Improvements in and connected with Electric Locomotives.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 26th Feb.,
, 1898
[Communicated from abroad by JEAN JACQUES HEILMANN, of 19, Rue Cambon,
Paris, in the French Republic, Electrical Engineer.]
Improvements in and connected with Electric Locomotives.
I, WILLIAM EDWIN HEYS, of 70, Market Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Chartered Patent Agent, 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 an electric locomotive in which the electric current
which feeds the motors driving the axles is produced upon the locomotive itself by
the aid of steam turbines and dynamos driven thereby. The use of steam turbines
permits the construction of locomotives of great power since the turbine constitutes
a light motor and its high speed permits the dynamos also to be very light in
weight.
I will describe my said invention with reference to the accompanying drawinga
in which Figures 1, 2 and 3 represent a locomotive embodying these improvements
in elevation and in plan respectively.
In these drawings C indicates the steam generator, S, the coal and water bunkers
or spaces, and TT, two steam turbines rotating at a high speed and directly driving
two generating dynamos DD, which furnish current to eight electric motors on
the axles of the train.
The two dynamos may be grouped in parallel or in series and are separately
excited by means of a small dynamo E, which may be driven either by a special
steam turbine or by one of the turbines TT₁. As shewn in Figures 1 and 2, the
exciter is driven by the turbine T.
The exciter E has a constant potential and feeds the field-magnets of the
generators D, by the intermediary of a rheostat R, which serves for the control
of the locomotive. In other words, it is by varying the exciting current by the ai
of the rheostat R that the current generated is varied and consequently the speed of
the locomotive is controlled.
The locomotive may be caused to travel in one direction or the other by means of a
commutator which controls the direction of the current in the armatures of the
motors.
As indicated by Figure 3, the exciter E is driven by a small independent steam
turbine t, which receives its steam from the steam generator C.
One or more steam turbines may be employed, and each of them may drive
either a single dynamo or a plurality of dynamos on a common armature spindle.
The exhaust steam from the turbines may be used as steam blast to induce
draught in the boiler furnace, or forced draught may be employed as is well under-
stood. In Figure 2 there is shewn an arrangement for driving a fan or blower V,
for the forced draught, from one of the turbines T₁. In the modification shewn
by Figure 3, the fan or blower is driven by the steam turbine t, which also drives

page_text: the exciter. The fan or blower may alternatively be driven by an electro-motor
energised by current from either of the dynamos or from the exciter.
The current produced by the generating dynamos can be employed either to
energise electro-motors mounted upon the axles of the locomotive or motors dis-
tributed on the several axles of the train.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The combination and arrangement upon a locomotive of a steam generator,
one or more steam turbines, one or more separately excited. dynamos driven by
the turbines and supplying current to motors which drive the axles, an exciting
dynamo, and a rheostat intercalated in the exciting circuit by means of which the
energy developed by the motors may be controlled; substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. The combination and arrangement on a locomotive of one or more steam
turbines, one or more separately excited dynamos driven by the turbines and
supplying current to motors driving the axles, an exciting dynamo, a rheostat
. intercalated in the exciting circuit, and a fan or blower for producing draught
in the boiler furnace driven by one of the turbines or by an electro-motor; sub-
stantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated thin 174h
D
1007
W. E. HEYS & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.