IMPROVE- MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKE APPARATUS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Foakes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th June 1882.
EDWARD FOAKES, of Cardiff in the County of Glamorgan, Laborer, "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKE APPARATUS"
My invention relates to brakes and is designed to provide railway trains with
apparatus which may be cheaply and conveniently applied to the same, and will
act very efficiently as a continuous automatic brake, and may also be conveniently
arranged to serve as a hand brake.
The said invention comprises the combination with the brake shoes or blocks
of toggle-arms and a crank or lever which is mounted on a short shaft or axle and
operated by, or through the medium of, a sliding rod or bar which projects
through the frame into the proper position to be pushed inward by the adjacent
carriage when the speed of the train is checked by the driver. The said shaft is
supported in bearings attached to the frame of the vehicle and in addition to the
said crank, has fixed on it, an arm to which the said sliding or push bar is con-
nected. A spring is provided on the forward side of this arm to prevent the too
sudden or rigid action of the apparatus in putting on the brakes, and another
spring is placed behind the said arm to assist in taking off the brakes. The said
sliding bar is supported and works in suitable guides attached to the frame of the
vehicle. The forward end of the said sliding bar which projects through the
frame, as aforesaid is, in some cases, jointed so that it may be raised to release the
said bar and thereby take off the brake, and I provide a chain or other means
which will allow this jointed piece to be actuated or adjusted by a person at the
side of the vehicle so that the danger of entering the space between the carriages
of a train will be obviated. This apparatus is in some instances applied to railway
carriages or wagons provided with the usual hand brakes, and the ordinary lever
and shaft of such brakes may be retained if desired; I prefer in this case to fit the
said lever loosely on its shaft or spindle in combination with a dog or tappet on
an arm fixed thereon so that the said lever may be used to adjust the brakes
independently of the aforesaid apparatus.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Edward Foakes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th December 1882.
EDWARD FOAKES, of Cardiff, in the County of Glamorgan, Laborer, "IMPROVE
MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKE APPARATUS
"
My invention relates to brakes, and is designed to provide railway trains with
apparatus which may be cheaply and conveniently applied to the same, and will
act very efficiently as a continuous automatic brake, and may also be conveniently
arranged to serve as a hand-brake.
The said invention comprises the combination, with the brake shoes or blocks,
of toggle-joints and a crank or lever mounted on a short shaft or axle and operated
by, or through the medium of, a sliding rod or bar which projects through the
frame of the vehicle into the proper position to be moved by an adjacent vehicle,
if the speed of the train is checked by the engine driver, or in the event of the
separation of the train or the derailment of any of the vehicles thereof.
The said Invention is exemplified in the accompanying drawings under various
forms or modifications which I will now proceed to describe.
Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of the frame of a railway waggon or truck fitted
with my improved apparatus.
Figure 2 is a sectional sido elevation of the said waggon and apparatus.
Figure 3. is a transverse section on the line x, x Figure 1.
Figures 4 and 5 show in plan and side elevation details of the said apparatus
slightly modified in construction
Figure 6 is a plan of the frame of a waggon provided with a modified form of
my said apparatus.
Figure 7 is a sectional side elevation
Figure 8 is a partial sectional elevation of one end, and
Figure 9 is an elevation of the other end of the same.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.
