Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ALEXANDER ELZEAR DEGRAND, of the Boulevart du Temple, Paris, lately
residing in Paul's Chain, in the City of London, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I did by petition humbly represent unto Her present most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, that, after considerable application and
expence, I had invented improvements in the production of motive power, and
in machinery for applying the same to useful purposes; and Her said Majesty
being willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions which may
be for the public good, was graciously pleased, by Her Royal Letters Patent
under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
bearing date at Westminster the Twelfth day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-eight, in the second year of Iler reign, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, to give and grant unto me, the said John Alexander
Elzear Degrand, my executors, administrators, and assigns, her special license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I or they, by myself or themselves,
or by my or their deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as I or they
should agree with (and no others) during the term of fourteen years from the
date of the said Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exer-
cise, and vend my said Invention within that part of Her said Majesty's
Dominions called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
in such manner as to me, my executors, administrators, and assigns,. shall
A

page_text: seem meet, and as that I or they shall enjoy the whole profit and advantage
arising by reason of the said Invention during the said term of fourteen
years; and for that end Her said Majesty requires and strictly commands all
Her subjects whatsoever within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed
and the Colonies and Plantations abroad as aforesaid, that they shall not,
neither directly or indirectly, make, use, or put in practice my said Invention,
or any part thereof, nor in anywise counterfeit, imitate, or resemble the same,
nor make any addition thereto or subtraction therefrom, whereby to pretend
himself or themselves to be the inventor or inventors thereof. And whereas
the said Letters Patent contain a proviso obliging me, the said John Alex-
ander Elzear Degrand, particularly to describe and ascertain 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, 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 Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Alexander Elzear Degrand, do hereby declare that my said Invention
is described and ascertained in manner following, and by the aid of the two
Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
I make direct application to the purposes of locomotion of jets or currents
of steam, air, or gas, issuing rapidly from the locomotive apparatus, through
the orifices of tubes or pipes connected with steam boilers, or other vessels
which may be substituted for such boilers, and wherein water can be con-
verted into steam, or wherein air or gas may receive heat from fire, so as to
acquire a sufficient expansive force to cause the same to issue rapidly from
such orifices aforesaid in jets of steam, air, or gas, which flow horizontally
in an opposite direction to that direction in which locomotion of the appa-
ratus is intended to be induced, for such jets (operating by what is termed
reaction) will urge the locomotive apparatus from which the jets are emitted,
to move forwards in an opposite direction to that direction in which the jets
flow, the motive power operating in like manner, and by the same principle
of reaction, as the motion of rockets is caused by eflux of jets of fire and gas
from orifices at the hindmost ends of the tubes of such rockets. The manner
of applying efluent jets of high-pressure steam, according to my said improve-
ments, to the purpose of impelling carriages on railways, is explained by
Figures 1, 2, and 3, in Sheet I. of the Drawing hereunto annexed. A, A, is a
high pressure steam boiler, mounted on wheels B, B, in the same manner as

page_text: is usually practised for locomotive steam engines for railways; but the steam
cylinders, with their pistons, piston rods, connecting rods, and cranks, are
wholly dispensed with, and in lieu thereof the steam pipe which proceeds
from the most elevated part of the boiler, as at a, is raised upwards for a
sufficient height, and then turns horizontally at b, with an orifice which will
emit a jet of high-pressure steam to blow out into the open air in a horizontal
direction backwards or behind the locomotive, in order, by reaction, to impel
the same forwards. The said steam pipe A, B, is shewn separately in section
by Figure 2, on a larger scale; the lower end is a flange to fasten to the top
of the boiler; d is a stop valye to stop the passage of steam through the
pipe a, b, when required. The valve may be moved from the outside by
turning the handle c of a screw on the spindle of the valve, which passes
through a stuffing box. The orifice at 6 for the jet is formed in the manner
termed trumpet-mouthed, in order to facilitate the eflux of steam through the
orifice. The said trumpet mouth is within the pipe, in order that the steam
may surround the trumpet and keep it warm, so that it will not condense the
steam which passes through it. That portion 6 of the steam pipe which cou-
tains the said trumpet mouth within it is affixed to the upper part of the steam
pipe by a flange joint, so as to be capable of easy removal, in order to replace it
by another trumpet-mouthed orifice if required. The size of the orifice at b
should be such that the force of reaction produced by the jet of high-pressure
steam in issuing from it into the open air will be suitable for continuing to
propel the engine, with its usual load of tender and train of carriages, after they
have been started and set in motion, with the required velocity; and in order
to start or put the same in motion from a state of rest, another additional steam
pipe, e, f, Figure I., is erected, in the same manner as that already described,
on the highest part of the boiler, and its upper end f turns horizontally with
an orifice, which will emit a jet of high-pressure steam to blow out into the
open air in a horizontal direction parallel to and only a little above the jet
which is emitted by the orifice of the first-mentioned pipe at a, b. The pipe
e, f, has its stop valve in the same manner as already described respecting
Figure 2, but the screw by which that valve is to be moved is connected, as is
shewn in the plan, Figure 3, by a pair of bevel wheels with the handle h, by
which the screw is to be turned, so that the handle h stands side by side with
the handle c. When the locomotive engine (being at rest) is to be set in
motion, the steam having been previously got up in the usual manner, the stop
valves of both pipes a, b, and e, f, are opened by turning their respective handles
c and h, so that two jets of high-pressure steam are emitted at once at b and f,
Figure 1, and their united force of reaction is sufficient to urge the locomotive,

