Improvements in or applicable to Locomotive, Marine, and other Steam or other Motive Engines.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 24th June, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Apr., 1898--Accepted, 18th June, 1898
CT A CAT Tד מקהל ORT TATTTA TA
Improvements in or applicable to Locomotive, Marine, and other
Steam or other Motive Engines.
I, PETER JOEL LIVSEY, of 24 and 25, Queen's Chambers, 5, Market Street, in
the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Patent Agent and Consulting
Engineer, do hereby declare that I am in possession of an invention which has been
communicated to me from abroad by John Riekie, of Sukkur, India, District
Locomotive Superintendent of the North Western Railway, India, the naturo of
which is as follows:-
The invention communicated to. me relates to locomotive, marine and other
engines used for various purposes actuated by steam, air or other motive power-and
its object is to so arrange them that there will be a more constant and uniform turning
action by the pistons upon the driving wheels or crank shaft with the result that
the power of the engine and its steadiness in running will be greatly increased!
and the wear and tear largely diminished with at the same time a proportional
economy of fuel or motive power.
The invention consists in conibining and arranging two small high and one
large low pressure cylinders, the pistons of each of which are arranged to act
upon the one crank axle (by preference) at 120 degrees of the circle apart, the steam
or motive fluid used in the two small high pressure cylinders exhausting into the
valve chest or receiver of the large low pressure cylinder and thence to the atmo-
sphere or to a condenser, expansion taking place in both high pressure cylinders
and further expansion in the low pressure cylinder.
For locomotives, the two high pressure cylinders are by preference outside
cylinders, the pistons of which are connected with crank pins on one of the driving
axles, while the piston of the low pressure cylinder is connected with a crank in
the same driving axle by preference.
The areas of the cylinders are proportioned to the pressure of the steam or
motive fluid employed, so that as near as possible each piston will give the same
turning action upon the crank axle to which they are connected when the high
pressure pistons are being worked with an early "cut off." The area I have found
best with boiler steam at 120 lbs. to the square inch for each high pressure cylinder
is about one of the high to two and a half of the low pressure cylinder, or nearly
so (or as two to five).
In engines where condensers are used these proportions will be a little different
owing to the partial vacuum formed in the low pressure cylinder.
The pistons of the high pressure cylinder in locomotives may be connected
120 degrees apart with one axle, and the piston of the low pressure cylinder with
another axle coupled with the first so that all the three pistons will be acting to
impart an average uniform propelling effect at 120 degrees apart, but by preference
the pistons of all three cylinders as before stated are connected with the same axle
at 120 degrees apart.
In locomotives the steam is cut off in the high pressure cylinders at from 5 to
25 per cent. of the stroke, but for starting purposes it may be arranged to cut off

page_text: at 80 per cent. of the stroke, but the reversing lever is or may be arranged by
connection with a piston in a small cylinder communicating with the low pressure
valve chest or receiver, so that when full pressure arrives thereat, the reversing
lever will be automatically put back to a 40 per cent. cut off which can be reduced
as required.
The same combination and arrangement of two high and one low pressure
cylinders, the pistons of which are arranged to act on the crank axle at 120 degrees
apart is also applicable to marine engines, the proportions of the areas of the
cylinders to each other when a condenser is used being arranged accordingly.
My invention also consists in combining two high and one low pressure cylinders,
so arranged round the crank axle that their pistons may all act at 120 degrees
apart upon the same crank and the pistons of such engines are or may be either
single acting or double acting, when single acting the pistons are or may be trunk
pistons, so as to dispense, with piston rods and bring the cylinders into less space.
Dated this Twenty-third day of June 1897-
Improvements in or applicable to Locomotive, Marine, and other
Steam or other Motive Engines.
I, PETER JOEL LIVSEY, of 24 and 25, Queen's Chambers, 5, Market Street, in
the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Patent Agent and Consulting
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by John Riekie, of Sukkur, India, District Locomotive
Superintendent of the North Western Railway, India, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
The invention communicated to me relates to locomotive, marine and other
engines used for various purposes actuated by steam, air or other like gascous
motive power and its object is to so arrange them that there will be a more
constant and uniform turning action by the pistons upon the driving wheels or
crank shaft with the result that the power of the engine and its steadiness in
running will be greatly increased and the wear and tear largely diminished with
at the same time a proportional economy of fuel or motive power.
The invention consists in combining and arranging two small high and one
large low pressure cylinders, (or one high and two low pressure cylinders as herein-
after explained) the pistons of each of which are arranged to act upon the one
crank axle (by preference) at 120 degrees of the circle apart, the steam or motive
fluid used in the two small high pressure cylinders exhausting into the valve chest or
receiver of the large low pressure cylinder and thence to the atmosphere or to a
condenser, expansion taking place in both high pressure cylinders, and further
expansion in the low pressure cylinder (if desired).
For locomotives, the two high pressure cylinders are by preference outside
cylinders, the pistons of which are connected with crank pins on one of the driving
axles, while the piston of the low pressure cylinder is connected with a crank in
the same driving axle by preference.
The areas of the cylinders are · proportioned to the pressure of the steam or
motive fluid employed, so that as near as possible each piston will give the same
turning action upon the crank axle to which they are connected when the high
pressure: pistons are being worked with an early "cut off." The area. I have
found best with boiler steam at 120 lbs. to the square inch for each high pressure

