A SELF-ACTING RAILWAY BREAK
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robinson Jackson, of the City of Baltimore,
in the State of Maryland and United States of America, for the Invention
of "A SELF-ACTING RAILWAY BREAK."
Sealed the 30th September 1858, and dated the 9th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robinson Jackson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th April 1858.
I, WILLIAM ROBINSON JACKSON, of the City of Baltimore, in the State of
Maryland and United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "A SELF-ACTING RAILWAY BREAK," to be as follows:-
The breaks are relieved by the compression of two horizontal springs attached
to the under part of the truck frame; one of these controls the front, & the
other the rear break bar. When these springs are free the breaks are "down,"
i.c., applied to the wheels; but when the springs are compressed the breaks are
"up" and the wheels free. The compression of the springs to release the
wheels from pressure is effected by the tractive force by means of a horizontal
sliding bar connected with the couplings of the train. This bar, when the
train is drawn forward, compresses the front spring & relieves the front breaks,
and at the same time works a lever connected with rods which compress the
rear spring.

page_text: When the train is backed, this sliding bar is forced against the rear spring
& compresses it, while by an opposite movement of the attached lever, a rod
is caused to act against & compress the forward spring,
Thus, when the tractive force is removed, i.e., when the "lead" of the
engine is taken off, the breaks will instantly be applied throughout the train,
and they will as instantly be released when the "lead" or tractive power of
the locomotive is again applied.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robinson Jackson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBINSON JACKSON, of the City of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland and
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Robinson Jackson, Her special licence that I, the said William
Robinson Jackson, or my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Robinson Jackson, or 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 "A SELF-ACTING RAILWAY BREAK," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Robinson Jackson, or my executors or ad-
ministrators, 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 nianner 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 William Robinson Jackson, 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 follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, in which

page_text: Figure 1 is a bottom view of the improved arrangement; Figure 2 is a
vertical longitudinal section, and Figure 3 an end view of the same.
The nature of the improvement consists in a horizontal compact & little
exposed arrangement of the springs and working parts, and in the substitution
of a double-acting compensating lever for the toggle joint used in my former
Invention.
The same part is designated by the same letter of reference in all the
Figures. A marks the break bars; B, a sliding bar moving horizontally and
longitudinally backwards and forwards; B', an arm projecting at right angles
from the sliding bar B; C, C, break blocks; D, D, pushing bars operating
upon break springs; E, rod, operating slide bar B; F, fulcrum rod, serving as
fulcrum to lover M; G, G, guides, in which slide bar B moves; H, bumper;
K, K, keepers holding the springs in place; L, pivoted lever, working on a
centre attached to the truck frame, and connected at its outer end to arm B¹,
and at its inner end to pushing rods D, D; M, lever, operating rod E, and
working on end of rod F as a fulcrum, its upper end being connected with
bar N of the coupler; N, jawed piece or bar working in the bumper and
forming part of the coupling; O, bolt, controlling the back action of bar N,
in the manner described in my first Patent; P, centre piece firmly fastened
to frame T, and to which rod F is pivoted; R, attaching rods connecting the
break bars with the pushing rods D, D; S, S, break springs; T, T, frame
timbers. The inner ends of pushing bars D, D, are provided with slots,
through which the pin that connects them with lever L passes. These slots
are so arranged that when lever L moves one of the rods in one direction, the
other rod is free to move in the opposite direction.
The operation is as follows:-The springs S, S, being fastened at K, K, and
having their free ends towards the centre of the truck frame, when in extension
draw the break bars, A, A, towards said centre by means of the attaching rods
R, R; hence, when the springs are uncompressed, the break blocks C, C,
are applied to the wheels. This is the normal condition of the breaks when
the vehicle to which they are applied is at rest.
When the tractive power is applied to the bar N, the lever M is drawn
forward, and with it the rod E and slide bar B. The front end of the bar B
acting against the rear of the forward spring, compresses it, and causes the rod
R to force the break bar A with the blocks C away from the front wheels,
and leave them free to revolve. By the same movement of bar B, the outer
end of lever L, which is pivoted to the arm B', is moved. forward, and the
inner end of it moved backward. This inner end of lever L is connected with
pushing bar D, which acts against the front side of the rear spring; hence,

page_text: when this end is moved backward, the rear spring is compressed and releases
the rear breaks simultaneously and in the same manner with the front breaks.
In backing, the same result is obtained by the opposite action of the parts.
The same coupler is employed that is described in my previous Patent, and
operates to keep the breaks down when the carriages crowd upon each other
by virtue of their momentum, after the lead of the engine is taken off, as
described in the Specification of my previous Patent. It also allows the breaks
to be released in backing at the will of the engineer, by the retraction of
backing bolt O, in the manner described in my previous Specification.
It is obvious that this improved break is applicable, by such simple modifi-
cations as would suggest themselves at once to a skilful carriage builder, to
omnibuses, carriages, waggons, and other vehicles. I contemplate and claim
its application to these, and have repeatedly so applied it.
Having thus described my Invention, what I claim under the above in part
recited Letters Patent is, the arrangement of parts herein described, or its
equivalent, for the simultaneous compression of the forward and rear springs,
and the consequent operation of the breaks, the same consisting in the com-
bination of the lever L with the slide bar B, and pushing rods D, D, constructed,
arranged, and operating substantially in the manner and applied to the
purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robinson Jackson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
WILLIAM ROBINSON JACKSON.
(L.S.)
Witness,
JOHN S. WRIGHT.