CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, AND IN GENERATING AND APPLYING STEAM AS MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
DAUBNEY HOLMES, of Lambeth Square, in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
me,
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the First day of August, in the fourth year of Her
reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
the said William Daubney Holmes, Her especial licence that I, the
said William Daubney Holmes, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Daubney Holmes, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
ENGINES, AND IN GENERATING AND APPLYING STEAM AS MOTIVE POWER;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said William Daubney
Holmes, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be eurolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Daubney Holmes, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention
to consist
First, in increasing the pressure of steam in its passage from the boiler to
the cylinder of the engine, by re-heating it in an intermediate vessel.
Second, by applying heat externally to the cylinder of the engine, so that an
additional heat may be applied to the steam after it is shut off at part of its stroke.
Third, in the application of a vessel or chamber between or connected with the
low-pressure boiler and the higher pressure intermediate vessel, so as to supply
steam from the low-pressure steam vessel to a higher pressure steam vessel.
Fourth, in the admission of high-pressure steam into the low-pressure boiler
(in some cases) after its ejection from the cylinder of the engine.
Fifth, in the application of an intermediate vessel for admitting alternately
steam and water, or steam of different temperature and pressure to supply
water from a tank (or other water source) to a steam boiler, so as to dispense
with the ordinary feed pump, or to convey steam of one pressure into the vessel
of another pressure.
And Sixth, in the application of steam to a fixed rope, chain, line, or band,
by means of drum-wheel or sheave working within the coil or lap of a rope,
chain, line, or band for hauling, propelling, or accelerating carriages on railways
or common roads and other ways, and also for hauling or propelling boats and
other vessels along canals and other navigations.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said William
Daubney Holmes, do hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention
is to be performed, by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Fig. 1 is a section, and Fig. 2 a plan, shewing the application of certain parts
of my Improvements to the steam engine. A is a part of a steam boiler of any
ordinary construction for generating steam; B is what I call a steam elevator,
or intermediate vessel, into which the steam is to be admitted, and there to
obtain additional heat, so as thereby to be raised to a high pressure. This
chamber B is one of three of the same kind. C is a vessel or chamber for
applying or transmitting the heat to B, which vessel will be more fully described
hereafter; D is the cylinder of a steam engine; E is a vessel for supplying
water from the tank F to the boiler A; H is a safety valve; L is a cock to
let out any water that might get into the intermediate chamber or vessel. On
the steam having been got up in the boiler A, the cocks or valves a are left

page_text: open, and those marked bare shut, by which means the steam in the boiler A
will circulate through the pipes e, d, and steam chamber B in the direction of
the arrows, by which means the vessel 13 becomes charged or filled with steam,
when the cocks a are closed, and the steam in the chainber B becomes increased
in temperature by the application of heat through the medium of C. The cock
b in one of the chambers B leading to the cylinder is then opened, by which
means the steam acts expansively on the piston till the stroke is effected, when
the last opened cock is closed, and the cocks a of the same chamber B opened
to obtain a fresh supply of steam; and in the meantime a second of the three
intermediate steam chambers or vessels is acting on the piston, and so on one
after the other with any number of intermediate chambers that may be required
to keep up the requisite supply of steam. E is a tank or trap to supply the
boiler with water from an ordinary tank or vessel F, in the following manner:
If the cocks d, d, are open, and the cock e closed, the vessel E will be filled
with steam, when, if the cocks d, d, be closed, and the cock e be opened, the
water will run into the vessel E, and condense and occupy the place of the
steam it previously contained. If then the cocks d, d, be opened, the water
will run down the pipe f into the boiler A, and the steam will supply its place
through the pipe g, which operation may be repeated as often as is requisite to
supply the boiler. The several cocks may be opened and shut by gearing
attached to any convenient part of the engine in the ordinary way, and which
is too well known to engine builders to require any particular description here.
G is an exhaust or waste steam pipe leading from the cylinder either into the
open air or to a condenser, &c. through the valve h, or into the boiler through
the valve i, according as either valve is open or shut; j is a valve opening towards
the boiler, so as to prevent the steam passing from the boiler to the cylinder, and
to admit its passage only from the cylinder through this pipe. Figures 3 and 4
represent another application of increasing the heat, and consequent increase
of pressure, in an intermediate steam chamber or vessel. The boiler A, tank
F, with the intermediate water-supplying vessel E, with the several pipes and
cocks connected therewith, are similar as described in Figures 1 and 2; but
the apparatus for increasing the temperature and pressure of the steam is
different in its arrangement, and for which one vessel or chamber only is here
requisite. E is a chamber or vessel similar to the water-supplying
vessel E, excepting that this is required to convey (instead of water into
a boiler) steam out of a low-pressure boiler into a vessel to be kept charged
with high-pressure steam. The cocks d, d, being closed, and the cocks e, e,
being open, the vessel E will become filled with steam from the boiler A
by its circulation through the pipes between the same, as shewn by the

page_text: arrows; after which, if the cocks e, e, be closed, and d, d, be opened, the low-
pressure steam in E¹ will descend into the vessel B, and be replaced by
high-pressure steam therefrom, by which means a supply will be kept up
for the cylinder D. Figures 5 and 6 represent the steam being re-heated by
keeping the cylinder of the engine at a high temperature, by which means the
steam is increased in its temperature and pressure after its entrance into the
cylinder; this being more particularly applicable when a long cylinder and
stroke is required and to work expansively. Figure 5 is a section, and
Figure 6 a plan, of a boiler and engine and so much of its appurtenances as
are necessary for the purposes of explanation. A is the boiler; B the
cylinder; C a chamber or space formed by the cylinder and jacket, inclosing
the same, for the circulation of oil or oily substances or other fluids or
substances which the application of heat may render fluid, by which an uniform
and high temperature may be kept up; h is a funnel by which the fluid or
circulating medium is introduced into the vessel or inclosure C, and the size
of which should depend on the nature of the fluid, being large enough to
admit of the expansion of the fluid occasioned by the application of heat; i is
an air-cock to let out the air while the vessel is being filled or supplied with
the fluid. Heat may be applied direct to the jacket of the cylinder or
chamber for the fluid, or it may be applied through the medium of a boiler
placed at any convenient distance from the cylinder, and be made to circulate
through the pipes K, K. A mode of applying heat for elevating the
temperature of the steam in the intermediate vessels is more fully shewn in
Figure 14.
In this case the fire M is applied direct to the vessel C, in which
the elevators or intermediate vessels are placed. The vessel C may be filled
with oil or other fluids that boil at high temperatures, as before described; or,
instead of a boiler, C may form an oven or stove for transmitting heat to the
elevators B. The steam in the intermediate or re-heating vessels may be
conveniently re-heated or elevated in its temperature and pressure by the
application of gas flame or other flame being directed to or upon the vessels;
or hot water, under high pressure by being confined in tubes, pipes, &c., may
be made to circulate through or about the chambers or intermediate vessels
for re-heating the steam, and other means, which may vary according to the
purpose and locality of the engine. C, C, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, are the
vessels in these figures for the purpose of inclosing the fluid or other heated
medium to which heat may be applied, as here described. Having now
described my several Improvements in the steam engine and in generating
steam, I will proceed to describe my Improvements in applying steam as
motive power.
Figure 7 represents the plan, and Figure 8 the cross section

