunnel being of a comparatively small diameter, and having but one line 2
of rails, the one tunnel serving for the up traffic and the other for the
down traffic. Both tunnels communicate with each other at each end
by loops, so that a train of carriages arriving at the end of the down line
passes round the loop on to the up line, and vice versa. In the space
enclosed by the two tunnels of one line of railway and those of a crossing 3
line I construct the station, in which I provide either staircases or liſts
for the passengers to ascend or descend from the level of the one line to
that of the other line, and a vertical shaft in the station extends up to
the level of the ground line or road, so as to give access to and from the
railway lines from and to such level.
I prefer to propel the train through the tunnels by atmospheric
pressure, for which purpose I arrange a tube between the rails, and in
such tube I provide pistons connected to the under side of the carriages
3

page_text: by rods passing through a longitudinal groove in the tube, such groove
being closed after the passage of the rod by means similar to those
which have heretofore been employed in connection with such atmo-
spheric tubes, and which form no part of my present Invention.
Extending along such tube at the side of or below the same is a second
tube communicating at one or both ends with any suitable known con-
struction of apparatus for exhausting the air from or propelling air
through the tube, and also communicating at intermediate points of its
length with lengths of the first-named tube through which the pistons
travel, so that by exhausting the air from or propelling air through the
second tube the air is also exhausted from or propelled into the lengths
of the piston tube, and thus effects the propulsion of the pistons which
impart their motion to the carriages. Valves are provided in the end
of each length of the piston tube, which are respectively opened as a
piston passes into the respective lengths of tube, and other valves are
provided in the openings through which the piston tube communicates
with the other tube, which valves are closed after the piston has passed
the respective openings.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Telford Macneill in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
TELFORD MACNEILL, of No. 1, Warwick Street, Cockspur Street, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
year
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-fifth
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, Her special license
that I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, 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,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY OR TRAMWAY INTERCOMMUNICATION FOR CITIES AND
TOWNS, AND IN THE STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Thomas Telford Macneill, 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention has reference to an improved system of intercom-
munication by subterranean railways or tramways in cities and towns,
whereby at a comparatively small cost of construction two or more
lines of railway running in different directions are so arranged in
connection with each other that a passenger starting from a station on
the one line may readily pass either to another station on the same line
or to a station upon the other line or either of the other lines.
For this purpose I construct one or more subterranean lines of
railway or tramway extending, say, from the cast end to the west end
of the town or city, and at a somewhat higher or lower level I construct
one or more other lines extending, say, from the north end to the south
end, so that the latter line or lines crosses or cross over or below the
first-named line or lines at one or more points. At these crossings I
construct stations arranged in communication with both lines so that a
a passenger desirous of passing from one line of railway to another
running in a different direction on alighting at the station where the
said line crosses the other can there ascend or descend to the level of
the other line.
In large towns I prefer to construct several such lines of railway a
extending in one and the same direction at convenient distances apart
and several other lines at a different loval suunning

page_text: the town readily accessible by the network of subterranean railway
lines thus formed. Each line will have stations at all the points where
it is crossed by the other lines, so that a passenger starting from a station
on one line can pass readily to any station on any of the crossing lines.
Each line of railway consists by preference of two separate tunnels
or tubes running parallel with each other at some distance apart, each
tunnel being of a comparatively small diameter and having but one line
of rails, the one tunnel serving for the up traffic and the other for the
down traffic. Both tunnels communicate with each other at each end
by loops, so that a train of carriages arriving at the end of the down
line passes round the loop on to the up line, and vice versa.
'In the space enclosed by the two tunnels of one line of railway and
those of a crossing line I construct the station in which I provide either
staircases or lifts for the passengers to ascend or descend from the
5 level of the one line to that of the other line, and a vertical shaft in
the station extends up to the level of the ground line or road so as to
give access to and from the railway lines from and to such level.
I prefer to propel the trains through the tunnels by atmospheric
pressure, for which purpose I arrange a tubo between the rails, and in
) such tube I provide pistons connected to the under side of the carriages
by rods passing through a longitudinal groove in the tube, such groove
being closed after the passage of the rod by means similar to those
which have heretofore been employed in connection with such atmo-
spheric tubes, and which form no part of my present Invention. Extending
5 along such tube at the side of or below the same is a second tube
communicating at one or both ends with any suitable known construction
of apparatus for exhausting the air from or propelling air through the
tube and also communicating at intermediate points of its length with
lengths of the first-named tube through which the pistons travel so
that by exhausting the air from or propelling air through the second
tube the air is also exhausted from or propelled into the lengths of the
piston tube, and thus effects the propulsion of the pistons which impart
their motion to the carriages. Valves are provided in the end of each
length of the piston tube, which are respectively opened as a piston passes
into the respective lengths of tube, and other valves are provided in the
openings through which the piston tube communicates with the other.
tube, which valves are closed after the piston has passed the respective

