Improvements in Apparatus for Actuating the Brakes of Railway- vehicles, and for Indicating Unevenness in Permanent Way.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Feb., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 4th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 21st Dec., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Actuating the Brakes of Railway-
vehicles, and for Indicating Unevenness in Permanent Way.
I, ANDREW KHOLODKOWSKI, of 11 Kreshtchatik, Kiew, in the Empire of
Russia, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in safety apparatus for air brakes, and has
for its object to ensure the automatic action of such brakes in cases where ordinary
air brakes prove insufficient.
It is well known that ordinary air brakes begin to act only when the air con-
ducting pipes are opened to the atmosphere, which takes place by either opening a
suitable valve, or by the air conducting pipe being broken by some accident. But
an accident may be such as not to fracture the air conducting pipe (for instance in
the case of some of the carriages of the train getting off the rails), so that the air
brakes will not be thrown into action, though serious damage may be occasioned to
the rolling stock and to the permanent way.
According to my invention the air brakes can be put into action by even a very
slight irregularity in the motion of the running vehicle.
In the annexed drawings,
Fig. 1 represents a front view, partly in section, shewing a portion of apparatus
according to my invention applied to the guide frame of an axle box of a railway
vehicle;
Fig. 2 is an end view of the same;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of rods and crank levers mechanism connecting the apparatus
at the axle box with the valve of an air brake system;
Fig. 34 is a side view shewing a supporting bolt and crank lever;
Fig. 4 is a side view, partly in section, of the valve and its operating mechanism;
Fig. 4 is an end view of the same;
Fig. 5 is a front view, partly in section, representing a modified construction of
my apparatus; Fig. 5A is an end view of the same;
Figs. 6 and 6 represent a further modification of my apparatus.
Fig. 7 represents a longitudinal section of the under framing of a railway
carriage provided with my safety apparatus; Fig. 74 is a plan view of the same;
Figs. 8 and 8 represent a side view and a longitudinal section of a spring stop
for the connecting wires of the apparatus; and
Figs. 9 and 9 represent a modified construction of such stops.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the apparatus comprises two levers a and s connected
together by a hinge joint b and pivoted by pins and e respectively on a fixed frame
(the axle box frame) n. The upper arm of the lever a bears against a fixed stop
or pin m thus ensuring a definite position (the position of rest) of both these levers.
At the upper end the lever a is forked or provided with a slot having rounded
edges through which passes a wire 7, that is provided with a stop A securely fixed
to the wire l, by soldering or otherwise.
As shewn, the upper arm of the lever is enclosed between the fixed pin m and the
stop A on the wire l, so that the position of the levers a and s can only be changed
by the application of an external force, while ordinary vibrations of a running
have no action on the apparatus. To enable the stop A to be adjusted on the

page_text: wire ', I make this stop in form of a spring clamp, as represented in Figs. 8
and 8ª, or (as shown in Figs. 9 and 94) in the form of a nut shaped boss
on a screw rod the ends of which are inserted in nuts (or otherwise) fixed to the
wires.
The horizontal arms of the levers a and s are provided with screw bolts
and p¹,
arranged one above and the other below the axle box of the carriage. The
distance between the ends of the bolts p, p' and the top and under surfaces of the
axle box may be readily adjusted by more or less screwing the bolts in the levers a
and s.
The exact positions of these bolts are ensured by jam nuts. The bolts p, pl
are fixed in such a position that with the ordinary vertical movements of the axle
boxes, due to the elasticity of the springs, of a normally running vehicle the axle
boxes do not reach the ends of the bolts p, pl; but should the vehicle get off the
rails, or meet with some other accident, the axle boxes will be thrown up or down,
and on reaching either the upper or the lower bolt p or p³, will move the levers a
and s in either case in the same direction, so that the lever a, acting on the stop A,
will draw the wire ", and open the air valve, as will be hereafter explained.