page_text: with its tender and its train of carriages, into motion, and when a sufficient
rapidity of motion is acquired, then the stop valve of the pipe e, f, is to be
closed by turning its handle / so as to stop one of the said jets, but leaving the
other jet in operation for continuing and keeping up the motion, which, as
before mentioned, it should be rendered capable of doing by making the orifice
at 6 of suitable dimensions, but by turning the handle h the additional jet
can at any time be emitted during such short time as may be requisite to give
the locomotive its intended velocity of progression, and then, by the handle h,
the said jet at f can be stopped, and when the motion of the engine is to be
stopped or retarded, then, by turning the handle c, the jet from the orifice at b
can be diminished or stopped; and in order to back the engine, or cause it to
travel backwards in a contrary direction to that already described, another
steam pipe i, k, is provided on the highest part of the boiler, having a stop
valve in it, moved by bevel wheels and a handle 1. Its orifice at k is adapted to
emit a jet of high-pressure steam to blow out horizontally into the open air, in
the same manner as the other jets already described, but in a contrary direction
thereto, and therefore the force of reaction exerted by the said jet at will propel
the engine in the opposite direction to that in which it would be propelled by
the other jets at 6 and f, and there may also be another additional steam pipe,
with its stop valve and orifice, to emit a jet of high-pressure steam in the same
direction as that at k, for the purpose of starting the engine into motion back-
wards, by giving an additional impelling force, by operation of two jets at once,
in the same manner as already explained respecting the two jets at b and f.
Such an additional jet is omitted in the Drawing because it can be easily
imagined. The three or four steam pipes which are erected on the boiler, as
shewn in Figure 1, are enclosed within a narrow box or casing, to preserve
them from being cooled by the atmospheric air, and also to sustain the pipes
firmly in their intended positions. The construction of every part of the boiler
may be the same as usual in locomotive engines, and does not, therefore, require
a particular description, except as to the usual mode of discharging the waste
steam in a vertical jet up the chimney, in order to increase the draft of air through
the fire, so as to obtain an intense combustion. If that mode of increasing the
draft is to be continued, a small steam pipe, with a regulating cock in it, must be
conducted from the boiler to the usual upright jet pipe in the chimney, in order
to supply that jet with steam, or otherwise a revolving fanner may be applied
within a circular box or case, in order to blow a constant current of air into
the ash pit beneath the fire-grate, such fanner being turned rapidly round by
motion derived from the wheels B, B, of the engine, with suitable multiplying
wheel work (which is not represented in the Drawing), to give a sufficient

page_text: velocity to the fanner, which, with its box or case, may be disposed beneath
the boiler in the space between the axles of it wheels B, B, or the fanner may
be applied concentrically upon one of those axles, to turn rapidly round about
the same.
The feeding pump F, for keeping the boiler supplied with water,
may be constructed and connected as usual in locomotive engines, but it must
be worked by motion derived from one pair of the wheels B, either by a crank
or by an eccentric fixed on the axle of those wheels. The manner of applying
efluent jets of high-pressure steam, according to my said improvements, to the
purpose of impelling steam boats or vessels, is explained by Figures 4, 5, and 6
in Sheet 1.
Figure 4 is a side view of a vessel, with so much thereof represented in
section as will shew where the boiler B is situated within the vessel, that boiler
being of the high-pressure kind, and on any construction most approved and
suitable for use on board a vessel. A steam pipe a is conducted upwards and
backwards from the highest part of the boiler B, and the end of the steam
pipe terminates with an orifice of a trumpet-mouthed shape, which will dis-
charge a continual jet of steam'in a horizontal direction backwards or behind
the vessel, in order by reaction to impel the same forwards. The form of the
said trumpet-mouthed orifice may be the same as already described in reference
to Figure 2. The steam pipe a must have a stop valve in it to stop the passage
of the steam through it, and consequently the efflux at the jet. The chimney
R of the boiler may be carried in the same direction as the steam pipe a, that
pipe being close to the under side of the chimney R, and the extreme end of
the steam pipe a may turn up into the centre of the chimney, as is shewn,
Figure 5, so that the jet from the orifice at the end of the pipe may issue into
the open air in the direction of the central line of the chimney, by which means
the draft or current through the chimney will be increased, and that current
will operate in aid of the jet to assist in propelling the vessel by reaction. But
in order to obtain a sufficient draft by the chimney for animating the fire during
the time of getting up the steam in the boiler before the vessel is started, an
additional length S of the chimney, which is jointed to the end of the length R
by a hinge joint, can be hoisted up, as shewn by S, so as to stand up vertically
to a sufficient height for producing a draft through the chimney, the said
length S, when so hoisted up, forming a vertical continuation from the hori-
zontal part R of the chimney; and when the steam is by that means got up,
and the vessel is about to be started, the said additional length S of the chimney
is to be lowered down out of the way by turning about its hinge joint into the
position represented by the dotted lines s, and thereby the end of the horizontal
portion R of the chimney becomes opened, and then the stop valve before

