Improvements in Apparatus or Gear for Braking and Starting Tramway Cars and other Vehicles.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Jan., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 25th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 30th Nov., 1888
Improvements in Apparatus or Gear for Braking and Starting
Tramway Cars and other Vehicles.
I, JOSEPH MONTEITH of Carstairs House, Carstairs, in the County of Lanark,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows :-
This Invention relates to apparatus for braking or arresting the motion of tramway
cars and other vehicles and for restarting or for diminishing the power required in
restarting such vehicles. The apparatus constituting the Invention consists of a shaft
laid parallel to the length of the vehicle and intermediate between the axles of tho
front and rear wheels. On each end of the said shaft a bevel wheel is secured
and on both the front and rear axles of the vehicle two similar wheels are 50
situated as to be capable of being one or other of them thrown into gear with one of
the bevel wheels on the longitudinal shaft. Such movement of the bevel wheels ou
the carrying axles is effected by a lever or its equivalent from the platform at the
front or rear end of the car and when one of the bevel wheels on the fore or rear
axle is brought into gear with the corresponding wheel on the longitudinal shaft the
said shaft is rotated so as to wind or coil up a spring one end of which is connected to
the longitudinal shaft and the other to the car body. The spring in the act of being
coiled up serves as a brake on the motion of the vehicle. When it is desired to
restart the vehicle the lever on the platform is operated so as to bring the other
bevel wheel on the fore or rear axle into gear with the longitudinal shaft and
the said shaft being rotated in the opposite direction by the uncoiling or unwinding
of the spring the vehicle is again started forward or the power required for that
purpose is diminished.
Under a modification bevel wheels may be placed on one of the carrying axles
only or a single bevel wheel may be placed on each axle at opposite sides of the
longitudinal shaft.
Dated this Twenty sixib day of January 1888.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agents.

page_text: Tramway Cars and other veniciOS.
I, JOSEPH MONTEITH of Carstairs House, Carstairs, in the County of Lanark,
Gentleman, 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 :-
This invention relates to apparatus for braking or arresting the motion of tramway
cars and other vehicles and for restarting or for diminishing the power required in
restarting such vehicles. As represented in the accompanying drawings in vertical
section at figure 1 and in plan at figure 2 as applied to the framework of a car and in
enlarged views in detail at figures 3, 4 and 5, the apparatus constituting the Invention
consists of a shaft A laid parallel to the length of the vehicle and intermediate between
the axles B, B of the front and rear wheels. On each end of the said shaft A a bevel
toothed or friction wheel C is secured and on both the front and rear axles of the
vehicle two similar wheels D, D³, are so situated as to be capable of being one or
other of them thrown into gear with one of the bevel wheels C on the longitudinal
sbaft A. Such movement of the bevel wheels on the carrying axles is effected by
levers E operated by rods F from a hand lever G on the platform at the front or rear
end of the car and when one of the bevel wheels D or D on the fore or rear axle is
brought into gear with the corresponding wheel C on the longitudinal shaft A the
said shaft is rotated so as to wind or coil up a spring H one end of which is connected
to the longitudinal shaft A through a disc K having attached to it a pawl k engaging
a ratchet wheel L, whilst the other end of the spring is connected to the car body.
The spring in the act of being coiled up serves as a brake on the motion of the
vehicle. When it is desired to restart the vehicle the lever G on the platform is
operated so as to bring the other bevel wheel D¹ or D on the fore or rear axle into
gear with the longitudinal shaft A and the said shaft being rotated in the opposite
direction by the uncoiling or unwinding of the spring the vehicle is again started
forward or the power required for that purpose is diminished. In order to prevent
uncoiling of the spring in the act of throwing the bevel wheels into and out of gear
a ratchet wheel J is. fitted on the shaft A and retained by a pawl until it is lifted by
a cam surface on one of the rods F by which the wheels are put into gear, the said
cam acting on one of two lever arms MI M' connected to the pawlj, one M of the
lever arms being placed in contact with the rod F connected to the brake lever G at
the forward end of the car whilst the other lever arm M' is raised out of contact
with the rod F connected to the brake, lever at the rear and the lever arms being
reversed on reversing the direction of movement of the car.

page_text: Under a modification bevel wheels may be placed on one of the carrying axles
only or a single bevel wheel may be placed on each axle at opposite sides of the
longitudinal shaft.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The combination of parts constituting the improved apparatus or gear for braking
and starting tramway cars and other vehicles substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to the annexed drawings.