IMPROVED SELF-ACTING MOTIONS FOR WORKING THE BREAKS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND WAGONS, SOUNDING THE DRIVER'S WHISTLE, AND SHUTTING OFF THE STEAM FROM THE LOCOMOTIVE, AND FOR ENABLING THE BREAKS TO BE PUT IN ACTION FROM ANY DISTANCE FROM THE TRAIN
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Dawber, of Wigan, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of " IMPROVED SELF-ACTING
MOTIONS FOR WORKING THE BREAKS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND WAGONS,
SOUNDING THE DRIVER'S WHISTLE, AND SHUTTING OFF THE STEAM FROM THE
LOCOMOTIVE, AND FOR ENABLING THE BREAKS TO BE PUT IN ACTION FROM ANY
DISTANCE FROM THE TRAIN."
Sealed the 11th February 1876, and dated the 12th August 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Dawber at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th August 1875.
I, THOMAS DAWBER, of Wigan, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVED SELF-
ACTING MOTIONS FOR WORKING THE BREAKS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND WAGONS,
SOUNDING THE DRIVER'S WHISTLE, AND SHUTTING OFF THE STEAM FROM THE
LOCOMOTIVE, AND FOR ENABLING THE BREAKS TO BE PUT IN ACTION FROM ANY
DISTANCE FROM THE TRAIN," to be as follows:-
:-
The object of this Invention is, first, to enable by self-acting means
the breaks of the carriages or wagons to exert their force if by accident

page_text: onc part of the train should separate from another part, or an im-
mediate stoppage is required, and at the same time allow perfect freedom
for the guard to work the breaks of the carriages or wagons left to his
charge.
Under the carriages or wagons there are shafts coupled together, and
communicating with the breaks and hand gearing worked by the guard
in the usual way, the shafts having generally been turned by the guard;
but in order to enable them to be turned in a self-acting manner I
employ on each shaft a bevil wheel gearing into another bevil wheel
keyed to a cross shaft having on it two ratchet wheels acted upon by
ratchets or catches, one for causing the wheels and shaft to turn, and
the other acting as a holder. The driving or propelling ratchet is jointed
to one end of a two-armed lever working on a stationary stud, and the
other arm of the lever is so formed that it can be acted upon by an
eccentric fixed to one of the axles of the carriage or wagon when
required. The ratchets, when there is no accident, or when they are not
required to act, are kept out of gear with the teeth of the ratchet wheels
by a cord extending from one end of the train to the other, but when
from the breakage of the cord caused by the separation of the train, or
by its being loosened by the guard, the ratchets are allowed to gear
with the wheels revolving motion is given to them, and also by means of
the bevil gearing, with the shafts under the carriages, and thereby work
the eccentric or levers connected with the breaks, and immediately
causes the stoppage of the train, and the driver and stoker can also put
the breaks into action as easily as the guard, and at the same time
that the breaks are put in action a whistle is sounded, and the steam
shut off.
The second part of this Invention is for the purpose of enabling the
pointsman, station master, or other person to cause the stoppage of the
train at any required distance from the station, junction, siding, or other
place. In order to attain this object I erect at different distances along
the line strong framework carrying levers or double arms connected at
one end to a cord or rope in connection with a barrel or drum at the
signal box, station, or other place, and to the other arm is connected by
a cord or rod a block suspended a short distance above the guard's van
which carries at each side an arm or lever communicating with the
lever in connection with the ratchet and ratchet wheels of the self
stopping motion before described, so that when the lever at the side o

page_text: the van comes in contact with the block it allows the ratchets to fall in
gear with the ratchet wheel, and causes the immediate stoppage of the
train, and at the same time the ordinary semaphore arms are worked in
the usual way, the arms being down when no stoppage is required, but
horizontal when the signal has to be given or the train to be stopped.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Dawber in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th February 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
DAWBER, of Wigan, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Dawber, Her special license
that I, the said Thomas Dawber, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Dawber, 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 "IMPROVED SELF-
ACTING MOTIONS FOR WORKING THE BREAKS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND WAGONS,
SOUNDING THE DRIVER'S WHISTLE, AND SHUTTING OFF THE STEAM FROM THE
LOCOMOTIVE, AND FOR ENABLING THE BREAKS TO BE PUT IN ACTION FROM ANY
DISTANCE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas Dawber, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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.

