IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED FOR RETARDING AND STOPPING RAILWAY CARRIAGES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY AXLES
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Marshall at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd April
1861.
I, JOHN MARSHALL, of 4, Richard Street, Liverpool Road, Islington, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED FOR RETARDING AND STOPPING RAILWAY
CARRIAGES, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY AXLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus used for
retarding and stopping railway carriages, and in the construction of railway
axles. For this purpose I carry an iron plate from axle-box to axle-box,
outside the wheels on each side of the carriage, and firmly bolted to the axle--
boxes parallel with the outer plate. I carry an inner plate on each side of
the carriage and just within the wheels; these four plates are firmly secured
together by plates forming cross ties bolted or rivetted to them, the whole
forms a rigid frame secured to the axle-boxes and independent of the motion
of the body of carriage on the springs. To the ends of the inner plates I bolt
a cast-iron box or false axle-box, embracing, but without actually touching,
the axle, and the nave of the wheel extended inwards for that purpose, and
which false axle-box being kept by the rigid frame in the same plane as the
axle-boxes, cannot touch the axle and nave unless fracture takes place, when
the wheel and axle are supported and the false axle-box acts as an inside
bearing. On each side of the carriage, between the plates of the rigid frame,
I suspend by links and levers skid breaks about half an inch above, and:
having their friction on the rails. These breaks are made to work at all times
parallel with the rails. The end of the break, next the wheel, is suspended by.
links, so as to pass on each side of the wheel; the other end is. suspended

page_text: by a lever, keyed on to a cross shaft, which cross shaft connects in pairs the
corresponding breaks on opposite sides of the carriage, and causes them to act
simultaneously. A similar pair of breaks are hung for the other pair of
wheels. Near the centre of each of the cross shafts is fixed a lever having a
double fork head, in which a nut is allowed to rise and fall with the motion of
the carriage. Attached to the frame of the carriage is a hollow screw shaft,
having upon it a right and left handed screw; this screw works in the nuts
sliding in the fork beads of the levers of the cross shafts, so that upon turning
the screw shaft the levers are brought together, forcing the breaks on to the
rails until the carriage is lifted off the rails. The continuous break rod at one
end of the carriage is keyed into the end of the-hollow screw shaft, that at the
other end of the carriage slides within the hollow screw shaft, but turns round
with it by means of a groove and feather. The ends of the continuous rods
are fitted with double joints and screw shackle to connect two or more carriages
together, motion being communicated to the continuous rods by any suitable
.means. The breaks themselves are constructed of two wrought-iron plates,
rivetted together with a block of hard wood between them to keep rather wider
apart than the width of the rails. The upper part is formed into a slotted
head, through which a pin passes and through the rigid frame; this slot
answers two purposes, first, as a limit to the amount of motion of the break,
and, secondly, as a vertical resistance to any concussion which it might receive
from the fall of the carriage by the loss of a tyre; between the bottom of the
two plates is keyed the friction block, which is a block of cast iron having a
face of some compound metal cast upon it. The side plates of the break are
made to descend about one inch below the friction block, so as to act as flanges
on each side of the rails, whether the break be in or out of action. The
hollow screw shaft is made to actuate the breaks by the momentum of the
carriage in the following manner:-On the screw shaft is keyed a spur wheel,
gearing into it is another spur wheel, which is set in motion by a shaft having
at its other end a mitre wheel. This mitre wheel has another mitre wheel
running loose on the axle, which can be thrown in and out of gear with it.
To set this mitre wheel in motion by the axle, a cone friction clutch, working
with the axle by a feather is forced up against the mitre wheel at the same
time that it is thrown into gear with the mitre wheel on the shaft, the fork
being worked from the guard's compartment by bent levers and rods or other
suitable means.
1. A modification of the above is constructed as follows:-The rigid frame is
extended beyond the axles each way towards the ends of the carriages, and
two additional breaks are suspended at each end of the carriage in the same

page_text: manner as before described. These breaks are coupled by rods in alternate
pairs, so that the cross shaft before described works four together, the other
cross shaft working another set of four. The screw shaft is solid, and is
attached to the rigid frame; it has two right-handed screws cut upon it
gearing into sectors on the cross shafts; by this arrangement the continuous
rod is independent of the frame of the carriage, and is placed in the centre, so
that it does not matter which end of the carriage is foremost, and as one set
of four breaks rises while the other set falls, the active breaks are always in
the front of the wheels as soon as they touch the rails, the momentum of the
carriages assisting in applying the breaks.
A modification of the method of working the breaks from the axle consists
in having a wheel with teeth working an endless chain running loose on the
axle, the chain passes round another toothed wheel at the bottom of a vertical
rod, having a screw upon it working into a worm wheel on the continuous rod,
the wheel on the axle being set in motion by a friction cone clutch rotating
with the axle by means of a feather, and forced against the wheel by a fork
worked by a lever in the guard's compartment.
The improvements in constructing railway axles are as follows:-Each axle
is made hollow, having the same or similar external form to those in use.
Within the hollow is placed a rod of wrought iron, not quite so large as the
internal diameter of the hollow axle; within this annular space is run some
simple or compound metal or material of a softer nature than that of iron, and
which is a bad conductor of vibration. Iron caps are screwed in the ends of
the axles. A modification of this consists in making the hollow part of the
axle in three parts. The nave of the wheel is bored out, slightly tapering
towards the centre from each face; the middle piece of the axle is the length
of the distance from centre to centre of each nave, and is tapered to correspond
with the naves. The wheels are forced on to the centre piece. The bearing
ends of the axle, which are also tapered, are forced into their places, the iron
core is placed in the centre, and the soft metal run in, the screw caps on the
ends preventing the axle from separating. The object of constructing the
axle thus with an annular space, filled with metal or matter softer than the
iron, is to prevent the vibration of concussion crystallizing the whole of the
axle, the soft metal or material preserving the core even though the bearing
part should become fractured.