On 03/03/2019 20:41, Max Demian wrote:
On 03/03/2019 17:06, harry wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3p55J-VA5k

Not very easy to see how it worked, what with the time to get going and
the steam obscuring the view. Did the patent on the crank necessitate
the odd ratchet mechanism to turn reciprocal to rotary motion? (Probably
not as I don't suppose the Frogs would care about English patent law.)

I think the piston is omnidirectional as far as the power goes, with a
spring return at the end of the stroke. If thats the case then the
ratchet mechanism is actually quite efficient as you are getting fairly
smooth torque at the wheel for the whole wheel rev. I guess the piston
on the other side might concievably be at mid power stroke when the
other side returns.
I think reverse gear selection could be improved though!