IMPROVEMENTS IN TRACTION ENGINES AND BOILERS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph William Lee, of No. 15, Causeway,
Cambridge, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRACTION ENGINES
AND BOILERS."
Sealed the 8th July 1873, and dated the 20th May 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph William Lee
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th May 1873.
I, JOSEPH WILLIAM LEE, of No. 15, Causeway, Cambridge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRACTION
ENGINES AND BOILERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in traction engines.
and boilers.
I apply to traction engines gear for the purpose of giving motion to
the front or steering wheels of the engine in the following manner :—
On the axis of the front wheels near to the centre is keyed a bevel wheel
of suitable size. The two travelling wheels are then brought upon each
side of this bevel wheel within ten or twelve inches, more or less.

page_text: For giving motion to the bevel wheel a pinion of suitable size is
applied; this pinion is keyed on to a vertical shaft, which is placed central
between the two travelling wheels, and gearing into the bevel wheel on
the main axis. On the top of this vertical shaft is placed another bevel
wheel which gears into a pinion on a horizontal shaft at right angles
with the vertical shaft. Upon this horizontal shaft are cog wheels for
fast and slow speeds, which gear into corresponding wheels on the crank
shaft of engine. The front wheels which are keyed fast on the axle and
the bearing that carries the toe of the vertical shaft are all fitted to a
circular frame which is fitted into another circular frame to keep it in a
true circle when turning round corners. Rollers can be fixed on the
bottom frame if necessary to facilitate turning. The hind wheels are
connected to the crank shaft by means of bevel gear or chains. If the
latter the wheels may be fitted into bearings made to slide in order to
tighten the chain as it wears. I thus produce a traction engine with all
four wheels coupled.
The boiler is upright or vertical, and has two or three or more tubes
side by side across the diameter of the fire-box, and then two or three
or more tubes in a row at right angles to them, and so on with as many
rows as are necessary. Thus in the ordinary boiler we should have three
rows of cross tubes, onc above the other, across the diameter of boiler.
The tubes project at each end through the inner shell of the boiler, and
angle iron rings suitably shaped on a mandril are rivetted on to the
projecting ends and also to the shell. Within the water space of the
boiler at the top of the boiler there are three outlets to the chimney so
as the better to distribute the heat amongst the heating surface.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Joseph William Lee in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th November 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH 3
WILLIAM LEE, of No. 15, Causeway, Cambridge, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-

page_text: sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Joseph William Lee, Her special
license that I, the said Joseph William Lee, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
William Lee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRACTION ENGINES AND BOILERS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Joseph William Lee, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph William Lee, do horeby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :—
This Invention has for its object improvements in traction engines
and boilers.
I apply to traction engines gear for the purpose of giving motion to
the front or steering wheels of the engine in the following manner :—
On the axis of the front wheels near to the centre is keyed a bevel wheel
of suitable size. The two travelling wheels are then brought upon each
side of this bevel wheel within ten or twelve inches, more or less.
For giving motion to the bevel wheel a pinion of suitable size is
applied. This pinion is keyed on to a vertical shaft which is placed
central between the two travelling wheels and gearing into the bevel
wheel on the main axis. On the top of this vertical shaft is placed
another bevel wheel which gears into a pinion on a horizontal shaft at
right angles with the vertical shaft. Upon this horizontal shaft are cog
wheels for fast and slow speeds which gear into corresponding wheels on
the crank shaft of engine.

