IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMO- PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATIONTIVE STEAM ENGINES AND IN SPRINGS FOR LOCTIVE STEAM ENGINES, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Robinson, of the firm of Sharp, Stewart, and
.Company, of the Atlas Works, in the City of Manchester, Engineers,
: and Richard Cunliffe and Joseph Anthony Collet, of the same Place,
Mechanical Draughtsmen, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMO-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Robinson, Richard
Cunliffe, and Joseph Anthony Collet at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 28th December 1855.
We, JOHN ROBINSON, of the firm of Sharp, Stewart, and Company, of the
Atlas Works, in the City of Manchester, Engineers, and RICHARD CUNLIFFE
and JOSEPH ANTHONY COLLET, of the same Place, Mechanical Draughtsmen, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMO-
TIVE STEAM ENGINES, AND IN SPRINGS FOR LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINES, AND OTHER
PURPOSES, to be as follows:-
The object of our Invention is to reduce friction, facilitate repairs, and
economise labour in the construction of locomotive engines. In the first place,
we propose to dispense with the guide blocks and slide bars usually employed
to preserve the parellellism of the piston rods, and to work the piston rods in
fixed bushes, the connecting rods being forked and connected to the piston
rods, as in some stationary engines. By this arrangement friction is reduced,
and the connecting rod is lengthened.

page_text: In our improved locomotive steam engine we supply the water to the boiler
by a small steam engine, attached to the fire box or other convenient part, or
by means of a pump, the ram of which is connected when required to the
back of one of the valve excentrics. The pipes from both these pumps are
connected to the same set of valves. By this means the ordinary pumps are
entirely dispensed with; and when the locomotive is in motion, by discon-
necting the pump rod from the excentric no part of the machinery for pumping
is at work, whereas in locomotives of the ordinary construction the pump rams
are in motion as long as the engine is at work. A considerable reduction in
friction and wear and tear is thus effected. In constructing the ball valves
for pumps, we make the guides of the ball clacks of the same piece as the
seating, or cast them with the main body of the pump or clack box, and we
regulate the lift of the ball clacks by the lid, thereby dispensing with the
cages usually employed to guide the balls. Also, in an improved mode of
applying a steam chamber in the smoke box of locomotive steam engines, for
the purpose of reheating or drying the steam before it is taken to the steam
cylinders. By this arrangement the area of the smoke box is diminished,
consequently reducing the power of the blast required; and in making the
stays of the upper part of the inner fire box of rolled or bent plate iron,
somewhat similar in shape to the bridge rails used on railways, to ensure great
strength with small bearing surface, and economy in construction.
Our improvements in springs consist in constructing them of concave steel
disks; these disks have a hole in the centre, and radiating cuts or openings
extend from the centre hole towards the circumference. When these improved
springs are used for bearing purposes, three or other suitable number of the
disks are placed in a box, and the spring pillar is taken through the centre
holes, the radial cuts or openings above referred to allowing the disks to yield
to the weight. These improved springs may be used for buffers, for draw bars,
and for other purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed 3
by the said John Robinson, Richard Cunliffe, and Joseph Anthony Collet
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th June 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
ROBINSON, of the firm of Sharp, Stewart, and Company, of the Atlas Works,
in the City of Manchester, Engineers, and RICHARD CUNLIFFE and JOSEPH 8
ANTHONY COLLET, of the same Place, Mechanical Draughtsmen, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Paterit, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said John Robinson, Richard Cunliffe, and Joseph Anthony Collet, Her special
license that we, the said John Robinson, Richard Cunliffe, and Joseph
Anthony Collet, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said John Robinson, Richard Cunliffe, and Joseph Anthony Collet,
our 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 LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINES,
AND IN SPRINGS FOR LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINES, AND OTHER PURPOSES, upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Robinson, Richard Cunliffe,
and Joseph Anthony Collet, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our, or their, or one of our or 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Robinson, Richard Cunliffe,
and Joseph Anthony Collet, do hereby declare the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following Specification thereof,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
The nature of our Invention consists, first, in dispensing with the slide bars
and slide blocks usually employed to preserve the parellellism of the piston
rod, and in causing the piston rod to work in fixed bearings.
Secondly, in an improved arrangement of pumps for supplying the water
to the boiler, consisting of a pump worked by a small engine attached to any
convenient part of the locomotive, and of a pump worked by one of the valve
excentrics, which is capable of being connected to the excentric when required.
By this arrangement the locomotive is relieved of a considerable amount of
friction, as no part of the machinery for pumping is at work unless the
assistant engine is out of order.
Thirdly, in constructing the clacks of the ball valves of pumps of the same
piece as the seating, or the body of the pump or clack valve, and in regulating
the lift of the ball valve by the lid.

