CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK.
CAYLEY WORSLEY, of Holywell Street, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fourteenth day of February, in the second year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Frederick Cayley Worsley, my exors, admors and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Frederick Cayley.
Worsley, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such other persons as I or
they should agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of fourteen years therein expressed, should and lawful
might make, use, exercise and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND
CARRIAGES," in such manner as I, the said Frederick Cayley Worsley, my
exors, admors, and assigns, in my or their discretion shall seem meet; in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Frederick
Cayley Worsley, within the space of six calendar months to be computed from.
the date of the said Letters Patent, to cause to be inscribed by writing under
my hand and seal, in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery aforesaid, a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same is to be performed and carried into effect, 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
Frederick Cayley Worsley, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention consists in certain improvements in locomotive engines and carriages,
which I enumerate under the following heads or summary (that is to say):-
1st. An improvement in the form and materials of the wheels of the
carriages and engines, whereby a certain degree of elasticity is obtained in the
spokes thereof.
2nd. Improved modes of stopping a train by modifications of the brakes
thereof.
3rd. An improved application of toothed wheels or other like machinery
for transmitting the motion from the working cylinder to the driving wheel,
by which the power of the engines is more effectually applied to propel the
engine and carriages along the railway.
4th. Improvements in the construction of the boilers of locomotive
engines.
5th. An improved valve for working the steam expansively in the cylinders,
and giving to the engineer the power of adjusting the same when the engine
is running, so as to allow the engines to work more or less expansively as
the resistance may render necessary.
6th. An apparatus capable of adjustment, to be placed underneath the grate
bars, which, when the engine is in rapid motion, causes a strong current of air
to be forced into the fire, and capable of being increased or decreased at
pleasure.
7th. An improvement in the mode of supplying the boiler with water, by
placing a certain vessel which I call a pump reservoir in a convenient place
upon the engine framing.
8th. A method of preventing the sediment or earthy matter in the water
from adhering to the interior of the boiler as at present, by dissolving therein a
certain material hereafter specified.
9th. The application of a new material to form the teeth or cogs of toothed
wheels, and for bearings of axles.
10th. Connecting the carriages by means of springs so arranged as to super-
side the use of the ordinary buffers at present used. And,
11th. An improved gear for reversing the motion of the engine.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Frederick Cayley
Worsley, do hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be

page_text: performed by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon (that is to,
say):-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
The wheels in Figure 3 represent my improvement No. 1, which consists in
the form of the double spokes a¹, a¹, a', a¹ a¹, a¹, and in making them of steel,
whereby a considerable elasticity is obtained, besides saving about one-half of the.
weight. These are secured to the rim by rivets b', b, 6, 6, 6, the ends being filed
or turned to fit accurately, and the nave or centre c', c', is formed of cast iron
poured when in a fluid state round the inner ends of the spokes, as in the
ordinary malleable iron wheels.
My improvements No. 2 are represented by the Drawing, Figures 1, 2, &
5, and consist of an apparatus by which the resistance or drag of the train is at
pleasure made to force the breaks against the tires of the wheels, and may be
thus described:-b, b, Figure 2, represents a carriage in connexion with the
engine or its tender. d is a connection of any of the usual forms by which a
train is at present connected with the engine; e, e, is a chain which moves the
brakes f, g, by the lever h. Now, when it is required to put this brake in
action the lever j is moved in a direction from the engine, which slacks the
connection d, and pulls upon e, e, and thus the whole drag of the train will be
transferred to the rod or chain e, e, which will therefore press the brakes f, g,
against the tire of their respective wheels, with a force equivalent to the
resistance of the following train. It is obvious that, if necessary, the same
principle may be applied to any or all of the carriages of the train, though
in general one or two nearest the engine will be sufficient to stop the train.
Figure 5 represents another modification of drag or brake wherein the
retardation or resistance of the engine or preceding carriage or carriages also
brings the brake into action upon the wheel; thus, a is the ordinary buffer,
having the usual transverse buffer spring b; when, therefore, the preceding
carriage or engine is retarded the buffer is thrown backwards, and brings
the point 6 of the spring to press upon the spring c, forming the lever of
the brake d, which is thereby pushed upon the periphery of the wheel c.
By the retardation thus effected, the buffer f is pushed against the spring g,
and thus the brake his also made to act upon the wheels i, and thus
every carriage in the train has its own self-acting brakes pressing on the.
wheels in the proportion of the resistance communicated to the preceding
portion of the train as opposed to the impetus of the train. These brakes
would of course cease to act the moment the engine is again in action.

