IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF- ACTING BREAKS TO BE USED ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Jones, of Bassaleg, in the County of Mon-
mouth, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-
ACTING BREAKS TO BE USED ON RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 11th April 1860, and dated the 17th October 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Jones at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th
October 1859.
I, DAVID JONES, of Bassaleg, in the County of Monmouth, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for." IMPROVEMENTS IN
SELF-ACTING BREAKS TO BE USED ON RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
This Invention may very readily and at a very small outlay be applied to
any or all of the breaks now in use on railway wagons and carriages, and is
intended to render such breaks self-acting, so that the breaks shall be
put down" spontaneously whenever the speed of the engine or the first car-
riage or truck is checked, as soon as the coupling chains are slackened and
before the buffers meet, and also in going down an incline with a long train
of trucks or carriages, the break will be gently applied to the after part of the
train so as to prevent its overrunning the trucks or carriages in front.
force with which the breaks are applied will in all cases be automatically
adapted and regulated to the amount of power required. The Invention
consists principally in connecting the break lever of one truck or carriage with
the after part of the preceding truck or carriage in such a manner that as soon
as the relative speed of the trucks or carriages is varied, and they conse-
The

page_text: quently approach each other, each truck or carriage acts upon the lever of the
following one, and applies the break. It will be evident that a great variety
of mechanical arrangements may be adapted to effect this object, and by way
of illustration I will describe one of the simplest methods which I am
acquainted with for applying my Invention to the ordinary break employed
upon coal and other trucks, and consisting simply of a bell-crank lever, with a
break block connected to the shorter or vertical limb thereof. To the
extreme end of the longer or horizontal arm of the lever I connect a chain
which passes upwards over a sheave or pulley, and is connected at its other
end to the back of the preceding truck. As long as the first truck is drawing
the second one, and the coupling links are tight, the chain will hold up the
break lever, but as soon as the links slacken and the trucks approach each
other, the chain also slackens and allows the lever to fall and put down the
break. If the weight of the lever be not sufficient to apply the break with
the requisite force, a weight may be attached to it or to the chain. When
the carriages are disconnected or the break is not required to be self-acting, the
end of the chain may be hooked on to a staple on its own truck so as to hold
up the break lever.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th
April 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
JONES, of Bassaleg, in the County of Monmouth, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said David Jones, Her special license that I, the said David
Jones, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said David Jones, 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 SELF-ACTING BREAKS TO BE USED ON RAILWAYS," upon the

page_text: condition (amongst others) that I, the said David Jones, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Jones, 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 to the accompanying Drawings, that is
to say:-
This Invention may very readily and at a very small outlay be applied to
any or all of the breaks now in use on railway waggons and carriages, and is
intended to render such breaks self-acting, so that the breaks shall be "put
down" spontaneously whenever the speed of the engine or the first carriage or
truck is checked, as soon as the coupling chains are slackened and before the
buffers meet, and also in going down an incline with a long train of trucks or
carriages, the break will be gently applied to the after part of the train, so as
to prevent its overrunning the trucks or carriages in front. The force with
which the breaks are applied will in all cases be automatically adapted
and regulated to the amount of power required. The Invention consists
principally in connecting the break lever of one truck or carriage with the
after part of the preceding truck or carriage in such a manner that as
soon as the relative speed of the trucks or carriages is varied, and they con-
sequently approach each other, each truck or carriage acts upon the lever of
the following one, and applies the break. It will be evident that a great
variety of mechanical arrangements may be adapted to effect this object, and
by way of illustration I will here describe one of the simplest methods which
I am acquainted with for applying my Invention to the ordinary break em-.
ployed upon coal and other trucks, and consisting. simply of a bell-crank lever
with a break block connected to the shorter or vertical limb..thereof: To the
extreme end of the longer or horizontal arm of the lever I connect a chain
which passes upwards over a sheave or pulley, and is connected at its other
end to the back of the preceding truck. As long as the first truck is drawing
the second one, and the coupling links are tight, the chain will hold up the
break lever, but as soon as the links slacken and the trucks approach each
other, the chain also slackens and allows the lever to fall and put down the
break. If the weight of the lever be not sufficient to apply the break with

