CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF BREAKS ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of 82, Essex
Street, Strand, London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF BREAKS ON RAILWAYS."-A commu-
nication from W. Loughridge of Weverton. United States.
Sealed the 24th August 1855, and dated the 26th February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 26th February 1855.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 32, Essex Street, Strand,
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF BREAKS ON RAILWAYS" to be
as follows; and relates to the operation of the breaks of a single carriage or
all the breaks of a train, by the force of the momentum of the carriage
or train acting to cause a chain or cord to be wound up on a barrel to draw
simultaneously on or upon all the breaks.
It consists, firstly, in certain means by which the barrel upon which the
break chain is wound is engaged or geared with the driving axle of the engine,
or with any other axle of the engine or carriage, for the purpose of winding up
the chain to apply any desirable degree of force to the breaks; and as soon as

page_text: the desired degree of force is applied, the said barrel is suddenly disengaged
without liberating or reducing the force applied to the breaks.
Secondly, in certain means whereby the chain barrel is caused to be disen-
gaged from the driving or other axle from which it derives the power to
operate the breaks at the precise moment that the requisite degree of force
is applied, thereby regulating the degree of force brought into action on the
breaks.
Thirdly, in an appliance to the couplings of the carriages, to cause the tension
of the break chains to keep the carriages apart, and obviate the tendency to
crowd together when the breaks are applied.
The breaks are connected with levers having pulleys at their ends. The
break chain is connected with the hindmost break, and passes over pairs of
pulleys hung from the bottoms of the carriages, and under or partly round the
pulleys of the break levers. At or near its front end the chain is attached to
a barrel or drum, hung in suitable bearings so as to be under control. The
bearing for the journal at one end of the chain barrel is in a fixed hanger,
and the other end in the lower part of an upright lever working on a fixed
fulcrum. The upper part of this lever is connected with the upper lever arm
on a rock shaft hung below the carriage, and which has a lower lever
arm hanging, so as to be struck by the revolution of a pin attached to the
loose part of a clutch on the axle which transmits force to the breaks; the
other part of the clutch is attached to the axle, or to one of the wheels.
The chain barrel carries at the end which is hung in the lever a wheel, having
a sinooth periphery, and the axle either carries a similar wheel opposite to it,
or has the periphery of the hub of one of the driving wheels turned smooth
and true for the purpose of giving motion to the barrel when the two wheels
are placed in contact. When the breaks are not desired to be in operation
these wheels are held clear of each other by a spring acting on a lever. When
it is desired to set the breaks in operation, the clutch is thrown in gear by a
lever & rotates with the axle, the pin throws back the lower lever arm of
the rock shaft acting on the upright lever, causes the wheel of the chain
barrel to engage with the wheel of the axle; the upper part of the upright
lever is then caught by a spring catch. The chain barrel being set in motion
commences winding up the chain to actuate the breaks. The clutch only
requires to be in gear during one revolution of the axle, so that the lever used
to throw it in gear may be instantly released, and be left free for the clutch
to be uncoupled by a spring, though no injury will be done by the clutch
remaining in gear, as when the pin has thrown back the arm of the rock
shaft it will merely wipe it slightly in repassing in its subsequent revolutions.

