IMPROVE- MENTS IN COMMON ROAD TRACTION ENGINES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN COMMON ROAD TRACTION ENGINES."-A communication from
abroad by Albert Schmid, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer.
Sealed the 23rd July 1867, and dated the 31st January 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st January 1867.
1, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMMON ROAD TRACTION ENGINES," a communication to
me from abroad by Albert Schmid, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer,
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the general construction and arrangement of what
are known as traction engines for common roads, whereby all the necessary
evolutions of such engines are more easily effected, and they are rendered more
suitable for common road traffic, inasmuch as they are easily guided and the
noise produced by the escape of the steam from the blast pipe is prevented.
According to this Invention the engine is guided or steered by a swivel
wheel in front, such wheel being carried in the lower end of a strong vertical
spindle supported and guided by brackets on the front of the smoke box. The

page_text: top of this spindle is connected with a bearing spring, which is coupled by
the aid of links to brackets rivetted to each side of the boiler. The steering
handle or lever is secured to the upper end of the said spindle, and extends
along the top of the boiler back to the fire-box end, so that the engine driver
whilst standing in his usual place on the foot plate can readily steer the engine
and still have the regulator handle and valve motion convenient to his hand.
The escape steam does not pass directly into the chimney after leaving the
cylinders, but traverses a species of air chest situate in the smoke box wherein
it is superheated, and whence it issues in a continuous manner without noise
and in an invisible state, consequently the danger of frightening horses is
greatly reduced. The driving shaft of the engine transmits motion to the
driving wheels either by the intervention of an endless driving chain and chain
pulleys or by simple gearing wheels; in the latter case the teeth of the wheels
should be sufficiently long to permit of a certain radial motion in the small
pinion keyed on the driving shaft. The two running or driving wheels are
'capable of revolving independently of each other, which enables the engine to
take the sharpest turnings; this result is obtained by a very simple differential
motion, consisting of a pair of bevel wheels carried in the interior of the large
chain wheel or gearing with their axes in the direction of the diameter of the
said wheel, such wheel being by preference made in two halves bolted together
so as to enclose in suitable sockets or bearings the journals of the bevel wheels,
both these bevel wheels gear into two other bevel wheels fast on long tubular
bosses on the main supporting or driving wheels, such tubular bosses revolving
freely on the main axle supported in bearings in the main framing. The fire-
box is by preference elliptical in transverse section, and provided with ordinary
fire-bars and a fire-bridge, the latter being a little distance in front of the tube
.plate of the fire-box. Beneath the fire-bars is an ash-pit which receives the
cinders and ashes without allowing them to fall into the road. Water boxes
or tanks are provided on each side of the boiler, and coal bunkers are situate
in the rear of the foot plate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
31st July 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, S
Gentleman, send greeting..

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry.
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adniinistrators, or 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 makė,
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 COMMON ROAD TRACTION ENGINES," a communication to me from
abroad by Albert Schmid, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer, upon
the condition (amongst others) that. I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument 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 John Henry Johnson, 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, reference being 'had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The said Invention relates to the general construction and arrangement of
what are known as traction engines for common roads, whereby all the
necessary evolutions of such engines are more easily and they are rendered
more suitable for common road traffic, inasmuch as they are easily guided,
and the noise produced by the escape of the steam from the blast pipe is
prevented.
According to this Invention the engine is guided or steered by a swivel wheel
in front, such wheel being carried in the lower end of a strong, vertical spindle
supported and guided by brackets on the front of the smoke box; 'the top of
this spindle is connected with a bearing spring which is coupled by the aid of
links to brackets rivetted to each side of the boiler. The steering handle or
lever is secured to the upper end of the said spindle and extends along the:
top of the boiler back to the fire-box end, so that the engine driver whilst
standing in his usual place on the foot plate can readily steer the engine and
still have the regulator handle and valve motion convenient to his. hand...The