page_text: 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, reference being had to the Figs. on the accom-
panying two Sheets of Drawings, and to the letters of reference marked
thereon, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is, first, to enable by self-acting means
the breaks of the carriages or wagons to excrt their force if by accident
one part of the train should separate from another part, or an immediate
stoppage is required, and at the same time allow perfect freedom of the
guard to work the breaks of the carriages or waggons left to his charge;
and, secondly, to enable the pointsman, station master, or other person
to cause the stoppage of the train at any required distance from the
station, junction, siding, or other place.
On Sheet 1 of the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings Fig. 1 is a
side elevation of a guard's van and part of a carriage provided with my
improvements for stopping the train by self-acting means, one side of
the van being removed in order to shew the working parts; Fig. 2 a
plan of the same with part of the floor removed; and on Sheet 2 Fig. 3
is a side and Fig. 4 an end view of the apparatus for enabling the
pointsman, station master, or other person to cause the stoppage of the
train at any required distance from the station, siding, junction, or
other place.
Under the van carriages or wagons there are shafts a coupled together
and communicating with the breaks and hand gearing c worked by
the guard in the usual way, the shafts having generally been turned by
the guard; but in order to enable them to be turned in a self-acting
manner I employ on cach shaft a bevil wheel d gearing into another
bevil wheel e keyed to a cross shaft f, having on it two ratchet wheels
g, h, acted upon by ratchets or propellers k, l, one for causing the wheels
and shaft to turn and the other for acting as a keeper. The driving or
propelling ratchet / is jointed to one end of a slide m, having its other
end connected by the rod n to one arm o of a three-armed lever o, p, q,
working on a stationary shaft or stud », and the arm p, which is weighted
at one end, is so formed as at s that it can be acted upon by an eccentric
t fixed to one of the axles of the van, and on the propelling ratchet
there is a pin in an inclined slot so that the ratchet can be placed out of
gear with the wheel when not required to act. To a cross shaft u is
8

page_text: firmly fixed an arm or lever handle having at the top a spring catch
w, which can enter or be released from notches x, y, in a slotted metal
frame, and at one side of the slotted frame there are guides a' carrying
a horizontal bar b' jointed at one end to a link c¹ connected to a crank
d' on the shaft e¹ carrying a two-armed lever f¹, g¹, the arm f¹ being
weighted, and the other arm g¹ is formed so that it can act and be acted
upon by a two-armed lever k¹, l', the arm ¹ being connected by a rod
m² to a single lever n' fixed to the shaft of carrying behind the single
lever a two-armed lever p¹, q¹, and at each end outside the van other
two-armed levers ¹, and on the horizontal bar there is a cam or
incline marked a² for raising the spring catch out of the notch & when
required. The arm p¹ is connected to a cord s¹ hooked or otherwise
fastened to one end of the van and the arm q' to a cord ¹, which is
passed under a guide pulley and extended to a short distance beyond the
other end of the van, the end of the cord having a hook which can be
hooked to a cord under the next carriage or wagon, and so on throughout
the entire train, and hooked or connected to a winding-on drum to the
tender or locomotive. On the shaft u carrying the long handle lever v
there is a short arm v¹ which can be in and out of contact with the third
arm of the three-armed lever o, p, q, and when these two arms are in
contact, as shewn in Fig. 1, the weighted arm p is so raised that it
cannot be acted upon by the eccentric t on one of the axles of the van,
but the moment the two arms q and r¹ are out of contact the weighted
arm is free to be moved up by the eccentric and drop by its own weight
or assisted by a spring.
When there is no breakage of the couplings of the train, or there is
no accident or danger requiring a stoppage, the cord is in its ordinary
tension and all the working parts in their now working positions, as
shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet 1, the spring catch to being in the notch a
and the cam or incline a out of its reach, but when the train is
separated into two or more parts by the breakage of any of the ordinary
couplings or other cause the cord t¹ breaks and causes the horizontal bar
₁ to move forwards and cause the cam or incline a² to raise the spring
catch w and allow the spring to push forward the long handle lever over
to the notchy and put the two arms 7 and out of contact, thereby
enabling the weighted lever p to be acted upon by the eccentric t and
allow the spring to force forwards the long handle and move the
arm ¹ from the arm q, thereby enabling the weighted arm p to be acted

