Improvements connected with the Propulsion of Street Tramway and other Cars or Carriages, and in Motor Engines employed therein.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 29th Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements connected with the Propulsion of Street Tramway
and other Cars or Carriages, and in Motor Engines employed
therein.
We, CHARLES LANCASTER and JOHN STURGEON, both of City Road, Chester, in the
County of Chester, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
11.
Our invention consists in certain improvements hereinafter specified, in and
connected with the propulsion of street-tramway and other cars or carriages, and
with motor engines actuated by compressed air or other suitable expansible fluids
employed therein.
The particular object of our invention is to provide engines of a simple and light
construction, suitable for propelling street-tramway and other like cars or carriages
by compressed air or other suitable expansible fluids; we will, however, in this
Specification, for convenience, confine the general description of our invention, with
reference to the engines, to the propulsion of tramway and like cars, and in which the
motor fluid is compressed air.
According to one arrangement of our invention we arrange the cylinders
horizontally under the floor of the car, in a lateral position, the outer ends of the
piston rods, or their equivalent, being connected to and working cranks, or their
equivalent, on a shaft running preferably lengthwise under the floor of the car,
geared to the axles by worm, bevel, or other suitable gearing.
and
The cylinders of the engine oscillate upon trunnions which contain an inlet duct
and port for the passage of the compressed air to the cylinder, and an exhaust or
outlet duct and port for the escape of the air after use in the cylinder. The inner
end of the cylinder is connected to or provided with a head having suitable passages
and ports for the inlet to and exhaust from the cylinder, of the compressed air. This
head fits on or in the trunnion, and its ports and passages are arranged to suit and
correspond with those of the trunnion. The trunnions are so arranged and constructed
that they can be moved and effect the reversal of the motion of the motor. . To this
end, the exhaust, or the air inlet, can be opened to either of the ports of the cylinder.
Or, according to another mode, the same end may be obtained by providing a
valve adapted to make the ducts of the trunnion either inlet or exhaust ducts, at
will. The motion of the valve may be radial, oscillating, or a sliding one; and
the valve may be adapted and arranged to cut off the air at any desired point in
the stroke.
-According to one construction, the cylinders may be conveniently formed of a
length of metal tube, one end of which screws into, or is connected to the head before
mentioned, thus providing a simple construction: The piston or plunger may also be
conveniently formed by a piece of tube, which is closed at the inner end by a screw
plug, and at its outer end screws onto or is connected to a head which connects with
the crank, thus providing a simple construction.
The engine may have one or more cylinders, as above described, and being fixed to
the frame of the car on or under the floor, the pistons being connected to the cranks
on the driving shaft, an arrangement and means is provided by which compensation
for the varying distance which occurs in the ordinary construction of car between
the car and its axles and wheels, is provided.
Dated this Eleventh day of December 1889.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements connected with the Propulsion of Street Tramway
and other Cars or Carriages, and in Motor Engines employed
therein.
We, CHARLES LANCASTER, and JOHN STURGEON, both of City Road, Chester, in
the County of Chester, Engineers, 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:-
-
Our invention consists in certain improvements hereinafter specified, in and
connected with the propulsion of street-tramway and other cars or carriages, and
with motor engines actuated by compressed air or other suitable expansible fluids
employed therein.
The particular object of our invention is to provide engines of a simple and light
construction, and to arrange then in a manner suitable for propelling street-tramway
and other like cars or carriages by compressed air and other suitable expansible
fluids; wo will, however, in this Specification, for convenience, confine the general
description of-vur -invention; with reference in the engines; i--the propulsion of
tramway and like cars, and in which the motor fluid is compressed air..
According to one arrangement of our invention we arrange the cylinders
horizontally on a frame under the floor of the car, in a lateral position, the outer
ends of the piston rods, or their equivalent, being connected to and working cranks,
or their equivalent, on a shaft running preferably lengthwise under the floor of the
car, and mounted on and geared to the axles by worm, bevel, or other suitable
gearing.
The cylinders of the engine oscillate upon trunnions which contain an inlet duct
and port for the passage of the compressed air to the cylinder, and an exhaust or
outlet duct and port for the escape of the air after use in the cylinder. The inner
end of the cylinder is connected to or provided with a head having suitable passages
and ports for the inlet to, and exhaust from, the cylinder, of the compressed air.
This head fits on the trunnion, and its ports and passages are arranged to suit and
correspond with those of the trunnion. The trunnions are so arranged and con-
structed that they can be moved and effect the reversal of the motion of the motor.
To this end, the exhaust, or the air inlet, can be opened to either of the ports of the
cylinder. Or, according to another mode, the same end may be obtained by providing
a valve adapted to make the ducts of the trunnion either inlet or exhaust ducts,
at will. The motion of the valve may be radial, oscillating, or a sliding one;
and the valve may be adapted and arranged to cut off the air at any desired point in
the stroke.