page_text: mentioned in the steam pipe a being opened to give issue to the jet of
steam, that jet will propel the vessel, and cause a draft through the chimney,
as before stated. And in order to assist in starting or commencing the
motion of the vessel, there is an additional steam pipe, with a stop valve
and trumpet-mouthed orifice placed side by side with the steam pipe a
before mentioned, and that additional stop valve being opened, there will then
be two jets of steam issuing at the same time and in the same direction, in
order that they may concur in propelling the vessel during a short interval
until it has acquired its intended velocity of motion, and then the additional
stop valve being closed, will stop the additional jet, and the reactive force of
the other jet from the steam pipe a being kept up, will be sufficient to continue
the motion of the vessel with the velocity it has acquired. Note.-The trumpet-
mouthed orifice at the end of the said additional steam pipe need not be con-
ducted into the centre of the chimney R. As the end of the steam pipe a has
been described to be but the additional jet being situated at the under side of
the chimney R, it may, by opening the additional stop valve, be put in action,
if required, whilst the additional length S of the chimney is standing up, and
before it is lowered down, as above described; and in order to back the vessel,
or give sternway motion thereto, another steam pipe b, d, may be conducted
from the boiler to the stern of the vessel, that pipe having a stop valve in it
and a trumpet-mouthed orifice at the foremost end d, through which, when the
stop valve is opened, a jet of steam will be emitted horizontally forwards in
the direction of the length of the vessel, and by its force of reaction will urge
the vessel backwards, the sternmost jets above described being stopped at the
time, and in like manner other steam pipes may be conducted from the boiler
to each side of the vessel, as shewn at f and g, Figure 6, each of those steam
pipes having its stop valve and its trumpet-mouthed orifice at the extremity
adapted to emit a jet of steam in a horizontal direction, and laterally or cross-
ways to the length of the vessel, when the stop valve is opened to allow steam
to pass through the pipe. These lateral jets fand g, being situated at the
sternmost part of the vessel, as marked at f, Figure 4, when one or other of
them is put in action by opening the stop valve, will, by reaction, tend to turn
the stern of the vessel sideways, so as to alter her direction, and which may by
this means be done when she is not advancing forwards, and consequently not
under the guidance of the rudder, or it may be done when she is so advancing,
in which case the said reaction of a lateral jet may be either used as an addi-
tion to the usual action of the rudder, or as a substitute for that action in case
of the rudder or its steering apparatus being disabled and unserviceable.
Note. All the said steam pipes must be cloathed with non-conducting material,

page_text: .
to avoid loss of heat and condensation of the steam. Those two steam pipes
which are disposed at a, beneath the chimney R, may be enclosed within a
casing which is affixed to the chimney, as is shewn in Figure 5. The portion
R of the chinney must be firmly supported by props and stays, which are not
represented, and the portion S must have suitable tackle for raising and lowering
it about its hinge joint, and for retaining it securely in either position.
Figures 7 and 8, Sheet I., represent a new rotary steam engine, which forms
part of my said improvements. A, A, in both Figures, is a fixed cylindrical
case or box, within which the revolving part of the engine is contained. B, B,
is the hollow horizontal axis of the said revolving part. It passes through
stuffing boxes a, a, at the centres of the circular vertical sides of the box A, A;
and the axis is sustained at each end in bearings b, which are borne by the fixed
frame D, D, erected on the foundation plate E. The box A, A, is composed of
two circular dishes, or shells, put together by a flange joint, and screws all round
its circumference. The steam by which the engine is to be worked is introduced
from a steam boiler into the box A, A, by a steam pipe d, with its regulating
or stop cock. The steam passes away through the hollow axis B, B. The
revolving part of the engine consists of two wheels F, F, G, G, which are
fixed side by side on the hollow axis. B, B, within the box A, A, each wheel
being formed of a hollow pipe F or G of iron, which joins to the hollow axis
B, and proceeds therefrom with a spiral curve, as shewn at e in Figure 8, until
it reaches out from the centre as far as the size of the box A, A, will permit;
and then the said pipe F or G continues in a circular form, concentric with
the axis B, in the manner of the felloe or run of a wheel, and extends in
that manner around about three fourths of the circular circumference, the end
of the pipe being open at f. The two wheels F, G, stand close together, and
may be fastened together side by side. They can turn round freely within the
box A, A, without touching the interior thereof. Both wheels are alike,
being formed of a curved iron pipe, the same as shewn in Figure 8, and as
above described; but the two wheels are disposed on their common axis B,
with their open ends (such as f) at opposite points of the circumference of the
circle, so that whenever the open end f of the wheel F is below at the lowest
part of the box A, as in Figure 8, the corresponding open end of the wheel G
will be above at the highest part of the box A. Also the spiral parts, such as e,
of the two wheels F and G, join to the axis B at opposite sides of the
centre thereof; but both spirals curl round in the same direction in pro-
ceeding from that centre. The hollow axis B has a partition in the hollow at
the middle of its length, as shewn in Figure 7, and the spiral portion of one of
the wheels F joins to the hollow axis at one side of that partition, and the

