CERTAIN ADDITIONS TO THE ENGINES COMMONLY CALLED LOCOMO- TIVE ENGINES
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
BLAKER VIGNOLES, of Furnival's Inn, in the City of London, Engineer, and
JOHN ERICSSON, of Brook Street, Fitzroy Square, in the County of Middle-
sex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Seventh day of September, in the first year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Charles Blaker Vignoles and John Ericsson, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that we, the said Charles Blaker Vignoles and John Ericsson, our executors,
adñiors, and assigns, or such other persons as we or they should appoint or
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
our Invention of "CERTAIN ADDITIONS TO THE ENGINES COMMONLY CALLED LOCOMO-
TIVE ENGINES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that
we, the said Charles Blaker Vignoles and John Ericsson, or one of us,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited

page_text: Bers&atent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto nau,
more fully and at large appear.
WELL
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Charles Blaker Vignoles and John Ericsson, do hereby declare the nature of
our said Invention to consist in adding an apparatus to locomotive engines,
so constructed as to press or nip either the ordinary rail or a rail added
to the road for, the purpose in such manner as to produce friction or
adhesion independent of the weight of the locomotive engine. And in
further compliance with the said proviso, wo, the said Charles Blaker Vignoles
and John Ericsson, do hereby describo ono manner in which our said Inven-
tion may be performed, namely, where a rail is added to the road for the
purpose of our said Invention, and which rail, for distinction's sake, we call the
friction rail. And we thereby refer to the Drawing annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, for further elucidation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents an end view of the driving wheels and shaft of a
locomotive engine; and A, A, a section of part of its framework; B, C, are
the two driving wheels (13 shown in section); and D is the crank shaft so
constructed that the driving wheels may either turn round with it or not, and
which may be effected by any of the well-known means of throwing wheels
in or out of geer; E, E, are fixed collars on the crank shaft for that purpose;
F, F, are the sections of the two ordinary rails; and G, a section of a flat
bar of iron. forming the friction rail; H, II, H, are the supports for the
rails; J is a conical cogged wheel attached to the crank shaft and working
another conical cogged wheel K, which latter works a vertical shaft L,
carrying a roller M, which we call the driving roller. N is a moveable
shaft carrying what we call a pressure roller P and supported by a hinge
Q, Q, which will be better seen in Fig. 2, as will the lover R which is fixed
to the hinge Q, Q. S is a carriage piece or bracket carrying the shaft L and
hinge Q, Q; this carriago piece is fixed firmly to the framework of the
locomotive engine by supports or stays contrived to suit its construction.
:
Figure 2 is a plan, and Figure 3 a side view, of the carriage piece S, as
shown in Figure 1, and similar letters denote similar parts in all the Figures.
Tis a projection on the carriago picce on which the hinge Q, Q, works,
forming a fulcrum for the lever R.
In describing the manner in which our "Addition to the Locomotive
Engine performs, it is only necessary to direct our attention to Figure 2,
where it will be clearly seen that the driving roller M (which is moved by the

page_text: engine by means of the conical cog wheels J and K) is so placed as to touch the
side of the friction rail G, and that, if pressure be applied to the lever R at r;
the pressure roller P may be pressed against the rail with any force. The
consequence of which must be, to nip or pinch the rail between the two rollers
to any extent, or,.in, other words, to cause any degree of adhesion between the
driving roller and the rail. It will be necessary here to observe that tho
lever R should have the properties of a spring, namely, to bend and still
retain its power, in order to compensate for any inequalities in the thickness
of the friction rail, which of course will cause a continual variation in the
distance from L and N. It is hardly necessary to observe that by relieving
the pressure on the lever at r, our "addition" to the engine will discontinue
to perform. Also, that by attaching the ordinary driving wheels. B and C
to the fixed collars E, E, on the crank shaft of the locomotive engine, will bo
propelled in the usual way instead of by the driving roller M. It is evident
that our driving roller M may be worked in a variety of ways, either by being
attached to and moved by the common engine or by a separate steam engine,
and that it may be attached either to the locomotive engine carriage itself
or to its tender carriage; and it is further evident that our Invention may be
attached to any kind of engine, for the purpose of propelling either carriages
or boats.
But whereas we claim as our Invention the addition of an apparatus to
locomotive engines, so constructed as to press or nip either the ordinary
rail or a rail added to the road for the 'purpose in such manner as to produce
friction or adhesion independant of the weight of the engine, whereby the
capability of locomotive engines in ascending inclined planes and propelling
great loads is increased; and such our Invention being, to the best of our
knowledge and belief, entirely new, and never before used within that part of
His said Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, His said Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
we do hereby declare this to be our Specification of the same, and that we do
verily believe this our said Specification doth comply in all respects fully
and without reserve or disguise with the proviso in the said herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore, we do hereby claim to
maintain exclusive right and privilege to our said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Blacker Vignoles, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-one.
CHARLES B. (L.S.) VIGNOLES.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourth day of March, 1831,
the aforesaid Charles Blacker Viguoles came before our said Lord the King
in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and
every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord Ono
and thirts ang