AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Willard Brigham Farwell, of the City and State
of New York, United States of America, now of Frankfort-on-
the-Maine, in the Kingdom of Prussia, for the Invention of
66
AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING RAILWAY
CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 29th December 1868, and dated the 14th July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Willard Brigham
Farwell at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th July 1868.
I, WILLARD BRIGHAM FARWELL, of the City and State of New
York, United States of America, now of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, in
the Kingdom of Prussia, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING
RAILWAY CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
To accomplish the object of this Invention steam pipes are employed
provided with ball-and-socket perforated joints, through which the steam
passes and by which all vertical, lateral, and intermediate motions are
provided for. A single joint of pipe slides into these larger pipes with

page_text: a raised hub in the centre to prevent disconnection by its entering
more than half its length into either of the larger pipes. Funnel-shaped
openings and stuffing boxes are formed on the large pipes to admit
of the ready entrance of the connecting pipe and to secure close packing
to prevent the escape of steam. The coupling by which the railway
carriages are held together prevents the separation of the pipes, while
the smaller pipe sliding in the larger one through the packing provides
for all longitudinal motion between the carriages. A groove for packing
surrounds the ball in each socket to secure close joints and to prevent
the escape of steam. The steam pipes are so arranged in the railway
carriages that the water accumulating from the condensation of the
steam is discharged. The pipes may be arranged in coils running
across the floor, or they may be simply single pipes running under-
neath the rear of each compartment or otherwise, the plan embodied
in this Invention being simply to conduct the steam pipes through
the carriages over successive inclinations, by which the water accumu-
lating from the condensation of the steam flows into reservoirs or
traps, from which it is discharged in the manner herein-after described.
The coil of steam pipes is so arranged underneath the floor of a com-
partment in a railway carriage as to incline downwards into a trap
or reservoir into which the water accumulating from the condensation
of the steam flows. There are two methods of discharging the water.
First, by means of a hollow float valve, which is kept down or closed
by the pressure of the steam until the water rises above it, when the
valve is raised by its own buoyancy, and the water allowed to escape
until it descends again to a level the height of which is equal to the
diameter of the valve; the water it will therefore be seen cannot
reach a level above the height of the valve float when the latter is
closed. Secondly, a syphon is employed which discharges the water
from the reservoir or trap whenever it reaches the top of the bend
of the same. The escape of steam is prevented by either of these
devices, and by this simple method the water is discharged from the
pipes, so that the steam shall have free passage through the whole
length of the pipes from carriage to carriage. Stop-cocks or throttle
valves may be arranged at each connection to shut off steam when-
ever necessary. The steam may be supplied from the boiler of the
locomotive or from a small separate boiler carried in a
box railway
carriage with fuel and water for the same. It is beleived, however,
that the locomotive boiler will ordinarily supply a sufficient quantity

page_text: SPECIFICATION m pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Latent,
filed by the said Willard Brigham Farwell in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLARD
BRIGHAM FARWELL, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America, now of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, in the Kingdom of Prussia,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Willard Brigham Farwell, Her special
licence that I, the said Willard Brigham Farwell, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Willard Brigham
Farwell, 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
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING RAILWAY CARRIAGES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Willard Brigham
Farwell, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Willard Brigham Farwell, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing, forming a part of this Specification :-
Figure 1 represents the exterior of the steam pipes connecting the

