IMPROVE MENTS IN ENGINES TO RUN ON COMMON ROADB
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Waltham and Thomas Waltham, of
Stockwell, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN ENGINES TO RUN ON COMMON ROADB."
Sealed the 3rd August 1869, and dated the 1st May 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Waltham and
Thomas Waltham at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their l'etition, on the 1st May 1869.
We, EDWARD WALTHAM and THOMAS WALTHAM, of Stockwell, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES TO RUN ON COMMON ROADS," to be as follows:
This Invention has for its object improvements in engines to run on
common roads.
The frame or body of the engine is adapted to carry upon it the load
which is to be transported, and also a steam boiler, by preference an
upright boiler, such as is known as "Field's boiler." This frame or body
is supported by two locking or swivelling frames, one at the front the
DQ

page_text: other behind, and each of these frames has two supporting wheels which
are the road wheels of the engine. Each locking frame turns upon, a
perch pin firmly fixed to the under side of the frame or body in a girder
which forms its backbone, and each frame has friction pulleys upon it,
which in locking run upon a circular track concentric with the perch
pin and fixed on the under side of the frame or body; this circular track
also enters a corresponding recess in the locking frame so as to relieve
the strain on the perch pin. The locking of the leading frame is effected
by any suitable arrangement of steering gear, and the two frames are
geared together by toothed arcs, so that they turn simultaneously.
Either locking frame carries upon it two steam cylinders driving, by
means of connecting rods, an axis having corresponding cranks, and at
the ends of this axis are two friction pinious. These pinions each drive
a friction wheel on an intermediate axis, which also carries a toothed
pinion gearing with a ring of teeth on the road wheel. There are two
tooth rings on each road wheel, one with external the other with internal
teeth; the driving pinion is between them, and is able to be put into
gear either with one or with the other by moving a block carrying the
pinion axis in a suitable guide slot. The axis rotates in an eccentric
bush within the block, and the bush can be turned by a lever so as to
remove the friction wheel up to or away from its driving pinion. This lever
is in each case governed by a cam guide on the under side of the body or
frame, and this guide is so arranged as to lift the friction wheel out of
gear when the locking frames are locked over to a considerable angle,
and so to bring the corresponding road wheel to the inner side of the
curved course over which the engine is travelling; this is done to avoid
the slipping of the carrying wheels in turning. It is not essential that
both the locking frames should have steam engines upon them, one only
may be furnished.
Spur gear may also be substituted for the frictional
gear, and the apparatus may in some cases be simplified by omitting the
arrangements for disconnecting the carrying wheels of each frame the
one from the other. By carrying the load on the frame or body sup-
ported by the driving wheels the weight of the load ensures the required
adhesion of the wheels to the road, and every part of the engine may
then be lightened as far as is consistent with retaining the necessary
strength.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Waltham and Thomas Waltham in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
WALTHAM and THOMAS WALTHAM, of Stockwell, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS
Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Edward Waltham and Thomas Waltham,
Her special licence that we, the said Edward Waltham and Thomas
Waltham, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Edward Waltham and Thomas Waltham, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at 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 ENGINES TO
RUN ON COMMON ROADS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said Edward Waltham and Thomas Waltham, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 Thomas Waltham, on behalf of
myself and the said Edward Waltham, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in engines to run on
common roads.
The frame or body of the engine is adapted to carry upon it the
load which is to be transported, and also à steam boiler, by preference
an upright boiler, such as is known as "Field's boiler." This frame

page_text: or body is supported by two locking or swivelling frames, one at the
front the other behind, and each of these frames has two supporting
wheels, which are the road wheels of the engine. Each locking frame
turns upon a perch pin, and the frame or body is supported by friction
rollers running on a circular track on the locking frames.
The locking
of the leading frame is effected by any suitable arrangement of steering
gear, and the two frames are geared together by toothed arcs, so that
they turn simultaneously. Either locking frame carries upon it two
steam cylinders driving, by means of connecting rods, an axis having
corresponding cranks, and from this axis motion is transmitted to the
road wheels by gearing suitably arranged to allow free play to the
springs interposed between the frame or body and the axles. There
are two tooth rings on each road wheel, one with external the other with
internal teeth; the driving pinion is between them, and is able to be
put into gear either with one or with the other by moving a block
carrying the pinion axis in a suitable guide slot. It is not essential
that both the locking frames should have steam engines upon them, one
only may be so furnished. By carrying the load on the frame or body
supported by the driving wheels the weight of the load ensures the
required adhesion of the wheels to the road, and every part of the engine
may then be lightened as far as is consistent with retaining the necessary
strength.
In the Drawings hereunto annexed we have shown an engine
constructed according to our Invention.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section; Figure 2 is a plan
showing the general arrangement of engines and gear, also partly in
section; Figure 3 is a section taken on the line A, B, Figure 1, and
shows the arrangement of the perch pin and arrangement of levers for
reversing the engine and springs for the driving wheels; Figure 4
is a section taken on the line C, D, Figure 1, and shows the arrangement
of gearing; Figure 5 is a section taken on the line E, F, Figure 1, and
shows a mode of supporting the piston rod guides; Figure 6 is a section
taken through the cylinders on the line G, H, Figure 1, and shows
the method of fixing them to the locking frames.
A is the platform, upon which is to be carried the load, and which also
carries the boiler, which is by preference a vertical boiler, as shown at
Figure 1. The platform is supported by a strong rectangular wrought-
iron frame a, a, a, having two central girders a', a', to which perch

