IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS. PARTS OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO RIVETTED WORK. AND RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK IN GENERAL
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis William Webb, of Bolton, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS. PARTS OF WHICH ARE
APPLICABLE TO RIVETTED WORK. AND RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK IN GENERAL."
Sealed the 22nd April 1870. and dated the 25th November 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis William Webb
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 25th November 1869.
1. FRANCIS WILLIAM WEBB, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
.. IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS, PARTS
OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO RIVETTED WORK. AND RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK IN
GENERAL. to be as follows:—
The first of my improvements is applicable to locomotive and other
steam boilers, and it consists in an improved mode of constructing the
fire-boxes thereof. A thin iron or steel plate of sufficient leugth to go
Price 8d.1

page_text: round the sides and the back and front of a rectangular or other shaped
fire-box, and to form the lap or other joint, and of the height of the
fire-box, is bent to the required shape. This thin plate is cut out and
flanged back to receive the tube plate which may be of copper or other
metal rivetted to the part flanged back, thus obtaining a thin plate for
the body of the fire-box and a strong plate for the tubes. The plate
forming the top of the fire-box is flanged round on three sides and
rivetted to the two sides and back of the fire-box and to the tube plate;
or the top plate may be plain and rivetted to flanges on the body of the
fire-box and tube plate. The seam of the fire-box is rivetted in the
ordinary manner, or according to my improved mode of rivetting, which
consists in the use of oval or oblong rivets instead of round ones as
heretofore customary; these oval or oblong rivets are placed with
their major axis in the direction of the greatest strain, and the greatest
strength is thus obtained while the plate is not so much weakened as
with round rivets. These improved rivets are applicable to beans,
girders, and rivetted work in general.
My improvements in locomotives also consist in making the frames,
cross stays, and hogie carriages of cast steel or Bessemer metal, cast
with the necessary horn blocks, angles, brackets, and fixings required;
or the frames, and stays, and bogie carriages may be first cast nearly
to the required shape, and then forged to condense the parts exposed to
wear.
My second improvement is applicable to the valves of locomotive and
other steam engines, and it consists in making slide valves of a circular
ring or disc, and the ports of a segmental or crescent form. The slide
valve is surrounded by a hoop on the valve spindle and is free to move
round in the hoop these ring or disc valves may be counterbalanced
by a second ring or disc fitting in the valve and pressed against a plate
or the steam chest cover by a spring.
:
My third improvement is applicable to the buffers, draw and bearing
springs of locomotive engines and railway trucks and carriages, and con-
sists in surrounding the buffer springs with a cast steel or Bessemer inetal
case. This part of my Invention is particularly applicable to the buffer
springs made in the manner described in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to Julian François Belleville, on the 14th day of March
1866. No. 763. The casing consists of a cylinder or other shaped casing of

page_text: cast steel or Bessemer metal, fitting over a buffer head or plug of steel
or other suitable metal. The casing may be afterwards made hot and
forged, stamped, or subjected to pressure in suitable dies and blocks to
conaense the metal.
These improvements may be applied to the ordinary railway trucks
constructed with a wood frame without buffers by boring a hole in the
head of the frame large enough to contain the spring or springs, and
securing the spring or springs by a cast steel or Bessemer metal case,
3urrounding the end of the frame. This case answers the purpose of the
buffer head or plug in the ordinary casing; or the end of the frame
may be cut shorter and the buffer spring made of square or other formed
buckled plates of steel, which are held in position by the casing; or the
casing may be place over the end of the frame without shortening it.
For bearing springs I make a casing or casings of cast steel or Bessemer
metal to contain the springs before mentioned, which casing or casings
may be prolonged, and form the guards or guides for the axle box, and
the top of the box itself may be prolonged into the spring casing and
support the locomotive or other vehicle through the spring direct. For
draw springs I make a suitable case of cast steel or Bessemer metal to
contain the springs. I also 111
I also some cases prefer to rise the before
mentioned springs by placing various sizes of such springs one upon
another; some or all of such spring cones or buckle plates may be
without the central hole.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Francis William Webb in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th May 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, FRANCIS
WILLIAM WFBB, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster. Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS - most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign. did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Francis William Webb,