page_text: Fourthly, in an improved mode of applying a steam chamber in the smoke
box, for the purpose of superheating or drying the steam before it is taken to
the cylinders.
Fifthly, in making the stays or stay bars of the upper part or roof of the
inner fire box of rolled iron or bent plate iron, somewhat similar in shape to
some of the rails used on railways.
pur-
And, lastly, in constructing springs for locomotive engines and other
poses of concave steel disks, with a hole in the centre, and radiating openings
extending from the centre hole towards the circumference.
'
We have in the said Drawings shown how our Invention may be performed,
similar parts in the different views being marked with similar letters or figures
of reference. .
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of a locomotive steam
engine, to which our improvements are applied; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same,
one half of which is shown for an inside cylinder engine, and the other balf
for an outside cylinder engine; Fig. 3 is an elevation, in section, of the smoke
box of an inside cylinder engine and parts connected therewith; Fig. 4 is a
transverse section of the fire box; Figs. 5 and 6 are detached views of the
improved spring; and Figs. 7 and 8 are detached views of our improvements
in the construction of pumps.
a is the fire box; b, the boiler; c, the smoke box; d, d, the cylinders; e, the
driving axle, and f the side frames; all these, and the other parts of the engine,
which are not particularly referred to hereafter, are made in the usual manner.
The mode of performing the first part of our Invention, which consists in
dispensing with the slide bars and slide blocks, is clearly shown in reference
to Figs. 1 and 2. The piston rods marked 9 are made longer than usual, and
the outer portions are supported by the bushes h, which are bolted to the cross
plate f¹, connecting the side frames f. The inner portions are supported by
the stuffing boxes of the cylinders in the usual manner. To each piston rod
:9 is keyed a cross head g', which are in communication with the driving axle e
by means of the connecting rods g². By adopting the mode above described,
and guiding the piston rod 9 on each side of the cross head in guide bushes,
we not only dispense with the slide bars, slide blocks, and the present expen-
sive cross head, but we ensure an easy means of making the piston move
truly and freely in the cylinder. The piston being free in the cylinder, and
the piston rod free in the guide bush, allow the bearing of the connecting rod
to adjust itself to any variation in the angle of its bearing on the cranks;
repairs are also greatly facilitated; for when one of the guide bushes is worn,
a new bush or lining of a bush is put in, and the parts are then as well
adjusted as when the engine was first erected.

page_text: The second part of our Invention consists of an improved arrangement of
pumps for supplying the water to the boiler. In Figs. 1 and 2, h' is the cylinder
of a small steam engine, attached to the back frame f under the foot plate.
The valve box of this engine is supplied with steam from the boiler b by
suitable pipes, which are not shown in the Drawing. To the piston rod h² of
the engine is attached the ram i of the pump j, which is furnished with a set
of valves of the usual construction. The fly wheel shaft h³ is connected to
the piston rod h² by a connecting rod, shown in Fig. 1, and the slide valve of
the engine is worked from the excentric h*, shown in Fig. 2. To the front
plate of the fire box a is attached the pump k, the ram of which may at any
time be connected with the back of the slide valve excentric l. The pump j
is in connection with the side pipes m, leading from the tender by means of
the pipe j', and the pump k is connected therewith by the pipe k¹. By this
improved arrangement of pumps, it is evident that the ordinary pumps are
dispensed with, and that when the engine is in motion, if the pump rod is
disconnected from the back of the slide valve excentric 1, no part of the
machinery for pumping is at work, and the locomotive is in consequence
relieved of the friction and wear and tear resulting from the working of the
pump rams, which in engines of the ordinary construction takes place, whether
the pumps are supplying water to the boiler or not. We wish to remark
here, that the pump j may be placed so near to the pump k that the same
set of valves may serve for both, or the pump; may be placed at any other
convenient part of the engine. Figs. 7 and 8 represent our improvements in
the construction of pumps. The guides of the ball clacks are shown as being
cast with the body of the pump or clack box, and the lift of the ball clack is
regulated by the lid, to which a projection is cast; by thus constructing the
pumps, the cages usually employed to guide the ball clacks are dispensed with.
The guides of the ball clacks may be cast with the valve seating if found more
convenient.
Our fourth improvement in locomotive steam engines consists in an improved
apparatus for superheating or drying the steam before it is taken to the
cylinders. The chamber for superheating or drying the steam is formed in the
upper part of the smoke box, as shown at n, in Figs. 1 and 3. The steam
generated in the boiler 6 makes its escape through the openings b', formed in
the upper part of the smoke box tube plate 6². The steam then passes down
between the tube plate and a baffle plate b³, and enters the steam chamber n
through the space n', left between the bottom of the baffle plate and the
.bottom of the steam chamber, at that point which is most exposed to the heat of
the smoke box. The funnel n² which passes through the steam chamber enables