According to one construction, the cylinders may be conveniently formed of a
length of metal tube, one end of which screws into; or is connected to the head before
mentioned, thus providing a simple construction. The piston or plunger may also be
conveniently formed by a piece of tube, which is closed at the inner end by a screw
plug, and at its outer end screws onto or is connected to a head which connects with
the crank, thus providing a simple construction.
The engine may have one or more cylinders, as above described, and if they be
fixed to the frame of the car on or under the floor, the pistons being connected to the
cranks of a driving shaft supported by the wheel axles, an arrangement and means is
provided by which compensation for the varying distances which occurs in the
ordinary construction of car between the car and its axles and wheels, is provided.
The above description of our invention sets forth generally its nature and purposes,
but to make it more clear and distinct we will now proceed to describe it with the aid
of the drawings accompanying the Specifications and forming a part thereof. The
drawings-together with the following description of them, illustrate and set forth an
example of apparatus specially designed to carry out the improvements the nature of
which has been above explained, while the points of novelty in our invention which

page_text: we desire to cover by these Letters Patent, will be specifically pointed out in the
claims concluding this Specification.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a plan of the motor constructed
as herein described; and
Figure 1 is a plan of one end of the motor bed or frame.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal elevation of the frame in which the motor is
supported.
Figure 3 is a view shewing one of the end members of the frame illustrated in
Figure 2 at the line X X.
Figure 4 is a cross section at the line Y Y in Figure 2, shewing the other end
member of the frame.
-
Figures 5 and 6 are longitudinal sections shewing respectively the right and left
hand interiors of the ends of the side members of the frame taken at the lines X X
and Y Y in Figure 4.
Figure 7 is an elevation shewing a motor cylinder with its valves and working fluid
conduits in longitudinal section.
Figure 8 is a detail of a part of the apparatus shewn in Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a view shewing the motor illustrated in Figure 7 in cross section at the
line XX; and
Figure 10 is a plan of the bottom of the cylinder of the motor shewing the ports for
the ingress and egress of the working fluid.
With reference to the drawings a are the cylinders of the motor; e are the
trunnions on which said cylinders are mounted at their inner ends, and upon which
they oscillate or work; i is the crank shaft worked by the cylinders; o is the frame
on which all the cylinders a and trunnions e are mounted and fixed whilst the frame o
itself is mounted on and supported by the axles u u' of the running wheels of
a car.
י
The frame o is composed of side members p and transverse end members q¹ q². The
side members are channel bars having the flanges inwardly turned, and the ends of
the end frames q¹ q² fit into the channels or space within these flanges, and are
suitably bolted or riveted to said side bars (see Figures 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6). One end
member q¹, serves to support a bearing in which one end of the crank shaft i is
mounted;
and is carried out in the form of a double armed bracket for this purpose.
The arms of this bracket also serve as bearings by which this end of the frame o is
supported by the axle u, and they also carry the mechanism (hereinafter referred to)
through which the motion of the engine is conveyed to this car axle u. The other
end member q2 of the frame o supports a pin s, the outer end of which constitutes a
bearings. Through this bearing the other axle u¹ of the car passes, and by it this
end of the frame o is supported. To the under side of the end member q² a projecting
bracket t is fixed, on the end t¹ of which, a bearing 2 is supported by which one end
of the crank shaft i is supported.
The motion of the crank shaft i is transmitted to one of the car-wheel axles u
through the worm which is mounted on the crank shaft, and a worm wheel v¹ fixed
on the said car wheel axle u and disposed between the bracket arms r.
The apparatus
connected with the worm shewn in Figure 1-and consisting mainly of the cross-
head 1, side rods 2, and cylinder 3-is a mechanism described and illustrated in and
forming part of the subject matter of a former application for Patent made by
Hughes & Lancaster, and bearing No. 13106 of 1889 and dated the 20th of August,
and needs therefore no description in this Specification, more than to say that it is a
device by which the worm is free to move longitudinally when the engines are first started
without rotating the worm wheel and the driving axle u the same extent for each
revolution as it does when the car is fairly started, the recovery of the normal position
of the worm longitudinally on the crank shaft i being effected by the reaction and
expansion of air or gas within the cylinder 3, the compression of which is effected by
the outward longitudinal movement of the worm when starting.
The trunnions 'e are mounted in the projecting bracket bearings which are secured

page_text: to the side members p of the frame o, but they are free to be turned in these
bearings for the purposes of reversing the direction of motion of the engines as
hereinafter specified.
:
The crank shaft i, beyond being supported by the end bearings i¹ and t², runs in
intermediate bearings h fixed on bridge bars h¹ supported by the side members of the
frame o.
