CHAPTER V

Invention of the Richards Indicator. My Purchase of the Patent. Plan my London Exhibition. Engine Design. Ship Engine Bed to London, and sail myself.

The subject of an indicator directly presented itself. Mr. Allen invited Mr. Richards and myself to his engine-room, and took diagrams for us with a McNaught indicator. This was the first indicator that either of us had ever seen. Indicators were then but little known in this country. The Novelty Iron Works made a very few McNaught indicators, almost the only users of which were the Navy Department and a few men like Mr. Ericsson, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Sickels, and Mr. Corliss. I told Mr. Richards that we must have a high-speed indicator and he was just the man to get it up for us. He went to work at it, but soon became quite discouraged. He twice gave it up. He could not see his way. I told him I was not able to make any suggestion, but the indicator we must have, and he had to produce it. After some months he handed me a drawing of an indicator which has never been changed, except in a few details. This important invention, which has made high-speed engineering possible, came from the hands of Mr. Richards quite complete. Its main features, as is well known, are a short piston motion against a short, stiff spring; light multiplying levers, with a Watt parallel motion, giving to the pencil very nearly a straight line of movement; and a free rotative motion of the pencil connections around the axis of the piston, which itself is capable of only the slight rotation caused by the compression or elongation of the spring. Elegant improvements have since been made, adapting the indicator to still higher engine speeds; but thesehave consisted only in advancing further on the lines struck out by Mr. Richards. In fact, this was all that could be done—giving to the piston a little less motion, lightening still further the pencil movement, and making the vertical line drawn by the pencil more nearly a straight line.

DIAGRAM TAKEN SEPTEMBER 13, 1861,FROM THE FIRST ALLEN ENGINEBY THE FIRST RICHARDS INDICATOR.ENGINE, 6 INCHES BY 15 INCHES,MAKING 160 REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE.THIS CARD WAS RUN OVER TWENTY TIMES.

I took Mr. Richards’ drawing to the Novelty Iron Works and had an indicator ready for use when the engine was completed. The engine was made by the firm of McLaren & Anderson, on Horatio Street, New York, for their own use. It was set up by the side of their throttle-valve engine, and was substituted for it to drive their machinery and that of a kindling-wood yard adjoining for which they furnished the power. It ran perfectly from the start, and saved fully one half of the fuel. In throttle-valve engines in those days the ports and pipes were generally so small that only a part of the boiler pressure was realized in the cylinder, and that part it was hard to get out, and nobody knew what either this pressure or the back pressure was. I have a diagram taken from that engine, which is here reproduced.

The indicator was quickly in demand. One day when I was in the shop of McLaren & Anderson, engaged in taking diagramsfrom the engine, I had a call from the foreman of the Novelty Iron Works. He had come to see if the indicator were working satisfactorily, and if so to ask the loan of it for a few days. The Novelty Iron Works had just completed the engines for three gunboats. These engines were to make 75 revolutions per minute, and the contract required them to be run for 72 consecutive hours at the dock. They were ready to commence this run, and were anxious to indicate the engines with the new indicator.

I was glad to have it used, and he took it away. I got it back after two or three weeks, with the warmest praise; but none of us had the faintest idea of the importance of the invention.

I remember that I had to go to the Novelty Works for the indicator, and was asked by Mr. Everett, then president of the company, if we had patented it, for if we had they would be glad to make them for us. The idea had not occurred to me, but I answered him promptly that we had not, but intended to. I met Mr. Allen at Mr. Richards’ office, and told them Mr. Everett’s suggestion, and added, “The first question is, who is the inventor, and all I know is that I am not.” Mr. Allen added, “I am not.” “Then,” said Mr. Richards, “I suppose I shall have to be.” “Will you patent it?” said I. “No,” he replied; “if I patent everything I think of I shall soon be in the poorhouse.” “What will you sell it to me for if I will patent it?” I asked. “Will you employ me to obtain the patent?” he replied. “Yes.” “Well, I will sell it to you for a hundred dollars.” “I will take it, and if I make anything out of it will pay you ten per cent. of what I get.” This I did, so long as the patent remained in my hands.

The success of the stationary and the marine governors and of the engine and the indicator fired me, in the summer of 1861, with the idea of taking them all to the London International Exhibition the next year. The demonstration of the three latter seemed to have come in the very nick of time. For this purpose I fixed upon an engine 8 inches diameter of cylinder by 24 inches stroke, to make 150 revolutions per minute, and at once set Mr. Richards at work on the drawings for it. I thought some of speeding it at 200 revolutions per minute, but feared that speed would frighten people. That this would have been a foolish step to take became afterwards quite apparent.

Joseph E. Holmes

That summer I made application for space in the London Exhibition of 1862, and soon after was waited upon by the Assistant United States Commissioner, Mr. Joseph E. Holmes. So far as the engine to be exhibited was concerned, I had nothing to show Mr. Holmes. The drawings were scarcely commenced. I, however, took him to McLaren & Anderson’s shop and showed him the little engine at work there and took diagrams from it in his presence, and expatiated on the revolution in steam-engineering that was there inaugurated, but which has not yet been realized to the extent I then dreamed of. It was evident that Mr. Holmes was much impressed with the assurance of the success of the new system that the perfect running of this first little engine seemed to give. I told him that the engine for the exhibition would certainly be completed, and on that assurance he accepted my entire proposed exhibit. I did not see him again until we met the next spring in London, under the somewhat remarkable circumstances hereafter to be related.

