IMPROVEMENTS IN The Buffers oF RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Christopher Catlow, of Burnley, in the County
of Lancaster, Overlooker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
The Buffers oF RAILWAY CARRIAGES.”
Scaled the 14th September 1875, and dated the 16th March 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Christopher Catlow
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th March 1875.
I, CHRISTOPHER CATLOW, of Burnley, in the County of Lancaster,
Overlooker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BUFFERS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
The screw couplings employed for connecting and bringing together,
the buffers of railway carriages, whilst they in effect to a degree make
the several carriages "one," so as to reduce the tendency to forward and.
backward oscillation of the carriages, they exert little or no control.
over the principal oscillation, which is lateral or sideway.

page_text: The object of this Invention is the construction of buffers designed so
as to answer the ordinary purpose, and also to prevent or decrease the
lateral or sideway oscillation or "sway" of the carriages.
In lieu of the disc or flat circular buffer now used I construct buffers
of forms concave and convex vertically, so that when the buffers are
brought together a convex buffer will "fit and fill" a concave buffer on
the next carriage, thereby locking the buffers as to lateral motion, but
leaving them free as to vertical motion.
The four buffers of each carriage are to be disposed or arranged in the
following order :-There will be one convex and one concave buffer at
cach end of each carriage, but in all cases the relative position of cach
will be changed, that is to say, a diagonal line drawn from a concave
buffer would intersect the concave buffer at the other end of the carriage.
The object of this arrangement is that when a carriage or carriages are
turned round there will always be concavity or convexity.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Christopher Catlow in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 16th September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
CATLOW, of Burnley, in the County of Lancaster, Overlooker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Christopher Catlow, Her special
licence that I, the said Christopher Catlow, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Christopher
Catlow, 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

page_text: "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BUFFERS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Christopher Catlow, 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 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 Christopher Catlow, do hereby
declaro 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 :-
The screw couplings employed for connecting and bringing together
the buffers of railway carriages, whilst they in effect to a degree make
the several carriages "onc," so as to reduce the tendency to forward and
backward oscillation of the carriages, they exert little or no control
over the principal oscillation, which is lateral or sideway.
The object of this Invention is the construction of buffers designed so
as to answer the ordinary purpose and also to prevent or decrease the
lateral or sideway oscillation or "sway" of the carriages.
In lieu of the disc or flat circular buffer now used I construct buffers
of forms concave and convex vertically, so that when the buffers are
brought together a convex buffer will "fit and fill" a concave buffer on
the next carriage, thereby locking the buffers as to lateral motion, but
leaving them free as to vertical motion.
The four buffers of each carriage are to be disposed or arranged in the
following order :-There will be one convex and one concave buffer at
each end of each carriage, but in all cases the relative position of cach
will be changed, that is to say, a diagonal line drawn from a concave
buffer would intersect the concave buffer at the other end of the carriage.
The object of this arrangement is that when a carriage or carriages are
turned round there will always be concavity for convexity.
Such being the nature and object of this my said Invention, I will
now proceed to describe the same in detail, and in order that the
description may be full and complete I have hereunto annexed a Sheet
of Drawings illustrative thereof, showing plan view of cross beam of two

page_text: railway carriages having buffers made in accordance with my Invention
applied thereto.
A, A, are the buffers concave vertically; B, B, are the buffers convex
vertically. The several other parts shewn in the Drawings are of
ordinary construction, and form no part of this Invention.
The buffers as above described and illustrated are operative as to the
preventing or reducing the lateral oscillation irrespective of the buffer
rods C, C, being of the same height or on the same plain.
I am aware that wholly concave and wholly convex, that is to say,
"cup and ball" buffers have been used; it is, however, obvious that
buffers wholly concave and convex can be effective only when the buffers
are precisely of the same height, and when and only so long as they retain
such exact relative position can they exercise any control over the lateral
sway of the carriages; then, as distinguished from buffers so made, I
claim the construction and use of buffers convex and concavo vertically,
as shown by Drawings, and as hercin fully described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christopher Catlow, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this 8th day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.