IMPROVEMENTS- IN RAILWAY COUPLINGS."
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Sterne, of Victoria Chambers, in the City
of Westminster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS- IN
RAILWAY COUPLINGS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis Sterne at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th March 1875.
I, LOUIS STERNE, of Victoria Chambers, in the City of Westminster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY COUPLINGS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to those railway couplings in which the
buffer and drawhead is formed at the front, with a cavity to receive the
coupling link of the adjoining carriage, and in which by the entrance of
the said link a vertical bolt or pin is freed from the device which holds
it up, and then immediately falls into and secures the link. And this
part of the Invention consists in the employment for the purpose of

page_text: holding up the bolt of a roller or spindle working freely on an incline at
When the roller or
the back part of the cavity in the drawhead.
spindle is at the lower part of the incline it holds up the bolt or pin, but
when the coupling link of the next adjoining carriage enters the draw-
hcad it strikes against the roller or spindle, thereby driving it up the
incline, and the bolt or pin being then free immediately falls and secures
the link, while the roller or spindle will bear down upon the inner end
of the link, and thereby keeps it in a horizontal position. To uncouple it
is only necessary to lift the bolt or pin out of the link, when the link
may be withdrawn and the roller will immediately follow the link,
descending the incline, and will again hold up the bolt or pin. If
desirable to prevent the bolt or pin being entirely withdrawn from the
aperture in the top of the drawhead in which it works, I form it with a
shoulder or enlargement near its lower end. The roller may be formed
with on axle or trunnions to run in inclined slots or grooves, or on
shoulders in the sides of the drawhead, or it may be made like a dumb
bell, the middle portion being in the form of a spindle to run under
the bolt or pin, while the enlarged ends run in inclined grooves or
guides.
My Invention consists, secondly, in the employment for the purpose of
securing the coupling link in the cavity of the buffer or drawhead of a
bolt having a vertical slot; the top of this slot rests on a transverse pin
forming the centre on which the bolt can swing. When the link enters
the buffer head and strikes the bolt, the bolt swings back allowing the
link to pass, but immediately resumes its normal position and secures the
link. The slot in the bolt allows the latter to be lifted clear of the link
when the parts have to be uncoupled.
My Invention relates, thirdly, to couplings in which the coupling or
securing of the link is not effected automatically as in the arrangements
herein-before described, but in which the coupling link has to be lifted
and the securing bolt or pin inserted by hand. The link when un-
coupled hangs down through a longitudinal opening in the draw head,
being suspended from a transverse spindle. Upon the ends of this
spindle I attach a frame or bent bar, the lower portion of which bears
against the side of the link when uncoupled, while the upper portion is
formed with a handle; by moving over this handle the frame is caused to
lift the link. When two carriages are brought together to be coupled
the link on one of the buffer heads is raised into a horizontal position by

page_text: means of its frame, and a portion of it will then be within the buffer
head of the other carriage. A transverse bolt or pin is then inserted
through the draw head of this carriage so as to pass through and hold
the link, and the coupling is thereby effected. In order that the trans-
verse bolts or pins may not work out of position, their ends may be
formed with a drop piece or may have a hole to receive a hook on the
drawhead, or they may be otherwise formed so as not to work loose.
Their heads should be secured by chains to some convenient part to
prevent their being lost.
The buffer heads may with advantage be drawn close together after
the coupling has taken place, and this may for example be effected by
forming a cam or excentric on the spindle upon which the frame before
described is mounted, so that by moving back the frame to its normal
position after the coupling has taken place, the cam or excentric will act
against the link and thus pull the drawheads together.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Louis Sterne in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LOUIS
STERNE, of Victoria Chambers, in the City of Westminster, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Louis Sterne, Her special
licence that I, the said Louis Sterne, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Louis Sterne, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 RAILWAY
COUPLINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Louis

