CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMO- TIVE STEAM ENGINES AND CARRIAGES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO ORDINARY STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY VAN
WART, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by
His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of September, in the seventh year of
His reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-
six, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Van Wart, and Samuel Aspinall Goddard, of Birmingham aforesaid,
Merchant, our executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as we, the
said Henry Van Wart and Samuel Aspinall Goddard, our executors, admors,
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 Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMO-
TIVE STEAM ENGINES AND CARRIAGES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE
TO ORDINARY STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER PURPOSES," being a communication from
a foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso obliging us, the said Henry Van Wart and Samuel Aspinall Goddard,
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 the said
Invention, and the manner in which 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, 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 Henry
Van Wart, on behalf of myself and of the said Samuel Aspinall Goddard, do
hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, are particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
These improvements in locomotive steam engines and carriages, parts of
which improvements are applicable to ordinary steam engines and other pur-
poses, consist in certain additions to and improvements in the steam engine and
propelling machinery, for which Patents were granted in this country to William
Church, Gentleman, dated respectively the Twenty-ninth November, One thou-
sand eight hundred and thirty; the Ninth February, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-two; the Seventh September, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-three; and the Sixteenth March, One thousand eight hundred and
thirty-five; being subsequent Inventions of the said William Church, Gentleman,
(a foreigner,) communicated to us from abroad.
The subjects of the present improvements apply, first, to locomotive steam
engines and carriages; secondly, to ordinary marine steam engines; and, thirdly,
to both locomotive and stationary engines to be employed on land or water.
Under the first head, viz, locomotive steam engines and carriages, the
improvements are in the arrangement of the parts of the carriage, for the pur-
pose of enclosing the engines and affording convenient space for the stowage of
water and fuel, the construction of the boiler and furnace, and the construction
of the running wheels.
Under the second head, viz, marine steam engines, the improvements apply
to the arrangement of the framework of the engine in connection with the
framing of the vessel, in the arrangement of the parts of the engine itself, and
in the arrangement and construction of boilers for such engines.
And under the third head, which applies to locomotive marine and stationary
engines, the improvements are in the construction and mode of working the
slide valves, the water and steam guage, the mode of lubricating the axles and
other rubbing parts, and the distillation of water for the supply of steam boilers
and other purposes, and the generation of steam by the process of condensation
for the working of secondary engines.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of the
locomotive steam carriage; Figs. 2 and 3, end views of the same; Fig. 4, a
horizontal section of the carriage, shewing the boiler and engines within;
Fig. 5 is a longitudinal elevation in section, taken through the middle of the

page_text: boiler and furnace; Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation, taken through the carriage
transversely, in front of the boiler and furnace and Fig. 7 is also a sectional eleva-
tion, taken transversely through the carriage, in the situation of the axis of the
hinder running wheels, looking from the hinder part of the engine. The frame-
work and casing
a, a, is of iron, constructed of plates, the edges of which are
inserted into round bars; b, b, is the water tank; c, c, the boiler, enclosing
the furnace d. The coking chamber e is surrounded by water, and the flues of
the furnace terminate in tubes f, f, which lead to the chimney; g, g, are the fuel
chambers; h, h, the cylinders, receiving their steam by the induction pipes i, i,
and passing it off by the eduction passages k, k; l, l, is the working gear,
connecting rods, and other parts of the engine, several of which are more par-
ticularly described hereafter; and m the place for the engineer or stoker. The
construction of the boiler is represented in sectional elevation, taken longitu-
dinally at Fig. 8; in horizontal section, through the furnace and turbular flues,
at Fig. 9; and in front elevation at Fig. 10; the letters of reference pointing
