IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY, APPARATUS, AND APPLIANCES FOR STARTING, PROPELLING, STOPPING, AND REVERSING THE DIRECTION OF MOTION OF VEHICLES ON RAILS, TRAMWAYS, OR ROADS, MORE PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO GAS ENGINES, BUT ALSO SUITABLE FOR OTHER MOTOR ENGINES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Percy Holt, of Royal Insurance Buildings, Leeds,
in the County of York, Civil Engineer, and Francis William Crossley, of
Great Marlborough Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY, APPARATUS, AND
APPLIANCES FOR STARTING, PROPELLING, STOPPING, AND REVERSING THE
DIRECTION OF MOTION OF VEHICLES ON RAILS, TRAMWAYS, OR ROADS, MORE
PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO GAS ENGINES, BUT ALSO SUITABLE FOR OTHER
MOTOR ENGINES."
Sealed the 30th April 1880, and dated the 4th November 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Percy Holt and
Francis William Crossley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
4th November 1879.
HENRY PERCY HOLT, of Royal Insurance Buildings, Leeds, in the County of York,
Civil Engineer, and FRANCIS WILLIAM CROSSLEY, of Great Marlborough Street,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY,
APPARATUS, AND APPLIANCES FOR STARTING, PROPELLING, STOPPING, AND RE-
VERSING THE DIRECTION OF MOTION OF VEHICLES ON RAILS, TRAMWAYS; OR ROADS,
MORE PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO GAS ENGINES, BUT ALSO SUITABLE FOR OTHER
MOTOR ENGINES."
This Invention consists in an improved mode of connecting the crank shaft of a
gas or steam engine (which, with its fly wheel, is kept continuously running in one
direction) with the driving axle of a tram or other locomotive.
By means of it, it is possible to stop, start, or reverse the direction of motion of
the vehicle while the engine continues to move, as described above, uninterruptedly
in one direction.
To accomplish this we so arrange the pair of driving wheels of the vehicle that
they can receive either almost the whole weight of the vehicle or any lesser desired
portion of it. Further the load may be entirely removed from the driving wheels;
and themselves raised off the rails. When thus raised they are made capable of
turning round with their axle on a pivot in a manner somewhat similar to the
ock of a carriage, and being thus completely turned end for end, they will, when
gain brought into contact with the rails, cause the direction of motion of the
vehicle to be the reverse of what it previously was. To impart motion to this driving

page_text: axle we key a bevil wheel upon it near the middle, and gear into this a bevil
pinion which works on a sliding key on the crank shaft of the engine in such a
manner as to allow play for the action of the springs of the vehicle, and also to
permit of the raising and lowering of the driving axle and wheels. Thus the crank
shaft of the engine is placed vertically with its flywheel revolving horizontally.
In order to raise and lower the driving axle or to change the load upon it, the other
axle boxes of the car are fitted with any convenient appliance, such as screws, by
means of which the body of the vehicle may be hoisted upon them, so as entirely
to lift the load off the driving axle, and finally even to lift this axle and wheels
clear of the rails.
These screws or other equivalents to which reference is herein afterwards made
are worked, if desired, from the engine. The main driven bevil wheel and driving
pinion are kept in proper gear by a bracket which takes a bearing on the driving
axle, and on the neck of the pinion.
The crank shaft thus forms the lock or pivot, round which the driving axle and
road wheels turn when they are reversed end for end, and the bracket which keeps
the bevil wheels and pinion rightly in gear also serves to lift the wheels off the
rails when the body of the vehicle is hoisted on the other axles.
A rack and pinion chain wheel or equivalent plan serves to rotate the
driving axle end for end, as described, the pinion or wheel being fixed on the
bracket referred to, and the rack or chain moved to and fro, as required, by
suitable hand gear.
As an alternative plan, we arrange in some cases, instead of raising and lowering
the body of the car by screws over the axle boxes to raise and lower a cross frame,
which moves in guides over the driving axle, and which presses through the
medium of springs on the axle boxes of the latter when in its lowest position, so as
to transfer to these any desired fraction of the whole weight of the vehicle. In its
highest position it also lifts the driving wheels clear of the rails to admit of their
being turned end for end by the same means as in the former arrangement. This
cross frame may be elevated and depressed either by screws, hydraulic pistons, or
other equivalents worked from the engine, and controlled by the driver.