page_text: In the annexed Drawings a traction engine is shown, of which the
front or steering wheels have power applied to them in this manner :—
Figure 1 is a side view and Figure 2 a front view, with the funnel and
some other parts omitted.
and ³, which
Upon the end
To the front part of the boiler a are fixed brackets a¹, a¹, which
connect to it the flat plate a³, and to which again the ring a³ is riveted.
The front wheels 6 which are keyed fast upon the axle c are fitted to a
circular frame d, on which the plate a³ rests, and in the top plate of the
frame is a circular hole to keep the frame in a true circle when turning
round corners. Rollers a may be applied to facilitate turning; e, e, are
the steering chains which are caused to be wound on to and from the
barrel by means of the steering wheel 9. The vertical shaft h, which
has a pinion ¹ on the bottom end gearing into a bevel wheel c¹ on the
axis c, passes through the smoke box of the boiler (or through the water
space of it if necessary). The shaft is protected by means of a pipe
which is fitted to the top and bottom of the smoke box. It is made in
parts in such a manner as to be readily removed at any time when
necessary. A bevel wheel 7 is fitted on the end of this vertical shaft h
at the top of the boiler, and motion is given to it by means of a pinion i¹.
This pinion is keyed on to a shaft i parallel with the crank shaft k of
the engine, and carries the fast and slow speed wheels
gear into corresponding wheels upon the crank shaft k.
of the shaft i is keyed another pinion which gears into
on the axis 7, and gives motion by bevelled gear to the hind wheels of
the engine; thus both front and hind wheels are driven by the shaft i,
thereby allowing the advantage of two speeds. The speed wheels k¹
and ² on the crank shaft are made fast together and have a groove
turned in the centre of the boss beneath the wheels which are sufficiently
wide apart to allow them to slide in and out of either of the wheels on
the corresponding shaft so that the speed of the engine may be altered
at pleasure by means of a forked lever. The speed wheels on the crank
shaft are slotted and made to slide on two dead keys fitted into the shaft
opposite each other. Upon the inclined shaft that drives the hind
wheels is fitted a clutch for the purpose of throwing these wheels in
and out of gear when necessary. When the clutch is thrown out and
the front wheels are in power only these wheels can then be turned at
any angle and set in motion to bring the front end of the engine round
in its own length. This will be found advantageous when in stack yards
or narrow lanes and in making short turns into gateways, '&c.
a bevel wheel /¹

page_text: The hind wheels of the engine are fitted with differential gear wheels
to admit of their turning at different speeds in going round curves.
This gear however being well understood is not shewn in the Drawings.
The hind wheels are 6 feet diameter and 13 inches wide on the face, and
are geared as 12 and 24 to 1. The front wheels are the same width on
the face and 4 feet diameter, and geared as 8 and 16 to 1.
These wheels
are arranged for compensating gear. All the wheels are fitted with cross
tyre; the small ones are tyred with steel cored tyres to meet the
difference in the wear arising from the diameters being 1 to 1.
The engine part is of the ordinary kind with link motion and reversing
gear. The cylinder is fitted into a wrought-iron dome riveted on the
fire-box part of the boiler which renders unnecessary a steam jacket or
lagging. The crank shaft carries the fly wheel of the engine; by an
error this is incorrectly drawn in Figure 1.
The hind wheels may be driven by chain wheels, and a pitch chain in
place of by bevelled gear, an arrangement which admits of more freedom
being given in the connection between the hind axle and the fire-box of
the engine. The position of the axle may also be adjustable for the
purpose of taking up the slack of the pitch chain. The front wheels
of the engine may be placed outside the frame d in place of inside, as
shown at Figure 3. In this case it is advisable to apply differential gear
to these wheels, so that they may be able to turn at different speeds in
going round corners.
And this part of my Invention relates to the construction of vertical
boilers for traction engines and for other uses.
The boiler is upright or vertical, and has two or three or more tubes
side by side across the diameter of the fire-box, and then two or three
or more tubes in a row at right angles to them, and so on with as many
rows as are necessary. Thus in the ordinary boiler we should have three
rows of cross tubes, one above the other, across the diameter of boiler.
The tubes project at each end through the inner shell of the boiler, and
angle iron rings suitably shaped on a maundril are riveted on to the
projecting ends and also to the shell within the water space of the boiler.
At the top of the boiler there are three outlets to the chimney so as the
better to distribute the heat amongst the heating surface. .
Figure 4 is a vertical section; Figures 5 and 6 are horizontal sections
1
tahall f the hailon
is the fing his that

page_text: are fixed together at the bottom in the usual way. c, c, are the tubes
which run across the fire-box through its interior; their ends project
through the walls of the fire-box and are secured by the angle iron
rings d, d, on the exterior. These rings are forged to the proper shape
and are riveted both to the fire-box and to the projecting end of the
tube. e, e, are the outlets to the chimney; they are connected by angle
iron rings to the top of the fire-box, and their upper ends pass through
the top of the outer shell a and receive angle iron rings beyond, as
already described, in respect to the horizontal tubes c. f is a cast-iron
dome which connects the crown of the boiler with the chimney.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim
the construction of traction engines in such manner that the front or
steering wheels may have power applied to them so that the front and
hind wheels of the engine may all be available to propel the engine,
substantially as described.
I also claim the construction of upright boilers, substantially as
described, with tubes passed through the fire-box and secured by means
of angle iron rings riveted to their ends within the water space of the
boiler, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph William Lee, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.