page_text: To stop the continued winding up of the chain when the required force has
been obtained, the smooth surface wheels are disengaged by releasing the
upright lever, but all the force applied to the chain is retained by a pawl
acting on ratchet wheel on the chain barrel. The catch of the lever is at
one end of a lever working on a fulcrum on a frame above the platform of
the engine and carriage. At the opposite end of the lever is an inclined
projecting piece on one side, and on the top of the framing is a longitudinal
slider working in guides. To this slider the break chain is connected by its
front end, and when the barrel is set in motion to wind up that part of the
chain which operates the breaks it also winds up the part connecting the slider
with the barrel, and draws the slider forward, causing a pin inserted in the
slider to pass in contact with the inclined face on the catch lever.
When the breaks are to be released, the person in charge presses a lever to
which the pawl is attached; this liberates the pawl from the ratchet, sets free
the chain barrel, and the chain runs off by its own weight.
The slider may be furnished with a handle, by which to draw it back after
the breaks have been liberated, or with a spring, by which it may be always
held back when the chain is slack.
In order to make the breaks work both in running forwards and backwards,
there should be two ratchet wheels on the chain barrel, having their teeth set
in opposite directions, and their two pawls should be so arranged that either
can be readily thrown in and the other out of gear at the same time.
The coupling which I employ consists of a link of the usual kind, but to
the under side of this link is attached by a pivot a strong iron bar somewhat
onger than the coupling. Each end of this bar carries a pulley, and under
each carriage as close as possible to the coupling is attached another pulley.
The break chain in passing from one carriage to another passes over the latter
and under the former pulleys, and by that means when there is any tension
on the break chains it tends to force the carriages apart, and prevent injury
rom their crowding together.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, Her special licence that I, the
said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my
executors, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
APPLICATION OF BREAKS ON RAILWAYS," a communication from W. Loughridge,
of Weverton, United States, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, by an instrument in writing under
my
hand and seal, 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 Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, 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, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the operation of the brakes of a single carriage or
all the brakes of a train, by the force of the momentum of the carriage or
train acting to cause a chain or cord to be wound up on a barrel to draw
simultaneously upon all the brakes.
It consists, firstly, in certain means by which the barrel upon which the
brake chain is wound is engaged or geared with the driving axle of the engine,
or with any other axle of the engine or carriage, for the purpose of winding
up the chain to apply any desirable degree of force to the brakes; and as
soon as the desired degree of force is applied, the said barrel is suddenly
disengaged without liberating or reducing the force applied to the brakes.
It consists, secondly, in certain means whereby the chain barrel is caused to
be disengaged from the driving or other axle from which it derives the power
to operate the brakes at the precise moment that the requisite degree of
force is applied, thereby regulating the degree of force brought into action on
the brakes.
It consists, thirdly, in an appliance to the couplings which connect the

page_text: carriages to each other and to the engine, for the purpose of causing the
tension of the brake chain to keep the carriages apart, and obviate the
tendency to crowd together when the brakes are applied.
The accompanying Drawings illustrate the Invention. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal
section of part of the platforms of a locomotive and carriage with my improve-
ments; Fig. 2 is a plan of the mechanism by which the brakes are thrown
into and out of operation; Fig. 3 is a front view of the said mechanism;
Fig. 4 is a plan of the coupling, and the appliances connected therewith,
for the purpose of keeping the carriages apart during the application of the
brakes.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several
Figures.
A, A, are the brakes which are suspended from or otherwise connected
with levers B, B, working on fulcra a, a, below the carriages; the ends of
these levers are furnished with pulleys b, b. The brake chain is connected at
its rear end either with the hindmost brake lever or with some fixed part of
the carriage, but I prefer to attach it to the hindmost brake lever between its
fixed fulcrum a and the point y, where it connects with the brake, as by that
means I ensure the action of the brakes of the hindmost carriage before those
of any other, which is very desirable; and it passes over pairs of pulleys c, c,
hung from the bottom of the carriage, and under or partly round the
pulleys b, b, of the brake levers, the pairs of pulleys c, c, being so arranged
that the chain in passing from one to the other of each pair passes one of the
brake lever pulleys b, as shown in Fig. 1. The effect of this mode of applying
the chain to the levers is similar to that of a block and tackle, giving a double
purchase to the brake levers. The chain is attached at a suitable distance
from its front end to the barrel D, which is hung in suitable bearings under
the locomotive or tender, so as to be under the control of the engineer;
or under the first carriage, to be within the control of a person stationed
for the purpose. I prefer to attach the chain barrel to the locomotive to
be within the control of the engineer. The bearing for the journal at one
end of the chain barrel is in a fixed hanger d, Fig. 3, but the bearing for the
other end is in the lower part of an upright lever E, which works on a fixed
fulcrum. The upper part of this lever is connected by a link f with the upper
lever arm g on a rock shaft F, hung below the carriage, the said shaft carrying
a lower lever arm j, which hangs in such a position as to be struck by the
revolution of a pin or wiper h, attached to the loose part G of a clutch G, G¹,
on the axle H, which is the axle intended to transmit the force to the brakes,
and may be supposed to be either the crank or driving axle of the locomotive,