page_text: Her special licence, that I, the said Francis William Webb, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Francis William Webb, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for *IMPROVEMENTS IN LocoMOTIVES AND OTHER STEAM
ENGINES AND BOILERS, PARTS OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO RIVETTED WORK,
AND RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK IN GENERAL," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Francis William Webb, my executors or adminis
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Francis William Webb, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following Specification thereof, reference being had to the two
accompanying Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:--
The first of my improvements is applicable to locomotive and other
steam boilers, and it consists in an improved mode of constructing the
fire-boxes thereof.
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is a transverse section, Fig. 2 a longitudinal
section, and Fig. 3 plan in section of the fire-box of a locomotive or
portable engine constructed according to my improvements.
a is part
of the cylindrical portion of the boiler, and is the outer casing of the
fire-box; c is a thin plate of iron or steel or other metal of sufficient
length to form when bent the sides and the back and front of the fire-
box and the flanged joint c. The plate c is of the height of the fire-box,
and it is cut out and flanged back, as shewn at , to receive the tube
plate . which may be of copper or other metal rivetted to the part
Hanged back. By this improved construction I obtain a thin plate for
the body of the fire-box, thereby reducing its weight and cost, and a

page_text: may
strong plate for the tubes. The plate e forming the top of the fire-box
is flanged round on three sides, and it is rivetted to the two sides and
back of the fire-box and to the tube plate d, and in order to insure a
good joint around the tube plate a thin piece of metal, known as a
caulking strip, may be introduced between the flanges, so that the joint
can at any time be repaired from the inside of the fire-box, or the top
plate may be plain and rivetted to flanges on the body of the fire-box
and tube plate; or instead of joining the ends of the plate e, as shewn
in Fig. 8, the ends may form a jump joint, as shewn in Fig. 4, and bo
secured together by a plate f, or an ordinary lap joint may be made.
The fire-box is shewn of a rectangular form, but my improvements are
equally applicable in constructing cylindrical fire-boxes like those made
formerly by Bury, of Liverpool, or other shaped fire-boxes. The inner
and outer casings of the fire-box are connected by stays, but as the
inner casing can now be made of a thinner plate than usual I prefer to
use the stay bolts shewn in Fig. 5 instead of the ordinary screwed stays;
this bolt passes through a plain hole in the inner casing e, and be
either screwed into or pass through a plain hole in the outer casing b.
The distance between the plates b and c is regulated by a short metal
tube, and the nut on the bolt tightens the whole securely together. By
the use of these stays on slackening the nuts to release the inner plate
the scale may be easily detached by striking the inner box with a mallet
on the inside. The seam of the fire-box is rivetted in the ordinary
manner, or according to my improved mode of rivetting, which consists
in the use of oval or oblong rivets, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, which
represent a front view and section of a seam with one row of oblong
rivets instead of round ones as heretofore customary; these oval or
oblong rivets are placed with their major axes in the direction of the
greatest strain, and the greatest strength is thus obtained, while the
plate is not so much weakened as with round rivets. Fig. 8 is a front
view of a seam with a double row of my improved rivets. I wish to
observe that the shape of the oblong rivets may be considerably varied.
These improved rivets are applicable to beams, girders, and rivetted
work in general.
Another of my improvements in locomotives consists in casting the
home and havin onering with the necessary horn blocks.

page_text: or the frames and stays and bogie carriages may be first cast nearly to
the required shape, and then forged to condense the parts exposed to
wear. This part of my Invention is illustrated by Fig. 9, on Sheet 2.
which represents the side frame of an ordinary locomotive engine. The
dotted lines represent the channels formed in the moulding composition
to convey the molten metal to several parts of the mould at the same
time, and I prefer to place the mould in a vertical position in order that
the head of metal may consolidate the casting.
Figs. 10, 11. and 12 represent my improvements in the valves of
locomotive and other steam engines. These improvements consist in
making slide valves of a circular ring or disc, as shewn in section in
Fig. 11, and in plan in Fig. 12, and the ports i of a segmental or crescent
form, as shewn in Fig. 10. The side valve is surrounded by a hoop j
on the valve spindle and is free to move round in the hoop. These ring
or dise valves may be counterbalanced by a second ring or disc fitting
in the valve and pressed against the plate or steam chest cover / by a
spring. The interior of the ring is provided with packing rings to form
a steam-tight joint within the valve h. The exhaust pipe is in con:-
munication with the passage m, or it may be connected to the plate 1,
as shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 11, in which case the passagem would
be dispensed with. The radius of the outer part of the ports i may be
struck from the common centre, in which case the valve will first open
at the centre liue to exhaust, or the outer curve of the ports may be
struck from a centre as much larger than the radius of the common
centre as the lap of the valve, as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 10,
in which case the admission to the exhaust will be the same as in an
oblong or rectangular valve.
The last part of my Invention is applicable to the buffers, draw, and
bearing springs of locomotive engines and railway trucks and carriages,
and it consists in surrounding the buffer springs with a cast steel or
Bessemer metal case. These improved cases are particularly applicable
to the buffer springs made in the manner described in the Specification
of Letters Patent granted to Julien François Belleville on the Fourteenth
day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, Number 763.
Fig. 13 is a section, and Fig. 14 a front view of a buffer the casing
of which is constructed according to my improvements. The casing
consists of the cast-iron or steel box n, which is bolted to the cross

