NEW IMPROVEMENT IN VALVES, AND THE COMBINATION OF THEM WITH MACHINERY
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
CLEGG, of 16, Sidmouth Street, Gray's Inn Lane, Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom called
England, bearing date at Westminster, the Third day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and thirty-nine, and in the second year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel
Clegg, Her especial license, that I, the said Samuel Clegg, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Clegg, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time 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 and Wales and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all
Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of a "NEW
IMPROVEMENT IN VALVES, AND THE COMBINATION OF THEM WITH MACHINERY;" in
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me,, the said
Samuel Clegg, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, parti-
cularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in
Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six months next and immediately
after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear..

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Clegg, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascer-
tained by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the words following, that is
to say :-
My improvement consists in a method of constructing and working valves,
in combination with machinery. These valves work on a hinge of leather or
other flexible material, which is practically air-tight (similar to the valves
commonly used in air pumps). The extremity or edge of these valves is caused
to fall into a trough containing a composition of bees'-wax and tallow, or any
substance or composition of substances which is solid at the temperature of
the atmosphere, and becomes fluid when heated to a few degrees above it.
After the valve is closed and its extremity is lying in the trough, the tallow is
heated sufficiently to seal up or cement together the fracture round the edge
or edges of the valve which the previous opening of it had caused; and then,
the heat being removed, the tallow again becomes hard, and forms an air-tight
joint or cement between the extremity of the valve and the trough.. When it
is requisite to open the 'valve, it is done by lifting it out of the tallow with or
without the application of heat; and the before-named process of sealing it or
rendering it air-tight is 'repeated every time it is closed (this, combination of
valves with machinery is made in the application of these valves to 'railways, or
other purposes, by a line of partially exhausted pipes, for the purpose of obtain-
ing a direct tractive force to move weights either on the railway or otherwise.
This I effect by laying down a continuous length of pipe, containing a 'lateral
slit or opening its whole length. A piston is made to travel in this pipe by
exhausting or 'drawing out the air from the pipe on one side of the piston, and
allowing free access to the atmosphere on the other side of it; an arm from
this piston 'passes thro' the lateral opening to attach to the carriages on the
railway, and draws them along with it. The whole of this lateral opening is
covered by the valve before, described; and that part of. it through which the
ärm passes is lifted to allow it to pass, and also for the admission of air.to.the
piston, by means of an apparatus connected to the arm. The carriage to
'which this ärm is attached I call the 'driving carriage; to the. hinder part of
this carriage a long heater is attached, which is drawn. along. by it 'upon the
tallow contained in the trough, and reseals the valve ready for the next train
'which repeats the operations above. described at certain distances. (which are
regulated by the nature of the road). Steam engines and air pumps, or other
apparatus, are fixed for exhausting the pipe. These engines I propose to place
about one mile apart in the first instance, and to vary. the distance either fo

page_text: greater or less, as I find to be most economical in practice); and at a short
distance beyond the connection from the engine to the pipe valves are placed,
closing the end of one length or section of pipe and the beginning of the
next, between which a space is left for stopping the trains if required.
These valves also divide the pipe into suitable lengths to be exhausted by each
apparatus, or close the end where it is not required to be continued, as on
declivities where the carriages will run by their own gravity; thus every section
of pipe is enclosed at the two ends by these valves, and is exhausted by its
own steam engine and apparatus. These valves, which I call the separating
valves, are opened by the driving carriage to allow the piston to pass, and are
closed after the train has passed. If the trains are required to be started as
frequently as possible, the engines are employed constantly exhausting the
pipe; but if a longer period than is necessary to exhaust the pipe be required
to elapse between starting the trains, the engines are employed in the interval
to exhaust large vessels or receivers, which, when the train starts, are opened
to the pipe to assist to obtain the vacuum therein, and to maintain it until the
In all the Figures of the Drawings hereunto annexed, which shew a method
of applying this apparatus to a railway, the same letters indicate the same
parts. Figure 1 to 5 inclusive are drawn on a scale of one inch to a foot;
6 and 7 are drawn on a scale of 6 inches to a foot.
Figure 1 is a plan of the driving carriage, to which the arm of the piston is
connected, with the upper part or body removed to shew the valve.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal elevation of the same, with one side of the pipe
removed to shew the apparatus for opening the valve; also shewing á section
of the furnace for the heater.
Figure 3 is an end elevation of the same.
Figure 4 is a section of the continuous pipe, cut at right angles to Figure 2,
at m, m, shewing the valve open, and the manner of attaching the arm to
the driving carriage, also the gear for opening the safety valve in the piston.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of the end of one of the continuous length of
pipe, shewing the communication to the exhausting apparatus, and the closing
or exit separating valve.
Figure 6 is a transverse section of the continuous pipe, and the frame in
which the wheels for opening the valve are fixed, cut at right angles to Fig. 2,
at 9, 9-
Figure 7 is the same view as Figure 6, with the valve and protecting

