IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS OR MECHANISM FOR RETARDING AND STOPPING RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Richardson and John Tait
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 26th March 1866.
We, JAMES RICHARDSON, of Holywood, in the County of Dumfries, Mechanic,.
and JOHN TAIT, of Maxwelltown in the County of Kircudbright, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREAKS OR MECHANISM FOR RETARDING AND STOPPING RAILWAY AND OTHER
CARRIAGES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention essentially consists of a new or improved arrangement of
mechanism for retarding and stopping all the wheels of any number of the
carriages of a railway train by the guard or attendant at either end of the
train in a more simple and efficient manner than heretofore, and is as
follows:-I fix a right and a left conoidal volute, screw, or scroll cam (some-
what like a large fusee used for watch chains) on one axle of each or any
number of the carriages of a railway train desired, to be used as break carriages,
placed, by preference, with their largest ends close up to the inside of the two
running or driving wheels on the said axle; the one to be used when the
carriage and axle is running in one direction, and the other or second one to
be used when they are moving in the reverse direction. The actual breaks
themselves, and their immediate links connecting them to the duplex levers of
the transverse shaft below the carriages for working the breaks (by drawing
and pushing their segmental wood blocks against the periphery, by preference;
on both sides of all the wheels of the carriage) are or may be so far of almost

page_text: any of the usual arrangements now used, except that two powerful longitudinal
levers are so hinged to the cross shaft for working the breaks, or to an eye or
boss keyed on it, that their free ends can move horizontally and transversely
over the top of the two conical volutes, but so that the least vertical motion
given to them in an upward direction will turn the shaft so as to put on or
bring the breaks into action against the wheels, and, vice versa, that any
motion given to them in a downward direction will take the breaks out of
action and allow the wheels and axles to revolve with the motion of the
carriage. Various mechanical arrangements may be adopted. for giving the
lateral motion to the free ends of the levers of the several cross shafts of the
break carriages throughout the train; one of which consists in having a light
longitudinal shaft carried, and capable of revolving in bearings below the
centre of each carriage; the ends of these shafts being made to project a little
beyond the buffer heads are constructed with or in the form of long "quarter-
lap" couplings or other simple joints, so that when any two ends of different
carriages are coupled together the ends of the shafts would glide into each
other with little trouble, and form one continuous shaft, and be free to move
in a longitudinal direction at these joints or couplings as the buffer heads and
springs yield out or in by the varying momentum and concussion of a train of
such carriages in motion; or otherwise this motion and distance between/the
carriages might be compensated for by making each shaft in two parts
attached by a long spring-box coupling below each carriage. Lateral links.or
rods aro jointed to the free ends of the said levers, and stretch across the said
centre shaft, and are either attached by ratchet or toothed racks 'to a corres
ponding ratchet or toothed rack wheel or wheels fixed on the shaft or to
separate loose ratchet or rack wheels worked by a fixed wheel on the shaft in
such a manner that by the simple turning of the longitudinal shaft by the
guard or attendant at any part of the train in one direction it would push one
lever of each coupled break carriage over the proper right or ascending left
scroll cam (according to the direction the train was running, and conséquently
the wheels and axles carrying the scroll.cams were turning at the time), so as
to gradually and powerfully raise all the levers on that side of the carriages,
and retard or stop the motion of the wheels and axles when desired; and by
turning the shaft back to its former normal position the lever would be
brought back over the small end of the cam, but by continuing the motion of
the shaft in this the reverse direction to that first named beyond the said normāl
position, where both levers are out of action; all the levers on the opposite side
of the carriages would be brought over 'the other set of scroll cams, so as to
retard or stop the train when it was running in the opposite direction' in 'the

