Improvements in Locomotive and other Steam Engines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 30th May, 1893-Accepted, 8th July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locomotive and other Steam Engines.
I, PETER JOEL LIVSEY of 24 Queens Chambers, 5 Market Street, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby
declare that I am in possession of an invention which has been communicated to me
from abroad by John Riekie of Quetta, Beluchistan, India, District Locomotive
Superintendent of the North Western Railway, India, to be as follows:-
The object of the invention communicated to me is to combine parts forming an
engine so as to be simple in construction, durable and effective in operation,
utilising the steam to the fullest advantage and giving a more constant turning
effect to the crank shaft.
The invention consists in combining three or more high pressure cylinders, or
two or more high pressure cylinders and one or more low pressure cylinders, the
pistons of which (when there are three) are connected to cranks on the crank
shaft 120 degrees apart.
This combination of cylinders is provided with valves (which are combined with
modifications of ordinary slide valves) by moving which from one position to
another, the cylinders may be made to work either single or double acting.
The invention may be applied to locomotive, stationary or marine engines, and
to either condensing or non-condensing engines and when working as a condensing
engine and single acting, one side of each cylinder is or may be open to the
condenser, but when working double acting the low pressure cylinder only is in
communication with the condenser or vacuum former.
Dated this Twelfth day of October 1892.
PETER J. LIVSEY.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locomotive and other Steam Engines.
I, PETER JOEL LIVSEY, of 24 Queens Chambers, 5 Market Street, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to me from
abroad by John Riekie of Quetta, Beluchistan, India, District Locomotive
Superintendent of the North Western Railway, India) and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The object of the invention communicated to me is to combine parts forming an
engine so as to be simple in construction, durable and effective in operation,
utilising the steam to the fullest advantage and giving a more constant turning
effect to the crank shaft.
The invention consists in combining three high pressure cylinders or two high
pressure cylinders and one low pressure cylinder, the pistons of which are
connected to cranks on the crank shaft 120 degrees apart. When it is desirable to
use more than three cylinders, multiples of three cylinders are added, with their
cranks operating at 120 degrees apart, but the cranks of two series of three
cylinders may have the cranks of one series placed midway between those of the
others so that cranks of the six cylinders would be 60 degrees apart, but the
cranks of each set of three cylinders would be 120 degrees apart.

page_text: This combination of cylinders is provided with valves (which are combined with
modifications of ordinary slide valves) by moving which from one position to
another, the cylinders may be made to work either single or double acting.
The invention may be applied to locomotive, stationary or marine engines, and
to either condensing or non-condensing engines and when working as a condensing
engine and single acting, one side of each cylinder is or may be open to the
condenser, but when working double acting the low pressure cylinder only is in
communication with the condenser or vacuum former.
The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention as applied to a locomotive
engine, by which its application to stationary or marine, non-condensing or
condensing, steam or other motive engines may also be readily understood.
Fig. 1, is a longitudinal section of parts of a locomotive having the invention
applied. For want of space on the sheet parts of the fire-box, and parts of the
front end of the engine are omitted but the parts omitted are ordinary and well
known parts of locomotive engines and will not be required to explain the
invention.
Fig. 2, is a partial plan view of the parts below the boiler and other parts one
half plan on the line A-A Fig. 3, being shewn in section.
'
Fig. 3, is an end elevation one half on the line B-B Fig. 1, being in section.
Fig. 4, is a longitudinal section of one high pressure cylinder on an enlarged
scale detached, shewing the movable valve plate in the position which it occupies
when the engine is working single acting that is when live steam from the valve
chest is only admitted at one end of the cylinder.
Fig. 5, is part of the same Fig. 4, but with the movable plate in the position
which it occupies when live steam from the valve chest is admitted at both ends of
the cylinder.
Fig. 6, is a cross section of one high pressure cylinder, its valve chest, valve and
movable valve plate.
In carrying out the invention, two high pressure cylinders and one low pressure
cylinder are used, one high pressure cylinder a, and a', on each side and one low
pressure cylinder b, in a central position between the high pressure cylinders a,
and a', as shown in Fig. 3.
The exhaust steam from the high pressure cylinders a, and a¹, passes by suitable
passages to the valve chest of the low pressure cylinder b.
