IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR THE DOORS OF Railway WAGONS OR TRUCKS USED FOR TRANSPORTING COAL, AND MINERALS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1873

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Frederick Hickinbotham, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manager of Smiths, and Wilson Marshall, of
Birmingham, aforesaid, Mechanical Engineer, and Samuel Adams,
of Aston, near Birmingham, aforesaid, Carriage Builder, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR THE DOORS OF Railway
WAGONS OR TRUCKS USED FOR TRANSPORTING COAL, AND MINERALS, AND FOR
OTHER LIKE PURPOSES."
caled the 27th March 1874, and dated the 3rd October 1873:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Hickinbotham,
Wilson Marshall, and Samuel Adams at the Office of the Commis.
sioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 3rd October-1878.
We, FREDERICK HICKINBOTHAM, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manager of Smiths, and WILSON MARSHALL, of Birmingham,
aforesaid,-Mechanical Engineer, and SAMUEL ADAMS, of-Aston, near
Birmingham, aforesaid, Carriage Builder; do hereby declare the nature
of-the-said-Invention-for-"-IMPROVEMENTS-IN-FASTENINGS FOR THE DOORS OF
R

page_text: RAILWAY WAGONS OR TRUCKS USED FOR TRANSPORTING COAL AND MINERALS, AND
FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention is particularly applicable to such railway wagons or
trucks used for transporting coal and minerals as aro provided with end
doors, from which the contents are discharged by tipping or inclining
the said wagons or trucks. Our Invention is however applicable to
railway wagons or trucks provided with side doors or bottom doors.
Our Invention consists of the construction and combination of parts,
hercin-after described, of fastenings for the doors of the said railway
wagons or trucks whereby the unfastening of the door is effected with
great facility and tho fastening of the door is effected automatically, on
the closing of the said door.
We will describe our Invention as applied to a railway wagon or truck
provided with an end door. The said end door as is well understood is
a hanging door, jointed to the top of the frame of the wagon, tho said 1
door turning on its joint to open or close the end of the wagon. In
constructing a fastoning according to our Invention we place along the
--end-of-the-frame_of_the_wagon and at the middle_thercof a horizontal
axis or roller bar, turning in bearings on the said frame. This axis or
roller bar is situated a little below the bottom edge of the door. One 2
'end of the axis or bar carries a vertical handle or lever, by means of
which the door is fastened; a heel or short arm at right angles to tho
handle or lever acts as a stop to limit the motion of the handle or lever
when the latter is forced by the opening of the door into a horizontal
position. At the middle of the axis or roller bar is a nib or projecting 2
piece, against which nib on the closing of the door a projecting bar on
the said door strikes and brings the fastening mechanism into action, as
herein-after described. .
At the end of the axis or roller bar opposite that to which the
fastening handle or lever is connected is a stop or short vertical arm 3
which when the door is closed bears against the door and assists in
holding and supporting it in its closed position. On the end door of the
wagon is a horizontal catch, capable of turning upwards on a hinge or.
joint; this catch has a slot in it, with which slot the head of the
fastening handle or lever engages. _
__
When the door is fastened by my Invention the handle or lever at one¨
end of the axis or roller bar is situated vertically, and its end is engaged
8

page_text: with the slot in the horizontal jointed catch, the lower end of the lever
or handle as well as the stop or arm on the opposite end of the axis or
roller bar bearing against and supporting the door.
After the wagon has been tipped the door is unfastened by simply
lifting the jointed catch from off the head of the handle or lever. The
door is forced open by the weight of the coal or mineral within the
wagon, and the axis or roller bar is partly rotated by the action of the
door on the lever or handle and stop at the ends of the said axis. By
this motion of the axis or roller bar the fastening handle or lever is
made to fall into a horizontal position, its heel bearing against the
vertical side of the end framo of the wagon.
On returning the wagon to its normal position the end door closes by
its own weight. In its closing motion the projecting end of the bar at
the middle of the door strikes the centre nib on the axis or roller bar
and gives the latter a partial rotation; the fastening handle or lever is
thereby lifted into a vertical position, and its rounded end strikes the
curved end of the jointed catch on the door and lifts the said catch. On
the complete closing of the door the slot in the jointed catch is brought
over the head of the fastening handle or lever when the said catch drops
upon the handle or lever and effects the fastening of the door. The
same motion of the axis or roller bar brings the stop or vertical arm at
the opposite end to bear against and support the door. The fastening of
the door is thus effected automatically on the closing of the door.
In applying our Invention to the fastening of the side doors and
bottom doors of railway wagons or trucks we construct and arrange the
parts substantially as herein-before described, such changes in detail
only being made as will fit the mechanism to the fastening of the said
side and bottom doors.

