IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COUPLING
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Morris, of Haslingden, Joseph Morris, of
Ramsbottom, and James Morris, of Haslingden, all in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COUPLING
Sealed the 18th July 1865, and dated the 4th March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Morris, Joseph
Morris, and James Morris at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 4th March 1865.
We, DANIEL MORRIS, of Haslingden, JOSEPH MORRIS, of Ramsbottom, and
JAMES MORRIS, of Haslingden, all in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS.
FOR COUPLING AND UNCOUPLING RAILWAY WAGGONS OR CARRIAGES," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention has for its object the coupling and uncoupling of railway
waggons and carriages without going underneath the waggons or carriages to

page_text: do so, and therefore lessen the chances of accident, and also facilitate the
coupling and uncoupling. To accomplish this we place on each end of the
waggons or carriages a lever having a hook at one end, and attach to the said
lever a bent arm, which is coupled to a vertical rod working in guides, and to
the said rod we couple two levers in such a manner that one end of each
lever comes to opposite sides of the waggon or carriage, and each lever has its
fulcrum lying between the said sliding rod and the side of the waggon or
carriage. We also place a spring guide having a double inclined block
attached so as to keep the levers in any desired position. The before-named
lever having a hook at one end has its fulcrum placed so as to move in suit-
able slides in a direction parallel to the length of the waggon or carriage, and
a chain fixed to the end of the waggon or carriage is attached by a shackle to
the hook end of the lever. We also attach to each end of the waggon or
carriage a projecting plate or fixing having a slot in it to receive the hook
before-named. If the hooked lever with its appendages be placed on the left
hand, looking at the end of the waggon or carriage, the said projecting plate
having a slot in it is placed on the right hand, the whole of the apparatus
being similar at each end of the waggons or carriages. When a carriage or
waggon is required to be coupled it is pushed up to the waggon or carriage to
which it is to couple, and as soon as the buffers come in contact any person
on either side of the line of rails may couple the waggons or carriages together
by pulling the side levers at the two ends to be so coupled, when the hook of
cach waggon or carriage will attach itself to the projecting plate or fixing
before-named of the other, and become coupled together and held firmly in
their places by a spring acting, by preference, on the vertical rod before-
named, and also by the before-named blocks in the spring guides. A spring
is also attached to the fulcrum of each hooked lever to keep the said lever at
a proper distance from the end of the waggon or carriage when uncoupled, so
that when the buffers come in contact the hook may drop into the before-
named slot.
If a waggon or carriage require uncoupling, it is done immediately by
lifting up the levers of the ends of the waggons or carriages coupled
together, which may be done as well on one side of the line of railway as the
¯other.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed'
by the said Daniel Morris, Joseph Morris, and James Morris in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, DANIEL
MORRIS, of Haslingden, JOSEPH MORRIS, of Ramsbottom, and JAMES MORRIS,
of Haslingden, all in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Daniel Morris, Joseph Morris, and James Morris, Her special
licence that we, the said Daniel Morris, Joseph Morris, and James Morris,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Daniel Morris, Joseph Morris, and James Morris, our 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 APPARATUS FOR COUPLING AND UNCOUPLING
RAILWAY WAGGONS OR CARRIAGES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Daniel Morris, Joseph Morris, and James Morris, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 calender months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Daniel Morris, Joseph Morris,
and James Morris, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings
(that is to say):-
Our Invention has for its object the coupling and uncoupling of railway
waggons and carriages without going underneath the waggons or carriages to
do so, and therefore lessen the chances of accident, and also facilitate the
coupling and uncoupling.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation of a railway waggon,
and Fig. 2 an end view, with parts of our improvements shown thereon;

page_text: Fig. 3 shows sufficient of two ends of separate waggons to enable us to show
how the waggons are hooked together; and Fig. 4 is a side view of a portion
of the coupling apparatus.
To accomplish the object set forth we place on each end k, k₁, of the
waggons or carriages a lever a (Figs. 3, 4) having a hook at one end, and
attach to the said lever a bent arm b, which is coupled to a vertical rod c
(Figs. 2, 3, 4) working in guides d, d₁, (Fig. 2), and to the said rod we
couple two levers e, e₁, (Fig. 2) in such a manner that one end of each lever
comes to opposite sides of the waggon or carriage, as shown in the Drawing,
and each lever has its fulcrum lying between the said sliding rod c and the
side of the waggon or carriage. We also place a spring guide f, f, (Figs. 1, 2)
having a double inclined block attached so as to keep the levers e, e₁, in any
desired position. The before-named lever a having a hook at one end
has its fulcrum 9 placed so as to move in suitable slides h in a direction
parallel to the length of the waggon or carriage, and a chain i fixed to the
end of the waggon or carriage is attached by a shackle to the hook end of
the lever a. We also attach to each end of the waggon or carriage a pro-
jecting plate or fixing m having a slot in it to receive the hook of the lever a
before named. If the hooked lever a with its appendages be placed on the
left hand, looking at the end of the waggon or carriage, the said projecting
plate m is placed on the right hand, the whole of the apparatus being similar
at each end k, k₁, of the waggons or carriages. When a waggon or carriage
is required to be coupled, it is pushed up to the waggon or carriage to which
it is to be coupled, and as soon as the buffers n come in contact any person on
either side of the line of rails may couple the waggons or carriages together
by pulling the side levers e or e₁ at the two ends k, k₁, to be so coupled, when
the hook on the lever a of each waggon or carriage will attach itself to the
projecting plate or fixing m before-named of the other, and become coupled
together, as shown in Fig. 3, and held firmly in their places by a spring o
acting, by preference, on the vertical rod c before-named, and also by the
before-named blocks in the spring guides f, f₁. A spring is also attached to
distance
the fulcrum of each hooked lever a to keep the said lever at a proper
from the end of the waggon or carriage when uncoupled, so that when the
buffers n come in contact the hook on the lever a may drop into the
before-named slot of the plate or fixing m.
If a waggon or carriage require uncoupling, it is done immediately by
lifting up the levers e, e₁, of the end of the waggons or carriages coupled
together, which may be done as well on one side of the line of railway as the
other.

page_text: Having described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which the
said Invention is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that what we
claim is, the apparatus and combination of parts herein described and set forth,
and for the purpose herein stated.
In witness whereof, we, the said Daniel Morris, Joseph Morris, and
James Morris, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day
of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-five.
DANIEL MORRIS. (L.S.)
JOSEPH MORRIS. (L.S.)
JAMES MORRIS.
(L.B.)
Witness,
THOMAS BALDWIN,
Bury, Lancashire.
DANIEL MORRIS. (L.s.)
JOSEPH MORRIS. (L.s.)
JAMES MORRIS.
(L.B.)