IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING THE BRAKES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES, WAGONS, AND Trucks
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Stokes, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturing Joweller, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING THE BRAKES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES,
WAGONS, AND Trucks.”
Sealed the 11th June 1875, and dated the 7th April 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Stokes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th April 1875.
I, WILLIAM HENRY STOKES, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturing Jeweller, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING THE BRAKES OF RAILWAY AND
OTHER CARRIAGES, WAGONS, AND TRUCKS," to be as follows :-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in
working the brakes of railway and other carriages, wagons, and trucks,
by which improvements the said brakes are brought into action with

page_text: great rapidity and efficiency, and the motion of the vehicle or train
of vehicles readily controlled, or the vehicle or train speedily brought
to rest.
My Invention has reference specially to the working of brakes now
commonly employed on railway carriages, wagons, and trucks; but 5
is applicable to the working of all such brakes as operate by the
friction produced by pressing brake blocks on the opposite sides, or on
one side only of the peripheries of the wheel.
I will describe my Invention as applied to a carriage of a railway
train provided with brake blocks of the ordinary kind. Underneath the 1
carriage, and extending along the middle of the carriage, I support
a rod capable of sliding freely in bearings, or otherwise supported so as
to be capable of free longitudinal motion. The said rod is of such
length that when the train, consisting of carriages provided with tho
said rods, is made up by the coupling together of the carriages, tho 1
ends of the rod on one carriage are nearly in contact with the ends
of the rods on the carriages respectively before and behind it. The ends
of the rods are provided with disks somewhat similar to those of buffers.
It is by the sliding rods described that the brakes are worked. On
each side of the sliding rod where it crosses the axles of the pairs of a
wheels two rollers or pulleys are situated a short distance from cach
other in a plane parallel to the bottom of the carriage, and near each
wheel two other pulleys are situated on the same level and at the same
distance apart. Chains connected with the sliding rod pass between the
pulleys on each side, and over the pulleys near the wheels to the brake
blocks. When the sliding rod moves in either direction it tightens the
chains described and presses the brake blocks into contact with the
wheels. The operating of the sliding rod at the front part of the train
puts the sliding rods on the other carriages into operation. By operating
upon the sliding rod on the front carriage the brakes on that carriage
are put into operation, and the motion of that carriage is arrested. The
momentum of the other carriages causes them to advance when their
sliding rods being in rapid succession brought into contact with each
other, the motion of the whole of the said rods is effected, and the brakes
of the whole of the wheels of the train are brought into operation. A
train may thus be brought to rest in a very short distance, and in a very
short time.

page_text: Where it is required to make provision for extreme cases the sliding
rod may be provided with racks on each side of the parts where it crosses
the axles of the wheels, and the axle of the wheel may be provided with
a toothed wheel or pinion.
When the sliding rod is moved by hand a short distance the teeth
of the rotating toothed wheel or pinion on the axle are made to engage
with the rack, and the further motion of the sliding rod is effected with
great force by the motion of the carriage itself, and the carriage is
brought to rest.
Instead of two pairs of pulleys on cach side of the sliding rod where
it crosses the axle one pair may be employed with like effect; but I
prefer the arrangement first described. And although I prefer to make
the sliding rods operate upon the brakes by means of chains acting upon
the brake blocks on the opposite sides of the same wheel, yet the sliding
rods may be made to work the brakes by means of a combination of
levers and connections operating between the brake blocks of two
neighbouring wheels.
In place of the chains described wire rope or other flexible connecting
medium capable of resistion.
O SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Henry Stokes in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY STOKES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
5 facturing Jeweller, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
O sors, give and grant unto. me, the said William Henry Stokes, Her special
licenso that I, the said William Henry Stokes, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Henry

