IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE MEANS OF APPLYING THE SAME
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clark, of 3, Orchard Street, Paddington, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE MEANS OF APPLYING THE SAME."
Sealed the 12th November 1867, and dated the 13th May 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clark at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th May
1867.
1, JOHN CLARK, of 3, Orchard Street, Paddington, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE MEANS OF APPLYING THE SAME,"
to be as follows.-
The improvements which constitute this Invention relate in part to.
continuous breaks or those applied over several carriages of a train, and in
part to ordinary breaks on a single vehicle of a train, and to the means of.
applying the same. The objects of the Invention are, first, to obtain the power,
for applying the breaks from the axles or wheels of the train when in motion;.
secondly, to regulate the power so obtained as required; thirdly to introduce

page_text: between the force applied and the break blocks self-adjusting media for com-
pensating the wear of the said blocks; fourthly, to prevent the jar or tremour
in or of the carriages when the breaks are applied; and, lastly, to improve
certain parts of the mechanism by which the ordinary breaks are applied.
The means by which I propose to effect the said improvements are as
follows:-
First, to obtain the operating power from the axles or wheels of the several
carriages to which breaks are fitted, I fix at or near the centre of one axle
of the carriage an eccentric drum or wheel; I suspend from the framing
of the carriage a forked lever or eccentric strap to gear with said drum, so
that when the axle revolves a reciprocating motion is given to said lever.
I fit a pawl or catch to the said lever, and by it operate a ratchet or toothed
wheel having a pinion on its spindle which gears into a rack on the draw
rod of the break, and thus when the axle revolves in either direction draws
on the blocks by means of the pinion and rack described. I propose also
instead of fixing an eccentric wheel to the axle to obtain the same result by
mounting an eccentric wheel in contact with the axle, and applying the
mechanism above described thereto.
Another plan which I propose to use for obtaining the power is by
dispensing with the ratchet wheel and pinion above described and
substituting therefor a pawl fitted to a suspending link to take directly into
a ratchet rack on the draw rod, or in lieu of the said pawl and rack I use a
plain rod and gripping or cramping pawl.
Secondly, to regulate the power so obtained as required I introduce
between the ratchet wheel and the pinion above described a friction clutch
or male and female cones regulated by a compressing spring or other
media, so that the friction power of the said cones when in contact with
each other shall be the limit of the break power. Instead of the cones
described I also use discs either plain or having annular rings or grooves
to lock into each other on their faces.
Thirdly, to introduce self adjusting media for compensating the wear of
the blocks I use the friction cones or discs described, which in consequence
of their slipping after the breaks are applied until the train stops keep the
blocks forward against the wheels as they wear.
Fourthly, to prevent the jar on the carriages when the breaks are applied
I also propose to suspend the block hangers from the carriage framing at or
nearly over the centre of the wheels,so as to alter the pulling line of the blocks
from a vertical to a horizontal direction. I propose also instead of the single
thrust rods usually applied to operate the blocks by double or bridle rods

page_text: placing one above and one below the centre line of the wheels. The wheel
and rods are thus made to sustain the jar instead of the framing or slide
bars as at present.
Lastly, to improve certain parts of the mechanism, of ordinary breaks
I propose to substitute for the present hand screw and bell-crank arrange-
ment two or more wheels and pinions or worm and pitch wheel, and to
introduce the friction cones or discs above described, thereby preventing
the wheels of the van from being skidded, also compensating for the wear
of the blocks as described under the third above head.
The preceeding description refers to each carriage in which the break is
complete in itself, and to enable the guard or driver to operate the whole or
any number of carriage breaks at one time I pass a light chain, wire, line or
cord along the train with suitable apparatus in the van or other carriage
occupied by the guard for pulling in said line a few feet, and on the engine or
tender I fit similar apparatus; or I introduce a small steam cylinder for
pulling the said line to the extent required. The line is coupled at each
carriage length, and is laid transversely from side to side at the ends, so as to
compensate for the shrink of the buffers. Instead of the line I also operate
the several breaks by a central longitudinal rotating rod with suitable
telescopic couplings to allow for the shrink of the buffers. The line being
pulled or the rod turned acts on the said pawls and throws the above-
described mechanism into or out of gear, so that in the latter case in the
event of a carriage coupling breaking or part of the train becoming detached
the break mechanism will be self-applied.
In applying the break to eight-wheeled carriages having the extreme wheels
at each end to radiate, I propose to suspend break blocks in hangers having a
universal or sliding joint suspended from the framing, and connected to a cross
rib joining the two hangers, at each end, I attach pulling rods operated from
the centre rocking shaft or from the lever at or near the centre of it; the
blocks are thus pulled on when the rocking shaft turns. The blocks for the
centre wheels I suspend and operate by thrust rods from the rocking shaft in
the usual way. When I apply the break to carriages or engines wherein the
wheels are placed very close to each other I propose to arrange a top and
bottom pair of double or V-shaped blocks. I work these blocks by right and
left hand screws, coupling the top and bottom pairs, which screws are actuated
by suitable levers or other apparatus from the foot plate of the engine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
November 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CLARK, of 3, Orchard Street, Paddington, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Clark, Her special licence that I, the said John Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Clark, 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
RAILWAY BREAKS, AND IN THE MEANS OF APPLYING THE SAME," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Clark, my executors or adminis
trators, 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 John Clark, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The improvements which constitute this Invention relate in part to
continuous breaks or those applied in several carriages, and in part to ordinary
breaks in single vehicles of the train, and to the means of applying the same.
The objects of this Invention are, first, to obtain the power for applying the
breaks from the axles or wheels of the train when in motion; secondly, to
regulate the power so obtained as required; thirdly, to introduce between the
force applied and the break blocks self-adjusting media, for compensating
the wear of the blocks; fourthly, to prevent the jar or pressure on the
carriages when the blocks are applied, and lastly to improve certain parts
of the mechanism by which the ordinary blocks are applied.

