Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Heating and Circulating Water for Warming Railway Trains and Buildings, and for Use in Lavatories and elsewhere.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 17th May, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 19th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 17th May, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Heating and
Circulating Water for Warming Railway Trains and Buildings,
and for Use in Lavatories and elsewhere.
I, MICHAEL MARY BROPHY, of the Firm of James Slater & Co., 251, High
Holborn, in the County of London, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to the warming of railway trains and buildings by means
of hot water and to supplying such water for use in lavatories wash-houses and
elsewhere.
It is well known that considerable difficulty exists in economically heating railway
trains by means of hot water and in heating buildings or parts of buildings situated
below the source of heat.
According to my invention I provide means whereby the water in the pipes of a
heating system may be heated and circulated notwithstanding variations of the
level of such pipes.
In carrying out my invention I make use of an injector and preferably one
adapted to be operated by exhaust steam. This injector is introduced into the
system of pipes at any suitable point so that the steam will not only cause the
circulation of the water which fills the said system of pipes but also impart
the requisite degree of heat to the same.
At or near the top of the heating system I arrange a tank or cistern into which
the water is discharged after having made the complete circuit of the pipes and from
which it is drawn for again supplying the injector. I also arrange in conjunction
with this tank or cistern a means for cooling the water if necessary before again
passing to the injector. I also provide the said cistern with an overflow pipe
through which the surplus water due to the condensation of the steam introduced
into the pipes can escape.
When my invention is applied for heating a train the cistern hereinbefore referred
to is preferably placed upon the tender of the locomotive and has arranged in
conjunction with it coils tbrough which the water passes and which are immersed
in the water in the tank of the tender.
In order that the heat due to the cooling of the water may not be wasted I
advantageously arrange that the cooling pipes or coil shall be enclosed in a casing
from which the water for supplying the boiler from which the steam is derived
may be drawn.
As in some cases difficulty might be experienced in starting the circulation in the
pipes I advantageously arrange in conjunction with the same a pipe leading direct
from the boiler so that the steam may be forced directly through the said pipes to
drive out any water or air and then by its condensation form a vacuum, suitable
check valves being placed upon the pipes to prevent the entrance of air. It is
obvious that, as after first starting the only water introduced into the pipes is that
due to the condensation of steam, there will be practically no incrustation in the
said pipes and that therefore the water may be withdrawn therefrom as required
for domestic or other purposes.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Heating and
Circulating Water for Warming Railway Trains and Buildings,
and for Use in Lavatories and elsewhere.
I, MICHAEL MARY BROPHY, of the Firm of James Slater & Co., 251, High
Holborn, in the County of London, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to the warming of railway trains and buildings by means
of hot water and to supplying such water for use in lavatories, wash-houses and
elsewhere.
It is well known that considerable difficulty exists in economically heating railway
trains by means of hot water and in heating buildings or parts of buildings situated
below the source of heat.
According to my invention I provide means whereby the water in the pipes of a
heating system may be heated and circulated notwithstanding variations of the level
of such pipes.
In carrying out my invention I make use of an injector and preferably one adapted
to be operated by exhaust steam. This injector is introduced into the system of
pipes at any suitable point so that the steam will not only cause the circulation of
the water which fills the said system of pipes but also impart the requisite degree
of heat to the same.
At or near the top of the heating system I arrange a tank or cistern into which the
water is discharged after having made the complete circuit of the pipes and from which
it is drawn for again supplying the injector. I provide means for cooling the water if
necessary before again passing to the injector and I also provide an overflow pipe
through which the surplus water due to the condensation of the steam introduced
into the pipes can escape.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which, for the purpose of illustration
I have shewn the invention as applied for heating a railway train, and in which
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the injector and the parts immediately
connected therewith:
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of a locomotive water tank in which the
cooling herein before referred to is effected and into which the water of coudensation
is discharged:
·
Figure 3 is a transverse section; and,
Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the same :
Figures 5 and 6 are sectional elevations of details relating to the said tank :
Figure 7 is a sectional plan of portions of two railway carriages heated according
to my invention:
Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11 are views illustrating the construction of a detail
hereinafter described.
a indicates an exhaust injector of ordinary construction the discharge outlet 6 of
which is connected to the flow pipe c of the system of heating pipes and the water
inlet d of which is connected by the pipe e with a cistern, tank or the like into
which the return pipe e' of the system of circulating pipes discharges.
fis the usual pipe provided for the overflow of surplus water from the ejector,
the said pipe discharging into a tank f' from which the water escapes into a
well The injector discharge nozzle b and the overflow pipe fare each
provided with spring check-valves such as g, g for preventing the entrance of air
into the injector in case the latter is not working.

