IMPROVEMENTS IN MERCHANTS' SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Bell Galloway at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
November 1867.
I, GEORGE BELL GALLOWAY, of the Borough and County of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, Inventor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MERCHANTS' SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS, AND APPLIANCES
CONNECTED THEREWITH:"
My improvements in merchant ships and other vessels and appliances con-
nected therewith consist as follows:-In addition to the mode of producing
and also applying motive power, as described in my Patent dated November
the 9th, 1864, No. 2779, I shall supply the accumulators by and through a
pipe having a valve or valves in connection with such pipe, which pipe will be
affixed into and through the bottom of one or the whole of the water accu-
mulators and also through the bottom of ships or other vessels, so that by the
plunging and action of the vessel at sea a much greater pressure may be thus
obtained in the accumulators, and such pressure by an arrangement of pipes
which I shall connect from the accumulators by a pipe affixed on each side of
the vessel's keelson from the fore part of the vessel to the accumulators which
will be affixed near the stern part of the vessel, I shall thus turn what may
be termed the bydraulic vertical pressure of the sea according to the diameter
of the pipes which is thus being admitted into the accumulators to a horizontal
bydraulic power, as it were, at once self-acting as a means for propulsion
without the aid of any steam power, or I may pass pipes containing water

page_text: through a furnace or a boiler, the object being to expand the water, before
I apply it as power to hydraulic engines, by which engines I may drive the
air pumps or other propellers. I may also, in connection with each accu-
mulator at the fore part of the ship, affix a pipe with perforated copper or
other metallic covering over to keep out any obstruction that might happen
during a vessel's progress, or place a slide to cover the same, which could be
worked up and down from the vessel's deck, and within the pipes which I
propose to affix through each side of the bow of the vessel near to the fore
accumulators I shall affix within each pipe a moveable valve, which moveable
valve will be connected by a lever rod connexion with the valves; I shall also
affix within the exit pipes which will be affixed at the back part of the
accumulators near the stern part of the ship, and continue such connection
from the two valves which will be either affixed to the two accumulators or to.
one chief accumulator, into which the other accumulators may be caused to
discharge themselves, the object of such valves and lever connections being to
move simultaneously, so that the vessel may be by two iron bolt rods affixed
to the connections with the valves and the deck of the vessel; vessels can thus.
be caused quickly to alter or reverse their positions, and, or I may be able to.
steer or alter the position of vessels using such a mode of propulsion by
making the exit air and water pipes open at the lower part, which exit pipes
may be made to an oval or flat form, and affixing thereto a form of rudder
made of iron at the end side of each exit pipe nearest the stern. part of the
ship, as by this plan the lever which will be affixed to the bolt communication
through the deck has simply to be moved to starboard or port, as indicated
by a brass plate affixed upon a pillar, through which the steering rod passes,
and the power will thus be reversed, that is to say, driven downwards in a
forward direction under the counter of the vessel, which will have the tendency
to bring her round, and by shutting off, so to speak, partially the power, thus at
the extremity of both the exit pipes the power will become expended in stopping
the forward progress of vessels, and in respect to vessels where propulsion, where
my form of screw propellers are applied, which propellers are broadest at the
boss, and have their leading edge cut off and either cast upon one boss or
separate basses so that one blade is placed before the other, I propose to alter
to such extent as may be required in screw steamers their present existing
screw space further forward, or affix one blade to work behind the rudder and
the other blade to work in the ordinary screw space, and I propose to employ
the ordinary locomotive engines which have been for some time in use upon
railways by and through such connexions and alterations as I may require,
in which case I may condense the exhaust steam into water; and by these

page_text: engines I propose to drive either single or double screw propellers or work
the hydraulic pneumatic mode of propulsion invented by me, and also discharge
the cargoes of vessels by one of the engines. And as the means to protect
ships from damages arising from the effects of collision or shot, I propose to
affix to their sides outside, and in some cases inside, what I may term box
girder constructions resembling in form the planking of ships, which con-
structions are intended to be made of iron or steel intersected by vertical,
horizontal, and or convex spaces so arranged as that the edges of the divisions
will be either grooved into the outer and inner divisional plates, and the
spaces as between the divisions I propose to fill up with suitable wood, and
also to raise or supply ships with more buoyant floating power by air pipes
arranged through their inside parts, which pipes may be secured in their
bottom parts and also in connexion with the beams and under their decks,
and thoroughly to supply vessels with fresh air by affixing pipes throughout
their cabins and other places, which pipes will be fitted with valves and per-
forations to regulate supply. I may also supply boats to vessels constructed
of galvanized iron, so that one boat will fit within the other, by which space
upon the ship's decks will be much economised, and thereby be able to carry
a larger number of boats, and to affix to such boats a mode of lowering them
with the people such boats are calculated to carry; the mode of lowering will
consist either of a roller affixed vertically below the centre thawt and bottom
of the boat or by a sheave affixed within two uprights, which uprights may be
fixed either underneath the centre thawt or the fore and aft thawts in the
boat. The lowering ropes pass either through slings affixed to each side of
the boat fore and aft, or simply thro' the ring bolts fore and aft, and then
underneath the sheave, the ends of the lowering ropes being- secured to an
upright post or cleat in the boat and slacked away as required for lowering
and as a means for rehoisting boats at sea, all that would be required by this
plan would be for the hands in the boat to pass the ends of each lowering rope
through the sheave affixed in the uprights and then make fast the two
lowering ropes together, and thus by the aid of a block and tackle from the
yard arm or davits boats may be again hoisted; and I may also affix to life
boats underneath their floors intead of the air cases by which they are at
present fitted (flexible or mettallic tubing filled with atmospheric air, and also
affix air tubes around their top sides above the water line instead of cork, the
object being to prevent boats sinking and to supply to seamen and passengers
air-tight coats and caps by which they cannot sink in rivers or seas; and I
propose to propel lifeboats by narrow paddle wheels affixed with angular floats
instead of oars; the wheels, which may be two on each side of the boat, can

