US309689A - Tramway and car - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. M. C. CAMPBELL.

[ WITN ESSES: 9 Il' lNVENTOR (No Modem 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. l

M. C. CAMPBELL. TRAMWAY AND GAR.

No. 309,689. Patented Deo. 23, 1884;

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lllivirnn @raras Paritair @triesQ MATTHEW? C. CAMPBELL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRAMWAY AND CAR.

SPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,689, dated December 23, 1884.

Application filed June 19, 1884.

o all whom t may concern.'

'3c it known that I, Mnr'rnnw C. CAMP- innLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented oertain new and useful Improvements in Tramways and Cars, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a perspective of a tramway and car with station appurtenances embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation ol the ear or carriage drawn to an enlarged scale, and Fig. 8 is asectional view of bumper mechanism located at one ofthe stations or termini of the tramway.

My invention has relation to tramways ot' that form composed of oppositely-inclined tracks over which a ear is propelled backward and forward between two stations or termini; and it has for its object to adapt the same for pleasure purposesA at seaside or other resorts, as well. as making them practically useful for conveying goods or material ot' any kind, by so constructing the tramway, car, and one of the stations that the momentum or velocity and the gravity ol" the car can be utilized to propel it in addition to the motive power with which it is supplied, thereby et'- i'ecting a saving in the amount of said motive power required i'or moving the carto and l'ro upon the tramway.

My invention accordingly .consists ol' the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, having reference to a tramway composed ol" a series ol iuclines having end stations or ter mini, a car provided with hand or other motive-power mechanism, a bumping arrange nient or device at one o't' the trainway-stations, and to stations, one of which has egress and ingress openings for the passengers, and the other is devoid of such openings.

In the drawings, A represents the bed of the tramway or tracks ct a, and which may be n pon the ground or elevated above it by means ot suitable supports, shown, or which may be of any desired construction and arrangement. The tracks c a are laid so as to have a middle level section, b, and two oppositelyinclining grades, b b', each of which is com- (No model.)

posed or made up ot' wave-like inclinations or grades b2, b, and b, of varying pitch, so that the pitch ot' the grades b b will not be uniform from the portion b to the stations or terminal points C C. The station or terminus G is provided with egress and ingress openings or passages c for the incoming and outgoing passengers, and when the tramway is elevated above the ground said station is furnished with stairways D, as shown, or a wide or other inclined gangway may be substituted i'or the stairway. rPhe station C is devoid of entrances and exits for passengers, but is provided witha bumping device, F, iirmly bolted or secured thereto at]l or other suitable point inline ot' the travel ofthe car G. This bumper F is more plainly shown in Fig. 3, and con sists oi a casing, g, having a plunger, y', with bumpinghead g2, and spiral spring or cushion r/i", for receiving and absorbing the shocks of bumping, and to react upon and give the car its initial return movement after entering station C.

rlhe car or carriage G may be of any suitable construction and design. I have shown it in the i'orm ol" a gondola or boat having a cover or root', G, hand or other motive power meehanism, lt, and bumping ends or heads I.

The operation is obvious. The car is propelled or travels to and iro over the varying grades ol' the tramway or between its stations, being moved or propelled by hand-power applied to the crank 71.,- butin passing down one grade or inclination the gravity of the car gives it a momentum, and the velocity acquired by the ear as it descends a grade is utilized to assist moving it up a succeeding or ascending grade, so that less power is rcquired for rotating the crank 71 to operate the mechanism ll to el't'eet the movement of the car to and from the stations() and C. rlhe car, as it `passes into the station C, or when it arrives at the end of one-half of its journey, strikes against the bumper-head g2 to con1- press spring g3, the reaction of which assists in giving the car its initial return movement. It is ob vious,therei`ore, that the car can be propelled to and iro between the stations G and C by the use of a minimum of hand or other power commensurate with the load required to be moved.

IOO

The different grades of the inclinations b Z1 may be of any desired or suitable length and degree of pitch, 'I have foundj that a length of forty-five feet for grades b2 b3 b and a pitch 5 or inclination varying from eighteen inches to four and a half feet therefor gives excellent results; but different proportions and inclinations for the same may be -used with goodef fects. These grades not only effect a saving io of power requisite for moving the car, but also give to the latter a rolling or undulating m0- tion as it travels to and fro upon the tramway.

Instead of using hand-power mechanism for propelling the car G, any other suitable power i 5 mechanism may be substituted-as, for instance, a spring, compressed-air engine, or other well-known means.

I have shown and described my invention4 as being mainly adapted for pleasure purposes, 2o or for carrying passengersover thetramway;

-but it is evident that it can be usedllfor moving freightwor other ,material from one point or location to another. circular segmental'or other appropriate form 25 of tramway maybe substituted for the straight one shown, and any suitable formof brake mechanism may be applied to, 'the,car. @I

however prefer yone soa arranged that itcanbe operated by the foot of theattendant propel- 3o lingthe car. 1

So, too, if desired, a ,t

what I claim is A l. A tramway composed of descending and v ascending grades or tracks, each of which is ing'grad'es orinclinatsio'ns, 'in' combination' with end stations, one of which has a bumping de- 45 vice, and a car provided with power appliances or driving mechanism, substantiallyasshown fand described.

4. The; combination of, station C, having entrances and exitsthe station Q 'dcvoidofj 5o such entrances and exits, the connecting tramv, way .or tracks a a, andcarl G, having driving.; n'iechanism H, Isubstantially as shown and described..

' In testimony whereotfIafx mysignatnre in 5 v presence oftwo witnesses.

MATTHEW o. oAMrBELL.

, SQ G. VAN ,S'rirvonnm' (limsi. F. VAN HORN.

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