page_text: As exhaust steam frequently carries in suspension more or less lubricant
preferably combine with my injector a grease extractor through which the exhaust
steam passes before it reaches the injector. This grease extractor advantageously
consists of an outer casing or chamber connected by the nozzle ¹ with the
exhaust pipe from which the steam is taken and of an inner casing i connected with
the steam inlet of the injector j. The casing i which is open at the bottom is of
smaller diameter than the casing h and extends some distance down within the
same, so that the steam which passes to the injector has to pass down between the
casings and i and then up through the latter before it reaches the injector.
The space between the two casings is preferably provided with a series of helical
or spiral ribs or with obstructions against which the steam will impinge so as to
give up or deposit a large proportion of the grease which it contains.
The lower part of the casing his provided with a steam-trap of any suitable
construction for allowing the escape of the water of condensation and of the grease
which forms or is deposited in the said casing h. This steam-trap, as shewn in the
drawing, consists of a downwardly projecting pipe k and a surrounding pipe k¹
having at its upper part a chamber from which the discharge takes place through
a pipe k³. The pipes k and k¹ are of such length that a water seal is always
preserved sufficient to withstand the pressure in the casing h.
I is a cock which serves for regulating the pressure of the steam which passes to
the injector. In practice I have found that an exhaust injector will not work
properly when the pressure of the steam exceeds a certain limit. In order there-
fore that this limit shall not be exceeded I provide on some suitable part of the
apparatus adjacent to the injector (for instance on the top of the casing i) a spring
escape-valve such as m, which valve is permanently set to allow the steam to
escape when the desired pressure is exceeded. When steam is escaping from this
valve it will indicate to the person who controls the working of the apparatus that
the pressure is too great so that he can at once reduce it by means of the valve / to
the desired extent.
n is a pipe for admitting live steam into the casing, for the purpose of blowing
out any grease deposited on the ribs between the casings h, i and any grease or
water contained in the trap beneath the said casing or chamber h. This pipe also
serves for introducing live steam for working the apparatus in case exhaust steam
is not available, the valve m serving to ensure that the pressure of the live steam
shall not exceed the desired limit.
It is to be understood that the tank into which the water from the return
circulating pipe e' is discharged and from which the water returns to the injector
through the pipe e must in all cases be above the level of the inlet nozzle d of the
said injector (when an exhaust injector is used) as such an injector is not capable
of lifting the water which feeds it.
When my apparatus is designed for use upon a railway train the injector with
the connected apparatus as shewn in Figure 1 is preferably arranged upon the
foot-plate of the tender, the said foot-plate being indicated by the letter o in
Figure 1, and instead of causing the return pipe to discharge into a cistern I
arrange it to discharge into a funnel p upon the tender, the said funnel being
connected to the pipe e (through which the water flows to the injector) by a
pipe p the height of which is sufficient to ensure there always being a head of
water above the inlet nozzle d of the injector. The nozzle through which the
return pipe discharges into the funnel p is provided with a non-return valve 9, a
suitable form of spring-valve being shewn drawn to an enlarged scale in Figure 5.
To ensure that the water returning to the injector shall be sufficiently cool, the
pipe pl is preferably connected to a chamber or box r from which a series of pipes
at the bottom of the tender tank extend to another chamber or box r' from which
the water for supplying the injector flows through the pipe e, the employment of
several pipes as shewn in Figure 4 affording a large cooling surface and allowing
the water to flow.slowly..
As hereinbefore stated (after the pipes are once filled) there will always be an

page_text: excess of water due to the condensation of the steam necessary for working the
injector. Such excess of water may overflow from the funnel p into the tank but
in practice I prefer to employ a separate overflow pipe s arranged within the tank
and connected to the box . This pipe s I preferably surround by a casing t
which extends nearly to the bottom of the tank so that the water which overflows
into the said casing will escape therefrom at the bottom thus allowing any oil or
grease which may not have been extracted in the manner hereinbefore described
to remain floating upon the water within the said casing without escaping into the
tender and so polluting the water therein.
u is a valve which serves for allowing the water from the tender to flow directly
into the pipe e to the injector when starting the apparatus, that is to say, when
there is no head of water in the pipe p¹ owing to the circulating pipes being empty
but which will not allow the level of the water to fall as the water level in the
tank lowers; this valve u is shewn in section drawn to an enlarged scale in
Figure 6.
