CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES, WHICH SAID IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO EVERY KIND OF TRANSMISSION OF MOTION
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
ARMAND le Comte de FONTAINE MOREAU, of South Street, Finsbury,, London,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,. by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the
Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her
said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAYS AND LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES, WHICH SAID IMPROVEMENTS
ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO EVERY KIND OF TRANSMISSION OF MOTION," communicated
to me by a certain foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that I, 'the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, shall cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court
of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the "date

page_text: of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Pierre Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, do hereby declare that the
nature of the said Invention; and the manner in which the same is to be per-
formed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the-Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:
The Invention communicated to me consists in applying the principle of the
wedge acting in a groove or channel to the construction of railways and
locomotive engines, between which a greater- adhesion is obtained when
required; and also to the construction of wheels for the transmission of every
kind of motion, replacing with advantage straps, bands, cog wheels, connecting
levers, and other similar means of transmitting motion.
The description of the said Invention is divided into two parts; and, to make
it more intelligible, I prefer describing that part first which relates to the
transmission of motion, 'and' which is referred to in-all the Figures of Draw
ing 1, and in Figure 13 of Drawing II.
+
Mode of superseding bands, straps, and cog wheels for. the transmission of
motion by means of wedge and channel whicels':-One of the surfaces to be put-
in contact must be made similar to the groove or channelling A, Figure 1, the
faces of which a, b, c, d, are inclined to each other at a certain angle. The other
surface, B, has its surface made in the form of a wedge; that is to say, with
inclined faces or sides similar to a', 6', and c; d' By introducing the wedge
B'into the channel A, and pressing them against each other, the required
adhesion will be obtained, and the amount of that adhesion will depend on
three conditions:-Firstly, upon the quality of the materials of which the
surfaces A, B, are constructed; secondly, in the pressure which impels 'A
against B, or vice versâ; thirdly, on the size of the angle a, e, d, which the two
sides form between them; and the more this angle is acute the greater will be
the adhesion produced. As a general rule, the adhesion thus obtained will be
in ratio to that obtained under similar circumstances by two plain surfaces, as
half the base of the wedge a, e, d', is to its height ef. Therefore that
adhesion encreases in the following proportions:
:
With a plain and even surface, adhesion is represented by
angle a, c, d at 40 degrees adhesion is represented. .
"
"
"
"
"
"
30
20
10
"
"
*4
H
1.
2,746.
"adhesion is represented by 3,720.
دو
adhesion is represented by -5,676.
adhesion is represented by 11,450.
adhesion is represented by 28,551.

page_text: From this statement, the following simple formula may be deduced for
calculating the adhesion to be obtained, according to circumstances, by the
mode herein-after described.
A=Pxrx 9, in which P is the pressure which impels A against r,
the co-efficient of friction of A and B, supposed to be in simple contact, and
9 the co-efficient of adherence, calculated here according to the size of the
angle a, e, d. If it were required to make two wheels work together at their
circumferences, it would be merely necessary that one of the wheels should
have its circumference made similar to A, Figure 1, and the other similar to
B, which is easily effected by means of a lathe. The sides of the channel A
may receive any required inclination; and B may be made of any required
form, providing, however, that it corresponds with A, and be made to press
against the sides a, b, c, d, It is, however, advisable to make the wedge B,
with its faces a, b, c, d, inclined like those of A; that is to say,
to make the angle a¹, e¹, d¹, equal to the angle a, e, d. That which is
applicable to two wheels is equally applicable to the combinations herein-after
described.
As may be seen in this new system, one of the principal elements for obtain-
ing adhesion is pressure, which forces the two surfaces to work together
without sliding over each other; and I will, therefore, now describe the mode
of obtaining that pressure, which may be easily effected in different ways.
