Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1893

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Railway Vehicles.
of.
We, WILLIAM BARNET ANDERSON and GEORGE LEE DAUGHERTY,
Elizabethtown, in the County of Hardin and State of Kentucky, 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 brakes.
The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic brake for railroad
cars, adapted to be applied by the latter on a down grade in crowding on one another,
and capable of being readily thrown out of such operation and of preventing such
operation when it is desired to back the cars.
The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement
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 side elevation of a portion of a train of cars provided with an
automatic brake constructed in accordance with this invention.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view.
Fig. 3 is a reverse plan view of one end of a car.
Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view, and
Fig. 5 is a reverse plan view of the tender.
Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the
drawings.
с
The improvements hereinafter specifically described are connected with and
applied to the ordinary construction of brake rod which is usually connected by a
chain with a vertical shaft having a hand-wheel at the upper end, the transverse
brake-bars which carry the brake shoes, and the levers and connections being of
the ordinary construction.
°
1 designates a brake-operating lever fulcrumed on the outer end of bar 2, and
extending upward from beneath a car 3, and having its lower end connected by a
spiral spring 4 with a brake-rod 5, which is connected in the usual manner with
brake-bars 6 carrying shoes 7. The upper portion of the lever 1 is bent outward
and provided with an enlarged head 8 which is adapted to engage a similar head
of an operating lever on another car, whereby in running down grade when the
cars crowd together and forward, the upper ends of the levers will be forced
inward, thereby drawing on the brake rods 5. and applying the brakes. The
operating lever has its upper portion arranged in an opening of a guide 9, in order
to insure the operating levers of adjacent cars properly engaging each other.
The fulcrum bar 2 is arranged at its front end in a hanger plate 10 and has its
rear portion mounted in a casing 11 and normally engaged by a gravity latch
lever 12 which is arranged to close the way 13 of the casing to prevent the fulcrum
bar 2 moving rearward; but which is adapted to disengage the fulcrum bar to
allow the latter to move inwardly to release the brake and relieve the wheels of
the brake-shoes instantly. The casing is provided with an opening communicating
with the way 13; the gravity latch lever 12 is disposed transversely of the car and
is fulcrumed on the casing; and it has its end 15 bent upward as shown in Figure 4.
The lever 12 is fulcrumed near its turned up end 15, and the weight of the longer
arm or portion is sufficient to hold the end 15 in its normal position and to prevent
the fulcrum bar 2 moving inward thus forming a rigid fulcrum for the operating

page_text: lever 1. The fulcrum bar has disposed on it between a flange or stop 16 and the
front end of the casing 11, a spiral spring 17 adapted to throw the fulcrum bar
outward after the same has been moved inward in releasing the brake to cause the
fulcrum bar to be automatically locked rigidly in position for an application of the
brake, as soon as the operating lever is relieved of pressure.
The long arm of the gravity latch lever is raised to release the brake by a
push-rod 18, which is provided on its upper side with oppositely-disposed wedge-
shaped lugs 19 arranged on opposite sides of the lever 12, whereby when the
push-rod is moved in either direction one of the lugs will engage the lever 12 and
release the fulcrum bar. A push-rod section is arranged at each end of a car, but
instead of employing two push-rod sections to a car a continuous rod may be
employed. The inner ends of the push-rods are connected by a turn-buckle 20,
and the outer end of each is provided with a circular head 21 adapted to fit
against a similar head of the push-rod of another car, whereby when a train of
cars are coupled together the push-rods will practically form one continuous rod
and will require when the cars are crowded together but little movement to actuate
all of the push-rods.
The push-rods 18 which prevent the automatic application of the brake during
backing, do not project beyond the extreme edges or bulged faces of the draw-
leads, and cannot accidentally come in contact during the passage of the train.
They are maintained in and returned to their normal position by the spiral
springs 24 and are entirely under the control of the engineer. The brake will
always be automatic unless the engineer operates the push-rods to produce a
contrary effect. After the push-rods have been operated they will be returned to
their normal positions by the springs 24.
It will thus be seen that the push-rods cannot accidentally come in contact und
be operated, and that the brake is capable of automatic operation at all times,
unless the engineer, who has entire control of the push-rods, operates the latter.
Each push-rod section is suspended in a hanger 22 and is prevented turning by a
vertical guide 23 to maintain the lugs in operative position, and the guide is
arranged adjacent to the lugs at which point the rod is preferably flattened. The
guide rods of each car are maintained in proper position by spiral springs 24
disposed between transverse beams or bolsters 25 and shoulders or stops 26. When
.cars are of such construction that the push-rods cannot be arranged beneath them,
they may be located at the sides; and on the tender 27 is mounted a main push-
rod 28 which has its rear end connected by a lever 29 with a push-rod section 30.
The front end of the main push-rod 28 may be operated by a hand-lever 32 or a
piston 33 of a cylinder 34 designed to be controlled by suitable means on the engine
of a train.
In applying the improvements herein described to a car the vertical shaft for
operating the brake and a chain thereof need not be removed, to enable the brake
to be applied by the ordinary means. The spiral spring 4 is of sufficient strength
to permit the brake to be readily applied, but in case the strain or pressure exerted
by loaded cars should be of such a nature as would break the operating levers the
springs would give sufficiently to prevent such breakage.
When the cars of a train travelling down a steep incline crowd forward on one
another the brakes will be applied, but as soon as the engine draws on any car it
will move the same forward and carry its operating lever away from the adjacent
one, thereby releasing the wheels of that car. It will thus be apparent that the
cars will be automatically and successively relieved of their brakes in starting a
train.
The push-rods are designed to prevent the application of the brakes in backing,
but if cars be standing on an incline the push-rods may be employed to relieve them
of the brakes to start them.
The construction, operation and the advantages of the invention will readily be
understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be

