Means of Adapting a Traction Engine for Use as a Road Roller.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Mar., 1887
Complete Left, 7th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted, 13th Jan., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Means of Adapting a Traction Engine for Use as a Road Roller.
We, SYLVANUS EDDINGTON and JOHN EVAN STEEVENSON of New Street Iron
Works, Chelmsford in the County of Essex, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
Our Invention has for its object to enable a traction engine to be readily adapted
for use as a road roller, so that during the winter season when the services of a
traction engine are not required for agricultural purposes, the engine may be
temporarily utilized for road mending instead of standing idle.
In order to readily convert a traction engine into a road roller it is necessary
(inter alia) to replace the front pair of wheels of the traction engine by a pair of
wheels or rollers having broad treads and occupying a position between that previously
occupied by the wheels which have been so removed, so as to cover the whole breadth
of ground between the tracks of the hind wheels. In order to make this substitution
with the necessary facility, and therefore without dismounting the fixed parts of the
fore carriage of the engine and yet have roller wheels of sufficiently large diameter
and with proper steering gear, such roller wheels cannot take the place of the fore
carriage beneath the smoke box of the engine, and hence the difficulty which has
heretofore prevented the conversion of a traction engine to the purposes of a road
roller, although an ordinary road roller may be converted into a traction engine
without any difficulty.
According to our Invention, the difficulty above mentioned is obviated by locating
the roller-wheels beyond or in advance of the smoke box of the traction engine when
the same is converted into a road roller, so that rollers of any size may be used, and
in order to enable this conversion to be readily made, we merely remove the front
pair of wheels and swivelling part of the fore-carriage, leaving the swivelling centre
thereof and substitute therefor a cantilever frame which takes a bearing beneath said

page_text: swivelling centre, and whose rear end is received in a socket fixed beneath the boiler,
say to the fire box. The front end of this cantilever frame projects beyond the
smoke box end of the boiler in the form of a horizontal ring forming the usual path
for the friction rollers of the swivelling frame in which the roller wheels are mounted,
as usual in road rollers.
Or, the swivelling frame of the roller wheels, instead of turning in a ring path, may
be mounted in any other usual way, for example it may swivel on a centre, as in
Aveling and Porter's; or, the roller wheels may be conical and swivel upon a vertical
axis passing between them.
S. EDDINGTON.
J. E. STEEVENSON.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Means of Adapting a Traction Engine for Use as a Road Roller.
We SYLVANUS EDDINGTON and JOHN EVAN STEEVENSON of New Street Iron
Works, Chelmsford in the County of Essex, Engineers, 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:-
Our Invention has for its object to enable a traction or road locomotive engine to
be readily adapted for use as a road roller, so that when the services of the engine are
not required for other purposes, it may be temporarily utilized for road mending
instead of standing idle. In order to readily convert a traction or road locomotive
engine into a road roller, it is necessary (inter alia) to replace the front pair of wheels
by a pair of wheels or rollers having broad treads and occupying a position between
that previously occupied by the wheels which have been so removed so as to cover
the whole breadth of ground between the tracks of the hind wheels. In order to
make the substitution with the necessary facility and therefore without dismounting
the fixed parts of the fore carriage of the engine and yet have roller wheels of
sufficiently large diameter and with proper steering gear, such roller wheels cannot
take the place of the fore carriage beneath the smoke box of the engine and hence
the difficulty which has heretofore prevented the conversion of such an engine to the
purposes of a road roller, although an ordinary road roller may be converted into a
traction or road locomotive engine without any difficulty.
According to our invention, the difficulty above mentioned is obviated by locating
the roller wheels beyond or in advance of the smoke box of the engine when the
same is converted into a road roller, so that rollers of any size may be used, and in
order to enable this conversion to be readily made, we merely remove the front pair
of wheels and swivelling part of the fore carriage leaving the swivelling centre
thereof and substitute therefor a sort of cantilever frame which takes a bearing
beneath the front part of the boiler or smoke box, preferably beneath said swivelling
centre and whose rear end is received in a socket fixed beneath the boiler, say to
the firebox or other part of the engine. The front end of this cantilever frame projects
beyond the smoke box end of the boiler in the form of a horizontal ring frame
carrying friction rollers that run on a circular path or ring of the swivelling frame
in which the roller wheels are mounted, as usual in road rollers. Or, the swivelling
frame of the roller wheels, instead of turning in a ring path, may be mounted in any
other usual way, for example it may swivel on a centre as in Aveling and l'orter's,
or the roller wheels may be conical and swivel upon a vertical axis passing between
them. The rear wheels of the traction or road locomotive engine, would be replaced
by heavy roller wheels, in the ordinary way.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this speci-
fication which represent a traction or road locomotive engine as converted into a
road rollor, the swivelling frame of the front roller wheels turning on a ring path;
figure 1, being a longitudinal sectional elovation, figure 2, a half cross sectional

page_text: elevation through the axis of the front rollers, and figure 3 a top plan of the cantilever
frame and swivelling rollers. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts
in all the figures.
A A are the front pair of road roller wheels covering the ground between the
tracks of the rear wheels B. They turn on an axis a mounted in bearings carried by
a horizontal ring C forming a path for pairs of flanged guiding and friction rollers D
mounted within the flanges of a horizontal ring frame E that projects beyond the
smoke box of the boiler and forms part of a cantilever frame. This frame is forked
as shown at F to pass at either side of the swivelling centre G of the front pair of
traction engine wheels H which have been removed (and which are here represented
by dotted lines to shew the position they occupied) this forked form also allowing the
sinoke box of the engine to come closer down to the roller path C and therefore
allowing larger rollers A to be used. A horizonial cross-bar extends between
the limbs of the fork F and has a spherical enlargement g at the centre which is
received in the bearing of the usual swivelling centrepost I in place of the similar
enlargement on the axle of the traction or road locomotive engine wheels H. The
tail end of the cantilever frame extends as far towards the rear of the engine as
possible, and its extremity is in the form of a gudgeon which is received in a
socket fixed to the boiler shell in front of the fire box as shewn. The spherical
bearing with which this gudgeon is in line, permits of lateral oscillation of the
cantilever frame and rollers A, caused by inequalities of the road. The usual steering
is to be applied to the swivelling frame C.
Instead of the cantilever frame taking an upward bearing against the swivelling
centrepost G it may take its bearing against the under side of the smoke box or
boiler at any convenient point.
It will be obvious that the frame E might be a complete ring and form the path
for the rollers D which would in that case be mounted on the frame (, and the
substitution for a roller path of other known forms of swivelling centre with conical
instead of parallel rollers A will be readily understood without illustration.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
The application to a traction engine (in lieu of its front pair of wheels) of roller
wheels mounted in any ordinary way to swivel about a vertical axis in combination
with a cantilever frame that takes an upward bearing beneath the front part of the
boiler or smoke box (and preferably beneath the turn plate or swivelling centre of
the traction or locomotive engine wheels) and a downward bearing at a point in rear
thereof, the roller wheels being situated in advance of the said upward bearing and
of the smoke box, substantially as specified.
Dated this 7th day of December 1887
S. EDDINGTON.
J. E. STEEVENSON.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.