IMPROVEMENTS IN ARRANGEMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING SPRINGS PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION TO RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK AND OTHERWISE
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Baird Handyside, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ARRANGEMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING SPRINGS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Baird Handyside
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th March 1868.
I, JAMES BAIRD HANDYSIDE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ARRANGEMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING
SPRINGS TO RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK AND OTHERWISE," to be as follows, that is
to say:
This Invention relates to arrangements and apparatus designed more
particularly to obtain improved applications of helical steel springs
packed with wool for railway rolling stock, at the same time the said
arrangements and apparatus, or some of them, are also applicable with
other kinds of springs and for other purposes.

page_text: In one arrangement designed for application to the draw bars of a rail-
way carriage there are two sets of the springs, each set consisting of two
or more which are placed parallel to and on opposite sides of the bar.
The springs are held between cupped discs or heads fitted upon a tube
on the bar, on which tube one of the heads can slide when compressing
the springs, the other head bearing against a collar formed or fixed on
the tube. The draw bars of the opposite ends of the carriage are
entered into the opposite ends of the same tube which carries both sets
of springs. The collars are on the ends of the tubes, and the outer
heads of the two sets of springs bear against them in opposite directions.
The sliding heads are acted upon by keys fixed in the draw bars and
extending out through slots in the tubes, such slots being elongated to
allow of the movement of the keys when compressing the springs.
Both sets of springs are acted upon whichever bar is drawn, as the tube
transmits the strain between them, and when one bar is drawn out the
cross frame at the other end of the carriage receives the strain through
the shoulder formed on the other draw bar. It is preferred to enclose
the sets of springs in light casings fixed to the carriage framing, but
in which casings the parts are free to move longitudinally.
In a second arrangement a single external casing covers both sets
of springs and transmits the strain instead of the tube of the first
arrangement. The casing is arranged to slide in guides in the carriage
framing.
In a third arrangement a disc or head cupped on both sides is
interposed between the two sets of springs, instead of each set having
a separate sliding head, and this interposed disc transmits the strain
between the two sets of springs, whilst a tube on the bars, as in the first
arrangement, transmits the strain from one bar to the other.
In a fourth arrangement one continuous draw bar extends from end
to end of the carriage, and passes through the middle of two cupped
heads or cases held between parts of the carriage framing. The cases
hold two or more of the springs between them, and one case slides
within the other when compressing the springs. Keys are fixed in the
draw bar to bear against the backs of the cases, and when the bar is
drawn in a forward direction the cases and springs are compressed
between the hindmost key and the foremost frame piece, whilst on the
bar being drawn in the opposite direction they are compressed between
the foremost key and the hindmost frame piece.

page_text: A fifth arrangement is adapted for being acted upon in one direction
only, and may be applied either inside the end cross frame, or against
any other cross frame of the carriage. The draw bar passes through
a case which bears against the frame and through a movable case which
it bears on by means of a key or nut or both. One case is large enough
to work over the other, and the springs are placed within and between
them..
A sixth arrangement is designed more particularly as a bearing spring
for a waggon to carry a heavy load, and so as to be applicable with
common forms of axle boxes. The arrangement comprises three
castings, a flanged or overlapping lid or cover to be bolted to the
under side of the waggon framing, a box formed with a series of cylin-
drical compartments to contain the springs which are vertical, and a
casting which occupies the space between the bottom of the spring
box and the top of the axle box, and which is to be bolted to the
latter, whilst it is formed with a recess fitting a counterpart projection
on the bottom of the spring box. In one modification of this arrange-
ment there are ten springs, six of which are disposed in a circle, whilst
the other four are disposed two on each side of the circle and in the
same longitudinal line.
An important feature of arrangements yet to be described, and which
is applicable in a great variety of cases is the interposing of a lever or
levers between the spring and the point or points of application.
In a seventh arrangement one set of the springs is acted on by levers
connected to both the draw bar and the two buffer rods of one end of
a railway carriage. There are two levers, each extending from a joint
at the inner end of the draw bar to a joint connecting the outer end
of each to the buffer rod on each side. Each lever is formed with a
short arm projecting towards the middle of the carriage, and the springs
are applied between these two short arms. The arms are jointed to
covers or heads, which can slide on or within the opposite ends of a
middle box body containing springs at each end, and which springs
are compressed when the covers or heads are forced together. On the
buffers being forced inwards the draw bar joint acts as a fulcrum to the
levers, and when the draw bar is drawn out the levers have their fulcra
at their outer ends, and in both cases the ends of the short arms
approach each other and compress the springs. It is an important
feature of this arrangement that when the carriages are going round.