page_text: of Smiths, and WILSON MARSHALL, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Mechanical
Engineer, and SAMUEL ADAMS, of Aston, near Birmingham, aforesaid,
Carriage Builder, sond. regeting.
•
-
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of t
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Frederick Hickinbotham, Wilson.
Marshall, and Samuel Adams, Her special license that we, the said
Frederick Hickinbotham, Wilson Marshall, and Samuel Adams, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said.
Frederick Hickinbotham, Wilson Marshall, and Samuel Adams, 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, usc,,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
__IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR THE DOORS OF RAILWAY WAGONS OR TRUCKS
USED FOR TRANSPORTING COAL AND MINERALS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Frederick
Hickinbotham, Wilson Marshall, and Samuel Adams, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands
and seals, or under the hand and scal of one of us or them, should par-
ticularly 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Frederick Hickinbotham, Wilson
Marshall, and Samuel Adams, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say: -
Our Invention is particularly applicable to such railway- wagons or
trucks used for transporting coal and minerals, as are provided with end
doors from which the contents are discharged by tipping or inclining
the said wagons or trucks. Our Invention is however, applicable to
railway wagons or trucks provided with side doors.
1.8

page_text: Our Invention consists of the construction and combination of parts
hcrcin-after described of fastenings for the doors of the said railway
wagons and trucks, whereby the unfastening of the door is effected with:
great facility, and the fastening of the door is effected automatically.
on the closing of the said door.
We will describe our Invention as applied to a railway wagon or
truck provided with an end door. The said end door as is well-under-
stood is a hanging door jointed to. the top of the frame of the wagon,
the said door turning on its joint to open or close the end of the wagon.
In constructing a fastening according to our Invention we place along
the end of the frame of the wagon and at the middle thereof a
horizontal axis or roller bar turning in bearings on the said frame.
This axis or roller bar is situated a little below the bottom edge of the
door. One end of the axis or bar carries a vertical handle or lever by
means of which the door is fastened. A heel or short arm nearly at
right angles to the handle or lever acts as a stop to limit the motion of
the handle or lever when the latter is forced by the opening of tho.
door into a horizontal position. At the middle of the axis or roller
bar is a nib or projecting piece, against which nib on the closing of the
door a projecting bar on the said door strikes and brings the fastening
mechanism into action, as herein-after described.
.
At the end of the axis or roller bar opposite that to which the
fastening handle or lever is connected is a stop or short vertical arm,
which when the door is closed bears against the door and assists in
holding and supporting it in its closed position. On the end door of the
wagon is a horizontal catch capable of turning upwards on a hinge or
joint. This catch has a slot in it, with which slot the head of 'the
fastening handle or lever engages.
When the door is fastened by our Invention the handle or lever at
one end of the axis or roller bar is situated vertically, and its end is
engaged with the slot in the horizontal jointed catch, the lower end of
the lever or handle as well as the stop or arm on the opposite end of
the axis or roller bar bearing against and supporting the door.
When the wagon is being tipped the door is unfastened by simply
lifting the jointed catch from off the head of the handle or lever.
The door is forced open_by_the_weight of the coal or mineral within
the wagon, and the axis or roller bar is partly rotated by the action of.

page_text: horizontal axis or roller bar situated a little below the bottom edge of
the door (sco Figure 2), the said axis or roller bar turning in bearings:
at c³, c³, on the frame of the wagon. On one end of the said axis or.
roller bar c is a vertical handle or lever d, by which the door a is
fastened, and on the opposite end of the said axis or roller bar is a stop
or short vertical arm e for assisting in holding and supporting the door a
when closed. The fastening handle or lever d is incapable of being
moved beyond a horizontal position when the door is opened by the heel
or stop d³ of the said handle striking against the frame of the wagon.:
At the middle of the axis or roller bar c is a nib or projecting piece ƒ,
which when the door a is closed is situated behind the projecting bottom
end g³ of the vertical bar g on the hanging door a. The use of this nibƒ
is herein-after explained. On the hanging end door a is a horizontal
catch h, capable of turning upwards on the hinge or joint ³. The said
horizontal catch has a slot in it, with which slot the head of the
fastening handle or lever d engages.
When the hanging end door a is closed and fastened the parts of the
fastening mechanism occupy the respective positions represented in the
Drawing, that is to say, the fastening handle or lever d is situated
vertically, its head being engaged with the slot in the jointed catch h,
the lower part of the said handle or lover & and stop or short arm e¨
bearing against and supporting the door a, as represented.
When the end door a is required to be opened to remove the contents
of the wagon the jointed catch his lifted from off the hoad of the handle
or lever d, and the door a is forced open by the weight of the coal or
mineral within the wagon. As the door is forced open it acts upon the
handle d and stop e on the axis or roller bar c, and the said axis or
roller bar is partly rotated. By this motion of the axis or roller bar o
the handle d is made to take a horizontal position, its further motion
being prevented by its heel or stop a bearing against the end frame of
the wagon.
When the end of the wagon is to be closed the said wagon is removed
from the inclined platform used for unloading, when the hanging door a
shuts by its own weight. In its closing motion the projecting-end-9* of
the vortical bar g at the middle of the door strikes the centro nib ƒ on
the axis or roller bar c, and gives_a_partial_rotation-to-the-said-axis-or
rollor bar. The fastening handle or lever d is thereby lifted into a
:

