US464455A - Henry day - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

H. DAY.

RAILWAY.

No. 464,455. PatentedDec. l, 1891.

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HENRY DAY, OF FAIRVIEYV, NEY JERSEY, ASSGNOR TO JAMES DAY, OF

SAME PLACE. i

RAI LWAY.

SPECIFICATION fencing part of Letters Patent No. 464,45 5, dated December 1,1891.

Appncaanfnea Maat so. 1891. serrano. 386.885. ormoni.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY DAY, residing at Fairview, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new system of constructing and operating railways for the purpose of combining or multiplying velocities and of avoiding the use of the dangerous, expensive, and cumbersome machines called locomotive engines and tenders as now used, and for obtaining the greatest advantages of safety and speed with continuous travel and frequent stopping, as may be desired, and also moving with lighter and safer cars and more frequent trains.

To these ends my invention consists in a liexible endless driven or traveling rail moving in a continuous manner and combined with cars sustained upon said moving rail by means of driving-wheels, whereby the cars partake of the speed of the rail and also have an independent propulsion of their own, which together multiplies or compounds the velocity of the car and secures the advantages above described.

Figure l is a side elevation of a section of my improved railway. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section of the same on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a partial side view of the same on the same scale as Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a plan of the circulating track in one of its forms.

A is one continuous endless iiexible bar or rail, which is preferably made of steel, shaped in cross-section like al board set up edgewise and bending at the ends of its travel like a great steel belt, (with joints or articulations, it preferred,) as shown in Fig. 4. This rail or track may be made of any metal or material, and may be made, as desired, in larger or shorter lengths. This belt-rail may be made to move in the form of a loop in plan view, as in Fig. 4, or it may be a circle, ellipse, or of other form which runs into or returns into itself. It is made to circulate at any desired velocity by being sustained upon driving-wheels B, of any suitable diameter or width, flanged at the sides to keep it from slipping off, which driving-wheels are placed along the line of its route. These drivingby electric conductors or wires by \vhich power may be conveniently, economically, and efficiently distributed to all the drivingwheels B along the route. As the traveling rail A circulates or moves from the frictional driving-power of its supporting-wheels B, it is guided and held in true vertical position by guide-arms f', fastened to it upon opposlte sides and provided at their extremities with traveling wheels c c` running upon track-rails of any desired construction.

D D are cars of any approved materialV or form of constructionV adapted for the conveyance ot freight, passengers, mails, or munitions of war. These cars are provided with one or more supporting and propelling wheels d, which are flanged and rest upon the upper edge of the traveling rail A. XjVhen only one propelling-wheel CZ is used, it is placed in the middle of the car and other supporting-wheels are placed at each end. Then under motion, these cars will maintain their erect position by reason of the tendency of moving bodies to preserve their planes of motion; but to steady and guide this car when starting and stopping it is provided with arms or stays g g,

reaching down from each side of its bottom and bearing at their lower extremities f riction-rollers a a, which bear against the sides of the traveling rail A. For giving an independent propulsion to this car on the track A it is supplied with any desired motor, which is either placed upon the same axis with the drive-wheel d and is coupled directly to it or may be placed at any other point of the car and connected to the drive-wheel by pulley and belt or chain-wheel, as shown. For many reasons I prefer an electric storage-battery and motor located upon the car; but the electric current may be delivered to the motor on the car through a trolley and wire or through the rail A as a conductor. A

Now it will be seen that when the rail A is traveling at a definite speed from its propelling and supporting wheels B it will carry with it the cars D, and as the cars D have still an independent means of propulsion on IOO the rail they have an independent progressive motion on thcrail A, which causes their speed to be multiplied in a cumulative way that secures a very Vhigh velocity in a perfectly safe manner. I will now proceed to describe the means for stopping these cars at stations without interfering with the continuous through travel, and for this purpose the stationary axles of the wheel (l are extended beyond the sides of the car and are provided with wheels e c, and at the stations are provided suitable inclined track-sections E,which may be moved laterally to or from alignment with the lower edges of the wheels e e. `\Vhen thrown out into alignment with the wheels e c, the car runs upon these inclined and elevated sections of track, and a lateral motion is then provided for shifting this track-section and car out of line of rail A, so as to side-track. any car without interfering with the continuous following through travel on the traveling rail A. To restore a car to the main rail A, the track-sections J3] are switched or moved laterally with the car until the wheel tl of the latter is in line with the traveling rail, and the car is then allowed to run down the incline at the opposite end of the side track and renew its connections with the traveling rail A.

In operating such a system of railway very short curves for the traveling rail Amay not be practicable; but with a gradual curve of long radius it will be found that a steel bar of suitable width and thickness, hinged, jointed, or otherwise, possesses sufficient pliancy for lateral deflection as to easily accommodate itself to the gradual bends of the route. At such bends or curves it is of course necessary to have stationary guide rollers or pulleys for guiding' and controlling the curva.- ture of the traveling rail.

llaving thus described my invention, what l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A single moving endless flexible rail supported upon and driven by drivin g-wheels disposed along the route of the railway, in combination with devices for keeping said rail in place upon the driving-wheels, said rails being adapted to carry wheeled cars, substantially as shown and described.

il. An endless Aflexible belt-rail combined with and supported upon driving-wheels and one or more cars provided with propelling wheel or wheels resting upon the top of the circulating belt-rail and having an independeutpropulsiou thereon,substantiallyas shown and described.

3. The combination, with the supporting and driving wheels B,of the endless belt-rail A, resting edgewise upon said wheels and provided with laterally-projecting arms carrying rollers or wheels for steadying, guiding, and maintainingthe upright position ot' said beltrail, substantially as shown and described.

l. The combination, with the endless circulating belt-rail A, of a car having one or more propelling-wheels resting upon the upper edge of rail A and having arms or stays projectingtrom the car and provided at their ends with friction-rollers bearing against the belt-rail to steady the car, substantially as shown and described.

5. The con'1bnation,with the endless circulating beltrail and the car having independent means of propulsion thereon and laterally-projecting wheels c e, of the inclined sidetrack rails E, arranged to be aligned with the wheels e c for the purpose of side-trackingr the car, substantially as shown and described.

G. The combination ofthe driving and supporting wheels B for the belt-rail, the belt-rail A, set edgewise thereupon and having laterally-projecting arms with wheels c resting upon independent rails, the car D, having driving-wheels l resting upon the belt-rail and guide-arms g, with rollers a, the sidetrack wheels c e, and the side tracks E, substantially as shown and described.

HENRY DAY. Witnesses:

E. M. CLARK, U. SEDcwIcK.

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