A NEW OR IMPROVED BRAKE BLOCK
Year: 1875

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LETTERS PATENT to James Steel, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR
IMPROVED BRAKE BLOCK."
Scaled the 16th July 1875, and dated the 11th May 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Steel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th May 1875.
::
I, JAMES STEEL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "A
NEW OR IMPROVED BRAKE BLOCK," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object to ensure the even wear of the tyres
of wheels which run on railways, and to avoid the cost incurred by the
existing practice of turning or guiding such tyres to the proper profile
when the tread has become worn or hollow. This object is effected by a
specially constructed brake block which constitutes this Invention.
The new or improved brake block is preferably constructed of cast
iron, but it may be made of other suitable material, and its special

page_text: feature consists in forming it with a hollow lengthwise at that part
which in an ordinary brake block would bear upon the tread of the
tyre.
The brake block is otherwise so shaped that it bears upon those
portions of the tyre which are outside the tread, and also upon the
flanch; thus, when the brake block is brought into operation, it does
not act upon the part of the tyre which is subject to the ordinary wear
and tear of rolling, but it acts upon those portions which are not so
worn away, and thereby keeping them rubbed down when the brakes
are applied maintains their surface more or less uniform with the tread,
thereby insuring a constant profile, and so preventing the cost of turning
or grinding those portions of the tyres which are not worn when using
brake blocks of the ordinary construction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Steel in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 4th November 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
STEEL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer,
send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-five, in the 38th year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said James Steel, Her special license that I, the said
James Steel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said James Steel, my executors, administrators, or 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED BRAKE BLOCK," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Steel, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe.
and ascertain, the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: 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 James Steel, 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
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :—
My said Invention has for its object to ensure the even wear of the
tyres of wheels which run on railways, and to avoid the cost incurred by
the existing practice of turning or grinding such tyres to the proper profile
when the tread has become worn or hollow. This object is effected by a
specially constructed brake block which constitutes my said Invention.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner
in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into
effect, reference being had to the annexed Sheet of Drawings and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :—
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto appended Figure 1 is a side
elevation of the new or improved brake block as constructed in
accordance with my said Invention; Figure 2 is an elevation of the
front or bearing side thereof; and Figure 3, a horizontal section of the
same on the line a, b, Figure 1, shewing the, block in the position it
occupies whilst bearing upon or against the tyre and flanch of the
wheel.
The new or improved brake block is preferably constructed of
malleable iron, but it may be made of cast iron, steel, or of other
suitable material, and as constructed under one modification it is formed
with a hollow lengthwise at that part which in an ordinary brake block
would bear upon the tread of the tyre. The longitudinal hollow is
shewn at A, Figures 2 and 3 of the Drawings.
The brake block is otherwise so shaped that the side B of the hollow A
bears upon the wheel tyre at the outside of that part of the tread marked
D, D, and a hollow channel E is also formed in the brake block which
bears upon the flanch F of the wheel, as shewn at Figure 3; thus when
the brake block is brought into operation, so as to stop or retard the

page_text: motion of the train, it does not act upon the part D, D, of the tyre
which is subject to the ordinary wear and tear of rolling, but it acts
upon those portions which are not so worn away, that is to say, the
portions opposite the parts B and E of the block. In practice these
parts of the tyre are rubbed or ground down when the brakes are
applied, and their surfaces are maintained more or less uniform with the
tread D, thereby ensuring a constant profile, and so preventing or in a
great measure lessening the cost of turning or grinding those portions of
the tyres which are not worn when using brake blocks of the ordinary
construction.
•
Under a modification of my said Invention the brake blocks may be
constructed without the longitudinal channel A, that is to say, they are
made solid at that part, the channel E being however maintained as
shewn on the Drawings.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which the
same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would observe
in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is, arranging or constructing brake blocks with or without
a longitudinal hollow or channel therein, and otherwise so shaping them
as to bear upon the flanch and those portions of the tyre which are not
worn in rolling, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before
described, and in part illustrated on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
appended.
my
In witness whereof, I, the said James Stecl, have hereunto set
hand and seal, this Third day of November, One thousand eight