out the same parts in these Figures as in the preceding. The steam chambers n,n,
have each a safety valve as usual. A grating o, in front of the coking
chamber e, allows air to pass in to assist the combustion. The ashpit p is open
to the atmosphere at the front end, and in the lower part of it a second series
of fire-bars q (see Fig. 5) are placed much closer to each other than the
ordinary ones; upon this second series the cinders and unconsumed fuel are
received as they fall from above, and their further combustion is caused
by air passing between the lower bars into the box or chamber r at the end of
the ashpit; the air thus becoming heated, the top of the box r is furnished with
a sliding door attached to a handle extending to the front of the furnace; above
this chamber r there is a hollow doors, which shuts close and separates the ash-
pit from the flue. When this door is shut, as represented, the hollow space
within it forms a passage of communication from the box or chamber r to an
aperture through the bridge of the furnace at t. By these means heated air is
conducted from the ashpit into the hinder part of the furnace, where it assists
the combustion of the fuel, and greatly promotes the consumption of the
smoke; the door of the box r being kept closed until a sufficient quantity
of ignited cinders or unconsumed fuel has fallen from the furnace, when the
door may be opened and the hot air admitted to the bridge; or the same effect
be produced by a series of pipes open at one end to the atmosphere, and
the other to the box r, the air in its passage through the tubes becoming heated
by the cinders and unconsumed fuel which has fallen through between the fire
bars; or fire bars and tubes may be placed alternately side by side. The run-
ning wheels of the locomotive engine, which are also applicable to other carriages,
may

page_text: are constructed partly upon the plan of Mr. Benjamin Hicks' patent disc wheels,
but improved in the facility of construction as well as in strength and lightness.
The wheels are formed intirely of iron, and they have slender spokes, made of
thin bars of iron, fixed at their inner ends into the box or nave, by having the ends
of the metal upset in the shape of a dovetail, which are made fast in the nave by
caulking, and at their outer ends the spokes butt against the ring of iron which
forms the felloe. Fig. 11 represents one of these wheels complete; Fig. 12 the
same, having its outer disc removed; Fig. 18 is an edge view of the wheel. ;
Fig. 14, a diametrical section; and Fig. 15 represents one of the spokes
detached. The spokes a, a, a, are boxed in on each side by a circular plate or
disc of sheet iron b, b, which circular plates are confined in their situations partly
by a series of tenons formed on the edge of the spokes c, c, c, these tenons being
passed through corresponding mortices in the disc, and afterwards rivetted on to
the outsides; and further, the discs are each attached to the nave of the wheel
by having its inner edge upset in the form of a dovetail, and, being heated, they
are then sunk into slight grooves against dovetailed shoulders formed around
the nave, and secured by rivetting over. The outer edges of the discs are also
upset in the form of a dovetail, and inserted into grooves in the ring or felloe
by heating the ring and allowing it to shrink on to the edges of the discs, after
which the ring is caulked or rivetted upon the dovetailed edges, so as to secure
the discs firmly thereto.
The second part of these improvements, applying to marine steam engines,
consist in the peculiar arrangement of the framework of the engine in connec-
tion with the framing of the vessel, in the arrangement of the working parts
of the engine its self, and also in improved arrangement and construction of
boilers for such engines.
The first of these improvements are designed not only to economize space, so
that the engine with its appendages shall occupy little room, but also that great
strength and stability of construction may be attained, whereby the strain of
the vessel will be more equally distributed through the whole of her structure,
and not act partially as in the common construction of vessels, where the hull is
framed indepently of the engine, and without a proper connexion or union
with the framing of the engine. The hulls of steam packets are commonly
built at one place, and the boilers and framework of the engine at another, the
only connection between the two being by such stays and ties as are necessary
to keep the engine and her boilers in their required situations; whereas these
improvements particularly apply to the incorporation or identity of the framing
of the engine and boilers with that of the hull of the vessel itself, so that they
have as it were the same foundation, and are constructed and connected together

page_text: as one fabric. The several Figures, 16 to 23* inclusive, of the accompanying
Drawings, will explain these improvements. Fig. 16 is a longitudinal section
taken vertically through a steam packet, principally intended to carry passengers.
