IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clark, of 8, Belmont Terrace, Parish of
Kensington, County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS."
Sealed the 21st April 1871, and dated the 18th January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th January 1871:
I, JOHN CLARK, of 8, Belmont Terrace, Parish of Kensington, County
of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS," to be as follows:-
The object of the said Invention is to utilize the momentum of
a train to bring it to a state of rest when required to stop, and to
give the control of stopping the train to the driver, as well as to the
guard.
In carrying out my said Invention I shall describe its application
to one carriage and one van, remarking that any number of carriages
may be similarly fitted and worked by one or more vans attached

page_text: to the train by a through arrangement of tubing as herein-after
described.
I place a transverse spindle over one of the axles of the carriage which
is carried in a swivel joint at one end and by a pulley resting on a
through chain or dependent from a through tube at its other or free
end. I place a chain pulley on said spindle having a short endless chain
passed over it and under the axle in such manner that when the free
end is raised the said endless chain shall be tightened and cause the
revolving axle to revolve the said spindle. I place a second spindle
parallel to the first-named spindle having on it a chain pulley like the
other but carried in brackets at each end attached to the framing. I
attach a junction chain to the first-named spindle and to the chain pulley
on the second spindle in such manner as to increase the power to turn
the second-named spindle. I attach by a chain or chains to the second
spindle the break levers or thrust rods of the breakwork to be operated.
By this means I can operate any break mechanism when the said spindle
is made to revolve by means of the chains and pulleys previously
described. I also propose to. pass the endless chain round the pulley
placed on the second-named spindle and dispense with the first-named
spindle, but having in its place a friction wheel turning against the
axle of the carriage in such manner that the axle revolving shall impart
motion to the said friction wheels, and thereby to the endless chain and
spindle connected thereto. The friction wheel may either be tightened
by lowering a weighted lever and pulley upon the said endless chain
or by separate mechanism fitted to the said friction wheels for the
purpose.
In operating the several carriages forming a train at one time, and
to place the control of the same under the driver as well as the guard,
I fit under each carriage in its centre line, longitudinally, a tube carried
in brackets attached to the framing. The said brackets are grooved
internally and are fitted inside with a circle of antifriction balls upon
which the said, tube rolls as it is caused to revolve by the mechanism
herein-after described. Each tube is furnished by a forked coupling.
joint at each end of said tube, and may either be coupled by hand when
making up the train, or may be made self-coupling by permitting the
end of the coupling head to slide, internally in the tube and projecting
them to their normal position in line with the buffer heads of the
carriage. by means of a spiral spring or springs placed in the inside of
the said tube. I propose to revolve the several tubes underneath the

page_text: carriages of a train by means of a weighted lever. in the guard's van.
or other part of the train. When the train is running said lever
is carried on a catch hook and is placed there by the guard previous
to the train starting. When the driver requires to apply the break.
he pulls a line (which for ordinary cases may be the usual com-
munication line along the train) and releases the catch hook to allow
the weighted lever to descend; the van axle thereupon revolves the tube
by the arrangement of spindles and endless chain previously described.
It will thus be understood if part of the train break away by accident
on an incline the said line under charge of the driver becomes pulled
and ultimately broken, but it will have the effect of applying the break
automatically on the severed portion of the train.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CLARK, of 8, Belinout Terrace, Parish of Kensington, County of
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her.
Letters Patent, bearing. date the Eighteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Clark, Her special
licence, that I, the said John Clark, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Clark, my executors, admi-
nistrators, or 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 RAILWAY
BREAKS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Clark, my executors or administrators, 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

