IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MEANS OF APPLYING CARRIAGE AND CERTAIN OTHER SPRINGS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
BUCKWELL, of the Artificial Granite Works, Battersea, in the County of Surrey,
Civil Engineer, and GEORGE FISHER, of Taff Vale Railway, Cardiff, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of April
One thousand eight hundred and fifty, in the thirteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said William
Buckwell and George Fisher, 'our exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said William
Buckwell and George Fisher, our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said William Buckwell and George Fisher, our exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
AND MEANS OF APPLYING CARRIAGE AND CERTAIN OTHER SPRINGS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the said William Buckwell and
George Fisher, or one of us, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of
one of us, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after, the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will and more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
William Buckwell and George Fisher, do hereby declare that the nature of our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, arc
fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon (that is to say):-
First, our Invention consists of improvements in the construction of springs
by which the tensile strength or application of metal is brought into action in
giving elasticity or pliability, and the application of such springs to act against
the force or load in the direction of their tensile strength.
Secondly, our Invention consists of improvements in the application of
carriage and certain other springs to act in buffing and traction in the same,
and one. centre line of the load or force on the springs in the tensile direction.
of their strength.
In order that our Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us in carry-
ing out the first part of our Invention. In doing so, we will first remark, that
springs termed bearing springs, or those used to act against the effect of impact
or pressure on or of a load or force, and other springs have heretofore been con-
structed and applied as a segmental, curved, or other pliable beam; the elasticity
or action causing a diminishing of the curve or increase of the chord of the curve
at right angles, more or less to the direction of the load or force; the springs being-
applied to act against the load or force, more or less, at right angles to the chord
of the curved or segmental pliable beam, other springs, being straight pliable
beams, being applied to act in the same direction, the strain of action being
transverse. These springs have generally been constructed of a weight of
fifty pounds and upwards to every ton of load acting on each spring, and when
constructed of plates, the plates diminishing in length or substance one or both
to the apex of the curve, being secured or fastened at this part, the diminish-
ing plates being next the substance to which the pliable beam spring is secured;
and like springs have also been used in couples by their ends being bolted
together and the load suspended from the ends or thin part of the springs,
We construct springs to receive or act against the load or force, so that the
elasticity or action causes an increase of the curve and a diminishing of the
chord or diameter at right angles to the direction of the load. These springs
being applied to act against the load or force-in the direction of the load or

page_text: force on the tensile strength of the spring, freeing the strain from torsion and
admitting of a lateral movement without prejudice. We construct these
springs of about one-tenth the weight of the springs alluded to as being here-
tofore used as a pliable beam, and in practice we find that our springs
will bear in cwts. the square of their weights in lbs., but we recommend the
load to be only one half of this. Thus, a spring of ten lbs. weight will bear
the square of ten or one hundred cwts., but the load should only be two and a
lalf tons. Four springs of ten lbs. each being ample for railway waggons.
having ten tons nett load, while for a load of this weight, heretofore, springs.
weighing about four hundred lbs. have been gencrally used. This rule for
weight of our improved spring is applicable to those we make of an ellipsis or
oval form, having the ends increased in thickness gradually from the sides, or
formed of an increased thickness by plates, each additional inner plate dimi-.
nishing in length, the application being to receive the load or force in extending.
the ends and collapsing the sides of the endless band; the force or load being
attached to the thickened ends or sides or thickened part of the spring. We
have springs of this description weighing ten Ibs. each in use, and of about
the following dimensions :-We can safely place sixteen tons on a set of four
springs without prejudice to their elasticity, and they are perfectly elastic with.
the empty carriages. The oval or ellipsis is made of steel about two inches
wide and three-sixteenths of an inch thick, the plates being of the same sub-
stance. The conjugate axis of the spring is eighteen inches, and the transverse
axis eleven inches. In making this spring without plates we prefer the steel
forged or rolled, to give the increased thickness at the ends to about the same
weight of metal, or rather less than when constructing it with plates. We
vary the form and application of the spring according to the amount of elastic.
movement and strength required for an ellipsis, in which the force acts on the
ends to a circle, or from a circle to an ellipsis, in which the force may be
caused to act on the sides, it being obvious that in this case the sides will
be thickened or of a greater substance than the ends, and the weight of the
spring will require to be nearly doubled for the same load or force as would be
elastically acted against by the spring receiving the load at the thickened end
of the ellipsis, varying as the amount of departure from one to the other, the
application and construction being further illustrated by reference to the
Drawings hereto annexed, and the letters and figures marked thereon.
We will now describe the second part of our Invention, first remarking that
heretofore the traction or drawing of a train of waggons or carriages has been
effected by a central tension against or under the load, and the shunting or
thrusting of such a train has been effected by resistances or buffers, at tho

page_text: sides, or vice versa, so that in going round a curve in drawing, in the first
case, the tension has been centrally on or under the load, and while thrusting
or shunting is principally and sometimes wholly on the intrados or inner
curved side of the load, tending to force the load into a straight line, and
vice versa. We prefer to apply to the drawing and shunting springs to act
on the same, and one centre line of the load or force, making the drawing
and buffing one and the same connection, the two central buffer rods being
connected by an intermediate draw bar, having slots therein to allow the
buffer rods to recede home to shoulder against a spring. The buffers of two
waggons being connected together in traction, the buffer next the acting force
is drawn or pulled against the spring of the opposite buffer, the two springs
giving elasticity to both buffing and traction, as will be further illustrated
by reference to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the letters and figures
marked thereon.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we would have it understood that we.
do not confine ourselves to the details, so long as the principle or peculiar
character of our Invention or any part thereof be retained, but what we claim
is, the construction and application of springs herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Fisher, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our