page_text: upon by the eccentric t on one of the axles and work the ratchet wheels
g, h, bevil wheels c, d, and to give revolving motion to the shafts a
under the van and carriages and work the breaks by means of the
worms of gearing into the toothed racks d² and the ordinary levers, rods,
and break blocks.
In all cases, when the self-acting stopping motion is not in action,
the cam or incline a² on the sliding bar 6¹ is out of reach of the spring
catch w, and the propelling ratchet k is kept out of gear of the ratchet
wheel by the pin in the inclined slot c², and the keeper ratchet / is
kept out of gear of the ratchet wheel h by a small cam on the arm or
lever ¹, and the guard can put on the breaks by the hand wheel c in the
ordinary manner.
I
In cases of extreme danger, and a quick stoppage is required, the
guard raises the spring catch w by hand, and turns over the lever
handle to release the weighted lever q and put on the self-stopping
motion, and as the cord is attached to the tender or locomotive the
engine driver or stoker can wind up or pull the cord to give motion to
the horizontal bar b¹, and cause the cam or incline a² to lift the spring
catch w, and thereby put on the self-stopping motion, which can always
be put in action when the train is running by raising the spring catch w
in any way whatever.
And I may here state that the apparatus and movements described as
being placed on the van may when desired be placed on the tender, and
whenever the self-stopping motion is in action a bell or gong is sounded
in the guard's van, and thus if a breakage of the train should take
place the guard would be warned that an accident had occurred.
The next part of my Invention, which is for the purpose of enabling
the pointsman, station master, or other person to cause the stoppage of
the train at any required distance from the station, junction, siding, or
other place, is shewn in the side and end elevations, Figs. 3 and 4,
Sheet 2.
At different distances along the line I erect strong standards or
framework f carrying double levers or arms 92, ², and connect one
arm to the top of a rod k², the lower end of which is jointed to a
chain passing over a guide pulley & and connected to a wire, which
extends to the signal box at the station, junction, siding, or other place,

page_text: and coiled on a drum or connected to a lever, and to the arm h² is
jointed a link m² carrying a block n² placed in guides in the framework,
so that it can be raised and lowered by the signalman turning the drum
or working the lever. The block is placed so that when it is in its
highest position the arms or levers 7, Fig. 1, on the guard's van cannot
come in contact with it, but when a signal has to be given to the guard
or driver the signalman turns the drum or works the lever to allow the
block to drop, and when one arm of the lever comes in contact with the
block the self-stopping motion is immediately put into action; and I
may here state that blocks, arms, or anchor levers, which can be moved
by the signalman, may be placed at the middle or sides of the line,
cither under or over, and the arms or levers which act on the stopping
motion placed in corresponding positions.
To the boiler of the locomotive I fix a small cylinder, having a piston
connected by a rod to the arm or lever, which works the supply and
shutting off disc or valve, the cylinders communicating by a pipe and
tap with the stream in the boiler, and on the tender I place an arm or
lever, which can come into contact when required with any of the before-
mentioned blocks or levers on the line, and when the arm or lever on
the tender is acted upon it opens the tap, lets the steam into the small
cylinder, and sounds a whistle, the steam being cut off by means of the
movement of the piston and piston rod.
In all cases where the signalman has worked the drum or lever to
lower the block in the signal post it is desirable that a return signal
should be given, and therefore I cause the falling of the block which
was lowered by the signalman to give, after it has been pushed and
acted upon by the arms or levers on the van or tender, to give a return
signal, either by causing the block to call into action a current of
electricity, or by mechanical movements; the signals being arranged as
semaphores, lamps, or other well-known arrangements; and I may here
state that when the shafts a under the carriages are not in the centre
of the train there are two break couplings on the tender, one or other
to correspond with the shafts when the tender and locomotive arc
reversed.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it
to be understood that I claim, the improved self-acting motions for

page_text: working the breaks of railway carriages and wagons, sounding the
driver's whistle, and shutting off the steam from the locomotive, and for
enabling the breaks to be put in action from any distance, as such
improvements are hercin described and illustrated on the accompanying
two Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Dawber, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Signed, sealed, and delivered
by the within-named Thomas
Dawber in the presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
THOMAS DAWBER. (L.S.)