CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSHUA
TAYLOR BEALE, of East Greenwich, in the County of Kent, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of July, in the fourth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joshua
Taylor Beale, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Joshua Taylor Beale, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Joshua Taylor Beale, my executors, adminis-
trators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
STEAM ENGINES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said Joshua Taylor Beale, by an instrument 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 performed, and to cause the
same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joshua Taylor Beale, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention of Certain Improvements in Steam Engines refers to that
peculiar construction of engine commonly termed rotatory, and is especially
applicable to the purposes of locomotion on common roads, &c, and when
lightness and compactness are considerations. These advantages will more
readily appear upon reference to the accompanying Drawings, and the following
description thereof :-
Figures 1 and 2 are side and end views of the engine; and Fig. 3 is
a longitudinal vertical section of the steam chamber, slide valves, &c., the
working parts in the centre of the former being in elevation. A, A, is the
chamber or steam reservoir into which steam is admitted for working the
pistons or slides B, 1 to 8, as they are alternately brought into a position to
be acted upon by its pressure. C is a cam or wiper, one of which is fixed by
pins into each end of the chamber A, on the inside; they are of such a form as
that by passing over their edge the pistons or slides have their outer edges
kept in nearly close contact with the inner surfaces of the chamber. D is a
drum keyed to the shaft L, having grooves formed in it through which the
pistons or slides traverse when at work. E, E*, are the passages by which
steam is admitted into the chamber; F, F*, are also passages for its egress
after its action upon the slides. The former of those passages communicate
with the steam pipe G, and the latter with the blow-off pipe I through the
valves Hand K. M is a lever having its fulcrum at N, by means of which
the motion may be reversed. The working of the engine is as follows:--On
steam being admitted through the induction passages E, E*, its pressure will
be immediately exerted upon the pistons or slides B, causing them to proceed
forwards in the direction of the arrows, and so on. It will be obvious that
from a perpetual flow of steam of sufficient density acting upon the slides
B, 1 to 8, on their alternate presentation, a continuous action is kept up. In
addition, however, to the cams or wipers C, for keeping the slides in nearly
close contact with the internal surface of the chamber, I admit steam (of a
higher pressure than that used outside the drum D) into the centre through
the pipe P, which pressing against the inner edges causes them to follow the
internal form of the chamber in close contact. These slides have nietallic
packing fitted to them, as shewn, to keep them steam-tight. At Fig. 4 is
exhibited a metallic packing fitted between the shaft E, and a flat ring
screwed over it so as to render it steam-tight.

page_text: which the engine may
I proceed now to shew the simple arrangement
have its motion reversed, as represented in the Drawing. The passages E, E*,
are open to the admission of steam; the motion of the shaft L is consequently
in the direction of the arrows; but supposing the handle on the end of the lever
M to be drawn out, the reverse end of that lever will proceed inwards, and
by the connection shewn between either end of this lever and the slide valves
H and K, through the rods Q, it will be readily understood that F, F*, being
now opened as induction passages, and E, E*, being converted into egress
ways for the steam, the motion is reversed. I cannot but here remark, that in
practice I find this arrangement places the engine under such perfect control,
that even when working at a great speed its motion may be reversed several
times in a single revolution. In the above Figures I have shewn the engine
as applied for stationary purposes, in which case, as will be seen, it is firmly
fixed upon a foundation by means of ribs O, O, the feet of which are bolted
to the chamber ends. When the Invention is applied as a locomotive or
marine engine, a bar is fixed to the chamber A to prevent its turning, and
in the case of a locomotive it is detained by being fitted into a socket, or any
convenient part of the framing at the other end, and in the case of the engine
being applied to marine purposes, that end might be fixed on to the lower part
of the vessel. At Fig. 5 I have shewn a small Diagram illustrating my mode
of applying this engine to a locomotive, in which the engine is represented
at 1, the driving shaft at 2; 3 is the bar or lever connected to any part of the
framing, for the purpose of preventing the chamber from turning.
I proceed now to describe a modification of this engine:-Fig. 6 is a vertical
section; Fig. 7 a side view, and Fig. 8 an end view of the same. A is the
cylinder, in which are formed eight grooved ways B, for as many pistons or
slides C, 1 to 8, to work in; D is a part of a somewhat elliptical form (keyed
to the shaft L), against the edge of which the pistons or slides C are made to
press in order to form an abutment for the steam to exert its power for the
purpose of impelling the elliptical part D forward. The action of the engine
is thus: Supposing steam to be admitted through the passages E, E*, the slides
C being in contact with the elliptical part D, the latter would be driven
forward in the direction of the arrows, and so on, thus giving motion to the
shaft L. At Fig. 9 is represented one of the end plates of the cylinder A,
having in it a circular groove G (a pipe, as shewn at H, in Fig. 7), com-
municating with which either from the boilers itself, or the boiler side of the
cock in the steam pipe, admits into it steam of a higher pressure than that
let into the centre part of the cylinder; this steam presses against the outer
edges of the slides and keeps them in close contact with the elliptical part D.