With reference now mainly to the engine details shewn in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10,
the cylinder a it will be seen is screwed into a socket a¹ formed on the outer sleeves a²
which sleeve, with the end covers a³, constitutes an annular valve casing to the air
distribution valve b. The covers a³ bear on the hollow trunnions e, and an air tight
joint is made between them and the trunnions by the cup shaped packing rings a*.
Compressed air is supplied to the cylinders a through the hollow trunnions e which
constitute the air supply ducts, air being supplied to them from the reservoirs of the
cars by pipes el (see Figure 1), and the distribution of such air to the cylinders is
effected by the valves 6, and cylinder inlet ports c, c, whilst its release from the
cylinders takes place through the exhaust port c¹. The two cylinder ports c, c, are.
provided for the purpose of supplying the air to the cylinder for working the engine
in either of the two possible ways, the determination of direction of which is controlled
by the position of the admission port 61 of the valve; that is to say, the valve b is so
set that its admission port b¹ will coincide with one of the ports c when the piston of
the cylinder is at the inner end of the pistons, and it is desired to run the engine in
one direction, whilst for the reverse direction of motion of the engine, the valve is so
set that its port 61 coincides with the other cylinder port c when the piston is in the
same position. The moving of the ports cover the port is of course caused by
the oscillation of the cylinder, the valve itself being stationary when the engine is
working.
The exhaust port of the valve is designated 62, and the change in the setting of the
valve b as above set forth will bring this port into connection with the cylinder exhaust
port at the right time, that is for the period of exhaust. The air released by this
communication leaves the casing a by the passage c².
In the action of setting the valve 6 so as to cause the engine to run in the one
direction or the other, the trunnions e are rotated a partial revolution by any suitable
known means such as lever or auxiliary reversing cylinder or engine of any known
kind, the valves being thereby simultaneously moved through the stud 6 which
couples them together. An ordinary hydraulic or other power cylinder fixed to the
fràme o and having through piston rods n¹ connected to levers n² fixed on the
trunnions e for this purpose, is shewn in Figure 1.
To provide for cutting off the admission of air at variable points of the stroke
of the engine we provide the internal cut-off valve d. This valve is a rotary one,
and is rotated by the motion of the crank shaft i through the bevel wheel d¹, bevel
wheels d², shafts d³, and mitre wheels d, the shafts d³ being mounted in the bearings d³
provided on the brackets de, these brackets themselves being mounted loosely on the
trunnions e and the shaft i, respectively. The spindles by which the valves d are
rotated are designated d', one of the mitre wheels d being fixed on the end of such
spindles which extends outside said trunnions. The connection of the spindles with
the valves d is a loose sliding one; that is to say, the spindles have flat parallel sides
as shewn where they connect with the valves, and these portions fit.into corresponding
jaws d on the valve. By this arrangement the pressure of air within the trunnion e
acts upon the valves and keeps them up to their working face. The air port in the
trunnions e, which are controlled by the valves d, are designated e2, and when they are
uncovered by the valve d, the compressed air passes through them into the annular
space 6 between the metal of the valve b and the trunnion metal, and from thence through
the valve ports b', and one of the cylinder ports c, into the cylinder. The point of the
stroke at which it is desired to "cut off" (i.e. the point of the stroke at which the
valve d covers the port e²) is controlled by changing the position of the bevel wheel d'
the shaft i in relation to the cranks. This is done by mounting the wheel d¹ on a

page_text: sliding sleeve surrounding the shaft i, and having on its outside a feather sliding in a
corresponding way in the wheel, and on its inside a stud fitting and adapted to slide in a
spiral groove in the shaft; then by pressing this sleeve to or fro on the shaft i, the action of
the sleeve stud in the spiral groove in the shaft, causes the sleeve and with it the wheel
to be moved round, thereby changing, through the other bevel wheels specified, the
relative positions of the cranks and the valves d. This type of sleeve mechanism for
the variable setting of valves of steam engines is in itself well known, and forms no
part of this invention, and therefore needs no further description.
The spiral face strips e on the inner surface of the trunnions e are provided to
cause the surface of the valve d in working on such face to be evenly worn.
The piston consists of a tube k, having on its lower end a head k¹ provided
with a cup packing k², and at its outer end a cap ³, the outer end of which
forms one of the brasses by which the pistons are connected to the cranks of
the crank shaft i.
The frame o with the parts mounted thereon is arranged under the car as will
be understood and in the centre thereof, the crank shaft i lying parallel with the
direction of the length of the car, but it is entirely disconnected with the body of
the car, and consequently is unaffected by any movement of the car in the
horizontal plane. On the other hand, it being mounted directly on the wheel
axles of the car, the relative positions of the frame, the motor, the driving
gear, and the axle are unchangeable; nevertheless the axle u', through the
construction and mounting of the pins and bearings, is free to move in the vertical
plane by the working of the pin s in its bearing s2, without causing a
change to the
position of the plane of the frame o, so that if the axis of the two axles u ¹ do not
both always lie in the same horizontal plane, that is if from any cause a change takes
place in their normal relative positions, no wringing or straining of the frame o will
take place.
