IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GAS ENGINES AND IN THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAME AS MOTORS FOR TRAMWAY CARS AND SIMILAR VEHICLES, PARTS OF WHICH INVENTION RELATE TO APPARATUS FOR DRIVING, ADJUSTING, AND LOCKING THE PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1874

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to John Townsend Kirkwood, of Yeo-Vale, near
Bideford, in the County of Devon, Gentleman, Charles Thomas
Evans Lascelles, of Brockley Villas, New Cross, in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, and Jesse Hall, of Lyndhurst Grove, Peckham, in
the County of Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention of “IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GAS ENGINES AND IN THE ADAPTATION OF THE
SAME AS MOTORS FOR TRAMWAY CARS AND SIMILAR VEHICLES, PARTS OF WHICH
INVENTION RELATE TO APPARATUS FOR DRIVING, ADJUSTING, AND LOCKING THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Townsend Kirk-
wood, Charles Thomas Evans Lascelles, and Jesse Hall at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 22nd
December 1874.

page_text: Brockley Villas, New Cross, in the County of Kent, Gentleman, and
JESSE HALL, of Lyndhurst Grove, Peckham, in the County of Surrey,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GAS ENGINES AND IN THE ADAPTATION
OF THE SAME AS MOTORS FOR TRAMWAY CARS AND SIMILAR VEHICLES, PARTS OF
WHICH INVENTION RELATE TO APPARATUS FOR DRIVING, ADJUSTING, AND LOCKING
THE WHEELS OF SUCH CARS OR VEHICLES, AND TO BRAKES FOR THE SAME," to be as
follows:
This Invention relates partly to the peculiar construction of engines
which are worked by the explosive force of a mixture of gas and
atmospheric air, and which are designed to be used for various purposes
in place of steam and other engines.
The said Invention also relates to the adaptation of these gas engines
for the propulsion of tramway cars and other vehicles. The said engine
may be constructed either in the form of an independent locomotive,
which will draw a car or train of cars or carriages after it, or may be
incorporated with the structure of an ordinary tramway car or other
vehicle.
The said Invention consists first in the peculiar construction of our
gas engine. This engine as applied to a tramway car has four cylinders,
each of which has two pistons. One piston works at one end of the
cylinder and the other at its other end. We may arrange these cylinders
in pairs, one pair above the other pair. At one end of each pair of
cylinders we arrange a crank shaft, or one pair of cylinders is placed
opposite the other pair, and one crank shaft is placed between them; or
the said cylinders may be arranged in any other convenient manner in
combination with a crank shaft or two crank shafts. The cranks of the
shaft or shafts are so arranged to those to which the pistons of one pair
of cylinders are connected are at a right angle to those to which the
other pistons are connected. The gas is admitted and exploded between
the two pistons of cach cylinder. The explosive force drives the said
pistons outward or to the ends of the cylinders. A vacuum is formed
between the pistons, and they are driven inward or towards each other
by the pressure of the atmosphere.
'
The said Invention also consists in arranging and connecting. a gas
ongine and the wheels of the locomotive or vehicle in such a manner

