Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Automatically Applying Brakes on a Moving Train.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 7th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 24th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 12th Jan., 18:5
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE Fox SAFETY BLOCK AND SIGNAL Co.,
of 765, Broad Street, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States of
America, Manufacturers.]
Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Automatically
Applying Brakes on a Moving Train.
1, WILLIAM HENRY BECK, of 115 Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
The present invention relates to a means for actuating a brake valve upon a
moving train, and bringing the brakes into operation automatically by means of a
tripping arm mounted at the side of the railway.
The invention is applicable to any class of brakes which are held normally out
of operation by the pressure of air, steam, or other fluid, and are brought normally
into operation by a discharge of such pressure. The tripping arm or dog has
heretofore been actuated by a suitable connection with a switch or draw bridge,
such connection operating when the switch or draw bridge was misplaced to set the
tripping arm in an operative position to engage the lever of the brake valve. The
brake valve is attached to some part of the locomotive with its lever projected into
line with the tripping arm, and is thus actuated by the latter when it is required to
stop the train automatically.
The improvements relate partly, to the construction of the valve and its casing,
and the means for holding the valve open when actuated by the dog or tripping
arm, partly, to an improved construction for the dog itself, and partly, to systems
of trend-levers for positively moving the dog to its operative and inoperative
positions. The improvement in the valve consists in the application of a removable
cap to the valve casing, with a valve seat in the cap and a grooved stem projected
outside of the cap, with connections to a lever to be actuated by contact with
the dog.
The lever is preferably pivoted upon a lug at one side of the casing, and
connected with a cross head upon the valve stem by links. Ratchet teeth are
formed upon the links or the valve stem, and a pawl is provided to engage the
same to hold the valve open when actuated by the dog; thus securing a sufficient
discharge of the pressure to effect the operation of the brakes. The dog consists
in an arm attached rigidly to a rock shaft which is mounted movably in a bearing
by the side of the railway, and the dog is provided with springs fulcrumed, upon
the bearing and acting in opposition to one another to hold the dog normally in the
path of the brake valve lever.
The shaft is connected by suitable cranks and rods, or by a pulley and cords to
the draw bridge, switch or tread-lever which is designed to actuate the dog, and
such connections operate, when the track is safe for the passage of a train, to shift
the dog to an inoperative position; the springs being bent at such time and
being thus adapted, if the connections are accidentally broken, to automatically
throw the dog into an operative position. Such dogs are usually formed with a
tee head, to engage the brake valve lever with certainty if the locomotive sways to
and fro upon the track, and such tee head is projected a few inches above the level

page_text: of the rails, to avoid hanging the brake valve lever so low as to strike accidental
obstructions.
In this situation the tee head is liable to be engaged by the edge of a snow plow,
which is commonly set much nearer to the rails than an engine pilot.
To prevent the breaking of the tripping arm by the hooking of the tee head
over the edge of the plow, I form the edges of the tripping arm with projecting
ribs, which cause the snow plow to bend the arm downward before it engages the
tee head.
Safety springs are placed in the connections, to yield at such time, and are made
of sufficient strength to actuate the dog normally. I provide the brake valve
lever at the outer end with a transverse pivot to which is fitted a segmental trip,
inclined upon one edge to be pushed upward by contact with the dog, and having
its opposite edge held by its weight at an inclination contrary to its operative
position.
A stop is formed on the leyer, which checks such side of the trip when pushed
by the dog into a suitable inclined position to slide upward.
For guarding a given section of track, I mount a primary tread-lever adjacent
to the rails at one end of the section, and suitably connect it with the dog, to set
the same in an operative position when the wheels of the train pass over such
tread-lever. A secondary tread-lever is arranged at the opposite end of the block
and connected reversely with the dog, so that it retracts the dog when pressed by
the wheels.
Upon a single track, where trains are run in both directions, dogs are mounted at
both ends of the section, and the primary tread-lever is placed intermediate to the
ends, with secondary levers near the opposite ends of the section. The depression
of the primary lever operates to set the dogs at both ends of the section, while the
passing of the train from either end of the section operates to retract the dogs by
pressure upon the secondary lever. An entire line of railway may be provided
with an overlapping safety block system, by arranging the primary lever of each
section for actuation by the moving train in advance of the last secondary lever of
the preceding block, whereby the dogs at opposite ends of each section are
set in an operative position before the dogs upon the next preceding block are
retracted.
