IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OPERATING RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Bartlett Chapin, of Wickford, Rhode
Island, United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton
66
Buildings, London, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR OPERATING RAILWAY BRAKES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Bartlett Chapin
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th October 1872.
I, WALTER BARTLETT CHAPIN, of Wickford, Rhode Island, United
States, of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR OPERATING RAILWAY BRAKES," to be as follows:-
66
My Invention relates to novel apparatus for operating railway brakes.
The said apparatus is very simple in its construction and may be readily
applied to any railway carriage. It may be connected with electrical,
hydraulic, or other apparatus for applying the brakes, or with levers for
applying them by hand.

page_text: My apparatus is constructed and arranged as follows:-The brake
shoes, which may be formed of wood or metal, are attached to a cross
bar extending from side to side of the carriage and suspended by rods
or links from the frame. This cross bar is connected to rods or bars
which extend obliquely from the cross bar to a rod which connects them
with a horizontal lever arranged midway between the ends of the
carriage and whose fulcrum is a pin or stud fixed in the frame. The
same arrangement of the cross bar, oblique bars, and connecting rod,
is provided at each end of the carriage. The two rods are connected
to the said lever at opposite sides of its fulcrum and at equal distances
therefrom, so that when the lever is actuated the brakes at both ends of
the carriage will be applied with equal pressure.
One arm of the said
lever is extended beyond its joint with the connecting rod and has
jointed to it a chain or rod which extends to a vertical lever suspended
upon a fulcrum pin attached to a convenient portion of the carriage
frame. When the brakes are to be connected with electrical apparatus
for applying them, similar to that described in the Specification of
Letters Patent, dated December 13, 1870, No. 3266, this vertical lever is
connected by a chain to the shaft which carries the friction plate and
armature. When these are in contact the said chain is wound upon the
shaft and moves the vertical lever, the latter turns the horizontal lever
in the proper direction to force the brake shoes into contact with the
wheels. A spring connected to the said vertical lever reverses the
action of the same, and the horizontal lever, when the tension upon the
chain is relaxed, and the brake shoes are thereby released. The said
vertical lever is made with a number of holes so that the aforesaid rod
or chain may be connected to it at any distance from its fulcrum and
thereby the movement imparted to the horizontal lever may be varied
as required. The chains are guided over friction rollers suspended from
the frame. If desired I may use a second horizontal lever in place of the
aforesaid vertical lever. The aforesaid oblique rods are supported by
chains;
their ends which are connected to the cross bar are preferably
formed with long slots through which the said bar extends, and these
slotted ends are provided with holes through which and the ends of
the cross bar are passed bolts for securing the said rods and cross bar
together. By changing the bolts in these holes the said rods may be
adjusted to give the exact length required between the cross bar and the
central lever. I prefer to place india-rubber washers between the cross
bar and the sides of the slot and under the bolt head and nut. The

page_text: brake shoes must be provided with means for throwing or drawing
them back from the wheels when they are released from pressure, as
above described. For this purpose I attach to the end timbers of the
carriage frame a bow spring which is connected to the aforesaid cross
bar by a chain or rod and which tends always to draw the said bar
away from the wheels; or I may in some instances support the said
brake shoes directly upon vertical springs attached to the frame.
When it is desired to apply the brakes to the wheels on both sides of
the axle I modify the above described apparatus as follows:-To cach
of the aforesaid cross bars which are placed on the outer side of the
carriage axle I joint a lever, that is to say, the fulcrum of the said lever
is fixed upon the cross bar, another cross bar also carrying brake
shoes is placed on the inner side of the axle. One end of the aforesaid
this lever and connects
connecting rod is attached to one arm of
the same with the central horizontal lever; the other arm of the
cross bar lever is connected by a rod or chain to the inner cross bar.
When the said horizontal lever is turned in one direction on its axis the
two cross bars will be drawn together and the two sets of brake shoes
will be forced into contact with the wheels; by turning the said lever
in the other direction the two sets of brake shoes will be drawn back or
away from each other and the wheels released.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Walter Bartlett Chapin in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
BARTLETT CHAPIN, of Wickford, Rhode Island, United States of
America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, send
greeting,
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Walter Bartlett Chapin, Her special
licence that I, the said Walter Bartlett Chapin, my executors, adminis-