When in either of the above methods the driving wheels are pressed but slightly
against the rails a decreased speed of vehicle may be obtained, or a gradual motion
in starting the wheels in these cases slipping on the rails; all jar or shock at
starting may thus be avoided.
The control of the foregoing operations is given to the driver by duplicate sets
of hand or other gear arranged at both ends of the car or vehicle.
We prefer usually to employ hydraulic power to perform the several operations
herein before named, in which case we drive a governor from an axle of the vehicle,
which is in connection with a valve arranged so that when the speed of the vehicle
exceeds that for which the governor is adjusted, the pressure in the cylinders for
giving the driving wheels grip is lowered, and the grip reduced, and thus more weight
is thrown on the leading and trailing wheels, and the same valve at the same time
likewise applies a hydraulic brake to these wheels, and thus reduces the speed of
the vehicle.
A governor on the engine simultaneously shuts off the gas supply until the speed
again falls.
In this Invention the motor engine may be contained within or on the passenger
vehicle itself, or arranged as a separate locomotive, and either supplied with gas
carried in suitable reservoirs, or with steam in the usual way. We also generally
place the driving wheels between two pairs of carrying wheels, but their position is
capable of being changed as circumstances may require.

page_text: :
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Percy Holt and Francis William Crossley in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 4th May 1880.
HENRY PERCY HOLT, of Royal Insurance Buildings, Leeds, in the County of York,
Civil Engineer, and FRANCIS WILLIAM CROSSLEY, of Great Marlborough Street,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY,
APPARATUS, AND APPLIANCES FOR STARTING, PROPELLING, STOPPING, AND RE-
VERSING THE DIRECTION OF MOTION OF VEHICLES ON RAILS, TRAMWAYS, OR ROADS,
MORE PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO GAS ENGINES, BUT ALSO SUITABLE FOR OTHER
MOTOR ENGINES."
This Invention consists in an improved mode of connecting the shaft of a gas,
steam, or other fluid pressure engine, which, with its fly wheel, is kept continuously
running in one direction with the driving axle of a tram or other locomotive, thus
rendering it possible to stop, start, or reverse the direction of motion of the vehicle
while the engine continues to move uninterruptedly in one direction.
To accomplish this we so arrange the pair of driving wheels of the vehicle that
they can be raised off the rails or road, and when thus raised, turned round with
their axle on a pivot, like the locking frame of a carriage. The axle being thus
completely turned end for end, the wheels will when again brought into contact
with the road or rails, cause the direction of motion of the vehicle to be the reverse
of what it previously was.
To impart motion to the axle of the driving wheels we key a bevil wheel upon
it, near its middle, and gear into this a bevil pinion, which is connected by a
sliding coupling to the shaft of the engine, which is vertical, in such a manner as to
allow play for the action of the springs of the vehicle, and also to permit of the
raising and lowering of the driving axle and wheels.
In order to raise and lower the driving axle, or to vary the frictional pressure of
the driving wheels, we support the axle boxes on springs, and connect them to the
plungers of hydraulic cylinders, by more or less relieving the pressure in which
the axle can be more or less elevated. Or the other axle boxes of the car may be
fitted with any convenient appliance, such as screws, by means of which the body
of the vehicle may be hoisted upon them, so as entirely to lift the load off
the driving axle, and finally even to lift this axle and wheels clear of the road or
rails.
The main driven bevil wheel and driving pinion are kept in proper gear by a
bracket or box containing bearings for the driving axle and the shaft of the
pinion.
The vertical engine shaft forms the perch pin or pivot, round which the driving
axle turns when it is reversed end for end, and the bracket or bearing box which
keeps the bevil wheel and pinion rightly in gear also serves to lift the wheels off
the rails when the body of the vehicle is hoisted on the other axles.
A rack and pinion, chain wheel, or equivalent mechanism applied to the locking
frame serves to turn the driving axle end for end, as described.
