IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS APPLIED TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND TRAINS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN GREATER SAFETY TO PASSENGERS."
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Gottlieb Ulrich, of No. 47, Wellclose Square, in
the County of Middlesex, Chronometer Maker, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS APPLIED TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND TRAINS
IN ORDER TO OBTAIN GREATER SAFETY TO PASSENGERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Gottlieb Ulrich at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
. 17th September 1863.
I, JOHN GOTTLIEB ULRICH, of No. 47, Wellclose Square, in the County of
Middlesex, Chronometer Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS APPLIED TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND TRAINS
IN ORDER TO OBTAIN GREATER SAFETY TO PASSENGERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus applied to rail-
way carriages and trains in order to obtain greater safety to passengers. For
these purposes the carriages of a train are coupled or connected to the loco-
motive engine by apparatus which can be more readily detached by the guard
travelling in the first carriage of a train, and the apparatus is so arranged that
should the locomotive engine leave the line of rails, the train will be discon-
nected from the locomotive engine, and the parts of the coupling can be readily
separated by the guard. For these purposes, a lever arm is connected by a
pin joint to the locomotive engine, or to the tender, to which lever the train of
carriages is to be connected in the following manner:-At the outer end of
[Price 8d.1

page_text: the lever arm is formed a hook with an incline, which when a similar hook or
instrument comes against it, the two hooks will pass each other by reason of
the lever arm being acted on by a spring, which yields as the two hooks are
passing each other, but so soon as they have passed each other, the hooked
end of the lever arm is by its spring caused to assume its horizontal position,
and thus retain the other hook from going back so long as the lever arm is
retained by its spring in a horizontal position. The parts combined with these
hooks are so arranged that the hooked end of the lever arm rests on a sliding
or lifting piece, which can at any time be acted on by a lever or other instru-
ment put in motion by the guard or other person, so that when the sliding
or lifting piece is moved, it causes the hooked end of the lever arm to be raised
beyond the other hook, so as to release the carriages of a train from the loco-
motive or the tender to which they are coupled by the lever arm, and the lever
arm is also arranged to separate from the other hooked instruments by which
the carriages of a train .are coupled to it in the event of the locomotive or
tender leaving the line. In constructing the carriages used on railways it
has been usual to have the buffing apparatus in planes above the axles of the
wheels, which is objectionable, and it is very important that the buffer rods
should be in the same plane as the axles of the running wheels of the carriages,
as by so arranging them the effect of a shock on a train is materially modified,
and the carriages and passengers will be less liable to injury by thus placing
the buffer rods, in addition to which I arrange for hanging the bodies of the
carriages in such manner that the bodies may be capable of moving forward a
distance after the carriages and wheels have been suddenly checked, so that the
shock is not felt to such an extent by the passengers as is now the case; with
this object the bodies of each railway carriage are suspended in or on the frame
of the carriage by links or suspending rods, the bodies however are prevented
swinging on such links or rods when travelling by suitable springs, which
retain them in position, but so soon as any sudden check or stoppage of the
framing and wheels of the carriage takes place from any cause, the momentum
of the bodies of the carriage will cause them to overcome the springs, and the
bodies will move forward, and by reason of being suspended, they will in the
act of going forward be caused to be lifted, by which the sudden shock to
the frame and wheels of the carriage will, in respect to the bodies, be gradually
absorbed by the bodies continuing to move forward against the resistance of
the springs, together with the effort necessary to raise the bodies out of their
ordinary into a higher position, and to prevent the effect of the reaction of the
springs in producing a rebound, the bodies of a carriage are provided with
stops or catches, which prevent the bodies going back till the stops or catches

page_text: are released. In order that passengers may communicate with the guard or
other proper person a handle is placed on each carriage, which on being acted
on or moved by a passenger becomes locked in the position to which it has
been moved, and at the same time the movement of the handle couples up an
electric circuit, so as to cause an electro-magnet to move a screen so as to indi-
cate to the guard the carriage from which the signal has been made, so that
the guard may know at once to which carriage to go. With this object wires
or electric conductors are arranged between the bodies of the carriages and the
guard's carriage, in which the screens and electro-magnets are situated, by
which when an electric circuit is completed by acting on the handle in a
carriage, the screen corresponding therewith will be put in motion by an
electro-magnet. In order to have a check or register against the engine
driver, and to record continuously the speed at which a train is running, a time-
keeper is applied, and suitable counting wheels put in motion from any of the
axles of the locomotive, or of the carriages, which give motion to a disc or
discs of paper or other suitable material, which at regulated periods is or are
punctured or otherwise marked.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Gottlieb Ulrich in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th March 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GOTTLIEB ULRICH, of No. 47, Wellclose Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Chronometer Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of September in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Gottlieb Ulrich, Her special licence that I, the said John
Gottlieb Ulrich, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Gottlieb Ulrich, 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, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS APPLIED TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND TRAINS IN
RDER TO OBTAIN GREATER SAFETY TO PASSENGERS," upon the condition (amongst