Fig. 17 is a plan or horizontal view of the upper deck. Fig. 18 is a longitudinal sec-
tion, taken horizontally at her main deck, shewing the arrangement of the cabins
and other parts. Fig. 19 is another similar section, taken at the line of her lower
deck. Fig. 20 is a transverse section, taken vertically abaft the engine room.
Fig. 21 is another transverse section, drawn on an enlarged scale, shewing the cross
framing of the engines. Fig. 22 is a partial longitudinal section of the same, taken
in the line of her keel, or in the center passage way which extends along the vessel
from head to stern, and shewing a pair of boilers and one engine. Fig. 23 is a plan
or horizontal view of the pair of engines and their boilers. Fig. 22" is a represen-
tation of the working cylinders and air pumps detached; the same letters of
reference being marked upon corresponding parts in all these Figures. A, A,
is the main framework of the engine, connected at the bottom part by bolts
to strong timbers lying parallel to the keelson, and at its sides to the main
partitions B, B, extending the whole length of the vessel, which are also bolted
at their bottom parts to strong parallel timbers, and at the top to the beams of
the main deck. These main partitions B, B, are composed of plates of a, a, iron con-
nected to iron rods or framework b, b, as pannelling (see Fig. 16), and from the
passage way or space D, D, (Fig. 19) which is intended to be used as a chamber
for the stowage of coals through the whole length, or such part thereof as may be
desirable. It will be seen that these main partitions B, B, extend the whole
length of the vessel, and are so connected to the framing of the engines and
boilers that they form one central framing, or, as it may be called, back bone of
the ship. The spaces on each side of the passage are to be used for stowage
as usual. E, E, are the boilers (more particularly described hereafter) sur-
rounding, with any nonconducting material placed between them and their
outer casing or framing; F, F, the steam pipes; G, G, the slide valve cases;
H, H, are the cylinders; I, I, the piston rods; K, K, the cross heads attached
thereto, having arms J, J, and descending on each side of the cylinders into the
case or parallel motion at L, L; the lower ends of the arms J are attached by
joints to the fork arms M, M, of the connecting rods N, N; 0, 0, are the cranks;
P, P, the paddle shafts, turning in proper bearings in the framing of the engine;
Q, Q, the paddles; R, R, the air pump, receiving the exist steam from the con-
densers S, S; and T, T, are the refrigerators for cooling the water produced by
condensation, and rendering it of a proper temperature to be again employed as
the condensing or jet water, as described in the Specification of the Patent of
said William Church, dated Sixteenth March, One thousand eight hundred and

page_text: thirty-five, as above alluded to.
The air pumps are worked by the forked
levers U, U, connected at the forked ends to the cross heads K, K, of the piston
rods by the links and pins at c, c. This lever has its fulcrum in the crutch or
rocking lever d, turning in bearings at e, e. The other ends of the levers U, U,
are connected to the piston rods of the air pumps, and have a parallel motion
by means of the rocking lever d, and the links or bridle picces f, f, jointed at
one end to the air-pump beam, and at the other to stationary pins. The hot-
water pumps for supplying the boilers are worked from the air-pump beams,
and are situated at W, W. The refrigerating water required for the conden-
sers may be obtained from the paddle by placing a trough or other suitable
recepticle within the paddle boxes, at a proper height to receive the water
thrown up by their rotation. The water so obtained at an elevation above the
water line may be conducted by pipes to the refrigerators situated below, and the
water from the condensors may be conducted therefrom, and discharged at the
side of the vessel as in common. In case there should not be sufficient water
obtained by this means, a lift pump may be used, or the air pump may be con-
structed in connection with a cold water force pump, as shewn in Fig. 24.
the barrel of the air pump; b, its piston; c, the induction passage; d, the exit.
