Improvements in Railway Car Trucks and in Mechanism connected therewith.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Car Trucks and in Mechanism connected
therewith.
I, LA MARCUS ADNA THOMPSON, of 914 Walnut Street, in the City and
County of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
In my present invention use is made of two-part trucks, whereof each section is
provided with wheels and automatic coupling devices, and is attached to the
extremity of a car-body by means of a king-bolt, so that in practice the respective
cars are coupled together by the trucks instead of by the car-bodies.
The principal objects of my present invention are, first, to couple cars together
automatically at the trucks instead of at the platforms, and consequently to draw a
train of cars by the trucks instead of by the car-bodies, whereby comparatively
little motion or traction-power is required to draw the train around curves, because
the pull exerted by the locomotive tends to straighten the train, and therefore pulls
the wheels of the two-part truck away from the outside rail, thus reducing friction
and obviating in a greater or less degree so-called "Hange-strain," which latter, as
is well known, tends to spread the rails of the permanent way or line; second, to
provide comparatively simple, efficient, and practical devices for automatically
coupling and uncoupling the air-brake pipe, steam-conduit, whistle connection, &c.,
whenever the trucks are coupled or uncoupled, and, third, to afford a better and
safer construction of vestibule and approaches therefor than has hitherto been
possible.
My invention consists of the improvements in railroad cars and trucks hereinafter
fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.
The nature and characteristic features of my present invention will be more
fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the
accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, and in which-
Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the adjacent
extremities of two cars pivoted, respectively, to the two members comprising a two-
part truck connected together, and also illustrating an automatic air or steam pipe
coupling in application thereto.
Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of Fig. 1, showing means for disconnecting the
respective members of the two-part truck to uncouple the cars.
Fig. 3 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the members of a two-part
truck-frame, showing means for automatically connecting the respective parts
together.
Fig. 4 is an end view of the left-hand portion of Fig. 3; and
Fig. 5 is a transverse section, on an enlarged scale, of an appliance for auto-
matically coupling and uncoupling the air-brake, steam-heat, or whistle pipe when
the cars are either coupled or uncoupled.
In the drawings, a are the extremital portions of two adjacent cars provided,

page_text: .
respectively, with an extensible vestibule connection a'. These car-bodies are
respectively mounted on bolster-beams a² and a³ and have the corners of their
respective platforms cut away at a, Fig. 2, in order to permit a train composed of
such cars to traverse curved portions of a road-way a*.
6 is a two-part truck comprising two sections 2 and 3, provided, respectively,
with wheels b, axle-guards 68, axle-boxes 66, springs, and swing-beams 68. The
truck-frame of the truck is made in two parts 10 and 61, and is preferably
composed of box-girders or hollow beams of any preferred form in cross-section-
for example, of wrought-iron pipe.
c, Fig. 3, are draw-heads having the respective shanks thereof fitted into the
upper members of the truck-frame and attached thereto by means of bolts c',
connected with bridge-pieces or in any other preferred manner.
care spiral springs coiled around the bolts c¹ and interposed between the bridge-
pieces and the extremities of the draw-heads c in order to afford the latter a slight
freedom of motion in the direction of the centre of the car-that is, toward the
right in Fig. 1.
e is a shaft supported in suitable journals or bearings attached to the truck-
frames 60 and provided with gripping devices c, having hook-shaped projections c.
The hook-shaped projections are adapted to work in suitable slots e, formed in
the upper members of the truck-frames 10, so as to penetrate into the interior
thereof. Figs. 3 and 4, in order to engage with the draw-heads c when the latter
are inserted into the truck-frames 610, thus firmly attaching the two members b³
and of the truck together.
e is an arm attached to the shaft e and connected with a suitable hand-wheel e²,
located at the platform of the car, so that the gripping devices may be raised
out of engagement with the draw-heads c by the simple operation of actuating the
hand-wheel.