page_text: cover closed. A, A, the continuous pipe. This pipe is lined with a com-
position of bees'-wax and tallow, similar to that used for sealing the valve;
B, the piston; C, the arm which connects the piston to the driving carriage;
D, perch or bar attached to the axles E of the driving carriage by the bear-
ings X; F, the trough or groove containing the tallow in which the edge of
the valve G is immersed; G, G, continuous valve formed of leather or other
flexible material, rivetted between plates of metal in such a manner that the
leather forms a hinge, as in common pump valves; the fixed side of this
hinge is fastened down by a bar of iron 2, laid edgeways longitudinally along
it and pressed down on its surface by the screw bolts and nuts 3. This bar
is kept in its place against the side of the pipe by the screw bolts and nuts 4,
as shewn at Figures 6 and 7. When thus screwed down the composition,
similar to that used in the trough, is poured in at the back of the leather.
H, wheels for lifting the valve G, G, working on pins in the frame T, which
is firmly attached to the arm C. I, cover for protecting the valve G and the
trough from the weather and accidents; J, valve in the piston B; W, screw,
for opening the valve J; K, rod, having a square socket at one end, fitted
over the square head of the screw W, and to the other end of which is
attached a bevil wheel P, which works into another bevil wheel P¹; n, spindle,
one end of which is attached to the bevil wheel P', and the other end to
a handle L; M, balance weight, to keep the piston B from pressing
unequally against the sides of the pipe A, A; Y, universal joint, to allow
the balance weight to act, and also to allow for inequalities in the pipe
or rails; N, tube or flue, receiving heat and flame from the fireplace Z. The
bottom side of this tube rests on the tallow contained in the trough F; this
tube I call the heater. O, small rod or universal joint, by which the heater N
is attached to the perch D; f, valve working on a hinge h, h, for closing
the pipe near the end at which the piston enters; this I call an entrance
separating valve. Q, Fig. 5, valve for closing the other end of the pipe;
this I call an exit separating valve. C, lever, catching into the stop d for
keeping the separating valve f shut or open; e, spring for pressing the
lever cup to the stop d; R, a second lever, attached to the lever c by the
rod j, which should be about thirty feet long; k, cam or stud projecting
from the perch D for opening the valve f; i, the rails on which the carriages
travel;, the wheels of the driving carriage; U, a branch for connecting the
pipe A to the exhausting apparatus; this branch should be about thirty feet
from the valve Q; V, wheel attached to the perch D by a spring r; this
wheel presses on the valve G; b, spherical joint between the heater and
fireplace.

page_text: OPERATION.
In order to put the system into operation the first section of the continuous
pipe A, A, between two separating valves is partially exhausted. When the
driving carriage is at rest the entrance separating valve f is opened by an atten-
dant, but when in motion by the cam k coming in contact with the lever R,
which draws the rod ; and disengages the lever c from the catch d. The valve
then being disengaged will open by the atmospheric pressure and fall back into
a recess cast in the pipe. The lever is kept up to the catch by the spring e,
which causes it to catch again when the valve is wide open, and keep it from
closing, the valve f being opened. One side of the piston B is exposed to the
rarified atmosphere in the pipes, while the other side receives the full pressure
of the external atmosphere. This difference of pressure causes the piston to
move forward and draw with it the driving carriage to which it is attached.
This carriage, as it goes along, constantly raises the valve G, G, by means of
the wheels H, to admit the external atmosphere freely to the back of the
piston, and to allow a space for the connecting arm C. The cover I is at the
same time lifted by the perch of the driving carriage, as shewn at Fig. 2.
The wheel V, which follows the arm c, presses down the valve 9 ready for
the heater N, which is attached to and follows the driving carriage to remelt
the tallow which has been broken up by lifting the valve G. This heater is
kept hot by a fire lighted in the fireplace Z, the flame and heat from which
passes through the tube N, and the valve is thus resealed and left in a fit
state for the approach of the next train. When the train is stopped the
damper shewn by the dotted lines in that part of the tube at (6) is closed,
and that in the chimney (a) is opened, which causes the flame to escape at the
chimney (a) instead of passing through the heater (N) and escaping at (a¹);
the length of this heater is regulated by the speed at which the trains are
intended to travel. When the train arrives near the end of a portion of the
pipe the piston, after passing the branch U, condenses or compresses the air
in the remainder of the pipe which by its pressure opens the valve Q; this
valve may be closed after the train has passed by an attendant. The move-
ment of the universal joint Y is limited so as to be only sufficient for the
inequalities of the rails and continuous pipe, but it will not allow the piston
to diverge from its line enough to prevent it entering the next portion of the
pipe, the end of which is made larger or bell-mouthed to receive it. When
it is necessary to retard the speed of the train it may be done by a common
brake, or by slightly raising the valve J in the piston by means of the handle
L; this admits a portion of atmospheric air from the back of the piston B
into the rarified or exhausted part of the pipe A, in front of the piston, and

page_text: by this means lessens the difference of pressure between the front and back
of the piston. When it is required to stop the train with the piston in the
pipe, the valve J must be opened full. This valve must be of sufficient
dimensions to establish an equilibrium, or nearly so, on both sides of the
piston, and consequently to destroy the moving power of the train. In every
socket. or joint of each pipe a space is left between the packing. It contains
as shewn at S, Fig. 2. This space. is filled with a fluid, or semifluid, which
will be drawn into the pipe before any leakage of air can take place, and
which may be occasionally replenished. The composition I prefer is a
mixture, consisting of three parts tallow and one part bees'-wax, but these
proportions: may be varied according to circumstances, so long as it forms
always a solid substance at the temperature of the atmosphere, and can be
rendered partially fluid, as above described.
Now that. I have. described the nature, construction and action of my
improved valves, and the application thereof to railways and other purposes,
I do not claim the precise size or form of the various parts, or the using
of the precise materials herein described. But I claim exclusively the
method of constructing and using valves as above described, and combining
the said valves in the manner above described herein, for rendering avail-
able the application of direct tractive force, either on railways or otherwise."
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Clegg, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine