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Title: |
1897 Article-R. Hornsby & Sons', Ltd., Oil Traction Engine |
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Source: |
Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, V8 1897, pg. 450 |
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Insert Date: |
7/7/2014 10:40:28 PM |
Messrs. B. Hornsby & Sons, Ltd., Grantham. Oil Engine, Traction or Agricultural Locomotive, "Hornsby-Akroyd" Patent Safety, 18-brake horsepower, adapted for working threshing machinery, haulage on roads, and general purposes. Price 500£—This, as far as I am aware, is the first traction engine to work with common paraffin oil ever exhibited. In appearance the engine (fig. 1) does not show any striking difference from the ordinary steam traction engine, although the usual steam engine and boiler is replaced by the well known Hornsby-Akroyd oil engine. The machine exhibited was entered as 18-brake horsepower, but the makers state that it would be capable of developing 24-brake horsepower if required. It consists of a Hornsby-Akroyd oil engine mounted between two steel frames, having on one end of its crankshaft a spur pinion and a pulley for driving fixed machinery and on the other end a heavy flywheel. Suitable gearing is arranged between the pinion on the crankshaft and the main axle for giving three speeds for traveling. The reversing is accomplished by sliding in gear a loose pinion. When on the road the engine itself is kept continually running in one direction, the starting and stopping of the propelling gear being effected by a friction clutch of the well-known type usually supplied with their engines. The handles of the levers for working speed and reversing gears and the hand-wheel for steering are all placed conveniently for a man on the footplate to work. The levers for altering the speeds are furnished with an ingenious interlocking gear to prevent the possibility of damage through their being wrongly worked. A winding drum with rope is fitted on the axle as in ordinary traction engines, and there is the usual compensating gear on the main shaft, &c., to allow the engine to turn easily. The engine has a tank to carry about thirty gallons of cooling water, and the makers state that about forty gallons will suffice for a day's run. There is also an oil tank sufficient to carry a day's supply of oil.
This oil traction engine has some advantages over a steam engine, as there is no boiler, and consequently no fire and no water gauge to claim the attention of the driver. The oil fuel has much less weight than coal, and the consumption of water is considerably less. The very heavy flywheel combined with the friction clutch gives a great reserve power to be used on an emergency. The engine takes less time in getting to work than a steam engine, and when running less attention is required. On the other hand, as the engine proper is not self-starting, it has to be kept constantly running whether the whole machine is in motion or not. This might be a drawback when passing restive horses, and, where stops are frequent, it might tell against the economy of the machine.
The Judges gave this traction engine a thorough trial. They first had it out for a run on the sleeper roads, then on a very soft grass field outside the yard, where they tested it for turning, reversing, &c., over uneven and soft ground, several obstructions formed of railway sleepers being purposely placed in its way. They also had it attached to a large-sized threshing box and took it round the yard, over the sleeper roads, grass, and macadamized roads. It came out of the trial most satisfactorily, the driver being able to steer it to a great nicety and to turn in a very short space without the least hesitation or difficulty. The whole machine appeared to be under the most perfect control and to thoroughly combine all the requirements of an agricultural traction engine with greatly reduced haulage for fuel and water, and with the other well-known advantages of oil engines, such as non-liability to explode, &c. |
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1897 R. Hornsby & Sons', Ltd., Oil Traction Engine
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