page_text: or any other axle of the locomotive or of a carriage. The other part G. of
the clutch G, G₁, is attached to one of the wheels I', I', or otherwise secured
to the axle H. The chain barrel D carries at the end which is hung in the
lever E a wheel I, whose periphery is turned smoothly, and the axle H either
carries a similar wheel J opposite to it, or has the periphery of the hub of one
if the driving wheels turned smooth and true for the purpose, when the
wheel I is brought in contact with it by the movement of the lever E, of giving
motion to the barrel to wind up the chain by the friction of the two smooth
peripheries.
The lever E, when the brakes are not desired to be in operation, is caused,
by the action of a spring i, to hold the wheel I clear of the wheel J, and the
brakes are all kept clear of the wheels by the weight of their levers B, B,
which aid the weight of the chain in drawing down the slack of the latter.
But when it is desired to set the brakes in operation, the engineer or person
in charge throws the clutch G, G¹, in gear by a lever K, conveniently arranged
for that purpose, and the part G of the clutch commences to rotate with the
axle H. During the first revolution of the axle after the clutch is in gear
the pin h strikes and throws back the lower lever arm j of the rock shaft F,
and by throwing the upper lever arm g in the opposite direction acts upon
the lever E, and moves it, to engage the wheel I of the chain barrel with the
wheel J of the axle H. As soon as the lever E arrives in position for the
wheels to engage, its upper part is caught by a spring catch k attached to a
frame L above the platform of the engine and carriage. The chain barrel
being set in motion commences winding up the chain to actuate the brakes.
The clutch G, G', only requires to be in gear during one revolution of the
axle H, which will occupy an inconceivably short space of time, so that the
lever K may be instantly released, and be left free for the clutch to be
uncoupled by the action of a spring t applied to the lever, though no injury
will be done by the clutch remaining in gear, as, when the pin h has thrown
back the arm j, it will mercly wipe it slightly in repassing in its subsequent
revolutions.
As soon as the chain is wound up sufficiently to apply the desired amount of
force to the brakes, it is necessary to stop the winding of it up, as it is obvious
that if allowed to continue winding, cither the revolution of the axle H must
stop or the chain must break. To accomplish this, I at the proper time
disengage the wheels I and J, by releasing the lever E from the catch k, and
leaving it free to the action of the spring i, but all the force applied to the
chain is retained by a pawl acting on a ratchet wheel m on the chain
barrel. The liberation of the lever from the catch k is effected in the following

