IMPROVED MECHANISM AND APPLIANCES IN CONNECTION WITH LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND THE PERMANENT⚫ WAY OF RAILWAYS FOR INCREASING THE TRACTION POWER OF THE ENGINE
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Simon of N° 7 St Peters Square Manchester in
the County of Lancaster for an Invention of "IMPROVED MECHANISM AND
APPLIANCES IN CONNECTION WITH LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND THE PERMANENT⚫
WAY OF RAILWAYS FOR INCREASING THE TRACTION POWER OF THE ENGINE
Communicated to him from Abroad by Christian Hagans of Erfurt, Prussia in
the Empire of Gormany
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Simon at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st January 1883.
"
HENRY SIMON of No 7 St Peter's Square Manchester in the County of Lancaster
IMPROVED MECHANISM AND APPLIANCES IN CONNECTION WITH LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINES AND THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS FOR INCREASING THE TRACTION
POWER OF THE ENGINE "
[Communicated to him from Abroad by Christian
Hagans of Erfurt, Prussia in the Empire of Germany]
One part of this invention relates to improved appliances whereby the traction
of locomotive engines can be effected either by the ordinary frictional contact
between the wheels and rails or by the gearing of a toothed wheel on the engine
with a toothed rack on the permanent way.
For this purpose according to one arrangement the axles of the driving wheels
have fixed on them toothed wheels at or about their middles that can gear with a
toothed rack fixed on the permanent way between the rails, at any desired points
of the line. The said axles carry furthermore an auxiliary framing, separate from.
the ordinary framing of the engine, and which carries in adjustable bearings
auxiliary wheels, that can run upon inner auxiliary rails fixed on the permanent
way at the points where the toothed racks are situated
at a somewhat higher level than the ordinary rails, so that when the engine arrives.
These auxiliary rails aro
[Price 8d1

page_text: at the point where they are fixed, the auxiliary wheels in running up their sloped
ends, lift the ordinary wheels of the engine off their rails, the engine being thus
entirely supported by the auxiliary wheels, while the engine is propelled by the
toothed wheel on the shaft of the driving wheels.
Any wear of the auxiliary wheels can be compensated for by adjusting their
bearings in the auxiliary frame, so as to maintain the proper gearing together of
the toothed wheel and rack, which in the arrangements heretofore employed with
the auxiliary wheels placed loose on the axles of the driving wheels, were liable to
get out of proper gear on the wearing away of the auxiliary wheel's
According to another modification of the above arrangement, the auxiliary rails
are dispensed with the auxiliary wheels carried by the auxiliary framing as before,
being arranged to run on the ordinary rails
For this purpose their bearings or axle boxes which are ordinarily raised so as to
keep the wheels free of the rails are connected to the short arms of bell-crank
levers pivotted to the auxiliary framing and having their long arms connected to
or actuated by the piston of a steam cylinder in such manner that when the engine
arrives at the point where the toothed rack is situated and steam is admitted to the
said cylinder, its piston is moved so as to cause the bell crank levers to depress the
axles of the auxiliary wheels whereby these will take a bearing on the rails and
will lift the driving wheels clear of the rails.
According to another modification the main auxiliary framing carries a second
auxiliary framing pivotted on the axle of the rear driving wheels. This pivotted
framing carries firstly the axle of the toothed wheel that gears with the rack and
The free end of the
secondly the axle: of the one pair of auxiliary wheels.