All of the axle box frames of the brake carriage of a train (or the frames of such
a number of carriages as may be found desirable) are fitted with the lever apparatus
just described.
The wires to which this lever apparatus is connected are passed through the
transverse beams of the under framing of the carriage (Figs. 7 and 7^) along its
sides. At the end of the carriage, where the air valve is placed, the wires l¹, are
joined together by means of bell crank levers k and o (Fig. 3), the corresponding
arms of which are connected by a wire 13 across the carriage. The levers k
and are supported by suitable bent bolts (Fig. 3) fixed to the carriage
frame.
The lever o is of T-form, and is connected by a wire 12 with an arm h (Fig. 4)
pivoted to the air valve box. The lower end of this arm is bent up in the form of
a hook and acts on the spindle of the air-valve which is pressed upon its seat by a
spring. A spring a connected to some fixed point of the carriage frame (Fig. 7)
tends to draw the hooked end of the arm away from the valve spindle. The
valve box is provided with a toothed edge in which engages a spring catch
attached to the arm h.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
As long as the motion of the carriage is normal, the axle boxes do not touch the
ends of the bolts p, p¹ (Figs. 1, 2 and 7), and the whole system remains out of
action; but should a carriage get off the rails or some other such accident occur
the carriage will receive a shock sufficient to throw one of the axle boxes against
the bclt P or p', when the jointed levers a and s acting on the stop A, will draw the
wire, and through the bell crank levers o or k and the wire 12 will act on the
arm h, the hooked end of which will pull the air valve from its seat and thus brings
the air brakes into action. At the same time the spring catch on the arm / by
engaging with the toothed edge of the valve box, will retain this arm in its new
position, thus ensuring the opening of the valve after the shock.
It is obvious that the degree of sensitiveness of my apparatus may be varied at
will by more or less screwing or unscrewing the bolts p, p. If the distances
between the ends of these bolts be equal to 5 centimetres my apparatus can be
employed even for controlling the evenness of the permanent way; if instead of an
air valve, the valve be connected to some reservoir filled with a coloured liquid,
this liquid will be poured on the way at each shock and thus indicate the uneven
places.
The apparatus may be also combined with an electric or other signalling apparatus
which can act on the whistle or in any other way.
By connecting the wires to levers or handles arranged in the carriages, the
train may be stopped from the inside of the carriages.
Figs: 5 and 5 show a modification of my apparatus in which the bolts p and pl
are fixed to the axle box, and not to the levers a and s. To the axle box is

page_text: screwed or bolted a looped standard, in which the upper and the lower bolts p
and pare fixed. These bolts act directly on the jointed parts of the levers a
and 8, the upper ends of which act on the stops A and A. 1 fixed on the wire l' in the
manner already described.
In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 6A, the looped standard
attached to
the carriage spring instead of being attached to the axle box, as in Figs. 5 and 54.
In other respects the action of both these modifications is the same as described
with reference to the other figures.
Dated this 5th day of February 1895.
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in Apparatus for Actuating the Brakes of Railway-
vehicles, and for Indicating Unevenness in Permanent Way.
I, ANDREW KHOLODKOWSKI, of 11 Kreshtchatik, Kiew, in the Empire of
Russia, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in safety apparatus for air brakes, and it
has for its principal object to ensure the automatic action of such brakes in cases
where ordinary air-brake apparatus would prove insufficient.
It is well known that ordinary air brakes begin to act only when the air-
conducting pipes are placed in communication with the atmosphere, which takes
place either through the opening of a suitable valve, or through the breakage of the
air-conducting pipe caused by some accident. But an accident may be such as not
to fracture the air-conducting pipe (for instance in cases where some of the carriages
of the train get off the rails), so that the air brakes will not then be thrown into
action, though serious damage may be occasioned to the rolling stock and to the
permanent way.
According to my invention the air brakes can be put into action by even a very
slight irregularity in the motion of the running vehicle.
