IMPROVED BREAKING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John Gedgo
and Son, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middle-
sex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVED BREAKING APPARATUS
FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER VEHICLES."-A communication from abroad by
Alfred Tabuteau, of Bordeaux, Gironde, France, Engineer.
Sealed the 28th January 1862, and dated the 12th August 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with bis Petition, on the
12th August 1861.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of
No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
BREAKING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY AND OTHER VEHICLES," (communicated to me
from abroad, by Alfred Tabuteau, of Bordeaux, Gironde, France, Engineer,)
to be as follows:-
This apparatus is composed of a circle or ring of metal solidly fixed within
a break van, on this circle three pins are placed around, the first moves a lever
in its socket, another lever or bar round the second, and a balance lever on
the third. A bar joins the first-mentioned lever to the second, forming a
knee joint, the second lever is connected to one end of the balance lever by
another bar, thus forming a second knee joint, and to the other end of the
balance lover is adjusted a tightening rod which commands the breaks. When

page_text: the guard depresses the first-mentioned lever (a handle on the upper end
of which comes beneath his hand), the bar joining it to the second lever is
also depressed by it, the second, and this by its connecting bar depresses one
end of the balance lever, raising the other on which is the rod commanding
the breaks, which are now put on and tightened. In this apparatus the
power produced by the first knee joint is multiplied by the second, and
thus great power may be obtained, using but a small apparatus. To apply
all the breaks of a carriage with equal power, attach one end of the tightening
rod to the centre of a double-jointed balance lever, one end of which is in
connection with the cross bar carrying the breaks of the first pair of wheels,
and the other by means of a rod with the breaks of the second pair of wheels.
Thus, the tightening rod being in two parts when the traction is exercised on
the balance lever, the power is divided into two equal parts, the one acting
upon the cross bar of the breaks of the first pair of wheels, the other by the
rod above-mentioned upon the breaks of the second pair. The above-described
apparatus is applicable not only to railway carriages, but also to omnibusses,
and other vehicles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of Number 11, Wel-
lington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Gedge, Her special licence that I, the said
William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as. I, the said William Edward Gedge, 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 "IMPROVED BREAKING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY AND

page_text: OTHER VEHICLES," a communication to me from abroad by Alfred Tabuteau, of
Bordeaux, Gironde, France, Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Gedge, 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 Inven-
tion, 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 William Edward Gedge, 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 Sheet of Drawings here-
unto annexed and forming part of this my Specification, and to the letters of
reference marked thereon.
A screw furnished with a double-armed crank is generally used for tight-
ening up the break (or brake) blocks in railway or other vehicles. This
method is inconvenient, chiefly in its want of promptitude, as in working the
screw, several (say, as many as twelve to fourteen) turns must be given to
bring the break blocks completely against the tires of the wheels, and so arrest
their rotation, and this operation occasions a loss of time equal to twenty or
twenty-five seconds, and sometimes more. My improved breaking apparatus
will be found to be incomparably more prompt in its action, less subject to
derangement than the screw apparatus, and of greater power. It is a novel
application of what may be termed knee power, which (it is believed) was
first indicated by the celebrated mechanician "Poinsot," the advantage obtained
by the use of this ingenious mechanism is multiplied by a double disposition
thereof in the apparatus about to be described, and will be best understood by
reference to the Drawing, in which Figure 1 shews an elevation of the end of
a railway vehicle (say, the guard's van), with the apparatus fitted thereon ;
and Figure 2, a mode of applying the break blocks in a simple and economical
manner. A lever A, B, (Figure 1), moving round or on the fixed point at A
is attached at C, to a double linked rod C, D, which plays in other linked
rods D, E, and D, F, the first moves round the fixed point E, and the end F
of the second is attached to a beam F, H, working on the centre G, the end H
of said beam being attached to the tightening-up rod. When the lever A, B,
is lowered, the point C is carried to C', the point D to D', and the end of
the beam at F being lowered to F³, the other extremity H of the said beam
draws the tightening-up rod to H, and causes as it were simultaneously the
advance to and tightening up of the break blocks against the wheels. The

page_text: action is shewn in dotted lines on the Drawing. The three fixed "points A,
E, G, are attached to an iron band or ring, which may be fixed to the back
of a vehicle by wooden screws (or otherwise), or to the framing thereof, or to
strengthening pieces placed for this purpose. A simple iron triangle will be
found sufficient firmly to hold these points in position. The rod D, F, slides
between the two iron bands N, N, which guide it, and retain the entire system
in the same vertical plane (one only of these iron bands can be seen in the
Drawing, the other being immediately behind that shown). Figure 2 in the
Drawing indicates a mode of applying the break blocks in a perfectly equal
manner. It consists in constructing the draw rod in two parts, re-uniting it
by a small beam (or plate) V, O, U, which is itself attached or jointed to the
lever U, Z, of the traverse, which brings the break blocks into action. By
means of this disposition, the draw power exercised by the first part P, O,
of the rod, is divided exactly between the directions V, Y, and U, U', and the
eight break blocks are applied simultaneously and with an equal power. An
advantage obtained by the use of the mechanism (herein-before described),
is that the force produced increases as the lever approaches its stop, or in
other words, exactly where power is wanted power is obtained, and for celerity
of action it leaves nothing to desire, for experiments have proved that with
a speed of thirty miles an hour, the wheels of the break (or brake) carriage
have been stopped and released in rotation four times successively in four
seconds of time. When the lever (A, B,) has passed in its descent the point C,
it is eqilibrised by its own weight to the pressure it exerts, and the guard may
then safely leave it to itself without fear of its rising. The apparatus may be
easily attached to the back (as shewn) of a vehicle or a partition thereof, or to
any part handy to the guard, who to bring it into operation has only to rise
from his seat and work the lever, instantly braking (the wheels) and causing
them to slide only on the rails, and (as before stated) releasing them with
the same rapidity, an operation instantaneous, natural and instinctive, and
very different from that of making twelve or fourteen turns of a handle.
Although the arrangement herein set forth allows a certain margin for the
wear of the break blocks during the journey, it is desirable to form the tight-
ening-up rod of two pieces, re-united by a muffle or coupling box L screw-
tapped in sense inverse, so that the guard in causing this muffle or box to
turn (it is placed convenient to his hand), may place the apparatus in proper
working order. The simple apparatus just described is not liable to any
derangement. It is composed of five iron rods, which may be made of any
desired strength, a few drops of oil serve to lubricate the jointings. It may be
fitted at small cost to all manner of brakes (or breaks) in use on railroads.

page_text: It is, when fitted on a newly constructed vehicle, less expensive in first cost
than the ordinary. screw break, and will require fewer repairs.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the means by
which it is carried into practical effect, I would here observe that I do not
confine myself to the precise details herein given, set forth, or illustrated in
the annexed Drawing, as certain modifications may be made without any
departure from the principle of the Invention communicated to me as afore-
said, I claim the exclusive use of the combination of mechanical parts arranged
essentially as herein-before described, forming when so arranged and combined
Improved Breaking Apparatus for Railway and other Vehicles."
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto
şet my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
W. E. GEDGE. (L.S.)