IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE COUPLINGS
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Lord at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th April 1880.
CHARLES LORD, of the Town and County of Huntingdon. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY CARRIAGE COUPLINGS."
The object of my Invention is to dispense with the ordinary screw coupling, and
to enable railway carriages and waggons to be .coupled together without the
attendant going between them.
1..
According to my Invention in lieu of the ordinary screw coupling I employ a
few ordinary chain links which are connected to the end of the draw bar in the
ordinary way, and in coupling up are hooked onto the draw bar of the adjacent
carriage by means which I will now describe.
The end link of the coupling which is to be passed over the hook of the draw
bar of the other carriage is connected to and supported by the end of a rack rod
projecting from the buffer plank alongside the draw bar, and fitted to move
longitudinally in guides beneath the carriage framing. With this rack rod gears a
pinion on a cross shaft operated by crank handles at either side of the carriage
whereby the rack rod is moved to or fro for drawing back the coupling or
advancing it towards the other draw bar. Another cross shaft with a cam or lever
upon it passes beneath the rack rod, so as when partly turned to raise the end of
the rack rod to which the coupling is attached sufficiently to enable the coupling to
be passed over the point of the draw bar hook.
The coupling is tightened up by a nut working on a screwthreaded part of the
draw bar, said nut being formed in a toothed wheel which is geared by spur gear
wheels and pinions with another cross shaft mounted in the carriage framing, and
also operated by crank handles at either side of the carriage. The draw bar is
provided with the usual draw spring, and the spur gear is so constructed as not to
interfere with the resilient action of the draw bar.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Lord in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th October
1880.
CHARLES LORD, of Huntingdon Town, and County of Huntingdon.
MENTS IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE COUPLINGS."
" IMPROVE-
The object of my Invention is to dispense with the ordinary screw-coupling,
and to enable railway carriages and waggons to be coupled together without the
attendant going between them.
According to my Invention in lieu of the ordinary screw-coupling I employ a
few ordinary chain links, which are connected to the end of the draw-bar in the
ordinary way, and in coupling up are booked on to the draw-bar of the adjacent
carriage by means which I will now describe.
The end link of the coupling which is to be passed over the hook of the draw-
bar of the other carriage is connected to and supported by the end of a rack-rod
projecting from the buffer-plank alongside the draw-bar, and fitted to move
longitudinally in guides beneath the carriage-framing. With this rack-rod gears a
pinion on a cross-shaft operated by a crank-handles at either end of the carriage,
whereby the rack rod is moved to or fro for drawing back the coupling or advancing
it towards the other draw-bar. Another cross-shaft with a cam or lever upon it
passes beneath the rack-rod, so as when partly turned to raiso the end of the rack-
rod to which the coupling is attached sufficiently to enable the coupling to be
passed over the point of the draw-bar hook.
The coupling is tightened up by a nut working on a screw-threaded part of the
draw-bar, said nut being formed in a toothed wheel, which is actuated by spur
pinion and pair of bevilled pinions and cross-shaft mounted in the carriage
framing, and also operated by crank-handles at either side of the carriage. Tho.
draw-bar is provided with the usual draw-spring, and the spur-gear is so constructed
as not to interfere with the resilient action of the draw-bar.
For the purpose of making my Invention perfectly clear I give two Sheets of
accompanying Drawings, throughout which the like reference letters are used to:
indicate corresponding parts.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a plan of my Invention fixed to the frame of a railway
carriage; Figure 2 is an elevation; and Figure 3 a sectional elevation taken at the
line Y, Z, in Figure 1. A, A, A, A, is the frame work of the carriage; B is the
draw bar; C, its spring; and D, the wheel-out mounted at its extremity; E, E',
are the pair of bevil wheels. One of them E is cast in one piece with a spur-
pinion E, gearing into D, and E', E, & E' turn loosely upon a spindle F projecting
from the carriage-frame to which it is bolted through a stout flange F'. The outer
end of F carries a nut and washer F" to keep the pinion E in its place. A shaft G
carrying handle-wheels G, G², and carried in bearings G³, fixed in the carriage-
frame enables the porter to tighten up the draw-bar B after a pair of carriages has
been coupled in the way described in next paragraph. I may, when desirable, fit
both wheels G³, G, with a circular notched-plate and stop, or other equivalent
device to prevent their position being altered on a journey, although this is very
unlikely in consequence of the thread in the end of the draw-bar being a slow one.
H, H, H, are rack-rods or bars passing through guide-bars I and sockets I' in the
end of the carriage-frame; J is the cross-shaft working in bearings K, and carrying
pinions L, L, L, keyed on it, one for each rack-bar, and wheel-handles L³, L³, one
on each side of the carriago. These rack-rods travel longitudinally, but at a slight
angle. The reason why they are fixed to travel at an angle, as shown, will be
apparent as the reader proceeds. M, M, are the ordinary chain hooks shown in
detail, Sheet 2, Figure 4. To the end of each rack-bar the leading link of the
coupling chain is fastened in the position and manner shown. Across the face of

page_text: the frame-end runs a shaft N supported by suitable bearings N', and furnished
at both ends with a wheel-handle N. To this shaft, and at points immediately
underneath the rack-bars, are welded cams N³, N³, N³, one for each draw-bar.
When the porter wishes to couple two carriages he turns either of the handle-
wheels L², L³, by which he advances the rack-bars H, H, H. As their ends carrying
the leading links of the coupling chains come near the coupling hooks H2, H3, H², of
the adjacent carriage they are raised by a turn of one of the wheel-handles N until
by reversing the wheel N the weight of the links drops them over the coupling
hooks H, H, H. By turning either of the wheel-handles G³ the two carriages are
tightened up.
The Figures on Sheet 2 show the application of my Invention to trucks and
waggons. As these are generally made with only one coupling chain at each end
there is, as a matter of course, only one rack-bar. The mechanism for tightening
the draw-bar is dispensed with inasmuch as it is not customary to tighten up the
trucks forming goods or mineral trains. In all other respects the parts are as
described above in number and relation.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the fixed coupling-hook drawn in the Figure 1,
Sheet 1, and Figures 5, A & B, show how the leading link is fastened to the end
of the draw-bar; Figure 6 is a simple form of handle, which I may use when
desirable in lieu of the wheel-handle N³.
Having now fully described my Invention, and how the same is to be carried
into effect, I wish it to be understood that what I consider new, and therefore
protected by the above in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. The rack-rod carrying the leading link of the coupling chain and the
arrangement of pinion and handle for travelling said rack-rod forward.
2nd. The cam actuated by a shaft.
3rd. The mechanism for tightening up the draw-bar.
All substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated in
the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Lord, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
Signed and sealed
in presence of
JOSEPH YEARDYE,
Huntingdon.
CHARLES LORD. (L.S.)