IM- PROVED MEANS OF CONNECTING AND WORKING BREAKS FOR RAILWAY CAR- RIAGES.
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clarke, of Laybourne Road, Camden Town,
in the County of Middlesex, Railway Guard, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVED MEANS OF CONNECTING AND WORKING BREAKS FOR RAILWAY CAR-
RIAGES.".
Sealed the 23rd April 1858, and dated; the 27th October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clarke at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th October 1857.
I, WILLIAM CLARKE, of Laybourne Road, Camden Town, in the County of
Middlesex, Railway Guard, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVED MEANS OF CONNECTING AND WORKING BREAKS FOR RAILWAY
CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
The improved means of connecting and working breaks for railway car-
riages, which forms the subject of the present Invention, relates to a novel
mode of connecting the break apparatus on one carriage with that of the
adjoining carriage, so that all the breaks may be brought into action simul-
taneously when required. This object is effected by connecting the break
apparatus of contiguous carriages by means of cords, chains, or other analogous
flexible connexions instead of by rigid rods, as has hitherto been the case.
By causing these chains or cords to pass round suitably arranged pullies, and
attaching one end of such chain to an adjustable rod, the distance between

page_text: the carriages may vary constantly without in any way affecting the working of
the breaks, as when any'slack occurs in the chain from the carriages being
brought up close so as to collapse the buffer springs, such slack in the chain
will be taken up by the adjusting rod to which one end of the cord or chain
is attached. The breaks blocks are attached to the ends of horizontal bars,
which are jointed-to-vibrating levers, whereby they are worked; these levers are
actuated by connecting rods and levers worked by the guard in the way
usually adopted, but in order to work the breaks of the next carriage, a
pulley is mounted on some convenient part of one of the connecting rods, and
round this pulley passes the connecting chain or cord, which is secured at this
end to some fixed part of the framing. After passing round; the pulley
belonging to the first carriage, the chain or cord is conducted round a
similar pulley connected with-the-break -apparatus of the second carriage, and
from thence it passes round a third pulley in fixed bearings attached to the
framing of the carriage, and the end of the chain is, as before mentioned,
attached to one end of an adjustable Fod, which is jointed at one end to the
fixed framing of the first carriage, while. its former end works through a
socket fixed to the framing of the second carriage. If the end of this rod
and the beginning of the chain are permanently fixed to the first, carriage,
both the rod and chain must be provided with a connexion that will admit of
being disconnected with facility when it is required to detach the carriages one
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William, Clarke in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th April 1858.)
"TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARKE, Railway Guard, of Laybourne Road, Camden Town, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting
the
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant untò
me, the said 'William Clarke, Her special licence that I, the said - William
Clarke, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such other's as I; the
said William Clarke, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
'any time' agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times

page_text: 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 "IM-
PROVED MEANS OF CONNECTING AND WORKING BREAKS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clarke,;; 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 William Clarke, do hereby declare. the
nature of my said Invention; and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My Invention consists in an improved mode of connecting and working
breaks: for railway carriages, 'so that all the breaks may be brought into
action simultaneously, and a perfect compensation provided for the varying
distances of the buffer springs. This object is effected by connecting the break
apparatus of contiguous carriages by means of cords, chains, or other analagous
flexible connections, instead of by rigid rods, as has hitherto between the case.
By causing these chains or cords to pass round suitably arranged pulleys, and
attaching one end of such chain to an adjustable rod the distance between the
carriages may vary 'constantly, without in any way affecting the working of the
breaks, as when any slack occurs in the chain, from the carriages being
brought up close, so as to collapse the buffer springs, such slack in the chain
will be taken up by the adjusting rod to which one end of the cord or chain
is attached. The break blocks are attached to the ends of horizontal bars,
which are jointed to vibrating-levers, whereby they are worked. These levers
are actuated by connecting rods and levers worked by the guard in the way
usually adopted, but in order to work the breaks of the-next carriage a pulley
is mounted-on some convenient part of one of the connecting rods, and round
this pulley passes the connecting chain or cord, which is secured at this end to
some fixed part of the framing. After passing round the pulley belonging to
the first carriage, the chain or cord is conducted round a similar-pulley con-
nected with the break apparatus of the second carriage, and from thence it
passes round a third pulley in fixed bearings-attached to the framing of the
carriage, and the end of the chain is, as before-mentioned, attached to one end
of an adjustable rod, which is jointed at the other end to the fixed framing of