page_text: that the progress or movement of the latter may be stopped without
stopping the engine, so that however numerous the stoppages may be
throughout the day the stopping and starting of the engines will not be
necessary, and we therefore avoid the delay and trouble which, as is well
known to those familiar with the working of these engines, would other-
wise arise from the frequent stopping and starting of the same.
In carrying our said Invention into practise we use the aforesaid gas .
engine with two or more cylinders, and we prefer to mount the same
upon an independent truck or trolley, thereby forming a locomotive
which will draw the cars or carriages behind it.
We do not connect the piston rods of the gas engine directly to the
crank or driving shaft in the usual manner, but the driving wheels are
loose on the axles instead of being fast thereon, as in ordinary loco-
motives, so that the said shaft, except when geared or connected with
the driving wheels by the devices hercin-after described, will turn
without turning the said wheels, and consequently the engine or engines
will work without moving the locomotive along the road. But the said
wheels may be instantly thrown into gear with the crank shaft by means
of friction discs, cones, or pulleys. One of these discs, cones, or pulleys
is fixed or formed on each wheel, and another disc, cone, or pulley is
fitted adjustably on the shaft, so that it can be readily moved into or out
of contact with tho said fixed disc, cone, or pulley by means of a lever
or other suitable mechanism.
Instead of these friction discs, cones, or pulleys, we may use an
arrangement of frictional or toothed wheel gearing or belts and pulleys,
which may be thrown into or out of gear with the shaft and wheels for
the purpose of stopping and starting the locomotive without interrupting
the motion of the engines. But when this part of our Invention is used
in combination with the aforesaid improved gas engine we prefer to use
the following apparatus for connecting and disconnecting the wheels and
engine, that is to say, we fix on one of the crank shafts of the engine
a toothed wheel which gears with a wheel on a countershaft. The
latter also carries pulleys or wheels, from which belts or bands are
extended around similar pulleys or wheels on another countershaft.
We place on this countershaft fast and loose belt pulleys, whereby the
connection and disconnection of the engine and the wheels is effected.

page_text: The second countershaft is geared with one axle, and this axle drives
the other axle by means of belts or chains. The bearing wheels are
fitted to turn independently of the said axles partially around, and are
then locked with the same by means of a clutch, one part of which is
fixed on the wheel and the other part is keyed fast upon the axle. This
arrangement permits the two wheels of each axle to turn at different
velocities to adapt themselves to the inner and outer rails in passing
around curves.
The axles are fitted to turn on pivots or swivels at the centre of the
locomotive truck or frame. Each axle is supported in bearings or boxes
which are fitted to bear upon and slide under curved bars at the outer
ends of the axle. One of the axles is provided at the centre with a
toothed segment or circular rack, which gears with a pinion on a vertical
shaft. The latter extends up through the platform, and is provided with
a handle and catch, or a worm and wheel, or other means, whereby it may.
be turned to adjust the wheels, and then locked or fastened in any
required position; or instead of the aforesaid segment we may use a
lever or other suitable means for adjusting the said axle.
In applying this Invention to an ordinary tramway car by incorporating
the same with the structure of the said car we arrange the engines in
such a position that they will not occupy any considerable portion of the
space required for the passengers, and the engines are connected with
the axles of the car through shafts geared in connection with the same
in such a manner that the engines and wheels can be connected or dis-
connected, as above described.
The said Invention also consists in the novel construction of a brake
for a tramway car propelled by the above described gas engine or other
engine. This brake has a flanged shoe of metal or wood, which is carried
on the lower end of a vertical rod or bar, preferably at or near the centre
of the car.
This rod or bar is connected with a lever, screw, or other
apparatus, whereby the said shoe may be forced down upon the rail and
raised from the same.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Townsend Kirkwood, Charles Thomas Evans
Lascelles, and Jesse Hall in the Great Scal Patent Office on the
22nd June 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
TOWNSEND KIRKWOOD, of Yeo-Vale, near Bideford, in the County of
Devon, Gentleman, CHARLES THOMAS EVANS LASCELLES, of Brockley
Villas, New Cross, in the County of Kent, Gentleman, and JESSE HALL,
of Lyndhurst Grove, Peckham, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said John Townsend Kirkwood,
Charles Thomas Evans Lascelles, and Jesse Hall, Her special licence
that we, the said John Townsend Kirkwood, Charles Thomas Evans
Lascelles, and Jesse Hall, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said John Townsend Kirkwood, Charles Thomas
Evans Lascelles, and Jesse Hall, our 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 THE CONSTRUCTION OF
GAS ENGINES AND IN THE ADAPTATION OF THE SAME AS MOTORS FOR TRAMWAY CARS
AND SIMILAR VEHICLES, PARTS OF WHICH INVENTION RELATE TO APPARATUS FOR
DRIVING, ADJUSTING, AND LOCKING THE WHEELS OF SUCH CARS OR VEHICLES, AND
TO BRAKES FOR THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said John Townsend Kirkwood, Charles Thomas Evans Lascelles, and
Jesse Hall, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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.

