US2205800A - Steam pipe arrangement for locomotives - Google Patents

Description

June 25,; EU. g 5555 E ZZOS SMO STEAM PIPE ARRANGEMENT FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed March 29, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

HdVENTOR 20 L. L. NEEBE ATTORNEY Patented June 25, 1940 UNITED STATES TENT STEAM PIPE ARRANGEMENT FOR LOCOMOTIVES Lawrence L. Neebe, Woodbury, N. J.

Application March 29,

7 Claims.

This invention relates generally to high pressure steam pipe arrangements for articulated locomotives and more particularly to that general type of steam pipe arrangement wherein 5. high pressure steam is conducted from the front end of the boiler rearwardly along each side thereof to the rear cylinders and thence forwardly through a central supply pipe leading from the rear cylinder saddle to the forward .10 cylinders.

In the foregoing type of steam pipe arrangement considerable difiiculty has heretofore been encountered on account of the difference in temperature between the steam pipes and the cooler cylinder structure thereby resulting in serious relative expansion and contraction of that por tion of the piping which cross-connects the two longitudinal supply pipes with the central forwardly extending pipe. Such expansion or conraction has caused excessive strains and cracking in the cross-connecting pipes. A great many different arrangements have heretofore been proposed and used to overcome this difficulty but such arrangements have been complicated or costly or the very nature of the proposed arrangements have introduced additional difficulties. Hence the prior attempts have not been entirely satisfactory.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved combination of steam pipes in an articulated locomotive so as to eliminate the difficulties and troubles which heretofore have been incident to the expansion and contraction of the steam pipes which lead from the two longitudinal side pipes to the central pipe. It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved combination of steam pipes that is not only effective in eliminating difficulties incident to expansion and contraction but which is also all) economical in construction, operation and maintenance and is fully accessible for inspection and repair.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the front end of an articulated locomotive embodyl ing my improved piping arrangement;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially on the line, 2-.2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of my im proved piping arrangement adjacent the rear cylinders.

1939, Serial No. 264,865

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 4& of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

In the particular embodiment of the invention, 5 such as is disclosed herein merely for the purpose of illustrating one specific form among possible others that the invention might take in practice, I have diagrammatically shown in Fig.

1 the front end of an articulated locomotive having usual front and rear pairs of cylinders i and 2 respectively mounted upon the frames of the power units which are pivotally connected together in any customary manner such as by a connecting rod 3. The piping arrangement comprises in general two longitudinal steam supply pipes 4 located respectively along each side of the boiler 5 and extending from the forward end thereof to Ts 6. The steam for the rear pair of cylinders flows in its customary manner through passages l which are connected to the valve chests la of the rear cylinders. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 my improved combination has the longitudinal side pipes connected by a crossover pipe which extends rearwardly at 3i and 32 and then turns inwardly and downwardly to provide curved or bent portions 8 and .9. These portions are shown herein as being specifically located rearwardly of the rear cylinder structure and communicate with a common central pipe ill through any suitable connection generally indicated at II. This connection specifically comprises a T 12 bolted to an elbow l3 whichforms the rear end of pipe l3 whose forward end is provided with a ball and socket casing M. This casing has a flange 33 suitably secured by welding or bolts to a transverse wall It of the rear cylinder structure. The pipe It also extends freely through an opening Hi formed in the back wall l? of the rear cylinder saddle and is other" 0 wise entirely free to expand relative thereto except for its single immovable attachment to wall it], there being a slidable attachment to the saddle generally indicated at it. This slidable connection 58 comprises, as shown in Fig. 5, a shouldered bolt is which may be tightly secured to wall 20 while still permitting slidable movement of feet 22 by reason of an enlarged or elongated opening 23' therein. The opening it and also the opening 23 in the front wall are of sufficient size to permit pipe Ill together with its flanged elbow l3 and feet 22 to pass rearwardly through opening 23 during the assembling operation.

The pipe i0 is connected to a forwardly extendpipes.

ing centrally located supply pipe 24 which is connected in any usual manner to the front cylinder i, it being understood that pipes l9 and 2 1 are suitably connected together by a combined packing gland and spherical joint 25 of a form well known in the art. Also, the forward and rear cylinders have their customary individual exhaust pipes generally indicated at 27. Other usual elements may be employed in connection with the steam pipe arrangement of my invention, but it will suffice to point out only one of these elements which as shown in Fig. 2, comprises a pair of opposed longitudinally extending guides 28 supported in the cylinder saddle in a plane above the connection II. These guides slidably support a cross-head (not shown) for operating the reverse rod which controls the valve mechanism for the forward pair of cylinders.

