Tram-cars, and for other Purposes.
Year: 1886

page_text: Tram-cars, and for other Purposes.
We, GEORGE ASHER, of 98, Lower Edwardes Street, Balsall Heath, Pattern
Maker, and JOHN BUTTRESS, of St. Paul's Road, Sparkbrook, both in Worcestershire,
Hotel Servant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our Invention has reference more particularly to roof lamps for lighting the
inside of railway carriages and tram-cars our chief object being to so construct
such lamps that they will burn petroleum, paraffin or other hydro-carbons and give
a steady and constant flame; and our Invention can also be applied to hanging
or swinging lamps which burn hydro-carbons for ships and for general purposes
so as to obtain a more steady and constant flame than has heretofore been possible
with such lamps.
We will first describe our Invention as applied to the roof lamps of railway
carriages and tram-cars.
According to this part of our Invention, instead of an oil reservoir being
provided within the lamp casing where the contents thereof would become heated
by the flame of the lamp as railway lamps are now ordinarily constructed, we
provide an oil reservoir distinct and separate from the lamp proper and fixed to
the roof of the railway carriage or tram-car in any convenient position but
preferably outside thereof and as near to the lamp as possible without the oil
contained therein becoming heated by the lamp. The lamp frame, which fits in
the carriage roof, with its hinged top cover and inverted dome-shaped glass part
inside the carriage, may be of ordinary construction. Within the said inverted
dome-shaped glass part of the lamp we provide an ordinary lamp burner, preferably
of asbestos, which is connected by a suitable tube to the said separate oil reservoir
by which the oil contained in the reservoir can flow therefrom to the burner. In
any convenient part of the said tube and either inside or outside the carriage we
provide a cock for regulating the flow of oil to the burner which we prefer to make
of such a size that when fully open it will just supply the proper quantity of oil
to the burner. In order that the light may be unaffected by the shaking of the
carriage when in motion and that there may be a continuous flow of oil to the
burner we partly or wholly fill the said tube connecting the oil reservoir to the
burner with sponge, asbestos or other absorbent substance which substance becomes
.

page_text: saturated with the oil and so ensures a steady flow to the burner. The inlet end
of the said tube projects within the oil reservoir and is there covered by a very fine
silk or other bag so as to filter the oil entering the tube to prevent the regulating
cock becoming clogged. The said oil reservoir is provided with a filling hole fitted
with a screwed plug in which is a hole for admitting air to the interior as the
contents are withdrawn.
We provide a small hole in the said tube leading from the oil reservoir to the
burner through which any hot air or gas can escape from the said tube.
The burner may be provided with an ordinary chimney and gallery similar to
those at present used for other lamps.
When the said tap for regulating the flow of oil from the reservoir to the
burner as above described is situated inside the carriage we so construct the said
tap that it can only be turned by a special key so as not to be tampered with
by the public.
In the said inverted dome-shaped glass part of the lamp suitable holes may be
provided through which the lamp can be lighted without going on the top of the
carriage.
In applying our Invention to hanging or swinging lamps which burn hydro-
carbons for ships and for general purposes we construct and arrange the regulating
cock and tube leading from the oil reservoir to the burner similarly as herein before
described with reference to a roof lamp for railway carriages and tram-cars.

page_text: Tram-cars, and for other Purposes.
We, GEORGE ASHER, of 98, Lower Edwardes Street, Balsall Heath, Pattern
Maker, and JOHN BUTTRESS, of St. Paul's Road, Sparkbrook, both in Worcester-
shire, Hotel Servant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
Our Invention has reference more particularly to roof lamps for lighting the
inside of railway carriages and tram-cars our chief object being to Bo construct
such lamps that they will burn petroleum, paraffin or other hydro-carbons and give
a steady and constant flame; and our Invention can also be applied to hanging or
swinging lamps which burn hydro-carbons for ships and for general purposes so as
to obtain a more steady and constant flame than has heretofore been possible with
such lamps.
We will first describe our Invention as applied to the roof lamps of railway
carriages and tram-cars.
According to this part of our Invention, instead of an oil reservoir being provided
within the lamp casing where the contents thereof would become heated by the
flame of the lamp as railway lamps are now ordinarily constructed, we provide an
oil reservoir distinct and separate from the lamp proper and fixed to the roof of
the railway carriage or tram-car in any convenient position but preferably outside
thereof and as near to the lamp as possible without the oil contained therein
becoming heated by the lamp. The lamp frame, which fits in the carriage roof,
with its hinged top cover and inverted dome-shaped glass part inside the carriage,
may be of ordinary construction. Within the said inverted dome-shaped glass
part of the lamp we provide an ordinary lamp burner, preferably of asbestos,
which is connected by a suitable tube to the said separate oil reservoir by which
the oil contained in the oil reservoir can flow therefrom to the burner. In any
convenient part of the said tube and either inside or outside the carriage we
provide a cock for regulating the flow of oil to the burner which we prefer to
make of such a size that when fully open it will just supply the proper quantity
of oil to the burner. In order that the light may be unaffected by the shaking of
the carriage when in motion and that there may be a continuous flow of oil to
the burner we partly or wholly fill the said tube connecting the oil reservoir to
the burner with sponge, asbestos or other absorbent substance which substance
becomes saturated with the oil and so ensures a steady flow to the burner. The
inlet end of the said tube projects within the oil reservoir and is there covered by
a very fine silk or other bag so as to filter the oil entering the tube to prevent
the regulating cock becoming clogged. The said oil reservoir is provided with a
filling hole fitted with a screwed plug in which is a hole for admitting air to
the interior as the contents are withdrawn.
We provide a small hole in the said tube leading from the oil reservoir to the
burner through which any hot air or gas can escape from the said tube,