page_text: a curve the inner and outer buffers will adjust themselves so as to keep
the strain on the opposite sides equal.
In an eighth arrangement two bell-crank levers are applied for
obtaining an easy bearing spring action suitable for passenger carriages.
The levers lying horizontal or nearly so have their inner adjacent ends
connected to the axle box whilst their outer ends are jointed to the
framing, and they are formed with short bell-crank arms which are
jointed to or bear against the movable heads or casings of the spring
boxes. These spring boxes are fixed to the framing with their movable
parts arranged to work longitudinally.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said James
Baird Handyside in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BAIRD HANDYSIDE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engier, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Baird Handyside, Her special
licence that I, the said James Baird Handyside,. my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Baird Handyside, my 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 ARRANGEMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING
SPRINGS TO RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK AND OTHERWISE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Baird Handyside, my exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office on or before the Eighteenth day of September,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Baird Handyside, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to arrangements and apparatus designed
more particularly to obtain improved applications of helical steel springs
packed with wool for railway rolling stock, at the same time the said
arrangements and apparatus, or some of them, are also applicable with
other kinds of springs and for other purposes.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, may be properly understood I have hereunto appended two
Sheets of explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and
representing various examples embodying my improvements. The samé
reference letters and numerals are used to mark the same or like parts
in all the Figures.
}
:
One arrangement which is designed for application to the draw bars
of a railway carriage is shown in Figures 1 and 2 on Sheet 1 of the
Drawings, these Figures being respectively a transverse vertical section
and a horizontal section, the former placed so as to agree with the latter.
In this arrangement there are two sets of the springs S, each set con-
sisting of two or more of the wool-packed steel coils which are placed
parallel to and on opposite sides of the draw bars 1, 2. The springs S
are held between cupped discs or heads 3, 3, 4, 4, fitted upon á tube 5
on the bars, on which tube one of the heads 3, 3 of each pair can slide
when compressing the springs, the other head 4 bearing against a
collar 6 formed or fixed on the tube 5. The draw bars 1, 2, of the
opposite ends of the carriage are entered into the opposite ends of
the same tube 5 which carries both sets of springs. The collars 6 are
on the ends of the tube, and the outer heads 4 of the two sets of
springs bear against them in opposite directions. The sliding heads 3
are acted upon by keys 7 fixed in the draw bars 1, 2, and extending
out through slots in the tube 5, such slots being elongated to allow of
the movement of the keys when compressing the springs. Both sets
of springs are acted upon whichever bar 1 or 2 is drawn, as the tube 5

page_text: transmits the strain between them, and when one bar is drawn out the
cross frame at the other end of the carriage receives the strain through
the shoulder formed externally on the other bar. I prefer to enclose the
springs S with their heads 3, 4, in light casings 8 fixed to the carriage
framing F, but. the parts are free to move longitudinally in these
casings.
In a second arrangement shown in transverse and horizontal section
in Figures 3 and 4 a single external casing 5, 8, covers both sets of
springs S and transmits the strain instead of the tube (5), being formed
in one piece with the outer heads 4. The casing 5, 8, is arranged to slide
in guides in the carriage framing F.
In a third arrangement shown in transverse and horizontal section in
Figures 5 and 6 a disc or head 4 cupped on both sides is interposed
between the two sets of springs S, and this interposed disc transmits the
strain between the springs whilst a tube 5 on the draw bars 1, 2,
transmits the strain from one bar to the other, as will be easily
understood from Figure 6.
In a fourth arrangement shown in transverse and horizontal section in
Figures 7 and 8, one continuous draw bar 1 extends from end to end
of the carriage and passes through the middle of two cupped heads or
cases 3, 4, held between parts F of the carriage framing. The cases 3, 4,
hold two or more of the springs S between them, and one case slides
within the other when compressing the springs. Keys 7 are fixed in the
draw bar 1 to bear against the backs or outsides of the cases 3, 4, and
when the bar is drawn in a forward direction the cases and springs are
compressed between the hindmost key 7 and the foremost frame piece F,
whilst on the bar being drawn in the opposite direction they are com-
pressed between the foremost key and the hindmost frame piece. In
order to keep the parts together when not held between the frame
pieces F, the case 3 which slides within the other 4 has the edge of its
sides formed with a projecting lip, and after it is entered into the other
case two or more pins 9 are screwed through lugs on the other case 4 to
act as stops to encounter the lip of the case 3 and so prevent that case
from being forced out.
A fifth arrangement is adapted for being acted upon in one direction
only, and may be applied either inside the end cross frame or against
any other cross frame of the carriage. It is shown in transverse and
horizontal section, Figures 9 and 10, and in it the draw bar í
passes.

