IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY, APPARATUS, OR MEANS FOR ACTUATING OR WORKING RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John McInnes, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engine Driver, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY, APPARATUS, OR MEANS FOR ACTUATING OR WORKING RAILWAY
BRAKES."
Sealed the 19th April 1861, and dated the 24th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John McInnes at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th October 1860.
I, JOHN MINNES, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engino
Driver, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY, APPARATUS, OR MEANS FOR ACTUATING OR WORKING RAILWAY
BRAKES," to be as follows, that is to say :--
This Invention relates to a novel system or mode of actuating the brakes of
railway carriages or other vehicles, by means of a systematic arrangement of air-
pressure cylinders, so placed upon the carriages of a train that the whole of the
brakes therein can be operated upon at once. Each railway carriage carries a
longitudinal disposed pipe, capable of easy connection with the contiguous pipes
of the other carriages, so that when a train is made up, an open pipe or tubular
thoroughfare will run from end to end of the train. Every carriage carries a piston
and cylinder in connection with this line of pipes, and provision is made for the
production of a pressure of air either by a pump worked from the engine-tender or
one of the carriages, or any other convenient inanner, so as to operate upon the
pistons or the cylinders herein before referred to. The pistons or cylinders are
connected to the individual brakes of the whole of the carriages in any con-
venient manner, so that when the air pressure is put on every brake is worked
simultaneously. Instead of pistons and cylinders other operating apparatus may be
used, and water, oil, stea:n, or other fluid may be employed in place of air. Valves
are provided for the purpose of keeping the brake action of each carriage distinct, if
necessary, so that in case of any casualty with one or more carriages, or the appa-
ratus belonging thereto, the other sets can be worked independently. Weights,
springs, or other contrivances are attached for the purpose of relieving the brake
pressure when the actual operating pressure is removed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John McInnes in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd April
1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN MINNES,
of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engine Driver, send greeting:-
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
M'Innes, Hor special licence that I, the said John McInnes, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, tho said John MInnes, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter, during the torm
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 for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY, APPARATUS, OR MEANS FOR
ACTUATING OR WORKING RAILWAYS BRAKES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John McInnes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
doscribe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to bo porformed, 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 John McInnes, do hereby declare the
naturo of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
bo 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 a novel system or mode of actuating the brakes of
railway carriages or vehicles, by means of a systematic arrangement of fluid-pressure
cylinders placed upon the whole or upon a portion of the carriages or vehicles
composing a train, and contrived to be actuated in concert.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I have here-
unto appended a Sheet of explanatory Drawings representing an example of
apparatus embodying my improvements, the general arrangeinent and details
thereof being, according to my present knowledge and belief, the best for carrying
my Invention into pratical effect.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is a side elevation of a tender; and Figure 2
is a side elevation of the frame of the adjoining carriage or vehicle; whilst Figures 3
and 4 are plans corresponding to Figures 1 and 2. The remaining Figures are
enlarged views of details, and will be herein-after more particularly referred to.
The same reference letters mark the same or like parts in all the Figures.
