An Improvement in Rack and Pinion Locomotives.
Year: 1886

page_text: An Improvement in Rack and Pinion Locomotives.
We, HERMANN LUDWIG LANGE, of Gorton Foundry, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and HARRY LIVESEY, of 2 Victoria Mansions, Westminster in
the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declaro the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to locomotives having toothed wheels or pinions gearing with
racks fixed between the rails, such locomotives being genally employed as auxiliaries
to assist ordinary locomotives in propelling trains up steep inclines and to assist in
retarding the trains as they descend such inclines.
A locomotive according to this invention has two main running axles under the
body of the boiler and it may have a bogie axle under the foot plate, the wheels on
all those axles being merely running, but not driving wheels. The axle boxes of the
two main axles are fitted in the usual way to slide vertically between horn platos
with the springs bearing upon them, but each axle box is made with a boss projecting
at each side, turned concentric with the bearing of the axle. On each of these
circular bosses is fitted a plate, each plate extending from the boss of one axle to the
boss of the other, and thus forming a double plato frame which can work on each of
the front and rear axleboxes as on a joint. On each of the double plate frames are
fixed one, two or more axle boxes carrying the axles of one, two or more toothed or
cog wheels. The cog wheels in the middle of these axles gear with the rack which is
fixed between the rails. Steam cylinders are applied for driving the cog wheel axles
by means of cranks in the usual manner. Each cylinder may be connected to a
separate axle; or more than one cylinder may be connected to one axle, that axle
being connected to the other or others by coupling rods in the usual manner. By
connecting one cylinder to a crank on one of the cog wheel axles, and another
cylinder to a crank on another, and setting those axles so that when their cog wheels
are in gear with the rack, the two cranks are at right angles or nearly so, the cranks
are moved over their dead centres, no coupling rods being required in that case.
When the engines are at work, the cog wheel axles are driven, and by their acting on

page_text: the stationary rack they effect propulsion. The frames which carry the gear axles,
being jointed on the axleboxes of the running wheels, maintain their parallelism with
the rails, while at the same time there is freedom for them to yield to inequalities of
level without throwing strain on the rigid framing, in the horn plates of which the
axle boxes can play up and down. On each of the toothed wheel axles is fixed one
or more drums which may or may not have grooves turned in the circumference.
Against each of those drums a corresponding brake block can be pressed so as to
retard when required the rotation of the toothed wheels. Thus, when the train is
descending a steep incline, the retardation of the toothed wheels, while they are
engaged with the stationary rack, is powerfully effective in retarding or stopping the
train, independently of the ordinary brakes, which may be applied to the running
wheels of the locomotive and of the train.
11
01
T 1
1007
ABEL & IMRAY,
28, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: We, HERMANN LUDWIG LANGE of Gorton Foundry, Manchester in the County of
Lancaster; Engineer and HARRY LIVESEY of 2 Victoria Mansions Westminster in the
County of Middlesex, Civil 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 :-
This invention relates to locomotives having toothed wheels or pinions gearing with
racks fixed between the rails, such locomotives being generally employed as auxiliaries
to assist ordinary locomotives in propelling trains up steep inclines and to assist in
retarding the trains as they descend such inclines.
A locomotive, according to this invention, has two main running axles under the
body of the boiler, and it may have a bogie axle under the foot plate, the wheels on
all those axles being merely running, but not driving wheels. The axle boxes of the
two main axles are fitted in the usual way to slide vortically between horn plates with
the springs bearing upon them, but each axle box is made with a boss projecting at
each side, turned concentric with the bearing of the axle. On each of these circular
bosses is fitted a plate, each plate extending from the boss of one axlo to the boss of
the other, and thus forming a double plate frame which can work on each of the front
and rear axle boxes as on a joint. On each of the double plate frames are fixed one,
two or more axle boxes carrying the axles of one, two or more toothed or cog wheels.
The cog wheels in the middle of these axles gear with the rack which is fixed between
the rails. Steam cylinders are applied for driving the cog wheel axles by means of
cranks in the usual manner. Each cylinder may be connected to a separate axle, or
more than one cylinder may be connected to one axle, that axle being connected to
the other or others by coupling rods in the usual manner. By connecting one
cylinder to a crank on one of the cog wheel axles, and another cylinder to a crank on
another, and setting those axles so that when their cog wheels are in gear with the
rack, the two cranks are at right angles or nearly so, the cranks are moved over their
dead centres, no coupling rods being required in that case. When the engines are at
work, the cog wheel axles are are driven, and by their acting on the stationary rack
they effect propulsion. The frames which carry the gear axles, being jointed on the
axleboxes of the running wheels, maintain their parallelism with the rails, while at the
same time there is freedom for them to yield to inequalities of level without throwing
strain on the rigid framing, in the horn plates of which the axle boxes can play up
and down. On each of the toothed wheel axles is fixed one or more drums which may
or may not have grooves turned in the circumference. Against each of those drums
a corresponding brake block can be pressed so as to retard when required the rotation
of the toothed wheels. Thus when the train is descending a steep incline, the
retardation of the toothed wheels, while they are engaged with the stationary rack, is
powerfully effective in stopping or retarding the train, independently of the ordinary

page_text: brakes, which may be applied to the running wheels of the locomotive and of the
train.
The accompanying drawings shew an arrangement of locomotive according to our
invention. Fig. 1 is a side view with a pair of steam cylinders shewn in section.
Fig. 2 is a half sectional plan. Fig. 3 is a front view partly in section showing the
fitting of the axle-boxes in the gearing frame. Fig. 4 is a transverse section and
Fig. 5 a sectional plan of the same. a is the main frame of the locomotive, having
horn plates as usual to receive the axle boxes b for the running wheels c. Each of
those axle boxes is made with a circular boss or trunnion e projecting at each side of it
and fitting into a round hole in a plate d. The round hole into which the boss e fits
as a trunnion may be merely an eye bored through the plate d, but, for convenience of
taking apart, the whole may be made as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 like that of a bearing
with a cap d' held in place by bolts. The two plates d, on each side of the locomotivo,
constitute a framing to carry the axle boxes f of the driving axles g. On theso
axles 9 are fixed the cog wheels h which gear with the toothed rack r, and also the
brake drums i against the peripheries of which the brake blocks o can be pressed in
order to stop or retard the train. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the driving axles g have
cranks and 2 driven respectively from two cylinders 1 and 2 governed by one
slido valve m, so that the two pistons move together. An intermediate pinion n may
be mounted to gear with both the driving wheels h to ensure their working in accord.
The arrangement of cylinders and cranks may obviously be varied, and the cranks of
the driving axles may be connected by coupling rods, without affecting the general
arrangement of the frames d fitting on trunnions of the axle boxes b on which they
can work as on joints.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
In a rack and pinion locomotive, mounting the driving axles in bearings in side
irames independent of the main frame, but jointed on trunnions formed on the axle
Doxes of the running wheels, which are free to move in the horn plates of the main
frame, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
Dated this 16th day of April 1887
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.