IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles de Bergue, of No.10, Strand, in the City of
Westminster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINES." A communication from abroad by Auguste de Bergue, of
Madrid, in the Kingdom of Spain.
Sealed the 28th December 1865, and dated the 3rd July 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles de Bergue at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd July 1865.
I, CHARLES DE BERGUE, of No. 10, Strand, in the City of. Westminster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVE.
MENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES," to be as follows:-
The Invention consists in constructing locomotive engines with or applying
thereto an air chamber or chambers, which may be heated or not, and valves
and valve gearing, whereby.when the steam is shut off and the valve gearing.
reversed, the cylinders may be converted into force pumps for condensing or
pumping air into the said air chamber or chambers, whereby the gradual
increase of pressure thus produced may oppose a gradually increasing and
accumulated elastic pressure or resistance to the pistons, and consequently to
the onward motion of the locomotive or train. The air so compressed may
press on pistons in small cylinders working timber or metal friction blocks or
breaks placed against the non-driving wheels of the engine, or against. the
[Price 8d.1

page_text: wheels of the tender, or the rails, for assisting the retardation. The Invention
includes valves for the purpose of closing temporarily the present exit of the
blast pipe, and admitting air into it to supply the cylinder otherwise than
through the funnel, thus avoiding the inconvenience of dust or grit in the
valves, the inlet of air being by pipes or passages from the outside. Or the
air may be admitted from the outside into and through the boxes enclosing
the slide valves. A small jet of steam may be employed to lubricate the said
valves and the pistons when working for retardation. The several valves may
be such and be so arranged as to take advantage of the full effect of the
pressure accumulated in the air chambers at the commencement of the piston
strokes. The capacity of the air chamber or chambers should be about three
or four times the capacity of the cylinders, or of twice the capacity, or less if
it be desired to stop very quickly. Safety valves are to be applied to the air
chambers to limit the pressure, and these may or may not be under the control
of the driver.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,filed
by the said Charles de Bergue in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd January 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DE BERGUE, of No. 10, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign,, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles de Bergue, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
de Bergue, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Charles de Bergue, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES," a communication to me from abroad
by Auguste de Bergue, of Madrid, in the Kingdom of Spain, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles de Bergue, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the

page_text: said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles de Bergue, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The Invention consists in constructing locomotive engines with or applying
thereto an air chamber or chambers, which may be heated or not, and valves.
and valve gearing, whereby when the steam is shut off and the ordinary valve
gearing reversed the cylinders may be converted into force pumps for con-
densing or puniping air into the said air chamber or chambers, whereby the
gradual increase of pressure thus produced may oppose a gradually increasing
and accumulated elastic pressure or resistance to the pistons, and consequently
to the onward motion of the locomotive or train. Also in so constructing
locomotive engines that the air compressed as above may by means of pistons
or small cylinders press against timber or metal friction blocks or brakes
placed against the non-driving wheels of the engine, or against the wheels
of the tender, or direct on to the rails for assisting the retardation. The
Invention also includes valves for the purpose of closing temporarily the
present exit of the blast pipe, and admitting air into it to supply the cylinder
otherwise than through the funnel, thus avoiding the inconvenience of dust or
grit in the valves, the inlet of air being by pipes or passages from the outside.
Also the employing a small jet of steam to lubricate the said valves and the
pistons when working for retardation. Also the applying safety valves to the
air chambers to limit the pressure, which valves may or may not be under
the control of the driver.
Having now set forth the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed to
describe the manner in which the same is to be and may be performed.
Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying illustrative Drawing show a sectional
elevation and plan of a locomotive constructed with several of the improve-
ments above set forth. a is the blast pipe passing from cylinder 6 to chimneyc,
and terminating in a conical part d. In order that the said pipe may com-
municate with the external air I adapt an open tube e at any suitable point,
and at the junction I place a valve f, which serves for placing either pipe a
or channel e in cominunication with the atmosphere. The steam passes from
the boiler by a pipe i to receiver r, and is thence conducted by means of pipes
to the cylinders b. Supposing it is wished to stop the engine or train, the