Figure 2 shews one of the modes, which consists in loading the bearings of
the upper wheel, if the wheels are set vertically with a direct weight. Figure 3
shows that weight placed at the extremity of a lever. In the latter case it
becomes more easy to graduate the pressure. The same effect may be
obtained by means of springs pressing on the bearings of the wheels.
Figure 4 shows, a simple means of pressing the wheels against each other,
which consists in causing screws to act against the bearings of one of the
wheels more or less powerfully, according to the amount of pressure required,
and interposing some elastic substance, such as leather, gutta percha, cork, &c.
between the screw and the bearings of the wheels. The screw d presses
against the plate c, which latter presses the elastic material 6 against the
bearing a, and by that contrivance the wheel B is pressed against the wheel
A. It is well, when such can be effected, to make the pressure act equally
on the two bearings of the same shaft. If circumstances, however, ren-
dered that impossible, the pressure should be applied as near the wheel as
practicable.
Figure 5 shows another contrivance of a third wheel C, which in some
cases it may be expedient to apply above the others for receiving the pressure;

page_text: that arrangement affords the advantage of carrying the pressure only upon the
axes of the wheels of a large diameter, which work slowly, and on which
friction is consequently much less hurtful. The wheel c presses the circum-
ference of A, and moves with it, by which the friction of the axis A, which has
to work quickly, is entirely avoided. Figure 6 is a side view of this arrange-
ment, according as the wheel A is made with a channel or wedge. That
arrangement is applicable with advantage to the transmission of motion with a
variable speed, and avoids the wear of the axes when made to rotate at a great
speed, and also of the bearings in which they turn; besides which, that
arrangement enables the wheel A to be made as small as desired, without
endangering the safety of the axle; for when the wheel c is applied to it it has
no other exertion to perform than that of keeping itself in a line with the two
others. Under peculiar circumstances it is not possible to bear on the frame-
work in order to obtain pressure; in that case the two shafts are united by
means of a bridle, and pressed against each other by means of screws, as shewn
in Figure 7. In that Figure 6 is the elastic material or spring, made as
before stated; c, the iron plate against which the screw d presses. Instead of
one bridle, two half bridles may be employed fastened in the middle by means
of wedge keys p, which is a more easy and better arrangement than that shewn
in Figure 7: it is represented by Figure 8. The bearings m of one of the
wheels, having a larger external diameter than that of the bearings n of the
other wheel, the difference of which is equal to twice the thickness of one side
of the bridle, causes the two semi-bridles to clasp one over the other in the
middle. The key or pin p is introduced into an opening made in the four
arms of the bridles, and exerts a certain influence to separate their extremities
by pressing the axes against each other. An elastic substance is always applied
to weaken the pressure, and the same may be employed for each of the wheels,
as is shown in Figure 8, which latter arrangement is even preferable. A
small pin or bolt o, or a properly adjusted screw, prevents the key P from
escaping or losing the pressure.
If instead of two wheels several were
combined, it would be merely necessary to apply pressure upon a single
onc, supposing those wheels to be disposed on the same line as in
Figure 6. If the wheel C is similar to B, that is to say, made either with
a channel or with a wedge, the same effect may be produced if the wheels
are set at different angles to each other, as in Figure 9, which shows
with what facility the pressure from the wheel A is transmitted to all
the others. It is merely requisite in that case to allow the bearings to
have a little range, and in calculating the adhesion obtained to take into
account the angle under which the pressure is obtained. When there are two

page_text: wheels on the same axis, having to conduct two other wheels, the axes of which
are parallel, as in Figure 10, it is preferable for the pressure to be applied in
the middle, on the line a, b. It will be well in that arrangement that the
diameters of the wheels 2 and 4, and consequently those of the others 1 and 3,
be as equal as possible, in order that the wear be equal in each pair of grooves.