In this example the fluid pressure employed is that of air; and for the purpose
of obtaining it, and having it always at command for instantaneous application,
there is attached to the frame of the tender a reservoir A, which is charged by
means of a pump B in connection with it. The pump plunger b is jointed to the
rode of an eccentric C, fixed on one of the wheel axles D of the tender, and tho
pump is in consequence continually worked as long as the wheels rotate. It is
necessary to provide for the slight change of position of the axle caused by variation
in the compression of the bearing springs; and it is desirable, in order to obtain full
duty from the pump, that the plunger shall at every stroke expel the air from the

page_text: barrel as completely as possible. These requirements are met by the peculiar
construction of tho pump details, as shown enlarged and in longitudinal section in
Figure 5, the inner end of the plunger & being shown in elevation in Figure 6. The
plunger is packed by means of a cup lenther, which is held in place by a disc e, tho
central part of which is perforated for the ingress of air into the pump barrel. Tho
perforated part is covered by a leather cap, held down by a ring y, formed with
oyes for the bolts which fix the parts of the plunger together, and the disc e is
recessed, so as to receive these details flush with its surface. The leather cap ƒ is
slit, as shown in Figure 6, and acts as an efficient inlet valve. The outlet is of the
full size of the barrel's bore, the end of the bore being in fast closed by a large disc
valve I, mounted on a spindle in a chain bor or valve box J. This valve is covered
with leather, and is pressed by a spring i, which tends to keep it closed. If the
parts are adjusted so that when the compression of the bearing springs of the tender
is at a minimum the plunger will thus reach the innor end of the pump barrel, thon
on the bearing springs being more compressed the plunger will be driven further in,
but it cannot do more than push back the valve I, whilst under all circumstances it
will expell all the air from the barrel at every stroke. The air is forced by the
pumping action through the pipe K (Figure 3) into the reservoir A, or by a branch L
to a valve box M, which last with its valve is contrived to act both as a safety valvo
and as the stop valve, by opening which the brakes are actuated. Tho valve box M
and valve m are shown enlarged and in section in Figure 7. The body of the box
is formed with a passage w, communicating with the pipe L, from tho reservoir and
pump, and the valve m, which is of a disc form, and is covered with caoutchouc or
such like material on both sides, has its lower seat against the inner end of this
passage n. The valve box is also formed with a branch passage p, which commu-
nicates by means of lengths of piping Q with the cylinders or fluid-pressure operating
chambers R, by means of which the air pressure is made to actuate the brakes. The
cover of the valve box M is formed for the entrance of the valve rod S, and with
apertures and a passage surrounding the rod for the escape of air. This escapo
passage has a seat at its inner end, and when the brake cylinders are to be actuated
the stop valvo m is drawn up, putting the pasaagos n and p in communication, but
closing the escape in tho covor. When, however, the valve m is put down
to close the passage n, the passage p is thereby put in communication with tho
escape passage, and the compressod air in tho brake cylinders R is released. The
valve rod S passes through an eye in a stud T fixed to the side of the tender, and
a helical spring t is placed on the rod between the stud and a cross piece on the
rod, and tends to keep the stop valvem closed against the passage n at the same
time, when the air pressure becomes greater than the resistance of the spring, the
valve will lift and allow some air to escape by the apertures in the cover of the
valve box. A forked rod s is fixed to the cross piece of the valve rod S, and is
jointed to a lever U in a convenient position for the engine driver. A spring catch
bar V is provided to retain the lever U, when the brakes are put in action, and a
slight pressure inwards of this catch bar is sufficient to freo the lover U, the spring t
then forcing the stop valvo an against the inlet passage 12.
In the present example the pipe lengths Q are carried along one side of each
carriage frame, and the pipes of the several carriages are connected by means of
short lengths W of vulcanized caoutchouc, attached to the carriage lengths Q by
means of screw couplings. The pipes Q of each carriage (Figures 2 and 4) are
fitted with a three-branch connecting pioco X, shown onlarged in vertical section
in Figure 8, and in plan in Figure 9. One branch communicates with the
preceding carriage or with the tender; a second 2, with the cylinder R of that
carriage and the third 3, with the next carriage. The communication with
passage 3 is controlled by a valve 4, shown separately in Figure 10, this valve
being acted on by a spring 5, so that the air cannot open it, and pass on or escape
unless its pressure exceeds that for which the spring is adjusted, and which is
sufficient to properly actuate the brakes of that and the preceding carriages. With
this provision any accidental leakage in the apparatus will not affect or hinder the

page_text: action of any of the brake cylinders between the defective part and the reservoir or
source of pressure. In order that the air may have a free passage in a backward
direction towards the valve box M, the valve 4 is forined with perforations, which
are covered by a small disc of caoutchouc placed in a recess formed for it on the
under side, this flexible disc permitting air to pass downwards through the
valve, but closing with an upward pressure. The branch 2 communicating with
the cylinder R is provided with a stop-cock, so that it can be closed if anything is
wrong with one cylinder without the apparatus of other carriages being effected.