page_text: The means by which I propose to effect the said improvements are as
follows: First, to obtain the operating power from the axles or wheels of the
several carriages to which breaks are fitted, I fix at or near the centre of one
axle in the carriage au excentric drum or wheel; I suspend from the framing
of the carriage a forked lever or excentric strap to gear with the said drum,
so that when the axle revolves a reciprocating motion is given to the said
lever; I fit a pawl or catch to the said lever, and by it operate a ratchet or
tooth wheel having a pinion in its spindle which gears into a rack in the draw
rod of the break, and this when the axle revolves in either direction draws on
the blocks by means of the pinion and rack described. I propose also instead
of fixing an eccentric wheel on the axle to obtain the same result by running
an excentric wheel in contact with the axle, and applying the mechanism above
described thereto.
Another plan which I propose to use to obtain the power is dispensing
with the ratchet wheel and pinion above described and substituting therefor
a pawl fitted to a suspending link to take directly into a ratchet rack on the
draw rod; or in lieu of the said pawl and rack I use a plain rod and gripping
or cramping pawl.
Secondly, to regulate the power so obtained as required I introduce between
the ratchet wheel and pinions above described a friction clutch or male and
female cones regulated by a compressing spring or other media, so that the
friction power of the said cones shall be the limit of the break power. Instead
of the cones descibed I also use discs either plain or having annual rings or
grooves to lock with each other on their faces.
Thirdly, to introduce self-adjusting media for compensating the wear of the
blocks, I use the friction cones or discs described, which in consequence of
their slipping after the breaks are applied, and until the train stops, keep the
blocks forward as they were, and to equalize the wear of the blocks I reduce
the size or thickness of the fore blocks.
I
Fourthly, to prevent the jar in the carriages when the breaks are applied,
propose to suspend from the carriage framing at or nearly over the centre
of the wheels so as to alter the pulling line of the blocks from a vertical to a
horizontal direction. I propose also instead of the single thrust as usually
applied, to operate the blocks with a double or bridle rod, one above and one
below the centre line of the wheel; the wheel is thus made to sustain the
jar instead of the framing or slide break as at present.
Lastly, to improve certain parts of the mechanism of ordinary breaks, I
propose to substitute for the present hand screw or bell crank arrangement
two or more wheels and pinions, or worm and pitch wheel, and to introduce the

