IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Gibson, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Watch-
maker, Thomas Hall, of Gateshead, in the County of Durham, Gentle-
man, and Thomas Davison, of the same Place, Broker, for the Invention
Sealed the 21st April 1863, and dated the 31st October 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Gibson, Thomas
Hall, and Thomas Davison at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 31st October 1862.
We, THOMAS GIBSON, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Watchmaker, THOMAS HALL,
of Gateshead, in the County of Durham, Gentleman, and THOMAS DAVISON,
of the same Place, Broker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar combinations of self-acting
mechanism for applying railway breaks when the speed of the engine is checked,
the consequent over running or crowding of the carriages in the train, and
the inward movement of the several draw bars causing the application of the
breaks to any or all the carriages or waggons in the train.
According to one arrangement the breaks are fitted on to arms attached to
a transverse rocking shaft, which rocking shaft is provided near the middle
with a lever arm having a sliding piece thereon. This sliding piece is kept
extended, so as to lengthen the arm by means of a spring or otherwise, but is
held up when the break is not in action by the tail of a suspended lever-acted

page_text: upon by the draw bar. Immediately beneath the end of the sliding piece on
the lever, there is a boss or collar made on the axle, and a notch or projection
formed thereon. So long as the traction strain of the engine acts upon the
draw bars and keeps them drawn out, the sliding pieces will be held up clear
of the bosses or collars, but the moment the steam is shut off and the speed of
the engine is checked, the draw bars run in, and by moving the tail of the
suspended levers in the several carriages, allows the sliding pieces to descend
and drop into the notch or in front of the projection on the bosses, and being
caught by them as they rotate causes the lever and rocking shaft to be partially
turned, and to apply the breaks. When the speed of the engine is increased
again, the extension of the draw bars lifts the sliding pieces, and takes off the
breaks again by the aid of a spring for that purpose.
According to a second modification there is a long horizontal break lever
attached to a cross-bar, which connects the two opposite breaks, so that by
lifting such lever the breaks will be released, but by depressing it they will be
applied. This lever is acted upon so as to be elevated or allowed to descend
either directly from a stud in the draw bar sliding along an inclined portion of
the lever, or indirectly through the intervention of a suspended lever, the
lower end of which carries a stud, which acts upon the inclined end of the
break lever. When the break levers are not acted upon by the studs, they
are depressed by the action of powerful springs, which apply the requisite
pressure to the breaks.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Gibson, Thomas Hall, and Thomas Davison in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th April 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
GIBSON, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Watchmaker, THOMAS HALL, of Gateshead,
in the County of Durham, Gentleman, and THOMAS DAVISON, of the same
Place, Broker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Thomas Gibson, Thomas Hall, and Thomas Davison, Her special
license that we, the said Thomas Gibson, Thomas Hall, and Thomas Davison,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said

page_text: Thomas Gibson, Thomas Hall, and Thomas Davison, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Gibson, Thomas Hall, and Thomas
Davison, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 we, the said Thomas Gibson, Thomas Hall, and
Thomas Davison, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say :-
Our said Invention relates to certain peculiar combinations of self-acting
mechanism for applying railway breaks when the speed of the engine is checked,
the consequent over running or crowding of the carriages in the train, and the
inward movement of the several draw bars causing the application of the
breaks to any or all the carriages or waggons in the train.
According to one arrangement the breaks are fitted on to arms attached to
a transverse rocking shaft, which rocking shaft is provided near the middle
with a lever arm having a sliding piece thereon. This sliding piece is kept
extended, so as to lengthen the arm by means of a spring or otherwise, but is
held up when the break is not in action by the tail of a suspended lever or
equivalent device, acted upon by the draw bar. Immediately beneath the end
of the sliding piece on the lever there is a boss or collar made on the axle,
and a notch or projection formed thereon. So long as the tractive strain of
the engine acts upon the draw bars and keeps them drawn out, the sliding
pieces will be held up clear of the bosses or collars, but the moment the steam
is shut off and the speed of the engine is checked, the draw bars run in, and
by moving the tail of the suspended levers or equivalent device in the several
carriages, allows the sliding pieces to descend and drop into the notch or in
front of the projection on the bosses, and being caught by them as they rotate,
causes the lever and rocking shaft to be partially turned and to apply the

page_text: breaks.
When the speed of the engine is increased again the extension of
the draw bars lifts the sliding pieces, and takes off the breaks again by the aid
of a spring for that purpose. The bosses or collars above referred to may, if
found desirable, form part of the nave or hub of the wheel in place of being a
separate boss on the axle.
According to a second modification, there is a long horizontal break lever
attached to a cross-bar, which connects the two opposite breaks, so that by
lifting such lever the breaks will be released, but by depressing it they will be
applied. This lever is acted on so as to be elevated or allowed to descend
either directly from a stud in the draw bar sliding along an inclined portion
of the lever or indirectly through the intervention of a suspended lever, the
lower end of which carries a stud, which acts upon the inclined end of the
break lever. When the break levers are not acted upon by the studs they are
depressed by the action of powerful springs, which apply the requisite pressure
to the breaks.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood, we shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose we shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of a
carriage framing, provided with one arrangement of self-acting breaks con-
structed according to our Invention; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the
same, and Figures 3 and 4 are separate details on a larger scale of the break
actuating mechanism, in the one case (Figure 3) the break is just being
applied, whilst in the other (Figure 4) it is in full action.
A is the main framing of the carriage or waggon, which may be of the
ordinary or any other convenient construction, and B, B, are the running
wheels acted upon by the break blocks C, C', which are suspended from
rocking shafts D, D¹, supported in bearings in the main framing. These
rocking shafts may either be made to carry each a single brake block, as
shewn in the Drawings, or they may extend entirely across the framing, and
be provided with two break blocks, which will act upon both the wheels on the
same axle. We, however, prefer the arrangement shown in the Drawings.
The two break blocks for the leading and trailing wheel on each side of the
framing are connected by means of the rods E, E, and E, E', with the
levers F, which work on fixed centres at G, so that any movement imparted
to these levers will be at once transmitted to the front and rear break blocks
in connection therewith. The arrangement of self-acting mechanism is pre-

