IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Kendall, of Percy Main, in the County of
Northumberland, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINES."
Sealed the 24th April 1868, and dated the 26th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Kendall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th October 1867.
I, WILLIAM KENDALL, of Percy Main, in the County of Northumberland,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention. for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to increase the facilities for starting loco-
motive engines, and also to give an available extra power to ascend inclines
when required. For this purpose I use two outside cylinders working on
cranks on the end of the driving axle which has a single crank in the centre
and one inside cylinder working on the single crank above mentioned. The
reversing gear is so arranged that all three cylinders may be employed for
starting and for ascending inclines, and also for any emergency which may
arise requiring extra power, and at other times when running on a level road
or on favorable gradients the steam can be shut off from the outside
cylinders, so that the locomotive can be worked by the inside cylinder alone,
whereby much of the resistance at present due from the blast pipe is saved,

page_text: and the motive power being concentrated in the centre of the engine increased
stability is obtained. By regulating the "lap" of the valve small quantities
of steam can be admitted to the cylinder or cylinders which are thrown out of
work, so as to keep it or them lubricated when not required to draw the load.
It will be seen that in having the two outside cylinders reversed and thrown
out of work by separate gear from that used to reverse and throw out of
gear the centre cylinder all three cylinders or only one can be used at will,
or if desired the two outside cylinders may be used alone.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Kendall in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
KENDALL, of Percy Main, in the County of Northumberland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Kendall, Her special licence that I, the said William
Kendall, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Kendall, my 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Kendall, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 William Kendall, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to increase the facilities for starting loco-

page_text: motive engines, and also to give an available extra power to ascend inclines
when required. For this purpose I use two outside cylinders working on cranks
on the end of the driving axle which has a single crank in the centre and one
inside cylinder working on the single crank above mentioned. The reversing
gear is so arranged that all three cylinders may be employed for starting and
for ascending inclines, and also for any emergency which may arise requiring
extra power, and at other times when running on a level road or on favorable
gradients the steam can be shut off from the outside cylinders, so that the
locomotive can be worked by the inside cylinder alone, whereby much of the
resistance at present due from the blast pipe is saved, and the motive power
being concentrated in the centre of the engine increased stability is obtained.
By regulating the "lap" of the valve small quantities of steam can be
admitted to the cylinder or cylinders which are thrown out of work so as to
keep it or them lubricated when not required to draw the load. It will be
seen that in having the two outside cylinders reversed and thrown out of work
by separate gear from that used to reverse and throw out of gear the centre
cylinder, all three cylinders or only one can be used at will, or if desired
the two outside cylinders may be used alone.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily

page_text: motion from the piston of the cylinder b.
The pistons of the small
• cylinders a, a, are attached by their piston rods to guide blocks F, F, (guided
in the usual way). The guide blocks F, F, are attached to links G, G, the
other ends of which links work in slot links E, H; these links H, H, being
supported by pin joints in the standards H, H', and the links or connecting
rods G, G, are caused to move up and down on the links H, H, by two
'rollers I, I, attached to racks K, K, which racks are caused to move up and
down by two sectors L, L, fixed upon a shaft M.; this shaft with its sectors
receives motion from a lever N fixed upon the shaft M, the lever N is con-
nected by a pin joint to the nut O, and the nut O and lever N are actuated
by means of the wheel P placed at a convenient distance from the engineman.
So far then as the two outside cylinders a, a, are concerned they can either
be out of gear, as shown in the Drawings, or by turning the screw O' in
the proper direction the links G can be lowered down the slot links H, H,
when the pistons will travel backwards and forwards in the cylinders and
will communicate their motion to the two connecting rods Q, Q, which are
connected at one end to the slot links H, H, and. at. the other end are
attached to the cranks R, R, on the wheels S, S, which wheels are coupled
by the connecting rods T, T, to the wheels D, D. It will be seen that by
this arrangement in starting the engine or in mounting heavy gradients,
the united action of all three cylinders can be employed, and when running
on favorable gradients the outside cylinders can be put out of gear and the
centre cylinder alone employed for propulsion. The slides of the two outside
cylinders are worked by the eccentrics U, U, and the slot link V, a small
shaft W connecting the two spindles X and Y together. Should it be
desirable for the two outside cylinders a, a, to work on cranks which are not
in the line with one another, as is represented in the Drawing, each slide
would have to be worked by separate eccentrics; the slide for the large
cylinder b is worked by the eccentric Z, Z. 1 is a diaphragm separating the
slide chest of the large cylinder from that of the small cylinder; 5 is a
regulator admitting steam through the pipe 3 to the steam chest of the large
cylinder; 4 is a regulator admitting steam through the pipes 2, 2, 2, into
the steam chests of the small cylinders. It will be seen then that the out-
side cylinders may be connected direct to suitable cranks either on the wheels
D or S, and steam can be supplied at will, either to the centre cylinder alone,
or in conjunction with the two outside cylinders, or the two outside cylinders
may be allowed to operate by themselves solely by the adjustment of the
regulator handles 4 and 5, but in the latter case the piston slides of all the
cylinders would be working with their full motion.. 6 is a reversing handle