page_text: the requisite force, a weight may be attached to it or to the chain. When the
carriages are disconnected or the break is not required to be self-acting, the
end of the chain may be hooked on to a staple on its own truck so as to hold
up the break lever. In order further to illustrate the practical application of
my Invention, I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings representing
three modifications of my improvements as applied to railway trucks or
waggons, and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference
corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof.
Figures 1 and. 2 in the Drawing illustrate one modification of: my Invention,
the former representing the break as in action, and the latter shewing the
same out of action. A and B are two trucks. The truck A is supposed to be
the first one of a train, or that nearest to the engine. a, a, are the ordinary
break blocks attached as usual to the shorter arm of a bell-crank lever b, b. To
the other or longer arm of the said lever a chain c, c, is connected, and passes
upwards over a sheave or pulley d, d. It will be evident that if the chain c, c,
of the truck A be attached to the engine tender or to the break van, and the
chain c, c, of the truck B be attached to the back of the truck A, when the
speed of the engine or van in front is slackened or stopped, the chain in the
front of the truck A will become slack, and consequently let the break down
on the wheel of the truck A, which of course will slacken its speed. This will
cause the chain c between the trucks A and B also to become slack, and the
break of the truck B to fall on the wheel, as shewn in Figure 1. The same
will occur with the next truck, and so on in rapid succession throughout the
whole length of the train. Supposing the train has descended an incline with
the breaks thus applied, and (having lost its momentum) requires to be pulled,
before the coupling links are tight the chains c, c, running over the sheaves
d, d, will have become tight, and have raised the break blocks a, a, off the
wheels by means of the bell-crank levers b, b, as shewn in Figure 2. This
contrivance is very simple and inexpensive, and well adapted to lines whose
gradients are not steeper than 1 in 80. On such gradients a seven-feet lever
with about twenty-eight pounds on the end, as shewn in the Drawing at e, e,
will be quite sufficient. The same contrivance would also be of great benefit
even on a level line, because it would obviate the necessity of buffer springs
and spring draw bars. It would likewise effect a great saving in the wear and
tear of trucks, and prevent the materials with which they are loaded from
being damaged, particularly if they are loaded with coals. At present the
bumping of the buffers of trucks against each other considerably damages
coal on a long journey. This would be entirely avoided by the application of
the self-acting break.
When the breaks are not wanted, the chain c of the

page_text: truck A can be detached from the engine tender or the break van, and by
having a hook on the sole bar to which to hitch the chain, it can be used in
the same manner as the pin is used at present. The same can be done with
the truck B, and with all the trucks or carriages in the train.
Figures 3 and 4 exhibit a second modification of my improved self-acting
breaks. A is the first truck or the nearest to the engine tender or break van in
front of the train; B is the second truck; a, a, are the break blocks, and b, b,
the break levers; c, c, are rods connected by elbow joints to the diagonal
links d, d, which pass through slots or guides e, e, moving on swivels; the
lower link dis attached to the break lever a, a, and carries a weight f;
and the end of the upper link d acts against a spring 9. As soon as the
engine or van in front of the train slackens its speed, the rod c runs against the
end of the carriage in front, and thereby straightens the elbow joint, and applies
the break block a, a, to the wheels with the whole power of of the weight f and
spring g, as shewn at Figure 3. A similar action takes place throughout the
whole length of the train. When the train arrives at the bottom of the run
and requires to be drawn forwards, the engine moving on gives room for the
spring 9 and weight f to force the rod c forwards and raise the break from the
wheel, as shewn at Figure 4, and so on with every truck in the train. This
contrivance can be fixed to a cross lever at the end of passengers' carriages
with great power. The cross lever at the end of the carriages would act as a
counter lever, and would thereby gain much power. It could also easily be
attached to any levers that are at present under the passengers' carriages, and
be out of the way of the passengers. When the carriages require to be
shunted, the pins connecting the break levers a, a, to the elbow links d, d, can
be taken out, and the break used in the same manner as at present. To save
the expence of a break van behind the train, as well as to dispense with the
additional traction on the engine caused thereby, a small contrivance can be
made and attached behind the last truck, which would prevent its running
back in case of the couplings breaking, and thus all the trucks would be
stopped by putting down their own breaks. The same contrivance can also
be applied to the other modifications.
Figures 5 and 6 represent a third modification of my improvements, which
arrangement will afford any amount of power that may be required, and is
better adapted to lines of heavy mineral traffic and steep gradients, than those
previously described. This modification is somewhat similar to that last above
described, but with this exception, that heavy weights h, h, are placed at the top
of the elbow links d, d. It may be mentioned here, that fifty-six pounds to a
seven-feet lever on a gradient of one in forty will give sufficient power on the

page_text: breaks to stop the wheels, and that with longer levers much less weight would
have the same effect. With a counter lever across the end of a passengers'
carriage, fifty-six pounds arranged as shewn in Figures 5 and 6 will prevent
the wheels from turning. With single levers on mineral trucks the power of
the brakes will be according to the weight of the truck and their respective
loads, and also the inclination of the road. This break acts precisely the same
as that last above described, except that, as already stated, it is constructed so
as to be made to act with much more force if required. This can be done by
lengthening the rod c, which is easily effected by having three or more holes
in the end where it joins the angle of the elbow links, and also two holes in
the end of the lower link where it is fastened to the break lever a, a. When
the train arrives at its destination and the carriages require to be shunted into
sidings; the pin connecting the lower elbow link with the break lever is to be
taken out, and the break used as at present.
In attending to either of the foregoing three modifications of breaks it is to
be observed, that there is required only one breaksman, who by regulating the
speed of the first truck, carriage, or engine, will cause all the other carriages
to be regulated at the same rate, and whether the speed of the former bo
slackened or stopped by the breaksman or by any accidental cause, the breaks
of all the carriages being self-acting will exercise the same power individually,
and it will be evident that this simple contrivance can be applied to all the
breaks now in use at a very small expence.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"Improvements in Self-acting Breaks to be used on Railways," together with
the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark in
conclusion, that I claim as my Invention, connecting the break lever of one
truck or carriage with the after part of the preceding truck or carriage in
such a manner that as soon as the relative speed of the trucks or carriages is
varied, and they consequently approach each other, each truck or carriage
shall act upon the lever of the following one, and apply the break as exhibited
in the annexed Drawings, and above particularly described.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Jones, have hereunto *set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
DAVID JONES. (L.s.)