CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINES TO BE USED UPON RAILWAYS OR OTHER ROADS, PARTS OP WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO STATIONARY STEAM ENGINES AND TO MACHINERY IN GENERAL
Year: 1837

page_text: TO ALL TO
MELLING, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of July, in the first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Melling, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said John Melling, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said John Melling, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no other, 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
LOCOMOTIVE STEAM ENGINES TO BE USED UPON RAILWAYS OR OTHER ROADS, PARTS OP
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO STATIONARY STEAM ENGINES AND
TO MACHINERY IN GENERAL;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said John Melling, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Melling, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described a
ascertained in the Drawings hereto annexed, and by the following explanati
thereof (that is to say):
"My Improvements in Locomotive Steam Engines to be used upon Railway
and other Roads, Part or Parts of which Improvements are applicable
Stationary Steam Engines and Machinery in general," consist,
Firstly, in a new mode of coupling those wheels of locomotive engine
which are fixed upon the crank axles, and made to revolve by the dire
power of the engine with the ordinary-running wheels of the carriage mounte
upon independent axles, in order that all the wheels may be made to. mov
simultaneously, and prevent the possibility of any of them slipping upon th
rails, to which locomotive engines are now generally subject when any portion
of the rails are wet or greasy, and in snowy or frosty weather, which slipping
causes the engine to perform a much longer journey than the actual length
of the line of railway, and consequently to consume a greater quantity of fue
than is necessary, as well as very materially injuring the surfaces of the
rails, and causing very irregular wear upon the periphery or tire of the engine
carriage wheels. It is well known that the carriage wheels of locomotive
engines 'have previously been coupled together in order to obviate this defect
but it has been done with a very inconvenient arrangement of outside cranks
and connecting rods, and as to this method many practical objections belong,
which, although not of sufficient importance to prevent its adaptation to
engines used to transmit heavy loads; have nevertheless much limited its
application to those constructed to run at greater velocities. My improved
method of coupling the engine wheels is effected by the application of a pair
of friction wheels or rollers, of any suitable diameter, placed between the
peripheries of the driving wheels and the running wheels of the locomotive
carriage. This assistance is however only required in those instances where the
weight upon all the wheels is not uniform, or sufficient to prevent some of
them slipping upon the rails, the quantity or degree of friction being readily
accommodated to circumstances, and the connection or coupling between any
two wheels, whatever their respective diameters, may be produced or removed
at pleasure. This contrivance is very advantageous in comparison with the
old mode of coupling, as, if the rails are dry and the adhesion is sufficient,
the coupling or friction wheels may be lifted off and remain idle; but in the a
present system of coupling by cranks and connecting rods, they must always
continue working, and thus, at certain times only, act as an incumbrance.
Another important.feature in this improved mode of coupling the wheels is,
the smoothness with which the-engineworks when the cranks are passing
.

page_text: their centres, instead of being subjected to the sudden blows and jerks which
occur to engines coupled in the ordinary manner. This improvement is
effected by transmitting a considerable portion of the weight from the cranked
or driving axle to the straight or independent axle, and entirely prevents the
tremulous lateral motion of ordinary locomotive engines, and when passing over
inequalities in the surface of the road, tending greatly to prevent the destruc-
tion of the engine springs and the beating of the rails usually attendant upon
such occurrences.
Secondly, my improvements consist in the application of an apparatus to
the running wheels of locomotive engines, tenders, or passenger or luggage
carriages, to act as a "drag" or retarder to the revolution of the wheels, for
the purpose of causing the carriage to stop immediately in case of accident, or
under any other circumstance requiring the use of a brake. The ordinary
mode of applying a brake to the running wheels is by expanding two jointed
pieces of timber by means of a wedge and screw, and thereby bringing their
surfaces in contact with the peripheries of the running wheels, in order to
produce sufficient friction to impede their progress. Such modes are not
only expensive, owing to the rapid wear of the wood, but, in wet weather, have
been found to be exceedingly unsafe, as sufficient friction is not to be obtained
to hold the wheels.
My third improvement consists in a combination of apparatus for working
the slide valves of locomotive steam engines, by which apparatus I am enabled
entirely to dispense with the imperfect mode of working them by excentrics,
as hitherto practised, and this part of my improvements is equally applicable
to marine and stationary steam engines, and will be found to render
them much more perfect and effective in their operation. The most im-
portant feature of this part of my Invention is, the great reduction of friction
effected by it, and, consequently, considerable addition of power, as the bearing
upon the circumference of the excentrics is reduced to that of a mere stud
or pin. A further improvement arising from this mode of working the slide
valves, is that they are driven from the ordinary connecting rod instead of being
worked by excentrics mounted on the crank shaft as heretofore, in which case,
by any accident the crank shaft happened to have become bent or broken, it
could not effect the opening and closing of the slide valves.
My fourth improvement consists in a new mode of economizing fuel in
locomotive steam engines by placing under the grate or fire-bars a shallow
tank or vessel instead of the ordinary thin plate which is usually suspended
below the furnace for the purpose of receiving the falling cinders. This tank
s to contain a depth of water of three inches or thereabouts, and, by means

