CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER, PARTS OF WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO THE REGULATING AND CONTROLLING CF FLUIDS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, THOMAS
CLARKE, of Hackney, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, MARK FREEMAN,
of Sutton, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, and JOHN VARLEY, of Poplar,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eleventh day of February, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Thomas Clarke, Mark Freeman, and John Varley, our exors, adñiors, and
assigns, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we,
the said Thomas Clarke, Mark Freeman, and John Varley, our exors, admors,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Clarke, Mark Freeman,
and John Varley, our exors, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in
the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all
Iler said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING AND APPLYING MOTIVE POWER, PARTS OF WHICH ARE
APPLICABLE TO THE REGULATING AND CONTROLLING CF FLUIDS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the said Thomas Clarke, Mark
Freeman, and John Varley, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of our said Invention, and in what manner the saine is to be performed, to be
inrolled in Iler said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
A

page_text: Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Thomas Clarke, Mark Freeman, and John Varley, hereby declare that the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the present Specification
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists, first, in an improved method of securing and
supporting the traction tube in atmospheric railways of the sort or description
known as "the resilient," and for which we, the said Thomas Clarke and
John Varley, obtained Letters Patent for England and the Colonies on the
Seventeenth December, One thousand eight hundred and forty-five. Figure 1
of the Drawings annexed represents a transverse section of the said traction
tube in its improved form, and Figure 3 a top plan of the same. A, A, is the
main tube; B', B², standards placed about six feet apart, which consist of
curved arms bolted at the top to the back of the valve pieces of the tube,
and secured at the bottom to a cast-iron saddle I (a plan of which is given
separately in Figure 2). One of the arms (B₁) is curved to about a quarter
of the circumference of the tube, and then bolted firmly to the cast-iron
saddle I, the other arm (B2) is curved half round the tube, and vibrates on
a strong pin J, fixed in the cast-iron saddle immediately under the centre
of the tube. The former arm being rigid admits of hardly any play of the
tube on the side to which it is attached, but the latter arm opens and shuts
the other or opposite half of the tube according as it is itself acted upon in
manner following:-From each of the pins J there is a horizontal lever M,
which supports at its outer end a longitudinal rail K, which runs continuously
alongside the main traction tube, while a rod N is carried in an angular
direction from the top of each of the vibrating arms B2 to the outer end
of the corresponding lever M, so that on the rail K being depressed by a
wheel O attached to the carriage train, the levers M, and rods N, are depressed
in the same proportion, and the vibrating half of the traction tube pulled
back, as shewn in the Drawing, to allow the connecting rod to pass through
between the valve pieces. As soon as the wheel has passed and the rail K
is released from the insistent pressure upon it, the levers M and rods N, and
the resilient arms B2, are also released, and the half of the tube to which
they are attached springs back to its assigned position and closes the tube.
The parts which we claim under this first head of our Invention are, the
arms B', B, the saddle I, the continuous rail K, and the levers M, and rods
N, arranged, combined, and applied as before described.

page_text: Second, our Invention consists in the employment in atmospheric railways
of the improved description of piston represented in Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 of
the Drawings annexed. A is the piston rod, which is connected by a forked
termination a, a, to the piston B; C is the connecting plate; D, a hand
lever accessible to the engine driver, which is connected by a series of levers,
as shewn in the Drawing, Figure 4, to a supplementary piston rod E. In the
plan of the piston given in Figure 7, b, b, are lugs for the ends a, a, of the
principal piston rod to work on, and c, a lug to which the supplementary rod
E is attached. The office of the supplementary piston rod E is to enable
the driver to move the piston B at any time into such a position as to destroy
the vacuum in front of it. For example, by pushing forward the handle D
in the direction indicated by the dotted lines, the piston will be thrown into
the angular position represented in Figure 5, with an open space at top
and bottom. For packing the piston metallic spring packing similar to that
commonly used in steam engines may be employed, excepting only that the
rubbing surfaces should be made of leather cemented to the metal by means
of marine glue, or some other equally good cement. Or the piston may be
constructed on the principle of Barton's metallic piston, that is to say, with
segments of metal covered with leather, or segments entirely of leather formed
by riveting or glueing a number of pieces together to the required thickness,
and so arranged that the edges of the leather shall work against the tube,
the segments being in both cases forced out by springs either metallic or
pneumatic. But we recommend, as preferable to any of the above modes of
packing, the following-Let a circular recess be formed in the piston behind
the segments, and into this recess let a tube, made of india rubber, gutta
percha, or some other waterproof substance, be introduced, and let this tube
be kept filled with water under pressure by means of a small vessel behind
the piston containing compressed air, and having a direct communication
with the tubular packing. Or let a small tube be connected at one end with
the annular ring of water, and pass at the other end through the main tube
by the side of the connecting plate, and project above the tube, so that a
column of water of sufficient height for the pressure may be obtained. Or
let a similar tube be filled with water and covered with leather, so that the
outside shall be forced in contact with the tube by the pressure of water
within.
The improvements which we claim under this second head of our Invention
are, first, the vibrating piston, as before described; and, second, the employment
of water or other dense fluid as a packing for pistons, according to any of the
modes before described.

page_text: Thirdly, our Invention consists in employing in atmospheric railways rigid
tubes of the peculiar construction represented in the sectional view, Figure 8,
and a mode of regulating the closing of the side valves of the same by means
of the flow of water. A is a rigid tube of thin sheet iron, having a horizontal
slit or opening at top, with two flanges a, a, one on each side; b, b, are longi-
tudinal valve pieces of cast iron, which fit by grooves on the under sides thereof
upon the flanges a, a, and are firmly secured thereto by some strong cement.
B is one of a series of cast iron ribs of the varying depth shewn, which encircle
the tube at short distances apart, and are bolted at top to the longitudinal
valve pieces b, b. D is a nozzle for the passage of air to the tube A, which is
here placed at the side, as being in many situations the most convenient
position for it; d is the valve; E, the valve spindle, which passes upwards
through a stuffing box in the upper part of the nozzle, and terminates
in a fork, which carries between its two tines a roller F; g is a
horizontal lever, which is attached at one end to the bottom of the valve
d, and at the other end to rod j, which connects it with a hydraulic
regulator II, placed on the opposite side of the main tube, and constructed
in manner following:-
:-C is a cistern partially filled with water, having a con-
cave and fixed bottom C', C', and a second or flexible bottom I, made of leather
or of sulphurized india rubber, or of sulphurized gutta percha, and firmly
bolted to the under edges of the cistern C, which, when pressed upwards, fits
into the concave bottom C', C', and when pressed downwards, assumes the
same form as the concave bottom, but turned the reverse way. In the centre
of the concave bottom C', C', there is a large conical valve h opening upwards,
which allows the water, when pressed upon from below, to flow upwards into
the cistern C, and at one side of the same bottom there are two apertures i, i,
which allow of the return of the water to the space between the two bottoms
as the valve h returns to its seat. In the Drawing, Figure 8, the air valve d
is represented as closed, and the weight of water in the vessel C as pressing
out the second bottom I to its utmost state of distension. Matters being
in this state, let us suppose that an inclined plane attached to the passing
carriage or train is brought into contact with the roller F, at such an angle of
inclination as to press down the spindle E; the descent of the spindle E will
open the valve d, and through the medium of the lever g push up the flexible
bottom I, which in its turn will push up the water through the valve h. As
the pressure is removed from the roller F, the valve h will fall back into its
seat, and the water return through the apertures i, i, into the space between the
two bottoms, till the flexible bottom is distended as before.
The improvements which we claim under this head are, first, the em-

