IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING BRAKES IN RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Imray, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING BRAKES IN RAILWAY TRAINS."
-A communication from abroad by Jacob Heberlein, of Munich,
in the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Sealed the 2nd August 1872, and dated the 17th May 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Imray at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th May 1872.
I, JOHN IMRAY, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING BRAKES IN RAILWAY
TRAINS," to be as follows:-
:-
My Invention relates to farther improvements on brake apparatus of
the kind described in a Provisional Specification filed on the 11th April,
1872, by Jacob Heberlein, who now residing abroad has communicated
these farther improvements to me. In that Specification were described

page_text: certain arrangements of and modes of working brakes, wherein a drum
fixed upon the axle of a carriage acts by frictional contact on a second
drum, causing it to wind up a chain and thereby to apply the brakes.
And the second or brake drum being mounted on a loaded lever was
described as being brought into action by withdrawing a catch which
held the lever up, and thereby kept the brake drum out of contact with
the axle drum. Means were also described of withdrawing the catch
or several catches of a train by cords, chains, or rods extending along
the train, so that from any part of the train the brakes could be brought
into action.
Now the object of one part of the present improvements is such a
construction and arrangement of the catches and parts connected with
them that one pull of the communicating cord, chain, or rod causes the
brakes to be brought into action, and a second pull of the same causes
them to be taken out of action and put in condition ready to be again
brought into action by a third pull. For this purpose the loaded lever
on which the brake drum is mounted is suspended by an upright rod
connected to the catch apparatus hereafter to be described, and also
when the brake is out of action it rests on a ratchet catch which is
connected by a bell crank and upright rod to the catch apparatus.
The catch apparatus consists of a shaft mounted in bearings, and having
fixed on it a ratchet wheel and also certain cams or wipers, which for
the purpose of diminishing friction may have rollers mounted on their
extremities; on the same shaft is mounted loosely a weighted lever
provided with a spring pawl which catches into the teeth of the ratchet
wheel. To this lever is attached the communicating cord or chain,
or a piece of cord or chain coupling the communicating rods which
extend along the train. When this is pulled the lever is raised, and its
pawl causes the ratchet wheel to turn one tooth round. During this
movement one of the cams or wipers on its shaft acts on a lever, which
withdraws the ratchet catch from the weighted lever of the brake drum,
and so permits the brake drum to be brought into contact with the axle
drum whereby the brakes are applied. The communicating cord, chain,
or rod being released, the levers to which it is attached descend by
gravity, its pawl slipping one tooth of the ratchet wheel. When it is
again pulled up it turns the ratchet wheel another tooth, and another of
the cams or wipers on its shaft acts on a lever which raises the lever of
the brake drum, and so takes the brake apparatus out of action. The

page_text: lever of the brake drum in rising has to pass the ratchet catch, which by
the action of the first-named cam or wiper during the second movement
of the ratchet wheel is withdrawn to let it pass, but which when it has
passed is again protruded by the pressure of a spring so as to catch
under the lever of the brake drum and hold it up. The ratchet wheel
is conveniently made with four teeth, and each of the cams or wipers on
its shaft is made in duplicate opposite one another, so that each one of
each pair acts alternately as above described. Thus the first pull of the
communicating cord, chain, or rod by turning the ratchet wheel one
tooth releases the lever of the brake drum and causes the brakes to be
applied; the second pull by turning the ratchet wheel another tooth
raises the lever of the brake drum and takes off the brake power; the
third pull acts as the first, putting on the brakes; the fourth pull acts
as the second, taking them off; and so on in alternate suocession.
In the Provisional Specification above referred to, and in the above
description of the catch apparatus only one brake drum is mentioned as
being mounted on the loaded lever. Part of the present Invention
relates to the arrangement and working of two or four such drums, by
which means there are secured greater simplicity in the connections to
the several brakes, and greater efficiency in the action of the brake
apparatus. For this purpose the lever which carries the brake drums is
made of a forked form, giving space between the limbs of its fork for the
width of one or it may be two brake drums. One end of this lever
works on a fulcrum pin in a hole, slotted so that it can move a little
horizontally; the other end of the lever is supported as already described
by the catch apparatus, and is loaded with a weight which can be slid
along the lever, and fixed by a set screw so as to adjust the amount of
pressure of the brake drums on the axle drum. The lever is above the
drums, one a little in
axle of the carriage, and on it are mounted two
front of and one a little behind the axle. When the lever is held up
these drums are clear of the axle drum, but when the lever is let down
both these drums come to bear on the axle drum, the one on the upper
front part of its circumference and the other on the upper back part.
The axle of each drum has fixed on it pullies, to which are attached
chains connected to the brake levers. The one of these chains is carried
obliquely downwards and forwards over a guide roller, and is attached to
the brake rods or levers in front of the working axle. The other chain
is carried obliquely downwards and backwards over a guide roller, and is