Fig. 1 of the drawings filed with my Provisional Specification is a front view
partly in section, showing a portion of apparatus according to my invention applied
to the guide frame of an axle box of a railway vehicle; and Fig. 2 is an end view
of the same;
Fig. 3 is a plan of rod and bell-crank lever mechanism connecting the apparatus
at the axle box with the valve of an air-brake system;
Fig. 3 is a side view showing a supporting stud and a bell-crank lever;
Fig. 4 is a side view, partly in section, of the valve and part of its operating
mechanism, and Fig. 44 is an end view of the same;
Fig. 5 is a front view, partly in section, representing a modified construction of
my apparatus, and Fig. 5A is an end view of the same;
Figs. 6 and 64 represent a further modification of my apparatus ;
Fig. 7 represents a longitudinal section of the under-framing of a railway
carriage provided with my safety apparatus, and Fig. 7 is a plan of the same;
Figs. 8 and 8 show respectively in end view and longitudinal section, a spring-
stop for the connecting wires of the apparatus; and
Figs. 9 and 94 represent a modified construction of such a stop.
The apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises two levers a and s connected
together by a hinge-joint b and pivoted by pins r and e respectively to the fixed
axle-box frame n. The upper arm of the lever a bears against a fixed stop or
pin m, thus ensuring a definite position of rest for both these levers. At its upper

page_text: end, the lever a is forked or provided with a slot which has rounded edges or walls
and through which passes a wire that is provided with a stop A securely fixed to
the wire by clamping or other suitable means. As shown, the upper arm of the
lever a is arranged close between the fixed pin m and the stop A on the wire l', so
that the position of the levers a and can be changed only by the application of
an external force, whilst ordinary vibrations of a running vehicle have no action on
the apparatus.
To enable the stop A to be adjusted on the wire l', I make this stop in the form
of a spring-clamp, as represented in Figs. 8 and 84, or (as shown in Figs. 9 and 94)
in the form of a nut-shaped boss on a screw rod the ends of which are inserted in
nuts or otherwise secured to adjacent portions of the wire.
The horizontal arms of the levers a and s are provided with set screws p and p',
or their equivalents, arranged one above and the other below the corresponding axle
box of the carriage. The distance between the ends of the set-screws p and pland
the top and under surfaces of the axle box, may be readily adjusted by more or
less screwing the set-screws in the levers a and s. The exact positions of these
bolts are ensured by jam or check nuts. The set screws and pare fixed in such
positions that with the ordinary vertical movements of the axle box due to the
elasticity of the springs, of a normally running vehicle, the axle box does not reach
the ends of the screws p and p¹ but should the vehicle get off the rails, or meet with
some other sufficient accident, the axle box will be thrown up or down, and on
reaching either the upper or the lower screw p or p¹, will move the levers a and s,
in either case in the same direction, so that the lever a, acting on the stop A, will
draw the wire and open the air valve, as will be hereinafter explained.
All of the axle-box frames of the brake carriage of a train (or of the frames of
such a number of carriages as may be found desirable) are fitted with lever
apparatus such as just described.
When applying the lever apparatus to the locomotive, I arrange the set-screws p
and p¹ on opposite sides of a projection provided on the tender to act upon the
set-screws in the same way as the axle-box does in the arrangement shown in
Figs. 1 and 2.
The wires, to which the several sets of lever apparatus are connected, are
passed through the transverse beams of the under-framing of the carriage (Figs. 7
and 7) and along the sides of such carriage. At the end of the carriage where
the air valve is placed, the terminal wires are joined together by means of bell-
crank levers k and o (Fig. 3), the corresponding arms of which are connected by a
wire extending across the carriage. The levers k and o are supported by suitably
bent studs (Fig. 3A) fixed to the carriage frame. The lever O is of T-form, and
is connected by a wire 12 with an arm (Fig. 4) pivoted to the box or casing of
the air-valve. The lower end of this arm is bent up in the form of a hook and
acts on the spindle of the air-valve, which is normally pressed on its seat by a
spring. A spring d connected to some fixed point of the carriage frame (Fig. 7A)
tends to draw the hooked end of the arm away from the valve spindle.