page_text: ployment in atmospheric railways of thin wrought-iron traction tubes, with
stiffening and supporting ribs of cast iron, as before described; and, second,
the regulating of the side valves of such tubes by the flow of liquids, as before
described.
Fourth, our Invention consists of a method or methods of preventing the
wax and tallow or other composition used in sealing the longitudinal valve of
atmospheric railways from softening, or melting, or breaking up, during the
time it should remain solid and compact; with this view, we either lay a thin
metal tube, through which a stream of water, or water mixed with cooling
substances, is kept constantly flowing (by means of pumps or otherwise)
immediately over the wax and tallow so as to be in close contact with it, or
we mix with the wax or other composition a number of threads of yarn or
other fibrous material laid longitudinally in the groove, so as to give the
composition a tougher and harder consistence, rendering it in cold weather
less brittle, and in hot weather less liable to melt.
We claim under this head of our Specification, the keeping of the composi-
tion or compositions used for sealing the longitudinal valve of atmospheric
railways solid and compact by the means before described.
Fifth, our Invention consists of the following improved modes of constructing
the air pumps employed in connection with atmospheric railways:-Instead
of making them as usual of iron, we make them of some of the mastics or
cement used in the manufacture of artificial stone, as Roman cement, Keene's
cement, &c., and cast them of the required form by any of the ordinary pro-
cesses of moulding. After the cement has become quite dry, we heat the tube
or cylinders means of fire applied in the inside, and then saturate them with
tallow or wax, or any other similar mixture, after which the interior is well
rubbed with black lead. Or in place of the preceding mode of construction,
we take a number of rings or hoops, or segments of cast iron, of the diameter
of the required tube or cylinder, and provided with such projecting flanges as
may be necessary, and placing them at regular distances apart, fill up the
intervals with any of the cements aforesaid, or with brickwork.
We claim under this head of our Specification, the making of the air
pumps employed in connection with atmospheric railways of the materials and
in manner before described.
Sixth, our Invention consists of certain improvements, having for their
object the prevention of the loss of power in atmospheric railways, arising from
the latent heat expelled from the air by the compressing action of the air
pumps. In the sectional view, Figure 9, B represents an air pump (formed
of iron rings or hoops, or segments set in brickwork, according to the mode of

page_text: construction last herein-before described; and d, a well filled with water at the
bottom of the pump; s, s¹, are a number of hair or woollen ropes, or sponges,
attached to the bottom of the piston of the air pump, so that when the piston
is at the bottom, these ropes, sponges, &c. are immersed in the water, and
when the piston is at the top of its stroke, they hang from it, dripping with
water. The large surface of thinly divided water thus exposed to the air
within the pump constantly absorbs the heat developed by the compression of
the air, and causes the air delivered from the pump to be of the same tempera-
ture as the water. A is the air-induction valve; E, the eduction valve; and C,
a condensing cistern of water, through which the air passes to the outer escape
valve F. Or, instead of following the preceding method, the air may be
expelled into a separate chamber or reservoir, sufficiently large to contain the
air pumped out of the pipe. The air forced into this separate chamber or
reservoir will be hot air at the pressure of the atmosphere, but after it has
been there some time, it will become reduced in temperature, and consequently
of less pressure, thereby forming a reservoir of power for the next exhaustion.
Or, again, the air may be conveyed from the air pump eduction valves through
a condenser, consisting of a number of small pipes surrounded with water, and
these small pipes open into another eduction valve which the air will force
open before escaping into the atmosphere. A section of this last condenser is
given in Figure 10. As the air passes from the pump to the outer valve, it
will become cooled down to the temperature of the water surrounding the
small tubes, and should the down stroke of the piston then take place, a
volume of hot air would be forced into the condenser at the pressure of the
atmosphere, which, coming into contact with the cold surfaces, would then have
its pressure diminished, so that when the next volume of air was expelled, it
would be forced out against a diminished pressure, and with a proportionally
less application of power to the pump piston.
The improvement which we claim under this head of our Invention consists
in cooling the air in the air pumps of atmospheric railways, by bringing the
same into contact with cold surfaces, as before described.
Seventh, our Invention consists in certain improvements in the mode of
opening the longitudinal slit in the traction tubes of atmospheric railways,
and in the separating or entrance valves. Figure 11 represents one of the
separating valves in its improved form, and in the position which it assumes
when open; Figure 12, the same when closed; Figure 13, a transverse
section on the line z, z, of Figure 12; and Figure 14, a plan in section. A is
the main tube; B is a wheel which runs vertically into the longitudinal slit
between the two lips of the tube. The sides of this wheel are proposed to be

page_text: kept lubricated by means of lubricating matters brought into contact with the
top of the wheel as it revolves. An edge view of this wheel in the act of
passing through the slit is given on an enlarged scale in Figure 43. A side
view of it is also given in Figure 43ª, which shews how it precedes in its progress
the connecting bar L. From the under or lower half of the main tube A, a piece
about eighteen inches in length is removed to form a recess R. C is a cylindrical
plug, which is about two inches shorter and two inches less in diameter than the
recess R, but is enclosed in a case E which fits exactly into a seat left for it in
the recess. T is a strong spindle, which is passed through the centre of the plug.
C and through slots in the case E, and projects about four inches from each side
of the main tube. K is a trunk or box which is attached to the bottom of the
main tube, and encloses the plug C and case E. D, D, are two parallel arms
which connect the ends of the spindle T with bearings W, W, in the sides of the
trunk K. O is a lever attached to the axis W, by means of which the valve is
lowered, as shewn in Figure 11, or raised, as shewn in Figure 12. The lowering
action is intended to be effected by causing a roller or inclined plane connected with
the passing carriage or train to press against the lever O, but after the carriage
or train has passed, the valve would require to be brought into its previous
position by a man appointed for that purpose. The great object aimed
at by this branch of our Invention is, to take off the pressure on the valve seat
by means of the side rods, and thereby to put the valve into a condition of
being opened by the application of a slight force.
Our claim under this head is, first, to the mode of opening the longitudinal slit in
the traction tubes of atmospheric railways by a vertical wheel, as before described;
and, second, the separating valve case E, the trunk K, and the side rods D, D.
Eighth, our Invention consists in a method of applying the motive power
obtainable from the pressure of the atmosphere, or of steam, or of compressed
air, to the working of pile-driving engines. Figure 15 represents an ele-
vation, and Figure 16 a vertical section of a pile-driving engine, with our
improved working appendages; and Figure 17 is a section of the same on the
line a, b, of Figure 15. B, B, is the framework. A is a wrought-iron
cylinder composed of two sections (lengthwise), bolted together, as shewn in
Figure 17, and having a longitudinal slit in it similar to the traction tube of
atmospheric railways, which slit is faced with some strong flexible substance
capable of withstanding without injury considerable degrees of heat, as sul-
phurised caoutchouc or sulphurised gutta percha. P is a piston of a semi-
globular form, which is linked to a connecting plate R, which slides on guide
wheels W, W, in the longitudinal slit, and has the monkey C suspended from
it, as shewn. The cylinder is closed at top to the atmosphere, but a flexible