As the friction will only be of a second order, the wear of the wedge and
channel wheels will be very slight. If the pressure is effected by means of
weights as in Figures 2 and 3, or by means of springs, there will be no need of
alteration if it be effected by means of screws as in Figures 4 and 7, or by
means of keys as in Figure 8; it will be necessary to tighten them a little
every time the wheels begin to slide. If by the effect of long wear the extreme
circumference of the wedge wheel were brought down to the bottom of the
channel wheel, it would be merely necessary to put the wedge wheel upon a
lathe and reduce its diameter a little without touching the inclined sides, for
one of the important properties of this system of wedged shaped grooves or
channels is, that whilst it wears out, it always preserves its regular form, and
even acquires that quality if it did not possess it before. If it were desired to
avoid having to reduce the diameter of the wedge wheel in case it touched the
bottom of the channel, it might be made of two separate pieces a, b, set on an
axis, as shewn in Figure 11, and prevented from separating by means of keys
or bolts c, c, screwed on to the shaft. By that means to repair the effect of
wear, it would be merely necessary to approach the two pieces a, b, a little
nearer.
Figure 12 shews another arrangement for weakening the effect of wear and
tear, which consists of multiplied wheels, which have also the advantage of
diminishing the differences of pressure resulting from the elasticity of the sides
of the channel. As the wedge enters with more rapidity in the channel
according as the angle is more acute, the arrangement shewn in Figure 12 is
principally applicable for very acute angles. As may be seen by this Figure,
the wheel A is provided at its circumference with several projecting parts cut
in the form of a wedge, with its sides inclined to a certain angle. The wheel
B is provided with as many channels made to the same angle, the effect pro-
duced is therefore as if there were several wedge wheels on the same axis, and
the pressure is distributed over all of them. It is advisable to set the two axes
on the same parallel line, so that all the wedges of A may touch the channels
of B, but if they did not touch the wear of the parts which do touch each other,
would soon bring the surfaces into contact, which having a greater range and
less pressure, would last a much longer time. The angles of the channels and
wedges corresponding with them may vary, but it is preferable that they should

page_text: be all at the same angle. Great care must be taken in this new mode of
transmitting motion to have the framework of the carriage very strong, and
that the shafts should not move about, for as it is by the contact that the effect
is produced, it is easy to conceive that the least separation or too near approach
of the wheels, changes the circumstances of action, and either permits them to
slide, or keeps them too tight by increasing the resistance from the friction of
the axles. It will be always better to make the small wheels with the wedge,
and the large ones with a channel. The above principle of the wedge and
channel as herein-before described, as applied to cog wheels placed between
circular wheels, applies also to wheels toothed internally, of an elliptic or other
form similar to those made use of. The same application may be made to cog
wheels, consisting of a rack and wheel, or with ares of circles, and to nearly all
the cog wheels in general. This mode of transmitting motion is employed,
lastly, although with less advantage, for superseding cog wheels, in cases where
bevil gear is required, that is to say, those wheels the axes of which form a
right angle, or any other angle between them.
One of the arrangements which may be employed for that purpose is the one
seen in Figure 13, Drawing II., in which the circumferences of the wheels A
and B, are in part a, a', inclined according to the angle produced by the two
shafts, as in bevil and conical wheels in general, and also in part b, b', inclined
in the contrary direction, so as to clasp tightly between them the wedge wheel
C, C', which is pressed against the wheels A and B by a spring screw, or by a
key in a similar manner as for straight cog wheels. In that case, however, as
each wheel only touches one side of the wedge of the wheel C, only half the
adhesion of straight cog wheels is obtained, which causes the pressure on the
shaft, and consequently the friction to be doubled.
