IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough l'ark,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STEAM ENGINES."- A communication from abroad by Francis Bowes
Stevens, residing at New York, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 14th July 1863, and dated the 8th May 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson Bous-
field at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 8th May 1863.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," to be as follows:-
It has heretofore been proposed to withdraw the steam from the cylinder
of a steam engine by two successive discharges by means of two sets of
eduction valves, the first set opening and closing before the last set commence
to open; in this Specification this action is referred to as a double eduction,
and the first of the two successive discharges is called the first eduction, the
other discharge is called the second eduction.
The improvements consist in certain combinations and arrangements by
which the principle of double eduction is applied to the steam engine.
An apparatus has been attached to condensing steam engines that cools the
water delivered from the hot well, so that this cooled water can be again

page_text: injected into the condenser. This apparatus in this Specification is designated
by the term cooler, and I refer to the Patent granted to William Symington,
A. D. 1835, and numbered 6925, and to the Patent granted to Thomas
Howard, A. D. 1846, and numbered 11,141, and to the Patent granted to
William Edward Newton, A. D. 1861, and numbered 2569, as examples of
different forms of coolers.
The first part of the improvements consists in diminishing the amount of
surface required in a cooler without impairing the vacuum in the ordinary or
common condenser of the engine, and this is done by combining a cooler with
a double eduction; this combination is made by delivering into an additional
condenser the steam discharged from the cylinder by the first eduction, and by
delivering the water from this additional condenser into a cooler at a tem-
perature higher than that maintained in the ordinary or common condenser ;
and by delivering into the ordinary or common condenser the steam discharged
from the cylinder by the second eduction, the difference between the average
temperature of the water to be cooled and that of the cooling water. is thus
increased, and the amount of cooling. surface required without impairing the
vacuum in the common condenser thereby diminished.
The following is an arrangement for carrying out this improvement :-The
water from the hot well of the ordinary condenser is, according to this
argument, led to the additional condenser, and constitutes the injection water
of this condenser, and being drawn from this condenser by an air pump is
delivered into a hot well and into the cooler, which is composed of a pipe, the
greater portion of which is immersed in water at a temperature higher than
that maintained in the common condenser, and after being cooled in the
cooler, the water is led to the common condenser, and constitutes the injection
water of this condenser; the same water thus acts successively as the cooling
water for both condensers. The feed pipe is attached to the hot well of the
additional condenser in order that the feed water may be drawn off from the
hot well in which the temperature of the water is the highest; this pipe is
attached to the hot well above the level at which the water is delivered into
the pipe which constitutes the cooler, the water in the hot well can thereby
be prevented from falling below the level of the pipe which forms the cooler.
Another arrangement for carrying out this improvement is as follows:-In
this arrangement the water taken from the hot well of the additional con-
denser is passed through a cooler, and is then returned cooled to this con-
denser; the water that is taken, from the hot well of the common condenser is
also passed through a cooler, and is then returned cooled to this condenser.
The feed pipe is attached to the hot well of the additional condenser above the

page_text: level of the pipe which forms the cooler.
The two hot wells are connected
by a pipe in order that the amount of water added to the common condenser.
by the condensation of steam therein may be led to the hot well of the addi-
tional condenser, so that it may be returned to the boiler. One double-acting
air
pump connected at one end with the hot well of the common condenser,
and at the other end with the hot well of the additional condenser, can, if
desired, be used instead of two single-acting pumps.
The second part of the improvements consists in simplifying the apparatus
that condenses the steam discharged by the first eduction from the cylinder of
a condensing steam engine by closing the hot well of the engine against the
atmosphere, and by keeping a portion of the space of the hot well free from
water, and by delivering the steam discharged from the cylinder by the first
eduction into the hot well so that it may be condensed or partially condensed
by the water delivered by the air pump into the hot well. The hot well is
thus made to act also as an additional condenser, and dispenses altogether with
an additional air pump to draw the water from the additional condenser.
This apparatus can be used in connection with the first part of the improve-
ments, or it can be used when it is desired to heat the feed water by the steam
discharged from the cylinder by the first eduction.
The following is an arrangement for carrying out this improvement:-The
hot well is closed against the atmosphere, and has a portion of its space free
from water; into this space the steam discharged from the cylinder by the
first eduction is led by a pipe; the water from the air pump is also delivered
into the portion of the space of the hot well that contains only the steam or
uncondensed vapor discharged from the cylinder by the first eduction, and in
falling will be further heated by the steam. A pipe leads the water from the
hot well to a cooler, from whence it is returned to the ordinary or common
condenser of the engine; a snifting valve is placed in the hot well above the
level at which the water in the hot well rises. The air or uncondensed vapour
is suifted out of the hot well through this valve by the compression of this air
by the volume of water discharged into the hot well from the air pump. A
small air pump placed in the same position as the snifting valve can be used
as an equivalent for it. If the object in delivering the steam discharged from
the cylinder by the first eduction into the hot well is to heat the feed water,
then the pipe which conducts the water in the hot well to a cooler is not
used, but instead a discharge pipe will deliver the water into the atmosphere.
This pipe must turn upwards to close the hot well against the atmosphere, and
to prevent air entering the hot well, and it must deliver the water at a level
above that at which the feel pipe is attached; the snifting valve must also be

