IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAM AND LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, THOMAS GREEN of Smithfield Iron Works, Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
TRAM AND LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINES, and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to certain improvements in Tram and Locomotive steam
engines constructed as described by specifications No 4268 dated 1st October 1881,
and N° 1631 dated 1st March 1883, and has for its object the emitting of steam in
an invisible state into the atmosphere. Hitherto the steam after passing through
the cylinders of this class of Engine has been conducted into a superheater placed
over the furnace and occupying the best portion of the heating surface of the
boiler for the purpose of destroying, so far as being visible is concerned, the steam:
in order to fully effect this purpose a very high rate of consumption is necessary.
I find that on attaching a condenser to the top of the roof of the Engine and
conducting a portion of the Exhaust steam into the superheater and another portion
through the various pipes exposed to the air, I am enabled to effect the object of
this my invention and at a much less expenditure of fuel than under the mode
herein before described.
My invention consists in conducting the exhaust steam from the engine cylinders,
first into receivers, with which connections are made with a superheater, part of
the steam passing into the same where it is dried and invisibly emitted through the
funnel to the atmosphere: the remainder of the steam being conducted to a surface
condenser and therewith condensed, the water therefrom passing into a suitable
receptacle.
In order that the invention may be fully understood, I have appended hereunto
a sheet of drawings marked with letters of reference, corresponding letters
indicating the same parts where they appear. Fig. 1 represents the transverse
section of a Tram Engine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a
side elevation and Fig. 3 a plan of a portion of the condenser.
The exhaust pipes A from each cylinder are connected to the respective receivers B
fixed at each side of the boiler or in any other convenient position: connected to
each receiver is a pipe C with a stop tap T fitted thereto for the purpose of
regulating the supply of steam to the superheater D placed in the fire box, by

page_text: which the steam is dried and thereby rendered invisible when emitted through the
blast pipe E and funnel to the atmosphere.
To each receiver B I also connect another escape pipe G: each pipe G being also
connected to the tubular condenser formed of several series of thin metal pipes H
and side boxes H', the latter of which are bolted together and all placed on the
engine car roof: the steam escaping through pipes Ğ into one of the boxes H¹,
passes through each series of thin pipes H from one side to the other in the
direction as indicated by the arrows shewn by Fig. 3, thus condensing the steam,
the water resulting therefrom being conducted into a store tank on the engine or
allowed to escape.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my. said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
The construction of tramway or locomotive engines in which a superheater D is
combined with a tubular surface condenser, all arranged substantially in the
manner and for the purpose as herein before described and as illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.