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 of the Drawings shews a diagram plan of a network of
subterranean railways constructed beneath a town or city according to
my before described Invention.
Three lines of railway A, B, C, are here shown, extending, say, from t
the east to the west end of the town, and four other lines D, E, F, G,
extending from the north to the south end. The last-named lines are
constructed at a somewhat higher level than the lines A, B, C, and at
the points where the lines D, E, F, G, pass over the lines A, B, C, are
constructed stations a³, a³, &c., b¹, b³, &c., c³, c³, &c., at which passengers 1
can pass from one line to the others crossing it; other stations a, b,
c, d, &c., may be constructed at intermediate points on each or any
of the lines. Thus a passenger starting, say, from the station a' can
pass either to any of the stations on the line A, or to any station on the
line D, or he can pass to any station (say 6³) on any of the other lines 1
by alighting at the station where that line crosses the line A or D (say
at a³ or b¹), and then passing along such other line (say For B) to the
said station.
Each line of railway consists by preference of two separate tunnels
as shewn at A, A, in the enlarged cross section, Fig. 2, each tunnel 2
being of comparatively small diameter, and having but one line of rails,
the one tunnel serving for the up traffic, and the other for the down
traffic. The two small tunnels are constructed at such a depth below
the ground line X (say 56 feet) and at such a distance apart (say
90 feet) that their construction will not interfere with or act injuriously 2
upon the buildings beneath which they pass. The two tunnels forming
one line of railway are by preference made to communicate with each
other at each end by means of loops, as indicated at Z, Z, in Fig. 1, so
that a train of carriages arriving at the end of the down line can
pass round the loop on to the up line, and vice versa.
3
Figs. 3, 4, and 5 shew respectively a longitudinal section, a sectional
plan, and a transverse section of a station at one of the points where
one line of railway crosses another line, and these Figures also show the
relative levels at which it is preferred to construct the two crossing
lines. At such points the tunnels of each line are enlarged somewhat 3
as shewn at H, H, and I, I, the enlargement being made at one side
only of the tunnel, and in these enlargements are constructed the

