IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING AND UNCOUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND ROLLING STOCK
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Dalrymple Cranstoun, of Elgin, in the
County of Moray, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING AND UNCOUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND
ROLLING STOCK."
Sealed the 16th January 1855, and dated the 8th November 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Dalrymple
Cranstoun at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 8th November 1854.
I, CHARLES DALRYMPLE CRANSTOUN, of Elgin, in the County of Moray,
North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING AND UNCOUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND
ROLLING STOCK" to be as follows, that is to say:
This Invention relates to the so arranging the connecting details of railway
carriages and waggons that the attendants may effect the necessary actions of
coupling and uncoupling in the most complete manner without involving the
necessity of passing in between the carriages and waggons, whilst the said
operations may also be accomplished with much greater facility and speed than
-by-the existing systems:-
Each carriage or waggon, in addition to a central hook as a draw link, has

page_text: attached to it three parallel jointed engaging chain links, freely hinged, so as
to be capable of being raised or lowered at pleasure. These links are made
with a central back-stop joint, in such manner that whilst they will act with
all necessary flexibility when drawing or being shifted in certain directions,
yet, when lifted by the elevating lever, they will rise in a rigid condition, as if
solid. Such draw links may either be disposed in sets of three at each end of
the carriage or waggon, or they may be at one end only, with corresponding
draw hooks at-the opposite end of the carriage or waggon framing. A trans-
verse coupling or elevating shaft is disposed in bearings beneath each set of
links; this shaft having upon it a lever frame-piece, with stud projections
thereon, for the purpose of giving the lift to the links. Each end of the shaft
carries a hand lever, conveniently disposed for the hand of the attendant, so that
when passing along the train he can quickly lift or lower the links, holding
pins being provided for setting the levers at the required point. When the
carriages are to be coupled, they are placed together in the usual manner, and
the main centre draw link and the two external safety chain links being
slackened off sufficiently, the attendant, by means of one of the projecting: land
levers of the adjusting shaft, lifts the whole of the links sufficiently high to
clear the three corresponding hooks on the next carriage, and then letting the
links drop, he thus effects the necessary engagement between the links and
hooks, and couples the carriages. Then, to tighten up the central draw hook
link, a transverse hand wheel shaft is fitted upon the carriage frame, the centre
of this shaft having upon it a worm gearing with a worm wheel, set on a
longitudinal nut link of the draw hook spindle; hence, by turning one or other
of the hand wheels, the necessary; tightness is easily secured. This gearing
may be, modified in various ways, for instance, the worm wheel may itself
be made to answer as the tightening nut. When the carriages are to be
uncoupled, the links are slackened off, and the attendant then lifts the links
-clear off-the-hooks, and-allows-them-to-drop-to-a-vertical-position-by-the
converse of the operation previously described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Dalrymple Cranstoun in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th May 1855..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DALRYMPLE CRANSTOUN, of Elgin, in the County of Moray, North Britain,
Gentleman, send greeting:
..

page_text: WHEREAS Her most. Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of November, 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
Charles Dalrymple Cranstoun, Her special license that, I, the said Charles
Dalrymple Cranstoun, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Charles, Dalrymple, Cranstoun, my executors, administrators,.or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter 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 för
"IMPROVEMENTS IN COUPLING AND, UNCOUPLING RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND ROLLING
STOCK," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said. Charles. Dalrymple
Cranstoun, 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 Charles; Dalrymple Cranstoun, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner "the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained.in and
by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
My said Invention relates to, the so arranging the connecting details of rail-
way carriages and wagons that the attendants may effect, the necessary actions
of coupling and uncoupling in the most complete manner without involving.
the necessity of passing in. between the carriages and wagons, whilst the said
operations may also be accomplished with much greater, facility and speed than
by the existing systems. Each carriage or wagon, in addition to, a central
hook as a draw link, has attached to it three parallel jointed engaging, chain
links, freely hinged, so, as to be capable of being raised or lowered at pleasure.
These links are made with a central back-stop joint, in such manner that
whilst they will act with all necessary flexibility when drawing or being shifted
in certain directions, yet, when lifted by the elevating lever, they will rise in a
rigid condition, as if solid. Such draw links may either be disposed in sets of
three at each end of the carriage or wagon, or they may be at one end only,
with corresponding draw hooks at the opposite end of the carriage or wagon
framing. A transverse coupling or elevating shaft is disposed in bearings
beneath each set of links; this shaft having upon it a lever frame-piece, with