page_text: railway carriages; Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same. A, A,
are ball-and-socket perforated joints through which the steam passes,
by which all vertical, lateral, and intermediate motions are provided
for; B is a single joint of pipe sliding into the larger pipes C, C,
with a raised hub in the centre to prevent disconnection by its entering
more than half its length into each of the larger pipes; D, D, are
funnel-shaped openings to admit of the ready and easy entrance of the
connecting pipe B, through the stuffing boxes at E, E, which latter
secure close packing and prevent the escape of steam. The coupling
by which the railway carriages are held together prevents the separation
of the pipes B and C, while the former sliding into the latter with
telescopic action provides for all the longitudinal motion between the
carriages; F, F, are grooves for packing surrounding the balls in each
socket to secure close joints and prevent the escape of steam; G, G,
are sections of the steam heating pipes inside the carriages showing
their junction with the connections between the carriages.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the railway carriages showing the
arrangement of the steam pipes upon the system of ascents and descents
claimed in this Invention, their lowest points passing into and through
the reservoirs or traps c provided as receptacles for the water accumulating
from the condensation of the steam. A are pipes and joints forming
the flexible connection between the carriages, as shown in Figure 2; B
are the steam heating pipes, running in coils underneath the seats in
successive ascents and descents into and through the reservoirs or
traps C, the water accumulating from the condensation of steam flows
into these reservoirs and escapes therefrom in the manner herein-after
described.
Figure 4 represents the floors of the railway carriages shewing the
method of arranging the steam pipes for the purpose of heating the
carriages. A are the connecting pipes and joints, as shown in Figure 2,
B are the small reservoirs or traps into which the water from the
condensation of the steams flows. The dotted lines are the pipes for
conveying the steam and diffusing the heat running transversely across
each compartment beneath the seats of the carriages. The said pipes
may be arranged in any other manner, or the steam may be conveyed
into heaters with bottoms converging to one point in the centre or
elsewhere so as to convey the water from the condensation of the steam
into proper reservoirs or receptacles so as to be discharged therefrom in

page_text: being simply conducting the steam through the carriages composing the
train through successive ascents and descents, by which the water
accumulating from the condensation of steam flows into reservoirs or
traps, from which it is discharged without permitting the escape of
steam.
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent longitudinal sections of the traps or
reservoirs above referred to. Two methods of discharging the water
are shown.
In Figure 5, A is a hollow float valve, which is kept down
in its seat by the pressure of the steam until the water rises above it,
when the valve rises by its own buoyancy, and the water flows out through
the pipe B until it descends again to the level of the top of the valve.
It will therefore be seen that the water cannot at any time reach a
level above the height of the valve when the latter is closed.
a, a,
are guards to prevent the valve A from becoming at any time displaced.
Figure 6 is a cross section of Figure 5 showing the construction of the
reservoir or trap; Figure 7 shows the syphon principle which discharges
the water from the reservoir or trap when it reaches the top of the
pipe A, B being a bell-shaped cap fitting over the pipe A, as shown
in the Drawing, which forms the equivalent of the syphon; Figure 8 is
a cross section of Figure 7 showing the construction of the same. The
escape of steam is prevented by these devices, and by this simple method
the water is discharged from the pipes so that the steam shall have free
passage throughout the whole length of the pipes from carriage to
carriage. Stop-cocks or valves may be arranged at each connection or
elsewhere to shut off steam whenever necessary.
Figures 9, 10, and 11 represent the method of using the waste steam
of locomotives for the purpose of heating the railway carriages drawn
by the same through the medium of the apparatus above described
and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. This method consists
in tapping either the blast pipes which take the waste steam from the
cylinder into the chimney of the locomotive at a point near the junction
of such blast pipe with the valve boxes or cylinders, or the valve boxes
themselves, and affixing pipes in such a manner as to conduct a small
part of such waste steam through pipes and connections, as heretofore
described, for the purpose of heating the carriages composing the train,
at the same time leaving enough of such waste steam to escape into