page_text: spiral portion of the other wheel G-joins to the hollow axis at the other side
of the same partition, so that the steam which has operated in one wheel F
will pass away through one end of the hollow axis B, and the steam which
has operated in the, other wheel G will pass away through the other end of
the same hollow axis B. The extreme ends of the hollow axis B, which
reach out beyond the bearings b, b, by which the axis is sustained, are formed
into stuffing boxes n, n, Figure 7, to receive horizontal branches H, I, of fixed
pipes H, K, and I, L, which turn down to joint laterally to the lower part of
the box A, A, and there also branches M, N, from those pipes, H, K, and
I, L, which serve as eduction pipes to convey away the steam, either to
discharge it as waste in the open air, if high-pressure steam is used, or else to
convey it to a condenser, if a condenser is used to condense the steam and
obtain a vacuum. The operation of the said engine is as follows:-The lower
part of the box or case A, A, is filled with mercury or fluid metal as high as
the dotted line X, X, so as to immerse the open end f of the pipe which forms
the wheel F, when that open end is at the lowest position. See Figure 8.
The steam with which the box A, A, is filled presses upon the surface of that
mercury by its elastic force, but the interior of the pipe F (by its open com-
munication through the axis B either with the atmosphere or with a con-
denser) is not subjected to such a pressure as is operative upon the surface of
the mercury at X, X, and consequently some mercury, entering at the open
end f, is forced up into the circular curve of the pipe F, so as to stand
therein, as shew at 2, at such a vertical height above the level X, X, of the
surface of the mercury as will form a barometric column of mercury equal in
pressure to the difference between the pressure to which the surface at X is
exposed and the pressure to which the surface at a is exposed. The weight
of the mercury X, a, which is thus raised up into the pipe F, operates as a
heavy side to the wheel F, and causes it to turn round in the direction of the
arrow, Figure 8. In so turning, the open end f of the pipe rises up out of
the surface of the mercury X, X; but that circumstance makes no difference
in the action of the mercury X, a, which has been raised up in the pipe F,
because the steam in the box A, by entering the open end f, will continue to
exert its pressure thereon, so as to maintain the same column X, x, in the
pipe F, and consequently the same operation of the weight thereof to turn the
wheel round. And thus the operation goes on until the wheel has completed
a revolution, and then, the mercury contained in the pipe F having arrived at
the spiral parte of that pipe, the said mercury enters by that part into the
central hollow of the axis B, and returns by the pipe K, Figure 7, to the
lower part of the box A; and at the same time that the said mercury is thus

page_text: passing out from the pipe F, through the hollow axis B, a recommencement of
the operation above described takes place, for the open end f of the pipe being
again immersed beneath the surface X, X, of the mercury in the box A, a
fresh portion of mercury enters that open end, and is raised up in the cir-
cular part of the pipe at X, a, so as to give the wheel the same tendency to
revolve as before. The description of the operation has thus far been
confined to the action of the pipe which forms the wheel F; but the ope-
ration of the other pipe, which forms the wheel G, is precisely the same;
so as to require no explanation. The only reason for having two wheels,
F and G, on the same axis B, is to avoid any cessation of the force where-
with the axis B is turned round; for when one pipe (F, for instance) is in the act
of emptying itself by its spiral parte of the mercury which it has previously
received, and the open end f of the same pipe is receiving a new charge of
mercury, as above described, which emptying and filling causes for the time an
alteration in the force whereby the machine is turned round, the other pipe G
will be in complete and uniform action for turning the machine and keeping
up its motion. The turning motion of the axis B is communicated by a wheel
which is fixed upon it at W, Figure 7, to any machinery which the rotary
engine is intended to actuate. In order to diminish the cost of mercury it
may be mixed with lead or tin in such proportion as will form an amalgam
which will be fluid when exposed to the heat of steam.
Figures 9 and 10, Sheet II., represent the said rotary engine, with a con-
densing apparatus applied thereto, in order to condense the steam which has
passed through the engine, and given motion to it, as above explained, so as
to produce a vacuum within the interior of the hollow axis B, and of so much
of the pipes F and G, Figures 7 and 8, as are at the time in communication
with that hollow. The same letters of reference are used in Figures 9 and 10
to denote the same parts as are used in the foregoing description of Figures 7
and 8. Figure 9 is a plan, and Figure 10 a lateral elevation. The eduction
pipes M, N, ascend, as before explained, from the pipes H, K, and I, L, which
connect with the stuffing boxes n, n, at each end of the axis B; and the two
pipes M, N, join together into one at t, which is the commencement of the
condenser. That condenser is a long pipe, folded alternately backwards and
forwards, in a zigzag form, as shewn by the dotted lines Q, Figure 10, the
folds being situated one above another in the same vertical plane, and
enclosed in a narrow box or case Y. P is a cistern containing cold water,
which is allowed to run by a pipe and cock p into a gutter g at the top of the
case Y, in which the zigzag pipe Q is enclosed, and the cold water, over-
flowing notches in the edges or holes in the sides of the gutter g, falls in a
shower of drops upon the zigzag folds of the pipe Q, so as to cool the same;