page_text: through a case 3, which bears against the frame F, and through a
movable case 4 which it bears on by means of a key 7 or nut, or both.
One case 4 is large enough to work over the other 3, and the springs S
are placed within and between them. Stop rods 9 are provided, as
shown, to limit the outward movement of the movable case 4.
A sixth arrangement is designed more particularly as a bearing spring
for a waggon to carry a heavy load and so as to be applicable with
common forms of axle boxes. Figure 11 is an inverted horizontal
section, Figure 12 a transverse vertical section, and Figure 13 a partially
sectioned side elevation. This arrangement comprises three castings,
a flanged or overlapping lid or cover 3 to be bolted to the under side of
the waggon framing F, a box 4 formed with a series of cylindrical com-
partments to contain the springs S which are vertical, and a casting 10
which occupies the space between the bottom of the spring box 4 and
the top of the axle box 11, and which is bolted to the latter, whilst it is
formed with a recess fitting a counterpart projection 12 on the bottom
of the spring box 4. The number of springs S may of course be varied,
but in the example delineated there are ten, six of them being disposed
in a circle whilst the other four are disposed two on each side of the
circle, and in the same longitudinal line. This arrangement is also well
adapted for light loads when made with a suitable number of springs.
An important feature of arrangements yet to be described, and which
is applicable in a great variety of cases, is the interposing of a lever or.
levers between the springs and the point or points of application.
In a seventh arrangement one set of the springs is acted on by
levers connected to both the draw bar and the two buffer rods of one.
end of a railway carriage. This arrangement is shown in longitudinal
vertical section in Figure 14 on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, and in hori-
zontal section in Figure 15, these Figures comprising the parts for
both ends of the carriage, whilst Figure 16 is a transverse vertical
section placed to correspond with Figure 15. The parts for one end of
the carriage comprise two levers 13, each extending from a joint 14 at the
inner end of the draw bar 1 or 2 to a joint 15 connecting the outer end
of each to the buffer rod 16 on each side. The pin of the middle joint 14
projects down and works between guides which prevent it from deviating
from the longitudinal centre line. Each lever 13 is formed with a short
arm 17 projecting towards the middle of the carriage, and the springs S
are applied between these two short arms 17. The arms are jointed to.

page_text: covers or heads 4 which can slide on or within the opposite ends of a
middle box body 3 containing springs S at both ends, and which springs
are compressed when the covers or heads 4 are forced together. On the
buffer rods 16 being forced inwards the draw bar joint 14 acts as a
fulcrum to the levers 13, and when the draw bar 1 or 2 is drawn out
the levers 13 have their fulcra at their outer ends, and in both cases
the ends of the short arms 17 approach each other and compress the
springs S. It is an important feature of this arrangement that when
the carriages are going round a curve the inner and outer buffers will
adjust themselves so as to keep the strain on the opposite sides equal
or nearly so.
In an eighth arrangement two bell-crank levers are applied for
obtaining an easy bearing spring action suitable for passenger carriages.
The levers lying horizontal or nearly so have their inner adjacent ends
connected to the axle box whilst their outer ends are jointed to the
framing, and they are formed with short bell-crank arms which are
jointed to or bear against the movable heads or casings of the spring
boxes. These spring boxes are fixed to the framing with their movable
parts arranged to work longitudinally.
A slightly simplified modification of this arrangement is shown in
Figures 17 to 20; Figure 18 being a sectional side elevation, Figures 17
and 19 transverse vertical sections at different parts, and Figure 20 an
inverted plan. The levers 13 are straight bars but acting like bell-crank
levers, and instead of having each a fulcrum joint upon the framing
through which the weight of the carriage would act on them, that
weight acts on them through the movable heads or cases 4 of the spring
boxes 3, to which heads they are jointed. Each case 3 is cast with an
extended plate by which it is bolted to the under side of the carriage
frame F, and the movable head 4 is shaped externally to bear up with
the interposition of antifriction rollers against a part of the plate.
The inner ends of the bars or levers 13 are jointed to the upper corners
of the axle box 11, and the action of these levers is such as to make
the resistance of the springs increase at a reduced rate with increasing
load, so that the action of the springs is easier than when applied
directly.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do
not restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated;

page_text: but that what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the
Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the applying of springs by means of improved arrangements
and apparatus, substantially such as are herein described and delineated.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Baird Handyside, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
JAMES B. HANDYSIDE. (L.S.)