Steel wheels model Bonagente
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In 1898 Italian captain Crispino Bonagente planned
and manufactured a type of track with plates
(patent
n° 13,505, accepted on 29 September
1900), coinciding with an idea patented by the English inventor Richard
Edgeworth in 1770, and improved by his compatriot John Richard Barry in 1821.
Its original designation was “rotaie a cingolo” (caterpillar tracks rails),
and it was formed by a series of metallic plates on oscillating support,
mounted on the wheels. They not only enlarged the
surface of contact, and avoided their collapse
in the ground, but also constituted ramps of march on difficult grounds. When applied to carriages of siege guns they enabled them to travel
over uneven soft roads, while being in proper position for firing, so that on
arriving near a fortress the gun could fire immediately, such as in the case
with field guns. They were applied for the first time on an Italian |
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