Apparatus for Oiling Railway-Tracks. (open access)

Apparatus for Oiling Railway-Tracks.

Patent for improvements in mechanism for “applying oil to curves and switches of street railway tracks” (lines 6-7) by using an “oil-tank [that] is arranged in the upper position of the hood or shield over the car-wheel. The valve is in the bottom of the oil-space and may be controlled by a lever arranged to turn or lift in the valve, and under the valve is arranged the oiling-wheel, which runs lightly on the track or face of the car-wheel and applied the oil." (Page 2, lines 69-76) Includes illustration.
Date: August 4, 1891
Creator: Ennis, Thomas L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Dynamometer for Locomotives. (open access)

Dynamometer for Locomotives.

Patent for a new and improved dynamometer for locomotives. This design is "to provide a novel construction in dynamometers for indicating the traction power of locomotives" (lines 9-11). It consists in "a draw-head, a chamber containing a liquid located therein, a piston operating in said chamber, means for connecting said piston with the opposite draw-head, suitable tubing connecting with the said chamber, and a pressure-gage mounted upon or attached to the said tubing and actuated by the said liquid" (lines 29-37).
Date: January 13, 1891
Creator: Innes, Robert H.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History

Las Cruces Sheet

Topographic map of a portion of Texas from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) project. The map includes towns, historic or notable sites, bodies of water, and other geologic features. Scale 1:125000
Date: 1891
Creator: Geological Survey (U.S.)
Object Type: Map
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Texas] Typical Curves of Precipitation

Series of three graphs demarcating the average rainfall per month for specific Texas cities across different regions of the state. Some lines are marked in red to distinguish individual points.
Date: 1891
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Technical Drawing
System: The Portal to Texas History