US808487A - Pleasure-railway. - Google Patents

Description

N0. 808,487. PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905. G. B. STAHL.

PLEASURE RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT 7. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Wilmaooeo, C E 5am g No. 808,487. PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905. G. B. STAHL.

PLEASURE RAILWAY,

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 7. 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PLEASURE-RAILWAY- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1905.

Application filed September 7, 1905. Serial No. 277,425.

To it whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. STAHL, a citizen of the United States, residingat Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pleasure- Railways; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in pleasure-railways for use at amusement-resorts, and more particularly to one in which the passenger-carriers are air and water tight cars in the form of submarine boats, whales, sea-serpents, and fishes and are adapted to be propelled on a track which has portions submerged at varying depths in a natural or artificial lake, pond, river, or other body of water, so that as the cars make their trips they will appear to dive one or more times to the bottom of the body of water and then rise to the surface, thereby giving the passengers in the cars a novel and pleasing sensation.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple appliance of this character which will be well adapted for the purpose for which it is intended.

lVith the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of an appliance embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic sectional view through same, taken on the plane indicated by the line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view through one of the cars, and Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the parts shown in Fig. 3.

In practicing my invention I provide a track 1 of any form and construction and of any length and shape in a body of water 2, which may be either natural or artificial. This track 1 is undulating and has portions 3 submerged inthe lake or body of water 2 at greater depths than its remaining portions 4. The entire track or only portions of the same may be submerged, and its course may be straight or circuitous between two points or endless, so that the cars or passenger-carriers 5 which travel upon it may move in a continuous circuit. In the embodiment of the invention herein shown the track is end less or continuous and of substantially rectangular form and is submerged in a lake of similar shape. prises two parallel rails 6, which are secured to a trestle mounted upon the bottom of the lake or body of water and comprising connected uprights 7, which are supported by braces 8, as will be seen upon reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings. The track-rails 6 have double tread-surfaces 9, which are engaged by upper and lower wheels 10 11, ournaled upon supporting-brackets 12, which are secured upon the outer sides of the car 5. These wheels or rollers 10 11 are grooved, as shown, to engage the rails and effectively prevent the car from leaving the track.

The cars or passenger-carriers 5 are water and air tight and may be of any desired form and construction; but they are preferably built to resemble submarine boats, whales, sea-serpents, and fishes. Each comprises a large hollow body 13, which has upon each side, at front and rear, brackets 12, which re semble the wings or fins of fishes, legs of ani mals, legs of sea-serpents, and the like. The body 13 is hollow to contain sufficient air for the passengers who are seated upon benches or seats 14., arranged in an upper chamber or compartment 15. The latter is arranged in the upper portion of the body 13 and is separated from the lower air container or compartment 16, although in communication therewith, through openings 17, as shown. The openings 17 permit the air to circulate through chambers or compartments 15 and 16, so that the passengers in the upper one will have plenty of pure fresh air while the car is making a trip about the track from a starting-point P, which is preferably at one corner of the lake, as shown in Fig. 1. of the drawings. The passengers enter and leave the compartment 15 through its open top, which is closed by a removable hood or cover 18, formed, preferably, of glass or other transparent material. This cover maybe of any form and construction; but, as shown, it is substantially convex or dome-shaped and is hinged, as at 19, at one side and has afastener 20 at its. opposite side. The surrounding edge of this cover or hood 18 has a water and air tight connection with the open top of the car, as indicated at 21. At the starting and stopping point P and at other points around the track or course 1 the track is at such an As shown, the track com- IIO elevation that the upper portion of the body is above the level of the water, so that the passengers may readily look out upon the surface of the lake, and the cover or hood 18 may be readily thrown open to'permit the passengers to enter or leave the car. Any means may be provided for propelling the cars over the track or course 1. As shown in the drawings, I have provided a tractioncable 22, which is arranged between the track-rails 6, and suitable gripping devices which are mounted upon the cars and adapted to be operated by the operator or person having charge of the car, to grip and release said cable, so that when said cable is engaged the car will be drawn along the track by the movement of the cable, similar to the pleasure-railways now in general use at amusement-resorts. Any suitable means may be provided for supporting and guiding the cable, and the gripping device 23 upon the cars maybe of any suitable form and construction. As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the device 23 on each car is operated by a rod 24, which extends through a stuflingboX 25 in the bottom of the body 13 and is connected to an operating-lever 26, which is mounted in the compartment 15 and is provided with a pawl-andratchet locking mech anism 27 of well-known form.

The construction, use, and advantages of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. It will be seen that when one of the cars is propelled around the undulating track 1 it will alternately dive to the bottom of the lake and then rise to the surface, thereby giving the passengers a novel and pleasing sensation. By providing tunnels in which appropriate scenery is mounted, the amusement may be increased as desired.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction herein set forth, since various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A pleasure-railway having a trestle provided with uprights, a submerged track having its rails secured on the inner sides of the uprights and provided with upper and lower tread-surfaces, and a water-tight car having depending brackets on its sides, and wheels mounted on said brackets and engaging the upper and lower surfaces of the track-rails.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witn'esses.

CHARLES B. S TAHL itnesses R. LoUIs MOORE, JOHN STIMMEL.

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