valve casing is provided with a toothed edge in which engages a spring-catch
attached to the arm h.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The
As long as the motion of the carriage is normal, the axle boxes do not touch the
ends of the set-screws p and p' (Figs. 1, and 7), and the whole system remains
out of action; but should a carriage get off the rails or some other such accident
occur, the carriage will receive a shock sufficient to throw at least one of the axle
boxes against the corresponding set-screw p or p' whereupon the jointed levers a
and s acting on the stop A, will draw the wire and, through the bell-crank lever o
or k and the wire l, will act on the arm in such a way that its hooked end will
push the air valve from its seat and thus bring the air brakes into action. At the
same time, the spring-catch on the arm , by engaging with the toothed edge of
the valve casing, will retain this arm in its new position, thus ensuring that the
valve will remain open after the shock.

page_text: It is obvious that the degree of sensitiveness of my apparatus may be varied at
will by more or less screwing or unscrewing the set screws p and p. If the
distance between the ends of the set-screws be sufficiently small-say 5 centimetres
-my apparatus can be employed for indicating unevenness of the permanent way.
If instead of being an air-valve, the valve connected to the lever-apparatus be
arranged to control the outlet of some reservoir containing a colored liquid, this
liquid, will be poured on the permanent way at each shock and thus indicate the
uneven places. The apparatus may, for a like purpose, be also combined with an
electric or other signalling apparatus which may act on the whistle of the locomotive
or in any other suitable way.
By connecting the wires l, to levers or handles arranged in the carriages, the
train may be also stopped from inside the carriages when desired.
Figs. 5 and 5 show a modification of my apparatus in which the set-screws p
and pare carried by the axle box, and not by the levers
and s. For this
purpose, to the axle box is screwed or bolted a loop-shaped standard in which the
upper and the lower set-screws p and p¹ are adjustably secured. These set-screws
act directly on the jointed parts of the levers a and s the upper ends of one or
other of which, will act on one or other of two corresponding stops A A' fixed on
the wire in the manner already described, one lever being operated when the
screw comes into operation, and the other when the screw p₁ comes into action.
In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 6, the looped standard is attached to
the carriage spring instead of being attached to the axle box as shown in Figs. 5
and 5ª.
In other respects the action of both these modifications is the same as that
described with reference to the other figures.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I would have it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details of the apparatus shown in the
drawings herein referred to, but I declare that what I claim is :-
1. Apparatus for actuating the brakes of a railway-vehicle or for indicating
unevenness in permanent way comprising two levers jointed together and provided
with means such as set-screws arranged to be acted upon, when undue vertical
movement is produced in the vehicle to which the apparatus is attached, by a part
capable of vertical motion relative to the fulcra of the said levers so as to cause
the said levers to operate wires adapted to open the air-valve of the brakes or the
outlet-valve of a reservoir containing coloured liquid, or an electric or other
signalling device, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
drawings.
2. A modification of the apparatus specified in the preceding claim in which the
set-screws or other equivalents are attached to the part stated in the said claim to
be capable of vertical motion relative to the fulcra of the said levers, substantially
as described and shown.
3. Apparatus for actuating the brakes of a railway vehicle, or for indicating
unevenness in permanent way, constructed and operating as hereinbefore described
with reference to and shown in Figs. 1 to 3* inclusive of the drawings referred
to; or modified according to Figs. 5 and 5; or to Figs. 6 and 6A thereof.
4. In combination with the apparatus specified in Claim 1, an air-valve provided
with a toothed fixed edge in which a spring-catch engages and thereby keeps open
the valve after it has been opened by the wires actuated by the jointed levers
substantially as described and shewn.
Dated this 4th day of November 1895
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.