CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS FOR CONVEYING GOODS AND PASSENGERS ON RAILROADS, PARTS OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE FOR DRIVING OR DRIVING OTHER DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINERY
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
NEVILLE, of Walworth, in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of
October, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Neville, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James Neville, my
exors, adiñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Neville,
my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
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 FOR CONVEYING GOODS AND PASSENGERS ON RAILROADS, PARTS OF SUCH
IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE FOR DRIVING OR DRIVING OTHER DESCRIPTIONS OF
MACHINERY;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said James Neville, should cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
mmediately 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
ppear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Neville, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My improvements for conveying goods and passengers on railroads, and the
means I employ for effecting the same, consist, first, in a mode of using or
applying a flexible hose or-tube-;-and-I-believe the best mode of making such
tube to be by means of the strongest or No. 1 Navy canvas, coated or satu-
rated with a solution of marine 'glue, so as to render it air-tight and durable;
and I form the said hose or tube by sewing or stitching the selvages or edges
of such canvas together, so as to form a continuous hose or tube of uniform
area or diameter (except going up inclined planes, when it may be necessary
to increase its area or size), and where great pressure may be required, I
sometimes use two or more thicknesses of such prepared canvas, with double
or treble stitching on each selvage, or the said hose or tube may be woven as
one continuous cylinder without a seam or such sewing, but in either case
such tube or hose should be sufficiently strong to resist an internal pressure
of at least thirty pounds per square inch on the flexible hose. I place
such a tube in the centre of the rails of a railroad, the hose being supported
or lying on a platform or cradle formed of wood to keep it clear of the gravel
or plane of the railroad, as shewn by the Drawing No. 1, the flexible hose
being marked A, A, A, A, and the cradle or platform B, B, B, B; this hose
is to be continued to and forms a communication with certain stationary air
vessels worked by steam engines placed at any distances along the line which
may appear most suitable or convenient for the traffic of such railroad. To
each stationary engine 1 attach two (or more) rotary force pumps for com-
pressing or condensing air into air vessels or receivers of considerable capacity,
which are furnished with safety valves and graduated guages to indicate the s
pressure or force of such condensed air. Figures 3 and 4 shew sections of
the rotary air pumps used by me for this purpose. E, E, are a pair of cast-
iron pullies or drums, having hollow axles F, F, mounted on bearings in the
usual manner; in the centre of the said axles there is a stop or partition G.
and a separate or distinct passage is formed by the double arms or pipes H, H, 9
from the hollow axis F, F, and through the external surface or periphery of
the pulleys or drums E, E, to the hose or tube I, I, made of vulcanized india
rubber or any. other suitably flexible material. The distinct passages in the
hollow axis F, F, are connected to pipes by means of stufling boxes, so as to

page_text: form a communication, with an air vessel and the hose or tube A, A,
(Figs. 1 & 2). The diameter of the pulleys or drums E, E, should not be less
than six to eight feet, and that of the pipe or tube I, I, ten to twelve inches;
these pullies or drums, with the elastic hose or tubes thereon, are to be kept
in close contact by levers or springs attached to their respective bearings,
mounted on suitable frames, and, on rapid motion being communicated to
them by a steam engine or other power, they will condense, force, or expel
air or other fluids in quantities according to the speed of the said pullies or
drums E, E; the centrifugal force of the air or other fluids caused by their
passage through the arms or pipes H, H, will inflate the hose or tube I, I,
and thus a continuous current of condensed air or other fluid may be driven
or expelled from either end of the hollow axis F, F, according to the direction
in which the said pullies or drums E, E, may be driven or revolve. I do not
confine myself in any case to the use of two drums or rotary pumps, but in
some cases I use a single wheel and hose with a compressing roller which
forms the piston or stop, for expelling the air or other fluids as the said wheel
revolves; nor do I. confine myself to take the supply of air or other fluids
through the hollow shaft, but in some cases I admit the supply at one end
of the hose I, I, which is left open for that purpose. The hose A, A, of the
arrangement for propelling carriages, shewn at Figures 1 and 2, is to be con-
nected at the ends to suitable air vessels I* by metal elbow pipes marked
H*, H*, H*, H*, which are furnished with cocks or valves so as to admit
or shut off the condensed air to the hose A, A, on the up or down lines of the
railroad, as may be required. On the caraiage I, I, (Figs. 1 and 2) is
mounted a roller or cylinder J, J,. about thirty inches diameter, which revolves
freely on its axis, and there is a similar roller K, K, mounted on a moveable
carriage, or otherwise supported between a pair of compressing levers L, L,
so that these rollers or cylinders may be pressed towards each other, and so
that the bottom roller K, K, may be quickly detached from the carriage I, I,
when required. Both these rollers should be cased or covered with vulcanized
india rubber or other suitable material; the flexible hose A, A, passes between
the rollers J, J, and K, K, and I place flanged guide roller M, M, in front
to facilitate the uniform passage of the hose A, A, betwen the rollers J and K ;
the carriage I, I, thus becomes the medium for conveying any number of other
carriages attached thereto, according or proportionate to the area or diameter
of the hose A, A, and the pressure or force of the condensed air supplied
thereto. On arriving at a station where the hose A, A, is connected with the
air vessel 1 by the metal elbow pipes H*, H*, the lower roller K, K, must
be depressed and detached from the carriage. I, I, by elevating the com-
a

