IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING LOCOMOTIVE TENDERS WITH WATER
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th March 1873.-A. communication from abroad by William
Edgar Prall, of Washington, District of Columbia, United States of
America.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING
LOCOMOTIVE TENDERS WITH WATER," a communication, to be as follows:-
:-
My said Invention relates to improvements in the apparatus described
in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to the said William
Edgar Prall, the 15th day of November, A.D. 1872, No. 3410.
The said Specification describes a water tank, into which water is
admitted by a valve opening and closing automatically. It is well
known that valves used for such purposes are liable to obstruction by rust
or corrosion or by particles of sand or other matter collecting under or
around them. And the aforesaid apparatus having no appliances whereby
the valve can be adjusted or an obstructing body or substance removed

page_text: might fail to act at certain times and therefore occasion great in-
convenience. To overcome this difficulty I have devised mechanism
whereby the said valve shall be adjustable from above the reservoir,
while its capability of automatic action as described in the said former
Specification is retained.
In practising my Invention I submerge the tank in a well or re-
servoir. I may use either a hinged or clack valve or a spindle valve;
I arrange in combination with the said valve a lever pivoted to the
walls of the tank or other convenient support; from this lever a rod
extends up above the reservoir to a convenient position to be mani-
pulated by any person at the station. When it is desired that the said
valve shall be capable of automatic action and also of operation or
adjustment from above the reservoir, the said lever valve and rod are
so connected that the automatic action of the valve is not prevented,
but if it fails the lever may be used to open or close it mechanically or
to remove the obstruction by agitating the said valve. This object is
conveniently accomplished by forming a slot at either end of the lever
and connecting the valve or rod to the same by pins placed at such a
distance apart as to permit the automatic action of the valve. Or
when a spindle valve is used I may form a long slot in the spindle or
stem of the valve and fit the end of the lever in the same; or I may
form the slot in the end of the rod and arrange the end of the lever to
work in the said slot. If a clack or hinged valve is used I provide the
same with a slotted arm extending down to the lever. When a spindle
valve is used I provide guides formed of thin metal plates above and
below the said valve. The guide holes should be large enough to
permit the spindle to work loosely therein, to prevent any obstruction
to the spindle in the said holes by corrosion or otherwise. In some
instances it may not be desirable to permit the automatic action of the
said valve, therefore the slotted connection will not be required, the
rod lever and valve being connected by ordinary pin joints or other
similar joints. As the said valve is liable to obstruction by the
accumulation of sand or other matter I sometimes protect the same by
providing it with a strainer covering the valve seat, or by a pipe pro-
jecting up to near the surface of the water and perforated at its upper
end. It is necessary that the submerged tank should be secured or held
in its position at the bottom of the well or reservoir, otherwise when
the water is expelled therefrom the said tank would rise to the surface

page_text: of the water in the reservoir. For this purpose I may use braces
extending from the walls of the tank to the walls of the reservoir, or I
may make the eduction pipe serve as a stay by attaching the said pipe
to some fixed object at or near the top of the reservoir, or I may attach
the said tank to sills of iron, wood, or other material on which the
said tank is supported, or may provide other suitable means for re-
taining the said tank in its position.
For attaching the end of the air reservoir pipe to the end of the
water reservoir pipe I use a coupling constructed as follows:-The male
part of the said coupling has a collar on one end, through which I cut
two grooves to permit the passage of two hooks on the female part of
the said coupling. The said collar which is inclined or taper is inserted
into the hooks and being turned draws the two parts of the coupling
tightly together. An india-rubber ring may be placed inside the said
hook to ensure a perfect joint.