The inventor considers it important in carrying out his invention to connect the
piston rods of the piston of cach cylinder a, a and b, with the same crank shaft c,
or with coupled crank shafts so as to operate upon the driving shaft or shafts at
intervals of 120 degrees of the circle apart-the cranks being placed in respect to
each other, in the positions marked c', c², and c³, Fig. 1.
Live steam from the boiler is brought to the valve chests a², of the high
pressure cylinders in any convenient manner and from their exhaust ports and
passages in any convenient manner to the steam chest b¹, of the low pressure
cylinder b.
The slide valve d, of each high pressure cylinder a, and a¹, may be termed a
double valve, being made with a cavity port and passage d', and an inner cavity
port d².
This valve d, is arranged, actuated and moved to and fro by ordinary valve
gearing working in agreement with the piston in its cylinder.
This slide valve d, works upon the upper face of a plate e, having a series of
ports in it, and the lower side of this plate e, works in close contact with the facing
of ports on the high pressure cylinder a, or a¹.
This plate e, can be moved to either of the two positions namely, that in which
it is shewn in Fig. 4, for single action, and that in which it is shewn in Fig. 5 for
double action.
This plate e, is or may be moved by a screw e¹, screwing through a nut or thread
formed in the end of the valve chest a², or through a bush therein, the outer end of

page_text: which screw el, has a hand wheel e², upon it by which it may be rotated. The
inner end of the screw e¹, has a collar e³, upon it that engages with a notch or
groove in the end of the plate e, and there are two other collars e', and e³, on the
screw one e inside, and the other e outside of the valve chest a², which form stops
when they come against the ends of the screwed bush in the end of the valve chest
for the two positions of the plate e, and these collars e* and e³, also serve as valve
facings to make a joint with the ends of the screwed bush to prevent the escape of
steam past the screw e', when the plate e is in one position or the other.
Each high pressure cylinder (a and a¹) has five ports, one port f, communicates
with one end of the cylinder a, or a¹, and two other ports i and opening into the
same passage communicate with the other end of the cylinder, one port h, is an
exhaust port open to the atmosphere or communicates with a condenser, and the
other port 9, is also an exhaust port from the high pressure cylinder that
communicates with the valve chest 6', of the low pressure cylinder b.
There are six ports numbered 1 to 6, in the movable plate e, and when it is in
the position for single action as shewn in Fig. 4, ports 3 and 6 are closed, or are
inoperative and so is port j, in the cylinder.
When the plate e, is in the position shewn in Fig. 5, for double action, ports 1, 4
and 5 are closed or inoperative, and so is porti in the cylinder.
Ports 4 and 2 and h, are inoperative when the engine is working double acting.
When the valve d, is moved to one extreme from left to right (when looking at
Figs. 4 and 5,) live steam is admitted from the valve chest a², through ports 1 and f
which communicate with the left hand end of the cylinder, and this forces the
piston a³, to the opposite or righthand end of cylinder (a, or a¹) as shewn in Fig. 4,
and while the valve d, is in this position, ports 2 and g are closed, and there is thus
no communication with the low pressure cylinder, ports 4 and 5 are open for the
exhaust from the right hand end of the cylinder through the ports i, 5, d², (cavity
in valve d), and 4 to port h, of the steam, to the atmosphere or condenser.
When the valve d, has moved to the extreme left, that is to the position in which
it is shewn in Fig. 4, where has arrived when the piston a³, is at the end of its
stroke as shewn in Fig, 4, the high pressure steam then at the left hand end of the
cylinder a or a', can pass from it back through the ports f, 1, and passage d', in
valve d, to the ports 5 and i, and thus to the right hand end of the cylinder, con-
sequently the piston a³, is then in equilibrium as the pressure of steam on each side
of it is about equal-at this time the port 4 is closed and no steam can pass from
ports i, 5 or passage d', into the exhaust port h.
When the live steam is exhausting from the cylinder a or a¹, to the other end of
the cylinder, and through the port g, to the valve chest ', of the low pressure
cylinder b, it will be admitted to one end of that cylinder b, by the ordinary slide
valve 62, and port ³ (see Fig. 2) and the other end of that cylinder b, (of which b
is the piston), will be then open to the atmosphere or condenser through the
ports, and be in the valve b².
