US297068A - Endless-cable-traction railway - Google Patents

Description

(No Mom.) 2 sheets-sheet .1.

F. G. .CORNING- ENDLESS CABLE TRAGTION RAILWAY.

No. 297.068. @L

Patented Apr. 15

IINTTnn STATES PATENT Ottica'.

FREDERICK G. OORNING,. OF BROOKLYN, NEWv YORK.

ENDLESS-CABLE-TRACTION RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 297,068, dated April 15, 1884.

To a/Z whom t may conceive:

Beit known that I, FREDERICK G. CORNING, of the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York. have invented new and useful Improvements in EndlessOable-Traction Railways; and I do hereby declare that the following specification and accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof,'is a true, clear, and' complete description of my invention.

My invention relates to that class of streetrailways in which the cars are propelled along the track by means of an endless cable, which is arranged to travel in an underground tube or tunnel, and in which a gripping apparatus or device is used to connect the cars' with the rope through a slot in the tube. This system of propelling railway-cars has long been in use, though frequently its regularity of operation has been disturbed and the ruiming and repair expenses increased by the influx through the slot of water, snow, ice, dirt, and gravel, and the accumulation of such foreign materials in the cable'tube or tunnel. The automatic and economic cleaning and extraction of such matter, and, furthermore, the entire prevention of its entrance into the actual cable tunnel or tube has never been effected previous to my invention.

Heretofore the tunnel has been constructed with the slot directly or nearly above the cable and its friction-sheaves, whereby water, mud, and other foreign material from the` street would fall directly within the tunnel through which the cable passes, and which is rendered difficult to clean, owing to the mechanicalobstructions in the tunnel, such as the cable and its supporting-sheaves, for instance. Likewise in many instances, on horizontal or nearly horizontal streets, there is difficulty experienced in using the bottom of the main cabletube as a draining-gutter because of its depend ency on the grade given the tube or tunnel.

The foregoing disadvantages are eliminated by my invention, which consists in placing a supplementary tunnel or 'way alongside and parallel with the usual cable-tunnel, and in locati ng the slot directly over the supplementary tunnel or passage in such manner that whatever foreign material falls through the slot will be deposited therein, from which it can be Application filed January 19, 1884. (No model.)

readily removed by suitable appliances. This tunnel is given a grade suitable to conducting or drawing off the water entering through the slot, and mayhave, according to requirements, a different grade from that of the cable-tunnel. lt contains no obstructions, and therefore admits of applying a cheap mechanical cleaning system for the extraction of the sediment and deposit accumulating and remaining therein.

Referring to the d rawings accompanying the description, Figure 1 represents a cross-section, in which I is a Streetcar with gripping mechanism F, by means of which connection is effected at will with endless cable B.

A A represent the street-car surface and rails; E, the slot through which the grip mechanism F passes, and beneath which the passage D is located. The grip mechanism F is offset, so as to pass through the continuous opening or horizontal slot G, overinto the main cabletunnel O, which is rendered free from the accumulation or entrance of foreign matter detrimental to the working as well as to the duration of the cable mechanism B and B. The under side of the slot- E is provided with alip, c, which prevents any drip from passing into the cable-tunnel O, conducting such drip into passage, drain, or supplementary tunnel D, which is the receptacle for all matter falling through slot E from the street.

In Fig.v2 are shown a side elevation and longitudinal section, illustratinga manner of automatically cleaning and removing the accumulation in tunnel D. I is a car, from which grip F is actuated; O, the cable-tunnel; B, the cable, and B a friction-sheave guiding cable B; J, street-car coupled to cai-I, from which dirttruck H is propelled underground in supplementary tunnel D by joint-rod connection L through slot E; b, an endless series of brushes passing and conveying dirt over apron a into dirt-truck H, operated by chains c from wheels w of dirt-truck H; S, sheet shutting off opening G from cleaning-machine, preventing dirt spattering into tunnel O during cleaning of tunnel D, the whole being propelled and operated by the motion of car J above. The tunnelD maybe built when required with a grade more or less independent of that of tunnel C, thereby constituting a drain conducting the contents to suitable depositories.

IOO

Figs. 3 and -t are inodications of grips, showing in perspective manner ot' offsetting t0 reach through opening G cable BJ as illustrated andA described in Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section through Fig. 2, according to line x x, showing car J connected with and propelling by joint-rod L the cleaning mechanism, of which Z) isthe endless series of brushes. S is the sheet traveling` with the cleaning mechanism and completely shutting oft canal D from canal C during operation of cleaning. G is the opening fromD to C; B, thecable; B', a sheave.

Fig. 6 is a side sectional elevation, showing car I, grip F, main cable-tunnel C, supplementary canal D, having different grade than that ot tunnel C. G- is connecting-opening or horizontal slot; B, cable in tunnel C.

By the use of this invention, substantially as above described, I ain enabled, in addition to the above-mentioned advantages, to shut out water and all moist impurities i'roin the cable-tunnel, whose freezing would hinder the operation of this otherwise ideal method of propelling street-cars; and in so doing I remove and obviate the main objection to this method otpropelling street cars through streets and cities.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

I. In an underground tunnel for endlesscable traction, the combination of a tube containing an endless cable, with a second tube, at the top ot' which isa vertical slot opening upward to the street, both tubes or tunnels being continuously connected by a horizont-al slot or opening, and in combination with a gripping device passing through both the vertical and the horizontal slots, substantially as described.

2. In an underground tunnel for endlesscable traction. the combination of tube C, containing tlie endless cable B,with a second tube, D, having an independent inclined bottom, at the top of which tube is a vertical slot, E, provided with lip e, said slot opening upward to the street, both tube C and D being continuously connected by the horizontal slot G, and in combination with a gripping device passing through both the vertical and horizontal slots, substantially as described.

3. In an underground tunnel for endless cable traction, the combination of a tube containing an endless cable with a second tube containing any suitable brush connected through p a vertical slot opening upward to the street, both tubes being connected by a horizontal slot, with a gripping device passing through both the vertical and horizontal slots, substantially as described.

et. In an underground tube or tunnel with a vertical slot in which an endless cable travels, the combination of a partition, P, in suoli tunnel, placed between the cable andthe vertical slot, with a continuous horizontal slot or opening, G, between the edge of such partition and the top of the tube or tunnel7 substantially as described.

FREDERICK G. CORNING. Til nesses:

L. A. CHANDLER, HENRY Wns'roN.

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