page_text: and the cooling effect of the water is augmented by evaporation of the water,
induced by the ascent of a current of air through the box or case Y, in which
the wet pipe Q is enclosed, that box Y being open at. bottom to admit air
freely, and the top being carried up to a considerable height above the part
which is occupied by the pipe Q, in order to produce an ascension of air
through the box or case Y, and that air causes evaporation from the wet
external surface of the pipe Q, so as more effectually to cool the same, and
consequently to cool and condense the steam that is introduced within the
pipe Q. The water which results from the condensation of the steam within
the pipe runs down from one fold to the next, until it gets to the
bottom fold at w, which leads to the lower valve of an air pump T, which
pump is applied for the purpose of extracting from the interior of the pipe Q
any air which may have gained admittance, and also for pumping out the
water which has collected therein from the condensation of the steam, and
for returning that water to the boiler for replenishing the same. The air
T may be worked by any suitable communication from the engine. It
is represented in the Drawing as being worked by the revolving crank on the
axis of a pulley wheel h, which is turned by an endless strap from a similar
pulley wheel k, fixed on the axis B of the rotary engine; and another crank
may be fixed on the said axis of the pulley wheel h, in order to work a cold-
water pump for supplying cold water to the cistern p, in case a supply of cold
water cannot be had to that cistern without pumping up. The water which
dropped down from one fold of the pipe Q to another until it reaches the
bottom fold w will have become warmed, and it is then received in a
trough at the bottom of the box or case Y, and is allowed to run away
waste from that trough.
pump
Figures 11 and 12, Sheet II., represent another of my said improvements,
which is to be applied on board a vessel, or to any other locomotive apparatus
where sufficient room can be obtained for the application thereof for the
purpose of propelling the said locomotive apparatus by means of the reaction
of a jet or of jets of steam issuing from the orifice or orifices of a pipe or pipes
which convey steam from the boiler where it is generated; but, instead of the
said jet or jets of steam being emitted into the open air, as herein-before
explained in reference to Figures 4, 5, and 6, the said jet is or the said jets
are emitted into a vacuous space within a vessel which is kept exhausted by
constant communication with a suitable condensing apparatus. Wherefore it
is not necessary that the steam which is supplied by the boiler should be high-
pressure steam, as must be the case when the jets are to be emitted into the
open air. B, Figures 11 and 12, is the boiler; a is the steam pipe ascending

page_text: from the highest part thereof, and turning horizontally to proceed to a hollow
vessel Z, into which the steam is emitted in a jet or in jets, in a horizontal direc-
tion, (and backwards in respect to the intended progress of the vessel,) through
a trumpet-mouthed orifice or orifices of the same shape and construction as
already explained in reference to Figure 2, except that the discharge from
such orifice or orifices is now made into the interior of the hollow vessel Z,
instead of into the open air, and that interior is kept in a state of exhaus-
tion or vacuum by connection with two condensers Y, Y, which are each
formed by a long pipe Q, communicating with the vessel Z, and folded into a
number of zigzag folds, or else curled in the manner of a corkscrew, the
said folded or curled pipe Q being included within a cylindrical box or case Y,
which is placed in an inclined position, and through which a current of air
is continually passing, that air being forced by action of a blowing pump K
through the air pipe k into the lowest end of the case Y, and then passing
out from the highest end thereof through an exit pipe l, m, which ascends
from Y and then turns horizontally, in order to discharge the air through
a suitable trumpet-mouthed orifice at m in a jet in a horizontal direction,
and backwards in respect to the progress of the vessel. In order that the
reaction at the jet at m may act to propel the vessel in concert with the reaction
of the jet which is emitted, as above mentioned, from the steam pipe a into the
vessel Z, the cold air which is forced by the blowing pump K into the vessel Y
passes in contact with all the length of the folded or curled pipe Q, so as to
cool the same, and also the steam within the same, and thereby the steam
is condensed, and the vessel Z, which is connected with the pipe Q, is kept
exhausted. The water which results from the said condensation of the steam
collects into an inclined pipe n, which extends along the lower part of the
inclined vessel Y, and which pipe is connected by small drain branches with
the very lowest part of each of the folds or curls of the pipe Q, where water
might otherwise accumulate, so that the pipe n will drain the condensed
water therefrom, and the continuation w of the pipe n conveys the said water
to a pump T, Figure 11, which operates as an air pump, and also as hot
water or feeding pump, by which the water is returned into the boiler Bin
order to replenish the same. The air which, as before mentioned, has passed
through all the length of the vessel Y, becomes warmed by the heat which it
takes up during the condensation of the steam within the folded or curled
pipe Q, and in consequence of that warmth the volume of the air is increased,
so that it issues with more rapidity from the orifice m of the pipe l, m, to form
a jet, as before mentioned, than it would do if it had not become warmed.
The two condensers Y, Y, as shewn in Figure 11, are exactly alike, and they

