Improvements in Apparatus for Lighting Railway Cars.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 20th Sept..
1887.
Improvements in Apparatus for Lighting Railway Cars.
I, EDWARD JOHN FROST of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania United
States of America, Mechanical Engineer 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
:―
At the present time, nearly all railroads have introduced what is known as the air-
brake system for operating the brakes which control the stoppage of the train.
This system need not be further described for the purposes of the present application
than by the statement that there is mounted upon the locomotive engine an air-
pump driven by the surplus steam of the said engine, which air-pump has a conduit
pipe leading to cylinders situate upon the several cars of the train, or at convenient
points. These cylinders contain pistons which can be exposed to the pressure of
the air within, and which are so connected with the brakes as that the said pressure
will bring them to bear upon the wheels.
In the use of this system there is always a surplus quantity of air which ordinarily
goes to waste, since the pumping apparatus upon the locomotive is usually maintained
in constant action. My present invention is designed to utilize this surplus air by,
so to speak, converting it into a vapor suitable for illuminating purposes, which said
vapor is consumed in ordinary burners situated within the cars.
To thus produce an illuminating vapor I saturate the air current with the vapor of
a volatile hydro-carbon (preferably that which is known commercially as gasolene)
and for this purpose I prefer to use the form of device shown in the accompanying
drawings, and which in accordance with existing nomenclature I call a carburetter.
In said drawings, Figure 1 represents a transverse section through a car body, to
which my apparatus has been applied, showing said apparatus also in transverse
section; Figure 2 represents a longitudinal section through the car-body and through
the apparatus; Figure 3 represents a central vertical section through the carburetter
proper, the scale of this figure being somewhat enlarged, and certain modifications in the
arrangement of the pipes being therein shown, without, however, affecting in any way the
principle of operation; Figure 4 is a top or plan view of the carburetter proper upon
the same scale as that of Figure 3. The corresponding parts are throughout indicated
by the same letters, whatever may be the position which they occupy.

page_text: Referring to Figures 1 and 2, A represents the car-body, which of course may be
of any desired construction. Beneath said body is a strong iron reservoir, B,
suspended at a convenient place between the trucks. A pipe, C, directly connected
with the supply-pipe of the air-brake system leads into the interior of this reservoir B.
From the reservoir, B, an exit pipe, D, leads up through the floor of the car to a
chamber, S, in which one or more plates of wire gauze are interposed to screen out
the dust. Then the pipe, D, continues on to a pressure-reducing apparatus E. This
apparatus may be of any of the well known forms adapted to reduce the tension of a
gas, or vapor; but as I do not claim the said device considered by itself, its con-
struction need not be further described. From said tension-reducing apparatus a
pipe, I, leads up to the roof of the car to the carburetter or apparatus for charging
the air current with inflammable vapor.
I prefer to place upon the pipe, D, and upon the pipe I, respectively, pressure-
gauges,
F and G, in order to indicate the condition of pressure within said pipes, and
also prefer to provide the pipe, I, at some convenient point with a stop cock T,
operated by means of a weighted arm, H, so arranged that when the car is upright, as
shown in the drawings, the weight upon the lever shall keep the stop cock open, but
if, by accident, the car is overturned, the swinging of said weight to one side will
close the stop cock, and thus extinguish the lights so as to prevent any conflagration.
These details, however, can be dispensed with without affecting the principle of my
invention, but I refer to them as desirable adjuncts thereto.
Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the interior construction of the carburetter will
be described. It consists of a short cylinder, J, of large diameter, formed of sheet
metal, having a vertical passage way through its centre, and completely closed except
where the pipes enter. Within said cylinder, a short distance from each end, are
sheet metal diaphragms, e and d, respectively, and in the open space between said
diaphragms, is a spiral partition or wall, of sheet metal, b. This partition is of great
length, and being soldered or united to the diaphragms, c and d, forms a continuous
and very long spiral passage way, one of whose ends is situate at the exterior
periphery of the cylinder, J, while the other is situate at the inner part of said
cylinder, close to the wall of the central vertical passage way referred to. At very
short intervals I form in the top and bottom diaphragms, c, d, holes e, a few of which
are shown in dotted lines in Figure 4. Through these holes, strands of ordinary
lamp wicking fare drawn, with their outer ends projecting into the small open space
between the diaphragnis c, d, and the ends of the cylinder J, while the greater portion
of the wicking is of course within the spiral passage way, and forms an absorbent
filling therein, so disposed, however, as to leave around the strands of the wicking a
free passage way for air.
Thus, the carburetter proper consists really of a very long passage (disposed in a
compact manner) which is substantially free for the travel of an air current, and
which contains a large quantity of absorbent material so arranged as to present, to
the passing air a very extended surface.
This carburetter proper, J, is enclosed within a shell or envelope, O, which I prefer
to make double, with a lining of material which is a non-conductor of heat, and
between the carburetter, J, and the shell, O, there is an air space of considerable
extent, indicated by the extremely dark shading in the drawing. The chimney, M,
of the lamp K, within the car, passes up through the contral opening of the carburetter,
and communicates by suitable openings g, g, with said air space around the
carburetter proper, so that a portion of the products of combustion from the lamp, K,
and also of the heated air from within the car, passes out by the openings 9,9 into
this free air space, and then circulates around the exterior of the carburetter, J, until
it has risen to the top of the shell, O, when it passes out by the upper portion of the
chimney M. The carburetter, J, is of course tightly closed, so that none of this
exterior hot air can enter it, and the only purpose of thus exposing the carburetter
to a hot air current is to maintain its temperature during cold weather, when other-
wise the vapor within the carburetter might congeal and deposit in liquid form. The
carburetter thus enclosed in its shell, O, is securely mounted upon the top of the car,