page_text: trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Walter Bartlett
Chapin, 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 OPERATING RAILWAY BRAKES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Walter Bartlett Chapin,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Walter Bartlett Chapin, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification.
My Invention relates to novel apparatus for operating railway
brakes. The said apparatus is very simple in its construction and may
be readily applied to any railway carriage. It may be connected with
electrical, hydraulic, or other apparatus for applying the brakes, or with
levers for applying them by hand.
In the following description I have more particularly referred to its
lination of plantninity to the working of

page_text: Figure 6 shews a novel device for coupling conducting wires between
the carriages of a railway train.
Figure 7 shews an improved device for connecting ropes or cords
between the carriages.
Figure 8 is a front view of an improved keyboard forming part of my
said apparatus.
Figure 9 is a similar view illustrating modifications of the same;
Figure 10 is a section on the line 2, 2, Figure 9.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
In the mechanism shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, the brake-shoes a at
cach end of the carriage are attached to a cross bar b, which extends
from side to side of the carriage, and is suspended by rods or links from
the frame A. This cross bar 6 is connected to arms c jointed to a rod d
which extends to a horizontal lever e arranged midway between the
ends of the carriage, and whose fulcrum is a pin or stud f fixed in the
frame. The two rods d are connected to the lever e at opposite sides of
its fulcrum and at equal distances therefrom, as shown in Figure 1, so
that the brakes at both ends of the carriages will be applied with equal
pressurc.
One arm e¹ of the said lever is extended beyond its junction with the
rod d, and is connected by a chain or rod g to a vertical lever suspended
upon a fulcrum pin í attached to a convenient portion of the carriage
frame A.
When the brakes are to be used in combination with electrical
apparatus for adjusting them, similar to that described in the Specifica-
tion of Letters Patent, dated December 13th, A.D. 1870, No. 2366, this
vertical lever is connected by a chain j to the shaft k, which carries the
friction plate and armature as described in the said former Specification.
When these are in contact the said chain is wound upon the shaft j, and
moves the vertical lever h; the latter turns the horizontal lever e in the
proper direction to force the brake-shoes a upon the wheels B; a spring m
connected to the said vertical lever reverses the action of the same,
and the horizontal lever e, when the pull upon the chain is relaxed and
the brake-shoes are thereby released or "taken off" the wheels. The
said vertical lever is made with a number of holes, as shewn, so that the
chain may be connected to it at any distance from its fulcrum, and

page_text: thereby the movement imparted to the horizontal levere may be varied
as required. The chains may be guided over friction rollers suspended
from the frame. If found more convenient I may use a second horizontal
lever in place of the aforesaid vertical lever h.
The aforesaid rods d and arms are supported by chains o; the ends of
the said arms connected to the cross bar bare preferably formed with
long slots b', through which the said bar extends; and these slotted ends
are provided with holes through which and the ends of the cross bar
are passed bolts p for securing the said arms and cross bar together. By
changing the bolts p in these holes the said arms may be adjusted to
give the exact length required between the cross bars and the central
lever e.
I prefer to place india-rubber washers between the cross bar
and the sides of the slot o and under the bolt head and nut.
The brake-shoes a should be provided with means for throwing or
drawing them back from the wheels B when they are released from
pressure as above described. For this purpose I attach to the end timber
of the carriage frame a bow-spring 7 (as shown in Figures 3 and 4) which
is connected to the aforesaid arms c by chains or rods », and which tends
always to draw the said bar away from the wheels B. Or I may attach
the said brake-shoes directly to vertical springs q' secured to the frame,
as shewn in Figure 2.
Where it is desired to apply the brakes to the wheels on both sides of the
axle I modify the above-described apparatus as follows, and as illustrated
in Figure 5. To each of the aforesaid cross bars b, which are placed on
the outer sides of the carriage axle C, I joint a lever 8, that is to say, the
fulcrum & of the said lever is fixed upon the cross bars b, another cross
bar, also carrying brake-shoes *, is placed on the inner side of the
axle. One end of the connecting rod d is attached to one arm of the
lever 8, and connects the same with the central horizontal lever e; the
other arm of the lever s is connected by a rod or chain to the inner
cross bar . When the said horizontal lever e is turned in one direction
on its axis the two cross bars will be drawn together and the two sets of
brake shoes will be forced into contact with the said wheels. By turning
the said lever in the other direction the two sets of brake-shoes will be
drawn back or away from each other, and the wheels released. Instead
of the levers I may have two levers attached to the said cross bar to
effect the same object.
8

