A NEW BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Laurent Rigolier, Engineer, residing at Lyon, Place
Grolier, 5, Rhône, in the Empire of France, for the Invention of "A
NEW BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 19th July 1859, and dated the 1st February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Laurent Rigolier at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
February 1859.
I, LAURENT RIGOLIER, Engineer, residing at Lyon, Place Grolier, 5, Rhône,
in the Empire of France, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "A NEW BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
This new system of brake can be adapted to all sorts of railway carriages,
whatever be their size or manner of construction, as all the pieces constituting
the brake are placed beneath the frame which composes them generally,
leaving free the space between the sleepers for the placing of the fastening
bars, the springs, & the different pieces of the framework.
By means of my system, from the combination of force and the arrangement
of the mechanism, a train at full speed may be stopped by the progressive
staying of the wheels, and this is produced by means of a considerable friction
brought to bear on the lateral surface of the tyres or bands of the wheels by the
contact of hoops pressing internally. These hoops are each of then pressed by
a spring, to which more or less pressure may be communicated by means of
strong adjusting screws. The pressure of the springs on the hoops tend to

page_text: approach them nearer to the wheels; it is therefore necessary, when the train
is in motion, to neutralize their effect, and to keep the hoops at a distance
from the tyres of the wheels; for this purpose the brakesman, by means of a
crank placed for the purpose, withdraws a rod furnished with a rack, which
gears with a pinion. The rod just mentioned is pierced with four mortices
furnished with friction rollers; in these mortices several square arms engage.
The movement of the rod determines the movement of the square arms, which
withdraw the hoops, and maintain the pressure of the springs. The brake
hoops parallel to the surface of the wheels are suspended at the top and at the
side by fastenings, and only yield to the effort which displaces them laterally,
according to the requirements of the service. The motion of the wheels can
be immediately changed into a slipping on the rail, or else their movement
can be slackened. In the first case, the guard lets go the detent or securer
(which maintains the pressure of the springs) entirely; to slacken, he holds
the detent, thus producing a gradual pressure.
This new method of brake has the advantage of producing a very large
surface of friction, a result which it has been sought to obtain by an excessive
pressure against the wheels, but the means hitherto employed bave always
had for almost immediate result the prompt destruction of the axle guards,
grease boxes, &c.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Laurent Rigolier in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LAURENT
RIGOLIER, Engineer, residing at Lyon, Place Grolier, 5, Rhône, in the Empire
of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Laurent Rigolier, Her special licence that I, the said Laurent
Rigolier, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Laurent Rigolier, my executors, administrators, and 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, & vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and,

page_text: Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW
BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Laurent Rigolier, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 I, the said Laurent Rigolier, 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 fol
lowing statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):
This new system of brake can be established on all carriages used on
railways, whatever their dimensions and mode of construction, as the mechanism
is very simple, and the pieces which produce the stoppage can always be
placed in such a manner as to leave clear the space required for the bars of
the coupling chain, the springs, and the different parts of the framework.
A plan of a carriage and two sections, full size, are represented on the
accompanying Drawings, and will serve to render clear and precise the
following description.
From the combination of force and mechanical arrangements, the stoppage
of a train at full speed is produced almost instantaneously by the gradual
stoppage of the wheels, which is obtained by the considerable friction imme-
diately engendered on the lateral surface of the tyres by the contact of the
rings A, which are applied inside. These stoppage rings, parrallel with the
surface of the wheels, are suspended by the ties B, firmly fixed to the frame-
work, and thus can only give laterally, according to the necessities. of the
service. The springs, held two & two by the ends of the tie pieces C, and
continually pressing on the brakes, help to bring them closer to the wheels;
but when in motion this effect must be neutralized, and the rings removed at
a distance from the tires. To do this the brakesman, by means of a handle
D, put within his reach, withdraws the rod E, which, by means of the axles F
and the recalling rods G, G, removes the rings, and maintains the pressure of
the springs. When, by means of the handle, the brake is removed far enough,
a stop H, conveniently placed, fixes the position of the rod E while in motion,
and the knee K, becoming free, places itself at the bottom of the groove which
terminates the recalling rod. If any unforeseen obstacle requires a rapid stop,
the conductor lifts sharply the stop H, and the brakes, which give to the
pressure of the springs, act strongly with the whole extent of their surface.

page_text: This apparatus, although constructed to produce an immediate and rapid
stoppage, can also render important services in cases which demand a slow
and progressive stoppage. To do this, the end of the rod is supported by the
knee K, and then, by unscrewing the handle little by little, the brake is
brought gradually nearer, so as to produce only a gradual slackening, which
is often necessary in the descent of steep gradients.
This new system of brake has the advantage of producing, by means of a
large surface of friction, the effect which has been tried to be obtained by an
exaggerated pressure against the wheels, but the means employed up to the
present time have always resulted in the prompt decay of the axle guards,
the grease boxes, and the axles, without producing completely the effect
expected to be obtained. ⚫
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I wish it to be dis-
tinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details therein
mentioned, as the same may be varied or modified without departing from
the principles thereof; but what I claim is, the new system of railway
brake, and the application of the same, as above described and shown in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Laurent Rigolier, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
P. L. RIGOLIEK. (L.S.)