pivotted framing is supported by a bell crank lever pivotted to the main framing
of the engine and having its long arm connected either to the piston of a steam
cylinder such as was referred to in the previous modification or to other suitable
mechanism whereby it can be moved so as to depress the end of the pivotted
framing and thereby bring the toothed wheel in gear with the rack, while at the
same time the auxiliary wheels are brought down upon the rails and the driving
wheels are lifted off the rails. The axle of the toothed wheel is in this case rotated
from a crank on the driving wheel, coupled by a rod with a crank on the toothed
wheel axle
According to another arrangement, the auxiliary wheels are dispensed with and
the axle of the toothed wheel is carried by the auxiliary framing and is connected
by cranks to the steam cylinders of the engine and constitutes the driving axle, the
running wheels of the engine serving merely to support the latter on the rails
when the toothed wheel is in gear with the rack. For propelling the engine on
parts of the line where there is no rack, the axle of the toothed wheel and that of
the one pair of running wheels are provided with frictional gearing, and there is a
third frictional wheel carried by a lever arm, which by a screw motion can be
made to bring the said frictional wheel in gear with the other two, whereupon the
running wheels will be driven from the toothed wheel axle through the frictional
gearing and will propel the engine by frictional contact with the rails
According to another construction in place of the toothed wheels and rack there
are provided inner auxiliary rails, on the upper surface of which, enlarged bosses
of the driving wheels run, the driving wheels being at the time raised off their
rails. The one auxiliary rail is of a broad flat shape (or it might be longitudinally
grooved or corrugated) and against its underside is made to bear a wheel on an
auxiliary shaft driven by toothed or frictional gearing from the driving axle. The
one end of the auxiliary shaft is carried in a fixed bearing with spherical brasses,
while the bearing at the other end is carried by a lever pivotted to the framing and
actuated by a screw or other gear so as to bring the wheel on the auxiliary axle
forcibly against the underside of the flat rail, thereby causing this to be nipped
between the said wheel and the boss of the driving wheel
Instead of employing only one auxiliary shaft and nipping wheel as described
there may be two such, operating in combination with the driving wheels and one

page_text: pair of coupled running wheels, in which case both auxiliary shafts may be con-
veniently carried by a framing which is raised and lowered by screw or other
gear, so as to put the nipping wheels in and out of action.-The toothed racks
employed in combination with the above described arrangements of engines are
according to one arrangement formed as cast steel gratings, the bars of which form
the teeth and which may either be flush with the sides, or the latter may project
below them. In the latter case the rack may be of a bridge or trough shaped
section with internal or external flanges at bottom, and the bars may also be trough
shaped. When the racks are situated against one of the side rails they may be
cast in one therewith, being formed either with a laterally projecting rail-head or
with a groove for the flange of the wheel to run in, and in this case the rack may
either be formed with bars as above described or with ordinary rack teeth-
According to another arrangement the rack is formed separable from the rail, and
secured to the side thereof by bolts
According to another arrangement, the rack is built up of separate transverse
bars forming the teeth secured at their ends to longitudinal bars above and below,
the intermediate spaces between these bars being either left open or filled in with
separate blocks
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Simon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th June
1883.
HENRY SIMON of N° 7 St Peters Square Manchester in the County of Lancaster
"IMPROVED MECHANISM AND APPLIANCES IN CONNECTION WITH LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINES AND THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS FOR INCREASING THE TRACTION
POWER OF THE ENGINE "
A communication to me from abroad by Christian
Hagans of Erfurt, Prussia in the Empire of Germany
One part of this invention relates to improved appliances whereby the traction
of locomotive engines can be effected either by the ordinary frictional contact
between the wheels and rails or by the gearing of a toothed wheel on the engine
with a toothed rack on the permanent way.
For this purpose, according to one arrangement shewn respectively in longitudinal
section, sectional plan and cross section in figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying
drawings, the axle a orb of the driving wheels ii bas fixed on it a toothed
wheel o at or about its middle that can gear with a toothed rack fixed on the
permanent way between the rails, at any desired points of the line. The said
axles ab carry furthermore an auxiliary framing f, separate from the ordinary
framing e of the engine, but connected to the bearings g of the driving wheels, and
which carries in adjustable bearings & the axles c d of auxiliary wheels that can
run upon inner auxiliary rails m fixed on the permanent way at the points where
the toothed racks are situated. These auxiliary rails are at a somewhat higher

page_text: level than the ordinary rails n, so that when the engine arrives at the point where
they are fixed, the auxiliary wheels in running up their sloped ends, lift the
ordinary wheels of the engine off their rails, as shewn at figs 1 and 3ª, the engine
being thus entirely supported by the auxiliary wheels, while the engine is
propelled by the toothed wheel on the shaft of the driving wheels.
Any wear of the auxiliary wheels can be compensated for by adjusting their
bearings in the auxiliary frame, such as by placing packing pieces over the axle
boxes, so as to maintain the proper gearing together of the toothed wheel and rack,
which in the arrangements heretofore employed with the auxiliary wheels placed
loose on the axles of the driving wheels, were liable to get out of proper gear, on
the wearing away of the auxiliary wheels, requiring these to be removed and
renewed. Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of this arrangement, fig 5 a sectional
plan, fig. 6 a cross section and figs. 7 to 9 enlarged details.
