Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Heating Railway Carriages and other Vehicles.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1889-Accepted, 28th Dec., 1889
[Communicated from abroad by CHARLES DESOUCHES, of 95, Boulevard Beaumarchais,
Paris, France.]
Improvements in and relating to Apparatus for Heating Railway
Carriages and other Vehicles.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to a method of heating railway carriages and other vehicles
by means of improved apparatus, without exposing the occupants of the said carriages
or vehicles to the danger of asphyxy or head-ache, and without inconveniencing
their feet.
Heretofore almost all apparatus for heating carriages or vehicles have been placed
in the interior of the carriages or vehicles where they present the inconvenience of
obstructing the entrance and exit, and not enabling the feet to be conveniently
placed, whether they are heated by water, acetate of soda, or charcoal. They present
the still more serious defect, when heated by any kind of fuel of exposing the
occupants of the vehicle to the danger of asphyxy or head-ache, causing a disagreeable
odour and compelling them to keep one of the windows more or less open.
To minimize these defects, attempts have been made to conduct the deleterious
gas to the outside; other apparatus are employed for heating by steam the under-
side of the seats which is disagreeable to the occupants. An apparatus has also
been devised which is placed under the carriage, and in which the current of air
produced in the motion of the carriage or vehicle is utilized for causing the
combustion of the fuel and for renewing the air in the carriage as in air stoves;
but this apparatus has not met with any success.
:
The improved apparatus constructed according to my invention is designed to
obviate all the above mentioned inconveniences. It is placed below the carriage
or vehicle and is not seen either inside or outside the same. Instead of using the
current of air which is produced by the motion of the carriage or vehicle and
which carries away heat, I employ means for protecting the apparatus from such
a current. The special charcoal used in the said apparatus burns in the same
with very little air without being extinguished.
A characteristic portion of my invention is the hermetic closing of the sides or
walls of the apparatus and the covering of the same with materials which form bad
conductors of heat in order to obviate the cooling of the upper plate designed for
the heating.
Another characteristic feature of my invention is that the heat is communicated to
the atmosphere of the carriage or vehicle and also to the feet of the occupants
through the medium of this upper plate placed on a level with the floor of the carriage
or vehicle.
The above mentioned charcoals are manufactured by chemical means and last say
from six to twenty hours and longer, so that the carriage or vehicle can be heated
without disturbing the occupants of the same, whatever may be the length of the
journey, which is a new and important feature.
The apparatus is moreover contructed with a view to obtain great solidity and at
the same time the best possible utilization of the heat generated by the combustion.
This improved apparatus comprises a box A which is placed below the carriage or
vehicle and is made of sheet metal to obviate all danger of fire. In order that there
shall not be any loss of heat this box is covered on the outside with wood B or any
other suitable bad conductor of heat such as cork, felt, amianthus, or the like. The

page_text: top or upper plate through which the heat is transmitted will hereinafter be
described. The form of the box is adapted to the carriage or vehicle to which it is
applied. It is generally of an elongated shape, its large sides being turned to the
front and to the rear of the carriage or vehicle.
In order that the current of air caused by the motion of the carriage or vehicle,
shall not carry away the hot air, and that the external cold air shall not cool the
latter, these sides and also the bottom are hermetically closed and covered.
The walls B of the box which form the front on the right and on the left hand side of
the carriage or vehicle and which extend in the direction of the forward and backward
niovement are pierced with some small holes for giving access to the small quantity of
air which is necessary for the combustion. They allow at the same time the escape
to the outside of the gaseous products which are injurious to health and which
heretofore remained in the interior of the carriage or vehicle. The top or upper part
of the aforesaid box is formed of a sheet iron plate covered with a sheet of copper for
the sake of elegance. The said sheet of copper may bear the name of the apparatus
and the name and address of the manufacturer in relief to prevent the feet from
slipping if no carpet is used. These two upper plates protrude beyond the edges of
the box all around the latter so as to retain the apparatus in the space reserved for it
at the bottom of the carriage. To prevent this top or upper part which is designed
for transmitting the heat to the interior of the carriage or vehicle from being
-damaged under the weight of the occupants, it is supported by a perforated sheet iron
plate G which is curved to an arc of a circle, this form being maintained by means of
a flat plate H provided with large openings.
In the interior of the box is placed a sliding case or drawer T which is designed to
receive the burning charcoal and is kept closed by means of a spring catch E. The
edges of the two sides of the said drawer are bent to a semi-circle to partly embrace
and slide upon two guides F of iron which keep the drawer in its place in the middle
of the apparatus.
The aforesaid drawer is divided into compartments for containing more or less
charcoal according to the degree of cold outside and according to the size of the
carriage or vehicle. All the sides and partitions of this drawer are pierced with
holes in order to provide for the passage of air which the charcoal requires. For
the same purpose the bottom of the aforesaid drawer is fluted in the direction of its
length.
When in summer the apparatus is not used, upon the opening in the floor of the
carriage or vehicle is placed a plate of the same size which is provided above with a
plate extending beyond the edges thereof and it is covered by a carpet. The
formation of an opening in the floor of the carriage or vehicle is a very simple
operation which does not in any way prejudice the solidity of the said carriage or
vehicle. It is sufficient to place the two small angle-irons across the floor so as to
pass along the opposite edges of the opening.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by
my Foreign Correspondent I declare that what I claim as the invention communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent is :-
1
The heating of railway carriages and other vehicles, such as public and private
carriages, omnibuses, tramway-cars, and the like, characterized by the special
arrangements of apparatus as hereinbefore described and represented in the accom-
panying drawing.
Dated this 26th day of Novambon 1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.