page_text: friction cones or discs above described, thereby preventing the wheels of the
van or carriage being skidded, also compensating for the wear of the blocks
as described under the third above head.
The preceding description refers to each carriage in which the break is
complete in itself, and to enable the guard or driver to operate the whole or
any number of carriages at one time I pass a light chain, wire line, or cord
along the train with suitable apparatus in the van or other carriage occupied
by the guard for pulling in the said line a few feet, and in the engine or
tender I fit similar apparatus; or I introduce a small steel cylinder for pulling
the said line to the extent required. The line is coupled at each carriage
length, and is led transversely from side to side at the ends so as to compensate
for the shrink of the buffers; instead of the line I also operate the several
breaks by a central longitudinal relating rod with suitable telescopic couplings
To allow for the shrink of the buffers the line being pulled or the rod turned
acts on the said parts and throws the above described mechanism into or
out of gear, so that in the latter case in the event of a carriage coupling
breaking or part of the train becoming detached the break mechanism will
be self-applied.
In applying the break to eight-wheeled carriages having the extreme
wheels at each end to radiate, I propose to suspend break blocks in hangers
having a universal or sliding joint suspended from the framing and connected
to a cross rib joining the two hangers, at each end I attach pulling rods
operated from the centre rocking shaft or from the lever at or near the centre
of it; the blocks are thus pulled in when the rocking shaft turns. The
blocks for the centre wheels I suspend, and operate by thrust rods from the
rocking shaft in the usual way. When I apply the break to carriages or
engines when the wheels are placed very close to each other, I propose to
arrange a top and bottom pair of double or V shaped blocks; I work these
blocks by right and left-hand screws coupling the top and bottom pairs,
which screws are actuated by suitable levers or other apparatus from the
foot plate of the engine.
'
I now proceed to describe the said Invention more particularly, reference
being made to the accompanying Drawings, lettered A, B, and C, respectively
and to which Drawings the following explanation applies:-..
EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS.

page_text: Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the winder; Figs. 3 and 4, enlarged plan
and elevation of the break mechanism, of which Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10
are details attached.
a is a winding wheel or drum at the end of a rotating shaft a¹; upon the
bottom part of this shaft a screw thread is cut and a nut fixed; b is a locking
nut fitted to the screwed portion of the shaft a¹; the said nut is prevented
from turning horizontally by the limb b' and fixed pin b³, upon which and the
screwed portion of the sheft a', it slides vertically as the latter is turned. To
the drum a the free end of a continuous wire line is attached, which line runs
under the carriages fitted with the improved break, the mechanism of which is
so arranged that the slackening of this line by the driver, guard, or other
attendant in charge of the train; the break mechanism, however, can be so
arranged that the tightening of this line shall cause the power to operate the
breaks. By gearing the mechanism to operate by the slackening of the said
line in case part of the train so fitted should break away, the breaks would be
self-applied by the rupture of the line. The object of the locking nut b, before
described, on the winder shaft is to limit the revolutions of the latter, so that
the line may not be tightened or slackened to too great an extent. A similar
winding mechanism may be fitted to the van to enable the guard to apply
the breaks in conjunction with or independent of the driver.
c, Figs. 1, 3, and 4, Drawing A, is the wire line in connection with the
tender, having suitable spring couplings as each carriage end; d, d, are
bearing pulleys fixed to the under framing of the carriage, and over which the
line c passes; e is the axle of the carriage; f, an excentric fixed thereto; g, a
lubricating rim or ring fitted upon the excentric; his a lever formed with a
saddle end, which saddle when the cord is slackened rests upon and partly
embraces the excentric upon the axle, and is lifted clear of the said excentric
by the cord passing under the pulley h', or otherwise, when the said cord is
tightened. When the saddle is in gear with the excentric the latter imparts
a forward and backward motion to the lever, the opposite end of which lever
is supported by the links 2. i and j are cones; k, a circular ratchet formed
upon the periphery of the outer cone; 7, the lever pawl which propels the
ratchet and conej by the forward and backward movements of the lever. The
conej propels the cone i. m is a shaft to which the cone i is fixed; upon
this shaft a small pinion, not shown in the Drawing, is also firmly keyed.
n is a rack on the end of a draw rod n'; this rack is in gear with the pinion
last mentioned, and as the shaft m is turned is drawn forward, as shown by
the arrow; the opposite end of the draw rod is coupled to a lever fixed to
the ordinary rocking shaft, by which the break blocks are drawn or forced