page_text: platforms for the passengers to enter and alight from the trains. The
rails and platform of the upper crossing line are carried over the lower
line by girders, the upper line being constructed at such a height as to
leave sufficient headway for the trains of the lower line to pass beneath
it. In the space between the four crossing tunnels are constructed four
vertical shafts K, K, rising up to the level of the ground line X'in
which are spiral staircases L, L, and within these lifts M, M, by means
of which access is gained from the ground line or road to either of the
lines, and by which passengers can also ascend or descend from the
one line to the other. Passages M with inclines are also provided.
between these shafts, by which luggage or goods can be conveyed from
the one line to the other. Engines and boilers may be provided at 0, 0,
for working the lifts and for exhausting the air from the pneumatic
tubes, when such are used as the means for propelling the trains, and
the flues from the boilers may conveniently pass into a central flue P
rising up between the shafts K, K. These shafts are enclosed by
a building Q at the street level in which the booking offices may be
conveniently arranged.
Figures 6 and 7 shew respectively a transverse section and a sectional
plan of one of the intermediate stations a, b, c, Fig. 1. The tunnels are
enlarged, as in the cross stations above described, so as to give room for
the platforms H, H, and a vertical shaft K with staircase and lift is
provided to each platform, for gaining access to and from the road
level X from and to the railway. A passage N is also provided, by.
which the passengers can pass from one platform to the other. As
before stated it is preferred to propel the trains by atmospheric pressure.
For this purpose any known arrangement of atmospheric tubes and
exhausting apparatus may be employed; or I employ an arrangement
such as is shewn in the diagram plan at Fig. 8, where R represents an
atmospheric tube placed between the rails of the line, in which tube pistons
connected to the carriages are made to travel by atmospheric pressure,
such tube being constructed in a similar manner to atmospheric tubes
heretofore employed. At the side of or beneath this tube is a second
tube T extending from one end of the line to the other, and com-
municating at one or both ends with any suitable known apparatus or
engine for exhausting the air therefrom. This tube communicates with
the tube Rat each of the stations S, S', on the line by means of branches
having valves t, f, by means of which the communication can be cut off,

page_text: and valves r, r³, are also provided in the piston tube R, by means of
which the tube can be closed in advance of the point where it com-
municates with the exhausting tube. Assuming that the air is con-
tinuously exhausted from the tube T, then if a train be advancing along
the tube R towards the station S in the direction of the arrow, the
valve r is closed and the valve t is opened so as to cause the air to be
exhausted from the tube R in front of the piston of the advancing
train. When the train has arrived at the station 8 and requires to pass
on to the station S', the valve is opened and t is closed, and at the
same time the valve at the station S¹ is closed and is opened, so
that the air is now exhausted from the tube R at the station S' in front
of the advancing train. Atmospheric pressure is admitted into the
tube R behind the piston of the train, so as to effect its propulsion by
the action of valves in the longitudinal slit in the tube in the usual
manner. By this arrangement it will be seen that trains may travel
simultaneously along each section of the line between two stations.
It will be readily understood that instead of propelling the trains by
the exhaustion of the air from the tubes, these may be so arranged as to
effect the propulsion by air under pressure forced into the tubes. In this
cise the communication between the tube T through which the air is
forced in and the piston tube R would be established on the sides of the
valves 1,¹, opposite to those described with reference to Fig. 8, assuming
that the trains travel in the direction of the arrow, also the valve in the
longitudinal slit of the tube R would have to be arranged so as to close
against air pressure from within the tube instead of against pressure
from without.
Although I have described each line of railway as consisting of two
separate tunnels, one for the up line and one for the down line, yet onc
single tunnel of larger dimensions may be constructed for containing
both the up and the down line, or where the traffic on the line is not
great, one single small tunnel with one line of rails may be employed
through which the trains pass in both directions, sidings being provided
at the stations, and if required at intermediate points, to enable the
trains to pass each other.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, what I claim is,—
First. The method substantially as herein described of establishing
subterranean railway or tramway intercommunication by means of one

page_text: or more subterranean lines extending in one direction of a town or city,
in combination with one or more other subterranean lines at a somewhat
higher level running in a different direction and crossing the first-named
line or lines, stations being established at the points where the lines
cross each other, by means of which passengers can pass either from
one line to the other, or-t
-to and from the lines from and to the ground
level.
Second. Constructing such subterranean lines of two separate tunnels
of small dimensions and at some distance apart, one for each line of
rails, which tunnels are connected at the ends by loops, substantially.as
and for the purposes as herein described.
Third. The construction of stations at the crossing points of such
subterranean railways with vertical shafts having staircases or lifts-
or both staircases and lifts arranged centrally for. the several lines of
railways, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures. 8
to 5 of the Drawings.
Fourth. The use in combination with atmospheric tubes by means of
which the trains are propelled of a continuous supply or exhaust tube
communicating with the several sections of the working tube, by means
of branches provided with valves operating substantially as and for the
purposes herein described.
i
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Telford Macneill, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this First day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
T. TELFORD MACNEILL. (L.S.)