IMPROVEMENTS IN BUFFING AND COUPLING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND ROLLING STOCK
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Daniel Chattaway, of Edinburgh, in the
County of Mid-Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BUFFING AND COUPLING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES
AND ROLLING STOCK."
Scaled the 18th September 1855, and dated the 12th July 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Daniel Chattaway
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th July 1855.
I, EDWIN DANIEL CHATTAWAY, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid-
Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUFFING AND COUPLING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY
CARRIAGES AND ROLLING STOCK" to be as follows, that is to say-
This Invention relates to the combination of the whole of the bufling,
coupling, and drawing apparatus of railway carriages and rolling stock
upon a single central rod in each case, thus dispensing with the use of
separate corner buffers and side chains, as hitherto employed. It is au
essential feature of this contrivance that the buffer and draw hook are in
each case combined in one piece or arrangement. Instead of being a plain
circular disc, the buffer head is of a peculiar irregular form, the lower
portion or side being curvilinear, approximating to a semicircle, whilst the
upper portion is a narrow rectangular piece, so that the end of the wide
coupling link embracing this projection can work upon it as upon a draw
hook. The draw rod is screwed near its end just within the buffer head
thereon, and upon this screwed part is fitted an adjusting nut and collar
apparatus, with projecting arms, carrying links connected with the large

page_text: coupling link. By this means the coupling can be drawn hard up or
slackened off, as may be required. The inner face of the upper projection
of the buffer head is shaped like a large hook, so that the wide link of the
neighbouring carriage when dropped upon it from the upper side produces the
hook and link connection.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edwin Daniel Chattaway in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th January 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
DANIEL CHATTAWAY, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid-Lothian, North
Britain, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Iler reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edwin Daniel Chattaway, Her special license that I, the said Edwin
Daniel Chattaway, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Edwin Daniel Chattaway, my executors, administrators, or 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, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BUFFING AND COUPLING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND ROLLING
STOCK," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin Daniel
Chattaway, by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, should parti-
cularly 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 Edwin Daniel Chattaway, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to the combination of the whole of the buffing,
coupling, and drawing apparatus of railway carriages and rolling stock upon

page_text: a single central rod in each case, thus dispensing with the use of separate
corner buffers and side chains, as hitherto employed. It is an essential feature
of this contrivance that the buffer and draw hook arc in each case combined in
one piece or arrangement. Instead of being a plain circular disc, the buffer
head is of a peculiar irregular form, the lower portion or side being curvilinear,
approximating to a semicircle, whilst the upper portion is a narrow rectan-
gular piece, so that the end of the wide coupling link embraces this pro-
jection, can work upon it as upon a draw hook. The draw rod is screwed
near its end just within the buffer head thereon, and upon this screwed part
is fitted an adjusting nut and collar apparatus, with projecting arms, carrying
links connected with the large coupling link. By this means the coupling can
be drawn hard up or slackened off, as may be required. The inner face of
the upper projection of the buffer head is shaped like a large hook, so that the
wide link of the neighbouring carriage when dropped upon it from the upper
side produces the hook and link connection.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several explanatory Figures on the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto attached.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is a side elevation of the two con-
tiguous ends of a first-class carriage and a goods wagon as joined together
in a train by my improved combined buffing and coupling apparatus, all
the parts being shewn in external elevation except a part of the carriage
framing, which is broken away to exhibit the duplex spring upon the main
buffer spindle. Figure 2 is an end or face clevation of the buffer head and
coupling link as detached; and Figure 3 is a plan of the carriage and wagon
fraining and coupling details. The buffer and draw rod A is represented as
connected to the framing of the carriage by a duplex volute spring B. On
this rod is fixed the irregularly-shaped buffer head C, with its upper right line
projection D, this projection being hook-formed on its inner face, as at E. The
rod A is screwed at F, where it has fitted upon it an adjusting nut G, with a
loaded pendulous setting lever H. This nut G is formed externally as a collar
seat for the traversing collar I, carrying two opposite projecting arins .J. The
opposite ends of these arms are arranged to answer as the bearing journals
for the two longitudinally slotted ends of the wide connecting link K, the
curved end of which embraces the plain hook L on the buffer beam or
framing of the wagon, on the right-hand side of the Drawings. In this
manner a carriage fitted with my improved combined buffing and drawing
arrangement may be coupled to a carriage having a simple central draw hook
arranged in the ordinary manner hitherto in use.
When both the carriages

page_text: of a contiguous pair are fitted with my improved apparatus, the link K of one
carriage draw rod is passed over the projection D on the buffer head of the
other carriage, such link being screwed up tight so as to be retained by the book
point E on the back of the projection D. Instead of adopting the screwed
spindle and collar arrangement for tightening up the coupling, the rod A may
be left plain. the collar G being loose upon it, and carrying a pin connected
to it by a chain, such pin being for insertion in transverse vertical holes bored
through the rod A. In coupling carriages where this contrivance is used,
the link K being passed over the draw hook or hooked buffer head of the
adjacent carriage, the collar G is drawn back by hand as far as possible, and
the retaining pin is then inserted in the nearest hole in front of the collar
in the rod A.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or
restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had
occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom
without deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but
what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to mic by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,--
First, the general arrangement and construction of buffing and coupling
apparatus for railway carriages and rolling stock, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of combining together the buffing and coupling
details of railway carriages and rolling stock, such combination being effected
by using single central draw rods fitted with buffer heads, hook-shaped in
part to receive the coupling links, which are fitted with screwed collars upon
screwed portions of the draw rods, or in an equivalent manner, so as to allow
of their being screwed tight or slackened off, as may be required, as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Daniel Chattaway, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Ninth day of January, One thousand eight
and fifty civ
EDWIN D. CHATTAWAY. (L.S.)
EDWIN D. CHATTAWAY. (L.S.)