page_text: home against the peripheries of the wheels in the ordinary way. o is a holding
pawl which keeps the motion imparted to the ratchet as the latter is turned
by the lever pawl 1; p is a connecting rod between the lever and holding
pawls; when the lever is lifted clear of the excentric, as shown at Fig. 1, the
holding pawl is thereby lifted clear of the ratchet, and both cones and pinion
before described are free to rotate and allow the draw rod to run back and
release the breaks; the back motion of this rod may be caused by a spring or
weight, is a spring exerting its force against the inner cone and pressing
it into frictional contact with the ratchet cone. r,adjusting nuts for regulating
the power of the spring. When the break rod n¹ is drawn forward to the
extent required or sufficiently to apply the break, its motion will be arrested
and the outer cone will begin to slip upon the inner one, and thus while the
break power is maintained by the friction of the cones the sliding of the outer
upon the inner one will prevent any injurious effect to the mechanism
while the lever continues in motion. The breaks upon one, two, or any
number of carriages may be actuated by the running line in the manner
described.
For increasing the frictional power of the cones I propose to form them in
the manner shewn at Figures 5 and 6, Drawing B, where i, i, is the inner
cone made in two parts with a space between them in the centre, j being the
outer or ratchet cone; in this case the inner cones slide longitudinally upon
the shaft m, but are prevented from turning thereon by the key m. By
forcing the two halves of the inner cone together by a spring, screws, or other
equivalents, the friction power at their peripheries will be increased.
Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10, Drawing B, shew the modes of forming and fitting
the eccentrics upon the axles. Figures 7 and 8 shew the plan when the
eccentric is in one piece; and Figures 9 and 10 when it is formed with cast
metal centre. In lubricating these eccentrics the oil passes between the
outer surface of the eccentric and the inner surface of the lubricating ring
shewn at Fig. 3.
Figure 11, Drawing B, shews an elevation of an eight-wheeled carriage,
having the ordinary rocking shaft break applied to the four inner wheels, and
a new pulling rod arrangement for extending the break to the four outer
or end wheels. s is the usual centre lever, formed with an elongation to
correspond with the ordinary double crank side levers of the common break.
In the upper portion of the levers a hole is drilled at s, and a similar hole
at så, at which points pulling and pushing rods are attached; t, t, are the
pushing rods, and u, u, the pulling rods, which run along about midway
between the wheels, are respectively connected at their opposite ends to bars

page_text: of iron, which stretch across the carriage from the block on one side to that
on the other.
Figure 12, Drawing B, is intended to illustrate a new mode of forming
and fitting the break blocks for the purpose of lessening the tremor of the
carriages when the break is applied. a is a bridle rod intended to be used in
lieu of the ordinary single thrust rod; b, b, two segmental blocks, with a
space b between them; c,c, are light spiral springs, by which the blocks are
suspended from the carriage frame.
Figure 13, Drawing A, is an elevation of a carriage shewing another mode
of applying the break power, in which case it is transmitted direct to the draw
rod by a vertical lever.
Figure 14, Drawing A, shews the details of the mechanism on an enlarged
scale. d is the axle; e, an eccentric keyed thereon; f, a vertical lever centred
at f, and fitted with the lever, pawlf; g, a rack at the end of the draw rod
or attached thereto, into which the pawl of the lever f² gears; is a second
lever pawl, to the end of which a bearing pulley h is fitted. The motion of
the forked lever is continuous while the train is in motion, but operates the
draw rod only while the lever pawl f' is in gear therewith; i is the running
cord or wire which passes over the two bearing pullies i and under the bearing
pulley h; by tightening this line the end of the lever h is raised, and also
lifts the lever f both out of gear with the rack. To apply the break the line i
is slackened as here shewn, when the gravitating power of the levers of the
pawls f2 and h, throws them into gear with the rack g; supposing the train to
be in motion the eccentric e will impart a forward and backward movement
to the lever f, and by its pawl f2, cause the draw rod to advance in the direc-
tion shewn by the arrow; the increment of motion being sustained by the
holding pawl h; j is a spring bearing, upon which the rack is supported when
the pawls are thrown out of gear and the break power taken off. In order to
prevent injury to the mechanism by the continual motion of the lever, when
the draw rod has been worked forward a sufficient distance to apply the breaks
effectively the centre f' of the lever yields in the direction shewn by the
arrow f³; kisaspring formed by rings of vulcanised india-rubber or otherwise,
against which the shoulder of the centre pin f¹ of the lever rests; is a set
screw and nut for regulating the power of the spring as required; l' is a slot
in the plate l,for allowing the centre for allowing the centre rod to recede. The
yielding of the spring / in this case answers the same purpose as the slipping of
the outer upon the inner cone, before described in explanation of Drawing A.
Figs. 14 and 15, shew a side and end elevation of an improved break
intended for engines or carriages where the wheels are very close together.

page_text: Thirdly, the levers and pawls with yielding and adjusting fulcra.
Lastly, the novel mode of or arrangement for applying breaks by slackening
continuous wire, line, cord, or chain, running along any numberofcarriages.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of November, in the year of cur
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
JNO. CLARK. (L.B.)