Improvements in Appliances for Slipping Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 18th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 20th Nov, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Appliances for Slipping Railway Vehicles.
I, MARY ANN KNOWLES of Rushcroft Terrace, Baildon, in the County of York,
Widow, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to give drivers of Engines, Carriages and other
vehicles and to Guards of trains and locomotives more complete control thereof.
I employ under the engine and tender and passing to the first carriage one or
more (preferably central) coupling bars carried in suitable brackets and passing
upwards through a slot or aperture to a position handy for the said driver and
terminating in a screw with screwed or tapped hand wheel, the said coupling bars
engaging with suitable couplings in the said carriage and being formed so that by
screwing or unscrewing the screwed hand wheel or wheels, the bars couple or
uncouple the engine and carriage, the same appliance connects the guards van to
a waggon behind it, which may also be provided with a block suspended cross-
wise so that when the waggon is uncoupled the guard may if he thinks it necessary
simultaneously drop the blocks across the rails between his van and the waggon,
the dropped block impedes the waggon, preventing it from following the train
and blocks the line or it may throw it off the line.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Appliances for Slipping Railway Vehicles.
I, MARY ANN KNOWLES, of Rushcroft Terrace, Baildon, in the County of York,
Widow, 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:-
The object of my invention is to give drivers of engines, and to guards of trains
and locomotives, more complete control thereof and in cases where a collision
between an express passenger and another train is otherwise bound to occur, the
engine driver may release the engine and save his train and the guard of the other
train may release his truck behind his van and save the rest of his train. To
acquaint the guard in such cases of emergency it will be necessary to have an extra.
signal light for instance a royal blue, or a double red light.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation partly in section of ends of Engine and Tender with

page_text: Fig. 3 is an end elevation of releasing mechanism detached.
Fig. 4 is a front elevation of tender and part of first carriage with releasing
gear for same.
Fig. 5 is a front elevation of guard's van and part of luggage van with releasing
gear for same, and block.
I employ under the engine and connecting to the tender ordinary coupling bars
or links A, A', A', secured by pins and cotters B, B', B' within a receiver B2 upon
the engine and by pins C, C, C', screw 1), foot bracket D', hand wheel E,
bracket 12 and receiver B33 upon the tender, thus by turning the hand wheel one
way the fastening pins C, C, C', are withdrawn and the tender can be released
from the engine (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3.)
Fig. 4 shows method of disengaging the tender from the first carriage by a
similar arrangement but the coupling bars A are longer as they pass under the
whole length of the tender to the first carriage and are linked to the draw hook K
of the first carriage, J is a rest upon the draw hook to prevent the bar from drop-
ping when released and so ploughing up the road or track.
If required the draw hooks and coupling bars with receivers may be duplicated
one above the other and the pins on the screw lengthened accordingly.
Any of the same appliances may connect the guard's van to a wagon behind it,
which may also be provided with a block of india-rubber, wood or other suitable
inaterial L suspended crosswise by rod N. so that when the wagon is uncoupled,
the guard may if he thinks it necessary, or is so signalled by the extra Royal blue
signal or double red, simultaneously drop the block L across the rails between his
van and the wagon; the block L may be attached to chains M to ensure it dropping
across the rails. The dropped block L impedes the wagon preventing it from
following the train and blocks the line, or it may throw the wagon off the line,
and so prevent the engine of the express from running into the passenger train,
thereby saving life by sacrificing the truck behind the van.
When coupled up
the winged nut or hand wheel is screwed up and draws and locks the bar in posi-
tion.
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 cases of emergency indicated by an extra signal to the driver of express
trains, releasing the engine from the tender or the engine and tender from' the
first carriage by any suitable mechanical means, and saving the rest of the train
from wreckage as shown and described.
2. In cases of emergency indicated by an extra signal to the guards of other
trains, releasing a truck or luggage van behind the guard's van by any suitable
mechanical means and simultaneously dropping a block or sleeper across the rails
in front of the said truck to block the line and save the rest of the train as shown
and described.
3. Detaching the Engine and Tender, or Guard's van or truck, by means of
links A, A, pins C, C, screws D, brackets D and D, and hand wheel E, substan-
tially as shown and described at Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
4. Detaching the tender and first carriage by means of links A, pins C, screws D,
brackets D2, hand wheel E, and projecting rest or support J, substantially as shown
and described.
1000
JOHN E. WALSH,
Royal Exchange Chambers, Boar Lane, Leeds,
Patent Agent for the Applicant.