WIRE-ROPE FOR BRIDGES AND TRAMWAYS.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 777, 16 February 1871, Page 3

WIRE-ROPE FOR BRIDGES AND TRAMWAYS.

The " Mechanic's Magazine " informs us that Mr Palmer, of the Webbs, St. John's Common, Sussex England, proposes to carry passengers by means of his wire-rope tramways- The carriages are to be light, and to have grooved wheels fixed on their sides near the top, so as to allow the body of the carriage to hang between the ropes. The line is to be a double one, that is, one with two rope-* for the grooved wheels of the carriages to run on. A portion of the line forms an incline down which the carriages will run by their own weight, and the speed obtained by the movement will be sufficient to carry them up to near the highest part of the opposite gradient, when by means of a ctiaiu which is to be hooked on at this point, power is to bo applied by the winch to move it over the point on to the level, which is proposed to be formed of bar or plate iron, over which it travels, and then down the next incline, to be again drawn up by another chain and winch, and so on for the whole length of the line. For single lines the boxes hang •under the overhanging arms of the ; uprights, so as to pass without coming ■in contact with them. To cross rivers, ■one end of the rope is secured to a ijfixed post or upright, while the other ■end is free to be raised and lowered. By this means the carriage is caused to run from one side to the other, and 'vice versa, according to whether the post is higher or lower than the opposite end. The inventors tell us that for ferry bridges this plan is the ■cheapest ever offered to the public. The invention has been tried on a lather extensive scale, and it was •found that the carriages travelled at the-rate of fifteen miles per hour.