Transportation apparatus.

Application filed March 20₍ 1905. Serial No. 251_t093.

of propelling the machine comprises two grip- 50 ping-wheels 6 and 7, which are secured upon the lower portions of vertically-extending shafts 8. These shafts 8 have their upper ends connected by universal joints 9 to the lower ends of vertical shafts 10, which are mounted 55 in bearings 11 upon cross-beams 12 of the frame 2. By mounting the gripping-wheel 6 i in this manner upon the swinging shafts 8 they may be moved toward and from each • other to tightly grip the cable δ, which passes 60 between them, and in order to hold them in such engagement I provide the lower ends of the shafts 8 with spring-pressed bearings 14. These bearings or bearing-blocks arc slidably mounted in slots 15, formed in brackets or 65 supports 16, provided upon the frame 2 of the sled, and they are forced inwardly toward each other by coil-springs 17, which are confined in the slots 15 in the brackets 16 between said bearings 14 and the outer ends of 7° said slots. The wheels 6 and 7 have their lower ends tapered slightly, as shown at 18.

Any desired means may be provided for rotating the gripping-wheels 6 and 7 in either direction, so that the sled may be propelled 75 in either direction along the cable 5. As shown, each of the shafts 12 has upon its upper end a gear 13, which may be driven by a suitable mechanism. The sled may be propelled by steam, electricity, or any other 80 power, the motor (not shown) being mounted upon the frame 2. '

In order to guide the cable 5, which passes through suitable openings formed in the upwardly-curved ends of the sled between the 85 gripping-wheels 6 and 7,1 provide at the front and rear of the sled guide pulleys or wheels 25. The latter have grooved peripheries to receive the cable 5 and are journaled, as at 20, upon one side of vertical beams or uprights 27 in 90 the frame 2, as shown. This construction permits the cable to be readily applied to or rc' moved from said guide-pulleys.

: The construction, operation, and advantages of my invention will be readily under- 95 stood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. It will be seen when the grippingTo all ιιΊι,οην it may concern·:

Be it known that I, Martin Lindblad, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, residing at Cogswell, in the county of Sargent 5 and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Transportation Apparatus; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others io skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in transportation apparatus, and more particularly to a sled or the like which is self -pro15 polled by means of an apparatus which it carries and which engagesand runs upon a cable or the like stretched over snow or ice and extending in the direction to be traveled by the sled.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient sled-railway for use in cold climates by means of which traffic or transportation will be greatly facilitated.

With the above and other objects in view 25 the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is 30 a top plan view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the same, and Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes a sled comprising a frame 2, having runners 3, which are adapted to slide upon snow or ice. The sled may be of any desired form and con40 struction and is adapted to be propelled in either direction by means of a mechanism 4, which is mounted upon the sled-frame 2 and which is adapted to engage and run upon a steel-wire cable or other flexible element 5, 45 which is stretched loosely over the snow or ice between the points or places between which it is desired to have the sled travel.

The apparatus or mechanism 4 for gripping and drawing upon the cable 5 for the purpose

792,997 wheels 6 and 7 are rotated they will run upon the cable 5 and move the sled in either direction, according to the direction of rotation of said wheels.

While I have shown and described my invention as applied to a sled, it will be understood that the same may be used upon a wheeled vehicle or a boat as well. It will be further understood that various changes in to the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.