Improvements in Safety Appliances or Apparatus for Preventing.or Reducing Shocks or Concussions in Railway Trains caused by Collisions.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Safety Appliances or Apparatus for Preventing.or
Reducing Shocks or Concussions in Railway Trains caused by
Collisions.
I, GRIFFITH BREWER of 33 Chancery Lane in the County of London
Mechanical Draughtsman do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed (a communication to me from abroad by
Leon Ponsolle of Chalonness ur Loire France, Merchant) to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to arrangements of safety appliances or apparatus
composed of a front train which the locomotive pushes before it, the apparatus
being intended to afford protection against collision with a preceding train or any
other dangerous obtacle.
This apparatus is composed of a series of telescopic tubes free to slide into one
another after the shock takes place, but extending in front of the train lengthwise
and sufficient in number for the train to be stopped in the distance covered by the
locomotive as soon as the carriage which forms the head of the apparatus has met
with an obstacle up to the time that the said tubes have completely entered into
one another.
The brakes as well as the reversing lever are actuated by the operation of this
apparatus from the moment of contact of the front of this buffer carriage with an
obstacle whilst a kind of automatically acting pincers with which this carriage is
provided holds it at the same time on the rails.
I will now describe the whole apparatus and in the following order.
1st. The large or external tube fixed directly in front of the locomotive and
actuating the brake mechanism and changing the direction of motion.
2nd. One of the intermediate tubes the number of which depends on the distance
that it is necessary to protect in front of the train to be sure of stopping it.
3rd. The head of the apparatus or the buffer carriage with the grippers which
fix it on the rail.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is an elevation in longitudinal section of the apparatus taken along
the axis of the road.
Figure 2 is a corresponding plan.
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the carriage taken through the line XX' of
Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a transverse section of one of the intermediate tubes taken on the
line YY of Figure 2.
The horizontal axis of these telescopic tubes may vary in height as experience
may indicate, I will suppose them to be arranged in a line with the buffers.
LARGE EXTERNAL TUBE.
The large tube or external tube A is connected to the front cross bar T of the
locomotive, which should be strengthened for this purpose, by a travelling bolt F.
At its other end this tube A which may be made of wrought or cast iron is
carried by the axle E of two wheels running on the rails of the road and by means
of a pin firmly connects the whole to this large tube.
In the open end of this large tube there is engaged resting on a roller e the first
intermediate tube B the front end of which rests in the same manner on a bearing
to an axle E¹.
The connection between the two tubes is obtained by means of two levers e!
and e², the first forming an abutment for pushing forward the intermediate tube so
021

page_text: long as the head of the buffer carriage has not come in contact with any dangerous
obstacle, but yielding to the first contact with an obstacle offering a determined
resistance by acting on at the same time the brakes and the reversing lever of
the locomotive; the second lever is simply to draw the intermediate tube during
the backward movement should that take place.
The lever e¹ is formed of a half disc provided in its periphery with a throat
receiving the driving chain g of the brakes and reversing lever (these latter are not
shown in the drawings their arrangement being known, and foreign to the present
invention); it turns about a horizontal axis a mounted on a support a¹ fixed on the
top of the large tube A and terminating at top in a hook e³ connected by a metal
rod of suitable strength to a pin f' firmly secured on the top of the large tube A
at a certain distance to the rear of the lever e'; the lower end of the latter enters
by a longitudinal slot into the interior of the large tube A where it could abut on
the rear end of the first intermediate tube B the amount of resistance of this
abutment will consequently depend on that of the wire rod f and the disc or
lever e¹ can consequently only operate and unroll the chain y which produces the
stoppage of the train when the wire rod f has been broken in consequence of the
front train coming in contact with a dangerous obstacle.
The second lever e³ mounted on a bracket fixed to the large tube A abuts by its
upper arm against a nose of this support and by its lower arm against the rear end
of a slot in the intermediate tube B in which it engages; it thus prevents this
latter tube from issuing from the large tube A but simply swings when the two
tubes go into one another. The support of the lever is provided in front
with an abutment or stop e¹ the use of which will be hereafter described.
