AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINE
Year: 1854

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Hammond. Bentall
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th December. 1854.
1.
I, EDWARD, HAMMOND BENTALL of Heybridge, in the County of Essex, Iron-
5 founder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " AN IMPROVED
CONSTRUCTION OF LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINE" to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to simplify the construction of agricultural
steam engines, and to render their action more efficient than heretofore.
The engine I mount in a rectangular frame carried by a pair of wheels, and
I set the boiler above the engine, and bolt it securely to the framing. By this
arrangement. I am enabled to lower the fly wheel, and thereby decrease the
lateral vibration of the engine; and also remove the boiler, when it requires
repairing without disturbing the-engine. The forward end of the frame I
Support (when the engine is required to be set for use) by means of adjustable
5 props, which are raised from the ground when the engine is required to travel,
and are let down and secured by binding screws or otherwise in position when
they are to bear the weight of the engine.

page_text: The axle of the running wheels is carried by shifting axle boxes, which are
worked backwards and forwards by screw shafts, for the purpose of shifting the
position of the wheels, and thus balancing the load, or of giving the engine a
wider bearing on the ground when the props are down in position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Hammond Bentall in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th June 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
HAMMOND BENTALL, of Heybridge, in the County of. Essex, Ironfounder, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Hammond Bentall, Her special license that I, the said Edward
Hammond Bentall, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Edward Hammond Bentall, 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
"AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Edward Hammond Bentall, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Edward Hammond Bentall, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
-and-to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to simplify the construction of that class of
locomotive steam engines known as agricultural steam engines, and to render

page_text: their action more efficient than heretofore, by lessening their vibration when
in operation.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 represents my improved construction
of engine in side elevation; and Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the same.
The engine I mount within a rectangular frame a, a, and I set the boiler
above the engine, and shut in the engine from view by means of hinged plates
or shutters, as shewn in the elevation. Instead of mounting the engine upon
four wheels, as usual, I apply to the binder part of the frame a pair of wheels
b, b, and to the forward end a supporting prop. The axle c of the travelling
wheels b, b; is supported' in sliding bearings, which move (when it is required
to balance the load) upon parallel guides, attached to the under side of the
frame. To this axle c, at about the middle of its length, a threaded lug or
box is secured, as shewn at Fig. 2, and through this lug or box a threaded
shaft e passes, the same being supported, at the fore' end of the frame by a
bracket bearing f, which is bolted thereto. The cap of this bearing fits
between collars on the shaft, and thus the shaft is prevented from moving in
the direction of its length. A lever handle g is keyed to the shaft e, for the
purpose of rotating it, and when; therefore, it is turned, the axle c with its
wheels 6 will be shifted forward or backward, as required. The prop or sup-
port h, which is applied to the forward end of the rectangular frame a, a, is
made capable of a vertical adjustment, so that when the engine is required to
be set for use it is lowered, to give it a bearing in and upon the ground, and
take the weight of the fore end of the engine. This prop works up and down
in a socket, formed to receive it in the bracket piece f, and it is provided at its
lower end with a foot plate to rest on the ground, and a conical or pointed pin
for piercing and taking a hold upon the ground. This prop his worked up
and down in its socket or guide by means of a screw i, the longer end of which
passes through a threaded nut attached to the frame a, while the upper end
turns freely in a lug, which is bolted to the prop h. Rotary motion is given
to this screw by means of a hand wheel ; or, instead of this arrangement,
lateral binding screws may be used for keeping the prop in position. Instead
of the central prop, shewn in the Drawing, the weight of the fore part of the
engine may be carried by a pair of props, similarly provided with sockets,
and the means for adjusting them to and retaining them at the required
elevation.
f.
It will now be understood that when the engine is required to be removed
from one place to another, the wheels b, b, are brought to the position shewn
at Fig. 1, for the purpose of balancing the load, and the prop is raised from
the ground by means of the hand wheel l; a horse being harnessed to the

page_text: shafts m will then be able to draw the engine with ease. But when .the
engine is required to be set in a given place to work a thrashing machine, for
example, the prop h is let down to, the dotted position of Fig. 1, and the wheels
are moved back until they come in contact with friction pieces n, n, which pro-
ject from the opposite sides of the frame a; the engine will then have a wide
bearing on the ground, and thus its stability will be ensured. By placing the
steam cylinder, pump, and rods connected therewith, below the boiler and out
of sight, the risk of injury to the engine, as also to the workman in attendance;
will be reduced, and the position. of the crank shaft o and fly wheel p will be
much lower than in the ordinary construction of agricultural engines. This
lowering of the crank shaft and fly wheel will tend greatly to- reduce the
vibration of the frame a, a, and thereby to economise the motive power of
the engine.
Having now set forth the nature of my "improvements in the construction
of locomotive steam engines," and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect; I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim,
First, the general arrangement or distribution of the parts, as described,
whereby I am enabled to reduce the vibration of the framework when the
engine is in action.
Secondly, I claim the application to the frame of such engines of an adjust-
able prop or props, for supporting, together with the travelling wheels, the
engine when at work.
:
And I also claim mounting the wheels as described, so that they may be
shifted in their position in order to balance the load.i.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Hammond Bentall, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of June, in the year
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
E. H. BENIALL. (L.S.)