Engineers and Mechanics Encyclopedia 1839: Railways: John Richard Barry

This machine is the invention of John Richard Barry, of the Minories, London, and was patented in July 1821: the design of it is to enable a carriage to pass over the most rugged ground, without receiving any obstruction from large stones or other abrupt impediments lying in its path, which would render impassable, or be destructive to, ordinary carriages; and in the case of level smooth roads, to run along them with great freedom and celerity.

The annexed Fig. 1 exhibits a vertical longitudinal section of the machine, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; the dotted line in this figure denoting the plane of delineation of Fig. 1. d-d represent the rails or side pieces of the frame; e-e the transverse pieces which connect them; the rails d-d are made exactly alike, rounded at their ends, and their edges lined with iron, so that the anti-friction wheels f-f-f may roll smoothly over them. The axles of these anti-friction wheels revolve in plummer blocks, each of which form, as it were, a link of endless pitched chain g-g-g, which is stretched out by, and traverses around two chain wheels h-h, whose axes revolve in bearings in the lateral rails d-d.

The axles of the anti-friction rollers are also the axles of the running wheels o-o-o of the carriage; the body of the latter being supported by iron arms so bent or curved as to be clear of the wheels in their revolution. We will now suppose that draught traces are applied to the rails of the carriage, by a horse, or other adequate force, and that the vehicle is first drawn over a level, smooth road, so that the running wheels meet with no obstacles to cheek their revolution, the anti-friction rollers will revolve in contact with them; and as the latter roll along the under surface of the rails, they support the body of the vehicle, each pair of wheels in succession passing under the carriage, by the action of the endless chain, and causing it to roll forward.

Second, when the carriage is drawn over rugged stony ground, and the running wheels meet with impediments, such as are attempted to be represented in Fig. 1, those wheels, instead of being impelled over them as in common carriages, stop against them, and the carriage proceeds onward, uninterruptedly, as though the road were level and smooth, which is caused by the anti-friction wheels rolling round in freedom upon the rails, supporting the carriage, and allowing it to glide smoothly over them; until the chain, in its continuous revolution, lifts up the opposed wheel, as shown at k in Fig. 1, and the obstacle is passed without any violence or difficulty, or requiring any application of extra power.

The patentee does not exhibit in his drawing any mode of enabling the carriage to perform curves, or turn corners and angles in the road; but on this point he says,-

"This appears to me altogether unnecessary to show, as my claim rests in the introduction of the endless railway, and the adaptation of anti-friction rollers upon the axles of the wheels, for the purpose of traversing the railway, as shown and explained in the drawing and description. But that I may not be thought to withhold any necessary information as to a convenient mode of adapting my invention, I will farther state, that, in order to enable a carriage, with my improvements, to turn angles or curves with care, I should employ two sets of the apparatus, the rail of the hinder being, by its frame-work, firmly fixed to the body of the vehicle, and the rail of the front one being connected to the vehicle by means of a swivel or joint, so as to enable it to turn horizontally, in order that the fore wheels might be placed in any direction oblique to the track of the hinder wheels. It may, however, be necessary farther to say, that, in most cases, three pairs of wheels and axles will be sufficient for the fore part, and three pairs to the hinder part."

This mode of obviating the difficulty of turning, is, however, so defective, as to call for a further exertion of talent in perfecting Mr. Barry's very curious machine. We have never heard whether it has been brought into practical use or trial; but we feel assured from the description, that in travelling nearly straight courses, it will traverse with facility roads so rugged as to be wholly impassable to ordinary carriages.

But the well-directed skill and admirable perseverance of Mr. M'Adam having, about this period, brought our public roads into a high state of improvement, had the effect of removing, at the same time, the only insuperable obstacle to the application of locomotive steam-carriages thereon: accordingly, we find numerous projectors and speculators successively appearing for the honour or the profit of their successful introduction. To attain that object, however, there are two things essentially requisite - capital and skill; and these must be employed in combination, and to an extent which has not hitherto been practised; otherwise disappointment continue to be the bitter fruit of experience in this interesting and important branch of mechanical science. In some instances gold has been wanting where skill was abundant; and, in others, gold has been abundant where skill was wanting. From these causes, separate or combined, in an undue ratio, steam locomotion upon the common road has made but little progression since the time of Trevithick, not- withstanding the vast aid derived from M’Adam, and, more recently, from the labours of Telford and M`Neill.

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