page_text: carriage axle to revolve the spindle fand wind up the chain which is
attached to a wheel on a second spindle i. By this means the chains j,j,
are wound up on the collars k, k, and raises the main lever c, and by
means of the pulling rods 1, 1, draws the blocks on the wheels. The said
pulling rods are connected to the block hangers by cross ribs and these
are placed in such manner that the pressure on the blocks 1 and 2 shall
nearly balance the pressure on the blocks 3. The sling e permits this self-
adjusting of pressure to take effect. The through chain a; a; is carried.
on sheaves in brackets and is furnished with coupling hooks at each
end for connecting the carriages of a train together.. m, m, are hooks
for fixing the chain a, a, to when not connected in a train.
Fig. 3 is an elevation of a six wheeled carriage to show a modification
of my said Invention. f is a short transverse spindle carried at one
end in a fixed bracket and in the other in a sling f². The said
bracket and sling are fitted with antifriction balls to enable the said
spindle to turn freely in its bearings without lubrication. I fit up a
tubular connecting rod with four couplings at each end set at right
angles to each other so that the several carriages forming a train may be
easily coupled together. The tube is fitted at each end with internal
spiral springs to maintain the said forked couplings at their position and
to allow of compression when the carriage buffers are compressed, I
attach à chain to the said tube at 9 and to the operating lever h, so that
by revolving the said tube I raise the lever by winding the chain thereon..
By raising the said lever I force the friction wheel n on the transverse
spindle in contact with the carriage axle. By this means I obtain a
frictional power to turn the said spindle and by means of an endless
chain turn the spindle i and operate the break levers as described above.
The said wheel n is hooped with iron, which by preference I make of
Lowmoor, or of steel, or of any other suitable metal. The tube is carried.
in brackets fitted with antifriction balls along the centre line of the
train and is revolved by hand gearing in a van or on the tender.
Sheet 2, Fig. 4, is an elevation; and Fig. 5 a plan of a six wheeled
carriage to show a modification of my said Invention having a through
chain a, a, instead of the longitudinal tube described above. A method
of operating a series of breaks at one time by means of a through.
chain by secured to me by Letters Patent No. 2821, dated 20th.
October 1862, and to make the same self-acting by. slackening the
chain instead of tightening it, by Letters Patent No. 1420; dated 13th-

page_text: May 1867, but what I desire to secure is the combination of my said
patented Inventions to my present Invention. is the operating lever.
fitted at its free end with a pulley and back weight.. I pass a through
chain a, a, under said pulley, so that by tightening the said chain I
raise the said lever and thrust the spindle and friction wheel end in contact
with the carriage axle.. I place on the axle a clip of iron, copper, or
other suitable metal to increase the grip and prevent abrasion of the
axle. The said clip I make in two halves and secure by bolts in the.
usual way. I attach a chain to the said spindle f to join to wheel on
spindle i, and by this means I operate the said spindle and break levers.
as described under Fig. 1; o, is a bracket to limit the descent of the
lever h. The dotted lines in red show how I can by turning the said
lever make the break self-acting, so that by slackening the through
chain a, a, I force the transverse spindle f and wheel n against the
carriage axle to revolve the spindles and apply the breaks as described
above. This modification I prefer to use for lines having long and
heavy gradients. It will be understood if the, through chain breaks
or if part of the train gets detached by accident the said through chain
gets broken, and the lever / which had been held in suspension falls
by its own gravity assisted by springs or back weight and the breaks
apply themselves by means of the lever c and pulling rods automatically.
Fig. 6 is an elevation of a four wheeled carriage to show a modification
of my said Invention. In this arrangement the spindle i, Fig. 1, is
dispensed with and the main lever c is lengthened in consequence. A
chain o is carried over a top pulley and joined to spindle f. The said
spindle fis operated by the links p, p, when the chain a, a, is tightened
by raising the middle pulley q. The break blocks are secured to the
Hangers by resting in a pocket formed at the bottom of the hanger, and
by a metal clip secured by a bolt and nut at the top end, thus dispensing
with the ordinary screws.
Sheet 3, Fig. 7, is an elevation; and Fig. 8 a transverse sectional
clevation of a four wheeled van to show the method I prefer to use in
winding up the through chain a, a, Fig. 1. I fit a short transverse
spindle in a fast bracket at one end, and in a sling at the other end,
like that described under Fig. 3. I fit a handle in the van so that the
guard can lower the bell-cranked lever h which is weighted with about
40 pounds, and by means of said lever and adjusting rod i he can bring
the friction wheel n in contact with the van axle, which thereby revolves

page_text: and winds up the through chain a, a, to the extent required. The said
back weight and leverage determines the force to which the chain
is wound up. To enable the driver to apply the break I make the
catch key moveable, so that he can by pulling a line attached to it relieve
the handle from such catch and allow it to fall by its own gravity and so
apply the break as described above.
Figs. 9 and 10 are sectional details of a modification of the friction
wheel n. In this the ring or hoop in contact with the axle is loose upon
the wheel n, and revolves on its inner face when at work instead of on
its outer surface. The face of said ring I make serrated or grooved,
and the clip on the axle I make in a similar manner to increase the
frictional contact.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and
object of my said Invention, and the means I propose to carry the same
into effect in practice, I hereby further declare I do not absolutely
restrict myself to the several details shown and described, as from the
nature of the Invention these may be considerably modified in practice
without departing from the principles thereby illustrated, and upon
which my said improvements are based.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clark, has hereunto set his
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of July, the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.