Year: 1885

page_text: I, GEORGE TURNER of 17 Arlington Street Ashton-under-Lyne in the County of
Lancaster Wheelwright, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Across the end of the wagon or other vehicle I mount a pair of rods by preference
one over and the other under the buffers and I provide each of these rods with fast
or loose bandles at both of their extremities so as to operate the same from either
side of the vehicle. Branching out from each of these rods I arrange an arm the
extremity of which is connected by means of a link with the side of the outermost
link of the ordinary coupling chain. The upper-most rod is employed for lifting
the coupling chain and to adjust its coupling link with regard to the distance from
it of the hook upon which it has to be coupled-and the lower rod is employed for
throwing the link forward and to place the same upon the hook when the distance
has been so adjusted. The same rods are employed for uncoupling by reversing the
action. And in order to ensure the coupling chain of each individual wagon being
always in the position for hooking on to the adjoining wagon even when the
wagons are buffered up and their coupling hooks are close together I arrange a
bracket above or a projection upon the existing hook to receive the coupling link
and upon which the same hangs when uncoupled.
In accordance with this invention wagons or other vehicles can be coupled or
uncoupled from either side of the line and without the operator passing between
the buffers.

page_text: Improved Coupling Apparatus for Railway Wagons and.
other Vehicles.
I, GEORGE TURNER of 17 Arlington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, in the County
of Lancaster, Wheelwright, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
On the accompanying drawing Fig. 1. represents a perspective view of the end
of a railway truck or wagon having my improved coupling apparatus applied
thereto.
Across the end of the wagon I mount a pair of rods a and b by preference one
over and the other under the buffers and in suitable brackets or bearings.c and c
as illustrated. I provide each of these rods with fast or loose lever handles
[marked d and e respectively] at both of their extremities so as to operate the
same from either side of the vehicle. Branching out from the upper rod a
I arrange an arm of the slotted extremity of which is connected by means of a
link g with a pin h upon one side of the outermost link i of the ordinary coupling
chain k. This rod a is employed for lifting the coupling chain and to adjust its
coupling link with regard to the distance from it of the draw bar hook of the
adjoining wagon upon which it has to be coupled. The lever rod b is also provided
with an arm the extremity of which is connected by means of a pair of links m, —
one to the same pin h upon the coupling link i and the other to a corresponding
pin upon the opposite side of the same link i and this lower rod b is employed for
throwing such link i forward and to place the same upon the draw bar hook of the
adjoining wagon when the distance has been so adjusted as aforesaid.
The same rods are used for uncoupling by reversing the action. In order to
ensure the coupling chain of each individual wagon being always in the position for
hooking on to the adjoining wagon even when the wagons are buffed up and their
draw-bar hooks are close together I arrange a bracket above or a projection o upon
the draw bar hook p to receive the coupling link i and upon which the same hangs
when uncoupled.
In the drawing the position of the coupling apparatus is shown as when not in
use and with the outermost link i of the coupling chain banging upon the projec-
tion o.
It will also be observed that the innermost link of the coupling chain
rests in an inclined direction against a brackets [which might be substituted by a
projection upon the draw bar hook] and which thus forms a support and guide for
the link i resting upon it.
The coupling operation with this my improved apparatus may be described as
follows:-
=
The operator to use the coupling, places one hand on the lever handle d and the
other on lever handle e then by turning the lever handle e in the direction of
the arrow the coupling link i becomes released from its suspended position and the
links m being actuated by lever handle e and the rod a by the lever handle d the
coupling chain can be stretched outwards horizontally more or less and even to its

page_text: full extent and so being adjusted in distance can be coupled on to the hook of the
adjoining wagon-the uncoupling being performed by a reversal of the operation.
One of the main advantages in the link being suspended on the draw-hook is
that in case wagons are fitted with Spring Buffers and they are buffed up-the
draw hooks sometimes become so close together that there is not space sufficient
for the link to pass between them, when the coupling is hanging below and hence
considerable time will be saved as in this case there will be no necessity for the
engine to separate the wagons before they can be coupled.
In the modification represented by Fig. 2. the same pair of rods a and b are
employed as in that shewn in Fig. 1. but instead of employing an arm and link
upon the upper rod a a pulley u and chain v are substituted for adjusting the
distance of the outermost link i and which is effected by simply turning the winch
handle w. and so winding or unwinding the chain von to or off the pulley u-this
arrangement serving as a mechanical equivalent where owing to the shallowness of
the wagon the projecting upwards of the arm f and connecting link g might be
objectionable or impracticable. I provide for the sliding sideways of the rods a
and b in their respective bearings a sufficient distance in order to bring the
coupling chain of the one wagon more immediately opposite the draw hook of the
other wagon say for instance when the wagons to be coupled or uncoupled are on
a curve.
It will thus be apparent that the object of this invention is to provide simple
means for coupling and uncoupling railway trucks or wagons from the outside
without any necessity for passing in between the same, and thus to avoid the
danger to life to which railway servants are exposed by the ordinary method
of coupling.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention,
I declare that what I claim is
1 In coupling apparatus for railway wagons and other vehicles the employ-
ment of a pair of rods provided with arms and connecting links and operated
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated on the accompanying
drawing.
2nd The combination of a pair of rods as aforesaid but the upper rod provided
with a pulley and chain as a mechanical equivalent for the arm and link sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein before described on the accompanying
drawing.
Data
1