US317302A - Subway or conduit for cable or electric railways - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

T. C. CLARKE.

SUBWAY 0R OONDUIT FOB CABLE 011 ELEOTRIG RAILWAYS No. 317,302. Patented May 5, 1885..

WITNESSES INVENTOR ATTORNEY NrTn STATES PATENT Drrrcn.

THOMAS C. CLARKE, OF SEA BRIGHT, NEWV JERSEY.

SUBWAY OR CONDUIT FOR CABLE OR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,302, dated May 5, 18.85.

Application filed August 20, 1884. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TrroMAs O. CLARKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sea Bright, in the county of Monmouth, and the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Subways or Conduits for Cable or Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates, broadly, to constructing the foundations of such railways of concrete, beton, or other artificial stone, and forn1- ing the subway or conduit of the same substance and in such a manner that the said foundation may be laid and the conduit built therein all in one and the same operation.

By my system and mode of construction I can operate very quickly, and can substitute a cable or an electric railway for an ordinary horse or street-car railway without disturbing or incommoding the traffic on the same.

My invention relates more specifically to the formation of the foundation and subway of concrete or other artificial stone, in combination with the metallic strips which I employ in constructing the slot of the conduit and supporting and retaining the roadway above said conduit and between the slot and tracks on either side.

To these ends myinvention consists of theconcrete or other artificial stone laid at the proper depth, and formed with a conduit or tube centrally between where the track-timbers are to be placed. Pairs of straight-rolled or cast-iron L-beams placed at suitable distances apart on both sides of the conduit constitute supports for the bars or rails,which are placed on the upper edges of the conduit, forming the slot or opening through which connection is made between the car and the cable in case of acable railway,or between the car or motor and the conductor in case of an electric railway.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a cross-section, and Fig. 2 a detail perspective view, of my invention.

In the drawings, A represents the concrete, beton, or other artificial stone, extending to the proper depth and continued at the sides sufficiently to protrude beyond the timbers of the track.

B B are the tracktimbcrs, set rigidly in the concrete, and on them are laid the rails 71 b.

C 0 represent L irons or beams laid in the concrete, as hereinafter described. The line 00 w represents the stratum on which the L- beams G G find a seat.

D D are the slot bars or rails, preferably formed in two parts, as shown, for convenience of manufacture. These slot-bars are bound rigidly to each other by means of the tie-pieces E E, as shown in detail in Fig. 2. The tiepieces E E are L-shaped and are riveted to the L-beams O O, and are further provided with holdback rods or braces F F, which are riveted or bolted to the tie-piecesE E and extend downwardly and outwardly to the L- beams (J C, to which they are similarly attached. These parts 0 O, E E, and F F may be formed of cast-iron in one piece, while the slot-bars D D are preferably formed of rolled iron.

The mode of construction is as follows: Ar"- ter removing the paving of the road a suitable excavation is made. This excavation may be modified, as far as the depth is concerned, by the nature of the soil, as also by the size of the tube required. All below the line 00 a; can be changed at pleasure without interfering with my special design. XVhile the concrete or other material is still plastic, I arrange in the middle and centrally between the points where the tracks are to be placed removable molding-centers curved on their outer face to give shape to and form the sides of the tube or conduit G. As these centers are removable, as stated, they can easily be shifted as soon as the concrete has assumed sufficient rigidity to warrant it. XVhen the concrete has been deposited as high as the line indicated bya: 00, I lay upon it, at suitable distances apart and upon both sides of the tube G, the L-beams G G. The slot-bars DD, attached to each other, as shown in Fig. 2, by the tie-pieces E E, are then set opposite each other in the upper portion of the conduit. The outer flange of the tie-pieces E E are then riveted to the flange of the L-beam, and the holdback-bars F F are set in position and suitably secured; or, if a casting is employed, one operation covers all. The concrete is then filled in as far up as the upwardly-extending flange. The track-timbers B B are set into the concrete while it is still plastic. Once set in the'proper place the concrete will retain them and constitute a gage to hold them in a constant position relative to each other. A third lot of concrete is then laid,within which the backs of theslot-rails and their braces are embedded, as represented at B. The outer surface of this upwardly-projecting wall or mass of concrete B is made vertical, so that the weight of the paving-stones or the loads which they receive will not fall upon the inclined backs of the slot-rails. This wall B is also beneficial in forming a firm support for the horizontal portion of the s1ot-rail. The tracks may then be laid and the paving replaced. 7

It will be seen that as the track-rails will'be rigidly held in place in regard to each other they will also remain at a constant distance on each side of the slot or opening of the conduit; hence the concrete, as I employ it,will not only form a foundation for the railway, but will also constitute the walls of the subway or conduit, a gage for the tracks and slot-rails, as well as form a simple and economical means for binding and retaining the whole in a single, integral, and substantial structure.

Having thus described my invention,wha-t I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A foundation for cable or electric railways, constructed of artificial stone and having the subway or conduit formed therein, as described, in combination with the track-timbers, which are embedded therein and held at the proper distance asunder thereby, as set forth.

2. The combination, with afoundation constructed of concrete or other artificial stone eX- tending clear across the road-bed and having a subway or conduitformed therein, as described, of the track-timbers supported by and embed ded directly in said concrete,whereby they are maintained at the proper distance asunder, as explained.

3. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation constructed of artificial stone and having a conduit formed therein, as described, incombination with the slot-rails rigidly secured to said foundation and having their backs embedded therein, substantially as shown and described.

4. In combination with a foundation constructed of concrete or other artificial stone, and having the conduit formed therein, as described, the track-timbers and slot-rails supported thereby and embedded therein, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a cable or electric railway, a subway or conduit constructed of concrete or other artificial stone, in combination with the slotrails supported and embedded in said concrete and constituting an integral part of the walls of said conduit, as set forth.

6. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation constructed of concrete or other artificial stone and having the subway or conduit formed therein, as described, in combination with the track-timbers and slot-rails embedded therein, thewhole constituting a permanent integral structure, substantially as described.

7. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation constructed of concrete or other artificial stone, having a conduit or subway formed therein, in combination with the L-shaped anchor-beams embedded in said concrete, and the slot-rails secured to said anchor-beams and having their backs also embedded in the concrete, as and for the purposes set forth.

8. In a cable or electric railway, a subway or conduit having its lower portion formed en tirely of artificial stone and its upper portion or opening lined with metallic plates or slotrails embedded in the concrete and forming an integral part of the wall of said conduit, as set forth.

9. In a cable or electric railway, the combination of the conduit formed of artificial stone, the metallic slot-rails set into the stone, the L-beams arranged substantially as described, and riveted to the slot-rails, and pro vided with the holdback rods for strengthen ing the support of said rails, as shown and described.

10. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation formed of concrete or other artificial stone with a subway or conduit formed of the same material, in combination with the track-timbers set into said concrete,and the slot-rails, L- beams, and tie-pieces arranged on both sides of the subway and in the concrete, the whole forming a single and solid structure, as set forth and shown.

THOMAS C. CLARKE.

W'itnesses:

HERBERT KNIGHT, F. W USTEMANN.

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