The difference in the diameters of the tubes are such that the whole of the
apparatus can freely run round curves. Moreover these tubes can be enlarged in
their length and these enlargements should be made according to the diagram
stating the respective positions of the tubes in the curve of the minimum radius
supposing they are obliged to enter into one another on this curve. There may
also be given to the tubes a horizontal diameter greater than the vertical diameter
and thus there would be greater resistance and greater facility for the return of
the tubes.
INTERMEDIATE TUBES.
These tubes whatever their number may be (from 3 to 6) are all of the same
model; consequently it will be sufficient to describe the first intermediate tube B
which in part rests as already seen on the roller e and the other part on a second
frame E, these different frames are provided with buffers intended to prevent the
wheels coming in contact with one another when all the tubes have entered one
another.
t
In the front mouth of the tube B there engages in the manner described in
relation to the large tube A the rear of the second intermediate tube B', but
instead of the disc in this case there is a vertical bolt c terminating in the form
of a fork at its lower part and partially guided by a slot formed in the tube B as
well as by a support fixed on the top of this tube; a spring 6 tends to keep it
constantly lowered.
Between the two branches of its fork is placed a roller 62 which itself rests on a
steel guide 6 forming a movable wedge the end of which constantly remains
engaged below the roller b and rests on the slide b*.
';
This guide bis furnished at the rear with a prolongation suitably guided
according to a generatrix of the tube and terminates in a heel piece b¹; it is this
heel piece which abuts against the fixed stop e above mentioned when the tube B
has almost entirely entered into the external tube A.
The length of this prolongation is calculated in such manner that its contact
with takes place before coming in contact with the buffers of the corresponding
revolving roller guide in such manner that the wedge b raises in time the bolt c
to allow the second intermediate tube B' to enter into the first B.

page_text: BUFFER CARRIAGE.
The last intermediate tube is very firmly secured to a carriage mounted on
four wheels very strong, provided with a powerful "cow catcher" the whole
constructed as an apparatus intended to be capable of resisting severe shocks or
concussions.
This carriage is formed of three longitudinal beams CC¹ C' the first being
placed in the axis or centre of the road and these three beams being firmly
connected together by cross girders and two transverse beams; the front transverse
beam carries the buffers, and that at the rear end carries the front of the last
intermediate tubc.
In its middle vertical plane this carriage carries a very strong iron frame DD¹
which is there connected by a double spring R R which is fixed by one part at R¹
to the frame, and by the other part at R³ to the transverse part of the back of the
carriage. This frame is besides connected by the oblique connecting rods HH to
the buffers II. By this arrangement the result is that when a shock occurs either
to the buffers or to the cow catcher, the frame DD' becomes displaced in the
carriage by overcoming the resistance of the spring RR. At its lower part the
frame is provided with an inclined part forming a wedge which becomes displaced
above a roller L which has the effect of causing this recoil movement to cause to
descend at the same time a piece M on which the roller is mounted; this piece M
is guided in its vertical movement between two slides N N and during its descent it
presses against the rails two grippers or pincers O jointed on the carriage of a
suspension connecting rod P.
The coming in contact of the buffers with an obstacle or with the cow catcher
has the effect of gripping the carriage on the rails at the point where the collision
takes place whilst that at the same time the disc el has caused the brakes to act so
as to stop the locomotive during its travel corresponding with the entrance of the
tubes into one another.
If the construction of the locomotive allows it, the large tube can be placed
between the fire box and the axles, by this means a part of the encumbrance
caused by the front train is avoided.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
A safety front train for fast trains composed of telescopic tubes entering one into
the other, and each carrying at its front end by a pair of wheels, the first being a
buffing carriage whilst the last is jointed on the front cross bar of the locomotive
and in which the buffer carriage comes in contact with the obstacle.
a. The longitudinal sliding of the frame DD' located in this carriage so as to
cause to descend by this movement a pincer or gripper M which presses
against the rails two grippers O which thus fixes the carriage on the rails.
b. The breaking of a wire thus allowing the second tube B to enter into the
large external tube A causing the disc e' at the same time to swing which
works the brakes through the intervention of a chain g and these at the
same time cutting off the steam.
c. The successive entrance of the tubes into one another, each tube when it
has completely entered starting the following tube by means of the wedge b
which raises by means of the roller the bolt c which serves as the
starting point for acting on the last tube.
Dated this 26th day of September 1891.
BREWER & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.