In Figures 2 and 4 one of the compressed air reservoirs is shewn attached to the
frame o, and in Figure 3 this reservoir, and two others m, are shewn in section.
These reservoirs may be arranged in any known suitable way, such as in the manner
set out in the Specification in the Letters Patent of Messrs. Hughes & Lancaster,
No. 8886 of 1888, or in any other suitable manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a street tramway or other car or carriage propelled by compressed air or other
elastic fluid a motor having a plurality of cylinders disposed beneath the floor of the
car and working in connection with a crank or like shaft the motion of which is
transmitted to the wheel axle of the car through suitable gearing as described,
the relative positions of the axes of such shaft and that of the axle driven being fixed;
substantially as set forth.
2. In a street tramway or other car or carriage propelled by compressed air or other
elastic fluid, a motor having a plurality of cylinders fixed on a frame supported by the
running wheel axles and working on a crank shaft running at right angles to the sid
wheel axles, the motion of said crank shaft being transmitted to the driving wheel
axle or axles through worm or other equivalent gearing; substantially as set
forth.
3. In a street tramway or other car or carriage propelled by compressed air or
other elastic fluid, a motor having a plurality of cylinders mounted on hollow trunnions
through which the working fluid is supplied to said cylinders, and working in connec-
tion with a crank shaft geared with an axle of the running wheels of the car;
substantially as set forth.
4. In a street tramway or other car or carriage propelled by compressed air or
other elastic fluid, a frame forming the bel of the car motor disposed below the
floor of the car or carriage, and supported at its ends by the axles of the running
wheels; for the purposes set forth.

page_text: 5. In a street tramway or other car or carriage propelled by compressed air or
other elastic fluid, a frame forming the bed of the car motor disposed below the car
or carriage floor, and supported at its ends by the axle of the running wheels, the
bearings or supports by which said frame is connected to and supported upon the
axles being so arranged and constructed, that the relative normal positions of
the axes of the axles may change without straining said frame; substantially as
described.
6. In a street tramway or other car or carriage propelled by compressed air or
other elastic fluid, a frame o forming the bed of the car motor, disposed below
the car or carriage floor and supported at its ends by the axles of the running
wheels; a plurality of cylinders a mounted at the outer ends on hollow trunnions e
supported from the frame o; and a central crank shaft i worked by said cylinders and
geared with the axle driving wheel axle u by worm or other equivalent gearing;
substantially as set forth.
7. A motor for propelling street and other tramway cars or carriages, wherein the
cylinders, a, are mounted on hollow trunnions e at their bases and work in connection
with a crank shaft, and the working fluid is distributed by a valve b and the
rocking action of the cylinders on the trunnions, such valve being adapted to be set
and to cause the engine to run in either direction, substantially as herein described for
the purposes specified.
8. A street tramway or other car or carriage motor comprising a cylinder a,
trunnion e, and valve b, with their ports for the admission and release of the working
fluids all arranged and adapted to operate substantially as set forth with reference
to Figures 7 to 10.
9. A street tramway or other car or carriage motor comprising a cylinder a,
trunnion e, working fluid distribution valve b, and "cut-off" valve d, with their ports
for the admission and release of the working fluid; all arranged and adapted to
operate substantially as set forth with reference to Figures 7 to 10.
10. An engine for a street tramway or other car or carriage having its cylinders
mounted on trunnions as described, and consisting of a barrel or tube a secured
to a circular sleeve base a² as specified; and having also the pistons thereof
constructed of a tube having a packing at the lower end and connecting joint at
the outer end adapted to be connected directly to the crank of the engine as
specified; for the purposes described.
11. In a street tramway or other car or carriage, having a motor consisting of
rocking cylinders mounted on hollow trunnions as described, the means or com-
bination of parts substantially as described, by which "cut-off" valves disposed
within said trunnions are operated from the crank shaft of the engine; also the
combination of parts described by which variations in the setting of the cut-off
valves are worked.
12. The propelling mechanism for street tramway and other cars or carriages
comprising the frame o, trunnions e, cylinders a, crank shaft i, and worm gearing
arranged, constructed, and adapted to operate, particularly as set forth with
reference to Figure 1.
13. The frame o comprising side members and end members 9 q' said end
members being adapted to be mounted on the wheel axles of the car in the manner
substantially as set forth with reference to the drawings.
14. In a tramway or other car or carriage engine, a working-fluid cut-off valve,
such as d, and a trunnion e having spiral facing strips e on the inner side, substan-
tially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 11th day of September 1890.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicants' Patent Agents.