The cold-water pump is formed by the hollow piston e, and the hollow part of
the piston rod of the air pump f. f. The cold water enters by the passage g, g,
and rising in the hollow parts is forced by the down stroke of the piston through
the
passage h, proper valves being placed in these passages.
a is
The several Figures, 25, 26, and 27, will serve to explain the construction
and arrangement of the boiler, with its furnace flues and fuel chambers, as
adapted for marine purposes. Fig. 25 is a transverse vertical section; Fig. 26,
a longitudinal section; and Fig. 27 is a horizontal section. a, a, are the
various water ways or water chambers of the boiler; b, the furnace; c, the
ash-pit; d, the flues, terminating in tubes e, and passing off by the channel f to
the chimney; g, g, are doors, which can be opened for the purpose of cleaning
out and repairing the tubular flues; i, i, are the fuel chamber, which are filled as
required, and from whence it is raked down into the passage k, where it becomes
coked, the air being supplied for this purpose through the small gratings at l; mis
the door for stoking the [fire; and, if thought desirable, the same contrivance for
supplying heated air to the interior of the furnace at the end of the first flue or
bridge may beused as is described in the former part of this Specification as applied
to locomotive engines. The peculiar construction of slide valve, and the apparatus
for working it, are shewn at Fig.28, which represents an elevation partly in section
of a portion of the carriage with the working cylinder, the slide valve, the piston, the
force pump, the running wheels, the crank, connecting rods, the parallel motion, the

page_text: slide valve motion, and the reversing and hand gear. Fig. 29 is a horizontal
view of the same. The cylinder is shewn at a; b is the piston; c, its rod, to
which is attached the arm d, connected to the plunger e, working in the barrel
of the force pump. The steam way or induction pipe f communicates with the
passages g and h in the steam box, and leading into the cylinder, the one at one
side of the piston, and the other at the opposite; i and jare the eduction ways
respectively communicating with the passages g and h. A sliding plate k, k,
intercepts the communication between the ways f, i, and j, and the passages g
and h. This plate operates as the slide valve, having three apertures through
it, 1, 2, and 3. In the position of the slide valve shewn in the Drawing the way
from is open by the aperture 2 for the admission of steam through the
passage g into the cylinder, at which time the aperture 3 allows the steam from
the opposite end of the cylinder to escape through the passage h by the educ-
tion way j.
But when the slide valve has moved forward, the aperture 2 will
close the steam communication from the way f, through the passage 9, and
open the way from through the passage h to the other end of the cylinder, the
sliding valve having closed the eduction way j, and opened the way i, through
the aperture 1, to the passage g, for the discharge of the steam from that end of
the cylinder. To the end of the piston rod c a connecting rod l, l, is attached
by a joint having a guide roller, the reverse end of which connecting rod is
attached to a crank or crank pin m, fixed in the face of the running wheel.
In the side of this connecting rod there is a stud or pin, shewn in section at n
(the rod being broken away in the Drawing in order to represent the mechanism
behind more distinctly). The apparatus which I denominate a pair of semi-
elliptical tumblers p and q vibrate upon fixed studs r, r, and have grooves formed
in them for the reception and traversing of the stud n, extending from the side
of the connecting rod l as above described. These tumblers are connected by
toothed segments, so that when one turns upon its axle the other moves through
a corresponding are in the opposite direction. Now, as the piston 6 traverses
to and fro in the working cylinder a, the rods c and I will traverse also, and as
the crank pin m revolves with the running wheel the stud n will be made to
travel through an elliptical curve represented by the red dotted line. If it be
supposed that the piston 6 is moving in a direction toward the right-hand end
of the cylinder, the stud will be necessarily carried along the upper portion of
the groove of the tumblers p and q, and when the piston has nearly reached the
end of its stroke the stud n will have arrived in the situation shewn in the
Figure, and be about to descend into the lower part of its elliptical curve, in