In spite of all efforts it was found impossible to complete the engine and have it tested before shipment as I had intended. Indeed, as the time approached after which no further exhibits would be received, two things grew more and more doubtful. One was whether the engine could be got off at all, and the other whether I could obtain the means to make the exhibit. Finally I managed to get the engine bed finished and immediately shipped it by a mail steamer.

A small, slow steamer chartered by the United States Commission and loaded with exhibits had sailed previously, carrying the assistant commissioner and a number of exhibitors and their representatives, who, until they reached their destination, remained in blissful ignorance of what happened directly after their departure.

But to return to my own movements. Mr. Hope one day said to me: “I understand you shipped your engine bed last Saturday; what did you do that for? You don’t know yet whether you can go yourself.” I replied: “If I had not shipped it then, I should lose my space and would have to abandon the exhibition altogether. If I find that I can’t go, the bed can come back.” I redoubled my exertions to get the remaining parts of the engine completedand to raise the necessary funds. The next Saturday I shipped everything that was ready. On the following Monday, by making a large sacrifice, I realized a sum that could be made to answer, and on Wednesday I sailed on the Cunard steamer “Africa,” leaving to my reliable clerk, Alexander Gordon, long President of the Niles Tool Works, and now Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Niles-Bement-Pond Company, the responsibility of seeing that everything still wanting should follow as rapidly as possible.

I left, not knowing an Englishman in the whole island, to have the parts of an engine, the first one from the drawings and the first engine I ever made, brought together for the first time by I had no idea whom, and assembled and put in motion before the eyes of the world. But I had no misgivings. The engine had been built in my own shop, under my constant supervision, and by workmen trained to the greatest accuracy. The crank-pin I had hardened and ground by my friend Mr. Freeland. I knew the parts would come together perfectly. The result justified my confidence.

One incident of the voyage is worth recording. As we were leaving port we passed the “China,” the first screw steamer of the Cunard fleet, coming in on her maiden voyage.

We had some rough weather, sometimes with a following sea. I was much interested at such times in watching the racing of the engines, when occasionally both paddle-wheels would be revolving in the air in the trough of the sea. The feature that especially attracted my notice was that the faster the engines ran the more smoothly they ran. It was certainly a fascinating sight to see these ponderous masses of metal, the parts of great side-lever engines, gliding with such velocity in absolute silence. The question what caused them to do so it did not occur to me to ask.

Alexander Gordon

Being anxious to reach London as quickly as possible, after a tedious voyage of twelve days, I left the steamer at Cork, to go through with the mail. The custom-house inspectors first interested me. On the little boat by which the mail is transferred from the ship to the shore, two of the representatives of Queen Victoria were anxious to know if I had any liquor or tobacco in my trunk, these being the only dutiable articles. They were quite satisfied with my reply in the negative. A personal examination they never thought of. Truthful themselves, I moralized, they do not suspect untruth in others. Their next question was, “Have you got the price of a glass of beer about you?” I made them happy with a half crown, several times their modest request, and they stamped me as an American free with his money. I purchased a first-class ticket to London, and received the assurance that I should go through with the mail. I was the only passenger on the train of two coaches, besides the mail-van. It was late at night. The regular passenger-train had gone some hours before. Not being up in the English ways, I did not know how I might make myself comfortable, but sat up all night, dozing as I could. I did not sleep after two o’clock. In that high latitude it was already light enough to see fairly well.

After that hour the railroad ran through a farming country all the way to Dublin. I was amused with the queer shapes of the fields. These were generally small, and running into sharp corners, regardless of convenience in cultivation. They were separated always by hedges and ditches. A ditch was dug some two feet deep and three or four feet wide, the dirt was thrown up into a bank to correspond on one side, and on this bank was planted a hedge of hawthorn—“quick-set” they commonly called it. These hedges were of all ages, from those young and well kept to those in all stages of growth and dilapidation. I could have passed everywhere from field to field through breaks in the hedges, sometimes wide ones. I could not see of what use they were except for hunters to jump over. Saw occasionally a laborer’s cabin, sometimes a group of them. When an Irishman came out to sun himself, he always stood higher than the eaves of his thatched roof. Occasionally a more pretentious house would appear. These were all alike, painted white, full of windows, very thin from front to back, and looked like waffles set on edge. Never did I see a tree or a bush about a house to relieve the appearance of barrenness, but there were often small trees in the hedge-rows.

The railway station on one side of Dublin was about four miles from the station on the opposite side, from which a short railway ran to Kingston, a point a little distance south of Dublin, from which the channel boats crossed to Holyhead. There beingno other means of conveyance, I rode through Dublin in an open van sitting on the mail-bags. At the Kingston station an empty train stood waiting for the mails. The regular passenger-train had gone some time before, but the boat at Kingston was also waiting for the mail. I got into a carriage, having ordered my trunk put into the baggage-van, but was ordered out by the guard. I showed him my ticket, and was told that I would have to see the superintendent. That official appeared, and told me this train was for the mails. It had an empty passenger-coach. I showed him my ticket and told him the assurance on which I had bought it, that I should go through with the mails. He replied that the passenger-train had gone, I should have been here to take it. Said he was very sorry, but it was impossible. I got mad. My trunk stood on the platform. As nobody would touch it, I took it up and put it into the open door of the baggage-van myself. The superintendent ordered two men to take it out, which they did. I told him of my great anxiety to reach London that afternoon. All the reply he made was to repeat that he was very sorry, but it was impossible, and I was compelled to stand there and see that train move off, and fool away the whole day in Dublin. Does the reader want to know what the matter was? If he does not know already, he is as green as I was. I had not given the superintendent two and sixpence. But I had more yet to learn about England and the English, and much more serious.

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