page_text: α,
tube 6 serves to establish a communication between the upper part of the
cylinder and an exhausting apparatus, which may be placed close at hand or
at any convenient distance. The lower end of the cylinder is left open. The
monkey is raised by exhausting the air from the top of the cylinder and ad-
mitting the external atmosphere beneath the piston, and is let fall from the top
in the usual way. Figure 18 represents a pile engine on the same principle,
with two tubes acting together, and Figure 19, a section of the same on the
line
b. In this arrangement the guide wheels are not required. Figure 20
exhibits a side elevation of an engine in which an exhausting cylinder is em-
ployed without any slit, and Figure 21 is a vertical section of the same.
A is
the cylinder, which is left open at top and communicates at bottom with the
flexible tube b which leads to the exhausting apparatus. A chain N attached
at one end to the piston (P) within the tube passes over a pulley p at the top
of the engine, and is connected with a counterpoise K, the weight of which is
greater than that of the piston and chain, so that when the piston is drawn to
the bottom of the cylinder by the exhaustion of the air from the part of the
cylinder beneath the piston, the counterpoise is sufficiently heavy to raise it to
the top again, to be in readiness for the next exhaustion. A view of the
cylinder with the valve gear is given on an enlarged scale in Figure 22. V is
a slide valve; W a hand lever, by which the valve is worked. The valve in
the position shewn in the Drawing is represented as opening the communi-
cation between the cylinder A and the exhausting pipe b, but when the lever
W is moved into the position indicated by the dotted lines, the tube A is then
open to the atmosphere, and the counterpoise again brings the piston to the
top of the tube to be in readiness for the next exhaustion. A pile engine on
the same plan as those before described may be worked by means of low or
high pressure steam, the cylinder being in that case made without any slit in
it, and the steam being admitted below the piston to raise it, and then either
condensed by a jet of water or let off into the atmosphere.
Our claim under this head of our Invention is to the working of pile
engines by means of atmospheric pressure and low and high pressure steam,
as before described.
Ninth, our Invention consists in applying in manner following the power
obtained from atmospheric pressure and low and high pressure steam, to exca-
vating, tunnelling, dredging, boring, drilling, crushing, and other like opera-
tions. Figure 23 represents a sectional elevation of an excavating machine
as in actual work on this system, and Figure 24 a plan on the line a, b, of
Figure 23. The machine is sixty feet high, and capable of making a cutting
of fifty feet deep, if required, at one operation. The framework consists of

page_text: four strong wooden uprights B, B, connected together at top and well secured
by cross stays, and the whole is mounted on wheels w, w, which run on tem-
porary rails r, r.
A cylinder A, made of sheet metal, either in one or several
lengths, and without any longitudinal slit, is fixed firmly to the back part of
the framework, in the same manner as the exhausting cylinder in the pile
engines before described. It is left open at top to the atmosphere, and com-
municates at bottom with a tube which leads to an air pump worked by a
locomotive engine or any other convenient power.
A chain t, attached at one
end to the piston within the cylinder, passes over a pulleys, at the top of the
machine, and is connected at the opposite side to a cutting tool C; the weight
given to the cutter must be regulated entirely by the size of the cylinder and
the degree of exhaustion; when the cylinder is twelve inches in diameter it
will work with ease a cutter of eight hundred weight. When the air is drawn
out from the part of the tube beneath the piston, the pressure of the atmosphere
on the top of the piston forces it to the bottom of the tube, and thereby draws
up simultaneously the cutting tool C; when the cutter gets to the top of the
frame it is disengaged in the same manner as the monkey is in the pile engine,
and in falling cuts a slice off all the width of the cutting. The shape of the
cutter will depend on the nature of the ground; for soft earth we use a knife-
edged cutter, such as is shewn in the Drawing, but for a stoney or gravelly soil we
should use tools made with prongs, or otherwise adapted to break up as well
as penetrate the ground; where the ground to be excavated is of a very hard
description we insert wedges in fissures or holes made in it, and drive them
down with great force by means of a monkey instead of a cutter, and thereby
cleave off large masses at a time; the earth as it is cut off by the cutter or
other tools falls on to two planes D', D², inclined in directions the one opposite
to the other. The top inclined plane D' is at such an angle that any earth
falling on it will slide into the carts, and the lower inclined plane D2 is fixed
so that its upper end is attached to the same stay as the lower end of the top
plane, and its lower end comes close to the ground. By this arrangement all
the earth above the top inclined plane falls on it and slides direct into the
carts, while the earth that is cut away below falls on the bottom inclined plane.
The mode of discharging the earth from the lower plane D² is shewn sepa-
rately in Figure 25. Attached to the cutter there are two or more strong hooks,
which, on the cutter arriving at the bottom, catch into the inclined plane, so
that when the cutter is raised the inclined plane is also raised sufficiently high
to allow all the earth to slide off into the carts when the hooks are disengaged,
and the inclined planes fall into their former position ready for another opera-
tion. A progressive movement is given to the machine by men or by horse

page_text: Instead of employing a close cylinder and a long chain, we propose to
power.
employ occasionally a cylinder, with a longitudinal slit placed immediately
behind the cutter, and to connect the piston directly to the cutter by a con-
necting plate inserted and working within the slit of the tube. A machine
constructed on the same principle as the preceding, but adapted for cutting
upwards from the bottom of the slope, is shewn in Figure 26 (vertical section),
and Figure 27 a plan. H, H, is a truck with four wheels placed on temporary
rails r; r. F is a strong post raised on the centre of this truck, which serves
as an axis for other parts of the machinery to rotate upon. I is a circular
rail of iron which circumscribes the post F, and revolves on the bed of the
truck or friction wheels p, p. A is the exhausting cylinder, which is supported
at any required angle by the studs and stays K, K, K, and revolves in a
similar manner to the jib of a crane round the central axis F. The angle at
which the cylinder is fixed will determine the slope of the sides of the cutting.
The cylinder is worked in the same way as the cylinder in the machine last
described, only that the exhaustion is from above the piston. The cutting is
accomplished by a bucket C, with a sharp scooping-out edge; when it is drawn
up by the exhaustion of the air in the upper part of the cylinder, it takes the
earth cut by it up along with it and empties it into a cart at the top. The atmo-
spheric air is then let into the tube below the piston, which allows the bucket to
descend again, and the process is repeated as before. G is a counterpoise to
balance the weight of the cylinder and cutting bucket. Figure 28 is a longi-
tudinal section of another arrangement for supporting and suspending the
working cylinder. Here each end of the cylinder A is suspended from two
wheels F, G, in the manner separately shewn in Figure 31. B, B, are strong
rods which are firmly attached to the cylinder, and suspended at the two ends
from the axles of the wheels. The length of these rods is determined by the
width of the required cutting. C is the cutting bucket, which is worked in the
same manner as in the last plan. Figure 30 (which is a section on the line
a', a', of Figure 28) shews the arrangements adopted for altering the position
of the cutter at each end. M is a segment toothed on its inner periphery,
which is firmly secured to the suspending rods and frame of the working cylin-
der, and N a pinion which gears into the segment and is intended to be worked
by hand. Figure 31 (which is a section on the line b', 6', of Figure 28) shows
the frame of the carriage with the gudgeons for suspending the propelling
frame. An end view of the upper end of the machine on the line c, c, of
Figure 28 is given in Figure 29. A third machine adapted to cutting either
upwards or downwards, or both at one and the same time, is represented in
Figure 33. It is constructed on the same plan as the machine represented