Dated this 7th dar of July 1994
W. H. BECK,
115, Cannon Street, London, Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Automatically
Applying Brakes on a Moving Train.
I, WILLIAM HENRY BECK, of 115 Cannon Street, London, Consulting
Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had
to the accompanying five sheets of drawings and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
The present invention furnishes an improved construction for the brake valve
used in connection with a dog or arm at the side of the railway track for
automatically arresting a railway train.
The brake valve is attached to some part of the locomotive, with its lever
projected into line with the dog or arm, and contact with the latter shifts the dog
and actuates the brakes as desired.
Such dog may be actuated by suitable connections to a switch or draw bridge, in
which case I provide means for setting the dog automatically in its operative

page_text: position if the connections to the switch or draw bridge are broken. Such dog or
arm has heretofore been combined with tread levers at the front and rear ends of
the track section or block in which the train required protection; the dog being
provided with a lock to hold it, when set in its operative position by the tread lever
at the rear end of such block; and the lock being detached by the tread lever at
the front end of such block, and the dog then retracted from the path of the brake
lever by a suitable spring.
It will be observed that such a construction is only operative with trains moving
in one direction, as a train moving in the opposite direction would set the dog in
advance of the train, and the dog would thus cause the stoppage of the train as it
moved forward.
For a block system of overlapping sections, I move the dog positively to its
operative and inoperative positions by means of tread levers connected reversely
with the dog, so that the depression of a primary lever may "set" the dog
for operation, while the depression of a secondary lever retracts the dog from such
position.
In the drawing,
Fig. 1 shows the pilot of a locomotive with the valve and the dog for a switch
or draw bridge;
Fig. 2 is a plan of the dog and its bearing; Fig. 3 a section of the same on
line x, x, in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 a side view;
Figs. 5 and 6 are an end and side view of the valve enlarged; Fig. 7 the same
in horizontal section where hatched;
Fig. 8 a cross section of valve stem G¹;
Figs. 9 and 10 front and side view of valve with special foot;
Fig. 11 is a side elevation, and Fig. 12 a plan of the fixtures for the block
system for double track.;
Fig. 13 a side elevation of fixtures for single track ;
Fig. 14 the bearing and coupling crank for duplex tread lever;
Fig. 15 a side view, and Fig. 16 an edge view of the dog and its bearings ;
Fig. 17 a diagram in plan of the double track fixtures, and
Fig. 18 a diagram in plan of the single track fixtures.
A is the valve casing with feet B secured by bolts to bracket C upon the
pilot C. The casing has a lug D on which the brake lever K is pivoted, with
cranks E connected by links J to the cross head H, which is attached to the valve
stem G¹.
The casing has a valve seat F with valve G seated therein, and the stem G'
projected outside, the stem being formed with grooves I to permit the escape
of air.
One of the links J is formed with two ratchet teeth N to engage a spring
pawl o having an adjusting screw o³ and secured upon the casing by slotted foot o¹
and bolt o.
A trip L is held by pivot upon the brake lever K and arranged to swing
between the stops m' and m².
Its rear edge L' is formed with a face inclined to the dog M, to be pushed
upward by contact therewith; and as two such faces cannot be formed in the
same relation to the fulcrum of the brake lever, the weight of the stop is arranged
to hold the front edge L' at an opposite angle to its operative position.
In Fig. 1, the trip is shown in dotted lines in position to contact with the tee
head M of the dog when the engine is running backward, and is shown in full
lines moved into contact with the stop m' as the engine is running forward, and
thus presenting an upwardly inclined edge L' which slides upward upon the head
of the dog, to open the valve.
When the brake lever is pushed upward by contact in either direction with the
head of the dog, the teeth N upon the link J are engaged by the pawl o and the
valve is held open so as to set the brakes in operation; and it remains open until
the pawl is lifted by the engineer, using the eye P*, (Fig. 6).