page_text: and we therefore avoid the delay and trouble which, as is well known to
those familiar with the working of gas engines, would otherwise ariso
from the frequent stopping and starting of the same.
In carrying our said Invention into practise we use the aforesaid gas
engine with two or more cylinders, and we prefer to mount the same
upon an independent truck or trolly, thereby forming a locomotive which
will draw the cars or carriages behind it.
We do not connect the engine directly to the driving wheels in the
usual manner, but the driving wheels are so arranged that the crank
shaft of the engine, except when geared or connected with the driving
wheels by the devices herein-after described, will turn without turning
the said wheels, and consequently the engine or engines will work
without moving the locomotive along the road; but the said wheels may
be instantly thrown into gear with the crank shaft by means of friction
discs, cones, belts, and pulleys, or other suitable means.
The said Invention also consists partly in the novel construction of a
brake for a tramway car propelled by the above described gas engine or
other engine. This brake has a flanged shoe of metal or wood, which is
carried on the lower end of a rod or bar at or near the centre of the car.
This rod or bar is connected with a lever, or screw, or other apparatus,
whoreby the said shoe may be forced down upon the rail and raised from
the same.
Figure 3 is a plan of the crank shafts and adjacent parts of our
improved engine.
Figure 4 is an end elevation of part of the said engine; Figure 5
shows detached portions of the same.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
A is the frame of the car, which may be constructed of wood or metal;
B, B, are the driving or bearing wheels; C, C¹, are the axles; a, a, are
the cylinders of our improved gas engine; b, b', are the pistons; c, c, are

page_text: -
piston rods; d, d, are cross heads; d', d³, are connecting rods; e, e, are
valves; f is the crank shaft. We have shewn the said engine with only
two cylinders, but in some cases we construct the said engine with four
or more cylinders. It will be seen that the rods c of the pistons bare
provided with cross heads d, from which the connecting rods d' extend
to the cranks f¹ of the crank shaft f, but the pistons b' are connected
directly with the cranks f" of the said shaft. The valves e are operated
by the excentrics or cams e¹ on the shaft f. These cams are made with
the peculiar shape or configuration shewn to give the required motion to
the valve. The valve rod e² is formed with a slot es, through which the
shaft passes, and the said rod e2 is provided with a small roller e¹, upon
which the cam acts as it revolves. The result of this action is that the
valve e is moved to open the admission port at the moment the two
pistons of the cylinder are together, or nearly so, at the centre of the
cylinder. Then the valvo closes and the explosion takes place, driving
the pistons outward, this action being repeated as the pistons again come
together.
Instead of adopting the arrangement shewn in the Drawing we may
use a horizontal engine, and provide the same with four of the said
double piston cylinders. In this modification of our Invention we prefer
to arrange the cylinders with one pair above the other pair, and with a
crank shaft at one end of each pair of cylinders. The cranks of the
shaft or shafts must in all cases be so arranged that those to which the
pistons of one cylinder or one pair of cylinders are connected are at an
angle to those to which the pistons of the other cylinder or pair of
cylinders are connected.
The crank shaft f in the arrangement of our Invention shewn in the
Drawings is geared by the toothed wheels g, h, with the intermediate
shaft i, and the latter is geared through the wheel / with the pulley
shaft 7, which is supported in suitable bearings on the frame A, and is
provided with fast and loose pulleys connected by a belt o with
the pulley m on the axle C of the truck. We prefer to drive the other
axle C¹ by a belt n passed over the pulleys p, p', but if desired we may
drive both axles directly from the shaft 7 by belts or by a train of wheel
gearing or by other suitable mechanism. The said pulleys are arranged
at or near the centre of the axles, as shewn in Figure 2, so that the
adjustment of the said axles does not interfere with the action of the
belts or straps. By driving both axles we cause all of the wheels of the

