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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