A LocoMOTIVE OR STEAM CARRIAGE FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF MAILS, PASSENGERS, AND GooDs
Year: 1825

page_text: BURSTALL AND HILL'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, TIMOTHY
BURSTALL, of Bankside, in the Parish of Saint Saviour's, Southwark, but now
of Leith, and JOHN HILL, of Greenwich, in the County of Kent, Engineer, but
now of Bath, in the County of Somerset, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Third day of February, in the sixth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Timothy Burstall and John Hill, His especial licence that we, the said
Timothy Burstall and John Hill, our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Timothy Burstall and John Hill, our 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, our Invention of "A LocoMOTIVE OR STEAM CARRIAGE
FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF MAILS, PASSENGERS, AND GooDs;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging us, the said Timothy Burstall and
John Hill, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, said John
Hill, do hereby declare the following is a description of the nature of our

page_text: said Invention, and of the manner in which the same is to be performed,
(videlicet) :-
Our Invention of a locomotive or steam carriage consists in the combination
and employment of principles and mechanism, parts of which are new in their
application to this purpose, and other parts of which are well known and in
common use. We therefore declare that the leading features of our Invention
are ombraced under the following heads :-
1st, in the arrangement of machinery and certain pieces of mechanism
adapted to effect the necessary evolutions of a locomotive carriage.
2ndly, in the novel construction of a boiler or generator for the production
of steam, and in the peculiar kind of pipe or curved passage for conducting
that steam to the engine; and,
3rdly, the mode of supplying, by means of pneumatic pressure, the boiler
with water; all which are fully exhibited and explained in the accompanying
Drawings and following explanation thereof.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of our locomotive or steam carriage.
Fig. 2, a front view of the carriage and steering machinery. Fig. 3, a trans-
verse section, exhibiting the position in which the two steam engines, cylinders,
and cranks stands. Fig. 4, an end elevation or back view of the carriage.
Fig. 6, a horizontal plan of the lower part or platform, having the principle
parts of the engine and propelling machinery connected with it. Fig. 7
represents a general longitudinal section of the engine, machinery, and
carriage bed, taken at about the line marked Z*, Z*, in Fig. 6. Figs. 7, 9,
and 10 represent a horizontal section, vertical section, and longitudinal
section of the flue of the boiler, the covering being removed. The other
Figures represent detached portions of the machinery, which will be hero-
after explained. The same letters and number of reference are used to
indicate the same parts throughout the whole of the machinery represented in
the various Figures in the Drawing.
A represents the boiler, situated at the hindermost part of the carriage.
This boiler is formed of cast iron or other suitable metal or material, and
consists of an internal furnace and flue, as shewn in the sections Figs.
7, 9, 10, on the outside of which furnace the steam is generated. Fig. 8
represents the top or upper surface of the flue, cast or otherways formed,
with small projecting ledges rising from it; Fig. 9, a transverse section,
taken at the line,, in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 a horizontal section, through
the flue and fire-place. The said upper surface is divided into a number
of shallow trays or compartments by the ledges as before described, which
are adapted to receive the water from a feed pipo a. This pipe lays over

