The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained and Illustrated: With an historical sketch of its invention and progressive improvement; its applications to navigation and railways; with plain axioms for railway speculatorsLardner, Dionysius
History
The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained and Illustrated: With an historical sketch of its invention and progressive improvement; its applications to navigation and railways; with plain axioms for railway speculators
Lardner, Dionysius
Steam-engines -- Early works to 1850
purposes of the steam-room above the surface of the water in the large
plate boilers. The dry steam is thus collected and ready for the
supply of the engine through the tube N, while the water, which is
disengaged from it, is collected at the bottom of the separator, and
is conducted through the tube T to the lowest vessel D, to be again
circulated through the boiler.
The pistons of the engine work on the axles of the hind wheels of the
carriage which bears the engine, by cranks, as in the locomotives on
the Manchester railway, so that the axle is kept in a constant state
of rotation while the engine is at work. The wheels placed on this
axle are not permanently fixed or keyed upon it, as in the Manchester
locomotives; but they are capable of turning upon it in the same
manner as ordinary carriage wheels. Immediately within these wheels
there are fixed upon the axles two projecting spokes or levers, which
revolve with the axle, and which take the position of two opposite
spokes of the wheel. These may be occasionally attached to the wheel
or detached from it; so that they are capable of compelling the wheels
to turn with the axle, or leaving the axle free to turn independent of
the wheel, or the wheel independent of the axle, at the pleasure of
the conductor. It is by these levers that the engine is made to propel
either or both of the wheels. If both pairs of spokes are thrown into
connexion with the wheels, the crank shaft or axle will cause both
wheels to turn with it, and in that case the operation of the carriage
is precisely the same as those of the locomotives already described
upon the Liverpool and Manchester line; but this is rarely found to be
necessary, since the adhesion of one wheel with the road is generally
sufficient to propel the carriage, and consequently only one pair of
these fixed levers are generally used, and the carriage propelled by
only one of the two hind wheels. The fore wheels of the carriage turn
upon a pivot similar to those of a four-wheeled coach. The position of
these wheels is changed at pleasure by a simple pinion and circular
rack, which is moved by the conductor, and in this manner the carriage
is guided with precision and facility.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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