Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 28th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 4th Dec., 1897
Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
I, ELLA ALBERTA MARDEN, of 562 Belmont Street, in the Town of Watertown,
County of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Gentlewoman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object to improve the construction of tubular brake-
beams for railway-cars, whereby they are rendered more durable and effective and
better adapted to resist the strain to which they are subjected.
To this end my invention consists in certain novel features and details of con-
struction as hereinafter fully set forth.
In carrying my invention into practice, I employ a tubular metallic brake-beam,
preferably made of steel, and preferably of elliptical or oblong form in cross section
in which case it is arranged with its narrower sides or edges facing in the line
or direction of the strain, whereby the maximum degree of resistance is afforded
to the bending force exerted in applying the brake.
The brake-heads are secured to the opposite ends of the tubular beam, said heads
being provided with stiffening ribs, and each having a horizontally elongated
aperture extending entirely through it for the reception of the end of the tubular
beam to which said heads are secured by rivets or in any other preferred manner.
The break heads and their connecting beam are adapted to be suspended from the
car-truck, and are provided with shoes in the usual manner.
To the center of the tubular beam is secured a lever-clamp or connecting bar
which encircles the beam and is provided at its inner end with an inclined slot
for the reception of the usual brake-lever by which the power is applied to set the
brake.
Within the tubular beam and extending therethrough from end to end is placed
a solid steel reinforcing bat, preferably flattened or of greater width than thick-
ness, said bar being arranged with its narrower sides or edges in contact with the
interior of the tube and presented in the direction or line of the strain, thereby
offering the greatest resistance to the force applied to the beam to set the brake.
Before inserting the reinforcing bar, the tubular beam is preferably slightly
expanded by heating to admit a bar of somewhat greater width than could other-
wise be employed, the contraction of the metal in cooling, causing the interior
of the tube to lie closely against the narrower sides or edges of the bar at all points.
After the reinforcing bar has been inserted within the tube, its ends are heated
to the welding point and compressed on all sides by hammering or swaging to bring
them into contact and unite them with the bar to form solid homogeneous ends
thereby increasing their strength, the reduction in size of the ends of the beam
thus produced forming shoulders against which rest the brake-heads. To still
further stiffen and strengthen the tubular beam, I preferably provide the reinforcing
bar on its upper and lower surfaces with longitudinal central ribs which extend
outward in contact with the upper and lower interior surfaces of the tubular beam,
D
827

page_text: but these ribs may be dispensed with if desired and a plain flat-bar employed
instead.
In some cases a tubular break beam of elliptical or flattened form in cross section
if of sufficient thickness, may be employed without a reinforcing bar, its arrange-
ment with its narrower sides or edges facing in the line or direction of the strain,
enabling it to resist great pressure and produce good results; I prefer however
to use a flat reinforcing bar in connection with the tubular beam as previously
described, as I find such construction to be the most practical and productive of
the best results.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
I, ELLA ALBERTA MARDEN, of No. 562 Belmont Street, in the Town of Water-
town, County of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Gentlewoman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:
My invention has for its object to improve the construction of tubular break-
beams for railway-cars, whereby they are rendered more durable and effective
and better adapted to resist the strain to which they are subjected. To this end
my invention consists in certain novel features and details of construction, as
hereinafter fully set forth, and specifically pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a brake-beam and break-heads constructed in
accordance with my invention.
Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the same on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged section of the same, taken through one of the break-
heads, on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.
Figures 4 and 5 are vertical sections of brake-beams, illustrating modifications of
my invention.
In the said drawings, A represents a tubular metallic brake-beam, preferably
made of steel, and preferably of elliptical or oblong form in cross-section, in which
case it is arranged, as shown in the drawings, with its narrower sides or edges
facing in the line or direction of the strain, whereby the maximum degree of
resistance is afforded to the bending force exerted in applying the brake.
BB represent the brake-heads, which are secured to the opposite end of the
tubular beam A, said heads being provided with stiffening-ribs, and each having
a horizontally-elongated aperture b extending entirely through it for the reception
of the end of the tubular beam A, to which said heads are secured by rivets or in
any other preferred manner. The brake-heads and their connecting-beam are
adapted to be suspended from the car-truck, and are provided with shoes d in the
usual manner. To the center of the tubular beam A is secured the lever-clamp
or connecting-bar D, which encircles the beam, and is provided at its inner end
with an inclined slot f for the reception of the usual brake-lever by which the
power is applied to set the brake.
Within the tubular beam A, and extending therethrough from end to end, is
placed a solid steel reinforcing-bar G preferably flattened or of greater width than
thickness, said bar being arranged with its narrower sides or edges in contact

