Improvements in Car Heaters.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Annlination 11th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 14th Oct., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Communicated from abroad by JOHN HENRY CARSON, of 47, Cedar Street, in
the City of New York, County and State of New York, United States of
America, Gentleman.]
Improvements in Car Heaters.
I, WALLACE FAIRWEATHER, C.E. of 62 Saint Vincent Street in the City of
lasgow, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
nd in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me, to be
articularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention relates to improvements in car heaters, especially in tram cars.
The heater is of that type, wherein a boiler in the stations of the line is employed
o charge the cylinders in the cars with hot water, the radiation from the cylinders
warming the car during its trip. More particularly the purpose of the invention
s to facilitate the quick charging of the cylinders with hot water, and for this
purpose to maintain at all times, (whether the cylinders of a car are being charged
or not) a constant circulation through the system of pipes that lead from the
stationary boiler to the car tracks; and to retard the radiation from the cylinders
in the car, and thereby equalize the temperature during the whole time the car is
making a trip.
The water space of the boiler in the station, is connected with a complete return
circulating pipe-system, which leads to the vicinity of the car tracks, and is
provided with a pump or other water-forcing engine, which is maintained in constant
working so that at all times, there is a complete forced circulation of the hot
In this manner dead ends are
water out from the boiler and back thereto.
prevented, and there is at all times water at a high temperature at the extreme
outer end of the pipe-system. This constant forced circulation through the
pipes, from which the car is charged, lessens the time required to charge the
cylinders in the car, and it is a practical necessity that the tram car shall be
detained at the station the shortest possible time for the purpose of charging the
cylinders.
Said constant. forced circulation is applied to charge the cylinders of the tram
car by means of a five-way valve of peculiar construction at the extreme end of
the circulation, so that, when a car is not being charged, the ports of the valve
complete the circulation directly from the flow to the return pipe; but that, when
a car is coupled up to be charged, the ports divert the flow circulation through
the cylinders in the car and thence back to the return pipe; and that this change
in the circulation takes place solely by shifting the valve without affecting the
pump which maintains the forced circulation, that pump, as before stated,
operated continuously whether a tram car is coupled to the circulating system
5 or not.
.
Reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a general view in section and elevation of the apparatus complete
and showing a car coupled for charging.
Figure 2 is a broken cross section of a car, showing the manner of arranging
10 the cylinders.
Figure 3 is a broken plan view of the cylinders, showing the double cross pip
connections.
Figure 4 is an enlarged detail of the five-way cock in the pipe circulation.
A is a hot water boiler in the station of the tram car line, B and C bein
45 respectively the flow and return pipes. A short vertical pipe b, connects with th

page_text: flow pipe B and descends into the boiler, just to about the level of the top of the
tubes. Should water in the boiler A, fall below the top of the tubes, no more
water can enter the pipe B. Said pipes B and C, lead underground to a point
adjacent to the tracks, and are there turned up above the street level and connected
with the five-way cock D, which also has flexible tubes, E, E, that are provided
with any suitable quick-coupling devices F, for coupling with the pipes of a car.
Where the pipes B, C, rise above the street level they may be protected by any
suitable boxing or casing, and said pipes B, C, will preferably be wrapped their
whole length with some good non-conducting felting. It is preferable, also to
connect a steam pump G, with the return pipe C, in order to maintain a constant
forced circulation in the pipes B, C, and this pump will work constantly, whether a
car is being charged or not.
The aforesaid five-way cock D, has the body d bored for a conical plug e, and
provided with four principal ports f, g, h, i, 90° each from the adjacent ports, of
which fand gare respectively from and to the boiler, and h, i, respectively to and
from the cylinders in the car. The aforesaid plug e, has through chambers k, l,
adapted to register with the aforesaid ports f, g, h, i, as shown. Said plug e also
has a drip port o, o, communicating with each of said chambers k, l, and there is a
single corresponding port p, in the body d, between the aforesaid ports h, i.
When the plug e is turned to the position of Fig. 4, the pipe B is in communi-
cation with the pipe C, which leads directly back to the boiler A, thereby
completing the continuous circulation. But if the plug e be given a quarter turn
in either direction, then the pipes B and C will be in communication with the
cylinders, H, H, in the car, and the continuous circulation will be changed without
interruption from the boiler A to the said cylinders H, H, and thence back to the
boiler A. Also when the plug e is turned to the first position, the port o commu-
nicates with the port p, and the water in the flexible tubes E, E, will be discharged
and relieved from the boiler pressure.
