IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE METHOD OF OPERATING SUCH BREAKS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John May Munro, the younger, of the City and County
of the City of Bristol, Metallurgist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE METHOD OF OPERATING SUCH BREAKS." A
communication from abroad by Samuel Milligan, of West Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia.
Sealed the 17th May 1878, and dated the 22nd March 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John May Munro at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd March 1878.
JOHN MAY MUNRO, the younger, of the City and County of the City of Bristol,
Metallurgist. "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE METHOD OF
OPERATING SUCH BREAKS." A communication from abroad by Samuel Milligan, of
West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The chief object of this Invention is to provide simple, speedy, and efficient meaus
of applying breaks to railway rolling stock so as to stop trains as quickly as
possible with the minimum amount of wear and tear to such rolling stock, and, by
preference to apply the breaks to all the wheels of the vehicles composing a train
simultaneously, which object is attained by the following arrangements:-
A spiral groove is formed on or securely fitted to one or both of the axles of each
vehicle, in which groove there travels (when in gear and action) the free end of a
simple lever, having its other end connected to a crank which operates a cross bar
or double crank, to which the ends of the two rods carrying the break blocks are
attached. The revolution of the axles carries this free end of the said lever along
the spiral groove, and thus forces its other end to operate the jointed break rods,
and thereby to press the break blocks against both wheels on such axle or axles at
the same time, with a force increasing with the onward movement of the train, until
in a very short time the wheels are stopped from rotating.
Or instead of the said simple lever 1 fit on it near its free end a heavy saddle,
cap, or clip, having a projecting flange or flanges to work in the said spiral groove.

page_text: Or in place of such simple lever I pivot or joint on the free and of a shorter
similar lever a toothed segment of a wheel, the teeth of which work in the said
spiral groove. To each outer end of these segments I pivot a sliding rod or other
suitable connection, so that as the segment is turned by the motion of the axle, one
such sliding rod or other suitable connection is elongated and the other shortened,
to suit the varying position of the toothed segment when in operation. By this
arrangement the said improved mechanism will work whichever way a vehicle or
train is moving.
This improved break is thrown in and out of gear by simply raising or lowering
that end of the lever or the teeth of the segments which travel in the spiral groove
clear of such groove. This is accomplished by means of a series of rods operated
by a lever either from the engine or guard's van, which only requires to have its
action reversed in order to allow the said lever and teeth to fall into gear again.
The said series of rods for each carriage of a train may be connected together by
any suitable and efficient means, terminating in a hand lever at either end of the
train, so as to make them continuous, and admit of their being operated simul-
taneously.
An efficient spring is suitably placed to protect each break lever from jumping
out of its groove.
As engines and the other vehicles of a railway train are sometimes required to
travel to and fro" without being reversed, in the case of the simple lever arrange-
ment a second worn and lever, or a right and left handed worm, are provided on
the axles of the wheels, so as to enable the breaks to be thrown on when such
vehicles are travelling in the opposite direction. When two such levers or right
and left handed worms are used, the one not required is lifted out of gear, and its
end suspended or held in a link or bracket until the vehicle travels in the opposite
direction. This is done before a train is put in motion.
When the break is required to be applied, the requisite hand lever is simply
moved so as to allow the proper levers or their addenda to fall into the said grooves,
whether of a single worm or of a right an left handed worm, when the motion of
the axle (caused by the onward movement of the train) applies the break blocks to
the wheels, as before explained.
It will thus be seen that cach vehicle of a train applies its own break, and by
connecting the improved apparatus of one line along all the vehicles together, the
whole can be thrown in and out of gear instantaneously by the motion of a single
lever operated by the engine driver or guard, preferably by the former.
In order to avoid or modify the jerking or jumping of the vehicles of a train or
the break apparatus caused by the momentum of heavy trains speedily arrested,
cach break block may be fitted with a shoe or cap lined with india-rubber or other
suitable elastic material, or a spring may be fitted therein, which will prevent or
modify the usual effects of a too abrupt skidding of the wheels.
In the event of the severance of a train the breaks on the detached portion, losing
their controlling power, are immediately applied by their own gravity, and thus
speedily bring such detached vehicles to a stand.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said John May Munro in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st September
1878.
JOHN MAY MUNRO, the younger, of the City and County of the City of Bristol,
Metallurgist. "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE METHOD OF
OPERATING SUCH BREAKS." A communication from abroad by Samuel Milligan, of
West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The chief object of this Invention is to provide simple, speedy, and efficient
means of applying breaks to railway rolling stock, so as to stop trains as quickly
as possible with the minimum amount of wear and tear to such rolling stock, and,
by preference, to simultaneously apply the breaks to all the wheels of the vehicles
composing a train, which object is attained by the following arrangement:-
In order that the said Invention may be more fully understood, and be more
readily performed, I will explain the same with the aid of the accompanying
Drawing which forms part of this Specification, reference being made thereto by the
numerals and letters marked thereon.
Figs. 1 and 7 are respectively a plan of the under framing of a railway carriage,
and shewing the said improvements somewhat varied in their details; Fig. 2 is a
side elevation, and Fig. 3 an end elevation elevation thereof in No. 1 plan.
Fig. 4 is an elevation, and Fig. 5 a plan of the hand lever arrangement fitted on
the engine or guard's van.
Fig. 6 shews the break lever with a semicircular saddle to fit into the spiral groove
on or in the axles.
Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the arrangement in No. 7 plan.
The other Figs. shew enlarged details of the said improvements, which will be
referred to by the index letters marked thereon.
A spiral groove a in hard metal is formed on or securely fitted to one or all the
axles a¹ of each vehicle of a train, in which groove there travels (when in gear and
action) the free part of a simple lever b, having its other end connected to a crank b¹
which operates a cross bar or double crank c, to which the ends of the two rods d, d³,
which operate the break blocks e, e', are attached. The revolution of the axles a¹
carries the free portion of the levers b along the spiral grooves a, and thus forces
the other ends of such levers to operate the jointed break rods d, d', and thereby to
press the break blocks e, c', against both wheels on each axle at the same time, with
a force increasing with the onward movement of the train, until in a very short
time such wheels are stopped from rotating, when the pressure remains the same.
A suitable spring is fitted to prevent or modify the "jumping" of the lever b.
Or instead of the simple lever b such lever is fitted with a heavy saddle, cap, or
clips, having a projecting flange or flanges to work in the spiral groove a. These
saddles are provided with a spring s¹ to enable them to traverse the said spiral
groove, and to accommodate themselves to the increasing angle which they obtain
with respect thereto as they travel along the spiral groove, and also for the purpose
of bringing them back to their original position when released from the spiral
groove a.
Or in place of the lever b. I pivot or joint on the free end of a lever b³ a'
toothed segment of a wheel b', the teeth of which work in the spiral groove. a. To
each outer end of the segment b' I pivot a sliding rod or other suitable con-
nection, so that as the segment b' is turned by the motion of the axle one such
sliding rod is elongated and the other shortened, to suit the varying position of
the segment 6' when in operation. By this arrangement, see Fig. 7, the said
improved mechanisun will work whichever way a vehicle or train is moving.
The pivots, pins, or links, swivels, or cranks in this arrangement may have any
other suitable connection, so that they are efficient for the purposes intended.
The toothed segment may be placed and arranged so as to operate on the upper
part of the axle a¹ or spiral groove 'a, see Fig. 8.

