Improvements in and Apparatus for Heating Railway Carriages, and in Pipe Couplings therefor.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 11th Mar., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Apparatus for Heating Railway Carriages,
and in Pipe Couplings therefor.
I, JAMES WEIR GRAYDON, of 1, Burlington Gardens W., in the County of
Middlesex, Lieutenant late United States Navy, 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 :—
This invention relates to improvements in the heating of railway carriages and
other vehicles and in apparatus therefor, and is designed to effect such heating by
means of steam in a more efficient manner than heretofore.
For this purpose in the case of railway carriages, main steam circulating pipes
are arranged to extend from end to end of the train so that a current of steam
can be caused to circulate from the boiler, or from the blast pipe, at will, to the
rear of the train and then back and be discharged into the feed water in the tender,
non circulating branch heating pipes being led from these main circulating pipes
into the compartments of the carriages to be heated.
A vacuum valve is provided on the discharge pipe by which the steam passes
from the return main pipe to the feed water in the tender, and this valve is arranged
to serve as an indicator of the efficient working of the apparatus, for which purpose
it is so adjusted that the jolting and vibration of the tender when running will
cause it to vibrate on its seat and emit a series of rapid puffs of steam. The steam
circulating pipes on the several vehicles, are provided with couplings of special
construction, as hereinafter described, to facilitate their connection, and also to
allow them to become automatically disconnected without damage should the
vehicles on which they are situated become drawn apart accidentally or otherwise
before they have been properly uncoupled by hand.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a horizontal section showing diagrammatically so much of a railway
carriage as is necessary to illustrate the application thereto of main steam circulating
and branch heating pipes according to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing diagrammatically a locomotive tank tender
provided with a pipe fitted with a vacuum valve and by means of which.
steam from the return steam circulating pipe is discharged into the feed
water.
Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of part of a locomotive, showing a convenient
arrangement of steam pipes for use in carrying out my invention.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a coupling according to this invention for connecting
the pipes of two adjacent carriages.
Fig. 5 shows partly in side elevation and partly in section and to a larger scale,
the parts of the coupling detached from each other.
Below the floor of each of the carriages composing a train are two longitudinally
arranged steam pipes A A', the pipes on the same side of the train being connected
together, as are also the rear ends of the pipes on the last carriage so that they
form practically one long circulating pipe that extends along one side of the train
to the rear end thereof and then back again to the front end and through which
live or exhaust steam can be caused to circulate. One end of this pipe is coupled
when the apparatus is to be used, to a pipe B (Fig. 3) that can be placed by means
of suitable valves as shown, either in connection with the steam space of the
locomotive boiler by the blower pipe C, or with the interior of the locomotive
blast pipe D by a branch pipe D. The other end of the circulating pipe is
coupled to one end of a discharge pipe E the other end of which dips into a feed
water tank E' on the tender (Fig. 2). The arrangement is such that live or

page_text: exhaust steam can at will, according as the engine is standing or running be caused
to flow from the locomotive boiler or from the blast pipe along the pipes A on one
side of the train, and back along the pipes A¹ on the other side to the discharge
pipe E on the tender and thence into the feed water which it serves to heat.
Within each carriage to be heated are branch heating pipes each in commu-
nication with the main circulating pipe by a connecting pipe F¹ provided with a
cock and a T piece or the like. By this arrangement it will be seen that as there is
only one point of connection between each of the pipes F and the main circulating
pipes A A¹ there is no circulation of steam in the said pipes F, steam only flowing
into them to take the place of that condensed therein. The branch heating pipes F,
which are preferably situated beneath the seats, indicated by chain lines in Eig. 1,
are somewhat inclined so that water of condensation will flow from them back into
the main circulating pipes A A' through which it will be carried into the feed
water tank E' by the rush of steam. Each branch heating pipe is provided with
one or more air cocks F" to allow the air in it to escape when it is desired that
steam may enter it.
The discharge into the feed water takes place through the pipe E which extends
abore the tender as indicated in Fig. 2 and is bent down into the water. In the
upper bent part of this pipe, which is in sight of the driver, is a vacuum valve E
which serves to prevent the accidental formation of a vacuum in the pipes, and the
'passage into them of the feed water by the pressure of the atmosphere or by syphon
action when the pressure in the circulating pipes falls below that of the external
atmosphere.
To indicate the efficient working of the apparatus the pressure of this valve on
its seat is so-adjusted that the jar or shaking of the tender causes it to open slightly
and at frequent intervals so allowing steam to escape, the quantity of such
escaping steam indicating to the driver whether or not the supply of steam to the
pipes is sufficient, and also if the path or circuit for the steam is free from
interruption.