The engine has, as in the previous case, in addition to the driving and coupled
axles ab two auxiliary c d with wheels carried in the auxiliary frame f
connected to the bearings g of the axles a b. When the engine is boing propelled
by the wheels ii running on the ordinary road, the wheels are held suspended,
as at figs. 4 and 6, this being effected by means of a steam cylinder q fixed to the
framing e and whose piston r is connected by rods 8 t to bell crank lovers u pivotted
at w to the auxiliary framing f, and connected with their short arms to the axle
boxes of the axles c d as shewn more clearly at figs. 7 and 8. On admitting steam
on the left hand side of the piston r the levers will be moved into the position
shewn, thereby raising the axles c d and keeping the wheels suspended.
When the engine arrives at the part of the line where the rack is situated, steam
is admitted on the right hand side of the piston r, whereby the levers u are pulled
over, so as to depress the wheels making them take a bearing on the rails, and
on then pulling the levers over still further, the frame will be raised, thereby
lifting the wheels i off the rails and causing the engine to run on the wheels 2, as
shewn at figs. 4* and 6º.
00
Figs. 10 to 14 shew respectively a longitudinal section, part plan, cross sections
and enlarged details of another modification, in which, in addition to the auxiliary
frame f, there is a second auxiliary frame ƒ which carries the shaft v of the toothed
wheel, as also the axle c of the rear wheels . The shaft vis driven by means of
cranks and coupling rods from cranks w on the axle of the driving wheels i; the
frame fis pivotted upon this axlo and carries, immediately above the axle c, a
bell crank lever e, the short arm of which is connected by a link Z to the auxiliary
frame fat B, so that, by pulling over the lever e from the position shewn in fig. 10
to that shewn in 10º, the frame f* will be depressed, bringing the wheels to bear
upon the rails, and causing the toothed wheel o to gear with the rack, and also
raising the wheels i off the rails, as shewn at fig 10%, so that the engine is now
propelled by the toothed wheel o through the axle c and cranks w and x.
lever e may be actuated either by a steam cylinder, as in the previous arrangement
or by other suitable means.
The
Figs. 15, 16, and 17 shew respectively a longitudinal section, a sectional plan
and a cross section of an arrangement in which the shaft v of the toothed wheel o
mounted in the auxiliary frame f is directly driven by cranks and connecting rods
from the engine cylinders; it carries a grooved friction wheel b which can be
geared with the grooved friction wheel a² on the axle a of the wheels i by means
of a grooved wheel the axis of which is carried by a lever actuated by the
screw c². When the engine is running on steep inclines, the wheel d³ is lowered,
so as to put band a³ out of gear, and the engine is then propelled directly by the
toothed wheel as at fig 15. When running on a level road or slight inclines,
where there is no rack, the wheel dis raised in gear, and the engine is then
propelled by the frictional contact of the wheels ȧ with the rails.
According to another arrangement, instead of providing a rack and toothed
wheel for obtaining increased traction, this is obtained by means of increased
frictional surface for the driving wheels, as shewn at figs. 18, 19 and 20, which

page_text: shew respectively a part longitudinal section, part sectional plan, and a cross
section of the engine. In this case there are provided at the inclines, inner
auxiliary rails ², by preference of flat form as shewn on the left hand side of
fig. 20, but which may be of any other shape, as shewn on the right hand side, and
on these rails the enlarged bosses 2 of the engine wheels i run, these wheels being
at that time raised off the ordinary rails n. Beneath the axle of the wheels i is a
shaft, one end of which is suspended in a spherical bearing m from the frame,
while the other end is suspended from a lever actuated by a screw p², or other
means, and on this end of the shaft is fixed a wheel 2, which, when the shaft is
raised by the lever and screw, is caused to nip the rail between it and the boss i³.