The cylinders H, H, (there being preferably two cylinders, one on each side of a
car between the wheels, as shown in Fig. 1) have shells with head h; q is a
horizontal pipe for equalizing the hot water charge, connected with a four-way
cock I; is a pipe connection leading to the said cock 1; and is an air pipe,
rising to near the top of the cylinders H, H, and having a cock t, to be opened by
hand when first charging the said cylinder, and afterwards as necessary for
relieving the cylinders of air. A wrapping of asbestos, or other good non-
conductor u, is placed around so much of the shell h¹, as is sufficient to retard
radiation, and so equalize the temperature of the car during its trip. v, vl, are
cross pipes respectively connecting the pipes of the two cylinders. The aforesaid
four-way cock I is similar in its construction to the five-way cock D, except that
the former has no drip, and in place of the said four-way cock I, the pipes q, r, to
and from the cylinders H may terminate in separate free ends, without the four-
way cock I, but said cock is preferably used for the special purpose of rapid
manipulation.
The operation is as follows: When a car arrives at the station, the aforesaid
flexible tubes E, E,. are coupled to the connections of the adjacent four-way cock I,
on the car, said cock I having been turned so as to cut off the cylinders H, H,
from the pipes B. C. Then the five-way cock D is turned to the position shown
in the Fig. 1, and finally the cock I is turned so as to put the cylinders H, H,
into communication with the pipes B, C. Then hot water enters each cylinder
by the pipes 9.
When the cylinders H, H, are charged with hot water, the
cock I is closed and the cock D is turned to the position of Fig. 4, so that
the circulation is cut off from the flexible tubes E, E. At the same time the drip
port op, opens so as to allow the water in said tubes E, E, to discharge and
relieve the pressure. The tubes E, E, are then uncoupled from the car, which goes
on its trip. When necessary to allow the air to escape from the cylinders during 5
the operation of charging, the cock on the air pipes is opened for a short time,
being closed as soon as any water is discharged.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven
ion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
I declare that what I claim is :
1. In a street car heating system, the combination with a stationary hot water
boiler of a continuous and complete circulatory system which consists of a flow
pipe from the water space of said boiler, a return pipe thereto, a multi-chambered
cock at the junction of said flow and return pipes, and tubes from said cock adapted
to be connected with corresponding pipes from a water cylinder in a car, substantially
as described.
2. In a street car heating system, the combination with a hot water cylinder in a
car, of flow and return pipes therefrom, a four-way cock connected with said
pipes, tubes adapted to connect with said cock and leading to a five-way valve
which is connected with the flow and return pipes of a continuous circulatory
system, main ports in said five-way valve adapted to connect the tubes with
said flow and return pipes and a blow off port in said valve adapted to connect
the tubes with atmosphere, a stationary hot water boiler operatively connected
with said flow and return pipes, and a pump operatively connected with said return
pipes, substantially as described.
3. In a street car heating system, the combination of a hot water cylinder in a
car, air relief pipe therefrom, a hot water supply pipe longitudinally arranged in
said cylinder, a return pipe from one end of said cylinder, a four-way cock
communicating with said supply and return pipes, tubes from said four-way cock
to a five-way valve which is connected with the flow and return pipes of the
main constant hot water circulatory system and has main ports adapted to connect
the said flow and return pipes with said tubes and a blow off port adapted to
connect said tubes with atmosphere, a stationary hot water boiler operatively
connected with said flow and return pipes, and a pump operatively connected with
said return pipe, substantially as described.
4. In a street car heating system and in combination with a constant forced hot
water circulation and with tubes leading to a hot water cylinder in a car, a five-
way cock having four main ports adapted to alternate the circulation either
directly between the branches of said constant forced circulation or indirectly
between the same through the said cylinder in the car, and a blow-off port adapted
to communicate with said tubes so as to reduce the pressure therein to atmosphere,
5 substantially as and for the purpose described.
5. In a street car heating system, the combination with a stationary hot water
boiler of a continuous and complete circulatory system which consists of a flow
pipe from the water space of said boiler, a return pipe thereto, a multi-chambered
cock at the junction of said flow and return pipes, and a hot-water cylinder in a
10
car adapted to be connected with said cock by flow and return tubes substantially
as described.
C Cantomhar 1893.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.