It is impossible to state all the applications to which this new mode of trans-
mitting motion may be applied. Suffice it to state that there is scarcely any case
in which connexions, and principally straight connexions, are employed in
which the new combination may not be substituted with great advantage; it
can be employed also in many cases where ordinary connexions cannot be
employed, as, for instance, in steam boats, in which the attempt to transmit the
motion of the steam engine to the screw by means of toothed wheels have been
hitherto unsuccessful on account of the difficulty of making the wheel small
enough to obtain the necessary rapidity and strong enough to transmit the
motion and resist the shocks of the waves upon the screw. By this mode of
transmitting motion, as may be seen, there is no difficulty in making the
wheels moved by the steam engine of any required size, care being taken to
regulate the ratio of its diameter with that of the wheel of the screw, according

page_text: necessary
for the adhesion to be obtained between the two surfaces, and as that
pressure will be very strong, and the wheel of the screw of small diameter, it is
principally in that case that the contrivances, Figures 5, 6, and 12, are to be
employed for decreasing the friction and wear. The adhesion being limited,
the action of the waves on the screw will not damage the cog wheel, which
slides well at intervals if necessary, in order to give way to the shocks.
APPLICATION OF THE COG AND GROOVE PRINCIPLE TO RAILWAYS AND Loco-
MOTIVE ENGINES.
Figures 14 to 21 Drawing II., shew the different contrivances for carrying
out this part of the Invention. When railways were first constructed it was
thought useful to employ toothed rails, in order to make the locomotive wheels
that propelled the train bite the rails; but that mode of construction was soon
laid aside on account of the difficulties of obtaining the necessary regularity,
and plain and smooth rails have been used ever since. But by the latter mode,
if a heavy load has to be drawn up a gradient, there is not sufficient adhesion
of the wheels to the rails, and it becomes necessary to make use of very heavy
locomotives, the weight of which absorbs a great amount of force. Coupled
wheels have been employed, but they present a powerful resistance on curves;
and many other means have been attempted, such as electro-magnetism, but
which have failed in obtaining the desired result. It is a question of the
greatest importance for railways to find the means of running up steep gradients
without having recourse to large locomotives, and this result is most effectually
obtained by making one or several wheels with grooves or channels, and
wedged rails, by which any amount of adhesion is obtained as completely as
with toothed wheels, without, however, having the faults of the latter. In
Figure 14, A is the section of the spoke of a wheel, the circumference of
which is hollow, and in the form of a rectangular channelling or groove, and
B the section of a rail made with a wedge. It is clear that the adhesion pro-
duced by the weight of the locomotive will be stronger in proportion as the
angle of the wedge A is more acute, thus, by varying the degrees of that angle,
the adhesion may be regulated at discretion. For inclines, I construct the
wheel of the locomotive with the groove A, Figure 14, at its circumference,
made at an angle more or less acute, according to the gradient of the road, and
make it work upon ordinary rails, or upon wedge wheels of the form of B,
Figure 1. In that case it would be necessary to make the motive wheels
smaller, to enable the machine to draw more easily a heavy train. That
arrangement, however, should only be employed on straight lines, or nearly

page_text: straight mes, for rear or the wheels not being able to turn on sharp curves, and
getting off the rails. In order to enable the same machine to continue working
on declivities, I adapt other more elevated rails, Figures 15 and 16, than those
at present employed; and I adapt channel wheels to the locomotives which act
upon those rails, and raise up the large locomotive wheels sufficiently to prevent
them from touching the rails on which the other supplementary wheels which
continue to move, as well as the wheels of the train. By that arrangement there
is this advantage, that everything works alone without any auxiliary assistance, and
that the pressure on the wedge wheels is even greater than that on the motive
wheels, for by raising the latter, the tension of the springs on which the motive axis
is suspended is increased, so that there is no need of stopping or changing during
the progress of the train, and by varying the diameter of the channel wheels,
it affords the means of regulating the speed, so that the machine has the power