page_text: attached to the brake rods or levers behind the working axle. Thus
when the lever is let down both brake drums are caused to revolve by
their frictional contact with the axle drum, the fulcrum pin of the lever
having sufficient play in its slotted hole to let both drums accommodate
themselves to their position of contact. Also when the chains are
pulled by the rotation of the drums their downward tension increases the
pressure of the brake drums on the axle drum. The frictional surface
may be increased by fixing two drums side by side on the axle, and two
drums on each of the shafts, which are mounted on the limbs of the
forked lever.
The lever which carries the brake drum or drums has been described
as having on it a weight capable of being slid along it, and fixed where
required to adjust the frictional pressure of the brake drums. When
this system of brake is applied to a locomotive or tender it is convenient
to have means of adjusting the weight on the lever during the motion of
the train, as in the case of running down gradients of more or less
steepness.
Part of the present Invention relates to apparatus for this purpose
which is arranged and constructed as follows:-The hand rod which is
used to raise and lower the weighted lever is made with several notches
near the end to which the hand is applied, so that it can be made to
catch on a fixed stud on any one of these notches. The other end which
is connected by a bell crank to the weighted lever has a long slot in
which the pin of that lever can travel, so that after the lever has been
let down so as to bring the brakes into action the rod can still be pushed
onwards, the pin travelling in the slot. Another point in the rod is
connected by levers to the sliding weight, so that as the rod is pushed
onwards after lowering the weighted lever the sliding weight is pushed
along the lever so as to give greater pressure of the brake drums on the
axle drums. Thus according as the hand rod is caught in one or
another of its notches, so is the frictional pressure which works the
brakes determined to be greater or less as the engine driver who works
the rod may think necessary while the train is in motion.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Imray in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
IMRAY, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Imray, Her special licence that I, the
said John Imray, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John Imray, 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 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 for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING
BRAKES IN RAILWAY TRAINS," a communication to me from abroad by
Jacob Heberlein, of Munich, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Imray, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 John Imray, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to

page_text: 11th April 1872, No. 1071, to Jacob Heberlein, who now residing
abroad, has communicated these farther improvements to me. In that
Specification were described certain arrangements of and modes of
working brakes wherein a drum fixed upon the axle of a carriage acts by
frictional contact on a second drum, causing it to wind up a chain and
thereby to apply the brakes; and the second or brake drum being
mounted on a loaded lever was described as being brought into action
by withdrawing a catch which held the lever up and thereby kept the
brake drum out of contact with the axle drum. Means were also
described of withdrawing the catch or several catches of a train by i
cords, chains, or rods, extending along the train, so that from any part
of the train the brakes could be brought into action.
Now the object of one part of the present improvements is such a
construction and arrangement of the catches and parts connected with
them, that one pull of the communicating cord, chain, or rod, causes the
brakes to be brought into action, and a second pull of the same causes
them to be taken out of action and put in condition ready to be again
brought into action by a third pull. For this purpose the loaded lever
on which the brake drum is mounted is suspended by an upright rod
connected to the catch apparatus, hereafter to be described, and also
when the brake is out of action it rests on a ratchet catch which is con-
nected by a bell crank and upright rod to the catch apparatus. The
catch apparatus consists of a shaft mounted in bearings and having fixed
on it a ratchet wheel and also certain arms or wipers, which for the
purpose of diminishing friction may have rollers mounted on their
extremities; on the same shaft is mounted loosely a weighted lever,
provided with a spring pawl which catches into the teeth of the ratchet
wheel. To this lever is attached the communicating cord or chain, or a
piece of cord or chain coupling the communicating rods which extend
along the train. When this is pulled the lever is raised and its pawl
causes the ratchet wheel to turn one tooth round. During this move-
ment one of the arms or wipers on its shaft acts on a lever which
withdraws the ratchet catch from the weighted lever of the brake drum
and so permits the brake drum to be brought into contact with the axle
drum whereby the brakes are applied. The communicating cord, chain,
or rod being released, the lever to which it is attached descends by
gravity, its pawl slipping one tooth of the ratchet wheel. When it is
again pulled up it turns the ratchet wheel another tooth, and another of