page_text: car to act as drivers, and thereby obtain great tractive power, and by
throwing the belt or strap o from the fast to the loose pulley the engines
are immediately disconnected from the wheels, and while the engine
continues working the car will stop and remain stationary until the belt
is again thrown upon the fast pulley.
Instead of these pulleys and belts for effecting the connection and
disconnection of the wheels and engine wo may have a disc, cone, or
pulley fixed or formed on each wheel, and another disc, cone, or pulley
fitted adjustably on the shaft, so that it can be readily moved into or out
of contact with the said fixed disc, cone, or pulley by means of a lever
or other suitable mechanism. The wheels are so fitted on the said axles
as to turn independently of the same through part of a revolution or
until locked with the axles by means of a clutch, one part q of which
is fixed on the wheel and the other part q¹ is keyed fast upon the axle,
or instead of a clutch we may use a ratchet. This device permits the
two wheels of cach axle to turn at different velocities for a short distance,
and thereby adapt themselves to the inner and outer rails in passing
around curves.
The axles C, C¹, are fitted to turn on pivots or swivels at the centre of
the locomotive truck or frame, as shewn at 7, Figure 2. Each axlo is
supported in bearings or boxes 8, which are fitted to bear upon and slide
under curved bars or plates s¹ at the outer ends of the axle, the said bars
being preferably provided with antifriction rollers. Each axle is also sup-
ported in bearings fixed on the plate t which is provided with a toothed
segment or circular rack t*, which gears with a pinion t¹ on a vertical
shaft . The latter extends up through the platform, and is provided
with a handle and catch or a worm and wheel or other moans, whereby
it may be turned to adjust the wheels, and then locked or fastened in any
required position; or instead of the aforesaid segment we may use a lever
or other suitable means for adjusting the said axle.
-
In applying this Invention to an ordinary tramway car by incorpo-
rating the same with the structure of the said car we arrange the engines
in such a position that they will not occupy any considerable portion of
the space required for the passengers, and the engines are connected with
the axles of the car through shafts geared in connection with the same.
in such a manner that the engines and whocls can be connected or dis-
connected, as above described.

page_text: In our improved brake apparatus the brake shoe u is fixed on a lever u¹
on the shaft u². On this shaft is an arm t³, which is connected by
suitable rods and levers, or otherwise with the foot lever u', whereby the
brake shoe u is adjusted to bear upon the rails when it is desired to stop
the car.
Having thus fully described our said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, we wish it understood that we claim,-
First. In an engine operated by the explosive force of gas a cylinder
or cylinders provided with two pistons working to and fro at opposite
ends of the cylinder, and connected with the cranks in a suitable manner
for giving rotary motion to the same.
Second. In combination with the said cylinders provided with two
pistons the devices for admitting and exploding the gas between the two
pistons, as herein set forth.
Third. A tramway car or other vehicle provided with a gas engine,
cach of whose cylinders has two pistons, operating as above specified,
and which is arranged in connection with the wheels and axles of the
said car or vehicle for driving the same by means of belts and pulleys,
gear wheels, or other suitable means.
Fourth. In a tramway car or other like vehicle, so connecting the 1
bearing wheels and their axles with the said engine that the said wheels
may be disconnected and the vehicle stopped without stopping the
engine, as herein set forth.
Fifth. The pivoted axles provided with outer sliding bearings, which
permit the said axles to be adjusted to set the wheels for passing around
curves in combination with the clutches, ratchets, or other suitable
means for permitting the wheels to adapt themselves to the inner and
outer rails at the curves, as herein set forth.
Sixth. In a tramway car or other suitable vehicle, the brake con-
structed and operating as herein set forth.
Seventh. A tramway car or other like vehicle with the aforesaid im-
proved engine, and with means for connecting and disconnecting the
wheels so that the car may be stopped without stopping the engine, and
with the axles adjustable to set the wheels to any curvature of the rails

page_text: arranged upon the said car, and combined and operating as herein set
forth.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five.
JOHN TOWNSEND KIRKWOOD. (L.S.)
CHARLES T. E. LASCELLES.
JESSE HALL.
Witness,
HENRY JAMES NOONE.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)