page_text: 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. The combination of a car having a brake provided with a brake-rod, an
operating lever mounted on the car and having one end connected with said brake
rod and extending upward and having its upper end arranged to engage a similar
operating lever of another car, and means for shifting the fulcrum of the lever
whereby the brake will be released and the lever will be prevented from operating,.
substantially as described.
2. The combination of a car, a brake having a brake-rod, a fulcrum bar mounted
on the car and having a longitudinal movement thereon, an operating lever-
fulcrumed on said bar and connected with the brake-rod, a gravity latch lever
arranged to engage the fulcrum bar to prevent the same moving inward, and
means for disengaging the latch lever from the fulcrum bar, substantially as
described.
3. The combination of a car, a brake having a brake-rod, a longitudinally-
movable fulcrum bar mounted on the car, a latch lever arranged to engage the
fulcrum bar to lock the same against longitudinal movement an operating lever
fulcrumed on said bar and connected with the brake-rod, and a push-rod having a
bevelled lug arranged to engage the latch lever to lift the same out of engagement.
with the fulcrnm bar, substantially as described.
4. The combination of a car, a brake having a brake-rod, a longitudinally-
movable fulcrum bar mounted on the car, a brake-operating lever pivoted to the
fulcrum bar and connected with the brake-rod, a pivoted latch lever arranged to
engage the fulcrum bar to lock the same against longitudinal movement, a push
rod provided with oppositely-disposed bevelled lugs arranged at each side of the
latch lever whereby when the push-rod is moved in either direction the latch
lever will be lifted out of engagement with the fulcrum bar, substantially as.
described.
5. The combination of a car, a brake having a brake-rod, a longitudinally-
movable fulcrum bar mounted on the car, an operating lever pivoted to the fulcrum
bar and connected with the brake-rod, a pivoted latch lever arranged to engage the
fulcrum bar, a push-rod extending beneath the car and provided with a head to
engage the head of a similar push-rod and provided with bevelled lugs arranged at
each side of the latch-lever, substantially as described.
6. The combination of a car, a brake having a brake-rod, a movable fulcrum bar
mounted on the car, an operating lever pivoted to the fulcrum bar and connected
with the brake-rod, a pivoted latch lever arranged to engage the fulcrum bar to
hold the same against movement, and a push-rod extending beneath the car and
provided at each end with a head to engage a similar head of another push-rod and
provided with oppositely-disposed bevelled lugs arranged on each side of the latch
lever, and a spiral spring disposed on the push-rod to return the same to its normal
position, substantially as described.
7. The combination of a car, a brake having a brake-rod, a movable fulcrum bar
mounted on the car, an operating lever pivoted to the fulcrum bar and connected
with the brake-rod, a casing having a way and receiving the inner end of the
fulcrum bar and provided with an opening communicating with said way, a pivoted
latch lever having one end bent upward and arranged at said opening and a push-
rod for lifting the latch lever out of engagement with the fulcrum bar substantially
as described.
8. The combination with a train of cars, brakes arranged on the cars and having
brake-rods, fulcrum bars mounted for movement on the cars, operating levers
pivoted to the fulcrum bars and connected with the brake rods and provided with
engaging heads, latch-levers for holding the fulcrum bars against movement,

page_text: push-rods extending beneath the cars and provided at the ends of the same with
engaging heads and having oppositely-bevelled lugs for engaging the latch levers,
and means for actuating the push-rods, substantially as described.
9. The combination with a push-rod section 30 having a head, a main push-rod 28,
a lever connecting the rear end of the main push-rod 28 with the push-rod section,
and a cylinder having a piston connected with the main push-rod, of a brake having
a brake-rod, a longitudinally-movable fulcrum bar, an operating lever pivoted to the
fulcrum bar and connected with the brake-rod, a pivoted latch lever arranged to
engage the fulcrum bar, and a push-rod section adapted to disengage the latch
lever and arranged to be engaged by the push-rod section 30, substantially as
described.
Dated this 8th day of September 1893.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.