IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS
Year: 1874

page_text: •
LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Chadwick, of Douglas, in the Isle of
Man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Chadwick at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th October 1874.
I, EDMUND CHADWICK, of Douglas, in the Isle of Man, do hereby
3 declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY
BREAKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the construction of a continuous break, which
requires no connection whatever between the carriages (other than the
ordinary coupling), and by means of which the guard or the engine driver
can put on all the breaks simultaneously or arrange them so that they
will act automatically, or put them altogether out of action when not
required to act as in backing the train for instance.

page_text: I place on back and front of the engine and tender and as near the
centre as convenient an additional buffer on which is a strong thread
screwing into a long nut, which buffer can be screwed out till it projects
say from six to twelve inches further than the ordinary buffers. This is
effected by means of an upright shaft which turns the buffer shaft by
means of two cog wheels underneath the tender, the buffer on the front
of engine being screwed out by a shaft or rod passing along the engine to
it and worked by a handle or wheel.
•
Underneath each carriage, truck, or van I place two strong rods
extending the whole length of the carriage, and projecting out at each
end the same length as the buffers, their ends also being formed like
buffer ends, and I fix these rods such a distance from the side of the
carriage as corresponds with the additional buffer on the engine. Each
rod is kept in its place or caused to spring out again (when the pressure
that forces it in is removed) by means of springs such as are applied to
ordinary buffers, and is supported by rollers so that they will move
easily backwards or forwards; each rod is also connected to an ordinary
break by a chain or rod on which are placed india-rubber washers, so as
to give it a certain amount of elasticity and form a spring to counteract
the effects of the break block wearing. This break would be applied in
the guard's van by connecting these rods with his wheel in any
convenient way. By placing on the cross shaft of the ordinary break
an upright pin, and letting a pin catch it from the side of long rod when
the said rod is released from the pressure and springs back to its place, it
will draw the break off.
If required the break rods can be made to give way without putting
the break on in the following manner: The said rods are to be cut
through near the centre by a bevilled cut. That portion of the shafts
furthest from the engine and on the left side when facing the engine is
to be blocked or fixed, so that when pressure is put on at either end on
both buffers it will not give way, but will cause the bevilled joints to
slide along each other. On the end of the same rod and near the joint
I fix a strong spring that will force the joint together again when the
pressure is removed, and I couple the shafts together (so that they will
move together laterally) by means of a kind of socket about twelve
inches more or less.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edmund Chadwick in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
CHADWICK, of Douglas, in the Isle of Man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edmund Chadwick, Her special
license that I, the said Edmund Chadwick, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edmund Chadwick, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Ohannel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY BREAKS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edmund Chadwick, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edmund Chadwick, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to
say) :-
This Invention relates principally to the construction of a continuous
break which requires no connection whatever between the carriages
(other than the ordinary coupling), and by means of which the guard or
the engine driver can put on all the breaks simultaneously or arrange
them so that they will act automatically, or put them altogether out of
action when not required to act as in backing the train for instance.

page_text: Such being the nature and object of the said Invention, I will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to be
or may be performed or carried into practical effect, and in order that
the same may be clearly understood, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of
Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof :-
In the annexed Drawing, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section and Fig. 2
a plan view of an engine tender and the frame of a passenger carriage,
showing one method of applying my Invention thereto; and Figs. 3 and
4 are similar views showing a modification thereof.
On referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that I place on the back
of the tender a, a, and as near the centre as convenient, an additional
buffer b, b, on which is a strong thread screwing into a long nut c, c,
which buffer can be screwed out till it projects say from six to twelve
inches farther than the ordinary buffers e, e. This is effected by means
of an upright shaft which turns the buffer shaft by two bevil wheels d, d,
underneath the tender, or the buffer may be on the engine and screwed
out by a shaft or rod passing along the engine to it and worked by a
handle or wheel.
Underneath each carriage, truck, or van I place two strong rods ƒ, ƒ,
extending the whole length of the carriage, and projecting out at each
end the same length as the buffers e, e, their ends being also formed like
the buffers, and I fix these rods such a distance from the sides of the
carriage as corresponds with the additional buffer b, b, on the tender.
Each rod is kept in its place or caused to spring out again (when the
pressure that forces it in has been removed) by means of india-rubber
springs 9, 9, such as are sometimes applied to ordinary buffers, and is
supported by rollers h, h, so that they may move easily backwards or
forwards. Each rod is also connected to an ordinary break by a chain or
rod i, i, on which are placed india-rubber washers k, k, so as to give it a
certain amount of elasticity, and so form a spring to counteract the
effects of the break block wearing. This break would be applied in the
guard's van by connecting the rods f,f, with his wheel in any convenient
way.

page_text: rod ff, to catch it (when the said rod is released from the pressure and
springs back to its place), it will draw the break off.
If required the break rods f, f, can be made to give way without
putting on the break in the following manner :-The said rods f, f, are to
be cut through near the centre of their length by a bevilled cut as at n, n.
That portion of the rod furthest from the engine and on the left side
when facing the same is to be blocked or fixed, so that when pressure is
put on at either end on both buffers it will not give way, but will cause
the bevil joints to slide along each other. On the end of the same rod
and near the joint I fix a strong spring o, o, that will force the joint
together again when the pressure is removed, and I couple the shafts
together (so that they will move together laterally) by means of a kind
of long socket p, p, about twelve inches more or less.
In the modification shown at Figs. 3 and 4 the arrangements on the
engine and tender will be the same. The alteration on the carriages will
be that instead of two rods f, f, the entire length of the carriage there
will be four short ones f, f, two at each end connected to a strong
plate p, p, that turns with a squared pin passing through a central
elongated squared hole or slot in it of a length corresponding with the
distance to which the ordinary buffers e, e, can be pressed in, and I
cause the additional buffers f, f, to project the same distance as the
ordinary buffers e, e, by placing at the back of each plate p, p, a small
wheel or roller r, r, working against a curved plate 8, 8, which is
connected to the ordinary buffers by a rod x at each side.
Above or
below each plate p, p, I place a lever t, t, of the same length, so as to
turn with the same pin as the plate, so that the plate p, p, and lever t, t,
will oscillate together when one or both of them are pressed upon at
either end.
Each end of the lever t, t, is connected to the corresponding lever at
the other end of the carriage by a rod or chain f', f¹, which is connected
to the upright lever 1, 1, of the break shaft either by a strap or link as
shown, or by a chain and spring similar to i, i, in Fig. 1. Or the lever 1, 1,
might be made of such strength and material as would enable it to give
way at a certain amount of pressure, so as to allow for any difference
there might be in the thicknesses of the break blocks. The transverse
shaft of the break would require to be made in two lengths, as each side
would have to turn in the reverse direction to the other.

page_text: This apparatus may also be caused to apply the break in the event of
a coupling becoming broken by attaching to each end of each carriage,
truck, or van a hinged shackle u, u, which when in position to act rests
upon the break buffer rod f, f, behind the head, so that if a carriage
should break away this shackle u, u, will draw out the break buffer rod
and apply the break.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention,
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be
performed or carried into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that
I claim as my Invention, the general arrangement and construction of 1
apparatus for railway breaks as herein-before described and illustated, or
any mere modification or imitation thereof constructed and operating in
substantially the same or a similar manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Chadwick, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of March, in the 1
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witnessed by
JOHN HUGHES,
Clerk to Geo. Davies, O.E.,
Patent Office,
St. Ann's Sq.,
Manchester.
E. CHADWICK. (L.S.)