The advantages of my improved combination are that pipes 8 and 9, Fig. 2, by being curved or bent downwardly toward their central. portion permit maximum lateral flexibility of the piping during expansion and contraction there-of while equal flexibility occurs in longitudinal directions by reason of pipes 8 and 9 being connected to longitudinal pipe portions 3!, 32 and it which are rigidly connected to the cylinder and saddle structure only at the remote front ends of said These forward connections are made through flanged connections 3E), 38) and 33, Fig. 3. Thus unrestrained lateral expansion of the pipesB and 9 can take place while the pipe ill by reason of being connected only at its forward end to wall l5 can expand freely in a rearward direction without imposing undue strains in the piping. The guide bolts i8 allow the rear portion of the pipe ill to move freely while at the same time suitably guiding and steadying the entire piping arrangement. It will be observed in Fig.

4 that the bed frame 29 adjacent connection I! issuitably curved upwardly as at 34 to provide ample space for the connection II. It will also be understood that the frames of the articulated power units may be either of the integral cast type or of the bar frame type. Also, as shown in Fig. 4, my improved piping arrangement will not in any way restrict accessibility or operation of the connecting link 3 insofar as its rear pivotalrecess 35 is concerned.

From the foregoing disclosure it is seen that I have provided an extremely'simple, economical and very effective piping arrangement for articulated locomotives that will completely avoid severe strains arising from the temperature differential which normally exists between the pipes and the. relatively cooler cylinder and saddle structure.

It will of course be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A high-pressure steam supply pipe arrangement for articulated locomotives having a rear cylinder structure with a pair of cylinders to which steam is supplied respectively through longitudinal pipes located along the sides of the locomotive and terminating in connections rigidly secured to said rear cylinders, and a forward pair of cylinders to which steam is supplied through a longitudinal pipe extending forwardly from the rear cylinder structure comprising, in combination, a lateral cross-over pipe rigidly connected at its ends to said rear cylinder connections for said longitudinal side pipes, said crossover pipe curving inwardly and downwardly toward the centerline of the locomotive so as to have lateral flexibility during expansion and contraction thereof, a central pipe connected to said forwardly extending stem supply pipe and to said cross-over pipe at an intermediate portion thereof, and means for rigidly connecting only the forward end of said central pipe to the rear cylinder structure whereby said central pipe may expand freely rearwardly.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said central pipe is rigidly connected to the intermediate portion of said cross-over pipe and said cross-over pipe is adapted to flex freely rearwardly relative to the rear cylinder structure upon longitudinal expansion of the central pipe.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of means for movably supporting the rear end of said central pipe during expansion and contraction thereof.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said rear cylinder connections for said longitudinal side pipes comprise Ts to Which said cross-over pipe is rigidly secured at its two ends whereby the only rigid connections of said cross-over pipe and said central pipe to said cylinder structure are at said TS and at the forward end of said central pipe.

5. A high-pressure steamsupply pipe arrangement for articulated locomotives having a rear cylinder structure with a pair of cylinders to which is rigidly connected a pair of longitudinal pipes located along the sides of the locomotive and a forward pair of cylinders to which steam is supplied through a longitudinal pipe extending forwardly from the rear cylinder structure comprising, in combination, a cross-over pipe rigidly connected to the rearward ends of said longitudinal side pipes and extending inwardly and downwardly therefrom toward the centerline of the locomotive, a central pipe connected to said forwardly extending steam supply pipe and to said cross-over pipe at an intermediate portion thereof, and means for rigidly connecting only the forward end of said central pipe to the rear cylinder structure, whereby said central pipe may expand freely rearwardly and said downwardly extending cross-over pipe may expand laterally relative to said rear cylinder structure.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 further characterized in that said cross-over pipe includes portions which extend rearwardly from said longitudinalside pipes and then turn inwardly and downwardly.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 further characterized in that the rear cylinder structure is provided with front and rear vertical walls having openings therein to allow said central pipe to be passed through said openings in a rearward direction during assembly of the piping, and said means which rigidly connects only the forward end of said central pipe to the rear cylinder structure includes a flange on the forward end of said central pipe for engaging said front vertical wall on the forward side thereof.

LAWRENCE L. NEEBE.

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