IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY CARRIAGE BEARINGS WHICH MAY BE EMPLOYED IN THE APPLICATION OF BRAKES
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM DAY of Carlton Street, Leicester in the County of Leicester, Joiner,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY AND
TRAMWAY CARRIAGE BEARINGS WHICH MAY BE EMPLOYED IN THE APPLICATION OF
BRAKES, to be as follows:-
:-
The main object of this invention is to facilitate the running of carriages over
curved rail tracks by making the wheel axles self adjusting in their bearings, and
thereby taking the radius of the curve round which they are passing. The bearing
boxes I fit with a disc, made segment shaped in cross section at its periphery to
allow of its oscillating in the line of its vertical radius for the purpose to be.
presently explained. The contact surface within which the disc is mounted is
correspondingly shaped to permit of this movement, and it further allows of the
disc receiving an axial motion. Each carriage axle I mount in a pair of these
discs, fitting the brasses excentrically thereto. The axles when in their normal
position will be above the disc centres, and will have their centres cut by vertical
radius lines drawn from the centres of the discs. When the carriage commences to
run round a sharp curve the carriage body will have an impetus forward in a direct
line. The inner forward wheel will be retarded while the tendency of the off
forward wheel will be to increase its speed. The result of this will be an axial
motion of the discs of the two forward bearing boxes in opposite directions and
the automatic adjustment of the axle to correspond with the radius of the curve of
the railway. The hinder wheels will have a tendency in the opposite directions to
the forward wheels and the discs of their bearing boxes will consequently turn in
a reverse direction to the forward discs, thereby adjusting the position of the
hinder axle also to a radius of the curve. Thus the running wheels will be caused
to accomodate themselves to the track, and that without any endway motion of
their axles.
This principle applies equally to railway and tram carriages.
By coupling the discs with their respective axles through a clutch arrangement
the rotation of the axles may be caused to raise the carriage body and thereby to
apply the brakes to the running wheels.
Thus supposing a chain connected by a loose collar to the axle near each axle
box, and that chain to be passed around a brake pulley thence to a pulley mounted

page_text: on the carriage frame and terminating at the drum or brake wheel an axial
movement imparted to the disc will tighten the chain and bring its brake into
action. When this result is obtained the rotation of the disc will be arrested, its
excentric axle having passed the dead point. In this position the brake drum or
wheel will retain the moving parts until the brake is released. On this being done
the carriage body will drop from its raised position, and, by its falling weight, give
a forward impulse to the carriage wheels.
In applying my invention to railway carriages I prefer to use a segment of a
disc in place of a whole disc for carrying the brasses of the wheel axle as that will
permit of a smaller size of axle box being used.

page_text: I WILLIAM DAY of Carlton Street, Leicester in the County of Leicester, Joiner.
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY
AND TRAMWAY CARRIAGE BEARINGS WHICH MAY BE EMPLOYED IN THE APPLICATION
OF BRAKES," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The main object of this invention is to facilitate the running of carriages over
curved rail tracks by making the wheel-axles self adjusting and thereby taking
the radius of the curve round which they are passing.
The invention applies equally to train cars drawn by horses and to railway
carriages and it provides for the retarding of the tramcar to facilitate the pulling up
of the carriage by the driver and in the case of the railway carriages it provides for
the application and removal of the brakes.
In Sheet I of the accompanying drawings Fig: 1 shews my invention as applied
to one end of a train car axle the other end being similarly fitted and not requiring
therefore to be shown. In this Figure the axle box is shown in longitudinal
section.
Fig: 2 is a section of the axle box taken at the line 1. 2 of Fig: 1, and
Fig 3 is a similar section taken on the line 3. 4 of Fig: 1.
A is the car axle which it is desired to make self adjusting radially to adapt the
travelling wheels to the track. The opposite ends of this axle turn in boxes, B,
fitted with brasses as usual and provided with a lubrication reservoir. b is a
cylindrical extension of the box B on which is mounted loosely an excentric disc C
which forms an adjustable part of the bearing and is capable of being locked to the
axle, A, for the purpose to be presently explained. The hub of this disc is slotted to
receive a pendent gripping piece c weighted at its lower end. The head of this
pendent piece c underlies the axle A and when rocked on its fulcrum will bear on
the underside of the axle and thereby temporarily connect the axle with the
excentric disc. D is a rectangular frame grooved at its sides to receive the horn
plates E of the carriage frame which plates rise and fall with the motion of the
carriage springs. Projecting inwards horizontally from the face of this frame is a
shoulder à upon which the bearing spring of the carriage rests. This shoulder is
formed with rack teeth on its under side to enable it to engage with a rocking
segment shaped piece d' that fits on the upper side of the disc C and embraces
some one sixth of its circumference. The under face of this segment piece d¹ is
hollowed out transversely to provide for the rocking of the disc in a vertical plane,
and thus allow of the lateral shifting of the end of the axle carried by the adjacent
axle box, in order that the axle may retain a position at right angles to the track
over which the carriage is moving. To ensure a corresponding motion in the
opposite ends of the axles the groove of the rail on that side of the track should be
so arranged with respect to the flange of the outer wheel when passing round a
curve that it should bear on the bottom of the groove and thus enable that wheel
to present a larger circumference to the rail than the inner wheel. The effect of
this will be to give the outer wheel a tendency to advance and carry forward its
end of the axle while the other end of the axle is simultaneously retarded. This
movement is facilitated by the rocking of the segment pieces d' in their respective
frames which establish the connection between the sliding frames D and their
respective axle boxes.
Fig 4 shews the position which the advanced axle box assumes with respect