page_text: Stokes, 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 5
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING THE BRAKES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES,
WAGONS, AND TRUCKS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Henry Stokes, my executors 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 1
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
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Henry Stokes, do hereby 1
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 :-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in
working the brakes of railway and other carriages, wagons, and trucks, 2
by which improvements the said brakes are brought into action with
great rapidity and efficiency, and the motion of the vehicle or train of
vehicles readily controlled, or the vehicle or train speedily brought to
rest.
My Invention has reference specially to the working of the brakes 2
now commonly employed on railway carriages, wagons, and trucks, but
is applicable to the working of all such brakes as operate by the friction
produced by pressing brake blocks on the opposite sides or one side only
of the peripheries of the wheel.
I will describe my Invention as applied to a carriage of a railway train 3
provided with brake blocks of the ordinary kind. Underneath the
carriage and extending along the middle of the carriage I support a rod
capable of sliding freely in bearings, or otherwise supported so as to bo
capable of free longitudinal motion. The said rod is of such length that
when the train consisting of carriages provided with the said rods is 3
made up by the coupling together of the carriages the ends of the rod

page_text: •
on one carriage are situated a short distance from the ends of the rods
on the carriages respectively before and behind it. The ends of the rods
are provided with disks, somewhat similar to those of buffers. It is by
the sliding rods described that the brakes are worked. On each side of
the sliding rod where it crosses the axles of the pairs of wheels two
rollers or pulleys are situated a short distance from each other in a
plane parallel to the bottom of the carriage, and near each wheel two
other pulleys are situated on the same level and at the same distance
apart. Ohains connected with the sliding rod pass between the pulleys
on each side and over the pulleys near the wheels to the brake blocks.
When the sliding rod moves in either direction it tightens the chains
described, and presses the brake blocks into contact with the wheels.
The operating of the sliding rod at the front part of the train puts the
sliding rods on the other carriages into operation. By operating upon
the sliding rod on the front carriage the brakes on that carriage are put
into operation, and the motion of that carriage is arrested. The mo-
mentum of the other carriages causes them to advance, when their
sliding rods being in rapid succession brought into contact with each
other the motion of the whole of the said rods is effected, and the brakės
of the whole of the wheels of the train are brought into operation. A
train may thus be brought to rest in a very short distance and in a very
short time.
Where it is required to make provision for extreme cases the sliding
rod may be provided with racks on each side of the parts where it
crosses the axle of the wheel, and the axle of the wheel may be provided
with a toothed wheel or. pinion. When the sliding rod is moved by hand
a short distance the teeth of the pinion on the axle are made to engage
with the rack, and the further motion of the sliding rod is effected with
great force by the motion of the carriage itself, and the carriage is
brought to rest.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describo with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation a portion of a railway carriage
or van provided with brake mechanism constructed according to my
Invention; Figure 2 is a plan of the under side of the same; Figure 3

page_text: is also a plan, partly in horizontal section, of the same; and Figure 4 is
an and clevation, partly in cross section, of the same.
In the brake represented in the Drawing a pair of break blocks is
represented applied to opposite sides of the peripheries of the same
wheel. The samo letters indicate the same parts in the several Figures
of the Drawings.
a, a, are the two brake blocks working on opposite sides of one
wheel c, and b, b, are the two brake blocks working on opposite sides of
the other wheel c on the same axle. The break blocks a, a, of onc
wheel are coupled by the cross rods i, i, to the opposite break blocks b, b, ·
of the other wheel. The said brake blocks a, a, b, b, are connected to
guide blocks d, d, which blocks d, d, are capable of sliding upon the
horizontal bars e, e, fixed to and running along each side of the carriage.
Bearing against each of the cross rods i coupling cach pair of brake
blocks a, b, together are arms or levers f,f, jointed to the bottom of the
carriage. It is through these arms f, f, that the brakes are put into
operation by the mechanism herein-after described.
The fixed guide bars e and guiding blocks & may be dispensed with,
and the brake blocks be connected to levers 7, 9, as represented in
Figure 5, tho said levers g, g, being acted upon by the coupling rods i
and levers f, as before described. By means of the vertical springs /
bearing against the coupling bars i the brake blocks a, a, b, b, are pressed
from the peripheries of the wheels and the brakes thrown out of action.
The parts for operating the brake blocks a, a, b, b, are constructed as
follows: Underneath the carriage and extending along the bottom of
the carriage is a strong central rod k capable of sliding freely in tho
bearings 1, 1. This rod k is of such length that when the train (con-
sisting of carriages provided with rods similar to the rod ) is made up
by the coupling together of the carriages, the ends of the rod k on one
carriage are situated a short distance from the ends of the rods on the
carriages respectively before and behind it. It is by the sliding of the
rods k, k, on the carriages that the brakes are worked through the
levers, and connecting rods i, i. The ends of the sliding central rods k
are provided with disks, as shown at m, somewhat similar to those of
buffers. Or when disks of the kind represented at m would interfere
with the couplings of the carriages semicircular forks of the kind

