Model of stephensons rocket national museums scotland. Stephenson locomotive autodesk inventor users grabcad. Timing stevenson valve gear live steam by father finelli. This kind of collaborative development demonstrates the power of open source and remember, you can contribute to stephenson s rocket too. The trials were held by the liverpool and manchester railway. Today we have access to some extremely useful bits of computer software which can exactly simulate the movements of the valve relative to the position of the piston and enable us to design the ultimate valve gears. I have made the software available by placing it in the public domain as freeware. This is a martin evans design from model engineer of an 042 tank engine. From a page on which shows detailed animations on how all 5 of the common american valve gear systems work. George stephenson, born june 9, 1781, wylam, northumberland, englanddied august 12, 1848, chesterfield, derbyshire, english engineer and principal inventor of the railroad locomotive stephenson was the son of a mechanic who operated a newcomen atmosphericsteam engine that was used to pump out a coal mine at newcastle upon tyne. Stephenson valve gear was invented by employees of the stephensons.
At this point in history i would consider all lbsc valve gears to be suspect although ill admit designing valve gear is my weakest area, or maybe i should say the area where i have the most. As the gabs, unlike in the stationary engine, were remote from the driver they were provided with wide vshaped jaws to help them engage. Stephensons rocket replaces the ye olde steamose project by building back on valves installer with bug fixes and improvements especially hardware support, reads the official website for the. Stephensons rocket was an early steam locomotive of 022 wheel arrangement. George stephenson was entrusted with constructing the line, but a competition was held to choose a.
Bill, if you arent already, be aware that dockstader is primarily a proofing program and as such can help make adjustments to a design, but the design has to be developed first. Layout of stephenson gear on a churchward standard 2 cylinder locomotive click on the sketches to enlarge them. In fact on the opening day of the trials mr huskinsson, a local mp, was knocked down and killed by the rocket. Heres an animated view, with the lifting link not shown. Another mechanism, used on stephenson s locomotives in the 1830s, was the coupled gab. The original gas tank was prone to splitting and leaking from the valve as mine did. Stephenson s steam locomotives specifications and performance figures the maximum speed was 28 mph 45 kmh. It was patent ed by george stephenson but was actually invented by his employees historical background. Stephenson locomotive autodesk inventor users grabcad groups. Valve gear this is probably the best known of all famous early locomotives.
At this point in history i would consider all lbsc valve gears to be suspect although ill admit designing valve gear is my weakest area, or maybe i should say the area where i have the most difficulty concentrating. Rocket is the greatest project made by george stephenson and his son robert. However, the little 022 was not an americanbuilt steamer, it was constructed in 1829 by the top manufacturers of the day located in england, george and. Hi people, anybody have a stephensons rocket blueprints or any. I own a 5 hunslet don young design, had it for close to 3 yrs and currently have the boiler off and remaking some of the valve gear as it very loose and worn. Rocket has stepenson valve gear, walsachaet valve gaear was introduced as a later development of stephensons. The stephenson valve gear was developed by william howe and william williams at the stephenson locomotive works in 1841.
If you look at stephenson british outside admission in charlies software, that gives a direct drive to the valve. Also can i build the boiler myself and get it tested for a pressure test. Nov 30, 2016 stephenson s rocket replaces the ye olde steamose project by building back on valve s installer with bug fixes and improvements especially hardware support. An approximate, but logical, method of designing walschaerts. Renowned as the father of railways, stephenson was considered by the victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for improvement. To this end i have the valve etch from bill bedford but as usual their are no instructions. It does show the reversing arm underneath the motion but i would imagine you can position it above the motion by changing the dimensions. The first simulator software i came across was the famous one by charlie dockstader who originally came up with the idea for proving the valve gear on one of his friends locos. The stanley steam engine stephenson valve gear computer simulation program charles dockstader has created an excellent program that simulates the operation of stephenson valve gear action. George stephenson june 9, 1781 august 12, 1848 was a british engineer who designed a famous and historically important steampowered locomotive named rocket, and is known as the father of british steam railways.