The cylinder R is shown enlarged and in section in Figure 11. To provent leakage
of air without very great nicety in the fitting or packing of the piston 6, a bag 7 of
flexible or elastic material, such as caoutchouc, is fitted to the inlet aperture for the
air, which thus enters the bag, and by expanding it causes it to press the piston 6
outwards. To prevent dust getting into the cylinders Ra diaphragm of caoutchouc
or leather is fixed across the open end of the cylinder, the piston rod 8 passing
through a central aperture in this diaphragın. The piston rod is connected to a
lever 9, on the ordinary rocking shaft 10, by means of which the brakes. 11
(of the ordinary kind) are pressed against the wheels 12. To draw the brakes
off the wheels a weighted lever 13 is fixed on the rocking shaft 10, which acts when
the pressure behind tho piston is released, also moving back the piston.
The improved brake apparatus may be arranged to be worked either from the
engino tender, brake van, or other carriage or waggon of a train, and in somne
cases separate sets of the apparatus may be worked from different parts of a train.
Thus each carriage may be provided with a duplicate set, one worked from the
tender and the other from the guard's van, in which case the parts can be arranged
so that in making up a train it will not matter which way each carriago may be
turned. Where a single set of apparatus is fitted to each carriago the ends of the
connecting pipes may be disposed near the centre of the carriage, and the valves
may be contrived to be adjustable for either position of the carriage, or the valve 4
(Figure 8) may be retained, as delineated and described, means being added for
fixing it in an open position when the carriage does not happen to be in the proper
position. If, however, this adjustment is omitted, the result will simply be that when
the brakes are actuated they will not be withdrawn as soon as wanted, whereupon
the omission of the adjustment will at once be discovered, and can be rectified.
If preferred, however, the valve 4 (Figure 8) may be dispensed with, in which
caso a closed end may be fixed on the extremity of the pipe of the last of a
number of connected carriages, or stop-cocks inay be provided for the same.
purpose.
The compressing pump B may be worked by a donkey engine instead of by an
eccentric on one of the running axles. The donkey engine and pump may be
placed at any convenient part of the locomotiva or tender, and thero may be in
connection with it an indicator placed in full view of the driver, to show the
pressure of air in the reservoir, and by which ho can regulate the action of the
donkey engine; or if the eccentric driving gear is used, a contrivance of the nature
of the ordinary "valve-lick motion". may bo introduced for throwing the pump
into or out of gear, according as the pressure indicator shows less or more than
Either of these arrangements would
the requisite pressure in the reservoir.
avoid the wear and tear of working the pump after a sufficient pressure is attained.
According to a further modification, the action of the pump may be rendered
self-regulating. Thus, a piston or diaphragm may be arranged to be acted upon
by the compressed air in such a way as on the requisite pressure being attained to
throw the pump out of gear, and to throw it into gear again on the pressure
becoming reduced.
Two or more cylinders or fluid-pressure operating chambers (R) may be provided
in each carriage in connection with one or more systems of pipes, and such operating
chambers may be of any convenient form or construction, whereby the fluid
It will also be obvious that such
pressure may be made to actuate the brakes.
operating chambers may be modified to act upon various systems of brake details.

page_text: Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the preciso dotails herein described or delineated, but that what
I consider to be novel and original and claim as the Invention secured to me by
the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The constructing and arranging of machinery apparatus or means for
actuating railway brakes by means of fluid pressure generally, in the manner
substantially herein described and delineated.
Second. The adapting and constructing of the compressing pump details (Figures 5
and 6), the stop valve details (Figure 7), the details of tho intermediate valve
(Figure 8), and the details of the operating chamber (Figure 11), substantially as
hercin described and delineated.
In witness whereof, I, the said John McInnes, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty one.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agont,
28, St. Enoch Square,
Glasgow.
JOHN MCINNES. (L.S.)