The adjacent ends of the circulating pipes A A¹ of contiguous carriages are
connected by any suitable form of coupling.
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a suitable construction of coupling for this purpose.
This coupling comprises two hollow parts G and H secured to the respective ends
of the pipes to be connected, and adapted to fit one within the other after the
manner of a plug and socket. The socket-like portion H is provided with a
tubular steam packing H¹ held in place by a screw gland H or the like, and
adapted to surround the plug portion G' of the part G against which it is pressed
tightly by the steam pressure behind it when the parts are pushed one in the other
as shown in Fig. 4 there being then a clear passage through the coupling for
steam.
To lock the two parts of the coupling together but in such a manner as to permit
them to uncouple automatically without damage should the carriages become
separated, there is pivoted at each side of one part of the coupling a lever one arm I
of which terminates in a hook or bent portion I adapted to engage with a pin
or projection I' on the other portion of the coupling when the two parts thereof are
properly placed together. The other arm 1 of each lever is bent or curved
approximately to the form assumed by the adjacent curved part of the coupling
hose A when the latter hangs in its normal position between two adjacent vehicles,
the two arms I being connected to a ring I which embraces the upper part of the
coupling hose as shown. By this arrangement it will be seen that should two
vehicles connected by such a coupling become accidentally separated, the coupling
hose will be pulled straight with the result that the levers II will be caused to
partly turn upon their pivots and become disconnected from the pins or projections I'
so that the two parts of the coupling can then be easily drawn apart without
breakage thereof. There may be a lever 1, 13 and a pin or projection I² at one
side only of the coupling, but it is preferred to provide these parts at opposite sides
of the coupling as described.

page_text: A coupling such as described can be used for coupling together train pipes other
than those used for conveying steam for heating purposes, as for example the air
pipes used in brake apparatus.
Apparatus such as described may advantageously be applied to trains working
on underground railways when it is necessary that the exhaust steam should be
condensed. In this case the whole of the exhaust steam, or nearly so may be led
from the blast pipe or direct from the exhaust ports of the engine cylinders to the
circulating pipes A A¹ and thence, if the carriages are to be heated, to the branch
pipes F so that only a comparatively small quantity of the exhaust steam will reach
the water in the feed tank and the over-heating of this water, as is now usual, will
be obviated. For the same reason, in summer-time, when the carriages do not need
to be heated and the cocks on the intermediate pipes F¹ are closed, the exhaust
steam may be still caused to flow through the circulating pipes A A' which owing
to their large cooling surface act as a condenser and condense a considerable portion
of the steam before it can reach the feed water. The water of condensation may
be discharged from the circulating pipes by unfastening one of the couplings
between two of the vehicles, or the circulating pipes, or one of them, may for this
purpose be provided with one or more valves which may be arranged to be operated
from the foot plate of the engine.
The circulating pipes A. A' will in practice be covered with non-conducting
material to prevent loss of heat.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The hereinabove described method of heating railway carriages by causing
live or exhaust steam to flow in a continuous manner from a locomotive through
main circulating pipes to the rear part of the train and then back to a feed water
tank, steam being led from the main circulating pipes into branch heating pipes
located in the compartments of the carriage to be heated and each connected with
one of the main circulating pipes in such a manner that steam cannot circulate
through it, but so that fresh steam can enter it from the main circulating pipe to
replace that which has become condensed therein as set forth.
2. For carrying out the method of heating railway carriages referred to in the
preceding claim, apparatus comprising steam circulating pipes A A¹ adapted to be
coupled together, branch heating pipes F located in the compartments of the
carriages to be heated and each connected at one point only with one of the steam
circulating pipes and provided with an air valve, a steam supply pipe arranged on
the locomotive and adapted to be connected to one end of the connected steam
circulating pipes, a bent discharge pipe adapted to be connected to the other end
of the said pipes and arranged to dip into water in a feed water tank, and a vacuum
valve in the said discharge pipe, substantially as described and shown for the
purposes specified.
3. For connecting together steam or other pipes on two adjacent vehicles, a
coupling comprising two parts such as G and H one adapted to enter the other
and form a steam tight joint therewith, and a bent lever, or levers, such as I I³
pivoted to one of the said parts of the coupling and adapted, or each adapted, at
one end to engage with a pin or projection on the other part of the coupling and at
the other end to engage with one of the flexible hose pipes, the arrangement being
such that when the connected flexible hose pipes are subjected to a pulling force
tending to straighten them, the lever or levers will be caused to automatically
unlock the two parts of the coupling and permit them to be drawn apart without
damage substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated thin 15th do 1000