GB331577A - Amusement rides - Google Patents

Abstract

331,577. Traver, H. G. April 5, 1929. Railways and tracks for recreation. - In a scenic railway having uptrack, declivous, curved, and undulated track - rail sections, some of the vertical undulations are spaced so that the distance between the centres of the rises and dips is less than the distance between the axes of the forward and rear car wheels. The track is shaped as in Fig. 1, cars being elevated from the loading station S up the section 31 by means of teeth on a travelling sprocket chain, the cars then running around the track under gravity, through a tunnel revolving relative to the track, and through tunnels 42, 43 arranged at curves and containing various scenes. The track may undulate horizontally as well as vertically. The rises 70 and dips 69 of the vertical undulations of both rails may occur together, Figs. 9 and 10, a rise 73 in one rail may occur opposite a dip 74 in the other rail, Fig. 11, or the rails may be stepped, Fig. 14. The track rails are built up, Fig. 17, of wood laminations 32 bolted at intervals through strips 37 to saddles 36, rotatable about bolts 39, mounted on brackets 38, carried by arms 30 of the framework shown in Fig. 1. The car wheels run on the metal straps 33, an abutment 35, under which an auxiliary wheel of a car engages, being provided to prevent cars jumping the track. The cars, which form the subject matter of Specification 331,589 may be provided with resilient pawls which engage with ratchets on the track to cause a clattering noise, electric bells may be rung, the passengers may be given an electric shock during the ride and also when leaving the car, a draught of air or a shower of confetti may be directed upon the passengers, the raising of the cars by the sprocket chain may be made irregular by fitting its driving wheel eccentrically on the power shaft, and at the end of the ride an automaton with a sprung arm may be provided to appear to assist people to dismount from the car.