page_text: o, which is inade of
easily on the box n,
beam of the carriage or truck, and of the cover
cast steel or Bessemer metal. This cover fits
and to it is rivetted the stud o', which passes through the disc springs p,
made in the mauner described by Julien François Belleville, in the
Patent above referred to. There is a key 2 passing through the stud o',
which key is held against the bottom of the box by the tension of the
springs.
Fig. 15 is a section, and Fig. 16 a front view of a modification of the
above. In these views the box is made of cast steel or Bessemer
metal, and it is made with an internal shoulder, against which the
external shoulder of the cover o is held by the springs p. The cover is
made of cast iron or steel, and to it is rivetted the stud o¹.
Fig. 17 is a section, and Fig. 18 a plan of another modification
of the above. In this instance the cover o is made of cast steel or
Bessemer metal, and it is of an oblong rectangular shape, fitting on the
end of the wood frame of an ordinary railway truck. In the cover are
rivetted the two studs o'. passing through the disc springs p. The bolt o'
passes through the wood frame and through slots in the sides of the
cover; shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 18, to hold the cover in its place,
or one set of springs may be used in a similar manner.
Fig. 19 is a section, and Fig. 20 is a front view of another modifica
tion of the above. The cast steel or Bessemer metal cover o fits on the
square end of the wood frame, and the spring consists of any con
venient number of rectangular plates. which are buckled or bent to the
required shape, and put together in pairs, as shewn. These plates do not
require a hole through the centre, and consequently the stud to hold
the spring together may be dispensed with. In some cases the spring
may be placed in a hole bored in the wood frame, and the arrangement
of the springs and the shape of the casing may be considerably modified.
The improved buffer casings above described may be cast nearly to
the size and shape required and then heated, and then forged, stamped,
or subjected to pressure in suitable dies and blocks to coudense the
metal.
Fig. 21 is an elevation, partly in section, of the casing of a bearing
spring constructed according to my improvements. is the ordinary
horu plate of a railway truck, and s the bearing block for the axle:
the upper part of this block is cylindrical, and fits in the cylindrical

page_text: casing t, which is made of cast steel or Bessemer metal, and is secured
to the horn plate r. The disc springs are contained in the casing t,
and they are held in position by the stud s¹ fixed in the block s.
Fig. 22 represents a modification of Fig. 21. In this instance the horn
plates are prolongations of the casing t, and the whole is made of cast
steel or Bessemer metal.
steel or
Fig. 23 represents my improved casings for draw springs. The disc
spring p is contained in the casing u, which is made of cast
Bessemer metal, and is secured to the framing of the carriage.
Fig. 24 represents an improved mode of constructing springs. Conical
plates of the same size have heretofore been combined to form a spring.
Now my improvement consists in combining two or more pairs of spring
cones or buckled plates, as shewn in Fig. 24, either with or without the
central hole.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described certain
modes of carrying the same into operation, I wish it to be understood
that I do not intend to limit myself to the details given, as the same
may be considerably varied without departing from the peculiar character
thereof; but what I claim is,-
First. Making the inner portion of the fire-box of a locomotive or
portable steam engine excepting the top and the tube plate of a single
sheet of iron or steel.
Secondly. Making the tube plate separate from the other part of the
fire-box in the manner described.
Thirdly. The use of oblong rivets in rivetting together plates of
inetul.
Fourthly. Making the frames, cross stays, and bogie carriages, or
parts thereof, of locomotive engines and carriages of cast steel or
Bessemer metal, and consolidating the metal by forging when required.
Fifthly. The improved circular valve for locomotive and other steam
engines, as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 10, 11. and 12.
Sixthly. Making the cases of buffer, draw, and bearing springs, or
parts thereof, of cast steel or Bessemer metal.
Seventhly. The improved springs consisting of pairs of rectangular or
other shaped plates, as shewn in Figs. 19 and 20.

page_text: And, lastly. The improved springs consisting of conical discs of
ifferent diameters combined in sets, as shewn in Fig. 24.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis William Webb, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of May One thousand.
eight hundred and seventy.
F. W. WEBB. (L.S.)