IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCOMOTIVES, TENDERS, AND ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCOMOTIVES, TENDERS, AND ROLLING
STOCK OF RAILWAYS." A communication from abroad by Auguste Estrade,
of Perpignan, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Denton Abel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd August 1881.
CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCOMOTIVES,
TENDERS, AND ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS." [A communication from abroad
by Auguste Estrade, of Perpignan, France.]
This Invention has for its object to improve generally the construction of
locomotives, tenders, and rolling stock of railways in such a manner as, firstly, to
impart thereto greater stability and safety against running off the rails by lowering
the centre of gravity thereof; secondly, to obtain increased speed by the use of
wheels of much larger diameter than at present; and thirdly, to obtain easier
motion and decreased wear and tear by a system of double suspension of the body
of the carriage or locomotive; in addition to these, other improvements are proposed
which will be presently described.
The bodies of the carriages are according to this Invention constructed entirely
of sheet metal and angle Ť or L iron ribs, and they are composed of an upper
and a lower compartment or floor, of which the latter is divided into three
chambers; the middle chamber may be used as a buffet, from which access is gained
to the upper compartment of the carriage by staircases, while the two side chambers
communicate therewith by passages formed between the wheels, in which may
also be placed lavatories and waterclosets. The upper floor may also be divided
into three separate chambers, in spaces between which are also arranged water
closets and lavatories.
The body of the carriage is suspended from a strong box shaped frame either by
means of a metallic rope attached at its ends to strong end brackets on the frame,

page_text: and passing alternately under rollers attached to the sides of the body (or to
suspending rods passing up from the lower part) and over other rollers on inter-
mediate brackets on the frame, or the suspension may be effected by means of
springs carried by the frame, from which suspending rods pass down to the lower
part of the body. The frame is itself supported upon the wheel axles by means of
other springs, the axle boxes of the wheels being carried in horn plates on the
underside of the frame. To prevent end motion of the body on the framing the
two are furthermore connected by horizontal links pivotted at one end to the body
and at the other end to the frame.
The lower part of the body is reduced in width at those parts where the wheels
are situated so as to be contained between the wheels, while the other parts and
the whole of the upper floor are considerably wider, projecting beyond the wheels,
access being gained to the upper compartments by means of staircases at the ends,
while the lower compartments have side doors. The wheels are of considerable
diameter, their axles being made to pass through the lower part of the body, the
floor of which is as close as possible to the rails. The frame has its ends curved
down, so that the buffer beam is considerably lower than the other part of the
frame, which in collisions therefore has a certain amount of elasticity and conse-
quently increased strength against fracture.
The locomotives are constructed with a cylindrical boiler, which, together with
all the machinery, is suspended by transverse beams from springs carried by a
longitudinal frame, which in its turn is supported on the wheels by other springs.
The cylinders are placed outside the longitudinal frame, being carried by brackets
- projecting from the boiler. These brackets carry two opposite sets of vertical bars
or rails which bear against rollers carried by transverse bearers on the frame, so
that as the frame vibrates up and down relatively to the boiler and its brackets,
these rollers roll up and down on the said rail, thus allowing freedom of motion of
the parts, while affording the brackets and cylinders a solid abutment against the
frame in either direction. The boiler is provided with a steam pipe enclosed
within an outer pipe, through the annular space of which the water is made to
circulate rapidly. This double tube is led through the fire box, and the part of the
steam tube within this contains wire gauze diaphragms at distances apart through
which the steam is made to pass, being thereby deprived of the watery particles
carried with it. The annular water space is provided with blow off cocks for
removing deposit from time to time.
B
The body of the tender is suspended by springs within a frame, which, as in the
carriage and locomotive, is in its turn supported on the axles by other springs.
The body is extended downwards to within a short distance from the rails, leaving
sufficient space below for the brake cylinder, auxilliary reservoir, and levers of the
Westinghouse" air brake apparatus, with which the locomotive and carriage are
also provided. The axles of the wheels consequently pass through the body, which
is for this purpose provided with transverse boxes enclosing the axles. The lower
part of the tender constitutes the water chamber, while the upper part carries the
fuel. As the lower part is divided into three separate compartments by the
transverse boxes for the axles, a communication between them is established at
bottom by means of pipes provided with cocks, so as to insure that the load of
water shall be distributed equally over the wheel base.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Denton Abel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th February 1882.
CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCOMOTIVES,
TENDERS, AND ROLLING STOCK OF RAILWAYS," A communication from abroad by
Auguste Estrade, of Perpignan, France.
This Invention has for its object to improve generally the construction of the
rolling stock of railways, and consists mainly in applying to carriages, locomotives,
and tenders a system of double suspension for the body so as to obtain easier
motion and consequently decreased wear and tear; and further, in employing such
a construction as will enable wheels of very large diameter to be employed, while
keeping the centre of gravity as low as possible, thereby enabling greater speed
to be obtained with increased stability against running off the rails or upsetting.