doing which the stud will press upon the beak near the end of the groove, and
force the tumbler q into the position shewn by dots, and as it passes through

page_text: the extremity of the elliptical curve it will descend into the lower groove, the
other tumbler p being at the same time made to assume a corresponding
position, and to bring the lower grooves of both into coincidence. The stud n
will now, by the returning stroke of the piston and rods, pass along the lower
part of the elliptical curve, moving in the lower groove of the tumblers until it
arrives at the beak in the tumbler p, which it will raise in like manner into
the position shewn in the Figure, and, after passing that extremity of its elliptical
curve, will move along the upper groove of the tumblers P and 9, as before
described. From the upper part of the tumbler q a lug s projects, to which a
rod t is attached by a joint, and this rod t is in like manner connected to the
lower end of a sweep lever u, which by means of a pin o extending from a boss
at its back turns in a socket fixed to the framework. This sweep lever u is
formed by two parallel plates joined together by pins, with distance pieces at
top and bottom, and to it one end of the rod v is connected, the reverse end of
that rod being attached to the slide valve k. The mode of connecting the slide
valve rod v with the sweep lever u is by means of a pin w flattened at its ends for
the
purpose of enabling it to slide in the slots of the sweep lever. It will hence
be perceived that as the tumbler q rises and falls by the action of the stud n, as
described, the rod v, with the slide valve k, will be moved to and fro, and conse-
quently the steam ways and eduction ways are opened and shut, as above explained,
for the purpose of working the piston. In order to reverse the motion a bell
crank lever x is connected to the valve rod v by a stud introduced into a long
slot near the end of that rod, the fulcrum of the lever a being a pin fixed in the
framework. The other arm of this lever x is connected by a rod to another
lever y extending from a transverse shaft on which the handle is attached.
When t is required to reverse the action of the piston the engineer, by drawing
the handle z into the position shewn by dotted lines, raises the end of the valve rod
vto the upper part of the sweep lever u, by which means the valve k is slidden
so as to change the positions of the apertures for the passage of the induction
and eduction steam that is opening the steam way from f through the aperture 2
to the passage h, and from the passage g through the aperture 1 to the eduction
way i. It only remains to be observed, that by drawing the handle z into a per-
pendicular position the steam passages will all be closed. Thus by moving the
handle to and fro the engines may be worked by hand, or what is technically
called handed. I would here remark, that proper means must be used to
tighten the steam box upon the slide valve as it may be requisite, which may
be done by turning the screws 4, 5, 6, 7, or by any other convenient means.
The improved construction of water guage is shewn at Fig. 30, and it applies
to that description of guages in which the height of the water in the boiler is

page_text: indicated or seen by means of a glass tube, and its principal object is to avoid
the liability of the said glass tube breaking by the variation of temperature, and
also to prevent its furring by the sediment of the water. The improvement con-
sists in a novel arrangement and construction of the parts of the guage, by means
of which the water contained in it will at all times remain cool, or at a com-
paratively cool temperature, and on any accidental fracture of the glass tube
the escape of both steam and water is immediately stopped. And further,
there is connection with this guage a thermometer with a graduated scale,
indicating not only degrees of temperature, but also the pressure of the steam in
the boiler. The water guage consists of a small separate chamber, of any con-
venient form, placed in a vertical position opposite the water line in the boiler,
and is of sufficient length to allow a float contained therein to rise and fall
between the proper range of water line. The bottom part of the chamber is
connected to the lower part of the boiler by means of pipes, and its upper part
in like manner to the top of the boiler. Fig. 30 is a vertical section taken
through the guage, and will be sufficient to explain the improvements therein.