page_text: the flue in the form shewn in Fig. 8, having apertures to allow of the
water to flow into each of the compartments all over the top of the flue; the
said flue is enclosed within a boiler of wrought iron or copper plate, leaving
only the lower part of the fire-place exposed, and when the fire is regularly
supplied with air through the grating bars b, it will carry the flame and heated
air round through the flue in the direction shewn by the curved arrow in
Fig. 10, and will finally escape up the chimney or vent B, situated in the
centre of the boiler, which flue or boiler we propose to heat from 250 to 600
degrees of Fahrenheit. Now, as we only permit a small quantity of water to
escape from the outlets in the feed pipe a, and to diffuse itself over the shallow
trays formed upon the upper surface of the main flue, the said water will
imbibe the heat very rapidly from the metal and be converted into steam, which
will entirely fill the boiler, and take up heat from the surface of. the fluo at
every part thereof; and in order that the whole of the heat may be absorbed,
we make holes in the sides of the trays, through which, when the top is cool'd
down to about boiling heat, the water will run down the sides and bottom and
absorb the heat from the under surface of the flue. The boiler A is suspended
by wrought-iron bolts and springs, as seen at ƒ in Fig. 1, from a metal plate or
hind carriage bed C, D, which has the two steam engine cylinders E and F
mounted upon its upper surface, whilst the bearings for the crank shaft G or
hind axletree to lie in are cast projecting from its lower surface. The steam
from the boiler A is to be conveyed to the steam cylinders through the crooked
pipe, marked H, in Fig. 1, 7, & 11, which may have one or more convolu-
tions given to it in order to admit of the elastic or jolting motion of the
carriage without breaking any of the steam joints. A horizontal view or plan of
the steam pipe and the two steam cylinders is represented detached in Fig. 11,
w represents a throttle valve for regulating the supply of steam to be admitted.
to the steam boxes, where by means of a valve or valves it will rush alter..
nately above and below the pistons in each cylinder, and from thence by an
eduction pipe to the chimney. These valves are intended to receive their motion
from excentric wheels or tappets q, situated upon the shaft V, by small side,
rods and cross heads n & p. I & K represent the two working beams.of the
engines, one of which is shewn in the plan, Fig. 6; they vibrate upon axes or
gudgeons at one of their extremities, situated in bearings formed at the upper
ends of perpendicular standards i, k, whilst the opposite extremities are
jointed to the piston rods of the steam engines, and are caused to move in.
right lines therewith by means of radius rods l, m, moving upon pivots in the
upper parts of the standards L, which project up from the top flanges of the
cylinders, as seen clearly in Figs. 3 & 7. M and N represent the connecting

page_text: 1
rods, which are jointed to the working beams I and K at their uppermost
extremities, and to the two cranks upon the shaft G at their lower extremities,
the said two cranks being situated at an angle of 90° to each other, in order
that the two steam cylinders may be caused to act in concert, and pro-
duce a continuous rotary motion of the crank shaft G, without the necessity
for a fly wheel being employed. 0 represents the magazine or reservoir for
supplying the boiler with water during given stage; it is formed of strong
metal, and is suspended by straps or rods, as shewn by the dotted lines, or by
any other convenient mode, being made air-tight and of sufficient strength to
resist a pressure equal to what the boiler has to resist. The reservoir O is
filled with water through the hole o, Fig. 6, at such intervals as may be found
convenient upon the road, and it has a piper proceeding from a sphere in its
uppermost part, communicating with a pair of small condensing air pumps 8,
which said pumps are worked by rods descending from the engine beams
I and K; by this means a supply of atmospheric air is by the working of the
engines continually forced into the reservoir O, and by pressing upon the surfaco
of the water contained therein the said water will be made to raise in the pipe a,
from the lower part of the reservoir through the cock v, and then distribute
itself through the apertures before mentioned over the surface of the boiler,
the cock v being adapted to regulate the quantity of water that shall be suf-
fered to enter the boiler through the feed pipe a. The air pumps & are made
of such diameters as to insure, by the means above stated, a plentiful supply
of water at all times to the boiler, and as the engines will occasionally require
great variations in the quantity of steam they will consume, the reservoirs is
provided with a spring safety valve, situated on the sphere at x, of the best
construction, which will permit the superfluous air to escape from the upper-
most part of the reservoir through the sphere under the required pressure.
The front carriage is united to the hind one in the following manner:
t, t, represent two bearings which are screwed or otherwise securely fixed upon
the fore end of the hind carriage; these bearings are adapted to receive and
embrace two cylindrical collars, which are formed at the hind end of the
perch P, so that when in its place the hind and fore carriages may be steadily
united together and yet remain at liberty to turn or twist relatively to each
other according to the inequalities in the plane of the road. The forward
extremity of the perch P is formed to an open fork, and is securely bolted to
the surface of a curved metal plate Q, see Fig. 18, which is provided with a
center or perch bolt at w* to unite it with the fore carriage frame R, R, see
Fig. 19. This latter frame is provided with bearings on its under surface to
carry the fore axletree S and projections for the breko axis, see Fig. 2; the

