A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD OF APPLYING STEAM POWER TO CARRIAGES ON ORDINARY ROADS
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CROFTON
WILLIAM MOAT, of No, 14, Thistle Grove, Brompton, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fifth day of February, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Crofton William Moat, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Crofton William Moat, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said Crofton William Moat, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"A NEW AND IMPROVED METHOD OF APPLYING STEAM POWER TO CARRIAGES ON
ORDINARY ROADS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said Crofton William Moat, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Crofton William Moat, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
This Improved Method of Applying Steam Power to Carriages on ordinary
Roads consists in certain novel constructions and arrangements of the boilers,
engine, and carriage intended to be propelled on ordinary roads by the power
of steam, and which is comprehended under the following heads :-
First, a peculiar mode of supporting the engine and propelling apparatus
upon one pair of wheels, and of supporting the carriage or receptacle for
passengers and luggage on another pair of wheels, with the manner of
connecting them.
Second, applying the propelling power to the front pair of wheels, or to a
central driving wheel placed under the axle of the front wheels.
Third, the manner in which the fore wheels are enabled to turn indepen-
dantly of each other.
Fourth, the peculiar construction of the boiler. And,
Fifth, the general arrangement and combination of the whole.
The particulars or details of these several heads of my improvements will
be fully understood by reference to the Drawings hereto annexed and the
following description thereof (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is a horizontal or top view of the locomotive engine, shewing the
general disposition of the parts; Fig. 2 is a horizontal view of the same, the
boiler being removed for the purpose of exposing to view those parts of the
machinery which are hidden in the former Figure; Fig. 3 is a sectional eleva-
tion taken longitudinally through the boiler and engine; and Fig. 4 is a partial
end elevation of the same, the several letters of reference pointing out the
same parts of the machinery in all these Figures. The locomotive engine
with its framework is mounted upon one pair of running wheels only, and
supported by springs. The carriage for the reception of passengers and
luggage is also mounted upon one pair of wheels only, the engine and carriage
being connected together by the means shewn in the first and third Figures.
The running wheels of the locomotive engine are represented by outlines at
a, a, a, and the axle at b. The bearing springs are shewn at c, c, from which
the engine is suspended by straps d, d, attached to their ends. The boiler is
represented at e, e, e, divided into compartments by means of partitions repre-
sented in the section, Fig. 3. The steam generated in each of these compart-

page_text: ments rises and proceeds through apertures in the upper parts of the
partitions, as indicated by arrows. There are two furnaces situated within the
boiler, and the flues from thence pass through the boiler and through the
steam chamber, as shewn at f, f, f, in Figs. 1 and 3. The steam thus
produced passes from the steam chambers in the upper part of the boiler
down the pipes g to the respective working cylinders h. These cylinders are
attached to the boiler by braces of suitable strength, and the rods i, i, of the
pistons are connected to a double throw crank k on the shaft of the driving
wheel. The periphery of this driving wheel is kept in contact with the
ground by means of its elastic spokes, or by its axle hanging upon springs in
a slotted bearing. Upon the axle of the driving wheel excentrics m are
fixed for the purpose of working the pump n, by a crank axle o, o, at the
back of the boiler, in order to force water from a portable tank into the
boiler. To the same crank axle o, o, rods p, p, are attached, which by means
of bell-crank levers q, q, work the slide valves; rods r, r, passed over pullies,
are for the purpose of reversing the action of either or both engines; a
vertical screws is for the purpose of regulating the relative bearing or weight
of the engines upon the running wheels and the driving wheel. The wheel T
with its shaft pulley and bands is for the purpose of steering, and u is the seat
for the conductor; the platform for the stoker is shewn at v, and w, w, are
the coal boxes. The after carriage for the passengers and luggage is sup-
ported by framework x, x, connected to a perch y, which perch is attached to
the axle of the fore wheels by a perch bolt, and on the front part of the
framework there is a catch z, by which, through the intervention of frame-
work the carriage is linked to the axle of the driving wheel l. Figs. 5, 6, 7,
and 8 represent another arrangement of the machinery in which a tubular
boiler with partitions is adapted; the engine is carried in this instance upon
smaller running wheels, the driving wheel having rigid spokes, and its axle
turning in a slotted bearing.
Another arrangement of the machinery is shewn in Figures 9, 10, and 11,
in which the impelling power is applied directly to the running wheels, and
another method of connecting the engine to the carriage is adopted. Fig 9
is a side elevation of the engine and carriage, the running wheels being shewn
in outlines only. Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the same, and Fig. 11 a
horizontal top view. The boiler and steam chamber is shewn at a, a, a,
supported by the straps b, b, and springs c, c, bearing upon the axle d. It is
connected to the hinder carriage by a joint formed by a segment piece 2, 2,
the centre corresponding to which is at the middle of the fore axletree. This
segment piece is confined between the rollers y, y, y, attached to the after

page_text: carriage. I adapt two working cylinders to each running wheel, and place
them at right angles to each other, the one being in a horizontal position, the
other perpendicular, for the purpose of enabling both piston rods to act upon
one crank. The axle of this crank is shewn at e, carrying a toothed wheel f,
which takes into a similar wheel g, fixed upon the nave of the running wheel.
It will be observed that the two working cylinders on each side apply to a
distinct crank e, and pair of toothed wheels f, g, belonging to one of the
running wheels, hence that the two running wheels are driven independently of
each other, and if it is desired to disconnect the driving from the running
wheels, the holding bolts may be withdrawn, when the engine and carriage
may be conducted forward by horses. The stoker platform and coal box is
represented at h; the tank at i, in which the pumps are placed, are shewn by
dots and worked by bell cranks k from the crank shafts. The slide valves 1, 1,
are worked by the vibrations of the connecting rods m, m, acting upon sliding
blocks n, n. The induction pipe o is led from the upper part of the steam
chamber to the steam boxes, and the eduction pipe is led into the chimney,
having a box and throttle valve 9 at its end. This throttle valve is regu-
lated by the engineer through the agency of the rods and handle r, r, for the
purpose of controlling the speed by checking the escape of the steam. The
stopping or reversing the action of the engine is effected by changing the
connection of the rod s (see Fig. 12), attached to the block n, to the reverse
end of the crank t, which works the valve.
In witness whereof, I, the said Crofton William Moat, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of August, in the year of our
(L.S.) CROFTON WILLIAM MOAT.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fifth day of August, in the
fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said Crofton
William Moat 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 the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.