page_text: The
pins B, B', are fixed. Two locking frames C, C, are arranged to turn on
the perch pins, and are constructed with circular tracks c, c.
platform A is supported on friction rollers running on these circular
tracks; the rollers are carried by brackets bolted to the under side of the
platform. Each bracket carries a roller d to run upon the top of the
circular track, another roller d¹ to run around the edge of the track
and relieve the perch pin of a portion of the strain upon it, and each
bracket also carries another roller & to bear against the under side
of the circular track and prevent the platform rising off the locking
frames. The locking frames are geared together by toothed segments
D, D', as seen at Figure 1; these segments extend around somewhat
more than a quarter of the circumference of each locking frame, so that
the locking frames may be turned in either direction until they have
been brought into a position at right angles with one another. Each
locking frame is supported on two wheels only, and the central lines of
the axles which carry these wheels pass through the centre of the perch
pins. Each wheel has cast or fixed to it a ring of external teeth e', and
another of internal teeth e. The axles F, F, of these wheels are firmly
fixed in them, and turn freely in their bearings /, /. Each locking frame
carries two steam cylinders H, H', the pistons of which are coupled by
means of connecting rods to the crank axle 1. A pinion i cast in halves
is firmly bolted to the crank axle, and drives a spur wheel j having two
recesses cast in it; a bevil pinion & turning on pivots is carried in each
of these recesses. The spur wheel j turns freely on a spindle I, and
carries two pinions, l, with it; these bevil pinions gear with other
bevil pinions u, u, keyed the one on the spindle and the other on a
spindle in a line with it; these spindles 1, 1, at their opposite ends
have spur pinions m, m, keyed on to them, which can be caused to gear
either with the external or internal rings of teeth on the road wheels.
To effect this the spindles 1, 1, and their respective hearings n, n, are
moved in curved slots formed in the locking frames concentric with
the crank axle by means of a beam o, to which the bearings n
connected; this beam may be moved by a lever and secured by a catch,
as shown. The axle boxes of the road wheels are also received in curved
slots to allow free play of the springs interposed between the axle boxes
and the body or frame of the engine, and yet keep the spur pinions m
in gear with the teeth of the road wheels.
are
The action of the bevil pinions carried by the spur wheel j is as
follows: When for the purpose of steering the engine the locking

page_text: frames are moved so that the axles and their pairs of wheels are not
parallel with one, another, the speed of the wheels on one side of the
engine should be greater than the speed of the wheels on the other side;
to allow of this the pinions, ', then turn on their spindles, while when
the axles are parallel they serve as clutches and drive the wheels E', E,
at equal speeds. The slide valves of the engines are worked with
double excentrics ox, ox, o*, o*, and reversing links 2, 2. To raise or lower
these eccentric links ring collars or swivels 4, 4, are raised or depressed
by means of levers or suitable gear on the perch pins B, B', levers 7
keyed on to the spindles are moved by the collars q, and by means
of levers and small connecting links s, s, s, s, move the excentric links.
The steam is led down through pipes and stuffing boxes t placed
centrally over the perch pins, and the exhaust is similarly led away
through the perch pins, which are hollow, and is conducted to the
chimney. The reversing lever gives motion to the ring collar
means of connecting links and bell-crank levers w, as shown.
by
The steering apparatus is shown in Figure 1; it consists of a standard
carrying a vertical spindle, which at its upper end has a worm wheel
keyed to it, into which works a worm placed horizontally and turned
by a hand wheel." The lower end of the vertical spindle has a pinion
working into a segment on one locking frame, a locking motion
is then communicated to the other frame by means of the toothed
segments D, D'.
In place of employing gearing such as shown at Figure 4 to transmit
motion from the crank axle 1 to the road wheels, each spindle might
have mounted upon it two toothed wheels of different diameters in such
manner that either of them might be caused to gear with a corresponding
wheel on an intermediate shaft, such intermediate shaft having upon it a
bevil wheel gearing with another bevil wheel on a vertical shaft which
has upon it another bevil wheel gearing with a bevil wheel on the road
wheel. In this arrangement the bevil wheel on the vertical shaft is
made capable of sliding endwise on the shaft to allow free play to the
springs, whilst the bevil wheel is always kept in gear with the bevil
wheel on the road wheel.
"
.
Other arrangements of gearing similarly arranged to allow free play
of the springs may also be employed in place of the arrangements above
described.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, we would have it understood that what we
claim is,-
First. The general combination or arrangement of road engine herein
described.
Second. Constructing road engines of a frame or body supported on
two locking frames geared together, and each supported on a pair of
wheels, the wheels of one or of both locking frames being driven as
herein described.
Third. Constructing road engines with two-wheel bogie or locking
frames having engines for driving the wheels combined therewith in
such manner that both wheels are driven, and yet that the two wheels
are free to travel at different speeds.
Fourth. Constructing road engines with two-wheel bogic or locking
frames having engines combined therewith in such manner that the
wheels are driven through gearing arranged to allow free play to the
springs, as herein described.
set
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Waltham, have hereunto
hand and seal, this First day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
THOMAS WALTHAM. (L.S.)