Figure 5. — Detail drawing of the radius-bar truck, patented by William S. Hudson in 1864, as applied to the 

 New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company No. ^. From Gustavus W^eissenborn, Americati 

 Locomotive Engineering and Railway Mechanism, New York, 1871, pi. 8. 



the blocks, descend to the bottom of the inclines and the 

 engine is prevented from acquiring a sidewise or oscillating 

 motion. 



Bissell applied for a U.S. patent on April 23, 1857. 

 His petition was initially denied. A weary debate of 

 several months duration followed between the patent 

 examiner and BisselPs attorneys. 



During this time Bissell was busy promoting the 

 application of his truck even though he had no patent 

 for protection. In May of 1857 he showed a working 

 model of his improvement to Gilbert M. Milligan, 

 secretary of the Central Railroad Company of New 

 Jersey.^ Samuel L. Moore, master mechanic of that 

 railroad, also inspected the model. Both were so 

 impressed that it was decided to fit the device to the 

 locomotive Lebanon, which at the time was undergoing 

 repairs at the road"s Elizabeth Port, New Jersey, 

 shops. ^ Although the engine was less than 18 months 

 old, her tires were badly worn and she oscillated at 

 high speed. 



Early in June of that year a series of tests were 

 held with the Lebanon. Moore said of these trials: ' 



5 From a sworn statement of G. M. Milligan dated July 2, 

 1857. This along with letters, petitions, receipts, and other 

 such material quoted in this discussion are from the Patent 

 Office papers housed in the National Aichives, Washington, 

 D.C. (hereafter referred to as Patent Office papers). 



* The Lebanon was a 4-4-0, used in freight service, that had 

 been built by the New Jersey Locomotive and Machine Com- 

 pany in December 1855. 



' Letter dated July 2, 1857, from S. L. Moore (Patent Office 

 papers). 



After the said invention of Bissell had been applied the 

 engine was run out onto a curve which she turned apparently 

 with nearly as much facility as she would travel on a straight 

 line, and the forward part of the engine rose on the inclines 

 as the truck entered the curve and remained fixed while 

 running around said curve and then resumed its former 

 position on entering a straight track, and the trial was 

 pronounced by all who saw it as most satisfactory, even by 

 those who before pronounced that it would be a failure. 



At a subsequent trial under a full pressure of steam and a 

 velocity of about thirty miles per hour the entering and 

 leaving the curve was equally satisfactory, the same being 

 accurately observed by a man located on the cow catcher. 



. . . The engine ;vas run at its greatest possible velocity 

 at least forty miles per hour on a straight track and the 

 previous "shaking of the head" [oscillation] was found to 

 be entirely overcome, and the engine run as steadily as a 

 car would have done . . . 



At one of the trials a bar of iron ^4x4 inches was spiked 

 down across one of the rails diagonally of the track, . . . and 

 the employees of the company took the precaution to fill 

 in around the track to facilitate getting the engine back 

 again, supposing she must jump off; however on passing 

 over slowly she still kept the track and the speed was 

 increased until she passed over said bar . . . while under a 

 considerable speed. 



Messers. Moore and Milligan heartily endorsed the 

 truck as a complete success. Milligan predicted 

 that ^ "the time is not far distant when locomotives 

 will be considered incomplete and comparatively 

 unsafe without this improvement particularly on 

 roads which have manv curves." 



* Statement cited in footnote 5. 



PAPER 24: INTRODUCTION OF THE LOCOMOTIVE SAFETY TRUCK 



123 



