IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES DESIGNED POR ASCENDING STEEP INCLINES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Chaplin, of Adam Street, Adelphi, in the
County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES DESIGNED POR
ASCENDING STEEP INCLINES."
Sealed the 20th July 1866, and dated the 29th January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Chaplin at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th January 1866.
I, ALEXANDER CHAPLIN, of Adam Street, Adelphi, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES DESIGNED FOR
ASCENDING STEEP INCLINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention is designed for the purpose of giving an increased tractive
power to locomotive engines employed for the purpose of ascending steep
inclines by so constructing and arranging the wheels of such engines that
they may have a greater hold or "bite" upon the rails than engines as hitherto
constructed.
- In carrying out my Invention I propose to use double-flanged wheels, the
inner sides of the flanges being curved and inclined towards each other
so as to embrace the upper edges of the rails, and having a channel between

page_text: "
them narrower than the upper surface of the rail, so that the wheels do not
bear upon the centre or upper surface of the rail but only upon the upper
edges of the sides of the same. By these means the tractive power or
"bite
of the wheels upon the rails is greatly increased in proportion to the curved
inclination of the flanges. I I propose to make these wheels of solid wrought
iron or malleable cast iron, or with homogeneous or steel tires; as they wear
away the channel will have to be turned away or deepened from time to
time so as to keep the bottom of the channel from coming into contact with
the centre of the rails.
I am aware that it has been previously proposed to form the wheels of
such locomotive engines with a V-groove round the periphery and to use
rails of a wedge form, but this has been found impracticable as, owing to the
wheels being keyed fast on their axles, it was requisite that the gauge of the
rails should be at all points mathematically correct, which was not attainable,
and no provision whatever was made for " slipping" in turning curves, and
hence the effect was not only detrimental but even dangerous. In order to
obviate these defects I propose to give the wheels a means of self-acting
adjustment by which they will accommodate themselves by moving sideways
(slipping longitudinally on their axles) within certain limits. This I effect
by the following means:-Instead of keying the wheels fast on their axles
I mount them by means of two or more feathers and grooves, and on each
side of the boss of the wheel I place a washer or washers of india-rubber (or
other spring) confined by means of collars, so that the wheel can slide longi-
tudinally on the axle to a limited extent, but always has a tendency to return
to its normal position.
On railways having very sharp curves as the "bite" or hold on the rails
would be otherwise too great to allow of the necessary "slip" on the inner
or shorter side of the rail it may be sufficient to grease the side of the rail
where the slip is required, but should this not suffice the axle is to be
divided in the centre and each half thereof separately driven by gearing
wheels, each wheel is connected to its axle by a friction or other clutch which
will allow of the wheel slipping on its axle when necessary, the clutches being
so adjusted as to give way when a certain amount of extra strain is brought
to bear upon the wheels; but to hold firm when the usual amount of strain
only is exerted, or they may be thrown in and out of gear by hand by means of
an excentric or other similar device actuated by a hand lever or equivalent
means. In this arrangement the wheels on one side of the engine will be per-
fectly independent of those on the other side thereof, and will be able to run
either at the same or at a different velocity as may be required, but all the

page_text: wheels on the same side of the engine. (being coupled) will run at the same
velocity, the speed of the engine itself, that is, of the pistons and connecting
rods, remaining the same.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Chaplin in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th July 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
CHAPLIN, of Adam. Street, Adelphi, in the County of Middlesex, and of
Glasgow, North Britain, Engineer, send greeting.
'
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alexander Chaplin, Her special licence that I, the said Alexander
Chaplin, my executors, administrators, and assigns,, or, such others as I, the
said Alexander Chaplin, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES DESIGNED FOR ASCENDING STEEP INCLINES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Chaplin, my
executors or administrators, 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 Alexander Chaplin, 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
statement in writing and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
that is to say:-
:
This Invention is designed for the purpose of giving an increased tractive
power to locomotive engines employed for the purpose of ascending steep
inclines by so constructing and arranging the wheels of such engines that they