page_text: Fig. 10 is an edge view of the end plate shewn in front view at Fig. 9,
exhibiting one of the steamways. In order to reverse the motion of the
elliptical part D, a rod R attached to the slide valve has to be drawn out,
which converts the entrance steam passages into exit ways, and vice versa.
Fig. 11 is a front view of the engine with the outer plate removed.
Fig. 12 shews the metallic packing of the elliptical part D, whereby it is
kept steam-tight; it consists of a piece of metal m, let into each end,
extending its whole depth, which piece is pressed against the inside of the
cylinder A by a small spring (shewn by dots in the Figure); four pieces n are
let into grooves in the end of the pieces m; these latter have likewise a small
spring pressing against the end plates of the cylinder A; there are also pieces
of metal placed in recesses cut in that part of each of the pieces n where it is
let into each piece m (shewn by dots in the Figure), which having a spring at
the back of them are pressed into the space vacated by the pieces n as they
wear in working. I would here remark, that the ribs shewn in the former
engine might be bolted to this for the purpose of keeping the cylinder ends
from springing by the pressure of the steam, as I find them to be of great
service for such purpose. I would also remark, that either of these engines,
when required to work only one way, might be made more simple, as any
competent mechanic may readily perceive. My Invention as regards the
boiler part of my said improvements in steam engines, consists in a long
tube coiled, forming a kind of cage or box, in which the fire is to be placed;
the water is pumped in at one end, and its reverse end communicating with
the engine (or engines, as the case may be,) is exposed to the action of the fire
throughout its entire passage in the tube, and the water is thus fed into the
engine (or engines) in the shape of steam.
Fig. 13 represents a longitudinal section of the coiled tube and its casing,
and Fig. 14 shows a front view of the same, with the casing removed to
render the arrangement evident. a is the casing; b, the tube; the lateral parts
or members of the coil at the bottom affording a number of fire bars, which are
kept apart, as also those at the top, by pins x, bolted into the sides of the
casing; c is the ash-pit; d represents the part of the coil for feeding the
boiler with water, which is in the first instance supplied by a hand pump. As
soon, however, as the engine gets started the feed pump (or pumps) attached
to the engine (or engines) come into action and supply water. There is a
branch at e fitted with a cock f, for the purpose of regulating the supply of
water to the requirements of the engine (or engines). In order to bring this
part of the arrangement under the eye of the attendant, I would have this
branch, as represented, supplying the excess water into a funnel g fixed in any

page_text: convenient way into the side of the boiler casing, connected with which is a
pipe for returning the surplus water into the reservoir; or this regulation of
the supply might be made self-acting. m is the blowing apparatus, consisting
of a set of fans revolving upon a shaft fixed in a case, as shewn; n is a
throttle valve, having a lever connected with it at the command of the atten-
dant, to enable him to regulate the draft of the fire. The throttle valve and
ash-pit doors are so fixed that the draft can be almost entirely shut off when
required, so as to damp the fire in a very short time, thus giving the attendant
sufficient command over the fire. I would likewise observe, that I test the
state of the steam by putting a little oil on the steam pipe; when the steam
is very hot it will smoke, which proves there is too much fire or not sufficient
water pumped into the tube. I use water prepared with a certain quantity of
lime, adding it until the water is very slightly alkaline and no more, in this,
my improved and other boilers, for the following reasons:-I find by preci-
pitating the free carbonic acid and the earthy salt (carbonate of lime), con-
tained in ordinary water, that we prevent incrustation and "priming" in a
great degree, which, in locomotive engine boilers especially, is a very serious
detriment, as they are more than others exposed to "priming," (that is,) having
much of the water blown out of the boiler with the steam; in such cases the
earthy salts which are deposited from the water are of a gritty nature, some of
which are blown through the interior of the engines. Now, in the prepared
water, the earthy salt (carbonate of lime) and the free carbonic acid are pre-
cipitated before use by lime. Other advantages will be seen to result from the
use of the prepared water; thus, when ordinary water is heated in any vessel, the
free carbonic acid is partially liberated before the water boils, and by forming
innumerable gas bubbles between it and the sides of the boiler or vessel in
which it is contained, prevents the water coming into contact with it; the con-
sequence is, that until the gas is sufficiently expelled by the heat, the water is
kept from the metal to a great extent, and when at length a contact is
formed between the water and the heated metal, a very sudden generation of
steam ensues, causing a sudden "priming" and cooling of the boiler, which is
very injurious and might lead to an explosion. I find the use of lime prevents
in a great measure those evils, and also keeps the boiler, cylinders, slides,
pistons, &c. in much better order; in consequence, there is a saving of much
wear and tear and fuel. It may be as well to remark, that sometimes when
using a boiler made entirely of pipes, I pass a dilute acid, as hydrochloric or
acetic, to dissolve any deposited lime.
Having thus described my Invention of "Certain Improvements in Steam
Engines," I would remark, that I do not mean to confine myself to the precise

page_text: form and arrangement of the parts shown, as it might hereafter be found
desirable to vary them a little, as, for instance, the number of pistons or slides,
or in the boiler the tubular coils may be different from what has been set
forth. What I desire to claim as secured to me by the above in part recited
Letters Patent are,-
First, the general combination and arrangement of the several parts repre-
sented in the Drawings and described in this my Specification.
Secondly, the use of a bar, such as that shewn at Fig. 5, besides which
no framing is required, nor any other support but that derived from the
shaft.
Thirdly, the application of the boiler where great lightness and economy are
desiderata, such as in carriages or for locomotion on common roads, and for
which purpose I only claim it.
Fourthly, the use of lime, as set forth in the Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joshua Taylor Beale, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of January, in the year of our
T
1
JOSHUA TAYLOR (L.S.) BEALE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Ninth day of January, in the
fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said Joshua
Taylor Beale came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year
of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.