IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGES FOR RAILWAYS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
COLES FULLER, of Brownlow Street, in the Parish of Saint Andrew, Holborn,
in the County of Middlesex, Cabinet Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-third day of October, in the ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Coles Fuller, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said William Coles Fuller, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Coles Fuller,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGES FOR RAILWAYS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William
Coles Fuller, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, par-
ticularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Coles Fuller, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of Improvements in the Construction of Carriages for Rail-
ways relates to an improved method or methods of constructing railway
carriages and the springs and buffers to be adapted thereto, whereby the
dangerous consequences of collisions may be in a great measure prevented or
considerably lessened, and a greater ease and security obtained.
My improvements consist,-
Firstly, in placing a cushion, with or without springs, at each end of a
railway carriage, and covering the whole or the greater part of each end of it
in such a manner that in case of a collision of a train the cushions of the
carriages may diminish the effect of the concussion, and tend to the security
of the passengers.
The second part of my improvements consists in the application of buffer and
other springs of india rubber or caoutchouc, in manner herein-after described,
for the purpose of promoting the ease and comfort of the passengers.
The first part of my Invention may either be constructed so as to be used
alone and without any other buffer at the ends of a carriage, or so as to be
used in conjunction with the second part of my Invention, or with ordinary
buffers at the end of a carriage. The mode in which the first part of my
Invention may be applied to the ends of a railway carriage and without any
other buffer, is shewn at Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawings. Fig. 1
represents a longitudinal section of parts of two railway carriages. a, a, are
moveable cushions adapted to the ends b, b, of the carriages. These cushions
are made on strong wooden or metal frames, and are placed at a short distance
from the ends of the carriages, which must also be made of extra strength, and
strong springs are placed between the cushions and the ends of the carriages,
with which the cushions are connected by sliding rods c, c.
Those rods pass
through sockets in the end framing of the carriages, as seen in the Drawing. The
cushions are stuffed with wool, cocoa-nut fibre, india rubber, or other similar or
suitable elastic material, and are covered over with leather, strong canvas, india
rubber, or other suitable material. Any required degree of rigidity or elasticity
may be given to the cushions and their appendages by the employment of addi-
tional springs; for instance, metallic or other springs may be placed between the
back of each cushion and the end of the carriage, and the india-rubber springs

page_text: hereafter described may be adapted to the sliding rods c, c, as shewn in the
Drawing at d, d; and, in addition, the inner ends of these rods may be made
to act against metallic or other springs, for the purpose of obtaining additional
resistance. As the sliding rods c, c, run through holes in the top framing of
the carriage as well as the bottom framing, springs must be adapted to that
part also, and the carriages are connected together in the ordinary way, but in
such a manner as to bring the surfaces of the two opposite cushions into
contact in the same way as buffers are usually done.
The mode in which the first part of my Invention may be applied to the
ends of a railway carriage when ordinary or other buffers are also intended to
be used as shewn at Fig. 2 in the annexed Drawings. Fig. 2 represents a
longitudinal section of parts of two railway carriages having buffers of the
ordinary description, and either with or without my india-rubber springs, as
herein-after described. The cushions a, a, attached to the ends of the
carriages are of the same description as those already described as parts of
Fig. 1, and they are firmly secured to the ends of the carriages, and without
any springs being placed between the cushions and the carriages, as shewn
in Fig. 1.
The second part of my Invention consists of india-rubber or caoutchouc
springs applied to ordinary or other buffers, and also used for supporting the
bodies of railway carriages, as herein-after described. The application of my
india-rubber springs to ordinary railway carriage buffers is shewn at Figs. 3
and 4 in the annexed Drawings.
Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal section of parts of two railway carriages,
with their ends placed together, and having parts of the framing removed
so as to shew my india-rubber springs, and the application thereof to buffers.
In place of the ordinary buffer springs, I employ circular discs or rings of
india rubber e, e, of about five inches in diameter, and from half an inch to
three inches in thickness, according to circumstances, and the situation of
the spring. These discs or rings are placed upon the circular rods or shafts
c, c, of the buffers, with a thin disc or circular plate of tinned iron, gal-
vanized iron, or other similar material f, f, placed between them as a
support, so that every ring of india rubber e, e, will be situated between
two iron or other discs f. f. These india-rubber buffer springs may either be
placed inside the framings, as shewn at Fig. 3, and covered with boxes
or covers, or they may be placed between the buffer heads and the end
framings of the carriages, as shewn at Fig. 4. When the india-rubber
discs e, e, are placed under the carriage, as shewn at Fig 8 (which is perhaps
the more preferable mode of the two), they should be made of less diameter

