IMPROVED MEANS OF KETARDING LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER ENGINES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bouch, of Shildon, near Darlington, in
the County of Durham, Locomotive Engineer, for the Invention of
IMPROVED MEANS OF KETARDING LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER ENGINES.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bouch at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th January 1871.
I, WILLIAM BOUCH, of Shildon, near Darlington, in the County of
5 Durham, Locomotive Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF RETARDING LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER
ENGINES," to be as follows:-
-
This Invention relates to improved means of retarding locomotive and
other engines by means of a supply of steam or air to both sides of the..
Opiston when it is necessary to check the speed or to stop the engine
entirely.
One method by which the Invention may be carried into effect is by
attaching a steam pipe with branches to the ordinary blow off taps of the

page_text: cylinders; these branches are arranged with valves which are lifted from
their seats under the pressure of the supply and closed again upon the
back pressure. I provide small outlets or passages in the valve seat,
through which the steam passes in fine jets, and so limit the back throw
of the piston, the steam acting as a cushion during its movement. The
steam passes from one face of the piston to the other by the branches,
and is used over and over again until the engine is retarded sufficiently.
The branches are in connection with the pipe leading to the tender or
water tank and on opening a tap the condensed water and surplus steam
passes into it after the steam has been used. Other pipes may lead the
used steam to the uptake to assist the draft if found advisable.
I do not confine myself to the above mode or arrangement of pipes for
the purpose as they would vary according to the construction of engine
or the purpose for which it is employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 1
filed by the said William Bouch in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th July 1871.
↓
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BOUCH, of Shildon, near Darlington, in the County of Durham, Loco-
motive Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Bouch, Her. special licence
that I, the said William Bouch, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Bouch, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time, and at all times, thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF
RETARDING LOCOMOTIVE AND OTHER ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Bouch, my executors or administrators,

page_text: by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Bouch, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in aud by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
'
This Invention relates to improved means of retarding locomotive and
other engines by means of a supply of steam or air to both sides of the
pistons when it is necessary, to check the speed or stop the engine
entirely.
One method by which the Invention may be carried into effect is
by attaching a steam pipe with branches to the ordinary blow off taps
of the cylinders, the branches in some cases being arranged with valves
which are lifted from their scats under the pressure of the supply of
steam and closed again upon the back pressure so that the steam acts
as a cushion during the movement of the pistons. The steam passes
from one face of each piston to the other by the branches and is
used over and over again until the engine is retardly sufficiently. In
some cases I provide small outlets or passages in the valve seat through
which the steam passes in fine jets and so obstruct the back throw of
the piston. The branches are in connection with the pipe leading to
the tender or water tank and on opening a tap the condensed water and
surplus steam passes into it after the steam has been used. Other pipes
may lead the used steam to the uptake to assist the draft if found
advisable.
+
I do not confine myself to the above mode or arrangement of pipes
for the purpose as they would vary according to the construction of
engine or the purpose for which it is employed.
The mode of carrying the Invention into effect will be clearly under-
stood by reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is
a side view of a locomotive engine with a pipe a leading from the top or
other part of the steam chest to a longitudinal pipe 6 for conveying the
steam to the connection c, to which branches d, d, d, d, are attached and

page_text: '
from which the steam is admitted into each end of the cylinders at the
same time, this steam being admitted after the main supply of steam has
been shut off from the ordinary valve boxes of the cylinders and when
it is necessary to retard the progress of the engine or to stop it entirely.
The supplementary portion of steam fills both ends of the cylinders and
against which each of the pistons presses alternately as before explained
to act as a cushion in the to-and-fro movements. This mode of
retarding the progress of the engine may be used in conjunction with
the breaks already fitted to act against the wheels, or it may be used
alone, in which case the entire stoppage of the engine would be under
the control of the steam cushion.
Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 are detail views of the parts showing the
arrangement of the branch pipes d, d, d, d, whose outer ends are con-
nected to the ordinary blow off taps e, e, of cach cylinder, so that the
volume of steam can pass from one end of the cylinders to the other
under the pressure of the pistons in one direction and return to the
backs of them when they travel in the reverse direction. In the Drawings
I have shown a strap or inverted arch piece for connecting the branch
centre to, to hold it firmly in place, but if this strap is made hollow
and fitted with a tap; the legs gy, y, can be used to convey the spent
steam to the blast pipe in the funnel to assist in keeping up the fire.
This plan will be found of service on many occasions, such as when the
engine is running down an incline with the main steam shut off, or it
may even be used to assist the draught through the fire while the engine
is standing still, as by shutting off the blow off taps a passage for steam
through the supplementary pipes a, b, and g can be maintained for any
length of time.
If instead of permitting the steam to travel to and fro in the cylinders
more than once or twice I arrange another branch on the pipe a to
allow it to pass into the water tank, I utilize it still further by warming
the water preparatory to its being forced into the boiler by the pump
or the injector; or the pipe a may lead to the tank and the branch / to
the after part of the engine or tender where the spent steam could blow
off into the atmosphere without interfering with the view of the driver
or other attendant who may be engaged looking ahead for signals. I
prefer that the pipe a connecting the pipe b with the boiler should be
the ordinary warming pipe, but an additional pipe may be fitted for the
purpose if found desirable.