page_text: In order to assist in the stopping of the tram car the pendent gripping piece c
of each excentric is caused to grip the axle and thus hold the excentric fast
thereto.
To enable these gripping pieces to act simultaneously their pendent weighted ends
are fitted to cups formed on a pair of longitudinal bars F (see Fig: 3) which bars
when moved endwise will make all the excentrics fast to the axles. On this action
taking place the further rotation of the axles will have the effect of bringing the
excentrics into the dotted position of Fig: 3 and thereby raising the carriage
body. In doing this the excentrics will act as levers and consequently the weight
of the carriage body bearing with a leverage on the axles will rapidly reduce their
speed of rotation and render more efficient the action of the ordinary brakes.
By reference to Figs: 1 and 2 it will be seen that the frame D is provided with
a vertical bolt d² which enters a slot in the projection d of the frame D and passing
through a corresponding slot in the rocking segment piece d¹ rests on the periphery
of the excentric disc C. This disc is recessed at c. When therefore the disc is
turned into the dotted position of Fig: 3 the bolt will drop into the recess c¹ and
retain the excentric in its raised position. This bolt should be attached to a cord,
pendent from a guide pulley and led forward to the driver so that preparatory to
the re-starting of the carriage the driver may by simply pulling at the cord
withdraw the locking bolt. On the withdrawal of this bolt the weight of the
carriage body acting through the leverage of the fixed excentrics will draw round
the excentrics to their normal position as shewn in Fig: 1 and thereby give through
the axles a forward impetus to the travelling wheels. So soon however as the
weighted gripping pieces have regained their pendent position the excentrics will
be released from the axle.
I will now explain how these gripping pieces are brought into action. I have
said that their weighted ends are embraced by cups formed on longitudinal bars F.
These bars, one on each side of the carriage are severally elastically suspended at
their opposite ends from the arms of a pair of rock shafts f f (see the diagram
Fig 5) which shafts extend across the carriage and each carry a pedal arm
accessible to the foot of the driver. Thus when the driver desires to brake his
carriage he has merely to depress the pedal arm and through its rock shaft to
impart an endway motion to the longitudinal bars F whereby the gripping pieces c
will make fast the excentrics to the axles of the running wheels. The further
rotation of the axles will raise the excentrics to the dotted position of Fig: 3
lifting at the same time the carriage body. The bolt d² will then fall into the
recess c¹ of the excentric disc C and stop its further movement, but so soon as the
bolt is withdrawn the weight of the carriage body acting on the excentrics as
upon levers will serve to impart a starting motion to the carriage axles as
explained.
To ensure the proper radial adjustment of the axles and to control the action of
the varying circumferential speeds of each pair of wheels on its axle, I link the
draft bars (two of which are employed in the tram car) each to a pair of bell crank
levers pivotted near the angles of the carriage frame, and I connect these bell crank
levers (see the diagram Fig: 6) respectively to lugs on the adjacent axle boxes by
means of link rods b¹. The pairs of axle boxes I connect together by link rods
connected to opposite ends of rock levers in order that the action of either draw
bar may give the requisite movement to all the axle boxes in case that movement
should not be received in a proper manner from the travelling wheels. Thus when
the tendency of the draught is towards the inner side of the curve a corresponding
movement will be imparted to the axle boxes, if the axles should fail to receive the
requisite movement from their wheels; the axle boxes on the inner side of the
curve moving towards each other and those on the outer side of the curve receding
from each other.
In adapting my invention to railway carriages I propose to mount the axles in
pairs of boxes in one respect unlike each other instead of their being identical in
construction as in the first described arrangement. That is to say I provide for the