page_text: A suitable spring may be placed upon or over the centre lever 6³ to facilitate its
adjusting movements.
The levers or break appliances can be adjusted at once by simply letting the lever
fall, and which can be as speedily withdrawn when it is desired to obviate a too
abrupt stoppage of the train.
This improved break is thrown in and out of gear by simply raising or lowering
that part of the lever b or the teeth of the segments 6 clear of or into the spiral
groove a in which they travel. The raising of the said lever or teeth is accom-
plished by means of a series of rods g and the bell crank k, operated by a hand
lever g, either from the engine or the guard's van, which only requires to have its
action reversed in order to allow the said lever and teeth to fall into gear again.
The said series of rods for each carriage of a train may be connected together by
any suitable and efficient arrangement, terminating in a hand lever g¹ at either
end of a train, so as to make them continuous, and admit of their being operated
simultaneously.
An efficient spring ƒ is suitably fixed to prevent each break lever from jumping
out of the groove a.
As engines and the other vehicles of a railway train are required to travel "to
and fro" without being turned, in the case of the simple lever b arrangement a
second spiral groove a² and lever 6%, or a right and left handed spiral groove, are
provided on the axles a¹, so as to allow the breaks to be thrown on when such
vehicles are travelling in the opposite direction. When two such levers 6* are, or a
right and left handed spiral groove is used, the one not required is lifted out of gear
and suspended or held in a link or bracket j until the vehicle travels in the opposite
direction; this is doue before the train is put in motion.
When the break is required to be applied the requisite rods 9 and hand lever gl
are simply moved so as to allow the proper levers or their addenda, or the saddles &
on the lever b, to fall into the said grooves, whether of a single or right and left
handed groove, when the motion of the axle a¹ applies the break blocks e, e', to the
wheels, as herein-before explained.
It will thus be seen that each vehicle of a train applies its own break, and by
connecting the said improved apparatus of one line along all the vehicles together,
the whole can be thrown in and out of gear instantaneously by the motion of a
single lever operated by the engine driver or guard, preferably by the former.
In order to avoid or modify the jerking or jumping of the vehicles of a train or
of the break apparatus caused by the momentum of heavy trains speedily arrested,
each break block is fitted with a shoe or cap lined with india-rubber or other
suitable elastic material, or a spring may be fitted therein, which will prevent or
modify the usual effects of a too abrupt skidding of the wheels.
In the event of the severance of a train the breaks on the detached portion, losing
their controlling power, are immediately applied by their own gravity, and thus
speedily bring such detached vehicles to a stand. In these cases, when the appa-
ratus is operated at the side of the axles a³, as in Fig. 7, a pin or other efficient stop
is fixed, projecting from any suitable position, to prevent the teeth of the segment b³,
Fig. 7, or the lever b from falling too low, and thereby put the apparatus out of
gear. A simple screw attachment in the guard's van will then enable the guard
therein to have full control of such detached vehicles.
This improved mechanism can be applied to breaks and railway carriages already
fitted or in use.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention,
and the method of performing the same, without restricting myself to the precise
dimensions, or details, or pitch of the spiral groove now illustrated, as they admit
of considerable variation without departing from the principles and main character-
istics of the said Invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by the aforesaid in
part recited Letters Patent, the application of the onward motion and weight of
railway trains for forcing or pressing the break blocks on such trains against

page_text: some or all of the wheels of the vehicles composing such trains by means of
the mechanical contrivances, substantially as herein described, and shewn in the
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said John May Munro, the younger, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
JOHN MAY MUNRO, JUN". (LS.)