page_text: of a stopccock, is to be filled with water from the tender. The falling cinders
and waste heat from the furnace by these means will be enabled to heat the
water in the tank, and, by returning into the tender, will raise the temperature
of the water therein, hence, the boiler will be always supplied with hot water,
and consequently effect a great saving of fuel. To render this part of my
improvements self-acting, the boiler is furnished with a ball valve weighted
to fifty pounds pressure on the square inch, so that at such pressure the
steam will escape and pass into the water tank and become condensed.
By this arrangement the boiler may be always supplied with water at or
near the boiling point, instead of pumping cold water from the tender as
heretofore.
My fifth improvement consists in the application of small jet pipes to
locomotive engines for the purpose of cleansing the rails from snow, grease, or
sand, while the engine is travelling thereon, at whatever speed it may be
running. These small jet pipes hang immediately over the centres of each
rail, and through these pipes, by means of a swivel cock, which is connected
with the boiler, either steam or steam and hot water, as shall be found
necessary, may be blown, and thus make the rails perfectly clean and dry,
which, (in snowy or frosty weather, or at the station ends of the rails, where
they are always greasy,) combined with my improved mode of coupling, will be
found to prevent the slipping of the engine wheels entirely; or, if it is more
convenient, hot air and cold water may be blown upon the rails with a similar
effect.
And my sixth improvement consists in an arrangement of apparatus for
drawing locomotive engines, which is simply a modification of my method of
coupling the engine carriage wheels, that is, by mounting my improved coupling
or friction wheels upon the main cranked or driving shaft, and placing them
between two pairs of running wheels, the coupling or friction wheels being
made of sufficient diameter to bear upon the peripheries of the fore and hind
running wheels, and observing to keep their own peripheries two or more
inches clear of the rails. This arrangement will be of great service to luggage
or heavy engines, as the adhesion of the whole weight of the engine is thus at
once obtained upon the rails through the four smaller wheels; and at the same
time the cone or outward form of the tiers of the wheels cannot vary, which
will allow the engine to travel much smoother upon the rails, and with greater
economy in all respects.
In order that these my improvements may be better understood, I have
attached to these presents three Sheets of Drawings, and marked the same with
figures and letters of reference. In these Drawings I have merely represented

