IMPROVE- MENTS IN DRAW BAR APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND WAGGONS
Year: 1875

page_text: :
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Jesse Kirkman at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
May 1875.
'
I, JESSE KIRKMAN, of Chorley, in the County of Lancaster, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN DRAW BAR APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND WAGGONS," to
be as follows: —
"
The object of my Invention is the construction and arrangement of
the draw bars of railway carriages and waggons in such a manner that
the draw bars will be continuous, and the strain of the draught will be
borne and transmitted thereby from end to end of the train, instead of
being borne and transmitted partly through the draw bars and partly
through the frames or trucks of the carriages or waggons, and each
carriage or waggon will therefore only be subjected to the strain due to
its own weight or load, and the draw bar springs will be to a great extent
relieved of pressure.
In the ordinary arrangement of draw bars in a railway, mineral, or

page_text: feet from the centre, their inner extremities being connected with springs
which are secured to the middle bearers at about two feet from tho
centre of the frame, and which also serve for the draw bar springs.
Each draw bar is therefore separate or independent of the other, and the
strain of the draught is borne by the waggon frames and transmitted t
through them to the end of the train.
In applying my Invention to a mineral or goods waggon I unite tho
-two draw bars by a connecting rod, thereby forming a continuous draw
bar, extending from one end to the other end of the said waggon. I use
draw bar boxes which are secured to the inside of the buffer planks, or 1
the inside of the middle bearers, or to suitable cross ties of the framing,
and which are fitted with an india-rubber ring or number of such rings,
or other suitable springs. The said connecting rod is formed with
sockets, and the ends of the said draw bars are secured therein by pins
or cotters, or coupling nuts or otherwise, and the said sockets also secure 1
the washers or lids of the draw bar boxes; and I prefer to make the
draw bars of such a length that they extend from one inch to three
inches beyond the end of the frame in addition to their hooks.
. The above arrangement will have to be modified in waggons which.
have one of the said draw bar boxes at one end of the frame, and an a
ordinary steel plate spring at the other end of the said frame, and in
cases where the carriages or waggons have an ordinary steel plate spring
placed at each end of the same.
In these instances I form sockets or nipples on the frame or buckle
which binds the plates of the steel springs together, and I make the
draw bar continuous from end to end of the carriage or waggon by the
use of a connecting rod, formed with a socket at one end and solid or
plain at the other end, or the connecting rod may be a straight bar of
iron, or a tube or cylinder, the connection with the draw bar and
springs being effected as above described or otherwise. By reason of
the close proximity of the springs the junction may be formed by a
nipple and a socket on the buckle, as in some cases the springs are not
more than eight inches apart, or the two buckles may be welded together;
or in these instances the connecting rod may have a socket and a plain
end. And to prevent the displacement of the said connecting rod, I
provide a cross piece or cross pieces, or other suitable apparatus to
form a guide for the said connecting rod.

page_text: From the above description it will be obvious that in a train of
carriages or waggons provided with my improved apparatus the strain of
the draught will be transmitted through the draw bars, and that no
carriage or waggon frame will have to bear any of the strain of the
draught of the following carriages or waggons. And moreover the
wearing of the draw bar springs will be greatly diminished, as one of the
two draw bar springs of each carriage will be at rest while the other is
under pressure.
In applying my Invention to a carriage or waggon the existing draw
bars and springs may be retained, but in some instances the draw bars
will require lengthening, and the ends must be formed to fit the
sockets.
The said Invention is applicable to all railway carriages or waggons
which have draw bar boxes or middle bearers, or inside and bearers, or
to those which have one draw bar box at the middle or at one end, and
a combined steel draw bar and buffer spring at the other end, or to those
which have two combined steel draw bars and buffer springs.