In the waggon illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the shaft a is supported in
bearings in the brackets b attached to the frame of the vehicle; the said shaft has
fixed on it the arms a¹; these arms, and the links a³, constitute the toggle-joints
which are connected with the brake-shoes c. The said shaft also has fixed on it
the lever or arm d to which the sliding or push bar e is connected. The bar o is
provided with a spring f, at the forward side of this arm d, arranged to bear
against the fixed collar e' of the said bar, and against the arm d, to prevent the
too sudden or rigid action of the apparatus in putting on the brakes; another
spring is placed behind the said arm to facilitate, or assist in, taking off the
brakes. The said sliding bar c is supported, and works in, suitable guides formed
in, or attached to, the frame of the vehicle. The forward end of the said sliding
bar which projects through the frame, as aforesaid, is, in some cases, jointed so
that it may be raised to release the said bar and thereby take off the brako and I
provido a chain or other means which will allow this jointed piece to be actuated
or adjusted by a person at the side of the vehicle so that the danger of entering
the space between the carriages of a train will be obviated. I prefer, however,
to adopt the arrangements shewn in the drawings. In Figures 1 and 2, h is an
arm which is pivotted at h' and extends through a transverse aperture in the

page_text: buffer to the end of the bar e with which it is in contact, or to which it is connected
in any suitable manner; the said arm h has on it a piece which projects through
a hole in the front of the buffer and has a head or flange h properly arranged to
be acted on by the buffer of the adjacent vehicle when the speed of the latter is
checked. The pivot-pin at h¹ is removable and may have a chain or cord attached
to it and so arranged that the said pin may be removed from its socket by the
guard or driver to release or take off the brakes
By a modification of my invention I provide means whereby, in case of the
disconnection of any vehicle fitted with my brake, from the after part of a train,
the brakes will be put on by the pulling backward of the crank or lever d. For
this purpose I connect a rod i to the end of the bar e, and I extend the said rod
through the rear end of the frame of the vehicle and provide the same with a
chain to connect with the adjacent vehicle. On this rod is fixed a collar i³ so
arranged in combination with the catch or pawle that, when the rod i is pulled
out end wise, this pawl will drop behind the collar and thereby hold the brake-
blocks firmly against the wheels. To prevent the rod i from being pushed
outward by the bar e, I connect it therewith by means of the link i', in one ond
of which the bar e is free to slide.
In Figures 4 and 5 I have shewn a modification of the above described apparatus
in which I connect the push-bar or rode with a lover on a rocking shaft k
supported in suitable bearings near the end of the vehicle. The bent arm which
is connected to another lever on the said shaft projects forward through the
frame and takes hold of the buffer just behind its flange, so that it will be pushed
inward when the said buffer is acted on by the buffer of the adjacent vehicle, on
the retardation or stoppage of the front part of the train; the said arm as it is
pushed inward, moves the rocking shaft on its axis and thereby causes the bar e to
put on the brake,
My apparatus may be applied to railway carriages or waggons provided with
the usual hand brakes and the ordinary lever and shaft of such brakes may be
retained if desired, I prefer, in this case, when a long lever is used, to fit the said
lever loosely on its shaft or spindle, in combination with a dog or tappet on an
arm fixed thereon, so that the said lever may be actuated to adjust the brakes
independently of the aforesaid apparatus. This lever is marked m in Figures 1
and 3. In vehicles where a screw is used I provide a socket in the screw-shaft,
with a long slot through which passes a key so that the brake may be applied by
my arrangement without lifting the old brake-wheel.
In Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9, I have shown my invention applied to a waggon in
such a manner that the brakes may be put on by either pushing or pulling the
longitudinal rods or bars a. A rock-shaft is provided at each end of the
vehicle; these shafts are fitted to turn in suitable bearings and each shaft k has
on it two levers ',, as above described; the lever has connected with
it a bent rod or arm / which extends to the outside of the face of the buffer, or
into any other suitable position. The levers are connected with the draw-
bars e. These draw-bars are supported, at their inner ends, in suitable bearings or
brackets e. It will be seen that these ends of the said draw-bars are arranged
parallel to each other immediately over the brake-lever & and are formed with long
alots or apertures wherein are fitted the rollers e. From the bracket n which is
secured to the frame, or to the bottom of the waggon a chain o is suspended and
extends down between the rollers or pulleys e³ in the said draw-bar ends; below
the said pulleys the chain is connected by a spring with the end of the brake-
lever d. This lever is free to turn loosely or independently on its shaft a except
when engaged by a sliding clutch-jawp which is arranged in combination with a
clutch-jaw in the boss of the said lever. is a rod extending through the framing
and provided with an arm * engaging with the sliding clutch jaw p; the ends
of the said rod are arranged as shown in Figure 6, so that the said clutch can be

page_text: operated or adjusted from either side of the waggon. When theso clutch-jaws are
disengaged from, or out of gear with, each other, the movement of the lever d on
its axis will have no effect on the brakes, but, when the said sliding clutch-jaw is
caused to engage with the jaw on the lever d, the latter, and the shaft a, move
together, and the said shaft, through the medium of the toggle joints a³, a², will
operate the brakes. The result of the peculiar arrangement of the chain o in
combination with the draw-bars e and brake lever d is that, when either of the
Baid draw-bars moves longitudinally in either direction out, or away, from the
position shewn in Figure 7, the chain o will raise the lever d and put on the brakes.
