IMPROVEMENTS IN DRIVING OR PROPELLING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN DRIVING OR PROPELLING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK."-A communication
from abroad by Edouard Gouin, a foreigner residing in Marseilles.
Sealed the 6th November 1860, and dated the 11th May 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 11th May 1860.
1, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN. of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRIVING OR, PROPELLING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK," (com-
municated to me from abroad by Edouard Gouin, a foreigner residing at
Marseilles,) to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to apply the motive or propelling power of a
locomotive engine to each of the wheels of a railway train, or to as many of
these wheels as it may be deemed desirable to apply it to by means of series
of rods extending from the piston rods of the locomotive along the sides of
the train, and connected to the wheels by cranks or pins, the parts being so
arranged that they will work with undiminished efficiency when the train is
going round curves, either of great or small radius.
In carrying his Invention into effect the Inventor supports a shaft by means
of suitable bearings between each two adjacent carriages, in such manner that
whatever relative positions the carriages may assume in passing round curves,
the said shaft shall always remain in the plane of the carriage axles (or as
nearly so as may be), and shall always bisect the angle contained by the pro-
longed longitudinal axes of the carriages, or, in other words, the said shaft

page_text: shall always make equal angles with those axes. The bearings of the said
shaft are supported by jointed rods attached to the ends of the carriages for
this purpose. At the extremities of each such shaft are carried double rocking
levers, the opposite ends of which are connected by rods either directly to
cranks or pins on the adjacent wheels, or to sliding blocks or bearings, which
are themselves connected to the said cranks or pins. The connections between
the rods, levers, and cranks or pins are made by means of double or universal
joints where such are necessary, in order to provide for the changing positions
of the carriages on curves. The carriages are connected together by means of
horizontal plates and vertical pins or bolts kept clear of the transverse shaft
which passes between the carriages, or by any equivalent means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
. on the 10th November 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, 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 DRIVING OR PROPELLING RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK," (a com-
munication from abroad by Edouard Gouin, a foreigner residing in Marseilles,)"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
The object of this Invention is to apply the motive or propelling power of a
locomotive engine to each of the wheels of a railway train, or to as many of
these wheels as it may be deemed desirable to apply it to by means of series
of rods extending from the piston rods of the locomotive along the sides of the
train, and connected to the wheels by cranks or pins, the parts being so
arranged that they will work with undiminished efficiency when the train is
going round curves either of great or small radius.
In carrying his Invention into effect the Inventor supports a shaft by means
of suitable bearings between each two adjacent carriages, in such manner that
whatever relative positions the carriages may assume in passing round curves,
the said shaft shall always remain in the plane of the carriage axles (or as
nearly so as may be), and shall always bisect the angle contained by the pro-
longed longitudinal axes of the carriages, or, in other words, the said shaft
shall always make equal angles with those axes. The bearings of the said shaft
are supported by jointed rods attached to the ends of the carriages for this
purpose. At the extremities of each such shaft are carried double rocking
levers, the opposite ends of which are connected by rods, either directly to
cranks or pins on the adjacent wheels or to sliding blocks or bearings, which
are themselves connected to the said cranks or pins. The connections between
the rods, levers, and cranks or pins are made by means of double or universal
joints, where such are necessary, in order to provide for the changing positions
of the carriages on curves. The carriages are connected together by means of
horizontal plates and vertical pins or bolts kept clear of the transverse shaft.
which passes between the carriages, or by any equivalent means.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a plan, and Figure 2 a side
elevation, of two trucks or railway carriages connected together in the manner
before described, shewing them on a straight line of rails; Figure 3 is a plate
of two similar trucks, shewing them on a curved line of rails. The trucks are
shown with four wheels coupled together, their axles are parallel, their wheels
are of equal size, and their frames are held together by joints or bolts H, in
the same plane as the axles in such manner that the frames are free to move
about that point. A shaft m, m³, passes through the joint H held by collars,
or otherwise, to the height of the axles, and free to turn about the joint H.
This shaft me, m', carries two collars n, n', and four cranks e, f, g, h, e, f, g, h!,