page_text: with the interior of the tube and presented in the direction or line of the strain,
as shown, thereby offering the greatest resistance to the force applied to the beam
to set the brake."
Before inserting the reinforcing-bar the tubular beam is preferably slightly ex-
panded by heating to admit a bar of somewhat greater width than could otherwise
be employed, the contraction of the metal in cooling causing the interior of the tube
to lie closely against the narrower sides or edges of the bar at all points. After
the reinforcing-bar has been inserted within the tube its ends are heated to the
welding-point and compressed on all sides by hammering or swaging to bring them
into contact and unite them with the bar to form solid homogeneous ends, as shown
in Figures 1 and 3, thereby increasing their strength, the reduction in size of the
ends of the beam thus produced forming shoulders 9 9, against which rest the
brake-heads B B, as shown in Figure 1. To still further stiffen and strengthen
the tubular beam A, I preferably provide the reinforcing-bar G on its upper and
lower surfaces with longitudinal central ribs h h, which extend outward in contact
with the upper and lower interior surfaces of the tubular beam, as shown in
Figure 2, but these ribs may be dispensed with, if desired, and a plain flat bar
employed, as shown in Figure 4.
In some cases a tubular break-beam of elliptical or flattened form in cross-
section if of sufficient thickness, may be employed without a reinforcing-bar, as
shown in Figure 5, its arrangement with its narrower sides or edges facing in
the line or direction of the strain enabling it to resist great pressure and produce
good results. I prefer, however, to use a flat reinforcing-bar, in connection with
the tubular beam, as previously described, as I find such construction to be the
most practical and productive of the best results.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. In a railway car-brake, a tubular brake-beam having the brake-heads secured
to its opposite ends, said tubular beam being reinforced by a solid bar placed
within the same in contact with its interior surface and extending from one end to
the other of said beam, substantially as described.
2. In a railway car-brake, a tubular brake-beam having the brake-heads secured
to its opposite ends, combined with a solid flat reinforcing-bar placed within the
same with its narrower sides or edges facing in the line or direction of the strain.
substantially as described.
3. In a railway car-brake, a tubular brake-beam having the break-heads secured
to its opposite ends, combined with a solid flat reinforcing-bar placed within the
same with its narrower sides or edges facing in the line or direction of the strain,
and said flat reinforcing-bar being provided on its upper and lower surfaces with
longitudinal ribs extending vertically therefrom into contact with the upper and
lower interior surfaces of the tube within which said bar is placed, substantially
as described.
4. A railway car-brake consisting of a tubular brake-beam of elliptical or oblong
form in cross-section, and two brake-heads within which the ends of said beam
are secured, sairi tubular beam being arranged with its narrower sides or edges
facing in the line or direction of the strain, substantially as described.
5. In a railway car-brake, a tubular brake-beam of elliptical or oblong form in
cross-section and having the brake-heads secured to its opposite ends, in combina-
tion with a flattened reinforcing-bar placed within the same, said beam and rein-
forcing-bar being arranged with their narrower sides or edges facing in the line
or direction of the strain, substantially as described.
6. In a railway car-brake, a tubular brake-beam having the brake-heads secured
to its opposite ends, said beam being reinforced by a solid bar placed within the
same, and sai tubular beam being compressed at its ends to fit tightly around the

page_text: reinforcing-bar on all sides of the same, thereby forming solid ends for insertion
within apertures in the brake-heads, substantially as described.
7. In a railway car-brake, the combination of a tubular brake-beam, two brake-
heads, in which the, ends of said beam are secured, and a solid flat reinforcing-bar
placed within said tubular beam with its narrower sides or edges facing in the
line or direction of the strain, and a lever-clamp or connecting-bar centrally secured
to the tubular beam to receive the brake-lever, substantially as described.
Dated this 28th day of October 1897.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.