page_text: Figure 1 represents a third modification of brakes which is intended to be
applied to the tender, engine, or first carriage in the train. a is a brake con-
nected by a link to the bearing m, above the centre of the wheel; when
therefore the rod c is moved the brake is moved therewith, but as the link b
has its centre above that of the wheel, and is a shorter radius than the wheel
itself, it will, on being brought in contact with the wheel, bind or press on its
periphery with a power proportioned to the velocity of the wheel.
A method of applying this apparatus in case of the engine or tender getting
off the rails may be explained by reference to Diagrams, Figures 6 and 7,
when used in place of connexion a, Figure 1. This consists of a connection
termed a lewis, applied between the engine and tender, or between the tender
and first carriage. Its principle will readily be seen by the plan and elevation,
Figures 6 and 7; a is attached to the framing, and has a mortice b, with
recesses c, c, cut horizontally through it. There are also two vertical mortices d
at right angles to b; tlie bar or lever e is attached to the next carriage, and has
a pin f, f, fitting the vertical mortices d, d, and a square enlarged end piece g
fitting the grooves or recesses c, c. In its position, Figure 6, (that is to say,)
when the part a and the bar care in the same line, the two cannot be
separated or pulled asunder, but if the bar be moved to the position of the
dotted lever h, the square end g would be liberated from the recesses c, c, and
be disconnected. When, therefore, a and e are applied between two of the
train, and the preceding one gets off the rails, they will cease to be in the same
line, and the connection will be broken. Now, conceiving this apparatus
attached to the brake, Figure 1, at a, if the same connection was broken the
brake a would fall down upon the periphery of the wheel, and would press upon
it with a power proportioned to the velocity of the wheel, as before described.
I shall now describe my improvement No. 3, which is illustrated by
Figure 3, in which, however, I have only shewn so much of the whole loco-
motive engine as may be useful in shewing the relative position of my third
improvement with that of the rest of the machinery; in ordinary locomotive
engines the cranked axle is the axle of the propelling wheels, but in my
arrangement it is secured to the framing of the engines and boiler by plum-
mer blocks. The motion of my cranked axle is therefore uniformly circular,
instead of describing the irregular line of rotation which the present cranked
axles (by the vibration of the springs) necessarily produce. The propelling
wheels k, k, are affixed to a straight axle 1, which is attached to the springs
m, m, and can only vibrate in the curved mortice n, n, which is a segment of a
circle struck from the centre of the crank axis o; when, therefore, a play of

page_text: the springs m, m, is produced, the two axes land o remain equidistant from
each other. At each of the outer ends of the crank axis is a toothed wheel q,
(though of course only one of them can be seen in the side elevation,
Figure 3) and there are also affixed upon the axle two toothed wheels »
in the same planes as the wheel q, and are in gear therewith. The relative
diameters of these wheels q, r, will depend on the relative velocities required.
The object of this arrangement is to cause the power of the engines, to be
always applied to the driving wheel downward in a perpendicular direction,
that being the direction in which the greatest pressure or bite will be caused
of the driving wheel on the rail, and the least loss of power consequently
sustained by slip.
Figure 4, reference being at the same time had to Figure 3, will serve to
illustrate my fourth improvement, which is in boilers. The boiler I here
propose to use consists of a series of cylindric tubes or vessels a, a, a, a, a, a,
and b, b, b, b, which are rivetted to the front part c; these tubes or vessels are
about six inches in diameter, and the line of b, d, is the water line. The range.
of smaller tubes marked e form the fire bars, which are connected at their
upper ends to the vertical tubes marked f, and at their lower ends to the water
space g; when, therefore, by ebullition the water rises through the smaller
tubes marked e, a fresh supply enters from c, and thus a constant circulation
of water is kept up through the smaller tubes c.
The tubes a, a, a, a, a, a, it will be seen, are not equidistant from each other,
being nearer at the centre where the heat naturally concentrates; the object of
this is to divide the heat evenly over the evaporating surface of both the
upper and lower tubes, the upper tubes marked b being placed in contact with
each other, by which means the heat is conducted to the chimney at the
opposite end of the boiler.
It. will also be observed that the 'ash-pit, plate A, A, is placed at an angle
so that the vibration of the engine when in action may cause the ashes
to fall out; 1, 2, 3, and 4 are cylindric tubes or vessels set at the same angle
as the smaller tubes marked e, and form the sides of the fire-place,
and are rivetted into the end c, and connected at the other end by the
vertical tubes f to the two outer tubes a, a. Figures 8 shew a modification
of my improvement, No. 4, as applied to the locomotive boilers now in use.
a, a, a, a, a, is an end view of a series of tubes inserted into the fire box c;
but in place of having these tubes or the apertures leading to them of one
uniform diameter, and at regular distances, they are (as will be seen) of
diameters and distances relatively increasing as they are further from the point b,
which I suppose to be the point where the flame would be most intense, or, in

