Belt and Chain Crank Cars

Transcription

1 free newsletter of the not for profit Velocipede Group download from: No 102 To go on the mailing list contact: Next Rallies Standard Gauge 2018 dates to be announced 2 foot gauge: th March, 9 th June, 8th September Jonathan Flood s Photo Site on flickr For Human Powered Railway Vehicles Belt and Chain Crank Cars Belt diagonal in the UK, Belt Vertical in the USA and both types in Europe This is a 7ft broad gauge, Great Western Railway machine, from the 1840s. On Bull Head track.

2 USA A Cheshire Railroad Belt Car, 180 degree crank.

3 In 1900 the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway had a cranked Belt Car, with a wooden frame. The S&MLR was a Colonel Stevens Railway and he was noted for his use of cheap elderly second hand equipment. It was very like the Czech car below which has a 90-degree, right hand leading crank, In the Czech National Railway Museum

4 Cranked Chain Cars 1890s + The comeback for Cranked Cars was made possible by the cheap machine made chain of the 1890 s that came with the popularity of the bicycle. Making Link Chain watch?v=1uzkjovey7q Roller Chain Info watch?v=4psjkxo70xc Making Roller Chain watch?v=jhhxu1sp7ee Chain Car, 2-foot gauge New England, USA 180 degree crank.

5 New England USA was the big home of 2-foot gauge in the USA. 3 chain cars and one pump car. The drawing below shows a 90-degree, left hand leading crank.

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9 American machines Vertical spikes for holding tool handles, the blades are tucked behind the opposite spike. Modern Roller chain above. From an early Kalamazoo, from a saw bench, this may be the chain type above left.

10 European Anyone know who, what, where, when, why, how? or have any more photos? Question to answer Does it use? Morgan Chain of 1883 Block Chain Skip Chain 180 degree crank. Wooden wagon wheels with flanged tyres shrunk on. The brake pivot on the nearside is empty, and I suspect the handle would have been next to the inpectors seat red in the yoke. It would have a connecting rod to a lever crank on the pivot blue OR the unknown name ones above

11 French Chain Car, 1950 s and possibly the first sitting down to propel machine found, so far. For laying field irrigation pipes from all the brackets?

12 Norwegian disabled access machine, also sitting down. There are many photos of 19 th century cranked machines that are very hard to identify as geared, belt or chain if the machine has guards or you cannot clearly see the gear, belt wheel or chain sprocket on the driven axle. How to Properly Tension Chain Drives

13 RUSSIA Had at least one variety of chain car available from the Arthur Koppel Russian catalogue in Arthur Koppel was a German Company. Large Draisina with toothed chain Gallya drive, for section foreman. Fig. 2. Gallya is probably a Trade Name. Translation by courtesy of Ted Talbot

14 Sent in by Roger Whiffin A second sitting down to propel machine! This lovely 5 inch gauge machine illustrates perfectly the problem in identifying which type of drive, if you cannot see the driven axle. It could be: Belt (now often toothed or multi V ) Geared or Chain?

15 Broad Gauge Great Western Railway machine in the drawing on page 1, with a passenger bench across the back of the car. GWR Enlarged engraving from the 1850 s, is this a Cranked Belt Car? The story really starts in 1829 at the Rainhill Trials with the Hand Powered Entry MANUMOTIVE The Statements describing the machine Winan s carriage was worked by two men who turned a windlass which actuated the wheels Cranked by a winch and lever carried 6 passengers and propelled by 2 strong men, moved with no great velocity. The Directors were taken with the idea of Winan s man propelled carriages, and they engaged two well-known engineers to report on their adaptability for passenger traffic. Who did the report? Does the Report still exist? It was only 1829, thousands of people were there, someone must have written home and included a sketch? All we have is the written descriptions above and the US Patent Drawings of the anti-friction bearings. LINK and more information Ross Winans ( ) was a member of a 4 man inspection party from the Baltimore and Ohio Railway (being constructed at the same time as the Liverpool and Manchester), from November 1828 to He built and entered his machine Manumotive for the trials, it appeared and performed but was withdrawn the day before the actual trials as not meeting the requirements in the rules. The alternative explanation for its withdrawal was found by Mark Hambly in the Liverpool Courier at the Rainhill Trials Which reported on 7 th October 1829 that Manumotive collided with Sanspariel and damaged a wheel. Manumotive took no further part. Ross Winans Designer and builder of Manumotive went on to

16 become one of America s first multi-millionaires and a pioneer of railroading technology and development. He patented an anti friction wheel bearing system in There are two variations shown on the drawings on the next page. He was certain to want to display his ideas so were either used on MANUMOTIVE? Is the big question. 5247X The machine probably resembled the later machines named Man motive used in the 1840 s (see terrific story by Phil Naylor in Newsletter 46 p4 to 7, from the Lincolnshire Chronicle of 26th May 1848) click on The Great Western Railway used them in both Broad Gauge and 4 8½ days (see photo on page 2). There is NO certainty that either of these two versions of the anti friction wheel bearing system were used. BRAKING They could have caused problems on a driven axle being pulled forward and back. This drawing is for a standard gauge GWR machine