page_text: cylinder is about one of the high (one high pressure cylinder, the two being equal)
to two and a half of the low pressure cylinder, or nearly so. (or as two to five)
or the low pressure cylinder is one and a quarter times the combined high pressure
cylinders.
"
In engines where condensers are used, these proportions will be a little different
owing to the partial vacuum formed in the low pressure cylinder.
The pistons of the high pressure cylinder in locomotives may be connected
120 degrees apart with one axle, and the piston of the low pressure cylinder with
another axle coupled with the first so that all the three pistons will be acting to
impart an average uniform propelling effect at 120 degrees apart but by preference
the pistons of all three cylinders as before stated are connected with the same axle
at 120 degrees apart.
In locomotives the steam is cut off (by preference) in the high pressure cylinders
at from 5 to 25 per cent. of the stroke, but for starting purposes it may be arranged
to cut off at 80 per cent. of the stroke, and when full pressure arrives at the low
pressure valve chest or receiver, the reversing lever may be put back to a 40 per
cent. cut off which can be reduced as required.
The same combination and arrangement of two high and one low pressure
cylinders, the pistons of which are arranged to act on the crank axle at 120 degrees
apart is also applicable to marine engines, the proportions of the areas of the
eylinders to each other when a condenser is used being arranged accordingly.
The invention also consists in combining two high and one low pressure
cylinders, so arranged round the crank axle that their pistons may all act at
120 degrees apart upon the same crank and the pistons of such engines are or may
be either single acting or double acting, when single acting the pistons are or may
be trunk pistons, so as to dispense with piston rods and bring the cylinders into
less space.
It may be here explained that according to this invention one high pressure
cylinder may be combined with two low pressure cylinders (in place of two high
and one low pressure cylinders) that is to say, for locomotives there may be one
high pressure cylinder in say the middle exhausting into two low pressure
cylinders which are or may be outside cylinders, the piston in each cylinder being
connected to a crank, which cranks are 120° of the circle apart-the cranks may
be on the same axle or on two separate axles, the two axles being coupled or geared
to keep the cranks acted upon by each piston 120° of the circle apart.
The ratio (or relative areas of the cylinders, the strokes being the same length)
of the high pressure cylinder in this case will be as one, to one and a quarter of
the combined low pressure cylinders, or the single high pressure cylinder will be
as one to one and a quarter times of both low pressure cylinders.
The steam to the high pressure cylinder or cylinders is or may be cut off at from
five to twenty-five per cent. of the stroke as before stated, and in the low pressure
cylinder or cylinders it is or may be cut off at 75 per cent. of the stroke or there
may be full admission during the entire stroke or strokes of the low pressure
cylinder or cylinders.
As an example from actual practice taken from a locomotive having two outside
high pressure cylinders each 15 inches diameter and one central low pressure
cylinder 24 inches diameter, both sets of cylinders having the same length of
stroke, the piston of each cylinder being connected with the crank shaft at
120 degrees of the circle apart, a series of tests showed that with boiler steam at
120lbs. pressure per square inch with the steam cut off at 10 per cent, of the
stroke each high pressure developed 45 horses power, and the low pressure cylinder
cutting off at 75 per cent. of the stroke 42 horses power-the receiver pressure
being 10lbs. pressure per square inch.
With a boiler pressure of 130lbs. per square inch, a receiver pressure in each case
of 20lbs. per square inch, the cut off of the low pressure cylinder in each case
being at 75 per cent. of the stroke, the power developed in each cylinder when the
cut off in the high pressure cylinders was at 20 per cent. of the stroke was 79 horses

page_text: power for each high pressure, and 78 horses power for the low pressure cylinder,
practically equal..
When the cut off in the high pressure cylinders was at 30 per cent. of the stroke,
the power developed in each high pressure cylinder was 80 horses power, and in
the low pressure cylinder 96 horses power.
For some engines, the cylinders may be arranged so that the pistons of each
.cylinder will be connected to act upon the same crank, or two pistons on one crank
.and the third piston on a separate crank.
There need be no special receivers for the exhaust steam from the high pressure
cylinder or cylinders, other than the connecting pipes or passages and the valve
box of the low pressure cylinder or cylinders.
With the cylinders and pistons arranged as hereinbefore described it will be
noted that the engine is what is termed compound, in so far as the steam from the
high pressure cylinder or cylinders as the case may be exhausts into the low
pressure cylinder or cylinders, but that the low pressure cylinder or cylinders is
or are only about 25% larger capacity than the high pressure cylinder or
cylinders, if two, instead of being 100% larger at least as in ordinary compound
engines.
With the pistons acting upon the cranks at 120° of the circle apart, and the
high pressure cylinders and low pressure cylinder or high pressure cylinder and
low pressure cylinders of a ratio one to another as hereinbefore explained, there
will be not only steady turning (and less oscillation as far as locomotives are con-
cerned) but the pressures acting on the crank axle will be more balanced and there
will be much less wear and tear and greater economy of steam or motive power
as an actual test of a three-cylinder engine according to the invention compared
with a double cylinder non-coinpound engine developing equal power, there was an
economy of one third of the steam in favor of the three cylinder engine according
to this invention.
The inventor is aware that it has been proposed to connect the pistons of three
cylinders to act upon cranks at 120° of the circle apart and with the steam from
one set of cylinders exhausting into a low pressure cylinder, and he believes that
this arrangement may have been tried and abandoned, but he has satisfied himself
by actual experience that if such trial was made its failure would be in consequence
of the high pressure cylinders and low pressure cylinder or high pressure cylinder
and low pressure cylinders not having been proportioned according to the inven-
tion hereinbefore explained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion communicated to me, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I
declare that what I claim is: :-
The combination of steam or other aeriform motive engines with three cylinders,
the pistons of each cylinder acting upon the cranks at 120 degrees of the circle
apart, the high pressure cylinder or cylinders exhausting into the low pressure
cylinder or cylinders, the high pressure cylinders and the low pressure cylinder, or
the high pressure cylinder and low pressure cylinders, being made as near as
may be to about the ratio one to the other substantially as hereinbefore explained.
Dated this Twenty-first day of April 1898.
PETER J. LIVSEY.
Applicant.