IMPROVED MEANS OP PREVENTING ACCIDENTS UPON RAILWAYS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Benjamin Greenwood, of No. 416, Hackney
Road, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS
OP PREVENTING ACCIDENTS UPON RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 9th February 1864, and dated the 14th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Benjamin Green-
wood at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition.
on tho 14th August 1863.
I, ROBERT BENJAMIN GREENWOOD, of No. 416, Hackney Road, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVED MEANS OF PREVENTING ACCIDENTS UPON RAILWAYS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention is designed for the purpose of preventing the engine, trucks,
or carriages from running off the rails in the event of any obstruction being
on the rails, or of the rails becoming broken, out of gauge, or otherwise mis-
placed, or of an axle breaking, and various other causes.
In the ordinary construction of railway engines, trucks, and carriages the
flanges of all the wheels run on the inner side of the rails, and consequently
if from any cause the wheels on one side of the engine, truck, or carriage
should jump or be lifted so that the flange clears the rail, there is nothing to
prevent the engine, truck, or carriage from running off the rail on that side,
and serious accidents often ensue.
Now my Invention consists in providing each engine, truck, or carriage

page_text: with an additional pair of wheels in the centre, these wheels being made with
the flanges reversed, that is to say, with the flanges running outside of the rails,
so that should any obstruction on the rails or other cause even raise all three of
the wheels on one side off the rail, the other rail will be embraced by flanges
on both sides, and will consequently keep the engine, truck, or carriage from
running off the line.
In engines, trucks, or carriages already provided with six wheels all that is
necessary to be done is to reverse the wheels of the centre axle, so that their
flanges shall run outside the rails, whilst the flanges of the leading and
following wheels run on the inside. The centre pair of wheels may be mounted
either fast or loose upon one axle, or they may run (fast or loose) upon
separate short axles.
This improved arrangement will not only keep the engine, truck, or carriage
on the line in the event of any obstruction, breakage, or displacement of the
rail, but also, in the case of an axle breaking, the remaining four wheels and
the tension of the coupling chains will keep the carriage from falling, whereas
if the axle of a four-wheeled carriage breaks the whole weight is thrown on to
the coupling chains, which consequently break, and hence an accident occurs
to the whole train.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Benjamin Greenwood in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
BENJAMIN GREENWOOD, of No. 416, Hackney Road, in the County of Mid-
<llesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the 27th year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Benjamin Greenwood, Ier special license that I, the said Robert
Benjamin Greenwood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Robert Benjamin Greenwood, my executors, adminis-
trators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,

page_text: an Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF PREVENTING ACCIDENTS UPON RAILWAYS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Benjamin Green-
wood, executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should parti-
5 cularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to bo 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 Robert Benjamin Greenwood, 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 in writing, and on reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say:-
This Invention is designed for the purpose of preventing the engine, trucks,
or carriages from running off the rails in the event of any obstruction being
on the rails, or of the rails becoming broken, out of gauge, or otherwise
misplaced, or of an axle breaking, and various other causes.
In the ordinary construction of railway engines, trucks, and carriages the
flanges of all the wheels run on the inner side of the rails, and consequently
if from any cause the wheels on one side of engine, truck, or carriage should
jump or be lifted so that the flange clears the rail, there is nothing to prevent
the engine, truck, or carriage from running off the rail on that side, and hence
serious accidents often ensue.
Now my Invention consists in providing each engine, truck, or carriago
with an additional pair of wheels in the centre, these wheels being made with
the flanges reversed, that is to say, with the flanges running outside of the rails,
so that should any obstruction on the rails or other cause even raise all three
of the wheels on one side off the rails, the other rail will be embraced by
flanges on both sides, and will consequently keep the engine, truck, or carriage
from running off the line.
In engines, trucks, or carriages already provided with six wheels all that is
necessary to be done is to reverse the wheels of the centre axle so that their
flanges shall run outside the rails, whilst the flanges of the leading and fol-
lowing wheels run on the inside. The centro pair of wheels may be mounted
either fast or loose upon one axle, or they may run (fast or loose) upon
separate short axles.
This improved arrangement will not only keep the engine, truck, or
carriage on the line in the event of any obstruction, breakage, or displacement
of the rail, but also, in the case of an axle breaking, the remaining four