page_text: an outline of an ordinary locomotive engine, having shewn my different improve-
ments in separate Figures, instead of exhibiting them all upon one engine; and
that they may be more easily perceived, the new parts are shaded with colour,
leaving the ordinary parts in outline to shew their respective application.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 represents a side
clevation of a locomotive steam engine with its tender attached. Figure 2 is
a plan or horizontal view of the engine; and Figure 3 is an end elevation of
the same. It will be seen in these Figures that I have only represented in
outline such general parts of the engine as are requisite to illustrate the
application of my improvements, as the ordinary details of the engine would
not facilitate their explanation; these inner parts therefore have been purposely
omitted. In these Figures, the first, second, fourth, and fifth features of my
improvements are exhibited, and similar letters of reference point out corre-
sponding parts. a, a, represents my improved coupling wheel, and in its proper
position for connecting the driving wheels upon the crank shaft with the
running wheels upon the fore axle of the engine. I place one of the coupling
wheels or rollers upon each side of the engine, and bearing upon the peripheries
of the driving and running wheels, as shewn in Figure 2, without being con-
fined to any dimensions that I may find most practically convenient, and
without in any way being affected by the respective diameters of the driving or
running wheels of the engine. These coupling wheels a, a, are suspended in
wrought iron levers b, b, b, b, their fulcrum being at one end at c, c, and the
other end of the levers are attached to the piston rods d, d; these piston rods
work in the small steam cylinders e, c, which have a common steam cock to
admit the steam into them from the boiler. Now it will be seen that when it
is necessary to couple the engine wheels, in order to obtain more adhesion upon
the rails to prevent the slipping of the engine, the cock may be opened, and
by letting steam into the top of the cylinders e, e, the descent of the piston rod
will depress the lever and bring the coupling wheel a, a, into contact with the
peripheries of the wheel, and force down the coupling wheel with any degree
of pressure that may be required; in which position it will be firmly held (that
is, bearing upon the peripheries or tires of the driving and running wheels of
the engine) as long as the steam is allowed to remain in the cylinder. When
the coupling wheel is no longer required to act upon the engine carriage wheels,
it may be dispensed with and allowed to remain idle by turning the steam in
at the bottom of the small cylinders e, e, and thereby raising the piston rods d, d,
and the levers b, b, and consequently lifting the coupling wheels from off the
tires of the driving and running wheels. It will be seen that these coupling

page_text: wheels a, a, are formed with a groove in their peripheries, in which groove
the flanches upon the tires of the carriage wheels run, which serve to keep
them effectually in gear, and at the same time prevent the distance between
the wheels ever becoming too narrow for the width of the rails in the event of
the wheels loosening upon their axles, which occurrence has frequently thrown
the engine off the line of railway. Thus it will be seen that the wheels of the
engine may be coupled and uncoupled at any rate of speed they may be
running, and without the slightest difficulty or interruption, and not in any way
being restricted to dimensions, either in the driving, running, or coupling
wheels. It will also be evident that this coupling wheel is not confined in its
application to locomotive engines, as it may be applied as a medium for
driving all kinds of machinery, in order to dispense with any jerking or
uneveness of motion occasioned by toothed geering, or in order to obviate the
difficulty frequently arising from the teeth or cogs of spur wheels breaking.
The second feature of my improvements being the brake or drag, is also
shewn in these Figs. f,f, are two small rollers suspended from the levers b, b,
by the frame g, 9, (when applied to the engine,) their own peripheries being
in contact but hanging in the guides h, h, (as shewn in Fig: 1,) entirely free
from the peripheries of the engine carriage wheels; and when it is necessary
to stop the engine, it may be done with great rapidity and ease by letting the
steam into the bottom of the cylinder e, and thus raising the lever 6 (at the
same time releasing the coupling wheel a), and bringing the peripheries of the
two rollers f, f, into close contact with the tires of the engine carriage wheels,
and thus effectually to lock them or impede their progress by immediately
reversing the direction of their revolution. The same system of apparatus is
also shewn as applied to the tender, but with a different mode of putting
the same into operation, as the rollers are there drawn into contact with
the peripheries of the carriage wheels by being raised by the vertical screwed
rodi, i, and suspending links j, j. This construction of brake or drag
will be found the most suitable for tenders and carriages used for the transit
of passengers and merchandize. It will be obvious that I need not con-
fine myself to the diameters of these rollers, neither to the materials of which
they nor my coupling wheels may be made; but I prefer they should be
constructed of wrought iron, and running in steel bushes, all being well
hardened.
My fourth and fifth features of improvement will also be seen in these
Figures. k, k, k, is the shallow tank, or water ash box, which is suspended
beneath the grate bars or furnace of the engine, the interior of which com

