US1373754A - Pleasure-railway structure - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHNVA. MILLER, or nomnwoon, ILLIN'oIs, v

PLEASURE-RAILWAY srrnnc'rnnn.

To all whom it may concern .Be it known that I, JOHN A. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Homewood, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pleasure-Railway Structures, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to pleasure railway structures in which the trackway has sudden and steep lateral and vertical curves, and and the principal object of my invention is to provide improved track and ear construction which will insure retention of the car on the track at all times to thus make the structure entirely safe. The structure disclosed in my Patent No. 1,319,888 granted October 28th, 1919, was designed for new equipment. In the older structure disclosed in my Patent No. 1,037,958 granted Sep tember 10th, 1912, no provision is made for guarding against abrupt vertical curves and the object of my invention is to provide for making such old structures safe. This I preferably accomplish by adding top plates on the guard beams and providing guard rollers on the ends of the shafts of the vehicle wheels, which rollers track on the under side of the top plate to hold the car against vertical displacement from the rails.

My improved structure is clearly shown on the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a track structure and a car thereon and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one corner of the structure.

On the drawing the rail structures 5 and 6 are supported on cross ties 7 which are carried by the trellis 8 resting on the ground, the rail members being given the desired lateral and vertical curvature. Running alongside of the rail members and also secured to the cross ties are the guard beams 9. I C represents a car. This car comprises the side beams 10, the cross beams 11, the fioor 12 and the seat structure 13. Bearing frames 14; are secured to the side beams and receive the shafts 15 by means of which the vehicle wheels 16 are pivoted. Running boards 17 are secured on top of the side beams 10 and extend outwardly over the Specification of Letters Patent; i i Patented A Application filed November 6, 1920. Serial No. 422,115.

Secured against the under side of the floor structure of the car are the journal boxes or frames 19 which journal the horizontally disposed guard rollers 20 which engage against the facing plate 21 forming part of the rail structure. These horizontal guard rollers'limit the lateral displacement of the cars while traveling over the track structure.

Where the vertical grades are steep and the cars travel at great speed, provision should be made to guard against vertical displacement of the cars and against any danger of their leaving the rails. In accordance with my invention I secure guard bars 22 on top of the guard beams 9 and these bars may be secured by the same bolts which secure the guard beams to the ties. The bars overhang the inner sides of the guard beams a sufficient distance to form rail surfaces for the guard rollers 23 which are journaled on the shafts of the vehicle wheels. These guard rollers may be held on the shafts by the heads 24 provided on the shafts as shown, or other suitable means may be provided. It is evident that instead of using the individual short shaft lengths for the vehicle wheels as shown a common shaft could be provided for each set of wheels and the guard rollers 23 journaled on the ends thereof.

By adding the guard bars or rails 22 to the track structure and by providing the guard rollers 23 on the cars, a construction otherwise unsafe for abrupt high speed vertlcal curves is made absolutely safe. The guard rollers prevent vertical displacement of the vehicle wheels beyond a certain operating clearance while the horizontal guard rollers 20 limit the lateral play of the car and sudden vertical or lateral curves can be taken at high speed without danger of the car leaving the rails.

Having described my invention, I claim as follows:

In pleasure railway structures of the 100 class described, the combination of supporting frame work, rail structures mounted thereon, a vehicle, vehicle wheels and supporting axles therefor, said vehicle wheels engaging with the top sides of said rail 105 structures, horizontal guard rollers journaled from the underside of said vehicle in position to engage with the inner sides of said rail structures to thereby limit the lateral movement of said vehicle while travel- 110 ring over said rail structures, guard rollers ment of said Vehicle is confined tov prevent journaled 0n the ends of said axles, supsaid vehicle from leaving the rail structures. porting uprights along side the rail struc- In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 10 tures, and guard rails'securedbnsaid up-" my name this lst'day of November, A. D.

5 rights in position to be engaged. on their 1920.

undersides by said guard rollers on the ve-' 1 hicle axles whereby the vertical displace- JOHN A. MILLER.

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