In order that a train provided with a hot water heating apparatus of the kind
herein before described may be warmed before being brought up to a platform of
a terminus or whilst at the platform, that is to say, in order that it may be heated
without the aid of exhaust steam I preferably connect the cock 7 of the injector
apparatus of the shunting engine which brings the train to the platform directly
to the boiler; in which case the pipe n herein before mentioned will be unnecessary.
The pipes may be arranged in the carriages in any suitable manner. In order,
however, that all the compartments of a train shall be heated as uniformly as
possible, that is to say, the compartments nearest the engine shall not be overheated
and those at the rear end of the train under heated I prefer to arrange the pipes
in the manner shewn in Figure 7 in which the numerals 1, 2, 3, and 4 indicate
compartments to be heated. In the arrangement shewn in this figure the flow-
pipe c which naturally contains the hottest water is formed into a coil under one
seat and the return pipe el is provided with a coil under the opposite seat.
this arrangement it will be understood that in the compartment nearest to the
engine the hottest coil is under one seat and the coolest under the other whereas
in the compartment at the rear of the train the two coils are at practically uniform
heat.
With
The circulating pipes of the different carriages are connected by flexible
tubes v, v provided with couplings for enabling the said flexible tubes to be readily
connected and disconnected. In practice I prefer to make use of couplings provided
with valves for preventing the hot water contained by the flexible pipes from escaping
when the couplings are disconnected.
To enable the occupants of any compartment to more or less control the heat of
the same I prefer to arrange the coils of the circulating pipes in boxes or casings
which can be opened or closed to allow the heat to escape or to confine the same as
desired. The arrangement of these boxes will be readily understood by reference
to Figures 8 and 9 which are respectively a vertical section and an elevation of a
portion of the interior of a compartment. In these figures w indicates the box or
casing, and w the lid thereof. To enable each lid w to be readily opened or
closed I connect it with a crank a on the wall of the compartment, the pin of the
said crank engaging with a slot a¹ on the upper end of a rod y which is located
behind the cushions of the carriage and is connected by its other slotted end y¹
with a pin on the lid. A plate or cover z is placed on the crank and is preferably
marked with the words "Open" and "Shut as shewn in Figure 9. Figure 10 is
a vertical section through the indicator drawn to an enlarged scale, and Figure 11
is an elevation of the same with the plate z removed.
It will be understood that by connecting cocks or taps with the circulating pipes,
provided such cocks or taps are below the level of the overflow into the tank,
that water may be drawn from the said circulating pipes for lavatory and other
purposes.
Although I have illustrated my invention as being applied for heating a railway

page_text: train it will be obvious that it is also applicable for heating buildings in which
there is a supply of exhaust steam which can be utilised.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a hot water heating apparatus the employment of an exhaust injector the
discharge of which is connected to the flow pipe of the system of circulating pipes
whilst the return pipe discharges into a tank or cistern from which the water for
supplying the injector flows, suitable means being provided for ensuring that the
water which is returned to the injector is sufficiently cool to allow the operation of
the latter, substantially as described.
2. In a hot water heating apparatus in which an exhaust injector is employed,
the combination with the said injector of a valve for indicating when the pressure
(either of exhaust or live steam) necessary for working the injector is exceeded,
substantially as described.
3. In a hot water heating apparatus in which an injector operated by exhaust
steam is employed the combination with the said injector of apparatus, substantially
as described for extracting grease from the exhaust steam as set forth.
4. In a hot water heating apparatus in which an ejector is employed and which
is designed for heating railway trains the arrangement of cooling pipes within the
tender and of means for preventing any grease contained by the overflow water
discharged into the tender from mixing with the water in the latter, substantially
as described.
5. The combination with hot water apparatus in which an injector is employed
in the manner hereinbefore described, of casings adapted to be opened or closed
for regulating the heat of the chamber or compartment warmed substantially as
described by reference to Figures 8 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.
6. The improvements in hot water heating apparatus hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 19th day of February 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.