page_text: The burner may be provided with an ordinary chimney and gallery similar to
those at present used for other lamps.
When the said tap for regulating the flow of oil from the reservoir to the burner
as above described is situated inside the carriage we so construct the said tap that
it can only be turned by a special key so as not to be tampered with by the
public.
In the said inverted dome-shaped glass part of the lamp suitable holes may be
provided through which the lamp can be lighted without going on the top of
the carriage.
On the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation and Fig. 2 a part
sectional plan of a. roof lamp for a railway carriage or tram-car constructed
according to our Invention; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation and Fig. 4 a sectional
plan of part of a modified form of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
Referring firstly to Figs. 1 and 2 a is the lamp frame fitting in the carriage
roof 6 having a hinged top cover a¹ and, inside the carriage, an inverted dome-
shaped glass part c all of the ordinary construction. d is the oil reservoir, distinct
and separate from the lamp proper, fixed to the outside of the carriage roof as near
to the lamp as possible without its contents becoming heated by the lamp flame.
Inside the glass part c is an ordinary lamp burner e, preferably of asbestos, con-
nected by a tube f to the oil reservoir d through which tube oil can flow from the
reservoir to the burner. A cock g is provided for regulating the flow of oil through
the tube f having a hole g¹ in its plug of such a size that when the cock is fully
open it will just supply the proper quantity of. oil to the burner. In order that
the light may be unaffected by the shaking of the carriage when in motion and
that there may be a continuous flow of oil to the burner we partly or wholly fill
the tube with sponge, asbestos, or other absorbent substance which will become
saturated with the oil and so ensure a steady flow to the burner. The inlet end f
of the tube f is covered by a very fine silk or other porous bag h which filters the
oil entering the tube and prevents the regulating cock g becoming clogged. dis
the filling hole of the reservoir d provided with a plug in which is a hole i³ for
admitting air to the reservoir as the contents are withdrawn. In the tube f is a
small hole through which any hot air or gas can escape. The burner e may be
provided with any ordinary chimney ; and gallery k similar to those at present
used for other lamps which can readily be removed if required when the hinged
cover a¹ is opened in the ordinary manner.
In the modification illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4 the tap g for regulating the
flow of oil from the reservoir to the burner is situated inside the carriage and it
has a square hole g' in the end of the plug g so that it can only be opened and
closed by the ordinary railway key 7 being inserted through the hole o' in the glass
part c thereby obviating the necessity of going on the top of the carriage for
lighting the lamp, or the cock may be otherwise constructed so that it can only be
opened and closed by any other special key.
When adapting this Invention to existing railway lamps and other like roof
lamps we prefer to arrange for the tube f to enter the lamp frame by a hole a²
formed in the cover a¹ as shewn in Fig. 1 and in front elevation by Fig. 4* thereby
not interfering with the opening and closing of the cover a¹.
In applying our Invention to hanging or swinging lamps which burn hydro-
carbons for ships and for general purposes we construct and arrange the regulating
cock and tube leading from the oil reservoir to the burner similarly as herein before
described with reference to a roof lamp for railway carriages and tram-cars.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
1st. In a roof lamp for railway carriages, tram-cars, and other like vehicles, the
use of an oil reservoir made distinct and separate from the lamp proper and con-

page_text: nected to the lamp burner by a tube or tubes substantially as and for the purposes
hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2nd. The combination with the ordinary lamp frame a, hinged cover a¹ and glass
part c, of the oil reservoir d, and tube f conveying oil from the said reservoir to the
burner and filled or partly filled with an absorbent substance all arranged sub-
stantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
3rd. In a roof lamp for railway carriages, tram-cars and other like vehicles the
tube f connecting the oil reservoir with the lamp burner filled or partly filled with
asbestos, sponge or other absorbent substance and provided with an air hole f* and
a tap g substantially as herein before described and for the purposes set forth.
4th. The opening a³ in the hinged cover a substantially as described and for the
purpose set forth.
5th. The improvements in hanging or swinging lamps for ships and general
purposes hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings
which consists in providing a separate oil reservoir connected to the lamp burner
by a tube or tubes filled or partly filled with asbestos or other absorbent sub-
stance and fitted with a regulating cock all arranged substantially as and for the
purposes herein set forth.