1894 Chicago Fire Dept View T H Brigg S New Haulage Device

Chief Swenie and some of his aids wit-
ness a series of Experiments Conducted
by T. H. Brigg – The Principle Illus-
trated That a Team’s Power to Haul
Depends Largely on Weight – Some of
the Surprising Feats of the Firemen –
Capt. Hennessay’s Strength.

When Chief Swenie saw Capt. Hennessy step into the shafts of a heavy surrey containing four burly firemen and haul it about the floor in engine house No. 23 yesterday afternoon with perfect ease he informed him that he should expect him to report for duty at 4 o’clock this morning, Capt. Hennessy has been laid up for months with a broken leg and is not yet able to walk a step without crutches. The feat of hauling the loaded vehicle he was able to accomplish by means of Brigg’s easy haulage attachment with which the surrey as equipped.

The attachment is the invention of T. H. Brigg, an engineer of Bradford , England. Mr Brigg had invited Chief Swenie, Marshall Petrie, Capt. Hennessy, President John G.Shortall of the Humane Society, H. McFarland, a wagon maker, Joseph Hughes, Professor of Anatomy in the Chicago Veterinary College, Manager Hutchins of the Standard Oil Company, and some thirty others down to the engine house to see some experiments bearing upon the subject of haulage by horses. They found the experiments so interesting that they looked and listened for two full hours. Mr. Brigg exhibited a bewildering array of models and appliances for illustrating his subject.

Among other things he showed two sprung balances with long platforms mounted on a suitable base . On one was a model of a wagon heavily loaded ; on the one in front was a model of a team of horses made to go by clockwork and attached to the vehicle by one of his easy haulage attachments. He dis –connected the horses and they registered a weight of five pounds on the balance. Then he hitched them to the wagon and they weighed only four and three quarters pounds, thus illustrating that the springs supported a part of the weight of the horses in practice, relieving them of the work of carrying that weight , so they could travel farther in a day and with less fatigue. Then he started the clockwork up and placed an obstruction in front of the wagon wheels. In going over the obstruction it was found that the horses by means of the attachment subtracted a part of the weight of the load and added it to themselves, thus increasing their power to haul the load. When the obstruction was passed he weight of the horses dropped back to less than normal, showing the perfect self-adjustment of the appliance to variations in load and road.
Hauling Up Hill
Then Mr. Brigg had a surrey equipped with one of his attachments placed on a steep incline. Singling out a muscular fireman he asked him to take hold of the shafts as in the present method of hauling vehicles and haul it up the incline. The fireman tried his best but could not move the load. Then he was directed to take hold of the draft attachment, and then he walked up the incline hauling the surrey with ease. Next the surrey was placed on the level floor of the en- gine house , four firemen climbed in, and Capt. Hennessy hobbled into the shafts andMr. Brigg took his crutches away from him. When the word was given the Captain moved off with the load with ease. “Why I don’t pull at all,” said he. “ Of course you don’t,” replied Mr. Brigg. “And neither does a horse pull at anytime or under any circumstances. He thrusts, and the force of the thrust depends upon his weight.”

To illustrate this Mr. Brigg had one fireman get out, leaving three in. The wheels were blocked and Mr. Brigg though he tried with all the strength of his 168 pounds, could not move the vehicle either with the shafts or with his attachment. But when, at his request, his private secretary jumped upon his back, he brought the carriage over the obstruction readily enough. Then he explained by means of a great many practical experiments that the easy haulage attachment enabled the horse to throw a part of his load upon his feet when needed, as in going up a hill, thus giving the horse a great mechanical advantage, and to have a portion of his own weight carried by the wagon whengreat exertion was not necessary. He also showed how the attachment was self adjusting and gave a constantly varying angle of trace. He also showed by practical experi- ment that with the present mode of carriage building a horse in backing was made to prac- tically sit down upon his load, and therefore could not back near as much as he could haul.
Increased Power in Backing
By means of his attachment the horse could back more than he could pull. By standing on a platform attached to scales with dial and indicator and getting a fireman to stand on the floor, take hold of him ( Mr. Brigg ) , and lift up a little, he illustrated more clearly the different mechanical conditions under which a horse worked. On a horizontal pull he added nothing to his weight though he pulled his hardest. The lower down he put the rope the more he added to his weight as he pulled.
The audience gazed in wonder at these and many more experiments until Mr. Brigg, perspiring from the violence of his exertions, put on his hat and announced that he expected soon to give some further experiments with horses.
Chief Swenie and Marshall Petrie expressed themselves as pleased with the experiments. “ I think the draft attachment is a good thing ,” said Chief Swenie. “ I have no doubt it would be a great help to have the engines snd hook and ladder trucks equipped with them”.