For reasons of practicality two significant deviations from the prototype have been made. The axle load was 2 long tons 12 cwt 1 qr 5,850 lb or 2. Sep 12, 2009 this is another video my brother made. Gab valve gear was an early form of valve gear used on steam engines. Early designers had to use long and tedius calculations to work out valve positions but later ones did have. The creative way to explore technology, just turn the handle to see how it works. It is normally driven from eccentrics mounted on one of the drive axles and located inside the locos frames. Rocket, pioneer railway locomotive built by the english engineers george and robert stephenson. Stephensons rocket is widely acclaimed as the worlds first modern steam locomotive, constructed with many components that became standard on all future designs until the coming of the diesel in the early 20th century. Steam engine valve gear on the computer windows version by charles dockstader hcr 69 box 3111 california valley ca 93453 805 475 2519. Valve gears such as walschaerts are said to be constant lead valve gears. This software is a must for any steam or live steam enthusiast fantastic stuff.
The stephenson valve gear or stephenson link or shifting link is the oldest and simplest standard design of steam locomotive valve gear. The locomotive supports a goodalltype water feed on the boiler and there is a safety valve. Autodesk inventor users created by constantin stancescu on 25 april, 2018 237 discussions 6489 members. External links stephenson valve gear, wikipedia timing stephenson valve gear, live steam by father finelli animated valve gear, expansion.
The video model is taken from beyerpeacocks order 890. But before i go to far what copper thickness should i use for the boiler and firebox. One of first ever build and definitely most famous steam locomotive in history. Stephensons link valve gear gwr hall 460 this kit is designed to accurately produce in 4mm scale a working model of the stephensons link valve gear. Boiler and steam engine with stephenson gear duration. It not only allows for reversing the engine, but the driver can also set it to cut off. Charlies has by far the most numerous of valve gear designs there are 67. Design and invention the stephenson, allan, and gooch link motions required four eccentrics on the driving axle, as explained in the chapter beginning on page 834. I am in the process of building a brassmaster class 5, what i would like to do is 4767 which has stephenson valve gear.
I have the stephensons rocket live steam purchased last christmas. The missing parts appear to be the valve stem and rocker arm. Stephensons link valve gear 28xx 280 assembly expansion. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. Charlie dockstader jamie foster of colorado springs, colorado. Stephensons rocket stephensons rocket was the first modern steam locomotive, born during a short frantic period of development from 1828 till 1830. It is most likely that slipeccentric valve gear, fitted to the original driving axle, was. Have a question regarding stephenson valve gear, particular the expansion link. Instructions for download and installation the bcwrr is delighted to host charlies valve gear program on its web site. How would one go about animating a stephenson valve gear. Timing walschaert valve gear on a live steam locomotive duration. Stephensons rocket puts steamos to shame, teaches valve.
An early valve gear, in which a loose eccentric on the axle is driven by a collar and driving pin. It is an early example of misusing a launchtype link and although centrally suspended appears not to. It is likely that this was a result of everyones enthusiasm to see the rocket along with the inexperienced drivers great difficulty of being able to hold a locomotive without brakes and only a very sudden gear change. The stephenson, allan, and gooch link motions required four eccentrics on the. Timberkits selfassembly stephenson s rocket kit, all parts fully machined, just peg and glue and make it move. Im new to live steam so could do with a bit of help please. This valve gear was especially adapted for locomotives with valves above or. Charlie has put this program in the public domain but is not to be sold. This valve gear was used on stephenson s locomotives of the early 1830s, such as rocket. George stephenson 9 june 1781 12 august 1848 was a british civil engineer and mechanical engineer. On the rocket and its contemporaries, this was accomplished by leaving the eccentric loose on the axle, and driving it. On the rocket and its contemporaries, this was accomplished by leaving the eccentric loose on the axle, and driving it by means of stops, one set for either way.
No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. The engine which made the most significant step forward in railway history. The crew works the valve gear with the reversing lever, used to control the locomotives direction of travel and the timing of valve events. Please note that this software is neither supported by charles or myself. Valve gears such as stephenson s for example are variable lead valve gears. The rocket was designed and built by george stephenson with the help of his son, robert, and henry booth, for the 1829 rainhill trials. Internal stephenson valve gear on a 7mm scale 0 gauge gwr 460 saint class locomotive, saint david. Stephensons valve gear was extensively used worldwide throughout the 19th century and through the first half of the 20th century on great western railway 2cylinder locomotives.
