IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND THEIR TRAINS
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Bridges Adams at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
August 1855.
I, WILLIAM BRIDGES ADAMS, of No. 1, Adam Street, Adelphi, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND THEIR TRAINS" to be as follows,
that is to say:
In elevating the driving wheels of locomotive engines at such a height
above the rails or road that they may rest on their peripheries, supported by
the peripheries of rolling wheels beneath them; which rolling wheels are
supported on the rails or road in such manner that each driving wheel will
rest on two rolling wheels, and the weight being thus distributed on two
wheels will permit of a great amount of adhesive power without crushing
the tyres or rails or road; and the rolling wheels being all loose, or revolving
on their axles, it will not be requisite that they should all be of exactly equal
diameters, as is the case when two driving wheels are connected to two
secondary driving wheels by coupling rods; nor will it be necessary to confine
the rolling wheels to any particular diameter, for their rolling movement will
exactly correspond to the length round the driving tyres; and two pairs of
rolling wheels coupled together, with the driving wheels pressing on them, will
be a substitute for what is usually called a coupled engine; and these rolling
wheels may be placed under the drivers of an ordinary engine, and the leading

page_text: and trailing wheels may be lowered to the horizontal level of these rolling
wheels; or the driving axle may be placed above or through, or sunk into
the top of the fire box or boiler within the steam space when the motive
power is steam, in which case the cylinders may be placed in a horizontal line
with the driving axle, or in some other convenient position; and the peri-
pheries of the wheels may be of any sectional form desireable; but I prefer a
cylindrical form for the drivers and the rollers beneath them, with flauges to
the drivers to keep them in a proper position with the rollers on which they
rest, but without flanges to such rollers, and with flanges to the leading and
trailing wheels to maintain the proper position of the engine on the rails
when used on rails; and the boiler and engine may be supported on springs
on the driving axle, and also on springs on the rolling axles beneath them, so
as to adjust the weight as may seem desireable; and springs may be applied
in any convenient mode to support the boiler on the leading and trailing
wheels; and an arrangement may be made to lift the driving wheel on one
side of the engine out of contact with the rollers beneath it, or to uncouple
the driving wheels, by means of a divided axle, so as to work by one side
only, and allow the rollers to adjust their speed to curved lines of way or
road; and the rollers beneath the drivers may be placed before or behind, or
before and behind the fire box, and the trailing wheels dispensed with if pre-
ferred; and when the cylinders and engine work are placed above the central
line of the boiler, they will have the advantage of being out of the dirt, and
the driver will have them in view and easily accessible; and the adhesion of the
driving wheels to the rollers may be increased by coned peripheries, so arranged
that the centrifugal force on curves will vary the diameters in contact and vary
the speed.
And to prevent concussion between the driving wheels and rollers,
or between the wheels and rails, I apply a thick layer or ring of caoutchouc
or other elastic substance between the peripheries of the wheel and tyre,
keeping the tyre in plane with the wheel by a pair of flat rings or washers,
which are bolted or rivetted together through the ring of caoutchouc, the
same arrangement being applicable to the wheels of the train also to diminish
the mischievous effect of the vertical and lateral blows of the wheels, and thus
diminish the resistance to engine traction; and the driving wheel tyres may
be an easy fit on the bodies of the wheels, so as to move slightly round them
on pressure being applied, the ultimate resistance being the compression of
the caoutchouc or of other springs, so that the inner portion or body may
begin moving before the tyre. And the kind of wheel is applicable to ordinary
locomotive engines and their trains, and four pairs of rolling wheels may be

page_text: used, or two engines of this construction may be coupled together; and the
cylinders may have trunk pistons out at both ends, or at one end, of flat form,
with a flat connecting rod, to save steam space.
And another part of my improvements is to place the boiler below the axles,
with inverts across the steam space if required, the bottom of the fire box
being laid either level with, or a little below the level of, the bottom of the
boiler, and a water apron or feather in front of the tubes, the fuel and air
entering from above or at the fire door without a grate below, the air and
heat passing through the fuel and under the apron to the tubes; or a water
apron or an apron of fire bricks may be in front of the tubes and the fire be
as usual; and the cylinders in this case may move toothed driving wheels
working into pinions on the axles and multiplying motion, or vice versa,
through the agency of differing diameters, with or without elastic resistance
being provided. And the principle of driving locomotive engines with the
driving wheels bearing on rolling wheels may be applied to any kind of
locomotive engine for transport purposes, whether moved by steam or other
agency, or to any form of boiler, which may be most convenient. In some
cases I prefer what is called the barrel to be of square form.