page_text: in Figure 26, and before described, only that it has two working cylinders
(A1, A2,) instead of one, which act alternately. H is the truck for supporting
the machinery, and O the centre pin on which it revolves; w is a heavy balance
weight. A fourth machine on the same principle, and of a very simple con-
struction, is represented in Figure 32. The traction tube is here placed upon
the top of the excavation, and supported on a truck which is capable of moving
in any direction. B is a framework of wood which acts as a guide to the
cutting bucket C. When the cutting bucket is drawn to the top by the
exhaustion, it empties its contents into the cart; the valve V is reversed, and
the air admitted before the piston when the cutter descends, and in its descent
draws the piston into a fit position for the next operation. A fifth variety is
represented in Figures 34 and 35 (side elevation and front view). The
machine here shewn consists of a small double-acting cylinder, a section of
which on the line a, a, is given in Figure 36, mounted on a wooden or cast-
iron frame, and hung on two gudgeons so as to vibrate in any direction; two
slots in the framing allow the cylinder to be raised or lowered as required;
(to prevent confusion the valve gearing is not shewn in these Figures, as we lay
claim to nothing new in respect). The hammer, spade, pickaxe, jumper, or
whatever other tool or instrument is required, is attached direct to the piston
rod. The machine is represented as working in a vertical direction, but by
moving the cylinder on its axis, and depressing or raising the side regulating
screw, the machine may be worked in a horizontal direction, or at any other
angle. To render the machine to a certain extent portable it may be connected
to the exhausting pump by a flexible pipe.
In this class of machinery, as in the pile engines described under a preceding
head of our Invention, the cylinders may be worked by low or high pressure
steam, subject to the like conditions as before expressed, but we prefer using
the agency of the atmosphere alone, as being on the whole more economical
and convenient.
The improvements which we claim under this head of our Invention are,
first, the direct application of the power obtainable from atmospheric pressure
or from steam of low or high pressure, to the working of the machines and
tools employed in excavations and other like operations, as before exemplified
and described; and, second, the several excavating machines before described,
each in the general arrangement and combination of parts of which the same
consists.
Tenth, our Invention consists in the direct application of atmospheric
power to the working of machines for sawing stone, slate, and other like sub-
A machine on this principle is represented in Figure 37 (end view),
stances.

page_text: Figure 38 side view, and Figure 39 (plan). S is the block of stone or other
substance to be sawn; C, a small air cylinder, the piston rod of which is directly
attached to the saw frame, and slides with the saws in a groove in the end of
the frame. The cylinder is connected with the exhausting pump by means of
a flexible pipe p. B, B, are balanced weights for the cylinder and saw frame.
Our claim under this head of our Invention is to the direct application of
atmospheric power, in the manner described, to machines for sawing stone and
other like substances.
Eleventh, our Invention consists in the following improved mode of working
the stamping mills of miners. Figure 40 represents an elevation of an ordi-
nary stamping mill, and Figure 41 a plan of the same. Over the head of each
stamper, an air cylinder is fixed, of sufficient capacity to raise by the exhaustion
thereof the stamper to the required height; a piston working in the cylinder
is connected directly by its piston rod with the stamper. The cylinder is of
single action, being close at the top and open at the bottom. When the air
is drawn off by a pump or other means from the top of the piston, the pressure
of the air forces the piston up to the top of the cylinder and the stamper along
with it, and as soon as the piston is at the top, the valve is reversed, and the
air freely admitted above the piston, when the stamper falls of its own gravity.
In some situations we propose to employ steam instead of air. If low-pres-
sure steam be used, the arrangements will be the same as described above, but
if high-pressure steam be used the cylinders should be closed at the bottom
and open at top, the steam acting under the pistons.
The improvements that we claim under this head of our Invention is, the
substitution for the revolving axle now commonly used to work the stampers
of stamping mills a number of air cylinders, operating by the exhausting and
refilling of the same, as before described.
Twelfth, our Invention consists in the direct application of atmospheric
power to the loading and unloading of ships and other vessels, and to the
raising and lowering of heavy weights generally. Figure 42 is a cylinder similar
to the one used in the pile engines before described. M, the mast, H, the hold
of the ship. The cylinder A is enabled to move in any direction by an universal
joint at a.
Our claim under this head is, the direct application of atmospheric power to
the loading and unloading of ships, vessels, and to the raising and lowering
of heavy weights generally, in the manner before exemplified and described.
Thirteenth, our Invention consists in the following improved methods of
raising water and other fluids:-The pumps now ordinarily employed to raise
water from deep mines and other places are worked by rods and levers direct

page_text: from the first mover. Now, in place thereof we substitute an air pump, the
piston of which is connected direct with the pump rod of the water pump.
This air pump we connect with the first mover by means of an exhausting tube
or cylinder, by which we exhaust the air on one side of the piston of the air
pump, and allow the pressure of air to act on the opposite side. The water-
pump bucket being connected with the air-pump piston rod, lifts the water
contained in the water pump at the same time. From this general description
it will be obvious that the water may be raised to any height by making the
air pump of a capacity commensurate with that of the water pump, due regard
being paid to the height to which the water is to be raised as, and the degree
of exhaustion to be attained. Figure 44 represents a vertical section of a
set of air and water pumps, combined and acting in the manner thus proposed.
C is a small exhaust cylinder, the piston rod of which is attached to the slide
valve of the air pump B, while a very small force suffices to open the valve of
the cylinder; its piston acts with any degree of force that may be required
to overcome the friction of the slide valve of the larger air pump. F is a float
connected by a chain or rope with the throttle valve T, so that when the
water in the mine gets low, and thereby stops the engine, the throttle valve
becomes closed, and as soon as the water accumulates again re-opens. The air
pump B we make of three segments strongly bolted together, as shewn in
Figure 47. The valve gear is represented separately in Figure 48. Figure
45 represents a pump of the above description working in a well or shaft.
Figure 46 exhibits two such pumps (A and B), working in a shaft of a mine.
The pump A raises the water to a reservoir, from whence B lifts it to the surface.
A second method of raising water from great depths, and dependent for
its action and efficiency on atmospheric pressure, is represented in Figure 49.
B is a cylindrical metal tube, the lower end of which is immersed below the
surface of the water to be raised, and the upper end is elevated as high as the
place to which the water is to be pumped up. C is a cistern fixed on the
upper end of the pipe B; A, an exhaust pipe; II, a two-way cock for either
exhausting or admitting air into the cistern C; D, exit valve for the water;
E, travelling piston; F, a short pipe to admit air behind the piston; G, a valve
to admit water from below into the pipe B. The action is as follows:-The
piston being at the bottom of the cylinder B, the air valve in the pipe F is
closed, the water valve G open, and the cock II in the exhaust pipe open to
the air pump. The air from the cylinder B being now drawn off, the water
is forced through the valve G by the pressure of air on the surface of the
water, and rises from twenty to twenty-eight fect, according to the degree of
exhaustion. The valve G is then closed, and F opened. The air entering by

page_text: the pipe F forces the piston with the column of water up to the top of the
cylinder, flowing out of which it fills the cistern C. The cock H is then
opened to the atmosphere, which allows the piston again to descend to the
bottom of the tube as before, the water at the same time running out of the
cistern through the valve D.
F, F,
G1, G2,
A third mode of lifting water and other fluids consists in effecting the same
by means of the rising and falling of hollow bodies or floats placed in vessels
of water. We employ for the purpose three different descriptions of apparatus.
A sectional elevation of the first of these is given in Figure 50 of the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and two sections of it in Figures 51 and 52, one on the line
a, a, and the other on the line b, b. A1, A2, are two cisterns mounted on
brickwork, which are closed at top, but open into each other at bottom, and
are filled with water to the extent indicated by the blue colour in the Drawing,
Figure 50. P¹, Q', are two vertical pipes, one at each side of the two cisterns,
which communicate with the reservoir of water (natural or artificial) beneath,
and are closed at top by valves which open upwards. P2 and Q² are two pipes
which branch off at right angles from the top of P¹, Q, and in continuation
thereof, and P3, Q³, two more vertical pipes which rise from the inner ends of
P, Q, and curving over at top, unite in one common escape pipe O.
are two floats of a barrel-like form contained in the cisterns A1, A2.
are two pistons or plungers inserted in the pipes P³, Q³, having valves opening
upwards, the rods of which pistons or plungers are prolonged through stuffing
boxes in the tops of the cisterns A1, A2, and attached to the floats within them,
F1, F2, respectively. R is an exhaust pipe, and T a pipe for the admission of
the atmospheric air, which are alternately shut and closed by means of a two-
way cock, V. The action of the apparatus is as follows:-Air is withdrawn by
the exhaust pipe from the cistern A¹, when the water, being released on that
side from the pressure of the air, rises in that cistern, and carries up with it
the buoy F¹, which forces up the piston or plunger G'. The water in the other
cistern A, falls in the same proportion as that in A¹ rises, carrying down with
it the plunger G², consequently when the buoy F¹ has ascended to the top of
the cistern A on the one side, the buoy F2 on the other side has fallen to near
the bottom of the cistern A². When the parts are in this position the two-way
cock is turned so as to admit air from the atmosphere into the top of the cistern
A', and to withdraw air from the cistern A³, when the same operation as
before took place with respect to the buoy F¹ is repeated on the buoy F2. The
water falling in A' from the pressure upon it of the admitted air, and carrying
the float F down with it, flows back through the communicating channel e into
A2, and rising therein under the now diminished pressure on that side carries