page_text: attached by means of a rod to lever 7, the weigh bar 8, and the lever 9,
for reversing the slides of the small cylinders; 10 is another reversing lever
connected to the lever 11, hollow shaft 12, and lever 13, for reversing the
slide of the large cylinder. It will be apparent, therefore, that the action of
the small and large cylinders may be regulated by the means above described,
and without disconnecting the outside cylinders, but by allowing them to
work direct on to cranks on the wheels D and S, as before described, since
by placing the starting handle 6 in a vertical position the small cylinder
slides will receive no motion, and they will therefore cease to be actuated by
the steam. On the handle 10 being placed in a vertical position the steam
will be shut off from the large cylinder, and the required motion given to
the small cylinders by the lever 6 being put either into forward or back-
ward gear. The exhaust steam from the large cylinder goes through the
passage 14 into the blast pipe 15. The exhaust steam from the two smaller
cylinders passes through the pipes 16, 16, the passage 17, and also into the
blast pipe 15. 18 is a ball valve worked by a spindle 19 attached to a
rod and handle so situated as to be convenient for the engineman to actuate,
whereby the exhaust steam from the small cylinders may be either taken
through the passage 17 into the blast pipe 15, as shown on the Drawing, or
by raising the ball valve 18, so as to close the passage 17; the exhaust from
the outside cylinders may be directed downwards and passed through the
pipe 20 in front of the engine without entering the blast pipe 15. In
this manner when running with the three cylinders the exhaust steam from
the whole three may be made available for the purpose of creating a draught,
or the exhaust steam from the centre cylinder alone may be so used when
thereby sufficient draught is secured. When the outside cylinders are
arranged to work direct on to cranks, and the pistons are always in motion
when the engine is moving whether actuated by steam or not, I allow small
quantities of steam to enter either by the slides or by other convenient means
to lubricate the pistons and prevent injury to the cylinders.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would have it
understood that I do not claim nor do I confine myself to the exact mode of
disconnecting the outside cylinders in the way described, since various ways
for effecting the same object would suggest themselves to any mechanic
acquainted with locomotive engines, neither do I claim the precise details as
herein shewn and described; but what I claim is,―
First. So arranging and combining the working parts of a locomotive
engine where three cylinders are employed that the engine may be started
and kept in motion by either one, two, or three cylinders at the will of the

page_text: attendant, and according to the requirements of the road on which the engine
is travelling, or the load which may be attached.
Secondly. I claim so arranging the parts of a locomotive engine when
employing three cylinders that the piston rods of the two outside cylinders can
be withdrawn from their respective cranks and connecting rods, the parts being
so arranged that the cranks though rotating impart no motion or a com-
paratively slight motion only to their respective pistons, substantially as herein
shewn and described.
Thirdly. I claim so arranging the parts of a locomotive engine where three
cylinders are employed that steam can be admitted by means of separate
regulators and steam pipes either to the two outside cylinders only, or to the
centre cylinder only, or to all three cylinders, as berein described.
Fourthly. I claim so arranging the reversing gear of a locomotive engine
where three cylinders are employed that the slides of the two outside
cylinders may be reversed by means of a separate reversing handle from
that which reverses the slide of the centre cylinder, as herein described.
Fifthly. I claim so arranging the passages for exhaust steam in a loco-
motive engine where three cylinders are employed for the purpose herein
described that the exhaust steam from the outside cylinders can be either
directed into the blast pipe in conjunction with the exhaust steam from the
centre cylinder, or be caused to escape into the air through a separate passage
without passing through the blast pipe, as herein described.
And, lastly, I claim the general arrangement and combination of the parts
of a locomotive engine, as herein shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Kendall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.