Improvements in Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Sept., 1897-Accepted, 23rd Oct., 1897
Improvements in Railway Vehicles.
I, AUGUST RAPP, of No. 7, One Hundred and Eleventh Street, Pullman, in the
County of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer, 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 following statement:-
This invention relates to railway vehicles and more particularly to that portion
of the draught rigging which carries and supports the buffers, and has for its
object to provide an efficient buffing apparatus which shall be adapted for use
in what are known as vestibule cars, whereby the equalizer heretofore employed
in such mechanism may be dispensed with and the mechanism adapted for application
to cars of certain types. To these ends my invention consists in certain novel
features which will be hereinafter described and then pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, with the flooring removed, of a
portion of a car of the vestibule type having my improvement applied thereto;
Figure 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the same;
Figure 3 an end elevation of the same;
Figure 4, a detail sectional view, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, and
looking in the direction of the arrow.
In the said drawings, 10 represents the platform end sill, and 11 the buffer
plate, which is supported by means of the lateral buffer bars 12 which are
pivotally connected to the buffer plate at points 13 adjacent to the ends thereof.
Each lateral buffer bar comprises a shank portion 14, rectangular in cross-section,
and a stem portion 15, circular in cross section. The shank portion passes
through a suitable guide 16 in the platform end sill 10, (shown in dotted lines
in Figure 1) and the junction of the shank and stem forms a shoulder against
which a washer 17 abuts. Coiled around that portion of the stem adjacent to
the washer 17 and abutting at its forward end against the said washer is a buffer
spring 18, the rear end of which abuts against a fixed bracket 19. This bracket
has forward and rearward extending arms, 20 and 21, by means of which it is
secured to the sills or other suitable portions of the car body, and is also pro-
vided with an aperture through which the buffer stem passes loosely. Rearward
of the bracket 19 there is coiled around the buffer stem a second spring 22 of
less force than the buffer spring, and having its front end abutting against the
rear face of the bracket 19. The rear end of the spring 22 abuts against a
washer 23 which is held on the stem by means of a key 24 passing vertically
through a suitable slot in the stem. A split key 25 serves to hold the key 24
in place. The buffer stem slides through an end guide 26, which, as shown in
detail in Figure 4, is provided with a vertically elongated guiding aperture 27
of sufficient dimensions to permit the key 24 to pass freely therethrough along
with the stem.
In conjunction with the lateral buffer bars 12, I employ a central buffer bar 28,

page_text: having a squared shank 29 sliding through a suitable guide 30 in the platform
end sill 10, and round stem portion 31. The buffing springs 32 abut at their
forward ends against a-collar 33 on the forward part of the stem and bearing
against the shoulder of the shank, while at their rear ends they abut against a
fixed bracket 34. The central buffer bar is thus forced normally forward against
the buffer plate, against which it bears at its centre, it not being pivoted or other-
wise connected to the buffer plate, but having its extremity somewhat rounded,
as shown at 35, so as to permit the buffer plate to rock on said end as a fulcrum.
The buffer plate carries rigidly attached to it the usual arched face plate 36,
connected with the body of the vestibule by the usual bellows diaphragms 37,
and also carries the foot plate 38, which extends over the end of the platform and
closes the space between this latter and the buffer plate.
It will be observed that the buffer plate must have a considerable range of
motion angularly to the central line of the car, as indicated in dotted lines in
Figure 1 to accommodate itself to the curvature of the track and other influences.
The buffer springs 18 will tend to return the lateral buffer bars to their normal
position when compressed, while the equalizing springs 22 will tend to return
the lateral buffer bars to their normal position when said bars are drawn out
and their equalizing springs compressed, and further serve to return the buffer
plate to its normal position. I am thus enabled to dispense with the equalizing
lever or levers heretofore used, and thereby adapt the apparatus for use in con-
nection with certain types of platforms.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In a railway car, the combination, with a buffer plate, of buffer bars
pivotally connected to the buffer plate near each end thereof, a buffer spring
on each of said buffer bars acting to force the same outward, and an equalizing
spring for each bar tending to draw the same inward, substantially as set forth.
2. In a railway car, the combination, with a buffer plate, of a central buffer-
bar bearing against the buffer plate, and lateral buffer bars, pivoted to the buffer
plate and each provided with a buffer spring to force it outward and an equalizing
spring to retract it; substantially as set forth.
3. In a railway car the combination, with a buffer plate of a central buffer bar
bearing against the buffer plate, and lateral buffer bars pivoted to the buffer
plate, and each provided with a buffer spring to force the same outward to a
limited extent, and an equalizing spring of less strength adapted to return the
bar to the limit of the buffer spring action when withdrawn beyond the same,
substantially as set forth.
4. In a railway car; the combination, with a buffer plate, of a spring actuated
central buffer bar bearing against but not connected with the buffer plate, and
spring-actuated lateral buffer bars located one on each side of the central buffer
bar and pivoted to the buffer plate, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 20th day of September 1897.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.