IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR OPERATING RAILWAY BREAKS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Ingram, of Bradford, in the County of York,
Foreman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS
FOR OPERATING RAILWAY BREAKS."
Sealed the 7th January 1859, and dated the 9th August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Ingram at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th August 1858.
I, THOMAS INGRAM, of Bradford, in the County of York, Foreman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR OPERATING RAILWAY BREAKS," to be as follows:-
The Invention relates particularly to improvements on apparatus described
in the Specification of a Patent granted to me on or about the 20th day of
August 1857, and consists,-
Firstly, in applying a double or compound curved slot to the end of a
pendant lever in place of the lever N, Figure 4, Sheet B, of the Drawings,
to such former Specification, either portion of which slot is capable of acting
upon a pin or pulley carried thereby, which also connects together these rods,
whilst their other ends are connected to the breaks in such manner that when
the pendant lever is moved in either direction the rods are forced into or
towards a straight line to operate as a "toggle joint to force the break
blocks against the wheels. These connecting rods are capable of being

page_text: adjusted to their proper length by means of right and left hand screws, or by
a ratchet motion actuated by the block irons.
Secondly, the improvements consist in connecting the drums such as
represented at (7), Figure 6, Sheet B, of the Drawings referred to, with the
centre of the draw bar springs of the carriage at the same place as the draw
bar, so as to allow the drum to advance or recede, in order that the connecting
wires or chains may be always the same length when the draw bar is drawn
out by the weight of the train, or pushed in when the buffers are forced up by
the compression of the springs.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Ingram in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th February 1859. .
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
INGRAM, of Bradford, in the County of York, Foreman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me the
said Thomas Ingram, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Ingram, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Ingram, my exccutors, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR OPERATING RAILWAY BREAKS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Ingram, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and scals, 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 Thomas Ingram, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-

page_text: The Invention relates particularly to improvements on apparatus described
in the Specification of a Patent recently granted to me, and bearing date on
or about the 20th day of August 1857, and consists,--
Firstly, in applying a double or compound curved slot to the end of a
pendant lever in place of the lever N, Figure 4, Sheet B, of the Drawings, to
such former Specification, either portion of which slot is capable of acting upon
a pin or pulley carried thereby, which also connects together rods whose other
ends are connected to the breaks in such manner that when the pendant lever
is moved in either direction, the rods are forced into or towards a straight line
to operate as a "toggle joint" to force the break blocks against the wheels.
These connecting rods are capable of being adjusted to their proper length by
means of right and left hand screws, or by a ratchet motion actuated by the
block irons.
Secondly, the improvements consist in connecting the drums, such as repre-
sented at (7), Figure 6, Sheet B, of the Drawings referred to, with the centre
of the draw bar springs of the carriage at the same place as the draw bar, so
as to allow the drum to advance or recede, in order that the connecting wires
or chains may be always the same length when the draw bar is drawn out by
the weight of the train, or pushed in when the buffers are forced up by the
compression of the springs.
But that the nature of these my improvements, and the best means I am
acquainted with for carrying the same into effect may be fully understood, I
will proceed to describe the accompanying Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal side view, and Figure 2 an under side view
of the lower parts of a railway carriage with apparatus applied thereto
according to my present improvements; Figures 3, 4, and 5 show some of
the parts separately. a, a, are the bearing wheels; b, b, the buffer rods, which,
as is well understood, are at their inner ends connected to so as to be capable
of bearing against the ends of the springs c, c, whilst these springs c, are at
their centres connected to the draft rods d; e, e, are the breaks for acting
upon the peripheries of the wheels, and by the friction they are caused to exert
to stop the revolution of those wheels, and the consequent motion of the car-
riage or train of carriages. These breaks c are each affixed to a plate e¹, and
they are suspended so as to be capable of turning each upon an axis in the
slot e. The breaks e at each side of a carriage so arranged are by pin joints
f¹ connected to rods f, which are connected together by a pin f, by which the
rods f are capable of acting upon the two breaks thus connected in the manner

page_text: of a "toggle joint" to force the breaks against their wheels a, a, or to draw
them therefrom. And the desired motion is given to the respective pairs of
rods f, f, on each side of the carriage by means of the plate g, formed with the
.curved slots g¹ to receive and embrace the pulley f, carried by the pin f 2
(shown more clearly by Figure 5). The plates g (one on each side of the
carriage) are affixed as arms to a shaft g², capable of turning freely in the
bearings g, carried by the main framing, and the slots g' in these plates g are
of form such that when their axis is turned in either direction, as indicated by
the colored lines in Figure 5, the pullies f³ will be depressed with a tendency
to bring the rods f, f, nearer to a straight line, and thereby force the breaks e
against the respective wheels. Upon the axis or shaft g² is also affixed the
arm g, to links g, at the lower end of which are connected the cords, bands,
or wire rope (or they may be chains) h, i. The cord or band h passes partly
around the pulley carried by the main framing, and thence partly around
the guide pulley h², up to the interior of the carriage. The cord or band i,
also passes to the interior of the carriage, being guided by the guide wheel i¹,
and both cords h and i, may then be acted upon as desired by the guard or
other attendant.
The apparatus which I have found to answer well for this purpose consists
of a pair of pullies j, to which the cords or bands h and i are attached, on
opposite sides as shown by Figure 6. The pullies j are affixed to an axis j¹,
upon which is affixed the toothed wheel, which is taken into by the pinion
affixed. to the axis j, upon which is affixed the crank handle j. By turning
the pullies in either direction, one of the cords h or i, will be drawn to act
upon the arm g, to cause the plates to incline in one or the other direction,
and thus depress the pulley fa, to cause the links f to assume more of a
straight line as indicated by the colored lines in Figure 5.
I
In order to assist in raising the pulley ƒ³ back again, I connect the pin
thereof by means of a rod k to one end of the chain, the other end of
which is connected to the spring k². The connecting rods f are each formed
in two parts with right and left-hand screws for adjustment as shown, but
in place thereof, there may be a ratchet motion such as described in the
Specification of my former Patent, referred to, or wedges or such like means
-may-be-adopted-;-1,-1,-are-wire-rope,-cords,-or-bands,-to-be-used-in-place
of the rods P, described in my former Specification referred to, for coupling
together the communications of the different parts of a train. Each cord
or band Z
passes partly around one of the pullies at the lower part of the
lever arm g, thence partly around a pulley at the upper end of that arm,
and thence over a pulley m, when it branches into two parts, the ends

page_text: of which are connected to the pins c¹, projecting from the ends of the
buffer rod or shoes of the springs c. The pulley m is carried by the
traversing carriage m', which is capable of sliding in the framing, and it is
connected by a band or chain m² to one end of a lever m³, which turns
upon a pin joint d', carried by the centre beam of the framing of the carriage,
whilst the other end of that lever m³, is by a cord or band m* connected to
the centre of its spring, by which, whether the buffers are depressed by the
shortening of the train, or the draught iron is pulled out by the expansion of
the train, uniformity will be preserved in the tension upon the cord or band.
Ilaving thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the best means
I am acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, I would have it under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the precise details shown and described
so long as the peculiar characteristic of any part thereof be retained, sub-
stantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Ingram, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
A. PFEILSCHMIDT,
Bradford.
THOMAS INGRAM. (L.S.)