page_text: act in concert; cach one has its own blowing pump K, K, to force a current of
air through it, but one large blowing pump might supply both condensers Y, Y,
and there may be one feeding pump D to take the condensed water from both
condensers Y, Y, and return that water into the boiler B; or there may be two
separate feeding pumps, one to each condenser. The said pumps K, K, D, as
well as other pumps, are represented as being worked by a series of cranks
formed on a horizontal axis, which is turned round by a pulley wheel fixed
upon it, and deriving motion by an endless chain from another pulley wheel y
fixed on the axis of a rotary steam engine A, which may be on the same construc-
tion as already described in reference to Figures 7 and 8. d is the steam pipe
proceeding from the boiler B to supply the box or case A with steam, and there
must be a regulating or stop cock in that pipe d. The two eduction pipes M
and N, which ascend from the two ends of the hollow axis of the rotary engine
as before explained, proceed by pipes t, t, to join to the folded or curled
pipes Q, Q, of the two condensers Y, Y, at the uppermost ends of those pipes Q,
and thereby the steam is kept exhausted from the hollow axis of the rotary
engine, in order to facilitate the working thereof with low-pressure steam or
steam of a moderate pressure. Note.-Bilge pumps for drawing water
out of the vessel may be worked by other cranks on the axis of the pulley, in
addition to the pumps already mentioned, and also a blowing pump or pumps
for supplying air to the fire of the boiler, so as to produce an intense combustion.
And in order that the efflux of the smoke, gas, and heated air from the top of
the chimney R, Figure 12, may concur by its reaction in advancing the vessel
forward, a cap S may be applied on that top, as shewn by the dotted lines S,
so as to direct the said efflux in a jet through a trumpet-mouthed orifice in a
horizontal direction and backwards in respect to the motion of the vessel.
But the said cap S being applied with a hinge joint to the top of the chimney R,
must be let down as represented in Figure 12, in order to open the top of the
chimney R and afford a more free vertical passage for the smoke, gas, and
heated air when the fire is newly lighted and whilst the steam is getting
up, and consequently before the rotary engine and blowing pump above
mentioned can be set to work. But as soon as the steam is got up, and the
rotary engine is set to work, so as by its said blowing pump to force an addi-
tional quantity of air into the furnace, an increased vivacity of combustion will be
thereby produced, and also a stronger eflux of smoke, gas, and heated air from
the top of the chimney, which eflux may be made available for advancing the
vessel when it is in motion, by turning up the cap S by suitable tackle into the
dotted position as above described, and retaining it securely in that position.
And in order to assist the reaction of the jet or jets from the steam pipe a in

page_text: starting or commencing the motion of the vessel, an additional steam pipe e, f,
with a stop valve, may be carried up from the boiler and turned horizontally,
with a trumpet-mouthed orifice at the end f, adapted, when the stop valve is
opened, to emit a jet of steam into the open air in a horizontal direction and
backwards in respect to the progress of the vessel, so as by reaction of the
said jet to assist in starting her into motion. The said jet of steam may
be emitted at f into a horizontal tube into which the air pipe l, m, may
also
emit its jet of warmed air at m, as already described, and both jets will concur.
by their reaction in advancing the vessel; when the vessel is started into-full
motion the said additional jet at f may be discontinued by closing the stop
valve, and the reaction of the jet or jets from the steam pipe a issuing, as
before explained, into the exhausted vessel Z being continued, will continue to
propel the vessel. Note. b, d, is the steam pipe, which proceeds from the
boiler B to the stern of the vessel, with a trumpet-mouthed orifice to produce
a jet there when required for moving the vessel backwards: the same is already
described in reference to Figure 4. And also there may be lateral pipes pro-
ceeding from the boiler to each side of the vessel, in order to emit lateral jets
of steam when required, in the same manner, and for the same purposes, as-
already explained in reference to Figures 4 and 6. And whereas all the said
jets are to be emitted into the open air, as well as the additional jet at f, the
steam in the boiler B must be kept up considerably stronger than the atmo-
spheric pressure, in order to be able to produce those occasional jets when
required, although the continual jet from the steam pipe a into the exhausted
vessel Z, by which the vessel is to be propelled in its regular course, would not,
require the steam to be stronger than is usual for low-pressure steam engines.
Figure 13 explains another part of my said improvement for producing
motive power by operation of heated air and gas, such as results from the
combustion of the fuel which is employed. B, B, is a strong metallic vessel
wherein a furnace C is enclosed; the fuel is introduced into C, when required,
through the feeding passage or pipe a, in which two stop valves, b and d, are
fitted above the other; when the lowermost valve d is shut then the outer
valve can be opened in order to put in a charge of fuel into the space above
the valve d, then 6 being closed and d opened that charge of fuel will descend
into the furnace C. The combustion of that fuel is kept up by forcing
atmospheric air continually into the fire through the pipe m from a blowing
pump D; the air after passing through the fire, and becoming heated thereby,
together with all the smoke and gas produced by the combustion of the fuel,
passes from the furnace C through holes with which its circumference is.
perforated at every part, into the. space round it.within the vessel B, B, which

page_text: space is filled with fragments of iron in order that they may retain the heat
proceeding from the furnace when the fire burns most strongly, and may
transmit that heat with regularity to the air and gas and smoke which, after
passing out of the furnace C as before mentioned, makes its way amongst the
interstices of the said fragments of heated iron, and, becoming strongly expended
passes by a pipe f, in which is a regulating or stop cock g, to the box A
of a rotary engine, such as has been already described in reference to Figures 7
and 8. The heated air, gas, and smoke will operate within the box A to give
motion to the said rotary engine in the same manner as already explained to
be done with steam. The said heated air, gas, and smoke, after having per-
formed its required office of producing motive power in the said rotary engine,
is discharged therefrom into the open air through its eduction pipes, which
proceed from each end of its hollow axes. The machinery, Figure 13, operates
in the aforesaid. manner after it has been set in motion and got into full work,
but in order to commence working, and get the fire lighted within the furnace C,
the fire door n must be removed so as to give access to the intended fire through
the entrance p, also the vertical chimney F, which ascends from one end of the
vessel B, B, must be opened by removing 'the stop valve s from the top of it, by
the lever hand bell-pull handle k, and then turning the valve to one side by the
handle of an upright axes i, which sustains the fulcrum of the lever h,
the chimney F will then cause a sufficient draft or current of air to take place
through the fire which is lighted in the furnace C, to make that fire burn and
give heat to the furnace and to the fragments of iron by which it is sur-
rounded, which heat being attained, the fire door n is closed and fastened
by a screw, which may be of the same kind as is used for fastening the doors of
gas retorts. Also the stop valve s must be replaced on the top of the vertical
chimney F, and must be heavy enough to keep its place, and then a first
charge of air being blown into the furnace by a hand-blowing pump similar to
the blowing pump D, but of smaller size (and not represented in the Figure), that
air will become heated and expanded in passing through the fire, and, together
with the heated smoke and gases resulting from the combustion, will require a
sufficient expansive force within the vessel B, B, to enable the rotary engine A
to be set to work, by opening the regulating cock g in the pipe f, and the
motion of the engine is communicated by a wheel w on its axis, and an endless
chain or strap, to another wheel y, on the axis of which is a crank to work the
real blowing pump D, which will then begin to blow air into the furnace C
through the pipe m, and with that blowing-in of air the operation of the engine
will go on regularly in the manner above described.
central axis of the rotary engine A may be communicated by wheelwork to any
And the motion of the

