GAS MOTOR FOR TRAM CAR
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JOHN IMRAY, of N° 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "GAS MOTOR FOR TRAM CAR" to be as follows:-
--
This invention relates to the construction and arrangement of a gas motor
engine with its reservoir and gearing on a tram car, to effect the driving thereof.
The gas compressed by pumping into a stationary reservoir is led by a pipe to some
convenient part of the tramway where a temporary connection is made to reservoirs
on the tram car, which may be conveniently placed under the seats. These
reservoirs are thus charged with a quantity of gas, or it might be a mixture of gas
and air, sufficient to keep the engine working for a trip, or until the reservoirs can
be conveniently charged again.
The reservoirs communicate with a gas motor engine fixed on the framing of the
car, the communication being made through a reducing valve by which the pressure
of the gas entering the engine cylinder is made less than that in the reservoir and
maintained uniform or nearly so, notwithstanding the change of pressure in the
reservoirs. The engine shaft works by friction gearing a counter shaft, a chain
wheel on which works by an endless chain the axle of a pair of driving wheels.
For the purpose of reversing, the counter shaft gear wheel is withdrawn from
contact with the engine shaft gear wheel, and an intermediate gear wheel is brought
into contact with both. In order to provide for this movement of the two gear
wheels, their respective shafts are mounted in eccentric bearings, which can be
turned partly round by hand levers, the movement of each lever in the one
direction advancing the wheel to contact, and the movement in the opposite
direction retracting the wheel. These eccentric bearings are connected together
and to the bearings of the engine shaft and driving axle by suitable struts which
maintain their relative distances apart.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant,
28, Southampton Buildings,
London, W.C!

page_text: I, JOHN IMRAY of N° 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in the County
of. Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "GAS MOTOR FOR TRAM CAR," and in what manner the same
is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention relates to the construction and arrangement of a gas motor
engine with its reservoirs and gearing on a tram car, to effect the driving thereof.
The gas compressed by pumping into a stationary reservoir is led by a pipe to
some convenient part of the tramway where a temporary connection is made to
reservoirs on the tram-car, which may be conveniently placed under the seats.
These reservoirs are thus charged with a quantity of gas, or it might be a mixture
of gas and air, sufficient to keep the engine working for a trip, or until the
reservoirs can be conveniently charged again. The reservoirs communicate with a
gas motor engine fixed on the framing of the car, the communication being made
through a reducing valve by which the pressure of the gas entering the engine
cylinder is made less than that in the reservoirs and maintained uniform or nearly
so, notwithstanding the change of pressure in the reservoirs. The engine shaft
works by friction gearing a countershaft, a chain wheel on which works by an
endless chain the axle of a pair of driving wheels. For the purpose of reversing,
the countershaft gear wheel is withdrawn from contact with the engine shaft gear
wheel, and an intermediate gear wheel is brought into contact with both. In
order to provide for this movement of the two gear wheels their respective shafts
are mounted in eccentric bearings which can be turned partly round by hand levers,
the movement of each lever in the one direction advancing the wheel to contact,
and the movement in the opposite direction retracting the wheels. These eccentric
bearings are connected together and to the bearings of the engine shaft and driving
axle by suitable struts or frames which maintain their relative distances apart.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a longitudinal section and Fig. 2 is a
transverse section on a a of a gas motor tram-car according to this invention.
Fig. 3 is a front view, Fig. 5 a part plan and Fig. 4 is a side view of the gearing
for communicating movement from the engine shaft to the driving wheels; Fig.
shews a side view and section of part of the reversing mechanism, Fig. 7 shews the
gearing in condition for reverse movement of the car; Fig. 8 is a section of a
diaphragm reducing valve V such as may be interposed between the gas reservoirs
and the engine to maintain uniform the pressure of the engine supply. C Care
the reservoirs placed under the side seats of the car A and holding the supply of
compressed gas or of compressed mixture of gas and air. B is the. gas motor engine
giving rotation to its shaft D. On this shaft are fixed two friction gear wheels D
and D¹, the one a little larger than the other. On a countershaft E are fixed two
other friction gear wheels E and E¹, and a chain wheel F connected by a chain G
to a chain wheel H on the axle J of the driving wheels. There is a second counter
shaft S on which is fixed a friction gear wheel T. The shaft E runs in eccentric
bushes M fixed in the ends of a forked lever N and capable of turning in bearings

page_text: in two side frames K, which also have bearings for the engine shaft D³, and for a
spindle Q, which has fixed on it a lever arm P and two eccentric bosses that work
in the upper eyes of links R, which have in their lower eyes bearings for the
shaft S. LL are links connecting the shaft E' and the axle J. The gas motor
engine shaft D' revolving always in one direction, the car is stopped, started or
reversed in the following manner. The levers N and P being moved into such a
position that there is no contact of the friction wheels D and E or of D¹, T and E³,
there is no rotation of the shaft E' and axle J, and the car remains stationary.
When it is desired to drive in the one direction, the wheels D and E are brought
into contact by moving the lever N, while T remains out of contact with D¹
and E. When it is, desired to drive in the other direction, the wheel E is
withdrawn from contact with D by moving N, and, by moving P, the wheel T is
brought into contact with both D₁ and E', as indicated in Fig. 7, thus reversing
the movement of the shaft E2 and of the driving axle J.
By arranging and working a train car in the manner described, there is com-
paratively little dead weight as compared with that of the boiler, fuel and water
required for a steam motor, and consequently there is little wear and tear of the
permanent way. There is, moreover, absence of fire, smoke and steam, and the
services of a fireman are not required. The engine and working mechanism can
be easily enclosed and protected from dust and grit, and the cost of working is
very moderate.
It has already been proposed to employ gas motor engines for driving tram-cars
and other vehicles, these engines being supplied with gas from reservoirs on the
vehicle in which it is stored, it may be, under pressure. No general claim is
therefore made herein to this mode of working tram cars, but
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
In combination with a gas motor engine for driving a tram-car, and the reservoirs
and reducing valve for its supply, the gearing for stopping, starting or reversing
constructed and operating substantially as herein described and illustrated by the
drawings.
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