AN IMPROVED DRAW-BAR FOR FREIGHT CARS
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the firm of A. M. and Win. Clark, of
53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED DRAW-BAR FOR FREIGHT CARS" (a communication to me from abroad
by William Adam Jones of Delaware in the County of Delaware and State of Ohio,
United States of America, Car Repairer) and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved draw bar for
freight cars, which can easily be repaired and removed or replaced without requiring
the parts of the car to be taken apart.
The invention consists in the combination with plates held on the underside of
the car of bolts held between the said plates and a draw head having its inner end
supported and held by cross bars resting on plates, provided with pockets and
supported by the above mentioned bolts.
The invention also consists in parts and details and combinations of the same,
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
Specification in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all
the figures.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the underside of my improved draw bar. Figure 2 is
a cross sectional elevation of the same on the line x, x, Figure 1. Figure 3 is a
longitudinal elevation of the same. Two stringers or beams A, are secured to and
a short distance from each other on the underside of the car and on the outer edge
of each stringer a downwardly projecting jaw block B is held by four screw bolts b.
On the inner side of each jaw block B, two plates C, C, are held the plates of
each pair being held apart by the upper squared parts of the screw bolts d, between
the plates C, of a pair; the squared parts of the bolts being in notches in the sides
of the plates.
Each screw bolt & is provided at the upper end with a transverse head d¹ which
rests in corresponding grooves or notches D, in the upper edges of the plates C.
The beads d' of the bolts d, are short distances below the top edges of the
stringers A.
I prefer to use four bolts d, between each pair of plates C, as shown, the middle
bolts d, being longer than the end bolts and projecting down further. The lower
ends of the bolts & pass through plates E, placed horizontally against the bottom
edges of the plates C, C, of one pair.

page_text: Nuts F are screwed on the lower ends of the bolts d, below the plates E, and on
the said nuts the plates E rest.
Between the end bolts d, or between the inner bolts d, the plates E are extended
downward to form pockets E¹ below the bottom edges of the plates C.
Between the middle bolts d, two transverse bars G, are placed edgewise on the
plates E, the ends of said bars being in the pockets El, and below the plates C.
Between the transverse bars G, a spiral spring H, is arranged, which is coiled
around the spindle J, projecting from the inner or rear end of the draw head K,
supported by a cross piece L, secured on the front ends of the jaw blocks B, and the
plates C.
A band M, secured on the top and bottom surfaces of the drawhead at its inner
end is passed over the two cross bars G, and is provided on its vertical cross piece
with an aperture through which the spindle J can pass, the bars G being provided
with corresponding apertures.
The spring H acts as a buffer, both when the draw bar is pulled or pushed.
The strain on the draw-head is transmitted by the bars G and from the same to
the plate E, and then to the plates C, and the stringers A.
The pockets El limit the movements of the bars G, in the direction of the length
of the car.
The plates C are held together by bolts c and the stringers A, are braced and
held together by cross pieces P.
If the draw-head is to be removed, it is only necessary to unscrew the nuts F,
when the plates E, drop and with them the cross bars G, supporting the inner end
of the draw head, also drop.
A new draw-head can then be fastened and held on the bottom of the car very
easily and rapidly and readily, without removing or disturbing any of the parts of
the car.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1st The combination with plates or bars, held longitudinally on the bottom of
the car, of bolts held between the plates, bars or plates, supported by the said bolts,
cross pieces resting on the latter bars and connected with the inner end of the
drawhead, whereby the removal of the drawhead is greatly facilitated substantially
as herein shown and described.
2nd The combination with bars held longitudinally on the bottom of the car, of
transverse pieces resting on the said bars and passed through a pocket on the inner
end of the drawhead substantially as herein shown and described.
3rd The combination with the plate C, of the bolts d, held between them, the
plates E, supported by the bolts d and provided with pockets E', the cross bars G,
in the pockets E¹, and the drawhead K connected with the bars G, substantially as
herein shown and described.
4th The combination with the stringers A, of the jaw blocks B, held on the same
by bolts b, the plates C, held to the jaw blocks by bolts c, the bolts d, the plates E,
having pockets E, the drawhead K, and the cross bars G, substantially as herein
shown and described.