IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKE APPARATUS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolfo Cozza, of Orvietto, in the Kingdom of Italy, but
now residing at Queen Street Place, in the City of London, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKE APPARATUS."
Sealed the 13th November 1877, and dated the 1st September 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolfo Cozza at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st September 1877.
ADOLFO COZZA, of Orvietto, in the Kingdom of Italy, but now residing at Queen
Street Place, in the City of London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKE
APPARATUS."
The object of this Invention is to provide railway trains with an arrangement of
brake apparatus which shall be completely under the control of the engine driver,
but which may on occasion be set in action by the guard in the brake van, and
also in case of an accident without the intervention either of the guard or engine
driver. I propose to furnish each carriage wheel with a brake block, which will
depend from a link rod pivotted to the framing of the carriage. On the wheel axles
I mount crank levers, one for each wheel, and I extend the longer arm of these
levers upwards above the plane of the buffer rods.
The shorter arm of these crank levers I connect by means of rods with their
respective brake blocks, in order that by rocking the crank levers the brake blocks
may be brought into contact with or thrown off their respective wheels. Connected
with the upright arms of each of the crank levers is a tension spring, which is
secured to a fixed point on the framing. The tendency of these springs is to put on
the brakes, but this tendency is counteracted by means of stops on the buffer rods,
which bear against the larger arms of the crank levers, and thereby keep the brake
blocks out of action so long as the buffers are in or near their normal position.
When however the engine driver, by slacking the speed of the engine, puts an
endway pressure on the lines of buffers, the buffer springs which held off the brake
ID 832

page_text: blocks will cease to act on the crank levers, and the brake springs being then free to
act will put the brake into action throughout the train.
.
If from any cause the engine driver should neglect to retard the speed of the
engine, the guard, by applying the ordinary brake in the brake van at the end of
the train, will put all the brakes into action. This he is enabled to do by means of
the following appliance:-The screw spindle used to put on the brake of the tender
works through a vertical cylinder, in which a piston is fitted. The space below the
piston is, by means of a flexible pipe, brought into communication with the loco-
motive boiler and a stop-cock, which, when turned on, admits steam below; the
piston is brought into connection with a draw rod on the tender, which rod is
connected with the foremost carriage of the train.
When the guard applies his brake, a drag will be instantly put on the train
sufficient to increase the distance between the foremost carriage and the tender, and
at the same time to give an endway motion to the draw rod. By this means steam
will be admitted below the piston, and the brake apparatus of the tender will be
thrown into action. The progress of the tender will thus be retarded; the com-
pression of the buffers consequently occurring, all the brake blocks of the carriages
will be set in action.
It will be convenient to give the engine driver command over this steam cock, in
order that the brakes may on an emergency be put instantly into action.
It will be understood that should the tail end of the train get off the line, or
through any other cause the drag upon the engine should be suddenly increased, the
brake blocks will be forced into action, the brake blocks' springs being released from
the counteracting pressure of the buffer springs.
It will also be understood that the severance of the train, or the parting of the
carriages from the engine will relieve the brake springs of the conteracting pressure
of the buffer springs, and so leave them free to put on the brakes.
To provide for the backing of the train the brake springs will require to be put
under the control of a guard, who, by means of a chain or its equivalent, will hold
off the brake blocks from the wheels against the tension of the brake springs.
The brake apparatus will also require to be locked out of action when the
carriages are detached, and for this purpose stop rods may be provided for holding
back the crank levers.
It is proposed to fit the engine with brake apparatus, and connect it with that on
the tender, so that whether the brake on the tender be applied by hand or by steam,
the brake blocks of the engine will be put in action.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Adolfo Cozza in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st March
1878.
<
ADOLFO COZZA, of Orvietto, in the Kingdom of Italy, but now residing at
Queen Street Place, in the City of London. IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKE
APPARATUS."
The object of this Invention is to provide railway trains with an arrangement of
brake apparatus which shall be completely under the control of the engine driver,
but which may on occasion be set in action by the guard in the brake van, and also
in case of an accident without the intervention either of the guard or engine
driver.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional
elevation of the framing of a railway carriage with my improved arrangement of
brakes applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.
In Sheet II. Figures 3 and 3a represent in side elevation a railway train consisting of
an engine, tender, two carriages, and a brake van, so connected together as to work my
improved brake arrangement from either end of the train.
Fig. 4 is a diagram plan of the engine and tender, fitted according to my Invention,
and Fig. 5 is an end view of one of the carriages.
By reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that each carriage wheel A. is furnished
with a brake block B, which is jointed to a link rod C, pivotted to the framing of
the carriage. On the wheel axles I mount crank levers D, one for each wheel, and
I extend the longer arm of these levers upwards above the plane of the buffer
rods E.
To the shorter arm of each of these crank levers I joint a connecting rod F, the
upper end of which is jointed to the brake block B by the pin which connects the
brake block to the link rod C. This arrangement allows of the brake blocks being
brought into contact with or thrown off their respective wheels by the rocking of
the crank levers. The levers D of each carriage I connect together in pairs by
means of an elastic tension rod G, adjustable nuts on the rod bearing against the
back of the levers, and serving, by the contraction of the rods, to force the brake
blocks into action. The rods G are supported in place by the framing of the carriage
in such a way as to leave their ends free to move longitudinally in their supports.
On the extremities of each rod stop nuts are fitted for the purpose to be hereafter
described.
The tendency of the elastic tension rods G is to put on the brakes, but this
tendency is counteracted by means of stops e on the buffer rods E, which bear against
the faces of the longer arms of the crank levers D, and thereby keep the brake
blocks off the wheels or out of action so long as the buffers are in or near their
normal position. When however the engine driver by slackening the speed of the
engine puts an endway pressure on the lines of buffer rods, the stops of the buffer
rods which held off the brake blocks will cease to act on the crank levers, and the
elastic tension rods being then free to act will put the brakes into action throughout
the train. By the mode described of supporting the brake blocks it will be seen
that when they are in action the strain on the blocks will be thrown mainly on to
the carriage framing.
In case the engine driver should neglect to retard the speed of the engine when
it is necessary so to do, provision is made to enable the guard, by applying the
ordinary brake in the brake van at the end of the train, to put all the brakes into
action. For this purpose I fit up the tender of the engine, as shewn at Sheet II.
of the Drawings, in which H is the ordinary screw spindle used to put on the
brakes. This spindle works through a vertical cylinder I, in which a piston K is
fitted. The space below the piston is by means of a flexible pipe L, Fig. 4, brought
into communication with the locomotive boiler. This flexible pipe L is fitted