page_text: cisely similar on both sides of the carriage, but the break blocks are made to
act upon opposite sides of the wheels, the object being to enable one or the
other pair of breaks to operate according to the direction in which the
carriage is running, as will be herein-after more fully explained. H, H, are
rocking shafts supported in the framing, and carrying each a lever I fast
thereon, which lever is provided with a sliding piece or bolt K connected by
'metal straps a, a, or otherwise to the lever, so as to be free to slide longi-
'tudinally thereon. These levers are coupled by means of the rods L with
the upper ends of the levers F. Immediately below and partly in front of
each bolt K, there is formed on or fitted to the axle a boss or collar N, having-
a tooth or notch 6 formed on the circumference thereof. These bosses or
collars may be either made, as shown in the enlarged detail section and plan
at Figures 5 and 6, or as represented at Figures 7 and 8. In the first
arrangement Figures 5 and 6, an annular groove c is made in the centre of
the boss, in which groove is formed the tooth or notch b, the sides d, d, of the
bolt being left plain. In the second arrangement the centre of the boss at d
is left plain, whilst a tooth or notch 6 is formed on each side, as shewn in
Figures 7 and 8. The lower end of the sliding bolt K is shaped to conform
to the construction of the boss; in the one case it is formed with a central
projecting tooth e, which enters the groove c when required, as herein-after
described, or it is forked, as in Figure 8, in order to pass on each side of the
central plain portion of the boss. A pin f is fitted to the side of the sliding
bolt, and to this pin is coupled one end of a short link O, the lower end of which
is jointed to a bent lever P, working loose on a stud g, in a bracket bolted to
the framing, but not shewn in the Drawings. One end of this lever is bent
up, as shown in the Drawings, at p, and upon the same stud g works loosely
a vertical lever R, which is forked at its lower end in order to embrace both
sides of the bent lever P. The upper extremity of the vertical lever R is
connected by a link S with the free end of a horizontal lever T, which works
on a fixed centre U in the main framing. This lever T passes just below aud
across the draw bar V, from which it derives a certain amount of motion;
when the draw bar slides in its bearings, by means of a pin h in the draw.bar
taking into a slot in the horizontal lever T; W is the draw-bar spring, which
tends to force in the bar whenever the tractive strain is relaxed; X, X, are
the buffers, connected in the ordinary manner with the buffer springs Y, Y,
to the centre of which springs the inner ends of the draw bars are coupled, a
slot being made in the end of the draw bar to allow of a slight play before
acting upon the buffer springs. The mode of operating this self-acting break
mechanism is as follows:-So long as the tractive strain of the engine

page_text: operates upon the several draw bars and maintains them fully drawn out, the
horizontal lever T will be maintained in such a position as to hold the vertical
lever R back against the tail or bent portion p of the lever P, the opposite
end of the lever P being thereby kept elevated, and being connected to the
sliding bolt K by the link O, that bolt will be held up out of contact with the
boss N on the axle, and the two breaks in connection with the lever I will be
held out of contact with the wheels by springs or otherwise. Should it be
required to apply the breaks the engine driver has simply to shut off the
.steam, when the tractive strain or pull on the draw bars being relaxed and
the crowding of the after part of the train tending to press in the buffers and
allow the draw bars to slide inwards, the horizontal lever T will be simul-
taneously moved back, and the bent lever P being no longer kept elevated the
bolt K is free to be lowered, being pressed down by a helical or other spring
contained within or fitted to the lever I, and as the bolt protrudes beyond or
virtually lengthens the lever I, its tooth e is caught by the revolving tooth or
notch in the boss on the axle, and is by it forced forward so as to partly
turn the lever I, bringing the face of the bolt K against the circular sides or
edges d of the boss N, as shewn in Figure 4, where it remains until the draw
bars are again.extended by the traction of the engine. The partial turning of
the lever I moves the lever F, to which the break blocks are connected by
the rods E, and consequently draws the blocks firmly against the peripheries
of the wheels, where they are held until the bolt K is released. When steam
is again put on and a tractive strain exerted upon the draw bars, so as to
extend them, the horizontal lever T is pulled forward, the bent lever P is
elevated, and the bolt K lifted up so as to be clear of the boss; whereupon
the lever I being no longer pressed forward by the action of the bars upon
the bolt, the break blocks will be released from the wheels.
The whole or a portion only of the carriages in a train may be provided
with this break-actuating mechanism, disposed in duplicate on each side of the
framing of the carriages; but the mechanism on one side is held out of action
by inserting a pin in the draw bar connected with that pair of breaks which
are intended to operate only when the carriage is running in the opposite
.direction.
It is obvious that various contrivances may be employed for transmitting
<motion from the draw bar to the bolt K for the purpose of elevating it, and
therefore we do not confine ourselves to the precise arrangement of mechanism
herein-before described and illustrated by our Drawings so long as the
essential feature of our Invention be retained.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said

page_text: Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, we would observe in conclusion, that what we consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general constructions, arrangements, and combinations of self-
acting mechanism for railway breaks, substantially as herein-before described
and illustrated by the Drawings.
Second, the application and use of a lever provided with a moveable piece
or bolt, which is actuated from the draw bar in combination with a boss on
the axle provided with one or more teeth or notches, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Davison, on behalf of myself
and my said partners, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three.
THOMAS DAVISON. (L.s.)