CERTAIN IMPROVED MEANS OF OR MACHINERY FOR ARRESTING THE PROGRESS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND TRAINS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DALRYMPLE
CRAWFORD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirty-first day of October (1845), in the ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Dalrymple Crawford, my exors, adñors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Dalrymple Crawford,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Dalrymple Craw-
ford, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVED MEANS OF OR MACHINERY FOR ARRESTING THE PROGRESS OF
RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND TRAINS;" in which Letters Patent is contained a
proviso, that I, the said Dalrymple Crawford, shall cause a particular descrip-
tion of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
bad, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Dalrymple Crawford, do hereby declare that. the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the present Specification, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
Air is admitted
My Invention consists, firstly, of the improved break apparatus, represented
as applied to a carriage in Figure 1 of the said Drawings. A, A', is a cylinder,
which may be either firmly fixed on to the top of the carriage, or allowed to
oscillate slightly by means of gudgeons at the point a; B is an air-tight piston,
and bits rod, which works through a stuffing box in the end A of the cylinder,
its outer end being guided by slides working in the guides C on the roof of
the carriage. The air contained in the cylinder between the piston and the
cover at A serves as a cushion for the piston to act against it.
above the piston through the cock t, which is opened or shut at pleasure by
means of a rod attached at one end to the cock and at the other to a lever or
handle t.. w is another cock at the bottom of the cylinder, for the admission
or exclusion of air as required; r is a cord attached to the handle t¹, and carried
along the carriages of the train, and terminating at the engine or tender, where
it is under the control of the engine driver. The cord is prevented from
shaking the lever or accidentally opening the valve t by attaching a spring o
at one end of the cord and to the carriage at the other end. The cord r in its
course over the tops of the carriages is protected by means of a hinged tube, a
section of which is given separately in Figure 2. D (Fig. 1) is a barrel, sup-
ported in a sliding frame p, p, round which is coiled a chain or rope d, the other.
end of which is attached to the end of the piston rod b. Upon the axis of
the barrel D is fixed. a hand wheel E, spur wheel F, and a ratchet wheel G ;.
the wheel F takes into a wheel e upon the vertical shaft M, upon the lower end
of which is keyed a pinion f, which takes into the wheel E under the floor
of the carriage. The wheel F may be thrown out of gear with wheel e by
forcing the sliding frame back by means of the screw n. The wheel H carries
on its axis a-barrel h, round. which is wound a cord or chain.h', which commu-
nicates, through the intervention of a spring h", with the breaks herein-after
described; upon the axis of the wheel H is also fixed a pulley I, communi-
cating by a chain or rope W with a corresponding rope on a similar pulley
in the adjoining carriage. If necessary, a counter, rope may be used to .con-
nect the opposite sides of the pulleys. S and S (Fig. 3) are the breaks, which
slide upon the bar K (connecting the axle boxes); they are acted upon by
the rods 8, s, which are moved by the double lever k, k, Fig. 2, or by a cam
roller y, Fig. 1, on a shaft J, running under the carriage, and turning in bear-

page_text: ings in the bar K, and a corresponding bar on the opposite side of the carriage,
to which a second set of breaks may, if thought advisable, be adapted, and
worked in a similar manner. L (Fig. 1) is a lever on the centre part of the
shaft J, to which is attached the spring h, before referred to, and also a
spring c, for the purpose of withdrawing the breaks from the wheels of the
carriage H when released therefrom. A counterweight c¹ carried from the
lever L may be used in lieu of the spring c. The, rods s, s, are adjusted for
length by right and left screwed couplings at their centres. The springs may
be of a helical form and made capable of adjustment by any of the means com-
monly used for such purposes. The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
Supposing the piston B to be at the part A¹ of the cylinder, the cock w
is closed and opened. The piston is then drawn to the end A of the
cylinder, by turning the barrel D by means of the hand wheel E, and the
wheels and F being in gear, the motion of the wheel F causes the
pinion to turn the wheel H, thereby unwinding the chain W: off tho
pulley I, whilst the action of the counter ropes, before described, or of a
spring similar to h" in the adjoining carriage, causes the pulley of that carriage
to wind up the rope.. The cock t is now shut and the machine is ready for
operation; for upon opening the cock t, by pulling the rope r or the handle (',
the action of the air forces the piston to the other end of the cylinder, and the
chain & acting upon the barrel D and the gearing before described, the chain h
is wound upon the barrel h, thereby forcing the breaks upon the wheels. At
the same time, the chain W winding upon the pulley I, causes the pulley in
the other carriage to revolve, and, acts upon the breaks in that carriage in a
similar manner. The like system of action may be extended to any number
of carriages through chains, or, ropes, pullies, and springs similar to those
already described. The object of disengaging the wheels e and F is to enable
the spring to react upon the pulley. I, and in a similar manner upon those
of the other carriages, and thereby, to remove the breaks from the wheels. It
is proposed to apply the cylinder and machinery for winding up the piston to the
break carriage only of a train, but the breaks of each carriage may be worked
independently of it by means of a handle applied to the upper end of the rod M
in place of the wheel E; instead also of the cylinder A, A', a spiral or other
spring may be used. The piston might also be actuated by means of com-
pressed air, but the arrangements for that purpose would necessarily be more
complex, and I do not therefore recommend that it should be so employed.
If in practice the rectilineal action (as represented in Fig. 3) of the breaks
should be found to be at all affected by the centrifugal inclination of the wheels
this might be obviated by introducing a cam roller y, as indicated in Figure 1:

