UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.
JOHN RUGGLES, OF THOMASTON, MAINE.
LOCOMOTIVE STEAM-ENGINE FOR RAIL AND OTHER ROADS.
Specification of Letters Patent No. 1, dated July 13, 1836.
To all whom, it may concern:
Be it known that I, John Ruggles, of Thomaston, in the State of Maine, have invented a new and useful improvement or improvements on locomotive-engines used on railroads and common roads by which inclined planes and hills may be ascended and heavy loads drawn up the same with more facility and economy than heretofore, and by which the evil effects of frost, ice, snows, and mud on the rail causing the wheels to slide are obviated.
The obstacles met with in ascending inclined planes with locomotives drawing heavy loads after them, are the want of power in the engine, and the deficiency of adhesion to the rails, my improvements are designed to give a multiplied tractive power to the locomotive and to prevent the evil of the sliding of the wheels, and for these improvements I have made application for a patent to be issued according to the provisions of law. The following is a full and exact description of said improvements.
To prevent the wheels from sliding on the rails I make use of a check rail, and retreating cogs, the cogs are applied in the following manner, the wheels are made in the common form except that the rim is somewhat wider than the flange to the outside of the tread it should be no wider than the past the rail sufficiently, and its width must be further extended 1¾ inches. This extended part of the rim at the periphery thereof is 1½ inches less in diameter than the bearing periphery.
The accompanying drawings are made a part of and are referred to in this description for the better understanding thereof.
A transverse section of the rim is seen at a. in Figure 2, and it is more fully shown in Fig. 3. This extended rim is pierced with 24 holes, or square sockets, where the wheel has 12 spokes, for the reception of the retreating cogs, they are 1¼ inches square at equal distances apart, and ¼ inch from the bearing part of the rim, the cogs move freely in the sockets in the direction of the radii they are shown at b, b, b, b, in Fig. 1, they have shoulders on their inner ends to stop their outward motion and a project through the rim ¾ of an inch, leaving their outward ends chamfered, and curved as shown in the drawings, the cogs are kept in their places by spiral springs pressing upon their heads with sufficient force to project them outward easily when pressed up into their sockets, the springs react against the top of a cap, or case made to inclose, and protect them from mud or other impediments to their easy action, the case is in form of the section of a cone, and may be seen at W, W, Fig. 1, it is fitted, and screwed firmly to the rim, the upper and being supported by braces d, d, which are fastened to the spokes, attached to the cogs is a rod about half an inch diameter passing up through the spiral spring and freely through the top of the case, and brace projecting half an inch above. This rod guides the motion of the cogs, the case may be about 2 inches high, and 2 inches broad at its base.
The check rail B, is placed on the outside of the bearing rails so far distance that the bearing part of the rim of the wheel cannot reach it when running close to its flange, the teeth are ⅝ of an inch in depth, and such distances apart that the cogs will take against every 3d, 4th, or 5th tooth according as there may be a greater or less distance between the cogs. The check rail is fastened by nails, or otherwise to the sills at such elevations that the bottom of the teeth shall be level with the top of the bearing rail, the back part of the teeth are sloped, and curved, and their front, or flange is made to sloped back about ⅛ of an inch, the rail may be 1½ inches square measuring from the top of the teeth. The periphery of the extended rim should run close to the teeth of the rail, but not so near as to touch them. On the locomotives arriving at the foot of an incline plane where the check rail is laid if the cogs do not happen to come in gear with the teeth of the rail, but touch upon them they readily retreat out of the way as the wheel rolls along offering no material resistance to its motion, while the wheels adhere to the bearing rails the aid of the cogs is not wanted, as soon as the increase of traction occasions them to slide the cogs instantly slipped into gear, and hold the wheel in check, and whenever the wheels get out of gear their own action instantly restores them, the points of the cogs being even with the tread of the wheel descend upon the check rails and a cycloidal arc, and leave it began in the same manner relieved from their pressure against the flank of the teeth as they raise behind the wheel. Their action is attended with very little friction act-