page_text: other words, the centre of heat. d, Figure 8, is a range of tubes performing the
office of fire bars, as already described, having the sloping position and elastic
connection, as in Figure 3.
My improvement No. 5 is represented by Diagram, Figure 9, which
shews the same in a horizontal section; a, a, is a portion of the slide
box; b, b, b, part of the steam passages; c, c, is a cylinder cast with the
steam chest, and accurately bored out; d is a thin cylinder bored and
turned inside and out, and accurately fitting the interior of c, c; it has a
cavity at its side communicating with the steam chest a, a. It is capable of
being moved longitudinally by the screw and handle e, e; f is a third cylinder,
which is worked by means of the spindle or rod k, and makes (by means of
toothed wheels) two strokes for every revolution of the crank axis; g is the
steam pipe from the boiler, and when f is in its present position the steam can
pass into the steam chest a, a; but if f be moved to the dotted line i, i, the
passage is shut and the steam cannot enter the cylinder. Now, by regulat-
ing the position of the cylinder d, the motion of the inner one f will cause the
aperture to be shut sooner or later at pleasure, and thus the steam may be
admitted for any portion of the stroke or during the whole stroke, if required;
or, supposing the sides of the cylinder f near the part h, and the same side of
the cylinder d to be flat plates moving over a flat surface, the same effect will
be produced.
My improvement No. 6 is represented in its proper place in the engine at
Figure 3. It consists of a curved plate w, equal to the width of the ash-pit,
affixed to an axis v, and moveable by the dotted levert. A, A, Figure 3, is
the ash-pit, and the arrow shews the direction in which the engine is supposed
to be running, when it is obvious that the air which impinges against the
angular surface of w will be directed into the fire through an opening at the
lower part of the ash-pit; and also that by moving the handle, so that this
regulator is either more vertical or more horizontal, the current of air can be
increased or decreased at pleasure, so that the intensity of combustion may by
this means be regulated according to the quantity of steam required.
In the present system of locomotive engines the feed to the boiler is sup-
plied from the tender by means of a flexible hose or pipes with universal
joints, both of which, from the pressure they have to undergo by the action
of the pump and the motion between the engine and tender, are liable to
frequent derangement, and many disastrous consequences have followed the
loss of water in the boiler. I propose to obviate this evil by the application of my
improvement No. 7, which consists of a tank or reservoir ax, Figure 3, placed
on the engine carriage. This reservoir is a cistern of a suitable form, and

page_text: regulated by a ball cock from the tender, and is placed immediately above
the feed pumps, the connecting pipe of which may be of any of the usual
constructions, and will allow the water to flow into the reservoir a x to the proper
level, and the pumps are fed from the said reservoir by means of inflexible
pipes like those of ordinary fixed engines.
My improvement No. 8 is, as I have already stated, to prevent the adhesion
of earthy matter to the interior surfaces of my boiler. I effect this by intro-
ducing a sufficient supply of soap into the water used in the boiler to cause
a milky appearance, and this soap being a compound of alkali and grease,
and soluble in water, combines with the lime, &c., in solution, in the water,
and subsides in a pulpy substance like marl, and does not adhere to boilers,
but can be blown out when necessary. It is impossible to fix any exact
quantity of soap as the proper proportion, as that would depend on the
quality of the water; but the engineer would soon find on using it how much
would effect the desired object.
My improvement No. 9 is in the materials of the teeth or cogs of cogged
wheels, and consists in making the cogs thereof of horn, which I effect by
cutting out the most solid part of bullocks' horns, and softening the same
by heat in the usual manner, and placing one (or more if requisite) in an iron
mould of the form of the intended tooth or cog, when, by using pressure, as
in the case of other articles moulded from horn, the horn will be pressed
into the desired shape, and a perfect tooth will thereby be formed; it is
scarcely necessary to state that the piece or pieces of horn should be so placed
in the mould that the fibre of the horn would radiate from the centre of the
wheel. The teeth of the cogged wheels 9, shewn in Figure 3, will be made
of horn by the same means; this material can be readily formed into bearings
for axles.
My improvement No. 10 is represented by Diagram, Figure 11, and consists
of an arrangement of springs which I propose to use as a substitute for the
present system of buffers, and also as the mode of connecting the train
together. It consists of two plate springs, of the form shewn in the Drawing,
cach connected by clips or bolts to the points a and b of the carriages; the
ends of the springs are turned round to fit connecting pins c, c, which therefore
form a coupling, which can be connected or disconnected at pleasure.
My improvement No. 11 is represented by Figure 10, and is intended as a
substitute for the ordinary reversing gear of locomotive engines;,, are the
excentric rods, worked in the usual way from the crank axis. In each of
these rods there is a slot or mortice a, a, and horns y, y. The forked
lever w, w, has pins 1, 1, fitting into the slots x, x. It will, therefore, be