page_text: backwards over a guide roller and is attached to the brake rods or levers
behind the working axle. Thus when the lever is let down both brake
drums are caused to revolvo by their frictional contact with the axle
drum, the fulcrum pin of the lever having sufficient play in its slotted
hole to let both drums accommodate themselves to their position of
contact. Also, when the chains are pulled by the rotation of the drums,
their downward tension increases the pressure of the brake drums on the
axle drum. The frictional surface may be increased by fixing two drums
side by side on the axle, and two drums on each of the shafts, which are
mounted on the limbs of the forked lever.
The lever which carries the brake drum or drums has been described
as having on it a weight capable of being slid along it, and fixed where
required to adjust the frictional pressure of the brake drums. When
this system of brake is applied to a locomotive or tender it is convenient
to have means of adjusting the weight on the lever during the motion of
the train, as in the case of running down gradients of more or less
steepness.
Part of the present Invention relates to apparatus for this purpose,
which is arranged and constructed as follows:-The hand rod which is
used to raise and lower the weighted lever is made with several notches
near the end to which the hand is applied, so that it can be made to
catch on a fixed stud on any one of these notches. The other end, which
is connected by a bell crank to the weighted lever, has a long slot in
which the pin of that lever can travel, so that after the lever has been
let down, so as to bring the brakes into action, the rod can still be
pushed onwards, the pin travelling in the slot. Another point in the
rod is connected by levers to the sliding weight, so that as the rod is
pushed onwards, after lowering the weighted lever, the sliding weight is
pushed along the lever, so as to give greater pressure of the brake drums
on the axle drums. Thus according as the hand rod is caught in one
or another of its notches, so is the frictional pressure which works the
brakes is determined to be greater or less, as the engine driver who
works the rod may think necessary while the train is in motion.

page_text: pulls of the line of communication. Fig. 1 represents a side view of the
part of the apparatus fixed on the roof of the carriage, and Fig. 2 repre-
sents a side view of the part connected therewith, and situated below
the carriage; Figs. 3 and 4 shew end views of those parts respectively.
E is part of the lever on which is mounted the friction drum described
in the Specification above referred to. On referring to that Specifi-
cation it will be seen that the brakes are put on when the lever E is let
down, and they are taken off when the lever E is raised. In Figs. 2
and 4 this lever is shewn in its raised position, the brakes being off. It
is supported in this position by the sloped projection of a catch Q
pressed under it by a spring Q¹. The lever E is connected by a rod P
to a lever P¹ mounted above the carriage, and the catch Q is connected
to a bell crank Q2, which by a rod Q³ is connected to a spring lever R,
also above the carriage. Between the levers P¹ and R is mounted a
shaft S, on which is fixed a ratchet wheel S', having four teeth. On the
same shaft $ are fixed two arms or wipers T and T provided with rollers
which come under the lever P¹, and other two arms or wipers U and U¹
also provided with rollers which come over the spring lever R. A lever V
mounted loose on the shaft S has a spring pawl V, which engages with
the teeth of the ratchet wheel S', and another pawl W mounted on the
framing also engages with those teeth, and prevents the wheel S¹ from
turning backwards. The lever V is loaded with a weight (for which a
spring might be substituted), and to it is attached the cord or chain ¿,
which is part of the line communicating throughout the train, as
described in the Specification referred to above. When this line i is
pulled, so as to raise the lever V, its pawl V' carries the wheel S¹ one
tooth round in the direction of the arrow; and during this movement
the roller U¹ depresses the lever R, whereby the rod Q³ is depressed, and
the bell crank Q moved so as to withdraw the catch Q from under the
lever E. The lever E then descends, and the brakes are put on. The
line i being loosened allows the lever V to descend, and its pawl V₁ to
engage in another tooth of the wheel St. When the line i is pulled
again the roller T, coming under the projecting part of the lever P¹,
raises that lever, which by raising the rod P lifts the lever E, whereby
the brakes are taken out of action. The lever E in rising passes along
the sloping face of the catch Q, which, as soon as the lever is raised, is
caused by the spring Q' to come under it, and so retain the lever E in
its raised position until by another or third pull of the line i it is allowed