page_text: the chimney in the usual manner to produce all the draft necessary in
running such locomotive.
In Figure 9, A represents sections of the blast pipes which take the
waste steam from the cylinders into the chimney of the locomotive; B
represents the smaller pipes leading from the same which conduct a
small portion of the waste steam for heating purposes as above described;
C represents the points of junction of the pipes A and B, showing the
opening of the lesser pipe extending into the blast pipe for the purpose
of intercepting and taking a supply of waste steam for such heating
purposes; D represents the point of junction of the pipes B on the
upper surface of the boiler; E is a reservoir into which the steam passes
from the pipes B through a valve at F with the escape of steam at each
stroke of the pistons; with each reversal of the pistons the valve closes.
The steam being forced into the reservoir E through the pipes B
becomes compressed in the said reservoir, and escapes through the
lesser pipe G in a steady current, and is led away for heating purposes
through the pipes and connections herein-before described.
Figure 10 is a side elevation of Figure 9. A is a side view of the blast
pipe which conducts the waste steam into the chimney of the locomotive,
and a is the mouth of the said pipe where it joins the valve box; B is
the branch pipe for conducting away a portion of the waste steam for
heating purposes, and C is the mouth of the same opening into the
blast pipe A; D is the point of junction with the pipe leading from the
opposite cylinder on the upper surface of the boiler; E is the reservoir,
as shown in Figure 9; F is the valve opening into the same; and G the
lesser pipe leading from the reservoir through which the steam is led
away for heating purposes.
Figure 11 is a top view of the pipes shown in Figures 9 and 10.
A represents the blast pipe, the mouth of the same opening upwards
into the chimney; and B the branch pipes taking the steam from
the blast pipes for heating purposes; C is the junction of the branch
pipes with the blast pipe; D is the junction of the pipes B upon
the upper surface of the boiler; and E the reservoir, shown in
Figures 9 and 10. The reservoir and valve arrangement may be placed
either as shown in the Drawings, that is to say, on the upper surface
of the boiler, or on one side of the locomotive above the cylinder,
the pipes leading therefrom forming their junction on the upper
surface of the boiler or elsewhere as may be desired. The quantity

page_text: of steam thus taken for heating purposes being only what is required
to replace that lost by condensation in the heating pipes and to
keep up a slight current of live steam through such heating pipes
is comparatively small, leaving enough of such waste steam to escape
into the chimney in the usual manner to produce all the draft necessary
for running the locomotive. In order that the force of the waste steam
escaping into the chimney may be retained for draft purposes, the blast
pipe may be lessened in a degree proportionate to the area of the column
of waste steam taken for heating purposes in the manner above described.
The manner of using the steam from the locomotive for such heating
purposes without interfering with the supply necessary for propelling
the locomotive or for draught purposes is as follows:-At any point on
the upper surface of the boiler the pipe G leading the steam from the
reservoir E is connected with the boiler direct by a branch pipe with
stop-cocks or valves so arranged that steam may be taken from the
boiler direct, or from the waste, or from both together as may be desired.
When the train is at rest, either before starting or while stopping at any
station, steam may be supplied for such heating purposes direct from
the boiler. When in motion and running at any ordinary rate of speed,
the steam being shut off from the boiler is supplied from the waste in
the manner already described.
A supply of steam for heating purposes is thus at all times obtained
without any loss of power or expense or difficulty additional to that
usually attendant upon running the locomotive. To prevent conden-
sation during the passage of the steam through the flexible connection
from carriage to carriage, or wherever the pipes are exposed to direct
contact with the cold atmosphere outside the carriages, as well as to
prevent dust from getting into the joints, the connecting pipes and joints
may be covered with a thick jacket of felt, canvass, or other proper
material.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, I claim,―
First. The ball-and-socket perforated joints A and telescopic
action formed by the pipe B sliding into the larger pipes C in the way
and manner described and shown in Figure 1 attached to permanent
or fixed pipes or heaters inside railway carriages for the purpose of
forming a steam-tight connection between such railway carriages, and
admitting of a free vertical, lateral, and longitudinal play or movement,
substantially as set forth.

page_text: Second. The placing of coiled or other steam pipes inside railway
carriages in positions of successive ascents and descents, or heaters with
bottoms converging to a common lower point in the centre or elsewhere,
with water receptacles communicating with such pipes or heaters at
their lowest points, into which the water from the condensation of
steam flows, and with valves or syphons arranged as shown in Figures 5,
6, 7 and 8, so as to discharge the water from the condensation of steam
at proper intervals without permitting the escape of steam, substantially
as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Willard Brigham Farwell, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
WILLARD BRIGHAM FARWELL. (L.S.)