¢
The weight of the gripping devices normally tends to cause the same to assume
a downward position for automatically engaging the draw-heads c; but, if preferred,
said gripping devices may be provided with suitable means for shifting them
downward with a positive motion.
dare bolts having their shanks fitted into the lower members of the truck-
frame and attached thereto by means of bolts d¹ and bridge-pieces d².
dare springs coiled around the shanks of the bolts d and interposed between the
bolts and the bridge-pieces in order to afford the former a slight freedom of
motion toward the centre of the car-that is, toward the right in Fig. 3. These
bolts d penetrate into the interior of the lower members of the truck-frame 610 when
the two sections and 2 of the truck are coupled together, in order to support and
connect the lower members of the truck-frames. If preferred, the bolts d may be
provided with draw-heads adapted to engage with suitable gripping devices attached
to the lower members of the truck-frame 10 and actuated by means of the hand-
wheel e' or in any other preferred manner.
fare king-bolts passing through the bolster-beams a³ and a* and swing-frames 68,
so as to attach the cars to the respective sections and in order to permit
the latter to swivel freely when the cars are uncoupled and in order to permit
the cars to swivel on the truck b when the two sections 6 and are connected
together. The lower extremities of the king-bolts f, located at the opposite
extremities of the cars, are connected together by reach-bars 1, Figs. 1 and 2, so
as to relieve the car-bodies of the strain of the pull of the locomotive or other
prime mover.
gand, Fig. 5, are sections of an air or steam pipe located, respectively, beneath
the car-bodies. The section g' of this pipe is provided with a loose sleeve g*, having
an expanded internally-tapering extremity 9, adapted for the reception of an
externally tapering tip or nozzle g', attached to the section g.
is a spring coiled around the sleeve and having one extremity in contact
with the rim or projection formed upon the extremity of the sleeve and the other
extremity thereof in contact with a bracket ', supported by the swing-beam 6° or

page_text: in any other preferred manner. This spring g' serves to force the sleeve g'
outward that is, toward the left in Fig. 5-and thus insures a tight joint between
the nozzle and expanded extremity 9, so that when the two sections 6 and bª
of the truck are connected together the two sections of pipe g and g¹ are auto-
matically connected together.
The cars a are illustrated in the drawings as having diagonally-disposed corner
portions i, provided with doors for the accommodation of passengers; but these
corner-pieces may, if preferred, be disposed in the usual manner. However, the
diagonally-disposed corner-pieces not only present an attractive appearance, but
also increase the strength and rigidity of the vestibule connection, and therefore
preference is given to their employment.
Cars provided with the hereinabove-described two-part trucks may be coupled
together automatically by forcing the two adjacent ends of the cars together in the
usual manner, so that the draw-heads c are engaged by the gripping devices c and
the bolts d engage with the interior portions of the lower members of the truck-
frames 60, while at the same time the two sections 9 and 1 of the steam or air pipe
are automatically connected by means of the sleeve g, as has been hereinabove
explained. After the truck has been coupled together in the manner above
described the two members 6 and thereof constitute a solid truck. In the
present instance a truck having eight wheels and not exceeding in length an
ordinary eight-wheel truck has been shown, and the adjacent extremities of the two
cars are connected with said truck by means of separate king-bolts, so that the
cars are rigidly connected together at the trucks.
The cars may be readily uncoupled by lifting the gripping devices c out of
engagement with the draw-heads c either by means of the hand-wheel e³ or in any
other convenient manner.
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains
that modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the
spirit of the invention, and hence I do not limit myself to the exact construction
and arrangement of the parts hereinabove described; but,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination, with cars provided with vestibule connections and steps, of
a truck for supporting and connecting adjacent extremities of two cars and com-
prising two sections, pivoted, respectively, to different cars and composed of a frame
having box-girders or hollow beams, draw-heads fitted in and attached to the beams
of one of said frames and adapted to enter the corresponding beams of the second
frame, gripping devices attached to the beams of the second frame and adapted to
engage said draw-heads, and means for actuating said gripping devices, substantially
as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The combination, with cars provided with vestibule connections and steps, of
a truck for supporting and connecting the adjacent extremities of two cars and
comprising two sections composed, respectively, of a frame having upper and lower
girders or beams, draw-heads fitted into and attached to the upper beams of one
frame and adapted to enter the corresponding beams of the second frame, bolts
attached to the lower beams of the first frame and adapted to enter the corre-
sponding beams of the second frame, gripping devices attached to the upper beams
of the second frame and adapted to engage the draw-bars, and means for actuating
the gripping devices, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 21st day of September 1891.
F. W. BARKER,
Applicant's Agent.