Year: 1888

page_text: I, FRÉDÉRIC ENGEL-GROS of Bale, Switzerland, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to a construction and arrangement of railways and of their
locomotives and rolling stock in such a manner as to obtain very high speeds such
as 100 to 150 miles an hour, with little risk.
In the first place, in order to avoid the risk of obstruction, I make the line elevated
from the ground on open framework, and in cases where the line must necessarily be
near to or under the general ground level I place the frame work in a cutting so that
the line is still elevated from the base.
The locomotive machinery, including the cylinders and connecting gear is enclosed
in a carriage, all completely under command of the engineer. The boiler worked
with forced draught occupies another carriage, and the stores of fuel and water occupy
a tender carriage, behind which are the passenger carriages limited in number to
admit of great speed.
The accompanying drawings show how these general arrangements are practically
carried out.
Fig. 1 is a side view Fig. 2 is a plan, and Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections
shewing tho construction of the line with a train upon it. The viaduct consists
of longitudinal girders A and transverse girders B tied and braced by diagonals O,
with lattice sides D of similar construction, all supported on frames E or F which
rest on suitable foundations. The bearing on the frames F may be extended by
reinforcing plates or bars a. ('ontinuous longitudinal sleepers 6 fixed on the transverse
girders carry facings constituting the rails, so that, in case of a rail being accidentally
wanting, the wheels can run on the sleepers 6 which are of considerable dopth
admitting of deep flanges to the wheels or of discs mounted within the wheels and of
larger diameter. On each side of and between the sleepers 6 are plate floorings on
which the workmen can pass or on which they can lie when a train passes. At
intervals, feed troughs G are fixed on the viaduct for supply of water to the
locomotive.
b

page_text: Fig. 5 and Fig. 5b (which is to he understood as a continuation of Fig. 5) shew a
longitudinal section and Fig. 6 shows a plan of the locomotive Fig. 13 being a
transverse section to an enlarged scale on the line 1-2 of Fig. 5. The machinery is
enclosed in a carriage chamber I having a prow shaped to lessen resistance of the
air, and it is supported on two strong longitudinal lattice girders L. There are four
cylinders KKKK, acting as compound pairs for quadruple expansion, each pair
having one piston rod. For light trains three cylinders for triple expansion may
suffice. The connecting rods J work cranks at right angles on the driving shaft M
and actuate the slide valve rods in the known manner. Steam coming from
the boiler by the pipo e nets first in K and then successively in the other cylinders,
and the final exhaust from K³ escapes by the pipe for is led to a condenser by
the pipe g.
The crank shaft M carries two double pullies PP made of steel
plate, which by means of bands or ropes & give motion to the driving wheels 'R'
from pullies on the shafts of HR respectively are driven by bands or ropus j
the whools R of the prow and the front wheels it of the boiler compartment. It
will be seen that each carriage runs on only two pairs of wheels, a pair nt each
end, the rolling friction being thus reduced to a minimum, whilst each carriage
is properly supported on its wheel base. Moreover, by the use of the multiplying
gear, sunil driving wheels are made available, these being light and strong as com-
jarel with large driving wheels and permitting of a low centre of gravity. In
the front is a cah compartment & in which are arranged all the working levers and
handles under command of the engineer, and from which there is a protected
sight opening m, the whistles being situated above. The framing luas safety langes n
(Fig. 13) a little above the rails which in ease of fracture of the springs may act as
brukes on the rails. As all the machinery is enclosed except the axle boxes and
springs it is protected from dust and weather.
The boiler Q is of any known kind having very great steam generating power with
small bulk and weight. It is arranged as shown in Fig. 5 having a chimney o and
waste steam pipe inclined backwards. The forced draught may be obtained by
means of a strain blast in the chimney or by a fan r driven from a running axle and
forcing air into the stoking space S. There is a front space S' accommodating lubri
cating gear, stores and tools and provided with a ladder y giving access to the roof
gallery which extends the whole length of the train, being partly covered from s¹ to s³
to give shelter against the escaping smoke and steam.
n
The tender of which Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section contains a tank T holding
feed water, this tank being divided by perforated transverse partitions to diminish
agitation of the water. The pipe g delivers the exhaust steam from the last of the
cylinders to the tank in which it is condensed, the condensation being promoted by
the cooling effect of tubes u through which air is caused by the rapid motion of the
train to pass from an inlet mouth to an outlet y. By lowering a pipe t¹ water may
be taken from the troughs G placed between the rails. The fuel may be kept partly
in the stoke space S and partly in the front part of the tender; and supply of fuol
blocks may be obtained as the train runs in a inanner similar to that in which mail
bags are taken in.
The carriages of the train are long and may best be limited to two or three in
number each arranged as shewn in longitudinal section at Fig. 7 and in plan at Fig. 8
or Fig. 8 and Fig. 8ter.
In one of the carriages Fig. 8r there may be a smoking compartment Z, a luggage
compartment U and a platform V, with conveniences and stores of water, gus &c.
Fig. 12 is a transverse section to an enlarged scale of the railway and one of the
carriages W which is made with double walls and roof, windows X and portholes X
at different levels, the windows commanding a view over the sides of the viaduct for
passengers standing up. Under the floor aro honting or cooling pipes or gas pipes a¹
branching from mains 6', and wires or pulls for electric or other signals. The
carriages have safety flanges n as previously described. The train is virtually a long
tubo mado in parts joined together, with suitable packings of leather caoutchouc or
the like at the junctions. Fig. 9 is a transverse section, Fig. 10 is a longitudinal

page_text: section and Fig. 11 a plan shewing the construction at the front and rear ends of
each vehicle and the mode of coupling them.
The ends of the longitudinal girders I are connected by a transverse C₁ which at
its middle is fitted with a joint pin d¹ surrounded by caoutchouc within a casing e¹ so
as to give elasticity. Frames B₁ which form horn plates for the axle boxes, have
flanges on which rest rollers g¹ that are mounted on the angles of the main framing I
and c. The joint pins d' pass through holes in the lower membors f" of the frames B',
which are bolted or otherwise fixed together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim
in respect of high speed railway and rolling stock is :-
1. The combination of an elevated railway with a train in form of a long tube
tapered in front, of light weight and great tractive power, admitting of very high
speeds.
2. The construction of the elevated railway with an open or lattico framing and
continuous longitudinal sleepers faced with plate rails.
3. The arrangement of the locomotive in three compartments or vehicles for the
engine, the boiler and the tender respectively.
4. The engine wherein several cylinders are worked with multiple expansion, and
the crank shaft has pullies driving by bands or ropes the driving axles at increased
speed.
5. The arrangement of a cab compartment with sight hole in the front of the
locomotive with all necessary working levers or handles under command of the
engineer.
6. The arrangement of a boiler working with forced draught in a carriage supplied
with air under pressure by a fan driven by a running axle.
7. The construction of the tender tank with perforated transverse partitions, and
with cooling air pipes in its upper part.
8. The construction of the carriages as represented in the drawings.
9. For coupling a pair of the carriages, the arrangement of a pair of two wheeled
trucks fixed together, with coupling pins engaging the frames of the two carriages as
described with reference to Figs. 9, 10 and 11.
axl
1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.