CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, DESIGNED FOR THE PURPOSE OF MITIGATING THE VIOLENCE OF RAILWAY COLLISIONS
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Joseph Cockshoot, Thomas
Wrigley, and Henry Weatherill at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th January 1871.
Wé, JOSEPH COCKSHOOT, junior, Carriage Builder, THOMAS WRIGLEY,
Engineer, and HENRY WEATHERILL, Manager, all of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention.
for" CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES,
DESIGNED FOR THE PURPOSE OF MITIGATING THE VIOLENCE OF RAILWAY COLLISIONS,"
to be as follows:
"
The Invention is designed for the purpose of mitigating the calamitous
destruction of life and property on railways in the event of trains
running into each other, or from collisions generally from whatever
cause they may arise.
.
The improvements consist in constructing railway carriages in a
manner that will admit of the body of the carriage in which the
passengers or goods are contained having an independent sliding move-
ment upon the framing supporting the body, known as the carriage; for
example, the upper surface of the frame or carriage is provided with
4

page_text: longitudinal parallel bars or V, which form sliding bearings for the body,
the under or bearing portions of which are provided with grooved bowls
or sliding pieces that rest upon the parallel rods or sliding bed of the
carriage, and which form the bearing connection between the carriage
and the body. Centrally situated in a transverse position between the
two extremities of the carriage are strong blade springs, which may be
constructed similar to ordinary carriage springs supported by and
connected to the carriage frame, the extremities of which are embraced
by key studs secured to the bottom of the body, and so arranged that in
whatever direction the body is caused to move longitudinally from its
normal position the springs will become compressed, catches being
provided that will prevent their again expanding until relieved, at which
time the expansion of the springs will readjust the bodies. Thus in the
event of one train coming into contact or collision with another, or being
suddenly stopped from any cause whatever, the momentum or velocity of
the trains instead of being instantly arrested on the compression of the
carriage buffer springs will allow the bodies of the carriages composing
the train to have a slight yield or sliding action forwards over their
bearing upon the carriages, thereby allowing through the medium of the
springs a preservative yield in the direction of motion after the carriages
have expended their force.
Secondly. The improvements relate to a means of preventing the
rebound caused by the expansion of the buffer springs immediately after
concussion, and consists in connecting the sliding body through the
medium of a rod or rods with the levers of the cross bar actuating the
"break blocks." Thus the movement forward of the body in the
direction of motion when the carriages are suddenly arrested actuates
the cross bars so as to apply or put on the break blocks, preventing
thereby a retrograde movement until the catches before mentioned are
released, at which time the buffers and also the transverse springs
compressed by the forward movement of the bodies assume their normal
position, bringing back with them the bodies to their original position
on the carriage frames.