page_text: up with it the buoy F³, which pushes up the piston or plunger G³, and so on
the operation may be continued for any length of time. The water forced up
at each stroke of the pistons G1, G2, is discharged through the common escape:
pipe O
Our second apparatus for raising water by the 'buoyancy of Boating bodies+is
represented in Figures 53 and 54. A is a close cistern, as before, partially-
filled with water, and containing a float F, similar to those employed in the
first apparatus, only that it is open at bottom to the water. "V is a two-way,
cock by which air is alternately withdrawn from and admitted to the cistern.
P a plunger inserted in the well barrel HQ, the rod of which is prolonged
upwards through-stuffing boxes, and connected to the float:FO is the discharge
pipe. The action of this apparatus is as follows: Supposing the parts to be
in the position-represented in Figure 53, air being withdrawn from the top of
the cistern, the water rises therein, and the air in the float expands or becomes:
attenuated in proportion as the water leaves it, till at length, by its levity,..it
raises the float to the top of the cylinder, (as shewn in Figure 54;).and raises:
with it the plunger P. The two-way cock is then turned to admit air into.the
top of the cistern, when the water sinks under the pressure upon it of the
admitted air, and rising within the float, compresses the air therein to its
original degree of density, upon which the float descends to the bottom: as
before, and produces-the return or down stroke of the piston P.
..Our third apparatus for raising water by-the buoyancy of floating bodies: is
represented in Figure 55. In this case we employ a cistern A, which is close
at top but open at bottom, and dips at the bottom into the reservoir from which
the water or other liquid is pumped up. F is a float which, like that employed
in the apparatus last described, is partly open at bottom. ff, are ledges on
the inside of the cistern to prevent the float F from descending beyond them.
V is a two-way cock for withdrawing and admitting air as before. P is a
vertical pipe raised on the top of the cistern, and containing a piston P², the
rod of which passes down through a stuffing box in the top of the cistern, and
is connected to the float F. Q is an uplift pipe which rises from the reservoir
of water alongside of the cistern, and is bent over towards and joins the
vertical pipe P at the point of elevation in that pipe where the stroke of the
piston P2 terminates. The action of this apparatus is similar to that which has
been last herein-before described.
:
And in regard to the three apparatuses last herein-before described, we.
declare that what we claim is, the application of the rising and falling of hollow
bodies or floats in water to the lifting of water and other fluids..
A fourth method or system of raising water and other fluids which we'

page_text: employ consists in the application to the purpose of the gravity or weight.of
bodies of water raised to a lifting position by atmospheric exhaustion. An
apparatus for carrying this system into effect is represented in Figure 56.
A, A, is a framework raised on brickwork or any other suitable basement. P
a vertical pipe which communicates with the reservoir, of water beneath, and
communicates at top by two arms a, a, (each having a valve opening upwards):
with a horizontal pipe P2. Two vertical pipes.Ps, P, are raised from the ends.
of the horizontal pipe P2, and bent over at top so as to meet at a cock Y,
common to both, which serves to open and close the communication between
them when required, as herein-after explained. Each of the pipes P³, P
terminates at bottom in a broad flange, by which it is secured to the top of the
framework; T, T2, are pistons which work in the pipes P³, P. The rods of
these pistons pass through stuffing boxes in the bottoms of their respective
cylinders, and are attached at their under extremities to. the, water-weight
vessels W, W. These vessels contain just as much water between them as is
sufficient to fill one of them, and a pipe M, which communicates between the
two. N, N, are pipes which serve alternately to withdraw air from and admit
air to the vessels W', W2, and are opened and shut by means of a two-way.
cock V. O is a discharge pipe, and x a slide valve, by which it is alternately
opened and shut to the right and left hand sides of the pipe P2. The action
of the apparatus is as follows:-Supposing the parts of the apparatus to be in
the position represented in the Figure, that is to say, the vessel W% to be filled
with water, the vessel W' to be filled with air at the pressure of the external
atmosphere, the pipes P1, P2, P, P, to be all filled with water, the two-way
cock V to be closed, the slide valve x opened to the left-hand side of the pipe
P, and the cock Y at top open so as to admit of a free communication between
P3 and P; then the effect will be this, that the vessel W2 will descend by its
own gravity, pulling down the piston T along with it, and that the vessel W
will be thrown up on the other side to a height corresponding with the descent
of W2, and carry up with it the piston T¹; for the water which the descent of
the piston T displaces and forces through the left-hand side of the pipe P² into
the discharge pipe will be always exactly proportionate to the quantity pushed
upwards by the ascent of the piston T. To produce the return stroke the two-
cock V is opened so as to exhaust the air from the vessel W, and admit air
from the atmosphere into the top of the vessel W2, the effect of which is that
as the air becomes exhausted from W', and air is forced into W, the water
passes from W2 into W, which, as soon as it is filled, descends by its gravity
in the same way as the vessel W2 did before. And so on; the operation may
be continued for any length of time.
way

page_text: What we claim in regard to this machine is, the lifting of water by means
of the gravity or weight of bodies of water raised to a lifting position by means
of atmospheric exhaustion, as before described.
A fifth method consists in so arranging apparatus worked by means of
exhaustion for raising water from mines and other places, and the apparatus
that fluids may be caused to rise to any required height by the ordinary
pressure of the atmosphere.
Figure 57 shews a sectional side view, and Figure 58 a sectional end view
of one arrangement of such apparatus, which it will be seen consist of a series
of tubes a, b, c, d, up which the fluid is caused to rise by atmospheric pressure
successively into chambers e, f, g, h, which we place about twenty feet distant
in height from each other, and each of these chambers is alternately connected
to one or the other of the branch pipes i, j, which, by means of the four-way
cock (or other suitable arrangement of apparatus), are either of them capable
of being brought into connection with the pipe l, or with the atmosphere, so as
to obtain a vacuum or atmospheric pressure therein. The pipe is in con-
nection with an air pump or other means of obtaining vacuum, as is well
understood. When the cock k is in the position shewn in Figures 57 and 58,
a vacuum will be created in the chambers e and g, while the ordinary pressure
of the atmosphere will be maintained in the chambers f and h, in consequence
of air passing freely through the cock k, and through the pipe j, into those
chambers; and as the pipes b, c, d, descends nearly to the bottom of the
chambers e, f, and g, where there are valves b¹, c¹, and d', the water or other
fluid from the level m will be caused to fill the chamber e, and the fluid from the
chamber f (which had been previously filled by the operation of the apparatus)
will be caused to rise and fill the chamber g, when on reversing the position
of the four-way cock k, the pipe j will be brought into connection with the
air pump or vacuum apparatus, and the pipe i will be open to the atmosphere,
and the fluid from the chamber e will be caused to rise up the pipe 6 into the
chamber f, and the fluid from the chamber 9 will rise into chamber h, and so
on, by changing the position of the cock k, the fluid will be caused to rise into
the various chambers e, f, g, and h, the number of which and of the lengths of
pipe a, b, c, d, may be varied, but as in commencing to use the apparatus there
will be no fluid in the various pipes and chambers.
We will now describe the way in which we commence to use the apparatus.
The stopcocks g and h², in the branch pipes g¹, h¹, are to be closed until the
chambers e and g have been once filled, when those stopcocks may be opened
and the apparatus may go on working in the manner above explained, and
uch will be the order of working of the chambers e, f, g, h, when a greater
umber are made use of.