page_text: i
be driven by having a pulley or sheave on each side of the shaft inside the
boat, and by passing a band over and around this pulley, both men and
passengers would be able to propel boats; and I may also apply this description
of narrow side wheels to sea-going paddle steam vessels; and as a means to
strengthen ships I propose to use T and other angle iron both in their con-
struction and underneath the decks, and between the beams fore and aft, and
at the bottom parts specially connected with the keel and keelsons, so that
much more strength may be imparted to vessels. And, in respect to steamers,
I propose to build them flat at the bottom in the midship section, and affix
three keels and three inside keelsons, so that they may be thus bolted through
and through, and apply this plan in connexion with either wood or iron, or
both combined, in the construction or in the alteration of vessels, and use bolts.
of zinc, and apply a mode of propulsion by the piston rod passing out of each
end of steam cylinders and connected at once with the crank shafts or by side
connected rods which will be affixed at one end to a pin secured in a sliding
block, which sliding block moves to and fro or up and down within suitable
framing, connected with which the steam cylinders are affixed, and the other
end of the connecting rods attached to the crank pin or cranks upon the wheel
shaft and I propose to supply steam boilers with oval formed tubes instead
of small circular tubes, the object being to prevent tubes choking up and
giving to steam boilers more effective heating surfaces and water circulating
arrangements vertically as between the ends of the furnaces and or horizontally
by causing the products of combustion from the furnaces to pass between circu-
lating water spaces affixed vertically or horizontally, and to strengthen boilers
by making them with angular arranged rivets punched or drilled at a greater
distance from the edges of the plates, and by affixing the plates of boilers and
vessels outside or and inside by strips of iron or steel, through which the
rivets will also pass, and instead of punching plates, which tends to in some
cases to produce weakness, I propose to drill the holes by the use of a number
of drills placed in a line affixed within suitable framing to work by gearing
extending from the spindle of one drill to another; these drills will be supplied.
by motive power such as a piston and cylinder with which a flexible tube is
connected, and the drills are kept up to their work by a frame connection and
a piston pressure regulated as may be required. This mode of drilling may
be applied variously, and also effect the rivetting of plates by applied pressure
power, so that the plates may be properly closed before they are rivetted, and
the rivets secured by piston power similarly applied as above, and I may so
arrange the furnaces that the fire-doors shall have an outer plate affixed
thereto and the fire-door be perforated, as by this means the fire-doors will be

page_text: prevented from wasting so fast away and the air rarified before it passes over
the fire, and I may also affix a slot in the centre of the fire-doors or above the
fire-doors, and affix a coal hopper in connection therewith, by which the fires
may be attended to without opening the fire-doors, and so arrange the hollow
fire-bars which I previously invented that their ends instead of resting against
the brickwork bridges may terminate in a cast metal or boiler plate con-
structed box affixed with the bridge brickwork, as by this plan a much larger
volume of air will pass through the bars rarified to commingle with the flame
at the ends of the furnaces, and the effect will be such that I hope to reduce
furnaces one-half their present length, and I may cast or affix fire-door frames,
as I have stated will be affixed or cast with furnace doors for the like pur-
poses, and as fuel I propose to mix small coals with gas tar in a heated state
to be run through perforated holes made in a suitable vessel. The process
may be applied where the coals are in quantity, and in some cases I may use
an admixture of lime and clay in solution, the object being to take up as
much of the small coal as the solution has the power to concentrate, and I
may combine salt in the mixture, chopped straw, or other fibrous substance
such as chopped peat, and mould the mixture into shapes by hand frame
moulds or brickmaking machines, the moulds having divisions in them, the
object being to make the fuel perforated that it may burn the more readily in
furnaces, and mix chopped straw with coals, and burn such mixture in
furnaces constructed of iron frame, concrete, and fire-clay instead of fire-
bricks, and to use petrolium as fuel in furnaces in a gaseous state; this state
can be produced by causing the exhaust steam pipes to pass through a portion
of the supply tank furnace, and by having pipes arranged with perforated
holes within the furnaces, so that the heat of the flame acting upon the pipes,
together with the previous rarified state of the petrolium, a bright jet intense
flame will be maintained; and I may also mix air with the vapour of
petrolium and other carbonaceous fluids, so that a steady clear flame may be
produced; the objects of the whole being to improve the means of transit
by sea, and for which I hereby respectfully apply for Her Majesty's Royal
Letters Patent.