a, a, is the cylindrical chamber, placed opposite the range of the water line in
the boiler, and is connected by proper stuffing boxes to the glass tube b, and
that is again connected in a similar manner to another tube c, which leads to
the chamber d connected with the bottom of the boiler. e is the float, which
in this instance is a hollow ball buoyant on the surface of the water in the
chamber a; it has a light rod f of wood or other proper material descending
from it into the glass tube, its lower end being the index to point out the height
of water in the boiler, which will be seen against the graduated scale, 9. divided
so as to correspond with inches of altitude of water in the boiler. The
chamber d is connected to the bottom of the boiler by a flange on the short
neck or pipe h, and between the flange on the boiler is placed a collar of non-
conducting material at i, which may be of wood, paper, or other suitable sub-
stance, to prevent the heat communicating from the metal of the boiler to the
pipe c. The chamber d is furnished with a cock at k, by opening which the
guage can be cleaned out from any deposit or sediment, the water being
forced through by the pressure of the steam from above. By this arrangement
it will be seen that the water in the guage is at all times comparatively cold,
for the heat will not descend from the boiler to the chamber d, nor will it
3 descend from the steam above the surface of the water in the chamber a, so as
to effect the glass tube, consequently the glass tube will not be subject to the
great and sudden variations of temperature as those of the ordinary construc-
tion, when steam and water are admitted together into the glass tube. In
case the glass tube should by any accident become cracked or broken, the

page_text: following means are provided for immediately stopping the escape of the stean
and water. On the under side of the float e a valve l is placed, which, on the
water in the chamber a being forced out by the pressure of the storm, will
with the ball e, descend and rest on the seat at m, and closing the aperture o
the pipe at the same time, the pressure of steam in the boiler will force up the
ball valve n into the recess at o, and thus close that aperture, and thereby
prevent the escape of water from the boiler. On shutting off the cock p in the
water pipe, and also the cock 7 in the steam pipe, the parts of the couplings
may be unscrewed, and a fresh glass tube immediately substituted, without
stopping the engine. And I would here remark, that instead of using the
hollow float and its rod to indicate the height of the water in the glass tube, oil or
any other suitable material that will float on. water may be employed, and the
line of separation between the two will indicate the height of the water against
the graduated scale. The thermometer is placed at r, its tube being passed
through proper stuffing boxes, leaving the ball in the chamber a, where it is
exposed to the steam, and the rise and fall of the mercury will indicate the tem-
perature of the steam on one side of its scale, and the pressure of the steam in
inches of mercury on the other, which scale is shewn in an enlarged represen-
tation at. Fig. 31. The improved mode of lubricating the axles and other
parts of steam engines is shewn at Figs. 32, 33, and 34; it consists in the
method of conveying the oil to the bearing part of the axles, crank pins, con-
nexions, or other parts of engines where it may be required, and is to be
applied only in such situation where chambers can be found within certain
parts of the machinery, as in hollow shafts, connecting rods, piston rods, crank
pins, &c. The improvement consists in using such hollow chambers as the
receptacles for the oil, and conveying the oil therefrom to the part desired by
means of small tubes, which may be supplied with cotton wick or other
capillary conducting substance as necessary. Fig. 32 is a section of a portion of
one end of a hollow shaft or axle shewing the contrivance applied thereto in its
simplest form. Fig. 33 is another similar section of the same axle after it has
made a half revolution. a is the hollow shaft or axle, turning in the bearings
b, b, to which bearings it is desired to convey the lubricating materials; c is a
small tube open at both ends, and inserted into the shaft, and protruding into
the hollow chamber d containing the oil, which is supplied through a cup or
aperture at e, furnished with a cock or screw plug. There is also a small vent
aperture at f to allow the escape of air when the chamber is filling. The
operation of the lubricating contrivance is as follows:-As the axle a revolves
the mouth of the tube c will be occasionally immersed in the oil, and a small
portion will thereby be taken up and conducted by the tube to the bearings,

page_text: thus supplying them with lubricating material. Fig. 34 is another section shew-
ing the application of the said contrivance as applied to a crank and connecting
rod, or to the crank pin of a running wheel. a is the connecting rod; 6 the
crank pin; c the coupling strap; d the oil chamber, formed in the hollow part
of the connecting rod; e is the pipe for conveying the oil from the chamber d
