Improvements in Skid-brakes for Railway and like Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Skid-brakes for Railway and like Vehicles.
I, HEINRICH BUSSING of 41, Elmstrasse, Brunswick, in the Empire of Germany,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The mode of action of the usual brake shoe slipper or skid-brake in shunting
consists in a complete reduction of the speed, or in other words in bringing the
vehicle to a standstill. It is, however, almost always very essential not to reduce this
speed quite to mil, but to let it be lessened down only so far as required for the still
necessary shunting of the vehicle in motion.
This can be effected by rendering it possible to remove the brake shoe from
the wheel and therefore from the rail after the desired reduction in speed has been
attained.
For this purpose I have designed the following arrangement :-
In those cases of shunting railway stations in which a reduction of the speed of
the moving carriage is to take place a special auxiliary rail is laid near the one
main rail which auxiliary rail is adapted to hold a brake shoe in the position suitable
for the braking, a removal of the brake shoe from this braking position taking place
when it arrives at the end of the auxiliary rail.
The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an elevation of the apparatus;
Figure 2 a cross section; and
Figure 3 a plan view.
In these-
S is the auxiliary rail laid near the main rail, which auxiliary rail is intended to
hold the brake shoe B in position, while the wheel, after it has risen up upon said
brake shoe laid beforehand by the attendant upon the rail, continues to push the
brake shoe along with it, a flange F formed laterally on the shoe being so placed
between the main and auxiliary rail, that the brake shoe is held in position.
In order that the brake shoe may not tilt down, it is useful also to further arrange
vertically thereunder an under-support, as shown in Figure 4. The auxiliary rail S
is in this case so laid down or in other words a second auxiliary rail T is so laid near
it, that the flange F can bear upon it with its underneath surface.
When it arrives at the end of the auxiliary rail, the brake shoe is thrown out
laterally by means of the lateral pressure exerted by the bevelled tread of the wheel,
as the flange F is no longer supported by the auxiliary rail S.
But in order to permit of this lateral springing out taking place with security, a
mechanical auxiliary help can also be made use of which is shown in plan and cross
section in Figures 5 and 6, respectively of the accompanying drawings.
Near the place at which the auxiliary line S terminates or is interrupted is fixed a
short tongue at one end clinging closely onto the line and then gradually separating
from it, which wedges itself in between the flange F of the moving brake shoe and
the main line, and thereby forces out the brake shoe laterally and thus compels it to
fall down.
This forcing out of the brake shoe is rendered essentially easier if the wheel be
somewhat raised at the given moment from the line. To this end, at the point where
the forcing out of the brake commences, and relatively before it begins to work, a
further auxiliary line H (Figures 4, 5, and 6) is fixed upon the inner side of the main

page_text: rail upon which the flange of the wheel rides up, so that the wheel is raised a little
from the main rail. In order to allow this up and down riding of the wheel to take
place gradually on the rail, the upper face of the latter is bevelled or sloped obliquely
at the commencement a, Figure 5, and at the end at e.
The arrangement can also take place, as shown in elevation and in cross section, in
Figures 7, 8 and 9, whereby the brake shoe does not lie between the wheel and the
main rail but between the wheel and the auxiliary rail, shown in Figure 7, in
longitudinal section (partly cut away), and in Figure 8 in cross section. The
auxiliary line S is in this case bolted onto the main rail and supported by chairs U.
Figure 9 shows a somewhat altered form of the fastening, namely by means of a
bracket V bolted to the rail and of chairs U fastened upon the sleepers.
With this arrangement the brake shoe can of course only come into action at that
part of the running surface of the wheel which projects away from over the main
rail. The auxiliary rail S is also somewhat flattened down at both ends, but raised so
far in the middle that the wheel running upon the brake shoe is raised from the main
rail. This arrangement has the advantage of an extraordinary saving in wear and
tear of the main rail as no gliding thereon either of the brake shoe or of the wheel
can take place.
No kind of special arrangement is needed in this latter case for removing the
brake shoe as it never fails to itself fall down at the place where the auxiliary
rail ceases.
Dated this 16th day of June 1896
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
akes for Railway and like vehicles.
I, HEINRICH BUSSING, of 41, Elmstrasse, Brunswick, in the Empire of Germany,
Engineer, 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 mode of action of the usual brake shoe, slipper or skid-brake in shunting
consists in a complete reduction of the speed, or in other words in bringing the
vehicle to a standstill. It is, however, almost always very essential not to reduce this
speed quite to mil, but to let it be lessened down only so far as required for the still
necessary shunting of the vehicle in motion.
This can be effected by rendering it possible to remove the brake shoe from
the wheel and therefore from the rail after the desired reduction in speed has been
attained.
For this purpose I have designed the following arrangement :-
In those cases of shunting railway stations in which a reduction of the speed
of the moving carriage is to take place a special auxiliary rail is laid near the one
main rail, which auxiliary rail is adapted to hold a brake shoe in the position suitable
for braking, a removal of the brake shoe from this braking position taking place when
it arrives at the end of the auxiliary rail.
The invention is shown in the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specification,
in which:
Figure 1 is an elevation of the apparatus ;
Figure 2 a cross section; and
Figure 3 a plan view.
In these-
S is the auxiliary rail laid near the main rail, which auxiliary rail is intended to