page_text: pressing levers L, L, (or by any other mechanical contrivance). This roller
descends, and is received into a pit or tunnel marked N, N, which extends
the entire length of the station, say from two hundred feet to three hundred
feet. And in each said pit or tunnel may be placed iron rails O, O, for cou-
veying the said detached roller on a carriage or otherwise, to be taken and
again connected to the propelling carriage I, I; but I prefer having a second
or separate roller placed in readiness to be taken up by the levers L, L, &c.,
without delay, and that the first roller be transferred to a like position in
readiness for the next up or down train, it being a matter of great economy
to have as few stationary engines on any given line of railroad as possible. It
will be evident that, on a train arriving at a stationary engine, the hose A, A,
will be filled with condensed air, which I employ through the medium of
the air pumps for supplying the hose on the next station, or it may be trans-
ferred to the opposite or down line of hose when required; and in some cases,
in place of working the air pumps, I propose to use such condensed air in the
hose expansively, so that its propelling force shall become gradually diminished
as the train approaches the next fixed engine station; in either case great
economy and saving of mechanical power will result.
Another improvement consists in the construction of an economical and
simple rotary engine, which I propose to apply for working the said air pumps
and also for other useful purposes. Figure 5 shews an elevation, and
Figure 6 a section of this engine. a, a, is a hollow shaft or axis which
carries the cast-iron wheel b, b, having a steam passage c, c, cast in one arm,
and thus forming a communication from the centre of such hollow shaft and
the external periphery of the said wheel, which is cast and turned in the form
shewn in the section Figure 6 by the letters d, d, d, d. On either side of the
rim of this wheel is an iron ring e, e, e, e, screwed thereto by means of
numerous bolts or screws for the purpose of attaching to the said wheel (steam-
tight) a spiral hose or bag marked f, f, f, f, of suitable flexible material
capable of resisting the requisite temperature and pressure; this spiral hose
passes between a pair of bevilled or conical rollers g, g, which are fixed to the
carriage or frame of the engine h, h, (Fig. 7), and the said rollers are at liberty
to revolve freely on their axles i, i, or may revolve with their axes; they are
kept in close contact with the spiral hose or bag f, f, by means of strong springs
or set screws. The steamis admitted to the hollow shaft or axis a, a, which
is mounted and revolves on bearings bolted to the frame h, h,) by a metallic
cone or stuffing box which connects the steam pipe leading from the boiler
with the said hollow shaft; the steam thus passes and inflates that part of the
spiral hose which has passed the rollers, and rapid rotary motion will ensue.

page_text: As I propose to work this engine on the expansive principle to the fullest
extent, my object in giving the hose f, f, this spiral form is to equalize the
force of the steam as it expands, as the area and effective leverage of such hose
increases nearly in a direct ratio with the expansion and diminished tension
or pressure of the steam, thus producing a uniform power or effect during
each revolution, whilst the surfaces of the hose and those of the rollers pass.
through equal space without causing wear or friction. The commencement
and extremity of the said spiral hose are connected together by a thin steel
plate k, k, with counter-sunk rivets, without increasing the thickness of the
hose at such junction, which must be steam-tight; the admission of the steam
is to be regulated either by a single slide cock or valve worked from an
excentric cam or inclined plane or other suitable mechanical contrivance
fixed on the shaft a, a, so that the steam may be cut off at any portion of a
revolution which may be found most economical and effective in practice; but
these arrangements I need not describe, as they are well understood by the
practical engineer.
Lastly, this engine is to be enclosed in a metallic case, as shewn by
Figure 7, and should it be required to be worked on the condensing principle,
this casing should be formed of strong cast iron in order to resist the pres-
sure of the atmosphere on its external surface; a vacuum is to be maintained
internally by means of a condenser and air pump worked from the main
shaft in the usual manner, and there should be a convenient manhole or
aperture in the said external casing for renewing the spiral hose when
required. I propose to employ at least a pair of these rotary engines for
working the air pumps herein described; and as these engines are intended to
be worked or driven with great velocity, I attach or connect them by suitable
spur gear to the main shaft employed for working such pumps, and driving
the said shaft with that speed which may be deemed or found most effective
in practise. These rotary engines may also be applied with advantage to loco-
motive engines by a direct attachment to the main axles of their present
propelling or driving wheels.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I do not confine myself.
to the details shewn, so long as the peculiar character of either part of my
Invention be retained. And I am aware it has been proposed to employ
a flexible tube fixed along a railway so as to act on a single roller or wheel
of a carriage; I do not therefore claim the general use of a flexible tube.
But what I claim is,-
Firstly, the mode of applying condensed air acting in a hose or tube formed

page_text: of
any flexible material, which is made to act with two rollers which lift up
and deposit such hose as shewn and described.
Secondly, I claim the mode of condensing air by a rotary pump constructed
as herein described, such pumps being also applicable for raising water or
other fluids, in which case I place the pullies or drums E, E, in a horizontal
position.
And, thirdly, I claim the application of a spiral hose passing between a pair
of conical rollers for equalizing the pressure of steain when worked expansively
in a rotary engine.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Neville, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
Enrolled the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.