Instead of raising and lowering the driving axle or the body of the vehicle, we,
in some cases, raise and lower a frame carrying the driving axle, through which
any desired fraction of the weight of the vehicle may be transferred to the driving
wheels, or by which the driving wheels can be lifted clear of the rails to admit of
their axle being turned end for end. This frame may be elevated and depressed
either by screws, hydraulic pistons, or their equivalents, worked from the engine
and controlled by the driver.
When the driving wheels are pressed but slightly against the road or rails a
decreased speed of vehicle may be obtained, or a gradual motion in starting, the
wheels in these cases slipping more or less so that all jar or shock at starting may
thus be avoided.

page_text: a is the
Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a locomotive vehicle, according
to our Invention, in which the driving axle is raised and lowered relatively to the
vehicle; Fig. 2 is a transverse section, and Fig. 3 a plan; Fig. 4 is a part vertical
section, and part end view to an enlarged scale of the gearing, connecting the
engine shaft to the driving axle, and Fig. 5 is a side view of the same.
framing of the vehicle; b, the vertical engine shaft, which may carry a fly wheel b¹,
and which revolves in bearings fixed to the framing of the vehicle; c is the driving
axle carrying the driving wheels c'. There are two running axles with their
wheels d, on which the vehicle is entirely supported when the driving wheels are
raised. The driving axle c runs in bearings g near each end, which are free to
slide vertically in horn plates g'; it has also a middle bearing 2, which can slide
vertically in a horn plate q', a side view of which is shewn at Fig. 1. The horn
plates g and q are secured to segments f.f, which carry rollers f³, moving on a
ring e, secured to the framing of the vehicle. To the segments f, f, there is attached
a ring n, on which is wound a chain that is carried round a winch barrel n¹,
whereby the driving axle can be turned round the vertical axis of the engine
shaft. For the ring n and its chain and winch n¹ may obviously be substituted spur,
bevil, or worm gearing. Screw bolts m at each end of the framing are advanced
into taper holes in the segments f, f, so as to hold them firmly when they are
turned half round. The axle boxes g are supported on springs i of sufficient
strength to lift the driving axle with its wheels and attachments, they are pressed
down by buffer springs h, arranged in the plungers of two hydraulic cylinders 1,
when these plungers are subjected to pressure. When they are relieved from
pressure the springs lift the driving axle and its wheels so as to diminish the
frictional contact of the wheels, or to lift them entirely clear of the road or rails, so
that the axle can be turned round to an inverted position. For the hydraulic
cylinders screws or equivalent mechanism may obviously be substituted.
Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, a bevil pinion o is fitted to slide vertically in, but to
revolve with a coupling box 62, formed on the lower end of the engine shaft b;
this pinion gears with a bevil wheel o¹, fixed on the driving axle c. The shaft
on which the pinion o is fixed works in a footstep bearing p³, formed on the middle
axle box q, and the bearing c³ for the driving axle c is fitted in this box, so that it
can rock in a vertical plane, permitting the driving axle to follow the inequalities
of the road, and allowing for oscillation of the springs. When it is desired to
reverse the direction of motion of the vehicle without reversing the rotation of
the engine shaft, the pressure in the cylinders / is so far relieved that the springs i
lift the driving wheels clear off the road or rails; the bolts m are withdrawn,
and the segments ƒ are turned half round, the driving axle being thus brought into

page_text: an inverted position, in which it is secured by again advancing the bolts m. The
pressure is then admitted to act in the cylinders l, so as to depress the driving axle
and wheels, and bring the latter again in contact with the road or rails.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, we claim,―
The use for starting, propelling, stopping, and reversing the direction of motion
of locomotive vehicles, of the machinery, apparatus, and appliances, substantially
as herein described, whereby the driving axle can be lowered or raised, and turned
to an inverted position relatively to the vehicle, so as to vary the grip of the
driving wheels, and to stop or reverse the motion of the vehicle without stopping
or reversing, that of the engine which drives it.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Percy Holt and Francis William
Crossley, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-ninth day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
HENRY PERCY HOLT.
FRANCIS WILLIAM CROSSLEY. (L.S.)
(L.S.)