page_text: action.
B may
Fig. 5, Sheet II., represents a side view of two friction drums N, N¹,
mounted on one lever E, and worked by one axle drum B. The lever E
is made with a slotted hole at its fulcrum E³, so that the two drums N
and N¹ may accommodate themselves to the periphery of the drum B
when they are brought into contact with it by the lowering of the lever
E. This lever may be worked in the manner described in the Speci-
fication above referred to, or by the alternately engaging and disengaging
apparatus herein-before described. The drums N, N', instead of each
being single may be each in duplicate, two being fixed side by side on
each of the two shafts, a broad drum or two drums being fixed on the
axle, and thus a large friction surface may be obtained. The axle drum
be of the kind described in the Specification above referred to,
having a periphery consisting of wooden segments placed with the fibres
radial or nearly so; or it may be of iron, the wooden periphery being
applied to the drums N, N', in forming the drums, whether for the axle or
for those driven by it with a wooden periphery, a convenient mode of
construction is that usually adopted for mortice wheels or wheels with
wooden cogs, that is to say, the drum is made with mortices through its
rim, and pieces of wood tenon shaped are driven into these mortices end-
ways of the grain, and secured therein by pins driven across them or
otherwise. The pieces of wood are of such shape that the parts outside
the rim make a continuous periphery which when worn by the friction
may be replaced in whole or in part by driving out the worn pieces and
driving fresh pieces into the mortices. The chains F and F¹ are passed
round guide rollers situated so that the tension of the chains adds to the
frictional pressure of the drums N, N', on the axle drum B. Each of
these chains be attached to a rod F³, connected to one set of brakes,
or when two sets of brakes are to be worked by it the strain may be
For this purpose
equalised in the manner shown on Fig. 5, Sheet II.
the rod F connects the chain F to the middle of an equal armed lever or
sway beam G³, one end of which is connected to the brake lever G*,
which works one set of brake blocks, and the other arm is connected by
a rod G³ to a lever working another set of blocks which may be mounted
on the next carriage. When this carriage is detached, a pin G' is passed
through a hole in the link by which the rod G³ is connected to the sway
may

page_text: CHU
brake lever G*.
Fig 6, Sheet II., represents a side view of the apparatus whereby the
frictional pressure of the brake drums of a locomotive can be adjusted
5 by means of a sliding weight. The lever E on which the friction drum
D is mounted is connected to a bent lever P, from which a rod I extends
along the boiler and terminates in a handle accessible to the driver.
The rod I near the handle is made with several notches I', by any one of
which it can be held on a fixed stud. The other end of the rod I has a
O long slotted hole in which works the pin of the lever P. Two levers I*,
and I' with slotted holes connect the rod I to the weight E³, which is
mounted on the lever E so that it can be slid along it. The driver by
releasing the rod I one notch can allow the friction drum D to be
brought into contact with the axle drum B, with a pressure due to the
5 leverage of the weight E*. By moving the rod one or more notches
farther (which movement the slot at the end of I permits) the levers
I* and I are moved so as to slide the weight E' farther from the fulcrum
of the lever E, and thereby to increase the pressure of the frictional
contact of the drums D and B. Thus the driver by pushing the rod I
© less or more can while the train is in motion adjust the brake power.
This method of adjustment is applicable also to the arrangement of
double drums, described with reference to Fig. 5, Sheet II., as may be
readily understood.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, as it has been
communicated to me by my foreign correspondent; I claim,-
First. The use of apparatus whereby successive pulls of a line com-
municating throughout a railway train are made alternately to bring into
action and to take out of action friction drum brake apparatus, sub-
stantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4,
Sheet I.
Second. The use for friction drum brake apparatus of two single or
double friction drums mounted on one lever, and working brakes in
both directions, substantially as herein described with reference to
Fig. 5, Sheet II.
Third. The mode, substantially as herein described with reference to
Fig 6. Sheet II., of arranging a sliding weight in connection with the

page_text: friction drum lever and the rod which works it, whereby the brake
power can be adjusted.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Imray, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
JOHN IMRAY. (L.S.)