page_text: and of course immediately above one of the lamps, so that the chimney, M, shall pass
through it.
The pipe, I, previously referred to, and which conducts the air into the carburetter,
may be arranged as shown in Figure 3 within the open space inclosed by the shell, O,
or it may be arranged, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, entirely outside of said shell;
but, in either case, it communicates with the spiral passage way within the
carburetter at a point indicated by h, close to the innermost portion of the
carburetter.
From the upper end of said spiral passage way, and of course near the exterior
periphery of the carburetter, an exit pipe, L, leads, which pipe may be arranged,
as shown in Figure 3, within the enveloping shell, O, of the carburetter, or it
may be arranged, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, outside of said shell. In either
case, however, said pipe leads down from one of the arms U, which support the
lamp, and then to the burner within the lamp.
A pipe, P, of very small diameter communicates directly between the pipe, I,
and the pipe, L, so as to admit to the charged current issuing from the carburetter
a small dilution of atmospheric air uncharged. The amount of this dilution can
of course be controlled by a stop cock placed at a suitable point in said pipe, P,
and practice will determine how much air should be thus admitted in order to
prevent the flame from being obscure or smoky, as is the case where the vapor
is too rich in hydrocarbon. An inlet pipe, N, is provided, communicating with
the interior of the carburetter for the introduction of the hydro-carbon which is
to be evaporated, and I also prefer to arrange a vertical pipe, Q, as shown, with
its bottom extending into a small cup-shaped depression in the bottom of the
carburetter, below the level thereof, so that when any surplus oil drips down on
to said bottom it will run into the cup-shaped depression, and by opening a
suitable tap at the outer end of said pipe, Q, the free liquid can be blown out
of the carburetter. This is desirable because it is much safer to have no free
liquid within the carburetter, but to so charge it that all the liquid which is within it
shall be held in suspension within the absorbent material, thus preventing leakage,
or in case of accident avoiding the flowing out of this highly inflammable fluid.
To operate the apparatus, the carburetter proper is first charged with gasolene, or
other volatile hydro-carbon by means of the pipe, N. When a sufficient quantity has
been introduced to thoroughly saturate all the strands of absorbent material within
the carburetter, the surplus can be blown out, as before stated, through the pipe, Q,
and the stop cocks which control the pipes, Q and N, are then closed. If the stop
cock T, be then opened, the air at the reduced pressure due to the interposition of the
regulator, E, will flow into the carburetter, and when the stop cocks of the burners
are opened will of course pass around the spiral passage way and flow out at the
pipe L. In thus passing it has become charged with the vapor of the volatile hydro-
carbon, and is thus rendered inflammable, the degree of saturation being controlled,
as before stated, by means of the pipe P.
On its being consumed in the burners, the hot air and products of combustion rise
through the chimney, M, which I prefer to construct of a series of annular shields, m,
at top as shown, and a portion of said products pass, as before stated, around the
carburetter, thoroughly warming it, and thus preventing any tendency to deposit the
vapor within it.
The purpose of taking the air supply from a reservoir, B, connected with the air
brake system, instead of taking said supply directly from the pipes of said system, is
as follows: Should a car be detached from the train, and consequently be cut off
from the air-pump on the locomotive, it will be impossible to keep the burner supplied,
owing to the stoppage of the air current, but I have always found that as the air-
brake pressure is ordinarily very high, a cylinder of moderate dimensions will contain
a storage of compressed air sufficient to supply several burners for a number of hours,
and thus when a car is detached from the train, or any stoppage occurs in the action
of the air-pump, there will be a sufficient supply of air within the cylinder to maintain
the illumination of the car under any ordinary conditions of use.

page_text: 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 :-
1. In combination with a railway car which is provided with an air-brake system,
the following parts, combined and arranged substantially in the manner set forth, to
wit, a storage reservoir, communicating with the supply-pipe of the air-brake system;
a pipe leading from said storage reservoir to a pressure-reducer; a pipe leading from
said pressure-reducer to a carburetter situated in the car roof; a shell, or envelope,
surrounding said carburetter; a lamp situated beneath said carburetter, and supplied
therefrom; and, a chimney adapted to carry off the products of combustion from said
lamp, said chimney communicating with the interior of said shell, or envelope,
whereby the whole or a portion of the products of combustion are caused to pass
around the exterior of said carburetter.
2. The carburetter, J, constructed substantially as described, with a spiral passage
way containing a quantity of absorbent material, and having an inlet-pipe, I, and
exit pipe L, arranged as described; a pipe P, which connects said inlet and exit
pipes; an inlet, N, for charging said carburetter; and, a blow-off pipe, Q, arranged
substantially in the manner set forth, for discharging the surplus hydro-carbon within
the same.