page_text: the first carriage, while its former end works through a socket fixed to the
framing of the second carriage. If the end of this rod and the beginning of
the chain are permanently fixed to the first carriage, both the rod and chain
must be provided with a connection that will admit of being disconnected with
facility when it is required to detach the carriages one from another.
To make all clear, I have added a Drawing to this Specification, showing
the mode of application of my improved mode of connecting and working
breaks.
Fig. 1 shows a sectional elevation of two railway carriage or truck under
frames. Fig. 2 shows a sectional elevation of an under frame with the connecting
apparatus applied without the breaks. In Fig. 1, A is the usual break lever
gearing, acting on the rod B, and pulling or pushing the lever C as required,
which lever C being fixed to the rocking shaft D, puts the break into or out
of action, as required, exactly as is now practised where the breaks are applied
to only one carriage at a time. To effect the communication with the next
carriage, a rod or chain E is secured at one end to the lever C, and the other
to the rocking lever F, which carries the pulley G. To the frame at H is
attached the chain I, which may be made of any suitable flexible material.
This chain passes. round the pulleys G and K, and L, and is attached to the
end of the adjustable rod M. The bearing of pulley L is fixed to the framing,
and the pulley K to the lever C¹, which is secured to the rocking shaft D¹.
At the end of rod M; I place an adjusting screw and nut to tighten the chain,
and between the buffers I provide some plan for coupling and adjusting .the
chain when connecting the carriages or trucks. One plan is shown at N. The
adjusting rod M is attached to the end of the carriage by the link O, which
works in a bracket piece p, and thus, as the Drawing shows, a vertical motion
is obtained by the link working in the bracket piece, and a horizontal motion
by the rod working on the end of the link. When out of use, the rod is
unpinned and slipped back in the supports; and the coupling unscrewed.
Fig. 2.shows a method of continuing the tension through one or more car-
riages when they are not intended to have breaks... The connection and
details are precisely the same as in Fig. 1. By this use of my apparatus it
will be seen that an equal tension is carried through the whole length of the
train, and that the play of the buffers is perfectly compensated. The breaks-.
man must be provided with some kind of gearing, of sufficient power to put on
the amount of friction required, which of course will be in proportion to the
number of carriages to have breaks on.
.
'
It will be seen that the guard can only put on the breaks, and that to re-
lease them other means must be provided. For this purpose I put an extra

page_text: lever R on the rocking shafts D, D¹, &c., which having a weight on the end,
as shown, brings back the blocks from contact with the wheels, or for this
purpose springs may be used of india-rubber or steel, but I prefer the lever
and weight as being more certain in its action. Instead of using chains, rods
may be used, except at the parts working on the pulleys.
In the Figures 1 and 2, I have shown only one set of apparatus, which is
all that is necessary when it is not required to turn the carriages, and in this
case the apparatus may be placed at the centre under the draw bar, or on one
side, but should it be desired to make the apparatus so that the carriages
can be turned, then a double set of apparatus must be used, and the two sets
must be placed at equal distances from the centre. These two sets
would of course be reversed so as to match any of the ends, and if both sets
of apparatus be coupled throughout the train, all the breaks may be applied
from either end, and an extra lever C must be placed on the rocking shaft D
opposite to the other to put the breaks on.
Although I have shown the ordinary slide breaks in the Drawings, my
apparatus may be applied to any of the other kinds, as any mechanic will see,
and I wish it to be understood that I do not make any claim to the breaks
themselves, but only to the apparatus which I have contrived, enabling the
breaksman to exert a simultaneous tensional force on any or all of the breaks
in a train of railway carriages or trucks. Of course the mere details may and
must be varied to suit the various cases which occur in practice.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clarke, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
W CLARKE (L.S.)