page_text: e,
when
Figure 59 shews a side view in section, and Figure 60 an end view in
section, of another arrangement of apparatus for causing fluids to rise. In
this case only one pipe i is used to admit air to and to produce a vacuum
in the chambers e, f, g, h, and this is effected alternately, as will be heretofore
more clearly seen. In this case there are extra open vessels n, o, p, q, 5
which receive the fluid from the chambers e, f, g, h, and unto which the
lower ends of the pipes b, c, d, descend nearly to the bottom of the cham-
bers n, o, p, and m is the level of the fluid to be raised. In commencing
to use this arrangement of apparatus we close the stopcocks 1, 2, 3, and exhaust
until the chamber e becomes
the air from the chamber e, through the pipe
filled with fluid; we then allow the pipe i to be in communication with the
atmosphere, by which air will pass through the pipe i to the chamber
the fluid in the chamber e will pass through the valve e¹ into the chamber n;
the stopcockmust now be opened, and the pipe i opened to the air pump,
the air will be withdrawn from the chambers e and f, which will admit of the
fluid rising by atmospheric pressure into the chamber e from the reservoir in
and into the chamber f from the chamber n; air must then be admitted
through the pipe i into the chambers e and f, when the fluid contained
therein will fall into the chambers n and o, when the stopcock 2 must be
opened and the pipe i again be opened to the air pump, when the air being
extracted from the chambers e, f, and g, the fluid will rise therein, and so
on according to the number of chambers and lengths of pipe required; when
the whole of the chambers e, f, g, h, have been once filled the fluid will be
caused to rise by alternately exhausting air from and admitting air into the
chambers e, f, g, h, through the pipe i; a, b, c, d, are valves in the upper
part of the pipes a, b, c.
What we claim in respect to this part of our Invention is, the mode of
applying atmospheric pressure to the raising of water, whereby the commu-
nication of pipes with a series of air-tight vessels is so arranged, that by
opening such pipes to an exhausting apparatus, and to the atmosphere alter-
nately, each alternate vessel of the series is alternately opened to the exhaustion
apparatus, and to the atmosphere. And we also claim the mode of raising
water by a series of air-tight vessels in communication with a tube or tubes
for that purpose, thereby allowing the water to flow from them into other
vessels open to atmospheric pressure, in order to the raising of the water into
higher vessels of the air-tight series.
Fourteenth, our Invention relates to obtaining power on atmospheric
railways by forcing air into the main, behind the piston, while the train of
carriages is proceeding along the line of railway. Figure 61 shews a side
view, and Figure 62 a front view, of a railway carriage, with apparatus

page_text: applied according to the Invention, with apparatus applied according to the
Invention. a, a, is the main or vacuum tube. 6 is one of a train of carriages
which are supposed to be travelling in the direction of the arrow. c is a
blower carried by the framing of the carriage. The mouth of this blower
opens into the main, and by blowing into the tube behind the piston (where a
vacuum is made use of as the motive power), the equilibrium (in respect to
the outer atmosphere) in the tube behind the piston is soon established, and
the effective force is increased in such cases as have very small openings in the
traction tubes, and where the atmosphere by its natural action cannot enter
with sufficient speed. c is the axis of the blower. On this axis is affixed a
pulley d, over which passes a band from the drum e on the axis e¹, on which is
affixed the fans or windmill f, which, by being acted upon by the air as the
train passes along, gives motion to the fan of the blower, which is of the
ordinary construction. 9 is an inclined plane, which, while it protects the fans
at the lower part of the wheel, directs the air on to those fans which for the
time being are above the axle of the fan or windmill.
We would remark that we do not confine ourselves to the arrangement of
fans or vanes, nor the blower shewn, as they may be varied; the object being to
get an equilibrium in respect to the atmosphere, by forcing air through the
longitudinal slit or opening in the traction tube. But what we claim in respect
to this part of our Invention is, the mode of accelerating the entrance of the air
through the open part of the longitudinal valve of a traction tube behind the
piston, whereby the resistance of the external air to the progress of the train
is made to drive a blower, as herein described.
Fifteenth, our Invention relates to obtaining power by modes of with-
drawing air from the traction tubes used in atmospheric railways. In
Figures 63 and 64, a, a, represents a furnace, from which rises the chimney.
b, c, is a pipe from the main traction tube; and this pipe is connected to the
box a, which is connected with the chamber c, by means of tubes g, g, which
pass through the furnace, and thereby become heated, rarefying the air therein,
and causing a current in the direction of the arrow in the pipe c. h is a pipe
from the chamber e. This pipe, as is shewn, passes inside the chimney b, so
as to receive as much heat as possible to increase the current in the pipes from
the main. We would remark that we are aware that apparatus acted upon by
heat has before been used for withdrawing air for other purposes. This part
of the Invention is confined to the combination of such description of
apparatus with the traction tubes of atmospheric railways, so as to produce
exhaustion therein; at the same time we would state that we do not confine
ourselves to the arrangement shewn, so long as each is employed to produce

page_text: currents of air, and thus to exhaust traction tubes of atmospheric railways.
Figure 65 shews a side section, and Figure 66 a cross section, of another
arrangement of apparatus, for the purpose of creating and keeping up a
vacuum in the main tube of atmospheric railways. I is a pipe from the main
or vacuum tube, communicating with the centre o of this apparatus, which
consists of the two side plates m, m, which enclose the sides of the volute n.
This is caused to revolve rapidly in the direction of the black arrow, by means
of a band acting on the drum on the axle p, when the air will be thrown out
in the direction of the red arrow. Although we have shewn a volute having
but one vane, we do not confine ourselves thereto, the object of this part of
the Invention being the application of such blowers as are constructed with
vanes projecting further in advance of the exit holes than in the rear of such
holes, whereby in their revolution they have a tendency to leave a vacuum
behind the projecting parts in addition to the centrifugal action brought about
by them. Figure 67 shews in section another arrangement for obtaining
power by creating a vacuum in the traction tube of atmospheric railways.
a, a, is a steam cylinder of a reciprocating steam engine, which may be of the
ordinary construction, except that there will be a stuffing at both ends for the
passage of the piston rod b, which in this case extends below the piston 6', and
passes through a stuffing box c¹ into the cylinder c, where it is affixed to a
piston 6. This cylinder c has two inlet and two outlet passages, as shewn ;
the two outlet passages communicate from the traction tube, so that in the
ordinary working of the engine the air pump c will be worked to withdraw
air from the main traction tube; the object being to simplify the arrangement
of steam engines and air pumps used for exhausting the traction tubes of atmo-
spheric railways, by combining the piston of the air pump with the piston rod of
the steam engine which works the air pump. And we would state in respect of
this part of our Invention that we confine our claim of Invention to steam
engines and air pumps used in exhausting the traction tubes of atmospheric
railways.
We will now describe another mode of obtaining exhaustion, which may be
applied in working atmospheric railways and for other purposes. Figure 68
shews a side view in section; Figure 69, a section through the lines 1, 2, of
Figure 68; and Figure 70, a section through the lines 3, 4, of Figure 68.
a, a, are the side plates, and a¹ the outer ring or drum of the apparatus, which
is caused to revolve as will be hereafter described. To one of the plates a, is
connected the axle b, on which is affixed the tooth wheel c, by which the
apparatus is caused to revolve; the other side plate a has a hollow short
axled, which, with the axle b, is supported in suitable bearings; the short hollow

