The Payne - Corliss Engine

The Company of B.W. Payne & Sons was first established in Corning , New York in 1841 by Benjamin W. Payne.
B. W. Payne had two sons - David W. Payne and Benjamin N. Payne who carried on the business after his death.

The company was later to move to Elmira, N.Y. where they specialized in the building of portable & stationary Boilers and Corliss type engines.
By 1885 the company had switched their attention to the building of high speed Corliss type engines for traction and lighting plant purposes,
as well as an array of Vertical and Marine engines, but due to a very long running dispute / strike, the company was eventually forced to close
its doors in 1903, which marked the end of some very well designed work in steam valves and gear by David W. Payne.

( In 1874 the Boyd's Directory for the City of Elmira, New York
has the company noted as - Founders and Machinists )

The Payne High-Speed Corliss Engine.

Below
( Article from the page " Manufacturer and builder, April 1888 " )
Credit for both article and images goes to - The Cornell University Library - Digital Collection.

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~ The article from 1888 ~

High-Speed Corliss Engine, with Shaft Governor.
The two views shown herewith are representations of a high-speed Corliss engine embodying certain new features, claimed to
be important advantages. The engine is designed and built by B. W. Payne & Sons, of Elmira, N. Y. The two perspective views
represent simply the general design of the engine, and in the absence of detail views, we shall at this time only venture
upon a general description.

In this engine, the chief feature of novelty is the manner of controlling the speed. This is accomplished by means of a
shaft governor connected to the cut-off valves without the use of dash pots and releasing gears, thus enabling the engine
to run at high rotative speeds; and we are advised that this engine is the first of the kind in which a shaft governor is
used in connection with the Corliss type of valve motion. The following data, in the absence of sectional views, will suffice
for our present purpose to render the more mechanical elements comprehensible:
The cut-off valves work inside the main valves, on the same principle as an ordinary cut-off valve works on a D slide valve.
The disposition of the parts involved in the admission and exit of the steam, is that the steam passages are made as short
as possible, while still retaining ample steam port area. Clearance is reduced to the minimum, being only 1.9 percent
of the piston displacement, which is remarkably small, considering the relation that the bore of the cylinder bears to the
length of the stroke. The steam ports are large in comparison with the cross-sectional area of the cylinder, the area of
the steam ports being equal to one-tenth the area of the cylinder, and that of the exhaust ports equal to one-ninth that
of the cylinder.

The Corliss wrist-plate has been retained, and with its use the quick opening of the steam ports is assured in the most
effective manner, and the pressure is retained almost to full boiler pressure up to the point of cut-off. In this engine
the cut-off valve is actuated by the shaft governor. With the valve gear as employed in the Payne device, it is claimed
by the makers that simplicity is promoted, while at the same time the engine combines the best features of the high-class
Corliss and of the best slide valve engines. Besides giving close regulation, the shaft governor has the merit that is not
subject to being thrown out of duty by the breaking of belt or gearing, since it has at all times a direct and rigid conn-
ection with the regulating mechanism. The comparatively short piston stroke, again, reduces to a minimum the loss from
cylinder condensation, and thus effects a saving of fuel; while the feature of high rotative speed enables the makers to
notably reduce the space the engine occupies, which in turn means a reduction in first cost of engine and counter-shafting.
The makers claim to have succeeded in producing a very simple, heavy and substantial Corliss engine, in which the shaft
governor is successfully applied; an engine that may be run at very high speed, and whose speed is not limited by the valve
gear. Furthermore, having a wide range of power, it is claimed to be well adapted for either very variable or constant work.

The Payne-Corliss Non-Condensing Engine.

Below
( Article from the page " Manufacturer and builder, February 1894 " )
Credit for both article and image goes to - The Cornell University Library - Digital Collection.

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The engine having a cylinder 15 inches in diameter and a stroke of 20 inches. At 600 feet of piston speed ( 180 r.p.m. ),
80 pounds gauge pressure, and cut-off at one-quarter, this would give a rating of 130 horse-power. The driving-belt wheel
is 8 feet in diameter, and gives a belt speed of 4,523 feet per minute. But this is not the limit of rotative speed. A
greater belt speed can be obtained, giving the advantage of using a high-economy engine and belting direct to the generator
for street lighting, which saves costly shafting and the expense of running. The engines are built in sizes from 80 to 350
horse-power, with single cylinders. By condensing, the power may be increased 25 percent, The governor is one of the principal
features. The valve gear has no hooks or dash-pots, and the admission of steam is controlled by the regulator on the shaft,
or a wheel governor, such as is used on high-speed engines. The engine, therefore, makes a very short stroke, runs at a
higher speed, and on variable loads gets rid of a large amount of the cylinder condensation, so often met with in long-stroke
engines. By running at higher speed, condensation waste is overcome to a large extent, and at no extra cost to the purchaser;
and by higher speed and wheel governor the regulation is improved, as any slight change in speed acts instantly and
directly on the cut-off valves.

Experiments have led the manufacturers of this engine to believe that an engine was needed to overcome the objections which
have been proven to be detrimental to the complete success of electric railroad work, as close regulation and high economy
are not generally found in one engine. These engines are built single-expansion, tandem-compound, cross-compound, and triple
expansion, and either one can be run condensing. Reference being made to the ( above ) engraving, it will be seen that the
engine has short rods and ample bearings, and that every part is easily accessible for oiling and adjustment.

Below
An advert from 1890 - advertising ( New Catalogues )
Placed in the July edition of The Manufacturer and builder
for :- B. W. Payne & Sons.

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One such example of a B. W. Payne & Sons engine ( Circa 1885 ) is still in existence today and can be seen at the
New England Wireless and Steam Museum - Rhode Island.

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