to the junction between the parts where the friction takes place. This tube is
to be supplied with a piece of cotton wick extending through its entire length;
one end of the cotton wick projecting therefrom is immersed in the oil in the
chamber, and the other end is brought in contact with the surface of the crank
pin b. By these means the capillary attraction will convey the lubricating
material to the part desired. The method of condensing steam and obtaining
distilled water for the use of the boilers of locomotive steam engines and other
steam generators is more particularly applicable to condensing the exit steam
of high-pressure engines, or steam at a high temperature. It consists partly
in further improvements on the methods of obtaining distilled water from and
by the use of eduction steam, described in the Specification of the Patent
granted to William Church aforesaid, dated Seventh September, One thousand
cight hundred and thirty-three, but more particularly in a novel method of
obtaining distilled water by using the caloric given out by the eduction steams
as it condenses, and causing the heat to be taken up by the refrigerating water,
which water becomes heated and converted into steam, thereby reusing that
portion of caloric for the purpose of again producing steam from the refrigera-
ting medium. The steam so generated is again passed off to another chamber
or apparatus to be condensed, and in like manner give out its caloric to the
next, or its refrigerating water, which is also to be converted into steam by the
portion of heat it takes up, and so on, the process of generating and condensing
going on until the caloric arrives at so low a temperature as to be no longer
capable of generating steam from the refrigerating water; it of course being
understood that whatever shape or form the condensing and steam generating
apparatus may be made of, every care must be taken to prevent the loss of heat
by radiation, in order that the steam generated by the subsequent processes may
be at as high a temperature as possible; and it will be understood that the
steam under condensation shall not be under pressure, but rather that a vacuum
should be formed at the lowest point of temperature, the refrigerating water
which is to be converted into steam being contained in a closed chamber under
the requisite pressure, in order to cause its steam to be raised to a sufficient tem-
perature. And in order the better to illustrate the object of this part of the Inven-
tion we have hereunto annexed a vertical sectional Diagram or Drawing, Fig. 35,
and a plan or horizontal section, Fig. 36, of an apparatus calculated to carry these

page_text: objects into effect, although we do not mean or intend to confine ourselves to
the precise form or dimensions therein shewn, as it is only intended to illus
trate the intent and purpose of this improvement, and is therefore divested as
much as possible of all minute details or particulars of construction and modifi-
cation. A, B, C, are three distinct apparatus, which are condensers, and at the
same time steam generators, the first of which A is supposed to receive eduction
steam by the pipe D from the exit passage of a high-pressure engine, or eduction
steam from any other source, of a sufficient temperature to give out a quantity
of caloric capable of generating steam from the water by which it is condensed.
The apparatus consists of a steam-tight chamber a, a, a, separated into three
compartments F, G, H, by steam-tight partitions at b, c, the whole being sur-
rounded by any non-conducting material d, d, d, situated between the apparatus
and its casing. The eduction steam enters the compartment F, and descends
through the series of refrigerating pipes or tubese, e, e, one end of which are passed
through the upper partition b, and are open to the chamber F, their lower ends
being passed in like manner through the partition c, and are open to the
chamber H, from which a passage f communicates with the pipe or channel I
leading to an air and water pump at K. The refrigerating water enters the
apparatus from the supply pipe g, into which it is conveyed by a force pump,
the other extremity of the pipe being supplied with a valve or cap, to allow of
the removal of any deposit or sediment in the pipe; the water passes through
the branch pipes h, h, into the compartment i, from whence it proceeds up the
small distributing pipes k, k, into the compartment G, where it surrounds the
refrigerating pipes, and takes up the caloric given out by the steam contained
within those pipes, and becomes steam, which passes off by the pipe M. to the
next apparatus B, this pipe being furnished with a valve weighted at a pressure
according to the temperature to which the steam is to be raised. The steam
generated in the apparatus A passes into the second apparatus B, where it
undergoes precisely the same operation as the former eduction steam when it
entered the apparatus A from the engine, and the steam generated from the
frigerating water in B is passed off in like manner to the next apparatus C, and
so on, the exit steam pipe of the last apparatus of the series being carried down
into the water channel I, I. In further illustration of this part of the present
