A patent for "certain improvements in steam boilers, and in carriages connected therewith, " was taken out on the 2d of November, 1829, by Colonel Vine, of the Royal Artillery ; the specification of which informs us, that they consist, first, in a boiler made up of a eeries of cylinders or tubes, placed in succession within each other. The difference between the diameters of the tubes is such as to leave annular spaces between them. The tubes are made somewhat conical, and they are placed alternately with their wide and narrow ends upwards, so that the spaces between them alternately taper towards the top and bottom. Those spaces which taper towards the top are open at both ends, and used as flues for the passage of flame, smoke, &c., from a furnace at the bottom of the apparatus ; and the spaces which widen towards the top, are closed at both ends, and used to contain water and steam. A communication is introduced, for the passage of steam from one space to another. There are a series of openings for the escape of smoke, and to produce a draft through the flues. We have only described one of a series of boilers which the patentee proposed to employ when much power is required ; and these he arranges in a circular position, or any other which: may be found most suitable to the space to be appropriated to the boilers of steam carriages, the propelling of which seems to be his principal aim. The advantages contemplated by this arrangement are the great extent of surface exposed to the heat ; but it will be readily perceived that this does not possess the strength of a tubular boiler, as all parts will necessarily be subjected to the same degree of pressure, and the ri exteor vessel must, from its size, be regarded rather as a cylindrical than a tubular boiler.
The foregoing is what the Colonel (now General) Viney describes as his in vention ; but he claims, in addition, the doing away with the use of separators and blowing-machines in steam carriages. With respect to the first of these extraordinary prohibitions, we must leave Mr. Gurney to contest the point with the gallant General.
One of the chief difficulties in the application of locomotive carriages to rail ways has been to obtain sufficient friction or adhesion between the driving wheels and the rails to cause them to ascend planes of considerable inclination, as the wheels are in such cases apt to be turned round without advancing the carriage. To prevent this, Messrs. Vignoles and Erricson propose to introduce a third or friction rail between the two bearing rails. This friction rail consists of a flat piece of iron extending along the middle of the road, and securely fixed in a vertical position, as represented in section in the annexed figure. On each side of this friction rail, which is made of considerable depth, is placed a horizontal friction roller, as shown at c d. The roller c being made considerably larger than d, and fixed upon its vertical shaft e. while d is permitted to turn freely on its vertical shaft f. On the driving axis g is fixed a bevel wheel h, which turns another bevel wheel i, fixed upon the vertical shaft e of the driving roller c. The bearings of this driving roller and its shaft are firmly fixed to the under side of the locomotive carriage by the block shown at k, and the bearings of the friction roller d are hinged to the block at 1, that it may at pleasure be pressed against the friction rail a, by the lever m. This lever is wrought by
bringing it within reach of the engineer or:his assistant, who, acting upon the long arm of a powerful lever, causes any degree of pressure upon the friction rail by nipping it between the rollers, c d ; at the same time the driving wheels n and o of the carriage are released, and permitted to turn independently of the driving axis g, by shifting the binding rings p g. When the friction dnving apparatus is in action, the wheels n and o become simply supporting wheels, and run on the supporting rails r r. The patentees confine their claim to the driving apparatus which we have described, though they state that it may be put in motion through the medium of the driving axis, by the steam engine employed to actuate the driving wheels, of the usual construction, or a separate cylinder may be employed to give motion to the patent driving apparatus. The depth of the friction rail a must necessarily be varied to correspond with the inclination of the steepest plane on which it is to be applied.
There is evidently considerable ingenuity displayed in these arrangements, but we doubt whether the patentees have hit upon the readiest way of obtaining an increase of adhesion by an increase of the surface, and pressure of the movable and stationary parts in contact.
The next locomotionist who received the great Neal, was Mr. Nathan Gough, of Salford, some of whose arrangements possess originality, and are not desti tute of merit. The form of the vehicle for the reception of the passengers is similar to that of an ordinary stage coach, having a great boot behind, and another in front, for containing the principal parts of the propelling machinery. Under the back seat of the carriage, extending its entire length, and about a foot more in depth, is an iron case, which encloses four vibrating engines on trunnions, working as many throws of a crank, radiating from their common axes at uniform angles of 900 with respect to each other. This cranked axis is lengthened out beyond the range of the engines about one foot on each side, whereon are placed two pitch chain wheels ; around these pass two endless pitched chains, which also go round two similar chain wheels, fixed to the running wheels of the carriage. The chain wheels are made so as to run loose upon the cranked shaft, and are fixable thereto at pleasure, by means of coupling boxes, ?laced under the control of the guide or steersman, No that he may slide them into or out of gear according to circumstances, by simple pres sure with his feet upon two "foot levers," one for each foot, so that by pressing on the right the chain wheels are locked to the axis, and, by pressure on the left, the wheels are unlocked by sliding back upon the eras when they run loose; that is, the rotation of the axis by the force of the engines does not impart motion to it. By another movement the chain wheels are brought into action, with contiguous gear for producing a slow motion, as in ascendinf a hill ; but when the work becomes lighter, the steersman, by his foot, shifts back the chain wheels to the quick motion, or he may entirely disengage the connecting parts, and thereby stop the progress of the carriage.