page_text: jointed to the collars and the frame of the two trucks. The two trucks are of
equal size, and the joint H intersects the longitudinal axes of each of them;
the distances between the joint H and the axles a, b, arc equal. The axes
.H, A, HI, B, are in a straight line (as in Figure 1); the two trucks are
symmetrical in relation to the shaft m, m³, and the points at which the cranks
e, f, g, h, e, f, g, h, are connected, are also symmetrical with regard to these
trucks; then under these conditions the axes of the shaft m, m', will always be
kept in such a position as to bisect the angle B, H, A, that is the angle B, H,
m will be equal to the angle m, H, A, however the trucks may turn about the
joint H. The two trucks have their wheels connected together by ordinary con-
necting rods o, p, q, r, o', p', q', r'. The shaft m, m', is the axis of rotation of the
two equal balance levers s, t, s', t'; half of the lever s, t, is made longer than r,p,
the radius of the cranks of the connecting rods; the connecting rods o, p, q, r,
are placed on opposite sides of the centres, about which their respective cranks
turn. The ends s, t, of the balance lever s, t, are connected by rods s, p, t, q,
of equal length to the points p, q, the joints s, t, being within certain limits,
what are known as "universal joints." The ends s', ', are connected to the
points p', q', in a similar manner by the connecting rods, which are situated
. at or at about 90° from the points p. q. By this means the requisite connec-
tions are made, and the two wheels u, u³, are caused to revolve, and through the
connecting rods o, p, o', p', transmit their motion to the wheels v, v', which
through other rods communicate a similar motion to the wheels of the other
truck. The shaft m, m', does not turn alone; the balance levers s, t, s¹, t',
have an independent motion, and do not reach their dead points at the samo
time as the driving pistons. Instead of connecting s, t, as before described, it
can be done through the slides C, D, E, F, as shewn in the side elevation,
Figure 4, in which the connecting rods s, P, t, Q, impart motion to the slides
. P, Q, which are connected to the bolts by other rods. As shown in Figure 5,
the slides may be made of such a length as to allow for the recoil of the wheels
in relation to the joint H. This mode of connection continually produces
horizontal motions in contrary directions by suitable balance weights, the dis-
arrangement produced by the inertice of the pistons and connecting rods can
be neutralized. The axles may be bent in such manner that the ends of the
.balance levers placed on m, m', inside the line, may be attached to them;
instead of connecting the trucks together by a simple joint H, they may be
joined together by a rigid bar, as shewn in plan, Figure 6, and side elevation,
Figure 7. Figure 8 shows two trucks connected together in this manner
while passing round a curve. The frames of the two trucks are connected by
a rigid bar O, O', with two bolts o, o'. The bar O, O', is forked, as shown at

page_text: R, R', and is maintained at one height by collars fixed on the bolts o, o'.
These forks are made in a piece with two cylindrical collars C, C'. The shaft
m, m', passes through these collars, and is maintained perpendicular to o, o³,
at an equal distance from O and O', and in a plane with the axles. The shaft
m, m', forms part of a horizontal slide or bar K, K', parallel with O, O'. This
bar K, K', serves as a guide to the two sliders H, H', with which two rigid
blocks, P, H, P, H', forming respectively part of the two trucks are held by
vertical bolts. The two trucks are symmetrical, and are placed symmetrically
in relation to m, m'; the points O, O', P, P¹, are also symmetrical with the
two trucks. Thus, this mode of connection answers a similar end to the one
before described, and consequently the axis m, m³, supports the balance levers
s, t, s, t, connected to the wheels by connecting rods with or without the
slides before mentioned, and affecting, as in the first arrangement, the coupling
of the wheels of two trucks. The transverse displacement of m, m³, is more-
over necessary to diminish the deviation from the straight line of the
connecting rods.
The arrangements, just described, can be applied in numerous ways, for
instance, the adhesion of existing machines can be increased by coupling them
with their tender. The wheels are all made of the same diameter, and the
connections, before described, are made between them. Machines of 8, 12,
or 16 wheels can be coupled together; it suffices to rest the boiler on two or
three of the trucks with four wheels. The mode of connecting the trucks
together may also be varied. Steam is conveyed from the boiler to the
cylinders through the trunnions or through flexible tubes.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as the improve-
ments in driving or propelling railway rolling stock, the method of and
apparatus for applying the propelling powers of a locomotive engine to any
number of the wheels of a railway train, herein-before described and illustrated
in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of November, One thousand
sight hundead and sivtu