page_text: The contrivance shewn in Figure 6 consists of four small metal rods t
inserted in a stock #, and surrounded by an adjustable conical piece t*.
The stock is permanently attached to one of the conducting wires (³
to be coupled while the end of the other wire is inserted between
the four rods t, as shown. By this means the circuit is very readily
closed or opened when carriages are to be put on or taken from a railway
train.
The device shown in Figure 7 consists of a hook and eye u', which
are securely attached to the ends of the ropes u³, u³. The aperture in the
hook is made very small, and the eye is so formed that the said hook
may be readily inserted but cannot be accidentally removed from the
same.
The key-board Figure 8, is to be placed on the engine or guard's van
to enable the driver or guard to control the brakes. The said keyboard
has a lever which is in connection through its fulcrum ' with the wire
leading to the battery. The free end v² of the said lever moves over the
metal pieces w, which are in connection with the brake apparatus. By
moving the said lever from one to the other of these pieces the driver
can apply more or less power to the brakes, and can also reverse
the current to demagnetise the apparatus after the brakes have been
applied.
But I prefer to use the keyboard illustrated in Figures 9 and 10.
The said keyboard is provided with brass plates W, W¹, W, W³, W', W',
W, W, over which the lever v moves. At the back of the said lever are
two contact springs 1, 2. The spring 1 is connected at its lower end
to the lever v, and its upper extremity carries a brass contact piece
faced with silver; this contact piece bears on the plate w, so that
when the lever is moved from the " "off" to the "on" side of the
board the said piece will touch the centres of the plates 10¹, 20%. The
other contact spring 2 is insulated from the lever by ebonite or other
suitable material, and is fitted with contact pieces at each extremity
arranged to touch the plates wo³, 10³, 10³, 20³, 107, when moved over them;
conducting wires are extended from the battery to the back of the plates,
the zinc wire to the plate w', and the carbon wire to the plate 20²; the
zinc wire is also connected to the plate 0%, and the carbon to the
plate ; conducting wires are also brought from a number of the
battery cells to the plates 20', wo³, and a main wire extends from the
plate to the magnets of each carriage, and thence to the corresponding

page_text: plate of the key board at the other end of the train. Another main
wire for completing the circuit with the galvanometer y returns under
the carriages and is connected with the pins v' of all of the keyboards.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,—
First. The mechanism for operating railway brakes, as illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2, or 3 and 4 of the accompanying Drawings, and as
herein described.
Second. The mechanism for operating the double brakes, as illustrated
in Figure 5 of the Drawing, and as herein described.
Third. The contrivance for coupling the conducting wires between the
carriages, as herein described.
Fourth. The ropes or cords forming part of a continuous railway brake
apparatus connected between the carriages by the contrivance for that
purpose herein described.
Fifth. The improved keyboard constructed and arranged in combina-
tion with the aforesaid apparatus or similar apparatus for operating
railway brakes, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Bartlett Chapin, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
WM, ROBT. LAke,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
W. B. CHAPIN. (L.S.)