of drawing over inclines a train of any weight. Two grooved wheels might be
employed externally on a prolongation of the axle, but the same inconveniences
as above mentioned would occur with regard to curves and irregularities in the
position of the rails. The most suitable arrangement is that of the
cog wheels,
seen in Figures 17, 18, and 19. In Figure 17, A is the motive shaft; B, the
motive wheels; a is a channel wheel fixed to half the shaft A; b, a wedge
wheel, and the grooved wheel, which acts on the rails m; n, frames for
guiding the bearings of the axles c, e, of the wheels b, c. The bearings are
allowed to have a certain range in the grooves of the frame, in order that the
latter should only touch the wheel a when the middle rail raises it. The fault
of this arrangement, which is very simple, is, that the sum of the two diameters
of the wheels b and c, plus the radius of a, cannot exceed the radius of the
wheels b, which is an inconvenience, as it is important that the channel wheel
working the rail should not be too little, as it would catch too much and cause
great friction on its axle. I consider the two arrangements shewn at Figures 18
and 19 preferable. In the first, two wheels a and the two wheels bare adapted,
which have the advantage of allowing the wedge wheels to be made smaller
and of a larger diameter, as also the wheels c. The arrangement in Figure 19
is simpler, as there is only one wedged wheel on the axle of the motive wheels,
and one grooved wheel c underneath, the bearings of which are allowed to
have a certain range, so as to touch the wheel a only on declivities, when the
rail in the middle raises it and forces it against a. By that means the wheel c
although not so large as that in Figure 18, is sufficient to produce less friction.
The only objection to the latter arrangements is, that the wheel c, turning in a
reverse directon to a, makes the locomotive move backward; which inconvenience
is, however, easy to be remedied. For that purpose it is merely requisite to shut

page_text: off the steam when a gradient occurs, and where the third rail is placed so as
to allow the machine to advance after the wheel c has ascended the third rail
the steam must be put on to make the locomotive go backwards, and then it
goes forward. When the gradient is passed the steam must also be shut off
to allow the wheel c of the third rail to be lowered at the acquired speed of the
train. Then the locomotive is placed for working forward, and will continue
its progress to; provide against the contingency of the locomotive not having
sufficient power to maintain the motion upwards, it would be well to put the
third rail down a few feet beyond the gradient on the even road, and only then
shut off the steam, and open the regulator as soon as the large motive wheels
are lowered on to the. rails. As, however, it occurs that the wheel B and c
touch the rails at the same time, a very great shock might occur at the moment
when the wheels B alter their direction, on account of the opposition produced,
not only by the speed acquired by their mass, but also by their friction against
the rails. To remedy this inconvenience, I adapt, at the commencement of
the third rail, a flat and broad iron rail, Figures 15 and 16, c', on which is set the
extreme periphery of the wheel c, which slides on that easy surface more freely
than on the wedge wheel. Two small inclined planes might be disposed on
the two sides of the rail, and two rollers adapted to them, and fixed to the
frame f which supports the wheel c. By that means, when the wheel c ascends
the rail, and the wheels B are raised, therefore they will offer no other resist-
ance for inverting the direction than the force of their mass, which is of little
importance in proportion to the mass of the train. It may be observed, that in
all the above arrangements, according to the rates of diameter of the wheels,
I can vary the ratio between the speed and the circumference of the wheels B
and c, and consequently that of the locomotive wheel. By this mode a loco-
motive is enabled to draw any required weight up the. highest incline, care
being taken to make the weight and the force of the machine correspond with
the angle of the groove and the diameters of the wheels, so that the more rapid
the incline, or greater the weight to be moved, so much more the movement
should be slow or the force increased. The same adhesion which enables loco-
motives to pass over declivities will serve for stopping them when descending,
if the wedge wheel is fixed by one of the ordinary breaks to prevent it from
turning, or if a certain resistance to that action be applied, or merely by
changing the direction of the steam so as to push it backwards; by that means
perfect safety may be secured in the descent.
