Wonderland scenic waterway.

Application filed September 2,1903. Serial No. 171,615. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AdamA. Welsh, of West Haven, in the county of New Haven ancl State of Connecticut, have invented a new and use5 ful Improvement in Wonderland Scenic Waterways; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the numerals of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and io exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in— _ Figure 1, a plan view in the nature of a diagram of one form which my improved 15 scenic waterway may assume; Fig. 2, an enlarged plan view of that portion of the waterway which comprises the “shoot the chute” features thereof; Fig. 3, a broken view in vertical longitudinal section of the outer chute;

Fig. 4, a broken view, in outside elevation, of the outer chute; Fig. 5, a detached reverse plan view of the boat; Fig. 6, a view thereof in side elevation.

My invention, relates to an improvement in 25 wonderland devices, and more particularly to that class of those devices known as “ scenic ” waterways, the object of my present invention, being to provide means for heightening the interest and excitement of scenic water30 ways.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the combination, with a trough, of a chute, a boat, and means for taking the boat from the waterway and carrying it to the top 35 of the chute and releasing it for descent into another portion of the waterway.

My invention further consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed 4° out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention as herein shown I employ a scenic waterway in the form of a shallow trough 2, having straight reaches and curves, which will be varied in form and -45 extent according to the nature and scope of each installation. By preference this waterway will be inclosed and may be combined with panoramic and illusory features familiar in this art, and therefore not necessary to be 5° detailed here. In the trough I locate a boat

3, provided fore and aft with small wheels 4, mounted on axles 5; but these wheels do not travel upon the bottom of the waterway and are brought into requisition only in connection with the two chutes 6 and 7, which ex- 55 , tend parallel with, and bridge portions of the waterway which is continuous under them. As these chutes correspond to each other, a description of one will suflice for both. Thus the chute 6 is composed of a curved platform 60 8, supported upon a framework of vertical trusses 9 and horizontal trusses 10; but the particular construction of the platform and its supporting-framework may of course be varied as found expedient. The number of 65 chutes may be varied, according to the character of the installation. In some instances only one chute will be employed, or more than two might be employed, all according to circumstances. 70

Each chute is provided with an upper sprocket-wheel 11, which is located just below .. the highest point of the platform 8 of the chute, and with a lower sprocket-wheel 12, which is submerged in the water of a well 13 75 interposed in the waterway or trough 2 and extending below the level of the bottom thereof, so that the water in which the sprocketwheel 12 runs is considerably deeper than the normal level of the water in the trough. A 80 sprocket-chain 14 runs over the wheels 11 and 1.2 and is formed with forwardly-inclined boatlifting teeth 15, constructed and adapted to engage with the axles 5 of the wheels 4 of the boat or with coupling-shafts 16, transversely 85 arranged in the bottom of the boat, as shown in Fig. 5. The boat is floated by the current in the trough up to the sprocket-chain, the teeth of which engage with one of the axles 5 of one of the shafts 16, whereby the boat is 90 lifted by the chain out of the trough and carried up on_: one side of the chute to the top and beyond the center thereof, when it disengages itself and rides down over the other side of the chute into the trough, through which it is 95 propelled by the current to the next chute, where it is again lifted and let go, and so on, whereby the excitement of shooting the chutes is added to the attractions of a scenic waterway. It will be understood that as soon as 100

760,503 the boat is lifted out of the water its rolls come into play. They ride up the platform when the boat is being dragged up by the chain and down the platform when the boat is descending into the water. As herein shown, the wheel 11 is mounted upon the main driving-shaft 17 of the device, while the wheel 12 is mounted upon a short driven shaft 18. For the elevation of the boat the sprocket-chain io 14 must be driven in the direction of the arrow a, and therefore in the opposite direction from the direction in which the water in the trough is circulating, as shown by the arrow 1), Fig. 3. The tendency of the sprocket15 chain would therefore be to establish a back, current in the opposite direction from the direction of the main current of water in the trough; but this back current is overcome and nullified by the location of the sprocket-wheel 2o 12 in the pit or well 13, whereby the back current is avoided, the currents developed by the chain 14 and wheel 12 being nullified by the wall 19 of the well 13. The driving-shaft 17 is provided with a pulley 20, to which a driven 25 belt is led from any convenient source of power.

In the installation herein shown the boat must shoot the chute 7 in the opposite direction from its passage over the chute 6. _ For 30 this reason the sprocket-chain 21 of the inner chute 7 must be moved in the opposite direction from the chain 14. I therefore mount upon the driving-shaft 17 a spur-gear 22, meshing into a corresponding spur-gear 23, mounted 35 upon a driven shaft 24, carrying a sprocketwheel 25, corresponding to the sprocketwheel 11, but rotating in the opposite direction. The lower sprocket-wheel 26 of the inner chute is located in a well 27, corre40 spending to the well 13, already described.

As has been explained, the two. chutes correspond to each other; but the sprocket-chains are driven in opposite directions.

As herein shown, the circulation of the water 4.5 in the trough is provided for by two chains 28 and 28^a, carrying wing-like paddles 29, which just clear the side walls of the trough, so that in their action they push the water ahead of them and create virtually a suction of water 5° behind them, whereby they are rendered very effective in circulating the water for tile propulsion of the boat. As shown in Fig. 3, the chain 28 is mounted upon two sprocket-wheels 30 and 31, the former being mounted upon a 55 short shaft 32 and the latter being mounted upon a driving-shaft 33, carrying a pulley 34, over which runs a belt 35, also passing over a pulley 36 on the shaft 24, before mentioned, whereby the chain 28 is driven in the same di60 rection as the chain 14. The corresponding chain 28^a is driven in the opposite direction by means of a pulley 37, mounted upon the main shaft 17 and driving a belt 38, running over a pulley 39, mounted on a shaft 40, which 65 drives the sprocket-wheels 31 and 32 of the chain 28^a of the inner chute. It will be seen by reference to Fig. 3 that the trough 2 is formed with another well or “ pit ” 41 to give the depth of water required for the operation of the paddle-chains. The inner chute is provided with a corresponding well or pit, which is not shown. In each case the paddlechains are located beneath the chute, where they are out of the way; Of course the means for circulating the water in the trough may be varied without changing the chutes or the means employed for lifting the boats out of the water and raising them into position for their descent by gravity into the water again.

In view of the modifications suggested and of others that may obviously be made I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown and described, but hold myself at liberty to make such departures therefrom as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.