page_text: My Invention consists, secondly, in the modification of the preceding arrange-
ment represented in Figure 3. K is a bar, similar to K, Figure 1, and like
it supporting a series of breaks; B is a bar, fixed at the lower end to the
bar K, and carrying at its upper end a lever C, D; it is jointed at 6, to admit
of the upper part yielding to the lateral motion of the carriage. G, G, G, are
a series of rods connecting the lever L with the lever C, D; H is a weight,
furnished with wheels, running on the lever C, D, and connected by a chain F
with another chain E, extending along the tops of the carriages; the other end
of the chain E is affixed to a winch within reach of the engine driver. N is a
spring, to check the too rapid descent of the end C of the lever C, D; M, M,
are rollers, serving to guide the chains. The action in this case is as follows:-
The chain E being tightened by turning the winch, the weight II is drawn
along the lever C, D, and bearing upon the end C, takes the position shewn
by the red lines, when the breaks are forced upon the wheels. Upon slacking
out the chain E the weight H returns along the lever and releases the breaks.
from the wheels.
My Invention consists, thirdly, in facing those parts of the breaks applied to
railway carriages and trains which come into contact with the wheels either
with a solid casing of wood (preferring that which has been kyanized), or with a
casing of wood having a number of conical holes bored through it from the inside
and packed with cores of chalk or with some gritty composition, as a mixture
of sand, gravel, and asphalt, or a mixture of sand, iron slag or scoria, and pitch,
the conical holes being in their least character, namely, at their smallest or
outer ends, so large as that the face of the break shall at those points permit
considerable surfaces of rosistance to the wheels. I also attach to each break
a vessel containing a liquid, for the purpose of keeping it moist and carrying
off the heat. A break on this plan is shown in Figure 4. W is the body of
the break; C, C, the casing; S, S, the conical holes containing the chalk or
other attritive material; F is the vessel containing the liquid; and f, a channel
at the back of the pieces S, conveying the fluid thereto.
My Invention consists, fourthly, and lastly, in a mode of causing the entire
weight of the carriage to be subservient to the purposes of a break. I effect
this by relieving the wheels of the weight of the carriage and throwing it upon
the breaks. Figure 5 shews an clevation of the frame of a carriage with this
part of my Invention applied to it. A, A, is the frame of the carriage; D, D;
are frames containing the axle boxes, and bearing the bellies of the springs
B, B. The frames D, D, are not fixed to the framo A, A, but are merely
attached to it, so as to allow of their sliding in a vertical direction; the ends
of the springs. B, B, bear upon the soles of the axle boxes. F, F, are the
.

page_text: Between the
breaks, shod on the under side with shoes of wood or metal, and sliding in
guides G, G, affixed to the frame A, A, of the carriage. The breaks F, F, are
prevented from falling on the rails by the stoppers H, H.
frames A and the breaks F are interposed springs J, J. The carriage is
capable of being raised or lowered by levers, screws, or other suitable machi-
nery attached to the frame A and acting upon the tops of the frames D, D.
When it is desired to employ the break, the machinery is set in motion and
the frame A is lowered, and the springs J acting upon the breaks force them
into contact with the rails. The great advantage of this form of break con-
sists in the extent of surface employed compared with the ordinary form of
break.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my improved
means of or machinery for arresting the progress of railway carriages and
trains,―
First, the employment of the force of air for the purpose, in the peculiar
modes and by means of the peculiar combinations of mechanical arrangements
described under the first and second heads of this Specification.
Second, the increasing of the traction of those parts of railway breaks which
come into contact with the wheels, in manner before described.
And, third, the mode of making the entire weight of the carriages subser-
vient to the purposes of the break, as before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Dalrymple Crawford, have hercunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
DALRYMPLE (L.S.) CRAWFORD.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1846, the aforesaid Dalrymple Crawford came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-six.