page_text: represented at n, Figure 6, may be employed, the couplings being
surrounded by or situated within the said forks n of the sliding rods k
on two adjoining carriages. On each side of the sliding rod k of each
pair of wheels are rollers or pulleys p, p, q, q. Passing through a slot
or opening in the sliding rod k, or fastened to the said rod, is a
chain r, the said chain being situated between the rollers p, p, q, 9, on
each side of the sliding rod. From the inner ends of the chain r.other
chains 8, 8, pass in opposite directions, and are respectively fixed to the
vertical arms or levers ƒ ƒ, which bear on the connecting rods i, i, of
the brake blocks a, a, b, b. The way in which the connecting chain”
passes through the opening ³ in the rod k, and the chains 8, 8, are con-
nected to the levers f, f, of the brake blocks on opposite sides of the
same wheel will be best understood by an examination of Figure 8.
Each pair of wheels of the carriage is furnished with the connecting
chains 7, 8, 8, and guide rollers p, q, as seen in the Drawings.
The guide rollers p, q, may be covered by a covering plato p³, as seen
in Figure 2. When the sliding rod k is moved in either direction tho
central chain r is tightened by the action of the angular side of the
opening k³ upon it (see Figure 3), and the side chains 8, e, are also
tightened in opposite directions, and the break blocks 'a, a, and b, b, aro
simultaneouely pressed (through the action of the arms f, f, bearing on
the coupling rods i, i,) on opposite sides of their respective wheels. The
samo action takes place upon each pair of wheels of the carriage to
which the brake is applied.
The sliding rod k may be worked in the following manner, but I do
not limit myself to any particular mechanism for working the said
. sliding rod :—At any convenient part of the carriage is a lever u, the
lower arm of which is forked and jointed to the rod k, and the upper
end is connected by a swivelling joint to the screw turned by the
winch or handle wo or by a hand wheel.
"
By turning the winch to (or hand wheel) in one or other direction the
lever is moved in one or other direction and a corresponding motion
given to the sliding rod k and the break put into operation as before
.described.
The break mechanism described and represented may be applied to

page_text: making up a train of carriages provided with my improved brake
mechanism I place the carriage or van containing the lever 2 and screw
and winch v, w, for working the sliding rod at the front of the train,
so that the operating of the sliding rod at the front part of the train puts
the sliding rods & on the other carriages into operation, that is to say, b
when by operating the sliding rod on the front carriage the brakes of
that carriage are put into operation and the motion of that carriage
arrested the momentum of the other carriages causes them to advance,
when the sliding rods being in rapid succession brought into contact
with each other through their disc like ends m, m, or fork like ends n, n, 1
the motion of the whole of the said rods is effected, and the brakes of the
whole of the wheels of the train are in succession brought into operation
and the train brought to rest in a very short distance and in a very
short time.
Figure 7 represents in plan, and Figure 8 in cross section the arrange- ]
ment of my Invention in which the sliding rod is furnished with racks,
with which a toothed wheel or pinion on the axle of the pair of wheels
is made to gear for effecting the sliding of the rod with great force
by the motion of the carriage itself. ³, k³, are the racks on either side
the concave part in the sliding rod k, and x is the toothed wheel on?
the axle of the wheel c, c. When the brakes are out of action the
toothed wheel or pinion x is situated under the concave part k' in the
rod k, and communicates no motion to the said rod; when however
the sliding rod is moved by hand a short distance in either direction the
teeth of the rotating wheel or pinion x on the axle of the wheels are made
to engage with one or other of the racks ³, ³, and the further motion
of the said rod is effected with great force by the motion of the carriago
itself, and the carriage is brought to rest.
Instead of two pairs of pulleys on each side of the sliding rod, where
it crosses the axle, one pair may be employed with like effect, but I
prefer the arrangement described and represented. And although I
prefer to make the sliding rods operate upon the brakes by means of
chains acting upon the brake blocks on the opposite sides of the same
wheel, yet the sliding rods may be made to work the brakes by means of
a combination of levers and connections operating between the brako
blocks of two neighbouring wheels,