page_text: conductor being seated at 50, Fig. 1 and 7, is always within immediate reach
of a small horizontal wheel, which is provided with handles, in the manner of
a steering wheel. This wheel is marked 1 in Figs. 1, 2, 5, & 7, and is for
the purpose of steering or directing the motion of the carriage over the road
by being fixed upon the uppermost extremity of a vertical axis 2; the axis 2
has a bevelled pinion 8 fixed upon it, which communicates motion to a bevelled
wheel 4 upon the end of an horizontal shaft 5. The shaft 5 turns in bearings
affixed to the frame R, R, of the front carriage, as seen clearly in Figs. 7
& 17, and is furnished with a small pinion 6, adapted to engage with the
cogs of a toothed segment, which is formed upon the under side of the curved
part of the metal frame (as shewn more particularly at Fig. 18), which is
attached to the fore end of the perch) the said toothed segment being formed
or described round the perch bolt w* as a centre of motion; and in order still
further to assist and support the turning motion of the front carriage, we
provide grooved friction wheels 7, in Figs. 2, 5, 7, and 19, on which the
plate Qmoves freely. That the conductor may at all times know the relative
position in which the fore axle stand to the body of the coach, whether for
going straight forward or describing a curve, he is provided with an index
plate 8, on the top of the spindle frame, on which he may read the exact
degree or number of degrees he must turn the handle to describe any track.
The index plate is moved by means of two wheels and two pinions, seen at
Figs. 21 & 22. The pinion 9 is fastened on the vertical spindle and turns
the wheel 10 and pinion 11, which are loose on a pivot fixed in the plate 12.
The pinion. 11 gives motion to the wheel 18, on which wheel is fixed
the index plate, Fig. 20, and turns with it, they being loose on the spindle;
then, by means of the pointer 14, which is fixed to the lower plate 12, the
obliquity of the fore axle is indicated on the plate. By the aid of the above
train of wheelwork and indicator the conductor has a complete command of
the direction of the carriage along the road. To enable the outer carriage
wheels to turn faster than the inner ones in describing a curve, we have
provided each of the four wheels with a face clutch sliding on a feather, shewn
by Figs. 12, 18, 14, and 15. In the Drawing, Fig. 12, it will be seen that
the nave of the wheel is cast with a recess, and covered with an outside plate
to receive the sliding clutch, each side of which is provided with inclined
catches, see Figs. 18 and 14; there is also one inclined catch on the nave, see
Fig. 15, and one on the covering plate, by which means the.carriage is driven
either forward or backward by sliding the clutch either inwards or outwards.
This clutch is connected by two rods let flush into the axle to a grooved hoop,
around which is placed a lever jointed to a spring rod, and connected at the.

page_text: end to another lever, by which arrangement either of the wheels may move
faster than its opposite one and be kept to its advanced position by the clutch
and spring. To cause the carriage to retrograde, the conductor have only to
reverso the action of the lever / by rods placed for that purpose. Fig. 28
shews another method of allowing the wheel to turn faster than the axle,
which is by the use of a friction cone. No. 20 is an external cone fastened to
the shaft; 21, the nave of the wheel; and 22, an internal cone, which is
screwed to the nave, producing any required friction. To destroy the
impetus of the carriage after the steam is shut off, as also to act as a drag in
going down hill, we have provided two gripes or friction hoops upon the naves
of the four wheels, seen in Figs. 6, 7, and 17; these hoops are jointed at
each end to the opposite ends of a short lever 23, which projects from each
side of an axis extending across the fore carriage, so as to be capable of acting
upon both brakes or gripes at the same time. The said axis is furnished near
the middle of its length with a long lever or arm 24, on the outer end of
which there is an oval plate 25 for the conductor to put his right foot upon and
bring on the action of the brakes at pleasure. To ensure strength and safety
in the hind axles of carriages intended for the conveyance of heavy goods we
have provided two methods, the first of which is shewn in Figs. 24, 25, 26,
and 27, and consists of two half axles connected together by a quadrant strap,
see Fig. 27, for keeping them at an angle of 90°, as before described for
Fig. 7. This mode of forming the axle we find it desirable to adopt under
some circumstances as a matter of convenience, one crank being placed outside
each wheel and the others between the center bearings, see 26, which are
worked by side rods and cross heads, clearly shewn. Figs. 24 and 25 shew
the position of the cylinders. Figs. 28, 29, & 30 represent the other method
with a straight whole shaft, marked 50, the cylinders being placed on a plate
in the position shown in Figs. 29 and 80, with beams over them, and connecting
rods descending from them to the two cranks, which are formed on a longi-
tudinal shaft 51 at an angle of 90°, which shaft gives motion to the main
shaft by a pair of bevil wheels 52. The valves, force pump, &c. may be worked
by a variety of ways so well known that a description would be superfluous,
the carriage wheels in both these methods to be provided with clutches, as
before described.
Throughout the foregoing description the carriage is supposed to be pro-
pelled by the friction of the hind wheels only against the road, which we
conceive will be sufficient on roads in general; but as an increase of
friction may be necessary to ascend steep hills, we have provided a com-
munication of motion from the hind axle to the fore one, for the purpose of