page_text: Sterne, 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 Louis Sterne, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to those railway couplings in which the
buffer and drawhead is formed at the front with a cavity to receive the
coupling link of the adjoining vehicle, and in which by the entrance of
the said link a vertical pin or bolt is freed from the device which holds
it up, and then immediately falls into and secures the link. And this
part of the Invention consists in the employment for the purpose of
holding up the pin of a spindle working freely at the back part of the
cavity, and two rollers working on two inclines at each side of the
buffer head. When the spindle is at the lower part of the incline it
holds up the pin, but when the coupling link of the next adjoining
vehicle enters the buffer head it must come in contact with the spindle,
thereby gradually pushing it back until the bolt or pin is free to drop,
thereby invariably securing the link, and the vehicles are thus auto-
matically coupled.
Another feature of this Invention is that the roller or spindle lies and
bears upon the inner end and upper part of the link, and thereby
keeps it in a horizontal position. To uncouple it is only necessary to
lift the bolt or pin above the link, when the link may be withdrawn and
the spindle will immediately follow the link, the rollers descending the
incline, and will again hold up the pin. If desirable to prevent the pin
being entirely withdrawn from the aperture in the top of the drawhead
in which it works, a shoulder or enlargement can be fixed near its lower
end. The spindle may be formed with an axle or trunnions to run in
inclined slots or grooves or on shoulders in the sides of the draw head,
but I prefer it to be made like a dumb bell as herein-before described,
the middle portion being in the form of a spindle to run under the pin,

page_text: while the enlarged ends or rollers run on inclined guides. The manner
in which I prefer to carry out this part of my Invention is represented
in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the annexed Drawings.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the buffer and draw heads of two
contiguous vehicles with the coupling link between them. It will be
seen that the link is secured at one end in the buffer and drawhead at
the right hand, while the opposite end of the link has entered the head
at the left hand, and is about to push back the spindle which holds up
the vertical pin; Figure 2 is a plan, and Figure 3 a face view of one of
the buffer and drawheads.
a is the buffer and drawhead formed with a bell-mouthed cavity at the
front, as shewn; b is the coupling link; c is the vertical pin which
secures the link, and d is the spindle which holds up this pin before tho
coupling is effected. The ends of the spindle d pass through apertures
in the sides of the head a, and carry rollers or wheels f,f, each of which
(when the parts are not coupled) rests in a curved seat g at the lower
end of an incline h. When the rollers f, f, are in the curved seats g, the
spindle d holds up the pin c as seen in the left-hand half of Figure 1, but
when the coupling link of the next adjoining vehicle enters the head a,
it presses against the spindle d, thereby pushing it with its rollers f, ƒ, up
the inclines, and the pin c being then free immediately falls into and
secures the link. The rollers fnaturally gravitate a little so that the
spindle always bears down upon the inner end of the link, their
slightly excess weight keeping it in a horizontal position whilst un-
coupled, see the right hand half of Figure 1. The link being always in
a horizontal position allows the coupling to be easily accomplished at a
variation of loads, without the necessity of having large bell-mouth
cavities in the buffer heads. The back of the inside of the buffer head is
formed with the particular curves shewn for the purpose of keeping the
link always the uniform length at the variation of loads, and thereby
enabling the buffer heads to couple up close. The curved seats g are
sufficiently recessed to prevent the rollers f ascending, and thereby
letting the pin c drop during shunting, the link of course being removed
and suspended by a chain or hook during the time of shunting or
assembling. The central portion of the spindle d upon which the pin c
rests when the parts are not coupled is reduced in diameter, in order
that the link need not enter too far for the spindle to clear the vertical
pin and thus obtain a short link.

page_text: My Invention consists, secondly, in the employment for the purpose
of securing the coupling link in the cavity of the buffer or draw head of
a pin or bolt having a vertical slot; the top of this slot rests on a trans-
verse pin forming the centre on which the slotted pin can swing. When
the link enters the buffer head and strikes, the slotted pin swings back,
allowing the link to pass, but immediately resumes its normal position
and secures the link. This coupling is represented in longitudinal
.section in Figure 4, in plan in Figure 5, and in face view in Figure 6;
a, the buffer head; b, the coupling link; c, the pin or bolt formed with
a vertical slot d; e, is the transverse pin on which the inner side of the
top of the slotted pin rests, and which forms the centre on which the
pin can swing to a distance limited by the slot fin the buffer head, and
the stop in the lower part of the buffer frame. When the link b
enters the head a it strikes the pin or bolt c, which swings back as
before mentioned allowing the link to pass, but immediately resumes its
normal position and secures the link. The slot d allows the pin c to be
lifted clear of the link when the parts have to be uncoupled.
I
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Sterne, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five.