page_text: so loaded as to rise before there is sufficient pressure in the hot well for the
air or vapour to be blown out through the pipe.
It has previously been proposed to withdraw the steam discharged from
the cylinder of a steam engine by the first eduction by means of a valve so
moved by the mechanism of the engine as to open and close a port made
midway in the length of the cylinder at the intervals of time desired. I refer
to an engine described at page 169 of the Practical Mechanics' Journal, pub-
lished in London, A. D. 1850 and 1851, and to a valve described at Figure 12
in the Specification of a Patent granted to William Edward Newton, A. D.
1861 (No. 2536) for heating the feed water of engines, and referred to as a
communication from Francis Bowes Stevens, as examples of this method of
discharging steam by the first eduction. In the first example referred to, the
discharge by the first eduction commences on the induction side of the piston,
and terminates on the eduction side; in the second example, the discharge by
the first eduction takes place wholly on the induction or steam side of the piston.
The third part of the improvement consists in simplifying the machinery
for discharging the steam by the first eduction from a port made midway in
the length of the cylinder, and from the steam or induction side of the piston,
by dispensing with the valve moved by the mechanism of the engine to open
and close this port; this is done by so arranging the relative proportions of the
length of the stroke of the piston, and of the depth of the piston and its
packing, and of the width of the port made midway in the length of the
cylinder that this port shall not be uncovered by the piston until that part of
the stroke is attained at which it is desired to withdraw the steam through the
port, thus making the piston act as the valve to open this port. By the term
width of the port is meant the measurement of the port in the direction
parallel to the axis of the cylinder.
The following is an arrangement for applying this part of the Invention:-
A port is made midway in the length of the cylinder, and when the piston has
performed about ths of its stroke it will have passed beyond, and thus
uncovered this port, thus allowing the steam from the induction side of the
piston to pass through a pipe leading from the port, and to enter a vessel
below the surface of the water and to heat this water. When the stroke of
the piston is about 22 inches, the depth of the rubbing surface of the piston
and its packing should be about four and a half inches and the width of the
port about one-half of an inch. If the relative proportions of the length of
the stroke, and of the depth of the piston and its packing, and of the width of
the port are varied, then the time at which the first eduction commences will
also vary. If the relative proportion of the stroke is greater than above given,

page_text: then the first eduction will commence sooner. If the relative proportion of the
depth of the rubbing surface of the piston and its packing is made greater than
above given, then the first eduction will commence later. If the relative pro-
portion of the width of the port is made greater than above given, then the
first eduction will commencé sooner. As the port is placed midway in the
length of the cylinder, the operation on the return stroke of the piston will
be the same. If the steam is discharged into a vessel in which the pressure
is at any time greater than that in the cylinder, a check valve is then inter-
posed between the port and this vessel.
The fourth part of the improvement consists in heating the feed water of a
locomotive by delivering the steain discharged from the cylinders by the first
eduction into the feed pipe between the tank and the force pump, and by
making this steam as it enters the feed pipe take a direction towards the force
pump, and by carrying off any accumulation of steam that may collect in the
feed pipe by running a branch pipe from the feed pipe between the place
where the first eduction is delivered and the pump to a point above the level
of the water carried in the tank, and by leaving the top of this branch pipe
open to the atmosphere.
I do not in this Specification confine or restrain myself to the precise appli-
cations of the Invention which I have had occasion to describe or refer to, as
variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the principles or
main features of the said Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th November 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS er most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special licence that I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at