page_text: municates, my means of the hose pipe l, l, with the tender, and by the pipe m
it also communicates with the pumps that supply the boiler. Now it will be
seen that the falling cinders from the furnace, as they are caught by this water
ash box, will heat the water therein. This heating process is also materially
assisted by the steam which, at fifty pounds pressure in the boiler, will raise the
ball valve contained in the valve box n; and immediately escape through. the
pipe o, o, into the tank h, k, and there being condensed, will be found to
effect a great saving of fuel, as it is evident that the boiler may always be
supplied with hot water. p, p, are the two vertical jet pipes, through which
steam or hot water, or both, may be blown upon the rails by the pipes and
swivel cock q, q, from the boiler, and by this means, as occasion may. require,
the rails may be swept entirely clean and dry from grease, frost, snow, or other
impediment, and at any rate the engine may be running.
The third feature of my improvement is exhibited in Sheet II. of the Draw-
ings, in which Fig. 4 represents a partial sectional elevation of a locomotive steam
engine, and Fig. 5 a plan or horizontal view of the same. In this Fig. the boiler
is, removed that the new motion for working the slide valves may be exposed.
a, a, is the main cranked or driving shaft of the engine; b, b; the ordinary
connecting rods; c, c, are studs fixed upon the connecting rods, and carrying
small rollers d, d; these rollers work in the morticed links or levers e, e, and as
the connecting rods vibrate by the rotation of the crank shaft a, a, a rotary
motion is also communicated to the morticed levers c, c. These levers being
mounted fast upon the ends of the smaller cranked shaft f, f, cause that shaft
to revolve, and consequently vibrate the four small connecting rods, g, g, I, I,
(which are of the same throw as the traverse of the valves). Now, as these
rods g. 9, 9, 9, receive an alternate reciprocating motion at every revolution of
the crank shaft, the forked ends g of the rods vibrate the short levers h, h,
upon the shaft i, i, which, being their fulcrum, cause the most effectual open-
ing and shutting of the slide valves by means of the connecting links j, j, which
are attached to the valve rods k, k. In order to reverse the engine, the
attendant engineer has merely to move the lever 1, which, by means of the
horizontal rod m, and the bell crank lever n, will cause the pieces o, o, to move
vertically in their guide-p, and as the rollers 7, at the tail of the picces 0, 0, run
in the curved mortices formed in the ends of the small connecting rods 9, 9, 9, 9,
the picces o, o, will draw two of the connecting rods g, g, out of geer, (that
is, release their forked ends from acting upon the rollers upon the levers h, h,)
and at the same time put the two other connecting rods (which work at
different angles) in gear with the levers h, h, and consequently change the
...

page_text: motion of the slide valves, and cause the steam to enter the cylinder the reverse
way. The extremities of the connecting rods g. 9, 9, 9, are made with forked
ends, in order to assist the rollers upon the levers h, h, falling in and out of
gear. By an inspection of the Drawing, this improvement in working slide
valves of locomotive engines will be readily understood; and it will further be
obvious that it can also be applied with equal facility to stationary and marine
steam engines, and with the same beneficial results. It may be necessary
to
add, that I prefer the whole of the working parts of this valve gearing to be
made of the best wrought iron, and well case-hardened and polished, which
will tend to assist the accuracy of its motion.
In Sheet III., Figs. 6 and 7 represent a linear diagram of: my
sixth improve-
ment, in which a, a, is the main cranked or driving shaft, and placed in the centre
of the engine; upon the ends of this shaft the two large driving wheels b, b,
are fixed, and these wheels are just clear from running upon the rails,
but are bearing forcibly upon the fore and hind running wheels c, c, c, c,
thus transmitting the power of the engine through them, and obtaining the
most perfect adhesion upon the rails at all points. This will be found to be
simply a modification of my coupling wheel firstly above described, but at the
same time is an improved arrangement of the engine, and will be found most
practicable and beneficial in those engines which are to be employed to convey
heavy trains of merchandize and luggage. I have represented at Figs. 8 and 9
two sectional full-size views of the tire of a locomotive engine wheel, in order
to shew the decrease of wear upon the tire of the wheel (as proved by
experience) in using my coupling wheel to prevent the slipping of the engine.
Fig. 8 represents the amount of wear upon the true cone of the tire of wheels
of engines that have run without being coupled; and Fig. 9 is a representation
of a wheel which has performed the same number of journeys as the other, but
having been coupled by my improved means, and in this Figure no wear can
be perceived, the true cone of the tire being still perfect.
Having now described each particular in my improvements, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the dimensions of any of the new
parts, nor to their precise situations; but I do claim as my Invention the
whole of the improvements in locomotive steam engines, and as far as the same
may be applied to marine and stationary engines, and to other machinery.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Melling, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
JOHN (L.S.) MELLING.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-third day of January, in
the first year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said John Melling
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of
His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Twenty-sixth day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-eight.