1843.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



51 



same as that of the piston determined by the crank, but with this condition, 

 that the valve is at its greatest speed while the piston is at its lowest. 



If the circle described by the crank pin is divided into equal parts round 

 its circumference, the motion of the piston, commencing from the end of the 

 cylinder, will increase as the versed sine of the arc described, until it reaches 

 the middle of the cylinder, while that of the valve will be as the sine of the 

 arc; and as the difference of the versed sines is constantly increasing, while 

 the difference of the siues decreases, the result will be, that the motion of 

 the plate I, on the back of the valve, must be less the longer the steam has 

 to act upon the piston. The spindles of the tappets must therefore be 

 worked by a motion of the same description as that of the eccentric, and 

 this is obtained by means of the bell crank, A, B, the long arm A being 

 worked by the governor, aud made to describe an angle of 90 c , the arm 13, 

 being horizontal when the governor balls are open, and vertical when they 

 are closed ; a graduated quadrant C, being fixed against the valve box, a 

 hand fixed to the extremity of the arm B, of the lever A, B, will show 

 during what portion of the stroke of the piston the steam is admitted into 

 the cylinder. 



The pin being pulled out from the lower joint of the lever E, the lever F, 

 will be thrown up by the action of the plate I, against the tappets ; the plate 

 being no longer stopped by the tappets will be directed into the middle of 

 the slide valve by the fixed bracket K, and the steam will be admitted to the 

 piston until cut off in the usual manner by the slide valve. 



When it is requisite to stop the engine, this pin must be withdrawn, be- 

 cause it is requisite that the plate I, should be always in the middle of the 

 back of the slide valve to be ready for starting ; the small quantity of steam 

 that would otherwise be admitted would not suffice to start the engine. 



This valve, which I have applied to a great many engines, and which has 

 also been applied by others, answers perfectly well ; it is, therefore, not 

 merely a speculative idea that I am laying before your readers. 



I applied one pair of them to a locomotive engine, but the result was not 

 so favourable as I anticipated ; not that this valve is not applicable to this 

 kind of engine, but because I applied it in an improper manner, and without 

 having beforehand taken into due consideration the several points in which 

 the locomotive differs from other engines. I considerably increased the 

 power of the engine, but did not save fuel, which is one of the principal 

 objects I had in view. I made the cylinder too large ; and did not suffici- 

 ently provide for the very great speed with which the piston of a locomotive 

 travels, so that I produced in the slide valve the wire-drawing of the steam, 

 which I avoided in the regulating valve ; it must also be observed, that a 

 sufficient blast must be determined in the funnel, to secure the generatiou of 

 a sufficient quantity of steam ; this was provided for, but in an improper 

 manner, being only obtained by contracting the orifice of the blast, which 

 would only enable me to obtain a proper effect under a given load and upon 

 a constant gradient ; and as on a railroad these two conditions are con- 

 stantly varying, it is evident that the area of the orifice of the blast should 

 vary also, not only when the steam is worked expansively, but on all occa- 

 sions. I therefore took out a patent for an apparatus, by the use of which, 

 the blast could be regulated with the greatest nicety, and obtained permission 

 to make a series of experiments with the apparatus, on one of the most 

 powerful locomotives, unfortunately not the one to which the expansion 

 valve was applied, and the result was, what might have been anticipated ; 

 the variable blast did not require any assistance, and acted perfectly well in 

 every respect ; whereas the expansion valve, which requires absolutely the 

 variable blast, did not produce its full effect without it. 



From the very liberal conduct of the company, I am persuaded, that if I 

 had remained longer in France, they would have authorized me to complete 

 these experiments; but family affairs having called me back to England, they 

 remain in an imperfect state, as far as regards locomotives. I, however, 

 went far enough with the experiments to feel convinced, that by the appli- 

 cation of the expansion valve in conjunction with the variable blast, a con- 

 siderable improvement would be effected in the locomotive engine. 



London, I9tt October, 1842. H. H. Edwards. 



Improvement in the Manufacture of Gas. — A workman employed 

 at Esk Mill, Edinburgh, named J. Lothian, is said to have perfected a most 

 important improvement, whereby a saving of one-half of metal, fuel, and 

 fire, is effected by a new construction of the flues, and situating of the retort. 