page_text: stud projections thereon, for the purpose of giving the lift to the links. Each
end of the shaft carries a hand lever, conveniently disposed for the hand of the
attendant, so that when passing along the train he can quickly lift or lower
the links, holding pins being provided for setting the levers at the required
point. When the carriages are to be coupled, they are placed together in the
usual manner, and the main centre draw-link and the two external safety chain
links being slackened off sufficiently, the attendant, by means of one of the
projecting hand levers of the adjusting shaft, lifts the whole of the links suffi-
ciently high to clear the three corresponding hooks on the next carriage, and
then letting the links drop, he thus effects the necessary engagement between
the links and hooks, and couples the carriages. Then, to tighten up the central
draw-hook link, a transverse hand wheel shaft is fitted upon the carriage
frame, the centre of this shaft having upon it a worm gearing with a worm
wheel, set on a longitudinal nut link of the draw-hook spindle; hence, by
turning one or other of the hand wheels, the necessary tightness is easily
secured. This gearing may be modified in various ways; for instance, the
worm wheel may itself be made to answer as the tightening nut. When
the carriages are to be uncoupled, the links are slackened off, and the attendant
then lifts the links clear off the hooks, and allows them to drop to a vertical
position by the converse of the operation previously described.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several explanatory Figures on the two Sheets of
Drawings hereunto attached.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, is a side elevation, partly in section,
of one end of a railway carriage, as fitted with my improved coupling and
uncoupling gear, and as connected to another carriage. Figure 2, on the same
Sheet of Drawings, is a similar elevation of a railway wagon, as fitted with the
improved coupling and uncoupling gear, and as connected to another wagon.
Figure 3, on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, is a combined plan, corresponding
to-Figures-1--and 2, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, but representing only the
framing and coupling details of the carriage-and-wagon. The coupling of the
carriage A with the adjoining carriage, the end of which is represented at B,
is effected by means of three engaging links C, D, E. Each of these links is
composed of two horse-shoe pieces F, each connected to a central short joint
link G by pins, passing through cyes in their extremities and through the
joint link G. The outside engaging links C, E, are connected to the framing
H of the carriage A by being passed through eyes in staple links I, bolted to
the frame; the central link D is similarly passed through an eye in the end
of a draw link J, which passes through the frame to the tightening mechanism

