Volume Eleven - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - some more aspects - Patent Applications by George Taylor, of Penarth, 1883 . . .

Cx. is a smaller grooved wheel on the same axis as wheel C. which when wheel C. is swivelled so as to stand at an angle to rail D., can travel on temporary ways laid across the permanent ways upon the wharf and resting upon those ways and intermediate packing pieces. By this means the staith can be moved back from the face of the loading berth at any point when not required for loading.

The axle of the double wheel C. Cx. turns in bearings in a swivelling carriage R. capable of rotating about a vertical axis and for this purpose placed beneath a horizontal ring S., fixed to the underside of the girder B. The carriage R. revolves about ring S., a circle of antifriction balls t. placed in a live ring T. being interposed between the bearing surface of the two. The carriage may be turned by a worm Z. gearing with a ring of teeth Z1. around it. Only two of these wheels might be used beneath each girder B. instead of four as represented in figure 2.

Figure 7 is a vertical section and figure 8 an elevation at right angles thereto of a hydraulic jack for slightly raising the staith to remove the weight from wheels C. and enable them to be turned which jack may also serve purpose of the packing screws b. in figure 2. U. is the cylinder fixed to the underside of the base frame or girder and V. is the ram fitted therein having on its lower part a strong screw thread which can work freely in the lower part of the cylinder and has a nut W. upon it.

The lower end of the ram is formed with a shoe to bear on the rail D. In order to relieve and swivel the travelling wheels water is forced into the upper end of the ram cylinder, and the rising motion of the latter is followed up by turning the nut W. so that the latter will take the weight when the hydraulic pressure is released. V1. is a spiral spring surrounding the ram to raise it and free the shoe from the rail in travelling.

Figure 9 is a rear elevation of a portable staith to which the waggons are brought at a high level, counterweights being used instead of hydraulic cylinders. h. are the chains from the front of the platform E. on which the waggons are received and k. are the chains from the back end of the platform. The chains h. are attached to counterweights H. and pass over sheaves at the top of the staith the sheaves being cupped to receive the chain links and keyed in pairs each on its own shaft to ensure their simultaneous action.