 His principle of building flues is also said to be well worthy the attention of 

 those having small establishments, where gas is required. A few days since, 

 he made, in -U hours, by one small retort, 8IG cubic feet of gas, the same 

 being prepared from various substances. 



THE YORKSHIRE ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY. 



Sir — However well-intentioned the regulation may be, that all who are 

 admitted into this society " must be members of the Established High 

 Anglo-Catholic Church," it appears to me to be one of a very questionable 

 kind, whether as regards propriety or expediency. What is exactly meant 

 by the Anglo-Catholic Church. I for one, know not, the term being to me al- 

 together a novel one; but let it meau what it may, it seems that Anglo- 

 Catholicism does not interfere with the "peculiar sentiments " of those 

 who profess it ! This, however, is touching upon different ground ; what I 

 have to object to, is the mixing up religion at all with sccidar matters, for 

 the doing so is apt to lead to the former being made use of as a mere 

 stalking-horse, and rendered subservient to worldly interests. 



Had the restricting sine qua non been that all members must be tho- 

 roughly acquainted with Ecclesiastical architecture, that would have been a 

 very intelligible and proper regulation, and would have answered every pur- 

 pose, if it really is supposed that no one who is not likewise a member of 

 the Anglo-Catholic Church, can have suitable feeling for, or do justice to 

 that particular style of the art. Or if such be not the case, why should 

 the society exclude architectural talent and ability merely because they may 

 not happen to wear the badge of what it holds to be religious orthodoxy ? 



If such affected strictness be not cant, I know not what is. As far as 

 religion is concerned, it would perhaps be more honest and more consistent 

 on the part of the Protestant church, sternly to reject at once and alto- 

 gether, whatever, in any degree, partakes of, or reminds us of Roman- 

 Catholicism, its idolatrous worship, its vain and puerile superstitions. In- 

 stead of deploring the barbarous spoliations and ravages committed by 

 iconoclasts and puritans, we ought to abstain from attempting in any degree 

 to revive or encourage a taste for a style of architecture, to which we can 

 never do complete justice, but at the very best must always remain immea- 

 surably behind the original models, if merely because we neither have oc- 

 casion for, nor can possibly admit into our churches, that*amplitude of space, 

 and that prodigal display of architecture and art, which, if it does not im- 

 periously demand it, Romanism regards as manifestation of piety. For our 

 churches, we require no long array of ailes and chapels ; neither splendid 

 sacristies, nor gorgeous altars: we have neither processions, nor saint- 

 worship ; in fact, do not even know anything of, or in any way recognise, 

 many of the saints to whom our churches are nominally dedicated, or rather 

 merely called after for form's sake, and in order to distinguish one building 

 of the kind from another in ordinary discourse. What are St. Giles, St. 

 Pancras, St. Olave, St. Chad, &c, to us Protestants, except so many names, 

 which might as well be those of Egyptian kings ? 



Therefore, if such matters are of no moment— no scandal to our Protes- 

 tantism, why should we now become all at once so excessively scrupulous in 

 regard to what are equally matters of indifference ? If it can be shown 

 that it is indispensably necessary a man should belong to the Anglo-Catholic 

 Church, in order to acquit himself worthily in building churches, let it be 

 done. 



Rickman, who understood Gothic architecture and our ecclesiastical build- 

 ings, as well or better than most in the profession— although Gwilt has not 

 thought either him or his work worth any mention— was brought up in the 

 tenets of quakerism, which, though it did not prevent his being employed 

 professionally at some of the colleges at Cambridge, would now have ex- 

 cluded him from the Yorkshire Architectural Society. 



It mav he said that all this has scarcely anything in common with the 

 objects of your Journal, and it certainly ought not ; but if people will mix 

 up religion'and party spirit, such matters must unavoidably be agitated, and 

 find their way into publications like your own. If qualification of any kind 

 be required from those who seek to become members of the Yorkshire Ar- 

 chitectural Society, it would surely be sufficient precaution against the admis- 

 sion of the unworthy, were it made a law that every one— at least every 

 one actually belonging to the profession— should send in as a testimonial of 

 his ability, some original study or design in ecclesiastical architecture; and 

 if his taste should be found orthodox, lie might be allowed to pass muster 

 without inquiry as to the orthodoxy of his religious tenets. 

 I reman 



Q. E. V. 



7 