page_text: seen that by shifting the lever 2, either from its present position to the dotted
line or the reverse, the excentric rods will be alternately put in and out of
gear, and the excentrics at the opposite angles upon the axis will thereby be
caused to act upon the valve lever 3, and thus the action of the steam upon
the piston be reversed:
Having now fully described the nature of my said improvements, and the
manner in which the same are to be performed, I hereby declare that I lay no
claim to the several parts of locomotive engines and carriages here drawn
and described, which are in general use; but that I claim as my Invention
as follows:-
In No. 1, I claim as a new combination the affixing the tire to the-faced
or fitted ends of the double spokes of wheels, as shewn in Figure 3, and the
use of steel in the manufacture of the said spokes.
In No. 2, I claim the different modes of acting upon the brakes illustrated,
which are respectively brought into action as already described.
directly to the axle of the driving
purpose, at the same time that it
cranked axis with reference to the
In No. 3, I claim the application of the power of the engines (through the
medium of a second motion) to the driving wheel, which has a straight axle,
as herein-before described, and which second motion produces a tendency in
the propelling wheels to bite more uniformly and steadily on the rail than
when the power of the engine is applied
wheel, that axle being cranked for the
enables me to have a fixed bearing for the
cylinders; and it may here be stated, that in order to secure the greatest effect
the wheels q and r of this second motion should be placed in such relative
positions as to cause the pressure from the wheel q to take effect on the
wheel in a line perpendicular to the rail or road.
In No. 4, I claim the mode of arranging the tubes a, a, a, a, a, a, in
Figures 4 and 8, so that the spaces are greater between them the further they
are from the centre of the fire, so that the flame or heat is compelled to diverge
and pass more equally between the said tubes so as to give an equal heat to
the whole range of the upper tubes. I also claim the mode of arranging these
upper tubes, Figures 3 and 4, by placing them in contact with each other so
as to conduct the fire to the chimney without passing between them. And
I also claim the bent copper tubes m, as forming an elastic connection and
allowing for expansion under all variations of temperature.
In No. 5, I claim the application of such an expansive valve as shewn in
Figure 9, and as herein-before is described, for the purposes before mentioned.
In No. 6, I claim the application of what I call the adjusting draft door to
the purpose I have described.

page_text: In No. 7, I claim the use of the pump tank ax, placed on the engine and
applied in the manner described.
In No. 8, I claim the use of soap or any combination of grease and alkali
for the purpose before set forth.
In No. 9, I claim the use of horn for the manufacture of teeth or cogs for
cogged or toothed wheels or other gear wheels, and for the bearings of
axles.
In No. 10, I claim the mode of coupling carriages to engines or to each
other by springs, arranged as shewn in Figure 11.
And in No. 11, I claim the curved slots or mortices X, X, and the forked
lever W, W, as applied to reverse the motion of the engine.
And such my improvements being to the best of my knowledge and belief
entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her said
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, nor in any of Her
said Majesty's Colonies or Plantations abroad, I do hereby declare this
to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said
Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve or disguise
with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
contained; wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and
privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Cayley Worsley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of August, in the year of
Laul Own thousand night hundred and thinte ning
F. C. (L.S.)
WORSLEY.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of August, in
the year of our Lord 1839, the aforesaid Frederick Cayley Worsley came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and speci-
fied, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.