page_text: with a stop-cock l, which is connected to a draw rod M on the tender. This rod
is by means of a link and tightening screw connected with the foremost carriage of
the train. When therefore the guard in the brake van applies his brake, a drug will
be instantly put on the train, sufficient to increase the distance between the foremost
carriage and the tender, an endway motion will thus be given to the draw rod
sufficient to turn on the cock 1. By this means steam will be admitted below the
piston K, and the brake apparatus of the tender (which will be of the ordinary
kind) will be thrown into action. The progress of the tender will thus be retarded,
and the compression of the buffers consequently occurring all the brake blocks of
the carriages will be set in action,
It will be convenient to give the engine driver command over the piston K, in
order that the brakes may on an emergency be put instantly into action.
From the foregoing it will be understood that should the tail end of the train
get off the line, or if from any other cause the drag upon the engine should be
suddenly increased, the brake blocks will be forced into action by reason of the
connection of the draw rod with the steam cock which admits steam below the
piston on the tender, the elastic tension rods G being relieved from the counter-
acting pressure of the buffer springs.
It will also be understood that the severance of the train or the parting of the
carriages from the engine will relieve the elastic tension rods of the counteracting
pressure of the buffer springs, and leave them free to put on the brakes.
To provide for the backing of the train the elastic tension rods G will require to
be put under the control of the guard, and for this purpose I have devised a locking
apparatus, which will hold off the brakes from their wheels against the elastic
tension of the rods G when the buffers are compressed, and the stops e are conse-
quently out of action. On the ends of the rods G are the stop nuts g, which form
bearing surfaces for hooked fingers g', shown in the detached view, Fig. 1a.
fingers are severally keyed to a rock bar g², carried in brackets pendent from the
framing, for giving them an axial motion and throwing the fingers into and out of
action.
These
When the fingers glare thrown up into the dotted position of Fig. 1a by the
means herein-after described, they will take the pull of the elastic tension rods G,
and the brake blocks will be held out of action irrespective of the state or position
of the buffer apparatus.
To enable the guard to see whether the brake apparatus of each carriage of the
train is locked or unlocked, and to enable them to release or lock the brakes, the
contrivance shewn at Fig. 5 is provided. In this Figure 2 are the rock bars to
which bell-crank levers g³ are keyed. These levers at opposite sides of the carriage
are connected together in pairs by rods 9', and jointed to the levers are rods g
which connect with bell cranks g, weighted with discs g' on their outer ends, and
pivotted to the ends of the carriage. The weighted ends of these crank levers are
fitted with an eye to receive a cord or chain g (see Fig. 3), which cord leads from
a pulley secured to a hand wheel in the guard's van, thence over a guide pulley
down to the first bell-crank lever 96 of the train, thence upwards to a second guide
pulley, and so on to the several weighted bell cranks throughout the whole train of
carriages, and thence to a fixed point beyond. When therefore the guard in looking
along the train perceives any one or more of the discs g7 of the bell cranks g
standing out beyond the line of carriages, he will know that the brakes of such
carriage or carriages are locked. In order to unlock the brakes he has only to
bring the cord g³ to tension, and the locking fingers g' will be thrown out of
action.
When it is desired to back the train, the engine driver by jerking the cord (the
buffer springs being at the time extended) will be able to throw out the weighted
ends of the crank levers, and thereby through the connections shewn at Fig. 5
rock the rods g² and lock the brakes out of action.
By reference to Fig. 3a it will be seen that the engine is fitted with brake
apparatus similar to that on the tender, and that by means of a crank lever N

page_text: secured to the rear end of the engine the motion of the screw spindle H is
transmitted to the brake blocks of the engine. The rods of these brake blocks are
coupled to this rock lever, and as the tail of the lever is raised the brake blocks will
be thrust into contact with their respective wheels.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in Railway
Brake Apparatus," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim,-
First. The arrangement of brake apparatus described with reference to Figures 1
and 2 of the Drawings, whereby the brakes are held out of action when the buffers
are in their normal position and thrown into action on the compression of the buffer
springs.
Secondly. The means described with reference to Figures 3 and 3ª for throwing
the brakes of the train into action by retarding the progress of the engine and
tender.
Thirdly. The means above described for locking the brakes out of action, and
for simultaneously releasing the brakes of one or more of the carriages from the
guard's van.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolfo Cozza, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, the Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.