It will thus be seen that the live steam from the high pressure cylinders a and a¹,
expands into one end of both the high and low pressure cylinders and there is no
back pressure of steam acting in opposition to the low pressure piston, but that a
vacuum or partial vacuum more or less perfect is acting in favour of both the high
and low pressure pistons when the cylinders are in connection with a condenser.
When working double acting, steam is admitted at both ends of the high and
low pressure cylinders and live steam passes from the steam chest a² of the high
pressure cylinders (a, or a¹) through the ports 2, and f, at one end and 6 and jat
the other end of it, the plate e being reversed to the position as shewn in Fig. 5, in
which figure the piston a³, is shewn at the right hand end, and the valve d, is
moved to the left and is just admitting live steam from the valve chest a², to the
ports 6, and j. The ports f, 2, passage d', (in valve d) and ports 3 and
open and the steam can then pass to the steam chest b', of the low pressure
cylinder b.
9, are

page_text: The port h, is closed and never becomes open at any time when working
double acting. When the valve d, is reversed to admit live steam from the valve
chest a², of the high pressure cylinder (a or a¹) to the ports 2 and f, the live steam
can pass from the other end of the cylinder a, or a', through the port 6 passage d',
in valve d, to the port 3 and g, and thence to the valve chest b', of the low pressure
cylinder b.
When the valve 62, for the low pressure cylinder b, is working single acting it
has extra lap on one side of it so as not to uncover the port which is not to receive
steam from the steam chest 61, of the low pressure cylinder.
But this extra lap is not required when both ends of the low pressure cylinder b,
are to receive steam from its valve chest b, as when working double acting.
The low pressure cylinder b, may have a plate similar to the plate e, Figs. 4 and 5
arranged with ports to suit a valve 62, having equal lap on both sides, the moving of
such plate causing the admission of steam from the low pressure valve chest, at
one or both ends of the cylinder, according to the position of the plate, and the
exhaust from both ends of the cylinders in either position of the plate.
In the case of simple, that is non-compound engines where each cylinder receives
live steam from the boiler, three cylinders are used, the pistons of which are con-
nected to the cranks at an angle of 120 degrees from one another, such cylinders
have valve arrangements such as those hereinbefore described by which live steam
is made to operate on one side of the piston only, and then in exhausting is made
to pass to the same cylinder on the other side of the piston for the return stroke,
such steam being finally exhausted into the atmosphere or to a condenser during
the time live steam is admitted for the forward or backward stroke, as the case may
be, the valves and valve mechanism of such engines being, if desired, so arranged
as to be worked either single acting, as above described, or double acting with live
steam for both the outward and inward stroke, and either discharging the exhaust
steam to the atmosphere or to a condenser.
Having now particularly described the nature of the said invention communicated
to me, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A simple or non-compound engine, having three cylinders or a compound
engine having two high pressure cylinders and one low pressure cylinder with the
pistons connected with cranks set at angles of 120 degrees in relation to one
another, each cylinder arranged with valves and valve actuating mechanism so as
to be worked either single acting only, or doubling acting only or both either single
or double acting condensing or non-condensing, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. The combination and arrangement of three cylinders with valves and valve
actuating mechanism arranged to work single acting with live steam for one stroke
and exhaust steam from the live steam end of the same cylinder for the return
stroke substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and illustrated by
reference to the drawings.
3. The combination of two high pressure cylinders with one low pressure
cylinder, working single acting, the motive fluid from one end of the high pressure
cylinders exhausting into the low pressure cylinder, and into the other ends of the
high pressure cylinders, substantially as herein before described and illustrated by
reference to the drawings.
4. The combination of three cylinders, or two high pressure cylinders with one
low pressure cylinder with valves to each cylinder arranged so that the simple
engine or compound engine may be worked either single or double acting, con-
densing or non-condensing substantially as hereinbefore described.
5. The combination of a slide valve (d) a plate (e) having ports in it with ports
in the cylinder (a or a¹) arranged to work the engine either single or double acting
substantially as herein before described and illustrated by the drawings.

page_text: 6. The combination of a compound locomotive engine having three cylinders,
the pistons of which are connected to the crank axle at angles of 120 degrees to
one another and having valves, and valve gear, arranged so that the engine may be
worked either single or double acting, substantially as hereinbefore described and
5 illustrated by the drawings.
PETER J. LIVSEY.