US226822A - Street-car - Google Patents

Description

' 3 sheets-sheet 1.' J; ANDREW. Street-Gar.

No. 226,822. Patented April 27,1880.

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ANDREW Street-Oar. No. 226,822. F1'Paten'ted April 27,1880.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcEQ JOHN ANDREW, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STREET-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 226,822, dated April- 27, 1880. Application filed January 26, 1880,

To all whom 'it may concern,

Be it known that l, JOHN ANDREW, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Railway Gars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in certain improvements in street-cars; and it has for its object to provide a car which may be used in summer and winter, and which may for that purpose be converted either into an open or summer car, or into a closed car, for use during the winter season. As these cars are now constructed it is necessary to provide two fully built and equipped cars, one for each ot' the seasons named.

The ordinary summer-car now in use is so constructed that it cannot under any circumstances be convertedinto a car tit for winter use. On the other hand, the winter-car cannot possibly be thrown open sufficiently upon the sides and ends to enable it to be used as a summer-car, and, even if this were possible, it would be uniit for use in other respects.

As the summer-car has come into general use throughout the country, street-railway corporations are compelled to keep on hand and in constant repair double the quantity of rolling-stock that is in use at any one time. Half the rolling-stock lies idle the whole year, and the expense of providing it, the enormous space required to store the part lying idle, (which comprises a large number of cars upon long 1ines,) and the difficulties of making a general change, which is frequeitly made necessary by storms or inclement weather, have fully demonstrated the need of an invention whereby so useless and so great an eX- pense may be avoided.

To this end, therefore, my invention consists in a street-railway car so constructed that it may be easily and quickly converted from a closed winter-car into an open or summer car, and in a certain novel construction and combination of parts for accomplishing such result, all which will first be described, and then pointed out and defined in the claims.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section taken through the center of the car. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken at a point just within the door, at the end ot the car. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the end of the car, but not extended completely across. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, showing one of the windows. Fig. 5 is a plan of the bonnet taken from below.

In the construction of a car capable otl being converted into an open or a closed car, it is evident that the following conditions must be satisfied, since they enter into the problem as important factors:

First, the sides must be Wholly thrown open between the posts from the rootl as far down as the level ofthe seats, and the windows and shutters must be constructed so as to be stowed within the walls, and to enable the shades to be used when the windows are removed'.

Second, the seats must be arranged transversely, and means of ingress and egress must be provided, since the sides cannot be thrown open from top to bottom, and thereby allow the car to be entered by the side, without incurring the necessity of storing the parts removed in some other place than in the bodyof the car, which would be highly objectionable for many obvious reasons. While making this transverse arrangement, therefore, it is necessary to provide a central passage-way, and to so construct the body of the car that space shall be afforded for two persons on cach seat.

Third, as the ends of the cars are thrown open, as well as the sides, it is necessary to construct the doors in such manner that they may be thrown open, and allowed to remain so, without closing, or at least partially obstructing, the open space.

Finally, several features of construction enter into the accomplishment of these subordinate or contributory results, which belong properly to the same invention, and which are claimed for that reason.

A in the drawings indicates the flooring of the car, consisting ot' longitudinal stretcher-s A and cross-beams A2, resting thereon. The supports A are trussed from above to give them stiffness, and at intervals are placed risers B, extending from the stretchers to the roof. These risers, which form the main part of the upright portion of the frame, are of a peculiar construction. At the lowerl end they enter the stretcher A by a tenon, which pro IOO jects from a shoulder, a, resting on the upper surface of Af, while a lip, a', extends downward and has bearing against the outer face. From the poi ntof connection with the stretcher the riser B is inclined or curved outward, as shown at B', and then rises with a slight inclin ation inward to theroof. By this construction I obtain a marked increase in lateral space, as will be described hereinafter.