page_text: 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 STEAM ENGINES," a communication to me from abroad by
Francis Bowes Stevens, a person resident at New York, in the United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Tomlinson
Bousfield, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
It has heretofore been proposed to withdraw the steam from the cylinder of
a steam engine by two successive discharges by means of two sets of eduction
valves, the first set opening and closing before the last set commence to open;
in this Specification this action is referred to as a double eduction, and the
first of the two successive discharges is called the first eduction, the other
discharge is called the second eduction.
The improvements consist in certain combinations and arrangements by
which the principle of double eduction is applied to the steam engine.
An apparatus has been attached to condensing steam engines that cools the
water delivered from the hot well, so that this cooled water can be again
injected into the condenser. This apparatus in this Specification is designated
by the term cooler; and I refer to the Patent granted to William Symington,
A. D. 1835, and numbered 6925, and to the Patent granted to Thomas
Howard, A. D. 1846, and numbered 11,141, and to the Patent granted to
William Edward Newton, A. D. 1861, and numbered 2569, as examples of
different forms of coolers.
The first part of the improvements consists in diminishing the amount of
surface required in a cooler without impairing the vacuum in the ordinary or
common condenser of the engine, and this is done by combining a cooler with
a double eduction. This combination is made by delivering into an additional
condenser the steam discharged from the cylinder by the first eduction, and
by delivering the water from this additional condenser into a cooler at a tem-
perature higher than that maintained in the ordinary or common condenser,

page_text: and by delivering into the ordinary or common condenser the steam discharged
from the cylinder by the second eduction, the difference between the
average temperature of the water to be cooled and that of the cooling water is
thus increased, and the amount of cooling surface required without impairing
the vacuum in the common condenser thereby diminished.
Figure 1 is a vertical Drawing of an application of the first part of the
improvements, the two condensers with their channel ways, air pumps, and
hot wells being shown in section.
A is the additional condenser into which the steam is discharged from the
cylinder of the engine by the first eduction; B is the common condenser into
which the steam is discharged from the cylinder of the engine by the second.
eduction; C is the air pump of B; D is the hot well of B; E is the air pump
of A; F is the hot well of A; G is a pipe leading from the hot well of con-
denser B, and terminating in the jet of condenser A; H is a pipe forming a
cooler, the greater portion of this pipe being supposed to be immersed in water
colder than the water contained within it; I is the feed pipe attached to the
hot well of condenser A, in order that the feed water may be drawn off from
the hot well in which the temperature of the water is the highest; this pipe
is shown attached to the bot well above the level at which the water is
delivered into the pipe H.
In this application of the first improvement the operation is as follows:-
The water from the hot well of condenser B is led by the pipe G to the con-
denser A, and constitutes the injection water of this condenser, and being
drawn from this condenser by the air pump E is delivered into the hot well F
and into the cooler H at a temperature higher than that maintained in the
common condenser B, and after being cooled in the cooler H the water is led
to condenser B, and constitutes the injection water of this condenser, the same
water thus acting successively as the cooling water for both condensers. The
pipe I being attached to the hot well F above the level at which the pipe H
is attached, the water in the hot well F can thereby be prevented from falling
below the level of the pipe H.
Figure II. is a vertical Drawing of another application of the first part of
the improvements. In this application the pipe K forms the cooler that cools
the water taken from the hot well F of the additional condenser A, and that
is then returned cooled to this condenser A, and the pipe L forms the cooler
that cools the water that is taken from the hot well D of the common, con-
denser B, and that is then returned cooled to this condenser B. The feed
pipe I is attached to the hot well F of condenser A above the level of the
pipe K. The two hot wells are connected by the pipe M in order that the