page_text: Slots Band set screws B' are shown in the foot in Fig. 9 to adjust the valve
vertically. The dog M is secured upon shaft S in bearing T, and is connected
with a switch or draw bridge by pulley U and cords V.
.
Such connections are designed to throw the dog upward when the switch or
draw is open, but if such connections were broken the arm would fall down; and I
prevent such occurrence by springs W having their ends WI pressed upon opposite
sides of the arm.
Such springs hold the arm normally upright in the path of the
trip L upon the brake valve lever.
The tee head M' is liable to be broken if caught by the edge of a snow plough,
and I prevent the tee head from engaging with such an object by forming the
edge of the dog with ribs Q which contact with the snow plough and push the dog
down the springs W yielding at such time.
The arrangement of tread levers where the trains move in one direction only is
shown in Figs. 11 and 12, a brake valve F¹ of mere plug shape being shown
in Fig. 11, with valve lever G2 having a trip H' depending therefrom (with
straight sides) and adapted to swing to an inclined position against the stops in
both directions, to be actuated by the dog.
C and C are bearings at the ends of a block or section with rock shafts D'
and D¹ therein, the shaft D carrying the dog E at the rear of the section.
Intermediate to the shafts the primary tread lever I is pivoted to a stand K'
and jointed to lever L³ upon a rock shaft M' in bearing N¹.
A secondary tread lever J2 is mounted at the forward end of the block and
connected by arm L to shaft D'. The three rock shafts are provided with
double cranks O* connected by rods P₁ having turn buckles Q and tension
springs S of suitable strength to hold the dog in an operative position; but
adapted to yield if the dog be pushed by a snow plow. The arms L³ and L*
project from their shafts in opposite directions, and the primary lever I and
secondary lever J2 are thus reversely connected. A wheel R is shown pressed
upon the lever I', thus forcing its end downward, which operates to set the dog E¹
in the path of the trip H', and such primary tread lever would be arranged to thus
elevate the dog when the train first enters the block.
The locomotive wheel would, at the forward end of the block, encounter the
secondary lever J, which operates reversely upon the dog E and turns it to an
inoperative position as the train leaves the block.
The reverse connections of the levers operate also to raise the primary lever I*,
in readiness to reset the dog, when operated by the succeeding train.
Where the track is used for trains running in both directions, dogs E* are placed
at both ends of the section as shown in Fig. 13, and the secondary levers J¹
and J are placed adjacent thereto.
The primary tread lever is preferably formed of two bars I¹ and 1*, connected
to the same crank L by pivot i, and the rock shaft M' is connected with both the
secondary levers and the dogs Et by the rods P'.
The primary lever is shown elevated, in readiness for a train to enter the block,
which operates to depress such lever and set the dogs in an operative position at
both ends of the block, at the same time raising both the secondary levers J¹
and J so as to retract the dogs when the train passes off of the block at either
end. A single block of such construction may be used at a station, tunnel or
bridge, but Figs. 17 and 18 show an overlapping block system adapted to protect
a long line of road; the different elements being indicated merely by dots with
reference letters, the dogs being designated by the letter E, the primary lever by
the letter and the secondary levers by the letter J. The rods connecting the
tread levers are indicated by dotted lines P¹ bent to indicate the overlapping of
the devices upon the adjacent sections; although in practice such rods would be
carried in a straight line. In Fig. 17 the arrows indicate the direction in which
the cars move upon the trucks A' and A'; while the construction in Fig. 18
is adapted for the movement of the cars in both directions.
A train entering the track would press upon the lever I in the second block

page_text: before it depresses the secondary lever J' of the preceding block, and such
operation would be repeated as each block was entered, thus constantly setting a.
dog behind the train before retracting the dog upon the section in advance.
Any form of dog whether sliding or oscillating may be used to intercept the
brake valve lever and actuate the same in the desired manner when the dog is.
moved by the tread levers.