C is the platform or flooring of the car, upon which the seats are supported. It is divided longitudinally into three parts, one being a central space, which is left open for a passage way, and an elevated and broader space upon each side thereof, occupied by the seats. The latter are arranged transversely, and are provided with reversible backs. The seats are supported upon standards in the usual manner, and by placing them upon the raised parts C of the iioorin g C it will be seen that I am able to extend theseat-space outward somewhat beyond the plane of the outer surface of the stretchcrs A', thus obtaining such a material enlargement of the seat-space laterally that room is atl'orded to place two occupants in each seat. I may here remark that I obtain by this transverse arrangement, which is rendered possible by the construction just described, greatly increased seating capacit-y., whereby the car may carry a larger number of passengers than is possible with the usual longitudinal arrangement ofthe seats.

Between the risers B are placed the windows D and the blinds D. The former-t'. e., the windows-slide in grooves or ways cut in the riser. rIhese ways are so arranged that the two sashes, upper and lower, may be dropped down so far as to rest upon the level of the seat-platforms. rlhe outer groove, d, receives and guides the lower sash, and the inner groove or way, d', is occupied by the upper sash or half of the window. In the center of each groove is formed a shallow slot, d2, to re- -ceive a rubber strip set in the sash, as shown at e, Fig. 4. rlhis rubber gives a yielding and elastic support to the frame and eifectually prevents rattling of the sashes when the caris in motion.

In order to throw open the proper space it is necessary to divide the window into two independent sashes, which may be stored in the wall of the car below the open space. In order to prevent possibility of accident from the jarring of the car7 by which the glass might be destroyed, as well as to obviate danger of the sashes binding as the frame of the car yields, as well as for the purpose of preventing rattling and noise, as just mentioned, I depend upon the rubber strips set in the sash and bearing against the jamb. They serve, also, to ret-ain the sashes in place when closed, which would be a difficult matter in such a car were the accurate ttings to be depended on, and, finally, they aid most et't'ectually in forming a tight joint, and thereby excluding air and rain. Y

When the windows are closed the outer sash is lifted until its lower part has passed the ledge, when it is pushed outward over the said ledge and drops down between it andthe shutter, the lower sash-frame being slightly rabbeted, to cause it to ft upon and engage securely with the ledge j'. The upper window-frame is then raised and its lower edge pushed out directly over the lower sash, and it is then dropped and allowed to rest thereon. I also support the sashes, inthe manner shown in Fig. 2, by means of a spline on the upper edge of one entering a slot in the lower part of the upper sash; but this method I consider less desirable.

On the other hand, when the windows are dropped in order to convert the car into an open or summer car, the two sashes occupy the position seen in Fig. 2, upon the right hand of said figure, thus throwing open the whole space between the blind-casing D2 and a point about level with the seat.

Dl indicates the blind, which is of peculiar construction. It is composed of narrow strips of wood jointed together at the edges in such manner that the rounded edge of one strip ex actly fits within a shallow groove in the edge ot' the contiguous strip. These strips are.

either placed upon flexible elastic strips of metal or are linked to each other in a convenient manner, so as to allow the entire series to be rolled up. One end of the shutter is attached to a roll, E, journaled in a casino, D2, said roll being provided with a spring coiling when the shutter is drawn down, and thereby acquiring sufficient force to revolve the roll when the blind is pushed up and wind it thereon.

Each window is, of course, provided with its own independent shutter, and each roll is necessarily independent of the others. The casing D2 runs continuously from end to end of the car.

It is evident that without this or an equivalent construction a shutter could not be employed upon this description of car. The ordinary rigid shutter would necessarily require room for storage in the wall, and all the space that can be spared for such purpose is already occupied by the windows. Moreover, such a shutter would have to be divided into two parts, each operating independently, which is of itself a fatal objection. By the form shown, however, I am enabled to stow the blind in a small casing which occupies no space required for other uses, and, what'is more essential, I provide a shutter which may be used as well when the windows are dropped as when they are raised, thus avoiding the necessity of providing the sun-curtains now used on the ordinary summer-cars. f

F is the roof, supported by short vertical posts j", which also form part of the casing or jamb for the ventilators F'. The latter are hinged by their upper sash and swing outward, being adjustable in any position by means of the toothed segment f engaging with a plate, f2, upon the jamb.