The pulleys or rollers e³ are not essential but they facilitate the working of the
chain. It will be obvious from the above description, that, when the distanco
between the said waggon and the adjacent one at either end is diminished, the
bent arm or rod at that end will be acted on by the buffer or frame of the
adjacent vehicle and the bar e will be forced inward. And I provide for these rods
being pulled outward (in the event of a separation of the parts of the train) by
connecting a light chain r to the bent rod or arm l, which chain is to be also
attached to the adjacent vehicle, and I arrange a small catch or pawls in
combination with the rod so that, when the latter is drawn outward, the said
pawl will drop into the notch or recess in the rod; the latter will then be held
fast and the chain r being the weakest part will break when the vehicles separate.
When it is desired that my invention should be applied as a continuous brake
to a train, so that it can be adjusted by the engine driver or guard, I arrange a
small lever on the clutch rod and provide a cord or chain extending therefrom along
the train to the engine or guard's van, By pulling this cord or chain in one
direction the two parts of the clutch will be caused to engage with each other, and
by pulling it in the other direction the disengagement of the parts of the clutch
will be effected, so that the brakes may act as described.
My invention affords the means for making each vehicle complete in itself, so
that it can be advantageously used in a train with other vehicles furnished with
any description of brake, or without brakes.
It can be applied, at a nominal cost, to any railway vehicles or rolling stock
without removing, or interfering with the working of, any brake which may be
already upon the same. When applied throughout the entire train, this improved
brake apparatus can be thrown in or out of gear by the engine driver or guard and
the brake of each separate vehicle can be thrown in or out of gear from either side
of the train thus avoiding the danger incurred by standing between the vehicles,
which it is necessary to do with other automatic or continuous brakes.
With my brake it is only necessary to produce resistance in front to cause the
brakes to act; therefore if the driver checks or stops the train, or if the engine or
any waggon leaves the rails, the increased resistance at once puts the brakes hard
on, whereas other brakes when a vehicle leaves the rails (unless the train is
separated) will not apply themselves. Moreover, in the event of a break down,
or separation of the train, my brake is pulled hard on and the danger of collision
is avoided.
One very important object of my invention is to furnish a good and reliable
brake for goods and mineral traffic.
Having thus fully described my said invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I make no claim to the above described
apparatus or mechanism, otherwise than in a system wherein the brakes of a vehicle
are adjusted or adjustable by the action of an adjacent vehicle, but I claim the
said improvements whether considered with reference to their use as a separate
brake on each vehicle (with or without the assistance of an ordinary hand brake)
or as a continuous brake, that is to say 1 Claim.
On a railway vehicle, the combination of the brakes, consisting of the toggle-
joints and shoes or blocks, with the longitudinal rods or bars arranged to be pushed

page_text: or pulled by the adjacent vehicle and to act on the said brakes through the medium
of apparatus or mechanism substantially as set forth, and described with reference
to either of the forms or modifications illustrated in the accompanying drawinga.
In Witness whereof I the said Edward Foakes have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Fourteenth day of December in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.