page_text: other machinery which it is intended to actuate in the same manner as already
described in reference to Figures 7 and 8. And note the vessel B, B, must
be provided with a safety valve, such as is usually applied to steam boilers.
The stop valve s by which the top of the chimney F is closed, being kept down by
weight, will also serve as an additional safety valve. The exterior surface of the
vessel B, B,'must be surrounded with a casing of brickwork to prevent needless
loss of heat. The machinery, Figure 13, if applied for a locomotive engine in
order to propel carriages on railways, or if applied on board a vessel in order
to propel the same, may be made to operate for propelling such engine or
vessel by the reaction of jets of heated air, which may be emitted through
suitable pipes proceeding from the chimney F, with stop valves in those pipes,
and trumpet-mouthed orifices through which the jets are to be emitted hori-
zontally into the open air, in the same manner as already explained in
reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3, and in reference to Figures 4, 5, and 6, except-
ing that. instead of high-pressure steam, the said jets will, in the case of
Figure 13, be emissions of heated air, gas, and smoke into the open air.
Figure 14, Sheet II., shews another application of my improvements by
means of the reaction of jets of high-pressure steam, emitted from suitable
trumpet-mouthed orifices into the open air. B is a high-pressure boiler, which
may be similar to those long cylindrical boilers which have the fire contained in
an internal tube within the cylindrical boiler, except that instead of being
straight in the direction of its length, the boiler is to be curved in conformity
with a large circle, so that the two ends of the boiler will approach one near to
the other, forming the greater part of a large ring, only leaving a sufficient
interval between the said two ends for affording the requisite access to the fire
door of the furnace, which is situated at one end of the boiler in the usual
manner. The said boiler B is to be fixed on a horizontal circular platform D,
which is mounted on wheels a, a, to run round on a fixed circular railway E;
the axles of all the said wheels a, a, directed towards the centre of the
platform, they will sustain the weight of the platform D with the boiler B upon
it, and yet allow the same to run freely round in its circle, and the platform
has a vertical axis F fixed into its centre, which axis is sustained on pivots at
top and at bottom to keep the platform D truly in place as it revolves, and the
axis F also serves to communicate motion, by means of wheelwork W fixed upon
the axis F, to any machinery that is to be actuated by the platform D, which
derives its motive power from the reaction caused by jets b, f, of high-pressure
steam emitted into the open air from trumpet-mouthed orifices at the ends of
short steam pipes d, e, which ascend from the highest part of the boiler B, and

page_text: are bended at top into a horizontal direction with the trumpet-mouthed
orifices at the extremities of the bended parts, so as to discharge the jets of steam
horizontally from those said orifices in the direction of tangents to the circle
which the orifices describe in travelling round with the platform D. The several
steam pipes d, e, have stop valves in them to stop the jets, or any of them, when
required. The construction and operation of the said pipes d, e, with their
valves and jets, may be the same as before described in respect to Figure 2,
with no other difference from what has been already described in reference
to locomotive engine, Figure 1, except that the motion which they communi-
cate to the boiler B and platform D, Figure 14, is a continual circulation or
travelling round in the same circle, instead of travelling forwards on a straight
railway as in Figure 1. And if the purpose to which the machinery, Figure 14,
is applied requires motion to be communicated to it in either direction of rotation,
then other jets may be provided to emit steam in a contrary direction when re-
quired, in the same manner as already described in reference to Figure 1, for tra-
velling backwards. And in case of such machinery, Figure 14, being applied to
draw or wind up coals or minerals from deep mines by ropes, the circumference of
the circular platform D may have upright staves fixed around its circumference
to form the large drum around which those ropes are to be coiled in order to
wind them up, and for such purpose two jets may be emitted in concert, in
order by their united force of reaction to start the machinery with the ropes
and their load of coals or ore into motion, but when motion with the intended
velocity is attained, one of those jets being stopped the reaction of the other
jet will be sufficient to continue the motion. Note.-The feeding pump for sup-
plying the boiler is not represented, but it may be worked by a crank or excentric
motion derived from one of the wheels a on which the platform D is sus-
tained, motion being given to the pump in the same manner as already described
respecting the feeding pump F of the locomotive engine, Figure 1. And in like
manner a revolving fanner for supplying air to the fire may be turned by
wheelwork, deriving motion from another of the wheels a of the platform D,
in the same manner as already described in reference to the revolving fanner
for the locomotive engine, Figure 1. And note,-the upper part of the chimney
of the boiler B may be bended at top so as to emit its smoke, heated air,
and gas in a horizontal direction, and in conformity with a tangent to the
circle which the aperture of the chimney describes in going round with the
platform D, and the steam pipe d, being conducted up into the centre of the
said aperture the jet of high-pressure steam, which is emitted from the
trumpet-mouthed orifice of the steam pipe d will conform to the direction in

