CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING LOCOMOTIVE CARRIAGES
Year: 1831

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DAVID
NAPIER, of Warren Street, Fitzroy Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, and JAMES and WILLIAM NAPIER, of Glasgow, Engineers, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Ilis present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by Ilis Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing dato
at Westminster, the Fourth day of March, in the first year of His reign, did,
for Himself, is heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said David
Napier and James and William Napier, Ilis especial licence, sole privilege
and authority, that we, the said David Napier and James and William Napier,
our exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said David Napier
and James and William Napier, our exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING
LOCOMOTIVE CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that we, the said David Napier and James and William Napier, or one of us,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled 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 Letters l'atent, as in and

page_text: by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
David Napier and James and William Napier, do hereby declare that the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
is particularly described and ascertained the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-
Our improvements in machinery for propelling lecomotive carriages consist,
first, in communicating the power of the engine or engines for propelling the
carriage to the wheels by means of a belt, strap, or band, made of leather or
any other suitable material, and which belt or band works upon two pulleys or
drums, the one fixed upon a shaft connected with the engine or engines, the
other fixed upon or connected with the axle or wheels of the carriage (more
than one of which belts may be used if necessary). This will be better under-
stood by referring to Figures 1 and 2 in the Drawing. A, A, are two steam
boilers; B, B, the two cylinders of engines, working horizontally and fastened
upon the boilers; C, C, C, C, the framing of engines, which is also fastened to
the boilers and engine cylinders; D, D, connecting rods of engines; E, the
crank shaft of engines, upon which is fixed the pulley or drum F, from which
pulley the strap 9 communicates the power of the engine to the pulley or
drum H, which in the present case is fixed on the middle of the wheel axle I;
K, K, the hind wheels of carriage; L, L, L, fore wheels and axle of carriage,
which turns on a circular plate m for the purpose of guiding the carriage on
the common roads. The boilers and engines being firmly fastened together,
thus forming one entire piece, is suspended by springs n, n, n, Fig. 2, from a
framework o, o, Fig. 2, resting upon the wheel axles of the carriage, and
having no connection with the said carriage or framework but by the springs
and belts or bands. It is thus freed from the severe jolts and shakes of the
road, which are so injurious to machinery. (The letters of reference in
Figures 1 and 2 point to the same parts in each.) The above arrangement is
applicable to common or turnpike roads, and may be easily altered to be
suitable for railways; and we, however, lay no claim to this or any other
arrangement of the parts of the machinery, but merely, as above, to the appli-
cation of the belt, strap, or band, made of leather or any other suitable
substance, with either cylindrical or conical pulleys or drums, to communicate
the power of the engine or engines to the wheels of carriages.
シ
Our second improvement is in the construction of the steam boiler or boilers
and will be best understood by reference to Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

page_text: Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the external shell for the purpose of contain-
ing the water and steam, being a hollow cylinder, having one end close in the
form of a hemisphere, the other end open, for the purpose of receiving
internally the furnace flues. Fig. 4 is an end view or elevation of open-end a
of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of furnace and flues, consisting of
one large tube a and a reservoir or chamber 6, and; a number of small tubes
c, c,, c, c, &c., one end of large and small tubes or flues terminating in the
reservoir or chamber b, and the other end terminating in the plate d, d. The
manner of action is as follows:-Fig. 5 being run into the shell, Fig. 3, as
shewn in Sections 7 and 8, (Fig. 7 being horizontal section of shell and flues,
taken at the dotted line c, c, of Fig. 10; and Fig. 8 a vertical section of the
same, taken at the dotted line f, f, Fig 7, and the plate d, Fig. 5, being
jointed to the flanche of the external shell, Fig. 3. The tubes are surrounded
by water, as shewn by the dotted line, Fig. 8, leaving space above said dotted
line for steam room. The flame, smoke, and heated air pass from the surface
through the large tube or flue a into the reservoir or chamber b, and from
which reservoir or chamber return through the small tubes or flues c, c, c,
and into the chimney or outlet ½, h, at the furnace end of boiler.
The
course of the flame, &c. may be distinctly understood by the arrows, Fig. 5.
Fig. 9 is a bird's-eye view of the external form of boiler. Fig. 10 is an end
view or elevation of Fig. 9. Fig 6 is a vertical section of Fig. 9, taken at
the dotted line e, e, shewing the end of the flues and furnace.
We, however, lay no claim to the number, size, or form of the tubes or flues
that compose the boiler; they may consist of more or fewer, be larger or
smaller, or of whatever form that may suit best the plans of the engineer; and
instead of one main or large tube or flue a, it may consist of two or more;
also the furnace or furnaces may be either wholly or partially within the main
flue or flues, or may be wholly without them and connected to them, as also
the form of the reservoir or chamber may be varied at pleasure. But what
we claim on this head is a reservoir or chamber, into which the flue or flues
coming from the furnace or furnaces terminate, and from which reservoir or
chamber another set or number of flues commence and return through the
boiler, as stated above, into the chimney or outlet at furnace end of boiler, as
shewn by the arrows.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Napier, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Second day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.
DAVID (L.S.) NAPIER.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Second day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1831, the aforesaid David Napier came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, 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 Third day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.