page_text: manner: The catch is at one end of a lever m², working on a fulcrum n on
the frame L. At the opposite end of the lever there is an inclined projecting
piece o on one side, and on the top of the framing L there is a longitudinal
slider M working in suitable guides. To the above slider the brake chain,
after passing over two pulleys 9, r, is connected by its front end, and when
the barrel is set in motion to wind up that part C of the chain which operates
the brakes, it also winds up the part C³, connecting the slider with the barrel,
and draws forward the slider, and causes a pin p, which is inserted in a hole
in the slider, to pass in contact with the inclined face on the catch lever m,
and to move the catch to liberate the lever E. The slider. M contains several
holes, into either of which the pin p is placed for the purpose above described.
The position of the pin farther forward or backward causes it to act on the
catch lever m sooner or later to set free the lever E to disengage the wheels
I and J, and thus applies the brakes with a less or greater force. The pin p
is attached to a chain s secured to the frame L, and until it is desired to
apply the brakes is not inserted in the slider M; but the engineer or person
in charge of the brakes, before throwing the. clutch in gear, inserts the pin
into such of the holes in the slider as will cause the proper degree of force to
be applied to the brakes, which practice will enable him to determine. In
case of expected collision, the pin should be inserted in the most backward
hole, so as not to disengage the wheels I, J, till the greatest strain the chain is
capable of sustaining with safety has been applied to it. In entering a station
the pin should be placed farther forward. In slackening speed, when going
faster than is desired, it should be placed still farther forward. When the
brakes are to be released, it is only necessary for the engineer or person in
charge to place his foot upon a lever u, to which the pawl is attached, and
press down slightly to throw out the pawl from the ratchet and liberate the
chain barrel, when the chain will run off slack by reason of its own weight.
It may be well to observe that the chain C, instead of being a part of the
brake chain, may be separate therefrom, and in that case the brake chain
may be connected at its extremity to the barrel.
The slider M is represented as being furnished with a handle u', for the
purpose of drawing it back after the brakes have been liberated; but it may
be furnished with a spring, by which it may be always held back when the
chain is slack.
As it is necessary that the lever E should always be moved precisely to
the required position for the catch k to seize it, I have furnished the link
which connects it with the upper lever arm of the rock shaft F, from which it

page_text: derives its movement, with a screw and a swivel nut u, by which its length can
be regulated with great precision.
In order to make the brake operative both in running forwards and back-
wards, there should be two ratchet wheels on the chain barrel, having their
teeth set in opposite directions, and their two pawls should be so arranged
that either can be readily thrown in and the other out of gear at the
same time.
The coupling which I employ consists of a link N of the usual kind, but I
attach to the under side of this link, by a pivot v at the centre, a strong iron
bar O, somewhat longer than the coupling. Each end of this bar carries a
pulley w, and under cach carriage, as close as possible to the coupling, I attach
another pulley a. The brake chain in passing from one carriage to another
passes over the pulleys a, a, and under the pulleys w, w, as shown in Fig. 1;
and by that means, when there is any tension on the brake chain, it is tending
to force the carriages apart, and will prevent the possibility of injury by their
crowding together.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is or may be carried into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein given so
long as the peculiar character of any part of the said Invention be retained;
but what I claim is,-
First, hanging one end of the chain barrel in a lever or swinging support
E, which has applied to it a spring i, for the purpose of holding it in a position
to keep the chain barrel disengaged from the axle from which it derives its
motion, and a catch k, for the purpose of holding it in a position to keep the
said barrel engaged with the said axle, and which has its movements controlled
for the purposes of engaging the barrel and axle to commence winding the
brake chain, and disengaging them when the chain is wound sufficiently to
apply the requisite degree of force to the brakes, simply by a wiper h, or a
cam, or other equivalent, which is thrown in gear and caused to rotate with
the axle when it is desired to operate the brakes, and by the setting free of
the catch k, the whole operating substantially as described.
Second, the method, substantially herein described, of setting the lever E, or
its equivalent, free of the catch, which keeps it in position to engage the chain
barrel and the axle from which it derives its motion, by means of a slider M
and pin p, or their equivalent, connected with a chain C, which is wound up
at the same time and by the same motion as the brake chain, and is thereby
caused to move the said slider and pin, or equivalent, and make them act

page_text: upon and move the catch to set free the lever E, or its equivalent, and thus
disengage the chain barrel and the aforesaid axle when a certain degree of
force has been applied to the brakes.
Third, the method, substantially as described, of keeping the carriages apart
and preventing them crowding together, as their speed is diminished in conse-
quence of the application of the brakes, by providing each of the couplings
with a bar O, carrying pulleys w, w, at its ends, round which and round pulleys
,, attached to the carriages, the brake chain passes in such a manner that
any tension upon it tends to force the carriages apart.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-five.
A. E. LORADOUX BELLFORD. (L.S.)
A. E. LORADOUX BELLFORD. (L.S.)