Another improvement consists in applying the principle of the transmission
of motion to locomotives and steam engines for varying the ratio of their
velocity. The arrangement employed for that purpose is similar to that shewn
in Figure 19; with this difference, however, that the wheels a and c, instead

page_text: of being independent, and conducting each other only when the wheel c is
raised on the third rail, are united together by means of the arrangements
shewn in Figures 7 and 8. It is also necessary that the rods of the pistons,
instead of being attached to the axle A, should be fixed to the axle e, e, of the
wheel c by means of two axles, as seen in Figure 20. Thus the wheel c will
conduct the other wheel a, and thence the motive wheel B; now if c has a
diameter twice or three times larger than a, at every double stroke of the
piston c-that is, at each rotation of the wheel c-the wheels a and B will
perform two or three rotations. Thus, if the locomotive be made to move at
the same speed, the pistons will perform one half or one third of the double
strokes in a given time, by which a great economy of force and combustible
will be effected, the necessity for repairing the machine be diminished, and its
wear increased; it will render the motion of the locomotive much easier,
by decreasing the checks produced by the excessive speed of the pistons. If it
were desirable to accelerate considerably the speed of the locomotive, and keep
the pistons at the usual speed, the latter should be made larger, and a greater
quantity of steam proportionately produced. The wheels a and c must in that
case be pressed against each other by means of a bridle, as herein described, in
Figures 7 and 8, Drawing I., with a force which may be calculated in the same
manner as for the cog wheels. Thus, supposing the diameter of the locomotive
wheels to be six and a half feet, and the diameter of the small wheel a four-
teen inches, and that of the wheel c two inches, the weight of the train being
one hundred tons, and the angle of the wedge and groove c ten degrees, the
following calculation is deducible:-The resistance to be overcome is one ton
on the circumference of the motive wheels, and six and one third tons at the
circumference of the primitive circle of this wedge wheel a. Now, as the ratio
between friction and pressure of steel upon iron is 0,202, and as the angle of
the pressure is 11,450 times greater than with even surfaces, the ratio of the
pressure to the load ought to be 0,202 x 11,450 =2-31, to 1, and con-
sequently the necessary pressure is 7000 lbs. = 30, 30 lbs. On account of the
great pressure and trouble occasioned by taking down the large wheels of the
locomotives, it is desirable to adopt in that case one of the arrangements
of Figures 11 and 12. The arrangements in Figures 19 and 20 being nearly
the same, they can be employed for the same purpose by adopting the rods of
the pistons to the axle e, making the wheels a and c of the proper diameters,
and uniting them by means of bridles; then, at each double piston stroke, the
locomotive will advance twice the circumference of the wheel B, if the ratio of
the wheel a to the wheel c be as 1 to 2, and 3 times of the ratio be as 1 to 3.
When a declivity occurs the middle rail raises the wheels c and a, and the loco-
motive advances. at each stroke of the piston only twice the circumference of
2,31
-

page_text: the wheel c, the wheels B continuing to move at the ordinary speed without
touching the rails, and performing the functions of fly wheels. Figure 21 is
the application of the system to an ordinary locomotive, for which the only
difference required is, the addition of the wedged wheels c and a, and that the
cylinders be placed lower than usual.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention communicated
to me, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that
I do not confine myself to the precise details of proportions, or mode of con-
structing, provided the principle of the said Invention be retained, nor do I
claim the same.
But what I do claim as of the Invention communicated to me, and intended
to be protected by the said Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, the mode of transmitting motion by means of wedge and grooved
wheels, in lieu of straps, bands, toothed wheels, and other similar means as
herein-before described and referred to in reference to Figures 1 to 12 of
Drawing I., and Figures 13 of Drawing II.
Secondly, in the application of the said wedge and groove principle, com-
bined or separately, to the construction of railways and locomotive engines, to
obtain greater adherence between the two surfaces when required, as herein
described and referred to in reference to Figures 14 to 21 of Drawing II.
Thirdly, the mode of changing the ratio of the speed of pistons in steam and
locomotive engines, as herein described and referred to in reference to
Figures 17, 18, 19, and 20, of Drawing II.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine.
Moreau, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day
of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
two