Are there any good websites to research Civil War revolvers?

There are many good forums and websites to research revolvers. Please check out the sites referenced below.

As for the Tranter it seems you found this already: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tranter

I would recommend registering on a revolver forum and posting your questions their. Additionally a lot of good information can be found offline in a library...

I'm personally a fan of the Savage Navy Revolver.

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Tranter Double action revolver

This was an English made double action revolver, made in 6 calibers, three of which I know of at this time. .36, .44, .50 caliber with .50 being the most popular. It was made in Army and Navy versions. One model of Tranter shown above used a dual trigger mechanism to provide both single and double action options for the soldier. A second spur trigger projected below the trigger guard and would be operated by the middle finger of the soldiers hand. Pulling both triggers together produced the double action mode. The hammer did not have a spur to grip with the thumb,so manipulation of the spurr trigger was required if single action firing mode was desired. Notice the attached loading lever, it is a flat plate of metal that is alongside of the barrel. In the Single trigger version the revolver looked typical, and had a hammer at the rear of the revolver in normal placment. Navy version Tranter Single Trigger version.