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The roof is what is commonly known as a pitch7 roof-that is to say, it rises to an angle in the center instead of being curved. At each end of the roof is placed a lantern-case, G, having a colored-glass eye, g, at the outer end, from which point it iiares inwardly.

Below the lanterns is placed a bonnet, H, composed wholly of either veneer fabric or similar thin material, supported upon braces and stretchers h i j.

A door sliding laterally is placed at each end of the car. The construction thereof is shown in the sectional View in Fig. 3. Like the shutters, this door is composed of thin strips, considerably heavier and stronger than those used for the shutters. Each of these strips G' has its edge fitted within a groove ent in the adjacent strip, and a strong but elastic strip or ribbon of metal is passed through the whole, as seen at C2.

The door slides upon a metal rod, I, set in the threshold and engaging with a groove cut in the ends of the strips G'. Within a hollow post, K, is journaled a vertical roller, L, to which the end strip, G3, is bolted, the roll L being cut away throughout part of its periphery to enable the shutting and opening of the door by allowing the flexible structure to wind smoothly.

It is not indispensably necessary to provide the roll with a spring, as in the case of the shutters, to cause it to revolve when the door is pushed into the hollow post; but I prefer to so construct it, as the spring aids the opera tion of the parts and causes the door to move with great ease.

A second post, K', may be placed upon the other side of the door, to render the inner structure equally proportioned to the eye.

By this construction of door I am able to throw both ends of the car open as well as the sides, and at the same time to open both doors and allow them to remain open, without interfering with a single inch of the open space afforded by the dropped windows.

By my invention I furnish a car which may be converted in a few moments from a closed winter-car into an open summer-car, the interior being capable of seating from twenty to thirty per cent. more passengers than is possible with the longitudinal arrangement of seats.

A glass pane may be set in the door by forming the glass in strips of the same width as the strips G', each piece of glass being fastened at its ends to the strip of which it forms part.

The peculiar construction of the roof, the bonnet, and the lanterns, although shown in this case, form no part of the invention which I now claim, as I propose to reserve them for a second application.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by LetterslPatent of the United States, is-

The combination, with a street-railway car, of windows composed of upper and lower sashes, both whereof are adapted to be dropped side by side within a space in the wall below the level of the seat, whereby the car may be converted from a closed to an open car, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the posts or risersB of a street-car, having the grooves d d' d2 and a suitable groove for the eXible shutter D', the upper and lower window-sashes, adapted to slide within said grooves, the shutter D', and the shuttercasing D2, with its springshaft E, all arranged as set forth, whereby the sides ofthe car may be thrown open or closed at pleasure, and the car be thereby converted from a closed into au open car, for the purpose specified.

3. rlhe combination, with a street-railway car having windows formed in two sashes and adapted to be dropped in the wall, of the sliding door composed of strips G' and metallic ribbon G2, said door being adapted to wind upon the roll L within the hollow post K, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4:. A street-car having posts B, with daring portion B', a window formed of upper and lower sash and extending from the level of the seat to the blind-easing E, and provided with transverse seats, with a central passageway extending through the car, said seats being mounted upon raised flooring C', and provided with reversible backs, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A street-car having a central aisle, transverse reversible seats, an upper and lower sashfa iiexible shutter to each window, and a flexible door, the seats being mounted upon a raised seat-platform, and the lower part of the car-body being flared to allow increased lateral space, the windows being adapted to drop within the wall and below the level of the seats, whereby the car may be thrown open for use as a suminer-car, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN ANDREW.

Witnesses:

GHAs. B. TILDEN, UHAs. E. HIBBARD.

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