page_text: driver cuts off the admission of steam to receiver r by acting on a lever 1,
which through the medium of rod t closes the disc valve g by means of
rods h, h. A similar mechanism is disposed on both sides of the engine for
regulating the admission of air from the cylinders into the reservoir j, the
which is effected for both sides by the same lever in such manner that the
driver, while cutting off the steam from receiver r also opens the passage for
the air to reservoir j. The driver then by the ordinary Stephenson link
motion or otherwise reverses the motion of the slide valves, which causes the
air to be drawn by the pistons into the cylinders, in which, after being com-
pressed, it is forced to pass into the air reservoir j; where, after a succession
of strokes it is still further compressed and becomes a powerful agent, tending
to constantly arrest the motion of the. pistons, the engine being thereby
energetically retarded. The air reservoir is formed of two tubular chambers
disposed longitudinally alongside the boiler, a spring serving to regulate and
limit the maximum pressure to be allowed. And when no further or continued
retardation is desired, the driver acts on the lever x, which by raising the
valves m permits the escape of the compressed air from the reservoirs..
I would here remark that instead of admitting air to the pistons through an
open tube e, as above described, arrangements may be made for admitting it
direct into and through the boxes or cases enclosing the slide valves.
The following particulars illustrate that portion of the Invention which has
reference to the application of friction blocks or brakes, and which will be
found specially useful in the case of engines constructed with only one pair of
driving wheels, the brakes being applied to the leading and trailing wheels.
In connection with the air reservoir j I employ a pipe n for conveying air
into a cylinder o of any suitable dimensions, and provided with a piston. This
pipe may have a regulating cock for opening and closing the passage through
it at the command of the driver. The cylinder o, which is fixed under the
engine, or in any other suitable position, is opened at bottom, as the compressed
air acts only on one side of the piston. The piston rod is jointed to a cranked
lever p, which regulates the pressure of brakes 9 on the wheels, or the pressure
may be applied direct on the rails, or may be similarly applied by means of
a flexible tube to the wheels of a tender or other carriage. This arın or leverp
is returned to position by a spring s when the brake is not in action, so as to
avoid any friction between the brake block and the wheel tyres, the tension of
the spring being regulated accordingly.
Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Drawings further represent another arrange-
ment in illustration of the Invention, and show particularly the details of
the steam and air valves. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the upper part of

page_text: a locomotive, provided with the air reservoir and slide valve for placing it in
communication with the compressed atmospheric air from the cylinders; Fig. 4
is a horizontal section of same; and Figs. 5 and 6 show a section of the chimney
and front view of the air reservoir on an enlarged scale. The same letters
apply to these four Figures.
A is a valve communicating with the external air by a channel B, and
closing the exhaust passage or blast pipe at same time.
A similar arrange.
ment of valve, having a double communication with the external air, is
represented in longitudinal and transverse section at Figs. 7 and 8. Cisa
lever, serving to act on the valve A by means of a regulátor rod; D is the
slide valve of regulator, which, by means of the passage in its interior, opens a
communication between the air reservoir E and the steam cylinders by pipe F;
G is a frame carrying on one side the safety valve H, and on the other the
escape cock I, which is worked by a handle J within reach of the driver or
stoker. During the action of the brake, that is to say, while the pistons are
drawing in and compressing the atmospheric air, the driver opens a small
steam jet, which lubricates the sides of the cylinders and slide valves in order
to prevent any abrasion of the surfaces, and also to prevent their being too
much cooled. This jet, which is an important feature of the present improve-
ments, may also be usefully employed when manoeuvring at stations, where
the locomotive is often required to move short distances at a slow rate.
I would remark generally, in respect of the several improvements above set
forth and illustrated, that the air enters the cylinders by reason of the vacuum
produced by the pistons, while, as the slide valves have been reversed, and are
moving in a contrary direction to the pistons, the air at same time that it tends
to arrest their motion becomes compressed thereby in the air reservoir in
which it is accumulated, and forms an elastic cushion of resistance; the reversing
of the action of the slide valves tends to make the locomotive move backwards;
but as the latter, by its acquired momentum, nevertheless moves forwards, the
pistons will meet in the compressed air with an obstacle to their further move-
ment, and will thus be retarded, and the stopping of the engines will be effected
by a series of operations produced with great rapidity, but in a gradual and
continuous manner. I would also remark that there is no fear of heating
of the parts consequent on the friction of ordinary brakes, which often causes
burning, and moreover the pressure on the brakes being limited by the safety
valve so as not to completely lock the wheels, injury to the tyres caused by
their sliding on the rails will be prevented.
Finally, I would remark that it is desirable that the several valves should
be so constructed and arranged as to take advantage of the full effect of the

page_text: pressure accumulated in the air chambers at the commencement of the piston
strokes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles de Bergue, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
W. CLARK,
Patent Agent,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
C. DE BERGUE. (L.S.)