page_text: of a railway, along which a rope, chain, band, or line is laid, and in some cases
two ropes, &c., as shewn in Figures 10 and 11, which is fixed or fastened or
held at each end of the line of railway and at intermediate places, as will be
hereafter described, and which is also passed one or more times round a drum,
sheave, or pulley D, to which pulley, &c. is connected with a crank attached
to rods from a steam engine, all of which are supported by the wheels E.
These wheels may either be wheels that support the locomotive steam engine,
or they may be connected in any convenient way to the locomotive steam engine
so as to admit of the connection of the engine with the crank or drum. It will
be obvious that if a rope, &c. B, be stretched tight along a railway or other
road or way, and fastened or held at each end, and a drum be put into the
loop or lap of the rop as shewn at D, that on D being turned round, the
adhesion or friction of the rope will cause the drum to follow the line of the
rope, and drag or propel any carriages that may be attached to it. G are guides
to keep the rope, &c. within a place or line for the drum when passing a
curve, or in other places where the rope, &c. may be liable to get out of its
place; H is a clamp or holdfast to hold the rope at intermediate places on
the line to keep the rope tight; I is a weight suspended over a well or pit
J, connected with a pulley, and allowed to drop into the said well or pit J
to keep the rope tight, and yet to supply an extra quantity or length of rope
when required for coiling on the drums; this is more fully shewn in Figure
9, which is a sectional elevation, similar letters being used to denote similar
parts in Figures 7, 8, and 9. I recommend two of these wells or pits to be
provided at cach station on the railway, or other road or way. On a carriage
or train approaching the station, the weight in the well nearest the train is
raised (and detached from the rope) at the same time, the rope between the
train and the pit being held by the clamp H, on which the weight in the
other well will fall of its own gravity, by which means the train of carriages
will pass over the first well, on which the weight is again fixed on the rope
over the first well, and the weight of the second well removed, and the rope
raised as before described by the weight of the first well being allowed to fall.
Also, on every additional drum being put on the railway line, the weight is
raised to supply the required length of rope. The drum, as shewn in this
figure, it will be obvious should be of the same diameter as the wheels that
bear it, so that the distance that the circumference of the drum and wheel
travels should be the same. In addition to the extra length of rope falling
within the wells, the rope may be lengthened or shortened at pleasure, by
having union joists on the rope with extra lengths of rope to unite with the
same.

page_text: Figure 10 is a section, and Figure 11 a plan of another mode of
applying this part of my said invention, when it is desirable that the cir
cumference of the drum should traverse at a different rate to the bearing
wheels of the engine or carriage on which the drum may be fixed. B, B, are
two ropes, and coiled round the drum D; the advantage of two ropes, and by
reversing the lap, as shewn in Figure 11, is in keeping a bearing or tension
perpendicular to the axis of the drum, &c., whereas one rope has a tendency
to twist the drum or sheave, and, if of large diameter, would be liable to twist
it out of its track. This arrangement is also better calculated to keep the
drum in the place of the rope, &c. when traversing in the direction of the
arrow, the outside part of the lap or coil of the two ropes forming a groove
for that part which falls within them under the drum. In these figures the
drum is fixed on a carriage or truck, and attached to the engine by the con-
necting rods a, a. F is the crank of the engine to be connected with the
carriage on which the engine rides. The engine, carriage, and drum-truck
being joined together, or both on one carriage, as may be most convenient for
the particular engine traffic or road. Figure 12 and 13 is the application of
the steam power (similar to what has been before stated) to the hauling or
propelling boats and other vessels along canals and other navigations. A is
a boat on a canal to carry an engine which is intended to haul a train of
boats attached to the first boat. The engine is connected to the crank F,
by which means the drum or sheave D revolves with the coil of the rope B,
or ropes, as the case may be. The rope is fastened at each end, and at inter-
mediate places on the line, with weights to tighten the same, similar to what
has already been described as applicable to railroads, common roads, and other
ways. G is a rest for the rope; C, C, are piles driven into the middle of the
canal to support the same, &c. &c.; I, I, are friction rollers to guide the boats.
Now, whereas I claim as my Invention the following Improvements, that
is to say:
First, the application of an intermediate heating vessel or chamber for
increasing the heat and pressure or expansibility of steam after its generation,
and previous to its action in the cylinder of the engine as herein-before
described.
Second, the obtaining of the same object by heating the cylinder
externally as herein-before also described; but I except from this claim the
application of heat to the ordinary locomotive steam cylinder, which may obtain
heat externally by being placed in the smoke-box, as is now the case.
Third, the means for supplying steam boilers with water by the circu-
lation of steam and water, as herein-before explained, through pipes,

page_text: cocks, or valves connected with an intermediate chamber shewn at E,
Figure 3.
Fourth, the means for charging or supplying steam from a low-pressure
boiler to a high-pressure boiler, as herein-before described and shown at E',
Figure 3.
Fifth, the means of conveying waste steam at a high temperature into
a low-pressure boiler to raise the temperature of the water or steam in such
boiler.
And Sixth, the application of steam through the medium of a drum to
a fixed rope, chain, band, or line laid along railways or other roads and ways,
and canals or other navigations, for propelling or hauling carriages and vessels
thereon as hercin-before described.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her said
Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare
this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my
said Specification doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or
disguise, with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained: Wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right
and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this First day
of Tolruary in the Vour of our Lord One thousand oight hundred and