page_text: .may have a greater hold or "bite" upon the rails than engines as hitherto
.constructed.
7
In carrying out my Invention I propose to use double flanged wheels, the
inner sides of the flanges being curved and inclined towards each other so as
to embrace the upper edges of the rails, and having a channel between them
narrower than the upper surface of the rail, so that the wheels do not bear upon
the centre or upper surface of the rail, but only upon the upper edges of the
sides of the same. By these means the tractive power or "bite" of the wheels
upon the rails is greatly increased in proportion to the curved inclination of
the flanges or the angle at which they bear on the rails. I propose to make
these wheels of solid wrought iron or malleable cast iron, or with homogeneous
metal or steel tires; as they wear away the channel will have to be turned
away or deepened from time to time so as to keep the bottom of the channel
from coming into contact with the centre of the rails.
I am aware that it has been previously proposed to form the wheels of
such locomotive engines with a V-groove round the periphery and to use
rails of a wedge form, but this has been found impracticable as, owing to the
wheels being keyed fast on their axles it was requisite that the guage of the
rails should be at all points mathematically correct, which was not attainable,
and no provision whatever was made for "slipping" in, turning curves, and
bence the effect was not only detrimental but even dangerous. In order to
obviate these defects I propose to give the wheels a means of self-acting
adjustment by which they will accommodate themselves to variations of
guage by moving sideways (slipping longitudinally on their axles) within
certain limits. This I effect by the following means:-Instead of keying the
.wheels fast on their axles I mount them by means of two or more feathers
and grooves, and on each side of the boss of the wheel I place a washer or
washers of india-rubber (or other spring) confined by means of collars, so that
the wheel can slide longitudinally on the axle to a limited extent, but always
has a tendency to return to its normal position.
On railways having very sharp curves as the "bite" or hold on the rails
would or might be otherwise too great to allow of the necessary "slip" on the
inner or shorter side of the rail the axles are to be divided in the centre and
each half thereof separately driven by gearing wheels, each wheel is connected
to its axle by a friction or other clutch, which will allow of the wheel slipping
when necessary, the clutches being so adjusted as to give way when a certain
amount of extra strain is brought to bear upon the wheels, but to hold firm
when the usual amount of strain only is exerted, or they may be thrown in
and out of gear by hand by means of a forked lever or other similar device

page_text: actuated by a hand lever or equivalent means. In this arrangement the
wheels on one side of the engine will be perfectly independent of those on
the other side thereof, and will be able to run either at the same or at a
different velocity as may be required, but all the wheels on the same side of
the engine (being coupled by outside connecting rods or by pitch chains and
chain wheels) will run at the same velocity, the speed of the engine itself
(that is, of the pistons and connecting rods) remaining the same.
i
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improvements in
Locomotive Engines designed for Ascending Steep Inclines," I will now proceed
to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to be may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect; and in order that the same may be
distinctly understood I bave annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illús-
trative thereof, and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference
corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 represents a front view. of the leading
axle and wheels of a locomotive engine constructed and arranged according
to my Invention, and Figure 2 is a section of the same.
a, a', is the axle made in two separate parts, as seen in Figure 2, and b, b',
are the double-flanged or grooved wheels. These wheels are not keyed fast upon
their respective axles, but are mounted by means of two or more feathers and
grooves, and on each side of the boss of the wheel is placed a washer c, c, of
india-rubber confined by collars d, d, so that the wheels can slide longitudinally
on their axles (to a limited extent) so as to accommodate themselves to
slight variations of guage, but always have a tendency to return to their
normal or central position, which corresponds with the true guage of the line.
The axles a, a, are not driven direct from the engine, but are actuated by
spur pinions keyed on the crank-shaft gearing with the spur wheels e, e,
mounted loosely on the axles a, a'. Each of these spur wheels c, c, is fur-
nished with one portion f, f, of a friction clutch, the inner or corresponding
portion g, g, whereof slides on feathers or keys on the axle, and is constantly
kept in contact with the outer portion by means of coiled springs h, h. It
will be evident that so long as both of these clutches are in contact both of
the wheels b, b', will be driven at the same speed, and as though the axle a, a¹,
had been made all of one piece, but upon sliding either of the moveable por-
tions g, g, out of gear by means of its forked lever i, i, (the left-hand one.
for example), the corresponding axle a will be disconnected from its spur
wheel e, and thus the axle and its grooved wheel 6 will be at liberty to travel
at a greater or less velocity than that of the opposite axle a¹ and its wheel b¹.
This arrangement (as before mentioned) is to enable locomotive engines having

page_text: wheels of the above-described construction to travel round sharp curves where.
it is necessary that the outer wheel of each pair (having the longer curve
to traverse) should revolve at a greater velocity than the inner one or that
which runs on the shorter curve:
:
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"Improvements in Locomotive Engines designed for Ascending Steep
Inclines," together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be
performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that
I claim as my Invention the peculiar construction and arrangement of wheels
and axles for such purposes as above described and represented in the
Drawing annexed, or any mere modification or imitation thereof operating in
substantially the same or a similar manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Chaplin, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
ALEX. CHAPLIN. (S.)