Improvements in Track-brakes for Railway Cars.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 16th May, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Feb., 1897-Accepted, 3rd Apr.. 1397
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Track-brakes for Railway Cars.
We LOUIS KNEEDLER, of Caledonia, in the County of Ringgold, and State of
Iowa, and EUGENE VORPE and JOHN SMITH EVERETT, both of Mount Ayr, in
the County of Ringgold, and State of Iowa, all in the United States of America,
Gentlemen do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The invention relates to improvements in track-brakes for railway and other cars.
The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of track-brakes
and to provide a simple, inexpensive and efficient one, capable of being readily
mounted on a car-truck and of being connected with the ordinary brake-operating
mechanism and adapted to be quickly brought into operative position and to check
and stop a train in a short interval of time.
A pair of similar brake-shoes are disposed horizontally and located centrally of a
truck between the wheels thereof and adapted to be moved vertically and to be carried
downward into engagement with the rails to stop a car or train of cars, and thereby
avoid the wear and injury resulting from brake-shoes being applied to the wheels of
The brake-shoes are provided at their inner sides with flanges to prevent them
from leaving the rails, and they are mounted on vertically-movable bars or shanks,
mounted in vertical sockets which are secured to the transom of a car-truck or to any
other suitable portion thereof.
The shanks or bars are rectangular in cross-section and the openings of the
sockets are of like configuration, and the sockets are provided with vertical slots,
receiving crank-arms of a lever-frame on which the brake-shoes are operated.
The lever frame is composed of two converging sides or bars each provided at one
end with a crank-bend, which is journaled in a bearing, and which extends
through the adjacent slot and fits in an opening of the adjacent shank or bar,
whereby the latter is connected with the lever-frame.
The lever frame is supported by a triangular brace having its bottom or base
interposed between the divergent or separated portions of the sides of the lever-
frame and connected at its top or apex with the adjacent ends of the sides of the
lever frame by a bar.
The lever frame is adapted to be operated by hand by means of the ordinary
construction of brake-shaft having a hand-wheel and mounted on a car, and connected
by a chain with rod connections, the chain being adapted to be wound around the
shaft in the usual manner. The inner terminal of the rod connections is designed to
be connected by a chain with the brake mechanism at the other end of the car, and
the chain of the truck passes over a pulley and is connected to the upper or outer end
of the lever-frame. The lever frame may also be attached to any suitable air-brake
connections, so that the brake may be applied either by hand or by compressed air or
the like.
Dated this 16th day of May 1896
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Track-brakes for Railway Cars.
We, LOUIS KNEEDLER, of Caledonia, in the County of Ringgold, and State of
Iowa, and EUGENE VORPE, and JOHN SMITH EVERETT, both of Mount Ayr, in
the County of Ringgold, and State of Iowa, all in the United States of America,
Gentlemen, 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 invention relates to improvements in track-brakes for railway and other
cars. The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of track-
brakes and to provide a simple, inexpensive and efficient one capable of being
readily mounted on a car-truck, and of being connected with the ordinary brake-
operating mechanism and adapted to be quickly brought into operative position and
to check and stop a train in a short interval of time.
The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrange-
ment of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one end of a car provided with a
track-brake constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a reverse
plan view of the same.
Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view.
Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the brake lever.
Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the brake shoes.
Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the sockets of the shanks of the brake shoes.
Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the
drawings.
1, 1, designate a pair of similar brake-shoes disposed horizontally and located
centrally of a truck between the wheels thereof and adapted to be moved vertically and
to be carried downward into engagement with the rails to stop a car or train of cars,
and thereby avoid the wear and injury resulting from brake-shoes being applied to
the wheels of a car. The brake-shoes are provided at their inner sides with flanges 2
to prevent them from leaving the rails, and they are mounted on vertically-movable
bars or shanks 3, mounted in vertical sockets 4, which are secured to the transom 5
of a car-truck 6, or to any other suitable portion thereof.
The shanks or bars 3 are rectangular in cross-section, and the openings of the
sockets 4 are of like configuration, and the sockets 4 are provided with vertical
slots 7 receiving crank-arms 8 of a lever-frame 9 on which the brake-shoes are
operated.
The lever-frame is composed of two converging sides or bars 10 each provided at
one end with a crank-bend, which is journaled in a bearing 11, and which extends
through the adjacent slot 7 and fits in an opening of the adjacent shank or bar 3,
whereby the latter is connected with the lever-frame.
The lever-frame is supported by a triangular brace 12, having its bottom or base
interposed between the divergent or separated portions of the sides 10 of the
lever-frame and connected at its top or apex with the adjacent ends of the sides
of the lever frame by a bar 13. This construction forms a powerful lever-frame and
the latter is adapted to raise and lower the brake-shoes simultaneously, and the
brake-shoes being centrally disposed beneath the truck over the rails are adapted to
lift the car, so that the entire weight of the latter will be utilized for stopping it.
The lever-frame is adapted to be operated by hand by means of the ordinary
construction of brake-shaft 14 having a hand-wheel, and mounted on the car 15, and

page_text: connected by a chain 16 with rod connections 17 the chain 16 being adapted to he
wound around the shaft in the usual manner. The inner terminal of the ro
connections 17 is designed to be connected by a chain 18 with the brake mechanism at
the other end of the car, and the chain 18 of the truck 6 passes over a pulley 19 and
is connected to the upper or outer end of the lever-frame. The lever-frame may also
be attached to any suitable air-brake connections, so that the brake may be applied
either by hand or by compressed air or the like.
It will be seen that the brake is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction,
that it is adapted to be readily mounted on the ordinary construction of car-trucks, and
that it possesses great power, as the entire weight of a car may be utilized in the
application of the brake."
It will also be seen that the brake-shoes will not leave the rails, and that by
operating on the latter instead of the wheels of a car all the injurious effects incident
to car-wheel brakes are obviated.
Changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be
resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the
advantages of this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. In a track-brake, the combination of a truck, sockets mounted on the truck and
located at opposite sides thereof and provided with vertical openings and having slots
communicating with the openings, brake-shoes provided with bars or shanks arranged
in the openings of the sockets, a lever-frame journaled on the truck and provided at
opposite sides with crank-arms extending through the slots of the sockets and.
connected with the shanks of the brake-shoes, means for operating the lever-frame,
substantially as described.
2. In a track-brake, the combination of a truck, vertically-movable brake-shoes, and
a lever-frame journaled on the truck and composed of divergent sides having
crank-arms connected with the brake-shoes a triangular brace extending upward from
and interposed between the divergent ends of the sides of the frame, and a bar
extending from the top or apex of the triangular brace to the adjacent ends of the -
sides of the frame, substantially as described.
Dated this 3rd day of February 1897.
BOULL & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.