The construction of the rolling stock for these purposes will be readily under-
stood on reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figs. 1 to 3, Sheet I.,
shew the improvements applied to a carriage; Fig. 1 shews a part side elevation
and part longitudinal section; Fig. 2 shews a sectional plan on line x, x; and
Fig. 3 shews a cross section.
•
The body of the carriage is constructed entirely of sheet and angle T or ☐ iron,
as shewn; it is formed with an upper and lower story or floor; the lower story
is divided into three compartments, of which the middle one A may be employed as
a buffet or restaurant, from which access is gained to the upper floor by the
staircase a arranged in the space between the wheels. The two compartments B
and C communicate with the buffet by a passage formed in the spaces between the
wheels, in which spaces are also situated the water closets and lavatories.
On the upper floor the water closets are also arranged between the central
compartment and the end ones on each side of the communicating passages D, D.
Surrounding the body is a suspension frame T, upon which the body is suspended
either by means of wire ropes or by springs, and which in its turn is supported
upon the wheels by other springs. For suspending the body by means of a wire
rope the rope m is attached at its ends to strong brackets M on the frame T by
means of adjustable eye bolts m'; upon this rope rest rollers c³ attached to
brackets c¹ on the middle of crossheads R, the ends of which are connected to
rods c, whose lower ends are fixed to the bottom frame of the body. Or when
springs are employed the rods c¹ are connected by loops at their upper ends to the
ends of springs R that are supported at their middle by brackets r from the
frame T. This frame is in its turn supported on the axle boxes S* of the wheel
axles J by means of springs S, the ends of which are attached by links to brackets
S¹ on the frame, which also carries the horn plates S³.
For preventing longitudinal motion of the body when this is supported upon
wire ropes, the axes of the suspension pullies c³ are connected by rods Ĕ to
brackets F on the frame. The frame is constructed of box shape, and its ends are
curved downwards as shewn, so that the part I thereof forming the buffer beam
is at a lower level; by this construction the frame possesses considerable elasticity
against concussion in the case of collision, and the fracture thereof, and consequently
of the body, will in most cases be prevented.
Access is gained to the upper floor by means of external staircases K, at the top
of which a platform is constructed on the same level as the floor, and there is also
provided a hinged extension to the platform that can be let down, so as to establish
a communication with the platform of the next carriage. As will be seen this

page_text: '
construction of carriages allows of wheels of very large diameter being employed,
the body being recessed at the respective points to receive them, as shewn at
*Figs. 2 and 3.
Figs. 4 to 9 shew my improved construction as applied to a locomotive engine;
Fig. 4 shews a longitudinal section; Fig. 5 shews a plan; Fig. 6, a cross section;
Fig. 7, a front view, partly in section; Figs. 8 and 9 shew detached details.
The cylindrical body A of the engine together with the whole of the driving
mechanism is 'suspended by transverse bearers a and suspension rods a¹ to the
,ends of the springs B carried at their middles by brackets 6 fixed to the frame C,
which in its turn is suspended by bearers c and suspension bolts from the ends of
'the springs D carried on the axle boxes of the wheel axles d.
-
The cylinders A¹ are mounted beyond the frame on a plate E fixed to the boiler
by means of a bracket F, as shown at Figs. 6 and 8. On each side of this bracket
are vertical rails or ribs e, e, e, that are in contact with rollers f.f, carried on the
transverse beams G of the frame C, so that the boiler has a firm abuttment against
the frame, preventing any relative longitudinal movement between the two, while
at the same time the former can oscillate freely up and down within the latter
upon its springs F. The wheels of the engine are also of large diameter. Figs. 10,
11, and 12 shew respectively a longitudinal section, a sectional plan, and a
transverse section of a tender constructed according to the present Invention. The
body O of the tender is supported on transverse bearers f³, the ends of which are
suspended by rods f from the ends of springs R carried by the framing F, which
in its turn is supported by the springs S upon the axle-boxes 8 of the axles G of
the wheels g, which are of large diameter. The lower part O' of the tender
constitutes the water tank, and as this is divided transversely into three separate
compartments by the hollow partitions O*, through which the axles G pass, a com-
munication is established between them by the castings A, having passages through
which the water can flow from the one compartment to the other, and which are
provided with cocks at a for running off the water.
The transverse part F1 of the frame F next the engine is lowered, so as to be on
the same level as the foot plate of the latter.
In all three constructions of the rolling stock above described, the Westinghouse
pneumatic brake can be applied, as indicated in dotted lines.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I claim,―
First. Constructing the rolling-stock of railways with a frame within which the
body of the vehicle, engine, or tender is suspended by springs or their equivalents,
and which in its turn is supported by other springs upon the wheels, substantially
as herein described.
Second. In a locomotive engine having its body suspended by springs within a
frame that is carried by other springs upon the wheels, the use of rollers f carried
by the said frame and bearing against rails or ribs e on the body, substantially as
and for the purposes herein set forth.
Third. In a locomotive engine having its body suspended by springs within
a frame that is carried by other springs upon the wheels, the connection of the
cylinders A¹ with the body A by means of the plate E and frame F, substantially
as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denton Abel, have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Seventeenth day of February.in the year of our Lord