page_text: axle bearings on one side of the carriage to turn on their horizontal axes and to
rock in a vertical plane as before. and the bearings on the opposite side of the
carriage simply to roll in their boxes for the purpose of effecting the radial
adjustment of the axles.
In Sheet II Fig: 7 shews in longitudinal section a pair of axle boxes arranged
according to this part of the invention.
Fig: 8 is a transverse section on line 5. 6 of Fig: 7 of what may be termed the
pivot or brake axle box and
Fig: 9 is a cross section on the line 7. 8 of Fig: 7 of what may be termed the
rolling and radiating bearing box.
In these Figures A is the travelling wheel axle BB are the bearings provided
with brasses as usual. C Figs 7 and 8 is an excentric sector forming part of the
bearing B and acting the part of the excentric in the first arrangement. This
bearing B is mounted in a box D constituting one of the supports for the bearing
springs of the carriage. In this box D the bearing B is capable of turning slightly
in a vertical plane for the purpose of accommodating itself to the radial movements
of its axle. Besides this oscillating motion the bearing is free to be moved around
the axle for the purpose of bringing its excentric sector to act upon the enclosing
axle box D and raise it relatively to the axle. To avoid unnecessary friction a
roller is interposed between the segment piece C and the top of the box D. This
box is grooved at its sides to receive the ordinary horn plates, and fitted to a stem
G which it carries, is a brake G¹ so arranged as to press upon the periphery of the
adjacent wheel when the smallest radius of the segment piece is in a vertical
position as in Fig: 8.
When however the bearing is moved so as to bring a larger radius of the
segment piece under the roller the box D will be raised to the dotted position of
Fig: 8 and the brake will thus be held up clear of the wheel. The manner of
imparting this motion to the bearing will be presently described.
;
D* Figs: 7 and 9 is the box containing the rolling bearing B* it is provided
at bottom with a spherical projection for the bearing to rock upon when a tendency
is given to the axle to move laterally and take up a radial position in relation to
the curve over which the train is passing. This tendency is due to a larger
diameter of the leading wheel passing over the rail forming the outer side of the
curve in doing which it brings round the carriage body leaving the following
wheel for the moment to lag and thus bring its axle to a radial position on entering
the curve. To ensure the proper action of the wheels where a sharp curve occurs
I prefer to provide the outer rail with an inner flange on which the flange of the
wheels may run as shewn in Sheet III at Fig: 10. While this is taking place the
brake axle bearings will pivot slightly in their .boxes and thus avoid the torsion of
the axles. In order to rock the excentric sector and thereby to take off the brakes
I employ the draw bars as before connecting them with the bearings B as shewn in
the plan view Fig: 11 Sheet III. These draw bars A¹ are fitted loosely to the
carriage frames, their inner ends being furnished with collars to act as stops and
limit the motion of the draw bars in fixed guides in which they freely play.
To the bearings B is fitted a stem b standing up immediately above the axle.
Pivotted to each stem is a link a which leads to a horizontal rock bar a¹ pivotted
on the under side of the carriage frame. The opposite end of each rock bar is
connected by a link a² with a draw bar such draw bars leading in opposite
directions. So soon therefore as a draft is put upon the draw bars their respective
bearings will be rocked and the excentric sectors will be caused to lift their
respective bearing boxes D and with them the brakes which they carry. Thus the
first act of the draft of the engine will be to lift the brakes off the wheels
throughout the whole length of the train except the last which must be operated
by the guard in the brake van. Similarly if the engine power is used to thrust
back the train the like result will be obtained.
In order however to attain this result it is necessary to connect the draw bars of
the adjacent carriages rigidly together. This I propose to do by constructing the

page_text: coupling ends of the draw bar in the manner shown in the detached views
Figs 12. These draw bars are counterparts the one of the other and they are
each formed with a tongue which projects forwards to enter a horizontal slot formed
in the thickened end of the bar. The tongues and these slotted portions are formed
with holes to receive locking pins which when the corresponding holes of the
tongues and slotted portions are brought into coincidence snap into the holes and
thus hold the coupled draw bars fast. The pins have a flanged head to prevent
their dropping through the holes and their stems are recessed to receive respectively
the end of a tipping lever mounted on the draw bar. A spring bearing on this
lever holds the end of the lever in the recess of the pin and thereby prevents its
working loose. When however the lever is tripped its pin will be free to be raised
clear of the tongue with which it was engaged.
In order to control the traverse motion of the bearings B* when it is requisite
that the axles should take up a radial position I adopt a similar contrivance to that
described with reference to the tram car. Thus each draw bar is connected by a
link b¹ to a pivotted bell crank lever situate near the corner of the carriage frame.
This lever is also connected by a link b¹ with a lug formed on the bearing. Thus
when the draw bar is moved laterally the bearing B* in connection therewith
must follow that movement if perchance it should not act independently thereof.
In adapting this arrangement of bearings to a "Bogie", truck it will be desirable
to connect the two bearings B* together as represented at Fig: 9* Sheet II a rock
bar mounted below the frame being connected to the bearings by means of link
rods. This arrangement ensures that the rolling movements of the bearings B* of
the leading and rear axles shall take place simultaneously in opposite directions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st The application to tram cars of bearings constructed and operated as above
described whereby the travelling wheel axles are enabled to move into radial
positions while a curve is being traversed.
2nd The use in such bearings of an adjustable excentric piece which embraces
the radiating axle and serves when locked to that axle to lift the carriage body for
the purpose described with reference to Sheet I of the drawings.
3rd The fitting of railway carriage axles with bearings as described with reference
to Sheet II of the drawings by the use of which the axles are allowed to adjust
themselves radially for the purpose above set forth.
4th Constructing railway axle bearings which turn in their boxes with excentric
portions for receiving the weight.of the carriage body and lifting and lowering the
same for the purpose above set forth.