CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
STEAD CROSLAND, of Holbeck, near Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Second day of April, in the third
year of Her reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said James Stead Crosland, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Stead Crosland, my exors, adñiors, 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, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO
LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER STEAM ENGINES;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso, obliging me, the said James Stead Crosland, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery, within six calendar 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
James Stead Crosland, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and
ascertained by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the words following (that
is to say)-
My First, my improvements consist of a new combination of mechanical
means producing a useful result, being the adaptation of an endless chain working
on two toothed pinions, whilst the piston rods are attached to a sliding cross-
head which gives motion to the endless chain (being connected to a boss pro-
jecting from one link of the said endless chain) which slides in the parallelogram
of the said crosshead at each end of the stroke to allow the boss of the link to
pass the centres, thereby giving rotary motion to two axles or shafts, which may
thereby be used as driving axles for locomotive engines or as driving shafts
for machinery without the intervention of any cranked axles or shafts.
The second of these improvements also consists of a new combination of me-
chanical means producing a useful result, being a modification of slide valve motion
and expansion gear, by which the slide valves are opened to admit the steam
and opened to the exhaustion almost instantaneously, and remaining in a state of
rest until the piston travels to the ends of its stroke and likewise the expansion
gear, by which the period for shutting off the steam may be regulated whilst
the engine is at work, in such a manner as to cause the steam to expand
upwards of one half the length of the stroke of the piston.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said James Stead
Crosland, do hereby declare that the manner in which my said Invention is to
be performed is fully described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment thereof, reference being had to the Drawing annexed and to the figures
and letters of reference marked thereon. The same figures and letters
indicate the same parts throughout.

page_text: rods, as so many as three rods will not be essential in many cases), the outer
ends of the rods c, c, c, are keyed to the crosshead d, which gives motion to a boss
projecting from one link of the endless chain f, f, f, which works on two toothed
pinions g, g; the crosshead d is guided parallel by the guide bars i, i. From
this arrangement it will be perceived that when the piston b is driven forward
in the working cylinder a, the rods c, c, c, will cause the crosshead d to move
forward on the guide bars i, i, and by so doing drag forward the boss e, of the
link e, e', to the end of the stroke; the boss e then slides down the parallel-
ogram d', to allow the boss e to pass the centre; the steam then being admitted
to the opposite side of the piston draws backward the crosshead d, which draws
backward the boss of the link e', e', by which means the two axles or shafts
are made to revolve.
The construction of the endless chain is best seen at Figure 2.
e', e', is a
double link, in the centre of which is the solid boss e, to which the crosshead
is connected; k, k, k, are single links through which passes the pins l, l, l, which
connects the double links m, m, m, to the single links k, k, k, thereby forming
an endless chain of the strongest construction; h, h, are guides on which the
chain f, ff, slides; in order that no waving may take place in the chain the
guides h, h, are affixed to one common framing, on which the bearings of the
main axles or shafts and cylinder are affixed.
The slide valve motion is best seen in Figures 1, 3, and 6. The steam is
admitted to the one end of the cylinder by means of the crosshead moving the
slide boss n, which slides on the guide bar i, and the steam is admitted to the
other end by the crosshead moving the double levers o, o, which are forked at
the
upper ends to clasp the rods 3, 3, 3'; when the levers o, o, are moved by the
crosshead d, the forked ends draw back the rods 3, 3, 3', and opens the valve 4 to
admit the steam, which remains open until the crosshead arrives to the other
end of its stroke, and moves the boss n, draws back the rods 1', 1, 1, 1", opens the
other valve 5, admits the steam, and at the same time the roller 6 lifts the lever
P 9 and s, and draws forward the rods 11, 1, 1, 1", opens the valve 5 to the
exhaustion which remains open until the crosshead arrives again to the other
end, when the roller 7 lifts the levers 2, 10, and s, and drives forwards the
rods 3, 3, 3', which opens the valve 4 to the exhaustion. The lever P works
on its rocking spindle 12, on which are keyed the levers 13, 13, and
connected to the rods 3, 3, 3', the same 3, 3, 31, are connected to the cross
bar 19, and to the valve spindle 3', which moves the valve 4. The lever 2
has a similar rocking spindle 14, and levers 15, 15, and 16, to which rod 1' is
connected.

page_text: The expansion gear, Figures 6 and 3, s, s', are the levers which shut off
the steam; s, s', are lifted by the elliptical bar 8, on the crosshead d; u, u
are the square rocking spindles; 9 and 10 are the tongue levers keyed on the
square rocking spindles u, u', which lift the levers P and 2, which close the
valves. Therefore the steam that has been admitted during the time the
crosshead was in moving from the levers o, o, to the lever s, the same steam
must expand in the cylinder until the crosshead arrives to the lever P, which
opens the valve 4 to the exhaustion; the other valve 5 is worked in the same
manner by the similar levers s', 10, and 2. The levers s, s', have each a roller
18, 18¹ affixed in them, so as to allow them to slide easy over the eliptical bar
8; y, y¹ are the screwed nuts which are placed betwixt the forked part of the
levers s, s'; the long screw a works in the nuts y, y', the one being right-hand,
the other left-hand screw, in order that when the screw is turned by the
handle, the nuts y, y', cause the levers s, s', to move in opposite directions.
It will be perceived that when the levers s, s', are at the ends of their square
spindles at v, the greatest extent of expansion is put on, and when placed
at the other ends at w, w', by means of the screw a no expansion is applyed,
the slide valves being kept open to the steam the whole length of the
stroke.
Now I disclaim all the old well known mechanical means, but I first
claim as my Invention the combination and adaption of an endless chain
directly to the piston rod crosshead of a steam cylinder, as herein-before
described, as a substitute for the crank motion of a locomitive or other steam
engine.
And secondly, disclaiming as aforesaid, I secondly claim as my Invention
the combination and modification of the slide valve motion and expansion gear,
as above herein-before described, for the purposes already alluded to; I do
hereby declare this to be my Specification of the same, and I do verily believe
this my Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve or
disguise with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained. Wherefore I hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and
privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Stead Crosland, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
JAMES STEAD (L.S.) CROSLAND.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid James Stead Crosland came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, 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 First day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty.