IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1854

page_text: Sealed the 27th March 1855, and dated the 4th October 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Peel Gaulton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th October 1854.
I, WILLIAM PEEL GAULTON, of Crag Works, near Macclesfield, in the
County of Chester, Mechanical Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES
AND OTHER VEHICLES" to be as follows:
It relates to an expeditious and easy mode of securing the wooden friction
blocks which are employed in carriage breaks to the mechanism which
actuates and forces them against the periphery of the wheels, so that when
worn out they may be readily and quickly removed and replaced even by an
unskilled workman; and it consists in employing for this purpose serrated or
fluted-faced jaws, between which the wooden block is vertically placed, and

page_text: which, by the aid of an adjusting screw or screws, wedge or wedges, are made
to gripe or pince the block, thereby forcing the serrations or teeth into the
ends of the wood; by this means it is effectually secured, and the adjusting
screw or screws is prevented from retreating by the use of lock nuts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Peel Gaulton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd April 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PEEL GAULTON, of Crag Works, near Macclesfield, in the County of Chester,
Mechanical Manager, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Peel Gaulton, Her especial license that I, the said William
Peel Gaulton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Peel Gaulton, 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 BREAKS APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND OTHER
VEHICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Peel
Gaulton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 William Peel Gaulton, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
My Invention for improvements in breaks consists in a simple and expedi-
tious mode of securing the wooden friction blocks which are employed in

page_text: carriage breaks to the usual contrivances and mechanism, which actuates and
forces them against the periphery of the wheels, and it consists in employing
for this purpose a cramp or frame, having toothed or fluted-faced jaws, which
are made to close by the action of screws or wedges. The wooden block is
vertically or otherwise placed between the jaws, which on closing force their
serrations or teeth into the ends of the wood, and, by thus griping or pinching,
the block is effectually held and secured, and the screws or wedges are then
prevented from retreating by the use of lock nuts or cotters. By this simple
and easy mode of fixing the wooden break blocks, I entirely do away with the
use of the wood screws or bolts, which are generally used for securing the
break locks to the metal block holders, and which not only weaken the wood,
but, by occupying a considerable portion of it, prevent its being so thoroughly
worn out, as will be the case when my Invention is employed; and amongst
the advantages obtained are, economy in the consumption as well as in the
preparation of the wood blocks, and the great facility by which in a few
minutes the blocks may be changed by an ordinary or unskilled workman.
will now describe my Invention with reference to the Drawings.
I
Fig. 1, a side view, and Fig. 2 a front view, of a break cramp A, (shewing
the wooden break block B.) fixed by pressure between the lower jaw C and
the moveable jaw D, by means of the forcing screw E, to which the moveable
jaw is attached; Figs. 3 and 4, front and side view of another modification
of my Invention, shewing the application of wedges F, F, for the purpose of
closing the jaws upon the wooden break block; Figs. 5 and 6, front and side
view of another modification, shewing the moveable jaw D jointed to the
cramp frame A; and Figs. 7 and 8 exhibit another modification of my Inven-
tion, shewing the wooden block held in its place by means of a single wedge
G, which can be secured by either a lock nut or cotter; Fig. 9 exhibits the
application of my Invention to an ordinary railway carriage break, and it is
also applicable to all kinds of common road carriages, and to wheels and
pulleys where retarding friction is required.
Having thus herein described and ascertained the nature and uses of my
Invention, and exhibited in the Drawings and description four modifications
of its arrangements, all of which though differing in detail are intended to
produce the same result, I will now state what I claim as new.
First, I claim as my Invention the mode of securing, fixing, and holding
wooden break blocks to their metal frames or plates by and between the
pressure of toothed or rough faced jaws which are actuated or closed by
screws, bolts, or wedges.

page_text: Secondly, I claim for the mode of attaching or fixing the wooden friction
block to carriage breaks without the use of screws or bolts- passing through
or into them.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Peel Gaulton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five...
WILLIAM PEEL GAULTON.. (L.S.)