With the brake valve properly mounted upon a moving train and the brake
valve lever projected therefrom it would obviously be impossible for the lever to
engage a suitable dog sustained at the side of the track, without opening the
brake valve and thereby bringing the brakes into operation. The train would
thus be stopped without the agency of any person upon the train and with greater
certainty than could be attained if the engineer were required to act in obedience
to signals. With the overlapping arrangement of tread levers and dogs shown
in Figs. 7 and 8, it is obvious that no train would be capable of entering a given
block until any preceding train had actually passed from such block.
In applying my improvement to moving trains, I have been accustomed to
mount a brake valve upon each side of the locomotive, and to project the brake
valve lever from each of said valves at a similar distance beyond the outer side of
the track rail. The dog has been fixed at a corresponding distance from the rail
upon the outer side, and has been thus adapted to engage one of the brake valve
levers when the locomotive was facing or moving in either direction. The brake
valve with its lever may, however, be mounted upon any part of the moving train,
and the dog be fixed adjacent to the track rail in any corresponding position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that. what I
claim is:
1. In an emergency air-brake valve, the combination, with an arm for actuating
the valve lever, of a valve casing, a valve lever pivoted adjacent thereto and
provided with a trip to engage the arm, a valve with stem and suitable connection
to the valve lever, a pawl for locking the valve when opened, and means for
disengaging the pawl, substantially as herein set forth.
2. In an emergency air-brake valve, the combination, with the casing A having
the foot B for attachment to its support, and the lug D formed upon one side of
the casing, of the forked lever K having a trip L pivoted in its outer end, and
having the cranks E projected to the center line upon opposite sides of the
casing, the removable cap containing the valve seat F, with valve G having a
grooved stem G¹ projected outside of the cap, the cross head H secured upon the
stem, the links J connecting the cranks with the cross head, and provided with
one or more ratchet teeth, and the pawl o secured upon the casing and provided with
a handle projected beyond the side of the casing, as herein set forth.
3. The means for automatically actuating an air-brake valve, consisting in a
bearing having a rock shaft connected by suitable means with a tread lever,
switch or draw bridge, a dog attached to such shaft, and springs fulcrumed upon
the bearing and operating normally to hold the dog in the path of the brake valve
lever if such connections are broken.
4. In a dog for actuating an air-brake valve, the combination, with the arm M
having the tee head M', of the ribs Q projecting upon the arm beyond the sides of
the head, as herein set forth.
5. The combination, with the brake valve and a brake valve lever having a
transverse pin as described, of the pivoted trip L with stops to limit its motion
upon the pin, and the trip being weighted to throw its forward edge L' at an
inclination opposite to its operative inclination, as and for the purpose set forth.
6. In a device for automatically stopping railway trains, the combination, with
the brake valve lever carried by a moving train, of a dog mounted movably
beside the track and adapted, when set, to engage the brake valve lever, a primary
tread lever beside the track rail with connections for setting the dog in the path

page_text: of the brake lever by the depression of such tread lever, and a secondary trend
lever with connections for retracting the dog by the depression of such secondary
lever, substantially as herein set forth.
7. A device for automatically stopping railway trains upon a given block or
section of railway track, comprising dogs mounted movably in suitable bearings
beside the track at opposite ends of such block, and adapted when set to engage a
brake valve lever upon a moving train, a primary tread lever beside the track
rail with connections for setting both dogs, and two secondary levers near the
opposite ends of the section, with connections to the dogs, adapted, by the
depression of either of such levers by the passing train, to retract the dogs and
elevate the primary tread lever, substantially as herein set forth.
8. An overlapping safety block system comprising a series of primary tread
levers mounted at the side of the rail one at the middle of each block, dogs
mounted movably at the side of the track at the opposite ends of each block, and
adapted when set to engage a brake valve lever upon a moving train, with suitable
connections to the primary lever for setting such dogs by the depression of the
lever, a secondary lever near each end of the block with suitable connections to
both of the dogs for retracting the same by the depression of such lever, and the
primary lever of each section being arranged for actuation by the moving train
in advance of the last secondary lever of the preceding block, whereby the dogs
at opposite ends of each section are set in an operative position before the-dogs
upon the next preceding block are retracted, substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this 23rd day of November 1894.
W. H. BECK,
115, Cannon Street, London, Applicant.