page_text: In some cases I check the back issue of the steam between the
cylinder ends by valves which fall upon their seats on the back action
of the steam and close the ends of the branch pipes, the steam then
being allowed to pass through small holes which are formed in the pipes
just below the seating, as I have represented in Figure 6; by this means
the rotation of the driving wheels is decreased in a greater ratio than
they would be under the first described method; because the passage of
the cushion of steam is of longer duration.
Figure 7 represents a cylinder in section to which the branch
pipes d, d, d, d, are attached through the blow off cocks as before, and
in which the strap is shown hollow and provided with a tap i to direct
when open the spent steam into the uptake or funnel in the manner and
for the purposes already explained.
If additional pipes or branches are used in conjunction with the first-
mentioned branches I propose to arrange them to the blow off taps of
the cylinders, as represented in the same Figure, and these branches
may have valves in them to fall upon seatings, so that the steam shall
be checked in its passage to and fro from end to end of the cylinder or
to the tank or the atmosphere, as the case may be, the valves being
enclosed in cages of the form shown in Figure 6. I prefer that these
branches j, j, j, j, be connected to a pipe K through the connection and
tap 1, Figure 8, leading from the steam chest or some other part of the
boiler above the water line.
I have spoken of the spent steam after being used as cushions to
retard the progress of the engine as being allowed to escape or to pass,
into the water tank, but it can if desirable be passed into oil or grease
cups or reservoirs for the purpose of forcing a supply of lubricating
material through pipes into the glands or packing through which the
piston rods pass or other moving parts which require lubricating, so that
they can be lubricated thereby. I prefer, however, to provide the glands
or other parts with 'channels or grooves for retaining a quantity of
lubricating matter in them or with some absorbent material in connection
therewith. The steam may be taken from another part of the boiler, so
that the lubrication of the moving parts can be effected independently
of the retarding pipes or apparatus, and this is clearly shown in Figures 9
& 10 of the Drawings, where the oil or grease cup m is in connection
through the pipe n attached to the boiler and branches p, p, with the
packing in the cylinder glands "q for the purpose of lubricating the piston

page_text: rods r, r, at the parts most acted upon by the heat of the steam used for
propelling the engine, it being here that the packing readily gets very
hot and charred by the high degree of heat communicated to the rods
when inside the cylinders. The same may be said regarding the valve
rods, as in Figure 10, in which I have shown other branches.s, s, leading
to the valve box glands, so that the rods t, t, can be kept lubricated in
à similar manner and at the same time if the cocks with which the
branch pipes s, s, are fitted are open so that the lubricant can pass them.
In the sectional view of the cylinder Figure 7 I have shown a double
grooved ring with passages connecting the grooves, so that a supply of
grease can be held therein.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my
Invention,-
Firstly. The means heretofore referred to for retarding or stopping
locomotive engines.
Secondly. I claim the apparatus herein-before described and shown
by which such retarding or stopping of locomotive engines is carried into
effect.
Thirdly. I claim the modifications of apparatus herein-before described
and shown when employed for the purposes explained.
I also claim the employment of the spent steam or water for forcing a
supply of lubricating matter to the glands of piston and valve rods or
other parts of locomotive engines as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bouch, have hereunto sct
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of July One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-one.
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