IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND RETARDING OR REPELLING CARRIAGES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Richard Nicholl, of Streatham, in the County of
Surrey, Master of Arts, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF AND
APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND RETARDING OR REPELLING CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 4th February 1879, and dated the 23rd August 1878.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Richard Nicholl at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd August 1878.
JOHN RICHARD NICHOLL, of Streatham, in the County of Surrey, Master of Arta.
IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PROPELLING AND RETARDING OR
REPELLING CARRIAGES."
My Invention of improved means of and apparatus for propelling and retarding
or repelling carriages is applicable either to railroad carriages, tramway carriages,
or to carriages intended to run on common roads, its object being to cause the
weight of the carriage itself to assist in propelling, retarding, or repelling the
carriage. To this end the carriage springs, which may be of the ordinary form and
construction, are adapted in such a manner to a prism or square shaft (which is
connected to the axle or axletree, or forms part thereof) that the weight of the
carriage may be made to bear either vertically down upon the axle or axletree (in
which case it will exert no tractive or repelling force), or either before or behind
the axle. By thus causing the weight to bear on or against the axle or axletree on
either side of a vertical line at right angles to the axle the weight will have a
tendency to push the axle away from it, or in other words either to propel the axle
forwards or repel it in the opposite direction. It will of course be understood that if
when the carriage is moving forward the weight be thrown in front of the axle,
and thereby made to push in a backward direction, the weight will have a retarding
effect until it stops the forward motion, it will then have the effect of repelling the
Prier 911

page_text: carriage or causing it to move backwards. It is well known that in railroad
carriages the wheels are permanently fixed to tho axles, so that the wheels and axles
rotate together. In adapting my Invention to railroad carriages I mount on the
axle a prismatic or square shaft or sleeve in which the axle is free to rotate in the
usual manner,
and the springs which support the carriage are adapted or connected
to this square sleeve shaft by means of a raking joint which will admit of the
weight of the carriage being thrown either behind or in front of the axle, for
which purpose the prismatic shaft or sleeve is free to turn to a limited extent on
the carriage axle in either direction.
In cases where the axle or axletree does not rotate with the wheels, in such cases
for instance as in carriages to run on common roads, the prism may be permanently
fixed to the axletree, but this latter must be capable of turning to a limited extent
in its bearings, say, one-fourth of a revolution. The springs which support the
carriage are in this case also connected with the prismatic axlo by means of a
rocking joint, so that the weight may be thrown either in front or behind the axle
as in the former instance. The apparatus may be made automatic and acted upon
by the buffers, or by a draw bar connected with the engine and placed under the
carriage and connected to the prisms or sleeves by means of levers or arms attached
to the under side. The engine when drawing the train forward will rock the prism
on the axle and throw the weight of the carriage behind the axle, and thus assist in
pushing forward the wheels, but when the steam is cut off and the engine is
"slowed" the prism will be thrown in the opposite direction, and the weight of the
carriage will thus assist in retarding the forward motion.