IMPROVEMENTS IN TRUCKS FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Levi Bissell, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TRUCKS FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES."
Sealed the 29th April 1859, and dated the 1st December 1858:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Levi Bissell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st December 1858.
I, LEVI BISSELL, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN TRUCKS FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES," to be as follows:-
I provide a frame in a triangular or other form, on the under side of which
are affixed a pair of pillar blocks receiving the journal boxes of the axle of a
pair of truck wheels. This frame and wheels are so located relatively with the
engine and driving wheels as to occupy nearly the position of the ordinary
forward or truck wheels of the locomotive, and the said triangular frame:
extending back under the engine is attached by and swings laterally on, a bolt.
or pin located centrally of the engine and between the 'drivers and the said
pair of truck wheels; hence, as the engine enters or leaves a curved track, the.

page_text: said truck wheels receive a lateral motion beneath the forward end of the
engine, causing the engine to move more freely, and avoiding the liability to
run off the track or wear the flanges of the wheels. The forward part of the
engine rests on the aforesaid triangular frame through one or more double
inclined planes and bearing blocks, the action of which is to steady the engine
in running on a straight track, and to overcome the inertia in entering or
leaving a curve.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Levi Bissell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
31st May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEVI
BISSELL, of the City and State of New York, United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of December, A.D. One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Levi
Bissell, Her special license that I, the said Levi Bissell, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Levi Bissell, 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 TRUCKS FOR LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Levi Bissell,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Levi Bissell, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is. to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-

page_text: Fig. 1 is a side view of a locomotive fitted with my improvement; Fig. 2 is
a plan, shewing the position of the truck and wheels on the track, the other
parts of the engine being removed; and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the
truck and inclined bearing blocks. Similar marks of reference denote the
same parts in all the Figs.
In Letters Patent granted to me under date of May 5th, 1857, an engine is
shewn having a truck with four wheels (or more), and the said truck is so
fitted that it turns laterally of the engine to accommodate the curvature of the
track, allowing the main driving wheels and engine to occupy a tangential
position to the track, while the axles of the truck wheels in consequence of
said lateral movement occupy a position parallel to the radial line of the
curved track; hence the engine would run around a curve with but little
friction or tendency to mount and run off the outer rail.
The peculiar points of the said Invention and Patent will be more fully
apparent by reference thereto, suffice to say that it was contemplated said
Invention would be mainly applicable to engines having four or more
truck wheels. I have, however, since devised and perfected a manner of
applying some features of the aforesaid Patent to engines having but two
truck wheels.
My present Invention, therefore, is an improvement on the aforesaid
Patent, and consists in the application of a rigid truck frame set and moving
on a fixed centre that is located between the centre of the driving wheels and
the truck wheels; and said frame carries the journal boxes of said truck
wheels, and sustains the forward end of the locomotive on double inclined
bearing blocks resting on double inclined bearings on said truck frame. By
this means two truck wheels can be used in consequence of the fixed
centre, where the truck frame is attached to the boiler, becoming a bearing
point to steady and sustain the two truck wheels, thus providing a secure
and durable attachment for a single pair of movable truck wheels on a loco-
motive engine.
In the Drawing a, a, are the bars of the track; bis the frame of the
engine, illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.; d, d, are the driving wheels,
which may be one or more pairs; e, e, are the truck wheels on a shaft c that
passes through journal boxes set in standards on the frame f, and rubber or
other springs are to be provided to the aforesaid boxes, as usual. The frame f
is attached to the under side of the boiler or to the engine frame by a king
bolt h, which becomes a centre of lateral motion for the truck, and also
affords a rigid attachment to sustain the frame in a horizontal position, and

page_text: prevent it vibrating from the wheels passing inequalities or obstructions on the
track. Between the boiler or the engine frame (b) and the said truck
frame (f) I introduce double inclined bearings, so that the engine rests on to
or is connected to the said truck frame at the centre h and the said bearings.
These bearings are formed of double inclined blocks n that rest in double
inclined boxes o, and there may be one, two, or more of such bearings placed
between the engine and the truck in any convenient position, and the inclinės
(0, 0,) are to be sufficiently long to allow of the requisite lateral motion of the
truck to the right or left. Where two of these bearings are used the blocks n, n,
are connected to each other by a bar m that is attached to the engine or frame
by a centre bolt or pin.
In order to prevent the forward part of the truck dropping away from the
engine if the latter is raised for repairs or otherwise, a king bolt may be used
in a curved slot (g) with the head or nut below the frame, although the check
chains usually employed may be sufficient for this purpose.
It will now be apparent that with two truck wheels I accomplish the
purposes set forth in my aforesaid Patent, where four or more truck wheels
were. required, for when the engine strikes a curve the driving wheels and
engine frame maintain a tangential position with the track in running around
the curve, while the truck wheels move laterally on the centre h, and the
axle c comes into the radial line of the curve, while the inertia of the forward
part of the engine is counteracted and expanded by the bearing blocks n
running up the inclines o, and partially raising the front part of the engine.
It will be apparent that the bearing blocks and inclines (n, o,) may be directly
over the axle c, or to the front or rear of that position, and also that the angle
of the inclines must be regulated according to the weight and general velocity
of the engine. When the locomotive is running on a straight track, the
blocks n resting in the lower parts of the bearings o prevent lateral movement
or shaking from the operation of the engine.
Having thus described the nature and operation of my said Invention,
I wish it to be understood that I do not claim a single pair of wheels having
a lateral motion, as the same have been proposed for carriages and also for
locomotives, but in such cases they have moved on flat bearing plates, and
'there was nothing to prevent the truck from maintaining an angular position
to the drivers when travelling on a straight line; by my Invention this is
prevented, because the inclines combined and acting as set forth bring the
truck to its proper position as the engine passes off the curve on to a straight
track. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is, the

page_text: rigid truck frame f, attached to the engine by the bolt or pin h, and receiving
one pair of truck wheels in combination with the double inclined bearings (n, o,)
for the purposes and substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Levi Bissell, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Third day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witnesses,
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
289, Broadway,
New York.
THOMAS G. HAROLD,
289, Broadway,
New York.
LEVI BISSELL. (L.S.)