page_text: the gases from the fire box and the exhaust steam from the cylinders to escape
freely, and the steam is conveyed from the steam chamber n to the steam
chest between the cylinders by the pipe o. The advantages resulting from
this improved mode of superheating or drying the steam are, that the steam
dome and the steam pipes within the boiler are dispensed with; that the
superfluous space in the smoke box is reduced, thereby diminishing the power
of the blast required, and that the steam is supplied to the cylinders in the
most advantageous condition, that is to say, in combination with very little,
if any, water.
The fifth part of our Invention consists in making the stays or stay bars of
the upper part or roof of the inner fire box of rolled iron or bent plate iron,
as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. In these views, a¹ is the roof plate of the inner
fire box; and p are the stays, made of bent plate iron. The under edges of
these stay bars are recessed, to reduce the surface in contact with the roof
of the fire box, and the upper parts of some of the stay bars are connected to
the roof plate of the inner fire box in the usual manner.
We also propose
to roll the stay bars in the same manner as some of the rails used on railways.
By thus constructing the stays, strength and lightness are obtained, and the
surface in contact with the roof of the inner fire box is reduced..
9
We will now proceed to describe our improvements in springs for locomotive
steam engines and other purposes, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 6. Each
.spring is formed of a concave steel plate, with a centre hole, and radiating
slots extending from the centre hole towards the circumference, as shown best
in Fig. 6. When these springs are used for buffing purposes we prefer to
place three in a box q, which is attached to the buffer beam, in the same
manner as the boxes. for the volute or other springs now in use. Within the
box is a second box q', to which the buffer head is attached. The bar r is
secured to the washer r¹, and passes through the centre holes of the springs
and through a hole in the box q' as shown in Fig. 1. When pressure is
exerted against the buffer head the slots in the springs allow them to yield
and to be compressed in proportion to the amount of pressure exerted; but
when the pressure is removed, the elasticity of the steel causes them to regain
their former shape, the rib on the inner box q¹ coming against a flange in the
box q, retains the former in its place. When these improved springs are used
for bearing purposes, as shown applied to the axle boxes of the driving axle,
in Fig. 1, the spring pillar is taken through the centre of a plate fitted to
the lower spring piece, and the upper spring piece is in like manner furnished
with a plate, acted upon by a set screw passing through the box s containing
the springs. By this set screw the tension of the spring can be regulated,

page_text: according to the weight of the engine, or to the load required on each wheel.
When these springs are used for locomotive engines we prefer to make them
of about seven inches in diameter, but for other purposes they may be
increased or diminished. Our improved springs may also be manufactured of
several wedge-shaped steel plates, connected by rivets or otherwise to a hoop,
and bent to the concave form shown in Fig. 5. By this means, if a portion
of the spring is fractured, a fresh piece may be substituted for the fractured
one, thereby facilitating repairs.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the details, as they may be varied without departing from the
peculiar character of our Invention, and that what we do claim is,-
First, the improved mode of guiding the piston rods of locomotive steam
engines, as described.
Secondly, the improved arrangement of pumps, as described.
Thirdly, casting the guides for the ball clacks of pumps of the same piece
as the seating, or with the body of the pump or clack box, and regulating the
lift of the ball clack by a projection on the lid.
Fourthly, the improved apparatus for superheating or drying steam, as
described.
Fifthly, the improved mode of constructing the stays for the roofs of the
inner fire boxes of locomotive engine boilers, as described.
And, lastly, the improved spring, shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6, consisting of
one or more concave plates, with centre hole and radiating slots, as shewn and
as described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Robinson, Richard Cunliffe, and
Joseph Anthony Collet, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-six.
DODINCON
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
5
Manchester.
JOHN ROBINSON.
RICHARD CUNLIFFE.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)
JOSEPH ANTHONY COLLET. (L.S.)