page_text: axle d is connected at d 1 to a branch e from the main or traction tube of
an atmospheric railway by a packed joint, as shewn. Within the apparatus is
a series of passages which are capable of being opened or closed by means of
sliding valves f, g, h, i, so as to alter the direction in which the air shall be
drawn in through the centre. These valves are operated upon by means of the
levers j, k, which are supported and turn upon axes j, k, suitably applied to the
framing, which we have not thought it necessary to shew in the Drawings,
and these levers are acted upon so as to reverse the position of the valves by the
projecting surfaces a², a³, on the periphery of the apparatus.
The arrow
indicates the direction in which the apparatus is cause to revolve. The part
colored pink indicates mercury (or if the apparatus be of a diameter large
enough, then water may be used), which we make use of to serve the place of
a piston, and which at all times during the working of the apparatus
maintains a level somewhat about that shewn in the Drawing, when the
passage a³, and part of the outer ring or chamber a is now shewn to be open
to the atmospheric, which will press on the lower end of the column of
mercury, while the passage a³ and the upper part of the outer ring or passage
at is in communication with the hollow axle, but so soon as the projections
a², a³,
have come in contact with the ends j, k, of the levers j, k, the valves
f, g, h, i, will be reversed so as to open the passage a to the atmosphere, and
the passage a² to the hollow axis e, and that quantity of air which had been
withdrawn from the main during the half revolution of the apparatus will be
thrown into the air. The valves ƒ and g are connected together, and such is
the case with respect to the valves h and i, and the connected valves f and,
and h and i, have stems f', ', with rollers f, i, which are alternately pressed
on by the lever j, so as to force the valves in towards the centre e, and are
drawn outwards by the short piece e affixed to the lever k. By causing the
parts a to revolve rapidly, it will be found that a vacuum will be produced
and maintained, proportionate to the diameter of the apparatus used.
We would remark, in respect to this part of our Invention, that the chief object
is to obtain a continuous rotary apparatus consisting of several chambers, each
for a time sealed by a fluid, and in such manner that each chamber or com-
partment may become filled with air drawn in through the hollow axis, and
when unsealed by the fluid, discharge the air into the outer atmosphere.
We do not, therefore, confine ourselves to the precise arrangement shewn so
long as these objects are accomplished when working atmospheric. railways.
And we would have it understood, that what we claim in respect to this part
of our Invention, is the application of apparatus to atmospheric railways as
above described.

page_text: Sixteenth, our Invention relates to another mode of obtaining exhaustion
by mechanical means for the application of mechanical power. Figures 71
and 72 shew sections of the apparatus. a, a, is a case which has two conical
ends, to which are secured the two flexible partitions b, b; these partitions
are secured to the double cone c, through which passes the rod d; the rod d
passes through the stuffing boxes as shewn. The space e, e, is to be filled with
oil or other incompressible fluid, so as to maintain the flexible partitions at a
uniform tension. f. f, are inlet, and 9, 9, outlet passages. It will be evident
that by working the rod backwards and forwards fluids will be regulated to
flow into and out of this apparatus.
Seventeenth, our Invention relates to the combined purposes of railway
propulsion and the conveyance of gas, and includes modes of operation which
we will now proceed to describe. We first propose to apply the motive power
of pneumatic railways to the conveyance of gas for economical purposes, the
gas being that which is used for lighting or heating, the object of this part of
In order to carry
our Invention being the economical application of power.
out this part of our Invention more advantageously we allow gas to pass out
of a balanced gasometer or other apparatus which is capable of diminishing
its capacity as the gas is withdrawn from it into the traction tube behind the
piston, and we remove the atmospheric pressure from the pipe by a pump or
other exhausting apparatus at a suitable distance, and where we place our
exhausting apparatus we have in connexion with it a gasometer or other recep-
tacle for the gas, as is shewn in the Drawing, Figure 73 and 74. Between
these gasometers or other receptacles and pumps we employ, for the conveyance
of the gas, the traction tube of a pneumatic railway, and we prefer such traction
tubes as are not opened by longitudinal valves to the atmosphere. With such
traction tubes the gas from the descending gasometer or other apparatus
follows immediately behind the traction piston, while the withdrawing apparatus
relieves such piston from pressure in the front, and the traction piston is thus
propelled by the pressure of the atmosphere on the gasometer or other appa-
ratus behind it, the gas being intermediate, and conveying the atmospheric
pressure to the piston. In carrying out this part of our Invention we prefer
to use the traction pipe in which the piston is attached to the train by magnetic
attraction, as is shewn in a recent Patent. The method in which we propose to
work this part of our Invention is this:-The apparatus containing the gas to
be conveyed being opened to the traction pipe behind the piston, before the
starting of a train we exhaust the traction pipe by an air pump, or other
apparatus for exhausting, placed about 3 miles off in the direction in which the
train is to be conveyed, and this air so pumped out from before the piston we

page_text: expel into the atmosphere. The traction pipe thus becomes filled with gas,
and if the next train is to travel in the same direction, we leave this gas in the
pipe until the traction of such train is required. We then pump out this gas
by the apparatus before used to pump out the air, the traction piston of this
second train following the gas (gas again following the piston), but we expel
the gas into a gasometer, where it is deposited ready to follow another train
further along the line in the same direction. But when the pipe is full of
gas, and it is desired to propel a train in the contrary direction to that in
which the gas is conveyed, we clear the pipe by means of placing behind the
gas or loose piston or hollow ball fitting the pipe, and we then pump the gas
(the loose piston following it) out of the pipe and into the gasometer by the
apparatus before used to withdraw the air from the pipe. The pipe being
now full of atmospheric air may be used for a train travelling in either
direction. If for a train travelling in the direction in which gas is to be
conveyed, gas is admitted behind the piston, but if for a train in the contrary
direction air is admitted behind the piston, the air in the front of it being
withdrawn from the traction pipe, and expelled into the atmosphere by the
apparatus, which, when trains are approaching it from the place where the gas
is manufactured, is used to withdraw gas from the pipe and expel it into a
gasometer. In Figure 73 we have shewn a plan of an arrangement of
apparatus for these purposes. A represents the traction pipe; B, a station in
the vicinity of a coal mine; C, a station in a town to be supplied with gas, or
in the direction of such town. D, D, large gasometers to be supplied with the
gas by the pumps e, e, from the traction pipe A, the eduction valves of the
pumps being so arranged with a three-way cock, or by other known methods,
as to convey gas into the gasometers, or air out to the atmosphere.
Figure 74 represents a sectional side view of the apparatus, shewing the
interior of the gasometers and how the traction tube terminates therein, and
is connected by flexible pipes to the upper parts of the gasometer, where the
inlet and outlet valves are shown, as will readily be understood. When
traction tubes with longitudinal valves are used, we employ another piston to
prevent the external atmosphere mixing with the gas in the pipe, and for this
purpose we place the additional piston immediately behind that part of the
valve which is open, and this additional piston may either have a connecting
rod attaching it to one of the carriages, or it may be attached to the traction
piston by a rod of sufficient length passing along the tube. When we attach
the additional piston to one of the rear carriages we do it in such a manner
that the connecting rod passes through the open part of the longitudinal
valve or slit in the same manner as the connecting rod of the traction piston