page_text: manner described in reference to bringing the first set of levers and scroll,
cams into or out of action. The levers and their transverse links and racks
and rack wheels, when these latter are loose and separate from the fixed wheel.
on the longitudinal shaft for giving them motion, may in some cases be held
in their fixed normal position out of action with the conical scroll cams by a
light spring or weighted catch lever easily overcome or released by the first
part of the motion of the longitudinal shaft when turned in either direction to
put the levers over the scrolls into action. When ratchet teeth are used on
the wheels and rack ends of the links, these may be formed on each side of
an annular groove in the wheels (in place of on the periphery), cut in reverse
directions gearing into corresponding teeth on each side of the rack end of the
links, which would traverse in. the groove so as to push the scroll levers into
action or draw them out of action, according to. which direction the longitu-
dinal shaft was turning and the particular side teeth which were in action;
and inclined, or wedged surfaces either, on the travelling, links, or on the frame
of the carriage, or on, the sides of the. ratchet wheels would put the proper
ratchet teeth of the rack into or out of gear with those of the wheel at the
ends of the stroke, when the scroll lever, had been put into gear or brought
back to its normal position all in readiness for the next.action or stroke of
the links. In place of the revolving longitudinal shaft being made to move
the longitudinal levers laterally into gear with the scroll cams by links or
racks and toothed gearing, as described, it may also be made to do so by
transverse, duplex levers. attached or fulcrumed to the under frame of the
carriages, one such double armed, lever for each longitudinal break lever on
each side, of the longitudinal shaft. One of the arms of these levers, which
are by preference knee or bell-crank levers, works in a short screw barrel
with reverse conical screw ends on the longitudinal shaft, and when the levers
are in their normal position they are a short distance on the parallel barrel at one
thread or so from the descending screw cones, so that when the shaft is turned
in either, direction one end of each of all these duplex levers on one side will.
be screwed down one cone, and by this descent or motion and by the weight
of the lever, or the power of a spring cause the other end of the lever to put
the break lever attached to it into gear with the scroll cam, and, vice versa,,
when the shaft is turned in the other direction, the free end of the transverse
lever will be screwed up to the large end of the cone, and so draw the break
lever out of action back to its normal position. When the shaft is turned past
the stationary or normal position it would put all the break levers on the other,
side of the carriages into or out of action when the carriages were running in
the reverse direction, as described in reference to those on the other side. By
......

page_text: another arrangement the back end of each duplex lever simply holds the free
end of the break lever out of gear with the scroll cam, against the power
of a light spring which pulls it into gear when the front end of the holding
lever is depressed by a single tooth or projecting vane for each pair of levers'
in a boss or barrel in the longitudinal shaft, which; as before stated for the
former modification, would put all the break levers into action on one side or
the other, according to the direction the shaft was turned by the guard or
attendant, and the levers could be screwed back out of gear with the scrolls,
so as to be held there by the back end of the lateral holding levers until again'
released by turning the scrolls in the reverse direction to that which screwed
the levers and breaks into action by starting the train for a few turns back-
wards; or these levers might be drawn back out of gear by a small winding
barrel on the longitudinal shaft and two light chains wound round it, each
attached to the free ends of the two levers below each carriage, when the shaft
was turned in one direction, and then held out by the chain and barrel against
the power of a light spring to each lever, which would put the levers into
action when the barrel and shaft were turned in the opposite direction, or the
levers could be held out of gear and released by the holding levers of the
preceding arrangements for so doing, assisted in the drawing them out of
action by the chains and chain barrels just described. In place of the ends
of the transverse links, levers, and chains, for drawing the free ends of the
break levers off the scroll cams being attached direct thereto, they may each be
attached to one end of a short lever fulcrumed to the extreme end of each
break lever; and this lever being allowed a slight motion at the first pull or
turn of the longitudinal shaft by the guard or attendant causes the heel or
short end of the small lever to act powerfully on the side of the scroll cam so
as to start or force the break lever off when it is at its tightest. "Several other
arrangements of the improved break mechanism herein described may also be
adopted; as, for example, the two scroll cams might be made so as to ascend
both up to the right or left-hand side of the carriage, and in this case the
scroll or thread of the one would require to be angled in the reverse direction
to the other, and instead of the break levers being raised by the scroll cams to
put on the breaks they might be depressed. In these arangements the scroll
cams and levers are preferred to be the same on both sides of the carriages, so
that whichever ends of the carriages come together the break levers on one
side, will all put on the breaks when the train and wheels are running in one
direction, and so that all the levers on the opposite side will put on the breaks
when, the carriages are running in the reverse direction. The essential new
features in these improvements are the arrangement and construction of a

page_text: scroll cam or cams for actuating the main break levers forcibly, so as to put
on the breaks of railway and other carriages, and of the wheels of other
vehicles and machines running at high speed, so as to retard and stop them
by the power and velocity of these axles and wheels themselves; and also in
the case of trains of railway carriages the arrangement and construction of. a
rotating longitudinal shaft below each carriage, connected at their end so as
to form one continuous shaft throughout any number of the successive
carriages for actuating or putting the said levers into or out of gear with the
scroll cams with the greatest ease by the guard or attendant, and so as to
bring all or any number of the breaks into forcible action by the revolving
wheels and axles of the carriages themselves, all as herein described, by any
of the several mechanical arrangements or modifications for so doing, or any
mere modification of these arrangements.