page_text: behind. Immediately beneath the links I and J is a horizontal shaft K, carried
transversely in bracket bearings L, bolted to the carriage framing. Lever
handles M are fixed upon the extreme ends of the shaft K outside the
carriage framing, and in a convenient position for the attendant, and the shaft
Las fixed upon it, just outside the links C, E, two levers N, which carry a
parallel rod at their extremities, arranged so as to lift the links C, D, E,
when the shaft K is turned. Guide pieces P are fixed upon the rod O, and
these entering within the links C, D, E, prevent them from swinging to either
side whilst being lifted. The links are prevented from being thrown up too
high by pins Q, passed through the links I, J, in suitable positions for the
purpose. The eyes of the horse-shoc portions F of the links C, D, E, are
formed with angular shoulders R, which prevent the links from folding or
doubling down when lifted, and enable them to be raised in a rigid condition
above the hooks S of the adjoining carriage. The links, however, can be
angled a little in the opposite direction to suit the slight variations in the
distance between the carriages, but shoulders are formed on the upper sides
of the link eyes to prevent the links from being flung completely over when
being lifted, these last shoulders not being so prominent as the lower shoulders
R: The draw link J, as already mentioned, projects through the frame H,
and has a screw thread formed upon it at T, to work in a nut U, formed
externally as a worm wheel, into the teeth of which worm wheel gears a worm
upon a horizontal shaft V, passing transversely across the carriage and through
bearings in the side frame timbers. The shaft V has hand wheels W fixed
upon its overhanging extremities outside the carriage framing, and in a con-
venient position for the attendant, who, by turning the hand wheel, can slacken
or tighten up the link J. The worm wheel nut U is held on one sido by a
cross piece X, fixed upon a pair of stays Y, bolted to the transverse end frame-
piece H, and to an inner transverse frame-piece Z, through an eye, in which
last the link spindle J is also passed. A helical spring Z is placed on the link
spindle between the frame-piece I and the worm wheel nut U, and allows tho
draw link to yield to jerks or extra strain. The other end of the carriage
may either carry plain connecting hooks, as at S, or. both ends may be fitted
with the engaging links, the staple links from which the engaging links are
suspended being in that case all formed with hooks. The coupling gear;
represented in Figure 2, between the wagon ends a and b, is the same, ás
that between the carriage ends A and B, as in. Figure 1, except as regards
the central draw link j, which in the wagon is simply fixed to the frame-
piece h, like the staple links i, instead of being provided with the tightening
inechánism, as employed with the carriage coupling. The corresponding parts

page_text: ات
in Figures 1,.2, and 3, on the two Shects of Drawings, are distinguished by the
same letters; those appertaining, to. the carriage coupling, gear being capital
letters, whilst those appertaining to the wagon coupling gear are the corre-
sponding italics. In Figure 1, and in the corresponding part of Figure 3, the
carriages are represented as coupled together, and with the central link :D
tightened up; whilst in Figure 2, and, in the other portions of Figure 3 corre
sponding. to it, the links c, d, e, are represented as, raised, by means of the
handle m, the shaft k, and the rod o, into the position in which they are clear
of the points of the hooks s of the adjoining wagon b, which is accordingly free,
and can be removed. After removing the wagon 6, the links c, d, e, may either
be allowed to drop into a vertical position, or a pin may be placed across
the lever handle m, so as to keep the links in, their elevated position until
another wagon is brought up to them, when they may be dropped upon the hooks
of such wagon by merely releasing the lever m, thus. coupling the wagons. I
would here remark that the joint, or connection between the two horse-shoe
pieces of the engaging link may be constructed in various ways to obtain
the same action as is secured by the shoulders. R, as herein-before described.
Thus, for example, a short segmental groove may be formed in the joint link G,
and a pin
on the piece I may be, arranged to work in this groove in such a
manner that in lifting the links, the end of the groove will come upon the pin,
and the links will be raised in a rigid condition, whilst the play of the pin in
the groove allows the link to turn in the opposite direction...
.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to
the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations; may be made therefrom without deviating from
the principles or main features of my Invention; but what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before.in part,recited Letters Patent, is,
First, the general arrangement and construction of coupling-and-uncoupling
gear for railway carriages and rolling stock, as herein before described.
Second, the system or mode, of coupling and uncoupling railway carriages
and rolling stock by means of a lever shaft, actuated from the side of the car-
riage or wagon, and arranged to lift the engaging links on or off the hooks of
the adjoining carriage or wagon, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of tightening up or slackening off the draw
links of railway carriages and rolling stock by means of a transverse shaft,
actuated from the side of the carriage, or wagon,--and connected to the draw

page_text: ink by worm wheel and screw, or other suitable gearing, as herein-before
described.
Fourth, the application and use in the coupling and uncoupling gear of
railway carriages and rolling stock of jointed engaging chain links, fitted with
back-stop joints, so as to be rigid in one direction and flexible in the other.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Dalrymple Cranstoun, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
CHAS D. CRANSTOUN. (L.S.)