page_text: amount of water added to condenser B by the condensation of steam therein
may be led to the hot well F of condenser A, so that it may be returned to
the boiler. One double-acting air pump connected at one end with the hot
well D, and at the other end with the hot well F, can, if desired, be used instead
of the two single-acting pumps C and E.
The second part of the improvements. consists in simplifying the apparatus
that condenses the steam discharged by the first eduction from the cylinder of
a condensing steam engine by closing the hot well of the engine against the
atmosphere, and by keeping a portion of the space of the hot well free from
water, and by delivering the steam discharged from the cylinder by the first
eduction into the hot well, so that it may be condensed or partially condensed
by the water delivered by the air pump into the hot well. The hot well is
thus made to act also as an additional condenser, and dispenses altogether
with an additional air pump to draw the water from the additional condenser.
This apparatus can be used in connection with the first part of the improve-
ments, or it can be used when it is desired to heat the feed water by the steam
discharged from the cylinder by the first eduction.
Figure III. is a vertical sectional Drawing of an application of the second
part of the improvements. N is the ordinary or common single-acting air
pump of a condensing engine; O is the delivery valve of this pump; P is the
hot well closed against the atmosphere, and having a portion of its space free
from water; Q is the pipe leading the steam discharged from the cylinder by
the first eduction into the hot well; R is the feed pipe; S is the pipe for
discharging the water from the hot well into a cooler, this pipe being placed
below the level of the feed pipe R; T is a snifting valve placed above the level
at which the water rises in the hot well. The air or uncondensed vapor is
snifted out of the hot well through this valve by the compression of this air by
the volume of water discharged into the hot well from the air pump.
The operation is as follows:-The air pump bucket is represented as being
on its up stroke, and the water delivered by the previous stroke of the pump
is represented as having fallen to the level of the line marked a, a; the water
in the air pump will thus be delivered into the hot well above the level of the
line a, a, and into a portion of the space of the hot well that contains only
steam or uncondensed vapor, and in falling will be further heated by the steam
discharged from the cylinder by the first eduction by the pipe Q into the hot
well. The pipe S leads the water from the hot well to the cooler, from
whence it is returned to the ordinary or common condenser of the engine.
The valve T must be so loaded as to rise when the delivery valve O rises, and
thus snift out the uncondensed vapour or air. A small air. pump placed in

page_text: the same position as the snifting valve can be used as an equivalent for it.
If the object in delivering the steam discharged from the cylinder by the first
eduction into the hot well is to heat the feed water, then the pipe S is not
used, but instead the discharge pipe U, shown in dotted lines, will deliver the
water into the atmosphere. This pipe must turn up, as shown, to close the
hot well against the atmosphere, and to prevent air entering the hot well, and
it is represented as delivering the water at a level above that at which the
feed pipe is attached, and the valve T must be so loaded as to rise before there
is sufficient pressure in the hot well for the air or vapor to be blown out
through the pipe U.
Figure IV. is a vertical sectional view of another application of the second
part of the improvements. The same letters of reference are used as in
Figure III., but the form of the hot well and of the delivery valve are different
from those shown in Figure III.
It has previously been proposed to withdraw the steam discharged from the
cylinder of a steam engine by the first eduction by means of a valve so moved
by the mechanism of the engine as to open and close a port made midway in
the length of the cylinder at the intervals of time, if desired. I refer to an
engine described at page 169 of the Practical Mechanics' Journal, published
in London, A.D. 1850 and 1851, and to a valve described at Figure 12 in the
Specification of a Patent granted to William Edward Newton, A. D. 1861,
No. 2536, for heating the feed water of engines, and referred to as a com-
munication from Francis Bowes Stevens, as examples of this method of dis-
charging steam by the first eduction. In the first example referred to, the
discharge by the first eduction commences on the induction side of the piston,
and terminates on the eduction side; in the second example, the discharge
of the first eduction takes place wholly on the induction or steam side of the
piston.
The third part of the improvements consists in simplifying the machinery
for discharging the steam by the first eduction from a port made midway in
the length of the cylinder, and from the steam or induction side of the piston,
by dispensing with the valve moved by the mechanism of the engine to open
and close this port; this is done by so arranging the relative proportions of
the length of the stroke of the piston, and of the depth of the piston and its
packing, and of the width of the port made midway in the length of the
cylinder that this port shall not be uncovered by the piston until that part of
the stroke is attained at which it is desired to withdraw the steam through
the port, thus making the piston act as the valve to open this port. By the