The shaft being driven from the axle a by toothed genring fg, the engine will
be propelled by the combined frictional contact of 2 and h with the rail k². The
right hand wheel i is provided with a smaller boss of the same diameter as i³,
running upon an ordinary rail, as shewn. When the engine is running with the
wheels i on a level part of the line, the shaft and its wheel h² run idle. It may
however be arranged to be driven by frictional gearing, as shewn at figs. 21 to 23,
in which case it may be thrown out of gear when not required to operate. In this
arrangement, both the axles ab are made to drive an auxiliary shaft 2 with
wheel by frictional gearing. The shafts are carried in hearings d³ d³ on
beams D² D³ suspended from a main beam C which can be raised and lowered at
both ends by screw gear p² p³ or by other. means. Thus, on raising or lowering
the right hand side of c by the screw gear p², the grooved frictional wheels g³ ³ are
put in or out of gear, and by raising or lowering the left hand end of c the wheels h³
are made to nip the rail k or to free it.
Figs. 24 to 36 shew various constructions of toothed racks, employed in com-
bination with the above described arrangements of engines with toothed driving
gear. Fig. 24 shews, in longitudinal section, plan and cross section a rack formed
in one piece of cast steel. Fig. 26 shews a longitudinal section of another form of
cast steel rack having a cross section either as at fig. 27 or as at fig. 28. Figs. 30
and 31 shew other sections of cast steel racks for arrangements where the toothed
wheel of the engine is situated at one end of its shaft instead of in the middle.
The contiguous ordinary rail is, in this case, cast in one piece with the rack, as
shewn.
Fig. 32 shews the double rail for the other side of the line, also made of cast
steel. Figs. 33 and 34 show sections of cast steel racks bolted to the sides of the
rails. Fig. 25 shews a rack in longitudinal section, plan and cross section, in which
the cast steel or wrought iron teeth d d are cast into the longitudinal bars which
may be either of cast steel or cast iron.
Fig. 29 shews in longitudinal section and two cross sections a rack constructed
similarly to the foregoing one. Fig. 35 shews a rack in which the teeth are
rivetted at each end between two longitudinal bars. Fig. 36 shews a similar
construction of rack for more powerful traction, for which purpose blocks are fixed
in the spaces between the teeth.
In both the arrangements at figs. 35 and 36 angle, U or Z iron may be employed
in place of a flat plate.
Having thus described the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I
claim :-
First. In a locomotive engine provided with toothed gear for increased traction
the use of auxiliary wheels on auxiliary shafts c d carried by an auxiliary
frame and arranged and operating in combination with auxiliary rails and a
toothed rack, substantially as herein described, with reference to figs. 1, 1ª, 2, 3
and 3 of the drawings.
Second. The arrangement of the auxiliary frame f in combination with the
axles ab of the ordinary wheels and the axles c d of the auxiliary wheel 2,
substantially as herein described with reference to figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings.
Third. The combination of the auxiliary frame f with the mechanism r t u

page_text: operating on the auxiliary axles c d in such manner as to raise the wheels ii of
the rails, substantially as herein described with reference to figs 4 to 9 of the
drawings.
Fourth. The combination of the auxiliary frame f³, axles c, u, toothed wheel o,
wheel and lever u, arranged and operating substantially as herein described with
reference to figs. 10 to 14 of the drawings.
Fifth. The arrangement of the shaft of the toothed wheel o, driven direct from
the engine cylinders, and geared with the axle a of the wheels i by means of
frictional gear a b d operated by a screw or other means, substantially as herein
described with reference to figs. 15 to 17 of the drawings.
Sixth. The use, for producing incrensed frictional traction, of an auxiliary rail
which is nipped between an enlarged boss of the driving wheel and a wheel on an
auxiliary shaft geared with the axle of the driving wheel, substantially as herein
described, with reference to figs. 18 to 23 of the drawings.
Seventh. The combination of the boss i wheel and shaft 1nctuated by screw p²
and geared with axle a, arranged and operating as herein described with reference
to figs. 18 to 20 of the drawings.
Eighth. The combination of the axles ab with the bosses i³, shafts 3, wheels h³,
frictional gear f g³, beams D C and screw or other gear p² arranged and operating
substantially as herein described with referenco to figs 21 to 23 of the drawings.
Ninth. The construction of racks herein described with reference to figs 22
to 36 of the drawings, for use in combination with locomotive engines having
toothed wheel traction.
In Witness whereof I the said Henry Simon have hereunto set my hand
and seal this twenty first day of June in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.