page_text: hold the brake shoe B in position, while the wheel, after it has risen up upon said
brake shoe laid beforehand by the attendant upon the rail, continues to push the
brake shoe along with it, a flange F formed laterally on the shoe being so placed
between the main and auxiliary rail, that the brake shoe is held in position.
In order that the brake shoe may not tilt down, it is useful also to further arrange
vertically thereunder an under-support, as shown in Figure 4. The auxiliary rail S
is in this case so laid down or in other words a second auxiliary rail T is so laid
near it, that the flange F can bear upon it with its underneath surface.
When it arrives at the end of the auxiliary rail, the brake shoe is thrown out
laterally by means of the lateral pressure exerted by the bevelled tread of the wheel,
as the flange F is no longer supported by the auxiliary rail S.
But in order to permit of this lateral springing out taking place with security, a
mechanical auxiliary help can also be made use of which is shown in plan and cross
section in Figures 5 and 6, respectively, of the accompanying drawings.
Near the place at which the auxiliary line S terminates or is interrupted, is fixed
a short tongue at one end clinging closely onto the line and then gradually
separating from it, which wedges itself in between the flange F of the moving
brake shoe and the main line, and thereby forces out the brake shoe laterally and
thus compels it to fall down.
This forcing out of the brake shoe is rendered essentially easier if the wheel be
somewhat raised at the given moment from the line. To this end, at the point
where the forcing out of the brake commences, and relatively before it begins to
work, a further auxiliary line H (Figures 4, 5 and 6) is fixed upon the inner side
of the main rail upon which the flange of the wheel rides up, so that the wheel
is raised a little from the main rail. In order to allow this up and down riding
of the wheel to take place gradually on the rail, the upper face of the latter is
bevelled or sloped obliquely at the commencement a, Figure 5, and at the end at e.
The arrangement can also take place, as shown in elevation and in cross section,
in Figures 7, 8 and 9, whereby the brake shoe does not lie between the wheel and
the main rail bat between the wheel and the auxiliary rail, shown in Figure 7, in
longitudinal section (partly cut away), and in Figure 8 in cross section. The auxiliary
line S is in this case bolted onto the main rail and supported by chairs U.
Figure 9 shows a somewhat altered form of the fastening, namely by means of
a bracket V bolted to the rail and of chairs U fastened upon the sleepers.
With this arrangement the brake shoe can of course only come into action at
that part of the running surface of the wheel which projects away from over the
main rail. The auxiliary rail S is also somewhat flattened down at both ends, but
raised so far in the middle that the wheel running upon the brake shoe is raised
from the main rail. This arrangement has the advantage of an extraordinary saving
in wear and tear of the main rail as no gliding thereon either of the brake shoe or of
the wheel can take place.
No kind of special arrangement is needed in this latter case for removing the
brake shoe as it never fails to itself fall down at the place where the auxiliary
rail ceases.
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. A device for reducing the speed of moving railway vehicles by means of skid-
brakes characterised by the arrangement near the main rail of an auxiliary rail (S)
adapted to retain the skid-brake in its braking position until the skid-brake reaches
an interruption in, or the end of, the auxiliary rail, substantially as hereinbefore
set forth.
2. In a device of the kind described, a skid-brake having a flange (F) on the
outside adapted to rest laterally (Figure 2) or laterally and beneath (Figure 4) against
the auxiliary rail (S), substantially as described.
3. In a device of the kind described, a tongue (2) adapted to lie against the main

page_text: rail near the end, or the place of interruption, of the auxiliary rail (S) opposite to
the direction of travel in such a way as to insert itself between the main rail and
the lateral flange (F) of the brake shoe and move the latter out of its braking
position, substantially as described.
4. In a device of the kind described, a second auxiliary rail (H) arranged on the
inner side of the main rail, to cause the tread of the wheel to ride up and facilitate
removal of the skid substantially as described.
5. In a device of the kind described, the arrangement of the auxiliary rail (S)
itself to serve for receiving the skid brake in such a way that the latter moves
between the auxiliary rail and the tread of the wheel, substantially as described.
Dated this 27th day of February 1897.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.