page_text: vertical position, and its rounded end strikes the curved end 7³ of the-
jointed catch and lifts the said catch. On the completo closing of tho
door the slot in the jointed catch his brought over the head of the
fastening handle or lover d, when the said catch drops upon the said
handle or lever, the head engaging in the slot in the said catch, and
effects the fastening of the door. By the same motion of the axis or
roller bar c the stop or vertical arm eis made to bear against and support
the door; thus the fastening and supporting of the door are effected
automatically on the closing of the door.
3. Instead of making a slot in the jointed catch on the hanging door a
to engago with the head of the fastening handle or lover & the end of the
said catch may be hooked, the hooked end of the catch engaging with
the front of the fastening lever.
A
.
"This modification of our Invention is illustrated in connection with
a side tipping wagon in side clevation in Figure 4, and end clevation
(drawn to a larger scale) in Figure 5; % is the jointed catch on the
-side-door a, the said catch. having a hooked end ³; & is the fastening
lover or handle on the axis or roller bar c. The said lever or handle
is shorter than that in the first described arrangement. The other
parts of the fastening mechanism are similar to corresponding parts:
already described, and are marked with the same letters of reference.⠀
When the wagon, Figures 4 and 5, has been tipped the unfastening
of the door a is effected by lifting the hooked catch from the front
of the handle & when the parts tako the positions already described, and
when the wagon is returned to its normal position the side door a 2
closes by its own weight and the lever or handle d is made to
take a vertical position by the action of the bar on the middle nib
on the roller bar c. As the lever or handle & takes a vertical position
its upper end bears against the curved nose of the hooked end hª of
the catch and lifts the said catch, which catch, when the door has
been completely closed, falls into a horizontal position, and its hooked
end engaging in front of the lever or handled effects the fastening of
the door, as represented.
The arrangement of parts last described may be applied to wagons
of the kind represented in Figures 1 and 2, and the arrangement of {
parts represented in connection with the end door of the wagon ; `
Figures 1 and 2. may be applied to the sido door of the tipping wagon;¨

page_text: Figures 4 and 5 in place of the fastening mechanism reprosented, in
connection with the said tipping wagon..
",
1. We will now describe the fastening mechanism of the side door of
the wagon, Figures 1 and 2. is the side door, turning at bottom on
joints or hinges at . Tho fastening mechanism is situated at the top
of the frame of the wagon, and consists of an axis or roller bar k,
turning in bearings at and having at its ends hooked catches
marked, On the side door i are two vertical bars m, m, the upper
ends m, m, of which are hooked or are bent slightly out of the plane
of the door (see the end view, Figure 2). In order to unfasten the sido
door one of the hooked catches or is lifted. The axis. or roller bar k
is thereby partly rotated, and the catch at the opposite end of the said
axis or roller simultaneously lifted. The two catches 1, 1³, are thus.
disengaged from the projecting ends m³, m³, of the bars on the door,
and the said door is unfastened. On closing the side door a thei curved
or projecting parts m³, m³, of the bars m, m, on the door i acting
against the curved noses of the hooked ends of the catches 1, 1³, simul-
taneously lift the said catches, which catches on the complete closing
of the door drop in front of the projecting parts m³, m³, and fasten tho
3 door, as represented in the Drawing. The arrangement last described
may be applied to end doors.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention the im-
provements in fastenings for the doors of railways wagons or trucks
used for transporting coal and minerals, and for other like purposes,
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing,
that is to say, fastenings consisting essentially of a slotted or hooked
jointed catch on the door and a horizontal axis or roller bar on the
frame of the wagon or truck, the said axis or roller bar carrying at
one end a vertical handle or lever with which the slotted or hooked
catch on the door engages; the said axis or roller bar also having at
the opposite end a support or stop, and at its middle a nib or projecting
piece, for bringing the fastening into action on the closing of the door;
the parts of the fastenings being constructed and combined substantially
as described and illustrated; also the modification described and

page_text: illustrated, in which two jointed catches on the axis or roller bar aro
made to engage with projecting pieces on the door.
In witness whereof, we, the said Frederick Hickinbotham, Wilson
Marshall, and Samuel Adams, have hereunto set our hands and
seals, this Twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord {
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
FREDERICK HICKINBOTHAM. (L.S.)
WILSON MARSHALL.
SAMUEL ADAMS.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)