Improvement in Railway Platform and other Trucks.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Railway Platform and other Trucks.
FRANK STANLEY WILLOUGHBY, 12, Mosley Street, Manchester, Merchant, do
bereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:---
.
My invention is an improvement in the four wheel trucks used. on railway
platforms, docks, landing stages, &c., and the object of the invention is to so
construct the truck that when not in actual manual use it remains stationary,
and all danger of the truck gravitating towards the permanent way &c., is
avoided.
My improvement consists in an attachment to the truck handles and in order
to simplify description and that my invention may be easily understood, I will
describe its application to one of the ordinary four wheel trucks in common use
throughout the London & North Western Railway system. The handle and haft
attached to one of these as at present constructed consists of a bar of metal
curving upwards and terminating in a convenient transverse wooden bar. The
reverse end of the haft is made fork shaped and each end of this fork is secured
to the swivel frame on which the two front wheels are mounted. In my improved
truck I construct the haft of the handle as follows:-At a convenient place I
form a hinge like joint allowing of a vertical (not lateral) movement. If applied
to the forked part of the haft there would be two such hinged joints. The part
of the haft which is capable of vertical movement I construct with a transverse
bar of metal long enough to reach across the width of the truck and so placed
and constructed that its ends will bear upon the peripherys of the two front
wheels. The whole is so arranged that when the truck is at rest the handle part
proper is too near the ground for convenient draught and it would touch the
ground were it not for the fact that the ends of the transverse bar are bearing
upon the peripherys of the wheels.
If advantage of the principle of leverage
is taken in the construction of this jointed half it will be readily understood.
that an efficient brake is applied, such brake being only released when the
handle is lifted up to the convenient position for draught purposes. The ends
of the transverse bar may be furnished with curved shoes, swivel feet which will
dip into the rubber tyres, or blocks of rubber to increase the bite and the force
of gravity which keeps this brake on may be further assisted by a weight applied
to the haft or handle, or by a spring.
It is obvious that brake pressure might be made to apply to surfaces other
than the peripherys of the wheels, for instance it might apply to some attach-
ment to the wheels such as an additional toothed wheel in which case if the
brake block was furnished with engaging teeth, the block would be absolute;
or the pressure might be brought to bear upon the ground by an extension jutting
out from the hinged haft.
In short the pith of the invention lies in the fact that the weight of the
hinged handle, (assisted by spring pressure if necessary) when not lifted up into

page_text: its proper position for draught purposes, operates upon some convenient surface
and acts as a brake without any manual assistance.
Dated this 6th day of September 1898.
Improvement in Railway Platform and other Trucks.
I, FRANK STANLEY WILLOUGHBY, of 12, Mosley Street, Manchester, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement; —
My said invention relates to improvements in the trucks used on railway
platforms docks landing stages and the like.
The object thereof is so to construct the truck that 'when not in actual manual
use it may remain stationary and free from any tendency to gravitate towards
the permanent way or in other directions.
In order that my said invention may be more clearly understood I will describe
it with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring first to Fig. 1 which
represents the fore end of one of the ordinary four wheeled trucks in common use"
on the London and North Western Railway, and Fig. 2 which illustrates the
disengagement of the pawl by lifting the handle of the truck,
I, according to one form of my said invention, attach the curved handle bar a
by forked prolongations a¹ to a transverse shaft 6 which is free to turn in
brackets c secured to the frame work or bogie of the truck. To one or both of
the wheels or axles of the truck I apply a cog wheel d. The transverse shaft b
carries a pawl d in such a position as to engage with the cogs of the wheel d
when the handle a is not raised for the purpose of pulling the truck. When the
pawl is in engagement with the cog wheel & as shown in Fig. 1 it acts as a
detent and prevents the running away of the truck.
The mere lifting of the handle bar a for the purpose of pulling or pushing
the truck will cause the transverse shaft b to make a partial rotation thus free-
ing the pawl in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The moment the handle is
released its own weight suffices to bring back the pawl into the position shown
in Fig. 1.
In another form of my said invention the transverse shaft bis divided into two
parts which act as bolts to engage in cogs notches or recesses formed in or on the
flat face of one or more of the wheels or in plates or blocks secured thereto or to
the shaft or axle.
In this form of my said invention I prefer to cause the transverse shaft to
engage with wheels at both sides. Referring to Figures 3 and 4 which are
respectively front and sectional elevations 61 is the divided cross shaft working in
slides or brackets. The inner ends are connected by jointed links 62 which form
a kind of toggle joint connected at 63 by a pin or bolt on the handle bar.
On the handle bar descending the weight thereof will cause the two halves of
the cross shaft to diverge when they will act as bolts engaging or interlocking
with the recesses provided in the faces of the wheels or with the spokes of the
wheels which in some cases may be used for this purpose.
In lieu of a toggle joint such as described a wedge shaped cam a sector plate
or the like might be employed for effecting the divergence of the bolts on the
handle bar being dropped.

page_text: Although for purposes of illustration I have described my invention as applied
to a truck of a particular description it is to be understood that it is not limited
to this particular style of truck but by suitable modifications in the shape or
position of the interlocking wheel or of the transverse shaft or bolts my said
invention may be applied to other types of hand propelled vehicles as will be
well understood without further description.
The effectiveness of the engagement may be augmented by the use of spiral or
other springs aiding the weight of the handle bar when down.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention. and in what manner the same is to be performed I declaro that what
I claim is:
The combination with a wheel or other rotating part of a truck of cogs
catches notches recesses or the like, a detent pawl or bolt to engage therewith
a cross shaft or shafts and a hinged handle bar connected therewith in such a
manner that when the handle bar is in its lowermost position the pawl or detent
or bolt is positively engaged or interlocked with the toothed wheel or its equiva-
lent and is automatically disengaged when the handle bar is lifted substantially
as set forth and shown.
Dated Fifth day of June 1899.
E. T. WHITELOW, A.M.Inst.C.E.,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.