page_text: others) that I, the said John Gottlieb Ulrich, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument 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 John Gottlieb Ulrich, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object. improvements in apparatus applied to
railway carriages and trains in order to obtain greater safety to-passengers.
For these purposes, the carriages of a train are coupled or connected to the
locomotive engine by apparatus which can be more readily detached by the
-guard travelling in the first carriage of a train, and the apparatus is so
arranged that should the locomotive engine leave the line of rails. the train
will be disconnected from the locomotive engine, and the parts of the coupling
can be readily separated by the guard. For these purposes, a lever arm is
connected by a pin joint to the locomotive engine, or to the tender, to which
lever the train of carriages is to be connected in the following manner :-At
the..outer end of the lever arm is formed a hook with an incline, which,. when
a similar hook or instrument comes against it, the two hooks will pass each
other by reason of the lever arm being acted on by a spring which yields as
the two hooks, are passing each other, but so soon as they have passed each
other, the hooked end of the lever arm is by its spring caused to assume its
horizontal position, and thus retain the other hook from going back so long as
the lever arm is retained by its spring in a horizontal position.
The parts
-
combined with these hooks are so arranged that the hooked end of the lever
arm rests on a sliding or lifting piece which can at any time be acted on by a
lever or other instrument put in motion by the guard or other person, so that
"when the sliding or lifting piece is moved, it causes the hooked end of the
lever arm to be raised beyond the other hook, so as to release the carriages of
a train from the locomotive or the tender to which they are coupled by the
lever arm, and the lever arm is also arranged to separate from the other
hooked instruments by which the carriages of a train are coupled to it in the
event of the locomotive or tender leaving the line.
Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings annexed show two side views of apparatus,
and Figure 3 shows a plan of a coupling which are constructed and combined

page_text: according to this part of my Invention. a is a bar, which is connected by a
pin joint to the locomotive engine or tender; at the outer end of this lever
arm is formed a hook b, which receives the loop c at the end of the coupling c, c,
which is pin-jointed so that it may bend in its length; and in order that the
coupling may be straight when in action, and yet readily applied to the hook
at the end of the lever arm a, the draw bars are, when about to be coupled,
drawn outwards by a screw or by a lever, or otherwise, so as to allow of
the loop at the end of the coupling being dropped into the hook b, when on
the draw bar moving back by its spring or springs, the coupling c will be
drawn and kept straight whilst in use. d is a lever on the hook b, which is
formed with a slight recess at its upper edge, and is intended to lift the end.
of the loop, or it may be a hook of the coupling c out of the hook when it:
is desired to release the coupling from the hook b. The lever d is connected
to the lower end of the rod e, which at its upper end is arranged to be lifted
by the aid of a lever or screw, in order that the lifting of the lever d may be
readily performed by the engine man or other person. In addition to this
arrangement for releasing the coupling c from the hook b, provision is inade to
release the end of the coupling from the hook in the event of the engine or
tender- going off the rails. For this purpose f is a lever catch, the upper
part of which rests in a recess in the rod e, and is acted on by a spring 0,
when the coupling is in its place in the hook b, as shown in Figure. 1, but
when the rod e is raised, as shown in Figure 2, the lever is moved into the
position shown in that Figure, by which the hinged stop h gets out of the way.
of the end of the coupling c, whereas when the parts are in the positions shown
in Figure 1, the stop h prevents the end of the loop or hook c, which is in the
hook b, from rising. The hinged stop will, however, admit of the loophor
hook passing out of the hook b should either side of the coupling c be turned
upwards into a more or less horizontal position in place of retaining the
vertical position shown in the Drawings, and this turning of the plates.or-sides
of the coupling into a more or less horizontal position would take place on
The axis of the
the running off of the engine or tender from the rails.
hinged stop is pressed on by a spring in such manner as to tend to keep the
stop in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, but when pressure. işnapplied
to either side of the stop, the spring allows the stop to turn on its axis sojas
to allow the end of the coupling c, as it is turned on its side and presses on
one side of the stop to move the stop away, and thus permit the..loop of the
coupling to free itself from the hook b. This part of my Invention consists in
the mode in which the several parts above described are combined. . quiwoi
In constructing the carriages used on railways, it has. been usual to have