This valve gear was used on stephensons locomotives of the early 1830s, such as rocket. Douglass, chief, design criteria office, lewis research center. This monograph, liquid rocket valve components, was prepared under the direction of howard w. Jun 20, 2006 theres a good diagram of the stephenson valve gear on page 24 of mr cyclopedia volume 1 steam locomotives. Firstly the link block hangers have been omitted and instead the motion is suspended from the reversing. Apr 25, 2018 rocket has stepenson valve gear, walsachaet valve gaear was introduced as a later development of stephenson s there is also a big difference in how they work. The amount of lead remains constant over the whole range of cut offs that the gear is designed to provide. Valve gears such as stephensons for example are variable lead valve gears. Expansion link stephenson valve gear model engineering. Once the steam has pushed the piston, a series of linkages piston rod to main rod, main rod to side rod, side rod to driving wheels converts the pistons backandforth motion to the rotational. About 1840 the doubleeccentric hook motion had naturally evolved into a shiftinglink action, under the name it has ever bornethe stephenson link motion. Because stephensons gear can achieve near perfection in enabling a onepiece valve to supply both ends of a doubleacting cylinder equally its design in any one particular case ought to follow a complete and correct procedure, in the knowledge that straying from its basic simplicity will impair its excellence. Stephenson s rocket locomotive weight was 4 long tons 5 cwt 9,500 lb or 4. The stephenson valve gear or stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for all kinds of steam.
Stephenson valve gear was an early type of valve gear that allowed the cut off of steam admission to be finely adjusted from the footplate. Locomotive valve gears 2 railway wonders of the world. The stephenson valve gear or stephenson link or shifting link snell, j b 1971. Stephenson valve gear model railroader magazine model. Layout of stephenson gear on a churchward standard 2 cylinder. Early locomotives, including the famous rocket, had a single eccentric for. Stephenson valve gear, the joint invention of williams and howe in 1842. Box 3111 california valley, ca 934533111 tel 805 475 2519 the programs have been placed in public domain and are freeware. The baker valve gear had one operating advantage over the walschaerts in that it could be set up for a larger valve wlonger valve travel, 812 vs. It is named after robert stephenson but was actually invented by his employees. While robert stephensons rocket wasnt the first steam locomotive, it was the first to bring together a number of innovations of the era and won englands rainhill trials with a speed of 29mph 46. Posts discussions saved articles followers 3 following 1 11419. To watch the flailing links and interactions of stephensons gear belies its very simple concept. It is an early example of misusing a launchtype link and although centrally suspended appears not to incorporate correction.
Timing stevenson valve gear can be a real challange, especially when you do it the first time. The design is normally attributed to george stephenson it is based on the eccentric rod valve gear developed for stationary steam engines, but with the added complexity that unlike a stationary steam engine, a steam locomotive needs to reverse. The stephenson valve gear or stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for all kinds of steam engines. Check between the first and second drivers for another hole. Zoom right into the valve gear to see the detail and timing methods used by the gear. Theres a good diagram of the stephenson valve gear on page 24 of mr cyclopedia volume 1 steam locomotives. These are actually of the nominally collett 9300 class, but the layout is fundamentally similar on all the classes with two outside cylinders. Im in the process of cad modelling the rocket in 714 gauge. During the 1830s the most popular valve drive for locomotives was known as gab. It is named after robert stephenson but was invented by his employees.
The animations seen on this page were created with software written by charles. For those that would like to study how valve the valves of a stanley engine function this program is highly recommended. The provision of a simple eccentric for forward gear and the addition of an opposite one to serve reversal, joined by a curved link which can be raised to the influence of the backward eccentric or. Locomotive valve gears 1 railway wonders of the world. With insidecylinder engines this requirement restricted the thickness of the crank webs a serious matter as the engines increased in size. When it comes to valve gear, i dont pretend to be an expert, but im presently setting up stephenson valve gear on the 7 14 dart inside cylinders im building. The throw of eccentric formula, below, applies only to locomotives using stephenson valve gear. It is named after robert stephenson but was invented by his employees historical background. Valve gear on a steam locomotive is used to control the admission of steam into the. In stephensons valve gear they get quite a kick, which can be transmitted back to the reverser, and all the bearings etc need to be jolly good fits and with good alignment. Steam locomotive valve gear gold coast model railway club. Nov 29, 2014 procedure for setting front dead center and adjusting the valve. Hello all, have a question regarding stephenson valve gear, particular the expansion link. In early 1999 i started converting one of the valve gears to the windows format.
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