IMPROVE- MENTS APPLICABLE TO THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1854

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Louis Jean Barnetche at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th March
1854.
I, LOUIS JEAN BARNETCHE, of Bordeaux, in the Empire of France, Doctor
of Medicine, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS APPLICABLE TO THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention of. Improvements applicable to the Prevention of Accidents
on Railways, relates to novel modes of constructing and arranging apparatus
for the purpose of preventing various kinds of accidents on railways, and
the dangerous results arising from such accidents.
As accidents arise from
various causes it is the object of the present Invention to provide various
means for counteracting the evil effects arising therefrom, and so arranging
the various parts that they may be brought into play at the proper time. In
some cases, for instance, it may be found desirable to detach the locomotive
from the train, and under these circumstances I facilitate this object, and at
the same time provide a safety platform for the engine drivers to stand upon,
and instead of the chains which serve to couple the tender to the luggage van
in the ordinary way, I provide hollow cylinders into which solid cylinders are
fitted, one set being attached to the van, and the other to the tender (or

page_text: instead of these cylinders, bars of iron might be employed). Through these
cylinders I pass keys or bolts, which are rivetted to a lever, and by acting
either upwards and downwards, or horizontally, in a curved direction, the keys
or bolts will be raised or disengaged, and the separation of the cylinders
effected, one part of which cylinders will remain behind with the luggage or
guards van, and the other will proceed forward with the engine and tender to
which they are attached. A platform bolted to the luggage van and situate
above the flooring of the tender, and running upon friction rollers in a groove,
will also remain attached to the van and preserve the engineers who stand
thereon from being carried on with the tender.
In order to arrest the progress of a train, I also propose to make use of
a peculiar arrangement or construction of break, which is intended to be
applied to railway carriages. The breaks are applied to the wheels, and this
may be effected in various ways, as will be hereafter described; I will, how-
ever, observe by way of preface, that this operation as at present performed
is usually confined to a limited number of the carriages, and does not effect
the desired object in a satisfactory manner. In order to impart the required
security to the breaks, they should be caused to act generally throughout
the train, and I propose to effect this object, by the following means,-
by the carriage axles being made to act on the breaks. For this purpose
each carriage is furnished with an iron rod, which is placed longitudinally
under the carriage, and is coupled to a similar rod attached to the succeeding
carriage, so that this series of rods may be caused to turn upon their 'axes by
means of any contrivance under the control of the engine driver or guard.
Each rod is furnished with stops occupying ths of its circumference, and
inclined so as to penetrate successively the mortises intended for their recep-
tion. These stops vary in number, according to the series to which the
break is to be applied; thus, 3 stops for the last carriage, two for the middle
one, and a single stop for the first series.
Each axle carries a nut, which turns with it, and which is provided with
slot's for the reception of the stops connected with the rods. On the con-
tinuous line of rods being turned by the engineer or guard, the breaks of the
last set of carriages will first be brought into action and the wheels stopped
then the middle breaks, and lastly the front ones. Instead of working the
break gear by contrivances connected with the axle as above described, the
breaks may be acted on directly through the wheels. For this purpose a slot
frame, or a cast iron
or groove is cut away in the side of the carriage
groove is rivetted to the side of each carriage frame. A 'moveable rod is
attached in front to the motive agent, the rods of the several carriages being

page_text: attached continuously together. These rods severally slide in their grooves,
and are each provided with an arm or lever, to which the break shoe 'is
attached opposite the middle of each wheel. These levers are caused to rest
upon brackets, and when the.continuous rods, are drawn forward, the breaks
will be brought down upon. the middle of the wheels with: the degree of
pressure required, as in the former instance: The apparatus may be provided
with an indicator, which shews the degree of pressure exerted, or the extent to
which the stops penetrate the mortises. .......
Instead of causing the wheels to act directly on the breaks,. these latter
may be acted on indirectly through the wheels and axles. In this case, the
axle acts as the motive power. Each axle. has a screw thread-cut upon it, to
the extent of about a third of its length. It turns in a nut or female screw,
which is suspended from the bottom of the carriage frame, and one part of the
nut will be caused to travel along the axle when it is set at liberty; and a
lever arm which is connected to the nut will turn and apply the break
attached thereto to the wheel.
In this case the movement of the nut upon the axle détermines that of all
the mechanism. It is only requisite to set it at liberty, which is effected by
means of a rod furnished with a hook, which holds. it tight, or releases it at
pleasure; and, according to the length of this hook the extent of the applica-
tion of the breaks may be determined. The rods may be connected together
by chains or any other suitable means....
Another arrangement of break apparatus constructed upon the same
principle is as follows:-The axle is provided with a cast-iron piece, having
a screw thread or snail made thereon. A. rod or lever is placed over and
opposite the first thread of the screw or snail, and is furnished with a second
transverse rod having a shoe at its extremity. On disengaging the apparatus
as above described, the rod or lever will by its own gravity fall upon the first
thread of the screw or snail, over which it will run, and the snail causing the
lever to move laterally, and make the break rod approach the wheel, and
apply the break to the wheel.
The motive force of the axle may also be employed as follows:-Each axle
is furnished with a sleeve or hollow shaft provided with stops; this sleeve
or hollow shaft turns upon and with the axle.
Outside this hollow shaft are adapted cast-iron pieces, which will not turn
except when disengaged. They are provided with a chain, which is attached
in front and behind to a bar armed with breaks at each end, which bar is
attached by hinged supports to the flooring of the carriage. The hollow shafts
are maintained at a distance from these pieces by a continuous chain of rods as

page_text: before described; when this latter is acted upon, it disengages the hollow shafts
which are forced by a spring into gear with the cast iron pieces, which they
cause to turn, and by that means bring the chains into a state of tension, and
effect the application of the breaks to the wheels.
The above arrangements are to a certain extent self-acting; but I will now
describe an arrangement, which although not self-acting, will be found of great
advantage from its extreme simplicity and great power.
A transverse rod is provided with breaks at each end. These breaks act
somewhat in the manner of a skid or shoe on ordinary roads, and the rod is
fixed to moveable standards, attached to the flooring of the carriage, so as
to conduct the breaks or shoes under the wheels, in the same manner as if
done by hand.
These breaks are of such a form as to embrace the rails, and a chain is
attached to them for the purpose of limiting the point at which they are to be
fixed. This mechanism is supported by the continuous series of rods as above
described, and on drawing them forward a hook is disengaged, and the breaks
fall by own gravity into their proper place under the wheels, and are made to
slide along the rails until the carriage is stopped by the friction. The grand
point of distinction between this and the foregoing arrangements is, that the
former apply the friction to the wheels, or stop their rotation, while in the
latter instance friction is applied to the surface of the rail.