page_text: escape steam does not pass directly into the chimney after leaving the cylinders,
but traverses a species of air chest situate in the smoke box, wherein 'it is
superheated, and whence it issues in a continuous manner without noise and
in an invisible state, consequently the danger of frightening horses is greatly
reduced. The driving shaft of the engine transmits motion to the 'driving
wheels either by. the intervention of an endless driving chain and chain
pulleys or by simple gearing wheels; in the latter case the teeth of the wheels
should be sufficiently long to permit of a certain radial motion in the small
pinion keyed on the driving shaft; the two running or driving wheels are
capable of revolving independently of each other, which enables the engine' to
take the sharpest turnings; this result is obtained by a very simple differential
motion, consisting of a pair of bevel wheels carried in the interior of the large.
chain wheel or gearing with their axes in the direction of the diameter of
the said wheel, such wheel being by preference made in two halves bolted
together so as to enclose in suitable sockets or bearings the journals of the
bevel wheels; both these bevel wheels gear into two other bevel wheels fast.
on long tubular bosses on the main supporting or driving wheels, such tubular
bosses revolving freely on the main axle supported in bearings in the niain.
framing. The fire-box is by preference elliptical in transverse section and
provided with ordinary fire-bars and a fire-bridge, the latter being a little
distance in front of the tube plate of the fire-box; beneath the fire-bars is an
ash-pit which receives the cinders and ashes without allowing thein to 'fall
into the road. Water boxes or tanks are provided on each side of the boiler,
and coal bunkers are situate in the rear of the foot plate.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a side elevation of the engine; Figure 2 is an
end view looking on the smoke box; Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken
through the centre of the boiler; and Figure 4 is a transverse section taken
along the line 1, 2, (Figure 3.)
The boiler C is of a cylindrical form, and contains a number of tubes
which connect the smoke box f with the fire-box F; the latter is elliptical
or square in section, as shown in Figure 4. The doors e sérve for the
cleaning of the tubes. The whole body of the boiler is secured to the side
frames L, carried by the springs S, which latter, however, may be varied.
The front part of the boiler is sustained by the suspension rods h' attached to
the extremities of the springs fixed at the top part of the vertical axis cr

page_text: 5
spindle g, the lower' end of which terminates in two arms, which receive the
guide wheel G. The spindle g which turns in collars fixed on the front of
the smoke box receives a long bar 9' terminating in a handle within reach
of the engineer, by which he is able to change the direction of the engine at
pleasure without quitting his. place. The coal boxes E and E¹. (Figure 4)
are placed one on each side of the boiler C, and the water tanks E" are
situate underneath. The cylinders B are shown fixed to the interior of the
side frames L, but they may be placed outside if desired. The shaft A carries
a pinion p which actuates directly the differential spur wheel R mounted on
the axle m which receives the driving wheels M and M'. The tooth range of
the pinion p and 'the wheel R should be sufficiently long to give to the pinion
the requisite radial play. The wheel R is constructed so as to receive the
axes of the mitre wheels y and y¹ belonging to the sockets which form the axles
of the wheels M and M¹ respectively; these mitre wheels gear into other
mitre wheels x, x¹, carried by the wheel R. The whole of this combination
coustitutes a differential motion which permits the wheels to move indepen-
dently of each other, and by means of which the engine can be readily turned
round in a very small space, since one of the wheels may serve as a centre of
motion. I would here observe that motion may be transmitted directly from
the driving shaft A to the wheel R if, preferred. The slide valves of the
cylinders B and B¹ are governed by a Stephenson link motion U, by which
the engine may be reversed, as in an ordinary locomotive; this motion is
As before stated the
placed like the cylinders inside the side frames L.
escape pipes do not communicate directly with the chimney; the steam on
leaving the cylinders passes through a species of air chest placed in the smoke
box (not shown in the Drawing), the object of which is to superheat the
steam and cause it to escape in a continuous current noiselessly and
imperceptibly.
The steering apparatus G, g, for directing the engine is worked by the
engineer, who is able to attend also to the other requirements of the engine.
The progress of the engine along public roads is greatly facilitated by the
absence of noise from the escape of the steam, which by causing horses to take
fright, and thereby giving rise to serious accidents, has contributed so much to
render these engines unpopular.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is, the general combination and arrange-

page_text: Ement of parts constituting an improved traction engine for common roads,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings
annexed:
"In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification hereunto set my hand and seal, the Thirty-first day of
July, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.B.)