page_text: wheels and the tension of the coupling chains will keep the carriage from
falling, whereas if the axle of a four-wheeled carriage breaks the whole
weight is thrown on to the coupling chains, which consequently break, and
hence an accident occurs to the whole train.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improved
Means of Preventing Accidents upon Railways," I will now proceed to
describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect; and in order that the same may bo
distinctly understood, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illus-
trative thereof, and have marked the same with letters of reference cor-
responding with those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing, Figure 1 represents a side view of a railway
truck with my Invention shown as applied thereto, and Figure 2 is an end
view of the same; Figuro 3 is a partial plan view, showing more clearly the
arrangement of the wheels.
a, a, is the body of the truck, and b, b, are the front and rear wheels which
aro keyed on their respective axes c, c, in the ordinary manner with their
flanges running inside the rail; d, d, are the ceutral pair of wheels, which on
the contrary are keyed or otherwise fixed on their axis or axes with their
flanges reversed, that is to say, with their flanges running outside of the
rails. These wheels may (as also the wheels b, b,) be both fixed fast or looso
upon the same axle, but I prefer to mount them separately (whether fast or
loose) upon separate short axles, a bearing being provided on each side of the
wheels, as shown at Figure 2, for that purpose.
It will be evident that this arrangement of the wheels whereby the flanges
run upon both sides of the rail will necessitate suitable slight alterations of the
points and crossings, which will readily suggest themselves to the practical
engineer; but in order to show the slight amount of alteration required, I
have represented at Figures 4, 5, and 6 what I consider the simplest method
of effecting these alterations.
Figure 4 is a plan view of part of a single line of rails with another line of
rails or "siding" joining the same at an acute angle, and Figure 5 is a cross
section of the same. a, a, is the main line of rails, and b, b, the siding. At
the point where the two lines cross each other the V points ordinarily used
may be entirely dispensed with, the rails being shortened, and a plate c, c,
inserted on which the flanges of the wheels run. This is all that is necessary
at any crossing at whatever angle it may be, the flanges of the wheels
embracing the outside rail on both sides acting as a guard rail, and preventing
the wheels from running off at the points of crossing. At the points where

page_text: the two lines of rails coalesce a similar plate d, d, is used on one side, and on
the other a hinged double rail e, e, f, f, capable of moving slightly on a
pin g, so as to bring the siding b, b, either in or out of connection with the
main line a, a.
The double-binged rail e, e, f, f, is moved by means of a lever g* and rod h,
and a spring i serves to keep the points always in the position shown in
Figure 4, that is "all right" for the main line in both directions; but should
it be desired to put the siding b, b, into connection with the main line a, a, all
that is necessary is to pull the lever g* over into the position shown by the
dotted line in Figure 5, which will connect the siding b, b, with the main
line a, a, by means of the rail ff, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 4.
k, k, is a continuation rail to prevent the engine, truck, or carriage from
running off the line should any attempt be made to run from the siding on to
the main line without previously adjusting the rail f, f. As a further pre-
ventitive of accidents, a signal may be connected to the lever g*.
Figure 6 shows a slight modification of the above, wherein the plate d, d,
is dispensed with, and a hinged double rail e, e, f,f, employed on both sides,
both being moved by the same rod h.
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention for
Improved Means of Preventing Accidents upon Railways," together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention
the employment or use for such purposes of a central pair of wheels with the
flanges reversed or running outside the rails, substantially as above described
and represented in the Drawing annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Benjamin Greenwood, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
ROBERT B. GREENWOOD. (LS.)
0 Witnessed by
BRISTOW HUNT,
Solicitor & Patent Agent,
1, Serle St., Lincoln's Inn.