US2172234A - Turbine drive for locomotives - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 5, 1939. Q c YOUNG 2,172,234

. TURBINE DRiVE FOR LOCOMOTIVES I Filed Dec. 10, 1936 WITNESSES: 5 W v INVENTOR- v v BY 1 aha/F258 7 TTORNEYS. I

Patented Sept. 1939 uuirea stares career-c 3 Claims.

My invention relates generally to improvements in locomotive drive and, more particularly, to the driving of locomotives by turbines instead of the usual reciprocating engine arrangement.

Heretofore, railway locomotives have generally been driven by the reciprocating type of steam engine, connected directly to the driving wheels. The reciprocating type of engine has a wide range of speeds and at low speeds is capable of a comparatively high power output. The steam turbineis not so flexible'in'speed selection and at low speeds a'high speed turbinehas a comparatively low' power output. Within its restricted operating speeds,.the turbine is considerably more efficient and is'without the excessive vibration which is characteristic of the reciprocating engine. The steady rotation of the turbine will necessarily be much smoother than the constant reciprocating motion of the piston of the reciprocating engine; but the lack of efiiciency at low speeds has prevented the adaptation of turbines to railway locomotives.

The smooth and efficient operation of a turbine is clearly most desirable for a railway locomotive unit; and consequently, the main object of my invention is to provide a means for driving railway locomotives with a turbine installation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

Fig. I is a plan View of the driving system of a locomotive unit equipped with a turbine drive according to my invention, non-essential and conventional structure being omitted for clarity.

Fig. II is a side view of same, the forward driver being removed to show the quill drive.

For the purposes of a detailed description of the preferred embodiment, my invention may be resolved into the following main elements: forward turbines l, reduction gear 2, quill drive 3, drivers l, trailer wheels 5, and reversible booster or auxiliary engine 6. Rails 1 are conventionally indicated as are pilot wheels 8.

The turbines i may be of any type and, there fore, are conventionally indicated for the sake of clarity. There are shown in Figs. I and II turbines i each having six nozzles ll, each connected to the boiler. The turbines I, however, may be not only arranged in this manner but in two stages, for the admission of steam to one turbine and then eXhallsting from one turbine into the other turbine, giving more complete expansicn of the steam before it exhausts to the exhaust nozzle in the smoke box (not shown). It, therefore, is to be understood as optional whether two forward turbines With starting nozzles in each, or two stages of steam expansion with two outlets with starting nozzles in each, are chosen.

Each turbine l is connected by a clutch l2 to a drive shaft [3, though, of course, the connection could be direct without the clutches 12 if desired. By means of these clutches l2 either or both of the turbines I may be used-for forward drive and both disconnected, if the engineer so desires, for'slow forward or backward movement of the locomotive. The turbines I are mounted on the locomotive frame (not shown) in a usual manner.

The reduction gear 2 is protected by a casing It which also covers the quill drive 3. The gear reduction is in the ratio of 25 to 1 and the gear train connects at one end to a gear mounted on the drive shaft I3 and at the other end to a gear rim l5, an element of the quill drive 3. The quill drive 3 is also of a usual type and any other form of quill drive would serve equally well. Other gear ratios obviously can be selected for difierent conditions of speed and power. The most efficient turbine speed should correspond by means of the gear ratio to the usual operating speed of the locomotive.

The quill 2i) is pivotally attached to the four links l9, two at'each end of the quill 20, and it has an opening it? through its center for an axle 2! of the forward drivers 4. One of the two links H9 at each end of the quill 20 is pivotally connected to one of the two lugs 22 mounted on the interior of gear rim IS in diametrically opposite positions. The other of the two links [9 at each end of the quill 29 is pivotally connected to an end of the driving arm 23 which is integrally mounted on the axle 2! of the forward drivers 4. The quill drive 3 drives the forward drivers 4 and a connecting rod Z l transmits the drive to the other drivers 4.

The trailer truck 25 carrying the trailer wheels 5 is attached to the locomotive frame (not shown) in the ordinary manner. The reversible booster or auxiliary engine 6 for the locomotive unit is also of a Well-known and conventional type and may be located at any desired position with respect to the locomotive or its tender. It is reciprocating and operates by steam from the locomotive boiler; and it has a high power output at low speeds both forward and backward. The reciprocating piston is conventionally shown in dotted lines at 25. There is sufiicient weight from the locomotive proper on the truck 25 to provide traction for the trailer 5. There are advantages in having the auxiliary booster engine 6 connected (as here shown) to drive the locomotive unit through wheels other than those through which the turbines drive the unit: e. g., this independence of the wheels driven by turbines and auxiliary engine allows independent wheel slippage on the rails to serve as a factor of safety against damage to the machinery, if by erronous operation of the driving controls the turbine and the auxiliary engine should be simultaneously connected so as to oppose one another.

The operation of my invention is obvious from the above description but a few further comments may be of value. When the engineer wants to move his locomotive a short distance forward or backward, he uses the reciprocating reversible booster 6, disconnecting the forward turbines I, if desirable, by the clutches l2, if the clutches l2 are included in the equipment. The booster 6 may also be used in starting to overcome the initial inertia of the locomotive unit. The turbines I are designed for use at speeds around the normal running speed of the locomotive and thus considerable economy and efiiciency is gained for the usual operating speed. The booster B supplements the efficient high speed turbines l and takes care of the low speeds. If necessary, one of the forward turbines I could be of a high pressure type, and the other of a lower pressure type and thus the range of eflicient turbine speeds could be extended, by using both turbines for one range of speeds and only one turbine for a further range of speeds. Thus my invention provides a simple and efficient means for adapting the steam turbine to use in driving a railway locomotive. The efiiciency of the turbine at the normal operating speeds is obtained and its deficiency at slow speeds is avoided by the auxiliary reversible booster. As a result my invention provides a locomotive driving system which is exceptionally smooth in operation and efiicient in both the high and low speed ranges.

While I have described my invention with reference to a specific embodiment, it will be obvious to one skilled inthe art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as hereinafter claimed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a locomotive unit, the combination of an elastic fluid turbine connected to locomotive drive wheels to drive the locomotive at its normal running speed when itself operating substantially at full efficiency; and a reciprocating auxiliary engine connected-to wheels of the locomotive unit for driving the unit when the same is not being driven by the turbine, in starting and at slow speeds.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 including means interposed between the turbine and the locomotive drive wheels for disconnecting the turbine from said drive wheels during starting and at slow speeds.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein the reciprocating auxiliary engine is connected to wheels of the locomotive unit that are independent of those to which the elastic fluid turbine is connected. I

CHARLES D. YOUNG.

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