page_text: the buffing apparatus in planes above the axles of the wheels, which is
objectionable; and it is very important that the buffer rods should be in the
same plane as the axles of the running wheels of the carriages, as by so
arranging them, the effect of a shock on a train is materially modified, and
the carriages and passengers will be less liable to injury by thus placing the
buffer rods.
Figures 4 and 5 show a side view and part of a back view of a railway
carriage; and Figures 6 and 7 show another arrangement, where the springs
of the carriage are in a lever framing, having buffers applied in such manner
that the centre of each buffer head is as nearly as may be in the same plane
as the centres of the wheels. The buffer rods may be arranged to pass just
above or below the axles of the wheels, or the buffer rods may be slotted,
allowing sufficient play for the action of the springs. The peculiarity of this
part of my Invention consists in bringing the centres of the buffer heads to or
as near as may be in the same plane as the axles of the wheels of a railway
carriage.
I arrange for hanging the bodies of the carriages in such manner that the
bodies may be capable of moving forward a distance after the carriages and
wheels have been suddenly checked, so that the shock is not felt to such an
extent by the passengers as is now the case. With this object, the bodies of
cach railway carriage are suspended in or on the frame of the carriage by
links or suspending rods; the bodies, however, are prevented swinging on
such links or rods when travelling by suitable springs which retain them in
position, but so soon as any sudden check or stoppage of the framing and
wheels of the carriage takes place from any cause, the momentum of the
bodies of the carriage will cause them to overcome the springs and the bodies
will move forward, and by reason of being suspended, they will, in the act of
going forward, be caused to be lifted, by which the sudden shock to the frame
and wheels of the carriage will in respect to the bodies be gradually absorbed
by the bodies continuing to move forward, against the resistance of the springs,
together with the effort necessary to raise the bodies out of their ordinary into
a higher position; and to prevent the effect of the reaction of the springs in
producing a rebound, the bodies of a carriage are provided with stops or
catches which prevent the bodies going back till the stops or catches are
released.
The bodies of railway carriages, according to this part of my Invention, are
suspended by links or rods i, j, Figures 4 and 5, so that the bodies are free
to swing on the upper bearings of the links or rods; such swinging is,
however, prevented whilst the carriage is travelling by the action of springs

page_text: acting equally on the two sides of a projection k, which keep the bodies in
their correct position, but should the carriage be suddenly stopped, then the
momentum of the bodies of the carriages would move the bodies onwards,
and as far as the links or suspending rods will allow them, the bodies in thus
going forward being subject to the resistance of the springs, and at the same
time the bodies will rise from the plane in which they have been previously
into a higher plane, by which much of the shock will, in respect to the
passengers, be absorbed and rendered less injurious. 1, 1, are ratchet teeth
formed under the framing of the bodies of the carriage, and m, m, are spring
catches or stops, which, when the bodies of a carriage have gone forward, after
the wheels and other parts of the carriage have been suddenly brought to
rest, retain the bodies from rebounding. The peculiarity of this part of my
Invention consists in suspending the bodies of a railway carriage, and applying
springs to prevent oscillation, and also applying apparatus for preventing the
rebound, as above explained.
In order that passengers may communicate with the guard or other proper
person, a handle is placed on each carriage, which on being acted on or moved
by a passenger, becomes locked in the position to which it has been moved,
and at the same time the movement of the handle couples up an electric
circuit so as to cause an electro-magnet to move a screen so as to indicate to
the guard the carriage from which the signal has been made, so that the guard
may know
at once to which carriage to go. With this object, wires or '
electric conductors are arranged between. the. bodies of the carriages..and the
guard's carriage, in which the screens and electro-magnets are sitnated, by
which, when an electric circuit is completed, by acting on the handle in a
carriage, the screen corresponding therewith will be put in motion by an
electro-magnet. In carrying out this part of my Invention, I prefer to have
two wires combined together in the same coating of gutia percha or other
insulator, the two wires being kept separated and insulated one from the
other. Each carriage is to be connected with the apparatus in the guard's van
by two such wires, and in order to facilitate the making up trains of carriages,
it is desirable that each carriage should have a number of such pairs of wires
in the roof or other convenient part in such manner that the ends of any pair
may be readily coupled up with the corresponding pair of wires of the other
carriages which come between it and the guard's van. Each carriage will
have an instrument such as that shown at Figure 8 in each body, so that a
passenger may, by turning the handle, make contact between the pair of wires
of the carriage, and thus complete the circuit by which an electro-magnet will
be brought into action, which is to be arranged to ring a bell, and at the

page_text: same time move a screen to indicate to the guard the carriage from which the
communication has been sent. The peculiarity of this part of the Invention
consists in the combined arrangements of apparatus above described.
In order to have a check or register against the engine driver, and to record
continuously the speed at which a train is running, a timekeeper is applied,
and suitable counting wheels put in motion from any of the axles of the
locomotive or of the carriages which give motion to a disc or discs of paper
or other suitable material which at regulated periods is or are punctured or
otherwise marked.
Figure 9 shows an apparatus arranged according to this part of my
Invention. n is a timekeeper which gives motion to a train of wheels, on
one of which is a projection which acts on a corresponding projection carried
by a lever o, at the end of which is a small punch p, which at every mile is
caused to descend and punch a hole in a disc, of paper q, carried by an axis
to which motion is given by a suitable train of wheels from the crank shaft of
the engine. The peculiarity of this part of my Invention consists in the
combined mechanism herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gottlieb Ulrich, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JOHN GOTTLIEB ULRICH. (L.S.)