CERTAIN IM- PROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS AND CARRIAGES
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
ALFRED JOWETT, of Sawley, near Derby, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her 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 Tenth day of March, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fourteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Alfred Jowett, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Henry Alfred
Jowett, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Henry
Alfred Jowett, my 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, within the
Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IM-
PROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BREAKS AND CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Henry Alfred Jowett,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within 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 bad, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Alfred Jowett, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-

page_text: tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and
ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed and forming part
thereof, and the words and figures following, that is to say:-
The nature of this Invention and the principle of construction which forms
the basis thereof, consists in certain new mechanical combinations and arrange-
ments of parts hereafter mentioned and described, constituting the machinery
or apparatus of this my Invention for Improvements in Railway Breaks and
Carriages, which said improvements are described and contained in the
following Specification and Drawing hereunto annexed:-
In Figure 1, a, a, a, is an elbow casting in one piece, forming two cylinders
of unequal bore or diameters, both fitted with water-tight plungers or pistons
at each end; the diameter of the lesser piston c is about four inches, and that
of the larger one 6 about seven inches; the rod working the larger plunger b
is attached to the ordinary railway break, as shewn, fitted into and working
in the bore or barrel formed in the plunger; c is another plunger e of one
inch in diameter made water-tight; d, d, are the breaking blocks in their
proper place for action. The cylinder a, a, a, being provided with a supply of
water by a feed pipe conveniently placed for that purpose, the operation
of breaking, checking, and finally stopping railway carriages is performed by
the action of the plungers c, b, and e, acting on the fluid contained in the
cylinder, or upon the principle of hydraulic pressure, and is put in action
and operates in the following manner, that is to say:-To lock the wheels the
first act is to depress the lever f and force down the plunger c in the barrel a,
which when depressed about eight or ten inches causes the plunger b to be
driven out in the direction of the arrow, which motion acts on the levers and
crank arms adjusted for that purpose, as shewn, and forcibly drives the breaking
blocks d, d, tight against the wheels, at which point the guard fastens the
lever by a bolt or rack at f*; and in ordinary cases the wheels are locked and
the train is finally checked and stopped; but under difficulties of inclines and
other circumstances, and to accelerate the speed of the operation of stopping
the carriages in a train by the bydraulic apparatus herein explained and set
forth, I have provided a secondary power, which I find quite equal to the
purpose of bringing up a train with quickness and great precision, which
consists in the action of the double plunger c working in c, see Fig. 3, the
train having been checked, as in manner described, and the lever f bolted
at to secure the power obtained; and greater power being then required
to quickly bring up the train force is applied to the lever g, and by the
pressure of a few pounds weight thereon the plunger c is driven down the
hollow provided in c, and a further exemplification of the bydraulic power
obtained is produced, and must be continued until the desired result is

page_text: obtained; to release the wheels the plunger c must be withdrawn by lifting
the lever after drawing the bolt from the rack, and the breaking blocks are
thrown off the wheels to their original position..
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would wish it particularly to be under-
stood that, although I have by the foregoing description fully set forth the
details and particulars of this Invention, I reserve to myself such immaterial
variations of form and construction of the parts as practice may suggest, and
that I do not confine myself to the precise details set forth in this my Specifi-
cation and Drawings, so long as the peculiar character and principles of either
part of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,―
Firstly, the application of hydraulic pressure for the purpose of locking
the wheels of railway breaks and carriages, under all modifications, and with
all the various mechanism herein described and set forth for effecting that
purpose.
Secondly, I claim the combination of two plungers acting in one cylinder
or barrel for forcing, by hydraulic pressure, the breaking blocks against the
wheels, whereby railway breaks or carriages are locked and finally stopped,
and for various other purposes.
Thirdly, I claim the combination of a hollow plunger c, with the plunger c
working therein, for the purposes herein described and set forth, and for
producing secondary power when required to effect the speedy locking of
the wheels and breaking of railway carriages, breaks, &c., &c., as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Alfred Jowett, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
H. A. (L.s.) JOWETT.