Corliss Steam Engine

The engine on display is of a Corliss Steam Engine design. This engine was manufactured by the Knowlson and Kelley Company of Troy, NY.

Knowlson and Kelley

Knowlson and Kelley was founded in 1869 by John Knowlson and James Kelley(1). Originally located on the corner of River and Liberty St at 58 River St.(1). The property was purchased for about $8,000. They bought the old Vanderheyden mansion (the oldest building in Troy, built in 1752)(5) for about $8,000. in 1886(3) and began construction in1 on a new location just down the street to the corner of River and Division St at 84-90 River St.(2). They advertised themselves as Machinists and Engineers. The company became incorporated in 1907 with a capital of $74,000.(4). That’s over $2 billion adjusted for inflation. The officers elected are as follows; President – George B. Kelley, Vice President – Harry R. Kelley, Secretary and Treasurer – James R. Knowlson, General Manager – Harry R. Kelley(5).

The plant closed in 1938 and was purchased by P. J. Levine of Albany. On the advice of Mayor Frank J. Hogan and the Troy Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Levine held onto the property for resale as a complete unit. He sold the property to a New York firm in 1942. The new company filed papers of incorporation under the name Knowlson-Kelly Engine corporation. The incoming company had received a contract making engines for the US Navy for the war effort during WWII. The company made changes to the plant that added 500 jobs, a move to three shifts per day, and modernization of the facility(6).

The Steam Engine

The Corliss steam engine was designed by George Henry Corliss in 1849. The engine is comprised of a single piston that lies horizontal. This differs from most steam engines from that time where the piston was operated vertically. There are two supply valves and two exhaust valves to the piston chamber. Attached to the piston was a large rod that would drive a wheel. The wheel was attached to the rotor. The rotor extends out away from the engine and holds a large fly wheel and would be the connection point for different machines. The rotor also has additional control rods and a belt connected that work to control the governor and the supply and exhaust valves.

Piston

The piston is what drives the machinery. As steam is applied to the piston, the piston is pushed from one side to the other. The piston is attached to a rod that is fixed at the same horizontal angle as the piston. The other end of the rod is attached to another rod via a joint that allows the other rod to pivot. This pivoting is useful since the end of that rod is connected to the wheel that drives the rotor. As the piston is pushed one direction, the rod pushes the wheel in a circular motion due to how it is attached. This is where the rotational motion for the rotor comes from.

Corliss Valve

What made this engine excel was in the intricate design of it’s supply and exhaust valves. One of the complications with steam engines at this time was the loss of energy in the steam when opening and shutting the valves. George Corliss designed this system to open the all of the valves in a methodically timed order. One set of supply and exhaust valves was on one side of the piston and the other set is on the other side of the piston. The control rods for the valves are attached to the valves and a single rotating mechanism. This mechanism is located in the center of all the valves and rotates back and forth. The rate of movement is driven by an additional control rod that is attached to the rotor. As the rotor spins, it will rotate a wheel that is attached to the rods. These rods move back and forth. Through linkages, this controls the rotating mechanism that then rotates the all the valves open and shut. The whole valve operation is driven by the speed of the engine. This allows for the proper amount of time for the valves to remain open to ensure a full stroke of the piston. As the left supply valve opens, the left exhaust shuts, the right supply shuts, the right exhaust opens. This allows for the steam on the left side of the piston to build up pressure and push the piston to the right. There is no steam being supplied on the right side of the piston. The steam that is still in the chamber on the right is then pushed out by the piston through the exhaust valve. This stroke of the piston moves the rotor to the point where the control rods start to shift valve positions. The left supply then shuts, cutting off supply steam to the piston. The left exhaust opens, allowing for the piston to push out the steam left in the left side of the chamber. The right exhaust shuts, allowing for the steam to be trapped in the right side of the chamber and build up pressure. The right supply opens, allowing for steam flow into the right side of the chamber. This operation allowed for much more consistent speed and operations from these engines. Attaching manufacturing machines to these engines led to an increase in production.

Governor

The flyweight governor is designed to control the speed of the engine. The balls on the governor are weights. The governor is attached to the rotor by a belt. As the rotor spins faster, this is equivalent to the piston going back and forth faster, the belt will spin faster. This spinning belt causes the governor to spin faster. Centrifugal force forces the weights (balls) to be flung outwards towards the walls. As this happens, the governor operates a linkage with rods that are attached to the supply valves. This rod will control the amount that the supply valves are able to open. The faster the engine is going, the more the rod will limit the amount the valves can open. This limits the amount of supply steam going to the piston. Less steam means less energy to push the piston therefore slowing down the piston which will directly slow down the rotation of the rotor. If the rotor is going too slow, the balls will be inward and the rods will allow the supply valves to open more. This will increase the amount of steam into the piston chamber and will speed up the engine. This governor will operate continuously to obtain an equilibrium that is set at the ideal engine speed.

Oil Supply

Metal rubbing against metal is problematic. You will see several oil cups along the engine. Operators would fill the cups with oil. There would be a wick that would soak up the oil and wick it down to the internal components that needed lubrication.

Videos

Corliss Steam engine valves (Technical explanation) – New England Wireless & Steam Museum – This video uses a different model for the Corliss valves than the one on display. The concept and reasoning of the Corliss Valve is the same.

References:

1.      Weise, Arthur James. The City Of Troy and Its Vicinity. 1886.  

2.      Troy directory. 1890.

3.      “Schenectady Concerns Among Corporations,” The Argus, June 28, 1886.

   a.     The Argus, June 28, 1886

4. The Argus: Monday Morning, March 21, 1907

   a.     The Argus, March 21, 1907

5.    “Portable Machine For Field Work Part of Equipment of Knowlson and Kelley Concern,” The Troy Times, February 13, 1926.

   a.     The Troy Times, February 13, 1926

6.     “Troy Plant to do Navy Work,” Albany Times-Union, April 15, 1942.

   a.     Albany Times-Union, April 15, 1942

Researched and designed by Daniel Wilson. US Navy Veteran and Student at RPI.