page_text: passes through the same, excepting that the position is reversed, it being attached
to the front of the additional piston. During the intervals between the trains.
we propose to apply the stationary power to the drawing of gas along the
traction tube, when making use of such traction tubes as have longitudinal
slits, and when making use of such traction tubes as have no longitudinal slits
we propose to apply the power to force the gas along the tube as well as to
withdraw it from the tube.
We secondly apply the motive power of a locomotive engine for the con-
veyance of gas along pipes as an improved method of applying power to the
conveyance of gas, more particularly when it is desired to convey it great
distances. For this purpose a smaller tube than is necessary for a traction
tube may be employed, such smaller tube being laid down between the rails,
and for this purpose we use a tube either with or without a longitudinal valve
or slit.
In this tube we insert a piston or diaphragm, which is drawn along
by the locomotive being connected therewith, either by a rod through the slit,
or by magnetic attraction when there is no slit. But there are other known
methods of communicating the motion through the tube without a slit, as is
done with the partly flexible traction pipes already patented. In order to
facilitate the passage of the gas in the pipe, we propose, in carrying out this
part of our Invention (relating to the application of the motive power of a
locomotive to the forcing or drawing of gas in tubes), to place along the line
of railway at short distances a number of gasometers balanced by weights, so
as to rise or fall with the application of a small force; into and out of these
gasometers the gas can readily flow, they being in open communication with
the tube. This arrangement is shewn by a diagram in Figure 75 (in plan)
where E, E, represent gasometers so balanced; the mode of balancing which
and their general operation being well understood, we have thought it un-
necessary to show more. The friction of the gas in the pipe is by this means
materially diminished, and the resistance of the gas to the passage of the train
is regulated and controlled so as to become uniform instead of increasing with
the length of the column of gas to be moved, for, instead of a long column of
gas being kept in motion in the pipe both in front of and behind the piston,
only a column equal to the distance of the gasometers from each other is put
in motion in the pipe before and behind the piston. As the piston is drawn
along by the locomotive between two of these balanced gasometers it forces
the gas before it up into the gasometer in advance, instead of having to over-
come the friction of the column of gas in the whole length of pipe before
it, and gas descends from the gasometer in the rear to follow the pistor
instead of the gas in the whole length of the pipe behind the piston being

page_text: drawn along. We thus avoid a great deal of the known friction of fluids
passing through pipes, more particularly when forced through, as the gas
advance of the piston would otherwise be.
in
We are aware that the expression "air or other gaseous fluids" has been
employed in the Specification of a Patent relating to atmospheric railways,
when proposing to reduce the friction of the aeriform fluid in the tubes by
employing it in a rarified state, but in the tubes there referred to the air
drawn from one end of the tube is returned at the other, whereas the object
of our Invention is the delivery of the gas at the opposite end of the tube from
that at which it entered. And we therefore claim,-
First, the combined application of the motive power of a pneumatic railway to
the
conveyance and delivery of gas for economical purposes, and to the maintain-
ing of the locomotive traffic. We also claim applying the stationary power
of a pneumatic railway to the conveying of gas during the intervals when such
power is not employed for the purpose of locomotion. And we claim the mode
of applying the power of a locomotive engine, whereby the drawing or forcing
of gas along pipes is effected.
a is
Eighteenth, our Invention relates to an improved construction of tap for
regulating and controlling the flow of fluids. Figure 76 shows an external
view, Figure 77 a longitudinal section, and Figure 78 a cross section.
the plug, which it will be seen is conical and hollow, and instead of having
but one passage, as is now commonly the case, it has six narrow ones, a', a',
corresponding to six similar passages b', 6', in the conical seat b, but this
number may be varied, the object being so to construct the taps of the passage
through the same may be almost instantaneously closed when the handle of
the plug is turned instead of having to turn the plug a quarter round, as is
now the case with the ordinary construction of plugs. The conical seat b is
enclosed in a part of the case forming a chamber c, with an opening c', and
separated from the part c² by a partition c³; c is the opening to the cham-
ber c³, and to the interior of the plug. In Figures 77 and 78 the
through the plug are shewn open; in the cross section, Figure 79, the
a', b', are closed.
شر
passages
passages
We would remark in respect to this part of the Invention that, although
we have shewn the plug to have six passages, we do not confine ourselves to
that number, the object being to obtain a large area of opening by a compa-
ratively small movement of the plug. And we claim in respect to this part
of our Invention the mode of obtaining an enlarged area of area to the cocks,
as herein described.
Nineteenth part of our Invention relates to the application of the gravitation

page_text: of the human body in the construction of pedomotive carriages. Figure 80
shews a side view, Figure 81 a plan, and Figure 82 a front view, of one of
our improved carriages. a, a, is the framing; b is the fore wheel; and c, c,
are the hind and driving wheels, which are affixed to the axles d, upon which
are affixed the pinions d', d', which are geared into by the toothed wheels
h, h, affixed on the axis ', upon which is also affixed the drum h², and this
drum has treadle boards h³, h³, which being acted upon by the feet of a person
using the carriage, the drum will be caused to revolve in the direction of the
arrow, and give motion to the wheel c, c, to produce an onward motion to
the carriage; i is a platform on which the person using the carriage may stand,
for it will be understood that the carriage is to be set in motion by the feet
alternately treading on the treadle boards h³, h³; and in order that it be
steered in any required direction, the stem b' of the wheel 6 turns in bearings
a', a', and has on its upper end a wheel b², to which is affixed the cord j, j,
which is passed round the wheel k, which has handles k', and is within reach
of the person riding. We would, however, remark that although we have
only shewn one fore wheel on the axle b', in some cases two fore wheels may
be applied, which would be especially useful when using the carriage to travel
on railways.
may
What we claim in respect to this part of our Invention is, the mode
of obtaining locomotive power from the gravity of the human body without
the aid of a crank, whereby such gravity is caused to operate as a continuous
force; and we also claim the continuous application of the gravity at an
equable leverage. And we further claim the application of the gravity at an
equable leverage in the front of the axle of the driving wheels.
Twentieth, our Invention consists in applying in manner following the motive
power obtainable from atmospheric pressure to work machinery for tilling land.
Figure 83 represents a plan of an estate or farm of sixteen square miles.
The exhausting power is proposed to be placed in the centre at C, and it
may consist either of a steam engine, or water mill, or windmill; T, T, is a
main line of traction tube similar to that employed in atmospheric railways,
which is laid down on a road running through the centre of the estate, and
connected with the central exhausting apparatus. Branching off from this
main pipe, and at right angles to it, there are a number of smaller pipes t, t, t, t,
placed about a quarter of a mile apart, which may communicate power to as
Each of these branch pipes is provided
many different agricultural means.
with a stop valve, so that no more of the pipes need be exhausted than required.
Figure 84 shows a plot of ground in process of being ploughed or scarified
by means of two locomotives, one on each side of the plot of ground. P repre-

page_text: sents the plough or scarifier connected by ropes (or chains), one at each
end, to two drums D, D, on the locomotive carriages, so that as the plough or
scarifier advances in one direction, one rope is unwound and the other wound,
each on its own particular drum. Motion is given to the drums by means of
two vibrating cylinders V, V, as shewn in the sectional view, Figure 85. A
vertical section of the tube and elevation of the piston is given separately in
Figure 86. The connecting arm of the piston is made hollow, as shewn, to
draw off the air from the cylinders. Figure 87 is a transverse section of tube
and piston, shewing the passage through the piston and connecting rod.
Figure 88 is a plan, and Figure 89 a vertical section, shewing the mode of
supporting the rope or chain by light two-wheeled cars. Figure 90 is an
elevation, Figure 91, a plan, and Figure 92, an end view of one of these
cars.
The improvement which we claim under this head of our Invention is the
applying in manner aforesaid of the motive power obtainable from atmospheric
pressure to give motion to agricultural machinery.
Lastly, our Invention consists in the application of machinery similar to
that last herein-before described to rope walks, and to the working of the
whirling and twisting the machines there employed.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Clark and Mark Freeman, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Eleventh day of August, One
thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
Enrolled the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-six.