An improved wheel guard, which will push any obstacles on the track
aside, and which can be adjusted to a greater or less height above the
rails, has been patented by Mr. Solomon Brisac, of New York city.
It consists in a wheel guard formed of a metallic box with a beveled
front side, which box is adjustably fastened to the front end of a
recessed plate resting on and partially surrounding the grease box.
The box is braced by means of a rod attached to its forward end and
passing into a socket fastened to the bottom of the car.
An improved water motor, constructed on the general principle of a
rotary engine, in which two compartments are arranged side by side,
with a partition intervening, and in which the sliding pistons in the
piston wheels in the two compartments are arranged at right angles
to each other, has been patented by Mr. William E. Seelye, of Anoka,
Minn.
Mr. Stephen Barnes, of New Haven, Conn., has invented a vibrating
propeller, adapted to small boats and vessels to be operated by either
hand or steam power. The floats are arranged so that they will offer
no resistance on the return stroke.
An improved device for removing snow from railway tracks, and
especially from between the rails, has been patented by Mr. David M.
Horton, of Fishkill Village, N. Y. It consists of a revolving brush, a
mould board in juxtaposition thereto, and a fan blower, in combination
with suitable driving gear for propelling the brush and fan.
An improvement in steam traps, patented by Mr. Hugh O. Ames, of New
Orleans, La., consists in combining with a vibratory arm carrying a
water receiver, a side apertured hollow trunnion, a discharge pipe, a
jacketed standard, and an outlet pipe.
An improved cotton press has been patented by Mr. Alfred A. Janney, of
Montgomery, Ala. This invention relates to an improvement in the class
of cotton and hay presses in which the follower is worked by a screw
that passes through a nut, to which the required rotary motion is
imparted by means of lateral sweeps or levers. It consists in the
means for supporting and securing the levers and forming a vertical
guide for the screw, so that the levers are prevented from rocking or
swaying as power is applied in the operation of packing.
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