page_text: term width of the port is meant the measurement of the port in the direction
parallel to the axis of the cylinder.
Figure V. is a vertical sectional Drawing, made on a scale of of an inch
to an inch, of an application of the third part of the improvement to a non-
condensing engine to heat water by steam withdrawn by the first eduction.
V is the cylinder of the engine, the piston of which is supposed to be moving
in a direction from left to right or from the stuffing-box end of the cylinder,
and represented as having performed about ths of its stroke, and as
having just uncovered the port W made midway in the length of the cylinder,
thus allowing the steam from the induction side of the piston to pass through
the pipe X and to enter the vessel Y below the surface of the water, and to
heat this water. The stroke of the piston is supposed to be about 22 inches,
and the depth of the rubbing surface of the piston and its packing is repre-
sented to be four and a half inches, and the width of the port W is repre-
sented to be one-half of an inch. If the relative proportions of the length of
the stroke, and of the depth of the piston and its packing, and of the width of
the port are varied, then the time at which the first eduction commences will
also vary. If the relative proportion of the stroke is greater than above given,
then the first eduction will commence sooner. If the relative proportion of the
depth of the rubbing surface of the piston and its packing is made greater
than above given, then the first eduction will commence later. If the relative
proportion of the width of the port is made greater than above given, then the
first eduction will commence sooner. As the port W is placed midway in the
length of the cylinder, the operation on the return stroke of the piston will be
the same. If the steam is discharged into a vessel in which the pressure is
at any time greater than that in the cylinder, I then interpose a check valve
between the port W and this vessel.
Figure VI. is a vertical sectional Drawing of the third part of the improve-
ments, in which a check valve Z is interposed between the opening W and
the vessel Y. This vessel is supposed to be closed against the atmosphere,
and the water delivered by the pipe 1 is heated by the steam while falling to
the level of the pipe 2, by which it is drawn off. In this application the steam
discharged by the first eduction from the cylinder of a non-condensing engine
can heat water above 212° Fahrenheit, or the steam discharged by the first
eduction from the cylinder of a condensing engine can be condensed.
The fourth part of the improvements consists in heating the feed water of a
locomotive by delivering the steam discharged from the cylinders by the first
eduction into the feed- pipe between the tank and the force pump, and by

page_text: making this steam as it enters the feed pipe take a direction towards the force
pump, and by carrying off any accumulation of steam that may collect in the
feed pipe by running a branch pipe from the feed pipe between the place
where the first eduction is delivered and the pump to a point above the level
of the water carried in the tank, and by leaving the top of this branch pipe
open to the atmosphere.
I improve the first part of the improvements by condensing the steam
delivered by either the first or second eduction by a surface condenser instead
of by a cooler; thus, if in the application shown in Figure II. the pipe Lis
disconnected from the hot well E of the additional condenser, and is connected
instead to the pipe delivering the steam discharged from the cylinder by the
first eduction, then this steam will be condensed by surface condensation while
passing through the pipe L. And in like manner the pipe K can be discon-
nected from the hot well D of the ordinary or common condenser, and can be
connected instead to the pipe delivering the steam discharged from the
cylinder by the second eduction; in doing this, I still retain the essential
feature of the first part of the improvments of maintaining a higher average
temperature in the pipe L than in the pipe K, and of thereby reducing the
amount of surface required without impairing the vacuum in the ordinary or
common condenser B.
When the pipe L is connected to the pipe delivering the steam discharged
by first eduction, as just described, then if its area is contracted throughout
its length, so that this area is no greater than sufficient to carry off the steam
delivered by the first eduction, and not sufficiently great to allow the steam to
expand in it, then the apparatus can be simplified by connecting the pipe L,
or its equivalent, to the ordinary condenser B, and by dispensing with the
additional condenser and the additional air pump E, but in this case the
difference in temperature between the inside of the pipe L and the inside of the
pipe K would not be as great as it would be if the additional condenser A and
air pump E were used.
I do not in this Specification confine or restrain myself to the precise appli-
cations of the Invention which I have had occasion to describe or refer to, as
variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the principles or
main features of the said Invention. What claim as the Invention commu-
nicated to me, is,
First, increasing the average difference between the temperature inside of a
surface condenser or cooler and the temperature of the cooling water by the
combination of a cooler or of a surface condenser with a double eduction,
in the manner herein described and set forth.

page_text: Secondly, condensing the steam discharged from the cylinder of a steam
engine by the first eduction by delivering this steam into the hot well of the
engine, as herein described and set forth.
Thirdly, taking the steam from the cylinder by the first eduction on the
induction side of the piston througli openings made.midway in.the length of
the cylinder without the intervention of a valve moved by the mechanism of
the engine, as herein described and set forth.
Fourthly, delivering the steam discharged by the first. eduction from the
cylinders of a locomotive engine into the feed pipe between the tank and the
force pump, as herein described and set forth..
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)