page_text: propelling the fore wheels, with two methods of constructing the fore carriage.
On the hind axle G, Figs. 6 and 7, there is fixed a mitre wheel T, working
into a similar wheel U, having in the longitudinal shaft V, which shaft
is provided with a universal joint at W immediately beneath the centre of
motion or perch bolt w*, in order that the fore carriage may be put upon the
lock, as it is termed, in describing a curve. From W proceeds a short shaft,
having on its foremost end a bevil wheel X, working into a bevil pinion Y on
the fore axle. The wheel and pinion bear the same proportionate diameters to
each other that the hind and fore wheels of the carriage do, in order that the
circumference of all the carriage wheels may be driven over the ground by the
engines with one and the same velocity. The pinion Y is fitted upon a round
part of the axle S, and is always in gear with the wheel X, but may be caused
to turn with the axle S or not, as may be desired, by the conductor, by sliding
the clutch marked Z in Fig. 2, 5, and 6, for which he is provided with a foot
plate for his left foot for engaging or disengaging that pinion. Figs. 5, 16, and
17 represent a fore carriage without a hooks universal joint V; Fig. 16 and 17
shews the longitudinal shaft from the hind axle turning in a bearing from the
top plate Q, and having a pinion W on it to work into .or.turn the wheel X.
The wheel X is hung upon the lower end of the perch bolt as à center or
pivot, and by being turned by W it turns the pinion Y .which is on the
axle S. The bearing from the plate Q is allowed. to move freely in a groove
in the lower plate R to any necessary extent; the plate R is provided with
a friction roller or rollers, both at k and l, to give it an easy motion; the
directing of the carriage, engaging and disengaging the pinion, and braking
or retarding the wheels to be effected as before described. The conductor is
provided with a slight metal rod 80, proceeding from the throttle cock w, in
order that he may stop the engine in an instant if required; he is also provided
with a slender rod 81, which communicates with the handle of the cock v in
the boiler feed pipe, by which means he may regulate the supply of water to
the boiler at pleasure; at the same time the fuel may be supplied in an
uniform manner to the furnace by a feeding apparatus, such as is at present
known and in use in steam engines, by which means the steam would be kept
without any great attention, a certain reservoir full of coals being taken up
at the regular places of stopping upon the road, from which reservoir the
furnace-feeding machinery would take its supply of fuel.
up
We should recommend in carriage or locomotive engines that an air or
blast cylinder be worked by the engine for the purpose of urging the fire, since
it would produce a less quantity of dense smoke if applied in a proper manner
than is usually produced by a common draft by means of a chimney. The

page_text: general form of the body of the coach or carriage, as represented in Fig. 1
upon the Drawing, would admit of being varied, according to the nature of
the service for which the same was intended, whether for the conveyance of
passengers or heavy goods on common or railroads, without deranging or
interfering with the general principle of the machinery as wo have above
described it.
Having described the several parts of our locomotive or steam carriage, and
the manner in which those parts operate, it only remains for us to particularize
such points as are new in their applications to steam carriages, and are
accordingly claimed by us as our Invention under the present Patent.
First, in the particular construction of the furnace and its flues, and the
chambers in which the steam is generated; also in the form of the pipe or
tubo by which the steam is allowed to pass to the engine.
Secondly, in the adaptation of the pneumatic apparatus by which the water
is forced from the reservoir into the boiler.
And lastly, in the general disposition and arrangement of all the parts, which
contrivances are new, as applied to locomotive or steam carriages, to the best of
our knowledge and belief; observing, nevertheless, that the form and propor-
tion of various parts of the machinery may be varied according to circumstances
without departing from the intent and object of our Invention as we have
herein stated and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hill, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Second day of August, in the year of our Lord One thou-
and eight hundred and twenty fun