page_text: which the smoke, heated air, and gas is emitted from the aperture of the
chimney, in the same manner as already described in reference to Figure 4,
and thereby the draft or current of air through the chimney will be increased,
and that current will operate by reaction in aid of the jet to assist in turning
the machinery. Note.-Respecting the dimensions of the trumpet-mouthed
orifices through which the jets of high-pressure steam are to be discharged in
order to produce motive power by their force of reaction, according to my said
improvements no precise rule can be laid down, because the same will vary
according to circumstances, such as the pressure of the steam and the resistance
that is to be overcome by the motive power produced, and the velocity
with which the resistance is to be overcome. As an approximation it may be
taken that a trumpet-mouthed orifice of two inches diameter at its smallest
opening, emitting into the open air a jet of steam, whereof the elastic force
in the boiler is thirty pounds per square inch above the atmospheric pressure,
such a jet kept in continual action would be sufficient to propel a steam
vessel of the largest class, when applied in the manner of Figure 4; that is to
say, such a vessel as would, if fitted with marine steam engines of the ordinary
construction, require the boilers of those engines to evaporate at the rate
of five pounds of water per second into steam. For starting the vessel into
motion, or for overcoming a head wind or a contrary current, an additional jet
or jets of the same size would be required to be emitted for a short time until
the vessel has acquired the intended velocity, and then to be stopped, leaving
one jet as aforesaid in operation to keep up her motion. And in case of the
jet of steam being emitted into a vacuous or exhausted space, as already
described in reference to Figures 11 and 12, and the elastic force of the steam in
the boiler being fifteen pounds per square inch above the atmospheric pressure,
then the diameter of the said orifice should be two inches and three quarters to
produce the same effect as the first-mentioned orifice of two inches diameter.
But in all cases the trumpet-mouthed orifice should be formed in a piece
which can be readily removed and replaced by any other orifice of a different
diameter, until the most proper size is ascertained by experience. And in case
of a locomotive engine, such as Figure 1, the steam in the boiler being fifty
pounds per square inch above the atmospheric pressure, a trumpet-mouthed
orifice of four fifths of an inch in diameter at the smallest part, constantly
emitting a jet of such steam into the open air, would be suitable as a substitute
for the ordinary kind of pistons and cylinders of twelve inches diameter and
eighteen inches length of stroke; but in order to start the engine with its
tender and train of carriages into motion, an additional jet of one inch and a
B

page_text: half in diameter would require to be-emitted-for a very short time until the
requisite motion is acquired, and then that additional jet being stopped, the
first-mentioned jet being continued would keep up the motion.
Having now described my said improvements, I, the said John Alexander
Elzear Degrand, do hereby declare that I claim as new Invention,-
First, the mode herein-before described of producing motive power by
means of a direct application of jets of high-pressure steam emitted into the
open air for the purpose of locomotion either on railways, as herein-before
described in reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3, or on water, as herein-before
described in reference to Figures 4, 5, and 6, or for turning machinery with
circular motion, as herein-before described in reference to Figure 14, by
means of a direct application of jets of steam emitted into a vacuous or empty
space within a close vessel which is kept exhausted by communication with a
condensing apparatus, as herein-before explained in reference to Figures 11
and 12, or of jets of heated or expanded air emitted into the open air, as
herein-before described in reference to Figure 13, also aiding the reactive effect
of the emission of such jets into the open air by the eflux of smoke, heated air,
and gas from the chimney of the furnace which is employed in the apparatus
as herein-before explained in reference to Figures 4 and 12.
Secondly, the mode herein-before described, in reference to Figures 7 and 8,
of producing motive power by the action of steam or of heated air forcing up
mercury or fluid metal into the hollow circular or spiral rims of wheels, which
thereby become unequally loaded, and are caused to revolve with a circular
force, which may be applied to useful purposes. And note I make no claim
to any such wheels as have valves in the hollows where the mercury or
fluid metal is to pass, my wheels operating without valves. And note-
I make no claim to the condensing apparatus herein-before described in
reference to Figures 9 and 10, the same being so described only to shew how
the power of my rotary engine, Figures 7 and 8, may be augmented by aid of
a condenser, which condenser may be of any kind used in steam engines.
Thirdly, the mode herein-before described, in reference to Figures 12 and 13,
of condensing steam by cooling effect of artificial currents of atmospheric air,
for the purpose of augmenting the production of motive power by such conden-
sation, and also the application of the said air in jets into the open air after it
has acquired heat from the steam which it has condensed, for the purpose of
aiding, by such jets, in propelling the apparatus when the same is applied to
produce locomotion.
Fourthly, the mode herein-before described, in reference to Figure 14, of

page_text: producing motive power by heated air, smoke, and gases resulting from the
combustion of the fuel employed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Alexander Elzear Degrand, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
E. (L.s.) DEGRAND.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of June, in the
second year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said John Alexander
Elzear Degrand, came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained 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.
Inrolled the Eleventh day of June, One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-nine.