CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS PROAL APPARATUS FOR RETARDING AND STOPPING RAILWAY CARRIAGES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, of
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, and 89, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris,
Patent Agent, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Armand le Comte
de Fontaine Moreau at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 1st September 1854.
I, PETER ARMAND le Comte DE FONTAINE MOREAU, of 4, South Street, Fins-
bury, London, and 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR RETARDING AND STOPPING RAILWAY CARRIAGES " to be as follows:-.
The Invention communicated to me consists in slackening the speed or
effecting the stoppage of railway carriages in motion by means of a suspended
lever setting in motion a rod extending the length of the carriage acting by
intermediate levers upon springs surrounding the axles.
In the annexed Drawings, Fig. 1, Drawing I., is a longitudinal-section, and
Fig. 2, Drawing II., a back view, of the apparatus applied to a carriage. A is
an articulated lever, with arms of unequal length turning on the axis a; the
dotted lines shew the lever raised. B, rod for transmitting the motion of the
lever A to the breaks by means of the small levers b, c; C, C, are collars fixed

page_text: to the axles of the wheels; D, D, springs surrounding the collars and serving
as breaks; F, drum, put in motion by the handle d. The drum communicates
its motion to the lever A by means of the cord G passing round the pulley e
at the top of the standards E, E; H, collar on the drum F; I, spring sur-
rounding the collar H, worked by a lever; J, a weight fixed to the end of the
longer arm of the lever A to cause its descent; K, chains for uniting the
carriages; L, keys connecting the rods (B) of the carriages together.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 1st March 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
ARMAND le Comte DE FONTAINE MOREAU, of 4, South Street, Finsbury,
London, and 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine Moreau, Her special license that I,
the said Peter Annand le Comte do Fontaine Moreau, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter Armand le Comte
de Fontaine Moreau, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RETARDING AND STOPPING RAILWAY CAR-
RIAGES," being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said 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 Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-

page_text: tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:-
The Invention communicated to me consists in mechanical contrivances for
producing the slackening or stopping of railway carriages.
A metallic ring is fixed upon each of the axles of the carriage, and an open
circular spring or collar of a larger diameter than the ring is placed over it.
The dimensions of the spring or collar are determined according to circum-
stances. The free ends of the spring or collar are fixed to a lever, which
causes them to approach or recede and act upon the axle.
The free ends of the spring can be acted on by a lever running the whole
length of the carriage, and communicating with two levers of unequal length.
The smaller lever acts upon a horizontal rod underneath the train, and receives
an alternate movement, so as to draw along in its motion the lever acting upon
the springs. A weight, placed at the free extremity of the main lever, causes
the lever to lower when the weight is let go the winch that holds it.
In lieu of the above arrangement of levers, the combination shewn in
Figures 1 and 2 of the annexed Drawing may be employed.
Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of the truck of a railway carriage
with the said contrivances applied. C, C, metallic rings fixed upon the
axles P, P. D, springs set over the rings, and which are made to enclose
them by the action of the levers N. M, weight, the lowering of which causes
the levers N to act upon the springs D; the enclosing of the rings C ensues,
and consequently the gripping of the axles of the wheels. G, metallic or
non-inetallic cord or chain, serving to raise the weight M by means of a
winch L, provided with a ratchet wheel V and handle a.
acts upon the ratchet wheel V, and keeps the cord in the required state of
tension. F, cord for communicating the action of one carriage to another.
To effect the slackening or stopping of the carriage, it is necessary for the
guard to let go the winch, when the weight will descend and act upon the
springs which enclose the rings upon the axles of the wheels. The same effect
can be obtained in a different manner, as shewn in Figure 2.
O, catch, which
The cord G is wound upon the winch L by turning round the handle x, and
acts by traction upon the lever N, and thence upon the springs D, placed in
an opposite position to that shewn in Figure 1. The catch O then keeps all
the mechanism in action. Any other arrangement on the same principle can
be employed for enclosing the rings.
And having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not

page_text: confine myself to the precise details herein laid down so long as the peculiar
character of the Invention be retained; but what I claim is,-
First, the application of a ring and spring or collar to axles of railway
carriages for slackening and stopping their motion, as herein-before described
and referred to in the Figures of the Drawing.
Secondly, the mechanical arrangements for acting on the said spring or
collar, as herein-before described and referred to in the Figures of the
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine
Moreau, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second
day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-five.
L' DE FONTAINE MOREAU. (L.S.)

page_text: LONDON: Printed by GEORGE EDWARD EYRU! and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE
Printers to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty. 1855.