page_text: In place of the chains described wire rope or other flexible connecting
medium capable of resisting extension may be employed.
Figures 9, 10, and 11 represent my arrangement of mechanism for
working brake blocks situated between two neighbouring wheels,
Figure 9 representing a side elevation of the brake mechanism, Figure 10,
a plan of the under side of the same, the brakes being represented out
of action, and Figure 11, a plan partly in horizontal section of the
same with the brakes in action. a, b, are the brake blocks operating
upon the two neighbouring wheels c, d. The said blocks a, b, are
) carried by the guide blocks e working on the guide bar f, as before
described. Between the brake blocks a, b, is a toggle or knee joint con-
sisting of two arms g, h, jointed at i to the slide k working in the bed
plate fixed to the under side of the carriage. The free ends of the arms
of the toggle or knee joint g, h, bear respectively against the brake blocks
a, b, pressing on the neighbouring wheels c, d. By the straightening
of the arms of the toggle joint g, h, great pressure is put on the brake
blocks a, b, and the said blocks are pressed with great force against the
pheripheries of the wheels c, d, and the carriage brought rapidly to rest:
The slide k to which the toggle or knee joint g, h, is connected is
▸ operated upon in the following manner:-Along the middle of the under
side of the carriage is a sliding rod m of the kind, and worked in the
manner herein-before. described. On either side the said rod m are
levers p³, p³, turning on the joints q, the ends of the long arms p of
the said levers passing through slots in the sliding bar m. The arms p³
5 of the levers p, p, are cam shaped and double acting, one side of the
arm p acting when the bar m is moved in one direction, and the other
side of the arm p³ acting when the bar m is moved in the opposite direc-
tion. When the sliding bar m is moved in the direction indicated by
the arrow in Figure 10, one side of the cam-shaped arm p³ of the
lever p, p³, acts upon the slide k, and the latter by straightening the
arms of the toggle or knee joint g, h, puts the brake into action, as
represented in Figure 11. A like action takes place when the sliding
rod k is moved in a direction contrary to that indicated by the arrow, as
seen in Figure 11.

page_text: j
purpose. The said spring is fixed at its middle to the slide %, and the
ends of the said spring are connected respectively to the brako blocks a, b.
When the sliko k is pushed home by the action of the lever p, p³, tho
ends of the spring & are flattoned by bearing against the fixed plato s,
and the ends of the said spring force in opposite dircotions the brake
blocks, and press them forcibly against the peripheries of the wheels.
On removing the pressure from the slide & the onds of the spring in
resuming their normal position remove the brake blocks from the
wheels. The spring - may also be used in combination with the togglo
joint g, h.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention :-
-
First. The construction and combination of the parts herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the accom-
panying Drawings for working the brakes of railway and other carriages,
wagons, and trucks, whether the brake blocks press on opposite sides or
on one side only of the peripheries of the wheels, that is to say, the com-
bination with a central sliding rod extending along the under side of the
carriage, wagon, or truck, of chains or flexible connections acting through
arms or levers upon the brake blocks, substantially as described and
illustrated. Also the arrangements or combinations of parts of mechanism,
substantially as hercin-before described and illustrated in Figures 9, 10,
and 11, of the accompanying Drawings for operating the brake blocks
situated between two neighbouring wheels.
Secondly. Providing the projecting ends of the central sliding rod by
which the brake blocks are worked with heads, disks, or forked arms for
causing, on the arresting of the front part of the train, the whole of
the brakes on the other carriages to be brought in succession into
operation, substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
Lastly. The combination with the central sliding rod of toothed
mechanism, as herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 7 and 8
of the accompanying Drawings, for causing the motion of the carriage
itself, after the sliding rod on the first carriage or van has been moved

page_text: by hand to effect with great force the further motion of the said rod, and
the working of the brakes.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Stokes, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-seventh day of September
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
WILLIAM HENRY STOKES. (L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.