improvements we may state, that supposing the temperature of the steam
entering the apparatus A from the engine to be at 300° Fahrenheit, and the
refrigerating water entering it at a temperature of 52° Fahrenheit, we may
consider that the steam will, in its passage through the pipe, part with a
sufficient quantity of its caloric to reduce its temperature to about 100°, and
will be in the form of distilled water in the chamber H and pipe I at the same

page_text: time. We will consider the temperature of the refrigerating water at the
upper part of the chamber to have been raised to a temperature of 250° Fahren-
heit, when it will be in the form of steam, and will overcome the force of the
valve on the pipe M, which is weighted accordingly, and then enter the second
apparatus B, where it will undergo the same changes, and the same effect be
obtained, but at a lower temperature, the steam passing from this apparatus to
the one marked C, say at 200° Fahrenheit only, and from this last apparatus
the steam will pass off say at about 150°, and so on, at each time losing a
portion of its caloric, and consequently being lowered in temperature. The
whole of the distilled water thus obtained from the several apparatus by con-
densation will be collected in the pipe or channel I, and conducted to the well
at K, from whence it will be conveyed by the pump to a reservoir or other
receptacle, and may be supplied as wanted, either by a force pump to the
engine boiler, or to the water tank of a locomotive engine, and may also be
used for any purpose for which pure water is required; and in steam vessels
such an apparatus may be used to produce distilled water for the use of the
ship's crew and passengers. And further, this improved mode of obtaining dis-
tilled water, and raising steam from the refrigerating water by the caloric
extracted in such process, is capable of another modification and application,
viz, that of using the steam so generated from the refrigerating water for the
purpose of exerting power to work a second steam engine, although the steam
will not be at so high a pressure as that in the first engine, and more particu-
larly the steam so generated can be used in a condensing engine as its tempera-
ture or pressure; in this case it will not be required to be so great as in high-
pressure engines. And further, there are many situations where it is desirable
to have the power of a steam engine, without the danger arising from the fire
or furnace, as in public docks and warehouses, and in such situations this mode
of working engines would be highly desirable, as the furnace and boiler may
be situated at any requisite distance from the dock or warehouse, and the steam
be conveyed from a high-pressure boiler by pipes made of wood, or surrounded
by any non-conducting material through the walls of the buildings, to work
low-pressure engines situated therein. And, in conclusion, I would remark,
that when it is not desired to use the steam generated from the refrigerating
water for the purpose of heating other refrigerating water, such steam may be
passed from the apparatus by the pipe M direct to the passage I, thereby
removing the pressure otherwise in the chamber G, as is shewn in the single
condensing and steam generating apparatus at Fig. 37 and 38.
Having described the particulars of the improvements communicated to us
relative to locomotive steam engines and carriages, and also to ordinary steam

page_text: engines and apparatus to be employed both for marine and land purposes, in
conclusion we declare that we claim as new,-
First, the arrangement of the parts of the locomotive carriage, and the con-
struction of the boiler with its furnace to be applied thereto, and the peculiar
mode of constructing the running wheels, as described and represented in the
Drawings for the purposes above stated.
Secondly, the arrangement of the framework of a marine engine and boiler
in connection with the framing of the vessel, as above described and shewn in
the Drawings. The improved arrangement and construction of the parts of
the engine itself, also described and shewn, and the improved arrangement and
construction of boiler and furnace of such engines.
And, thirdly, the manner of constructing and working the slide valves of an
engine, of constructing and applying a water and steam guage, the mode of
lubricating the axles and other rubbing parts to prevent friction, and the suc-
cessive distillation of water and successive generation of steam by the transmission
of heat contained in the eduction vapour thrown off from the working of an
engine or other steam apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Van Wart, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.
HENRY (L.S.) VAN WART.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of March, in
the seventh year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth, the said
Henry Van Wart came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and
acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the instrument afore-
said 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 Twenty-second day of March, One thousand eight hundred.
and thirty-seven.