page_text: than when placed outside, and a stop 9 is made on or attached to the sliding
rod of the buffer, which, when the buffer of one carriage comes into contact
with or strikes against the buffer of an adjoining one, it compresses the india-
rubber rings e, e, laterally against the stationary piece h of the framing. It
will be seen that the thin iron discs f, f, are of greater diameter than the
india-rubber discs e, e, and as these latter are compressed laterally their
diameter is increased in proportion, so that when in a compressed state they
completely fill up the space between the iron discs, as seen in the detached
view Fig. 5. It should be understood that as the sliding rods c, c, pass
freely through holes made in the centre of the india-rubber discs e, e, and the
metal discs f, f, the india rubber, after being compressed laterally thereon, as
above mentioned, is left perfectly free to expand to its original thickness, which
it will do immediately the pressure is removed. And in order to assist this
regular compression and expansion of the india-rubber discs, and prevent them
from binding round the sliding rods, which would have the effect of preventing
them from expanding regularly and properly, the tinned iron discs are placed
between the india-rubber discs, and the holes in these latter are made of
greater diameter than the diameter of the sliding rods. In order still further'
to assist in keeping the india-rubber discs in their proper places, small holes
with rough edges or projections are made in the metal discs f, f, which by
holding on to the india-rubber discs will be sufficient to keep them from
slipping down out of their places, and binding on the rods c, c. I sometimes
also furnish the iron discs f with conical collars, which, by fitting one inside
the other, will allow the india-rubber discs e, e, to be compressed, and yet will
effectually prevent them from binding on or coming into contact with the
rods c, c.
Fig. 4 is merely a modification of Fig. 3, the india-rubber discs being
placed between the buffer heads and the end framings, instead of inside the
framings. This plan may be used in conjunction with the preceding one, if
thought desirable, or either or both may be employed, with ordinary steel
buffer springs, if required. The principal advantage of the mode of applica-
tion shewn at Fig. 4 is the facility with which my india-rubber spring may be
applied to the buffers of railway carriages of the ordinary construction; but as
the india-rubber discs are more exposed in this plan than in that shewn at Fig. 3,
they may, if thought desirable, be protected or covered over with some water-
proof flexible material. It is to be observed that the discs of india rubber
employed in the construction of my buffer springs are to be made of a proper
diameter according to the part of the carriage in which they are to be placed,
and so that when the springs are compressed the discs may have sufficient room

page_text: to expand; and the thickness of the discs must be according to the degree
of elasticity or rigidity which the spring is intended to have; and it will be
found that a spring composed of thin discs will be much more rigid and less
elastic than a spring composed of thick discs. If it is desired that a buffer
shall possess greater power or rigidity, that object may be attained by apply-
ing two or more sets of springs to it, as shewn in Fig. 6.
The application of my india-rubber springs for supporting the bodies of
railway carriages is shewn at Fig. 7 in the annexed Drawings. Fig. 7 is a
side elevation of a railway carriage, part of which is shewn in section.
i, i, is an oblong box firmly secured to a framing resting on the axle boxes,
and furnished with a rack consisting of a number of strong horizontal
teeth o, o, projecting upwards, and extending across the box from side to
side; and j, j. is a second box and rack attached to the suspended body
of the carriage, and furnished on its under side with a number of teeth
k, k, k, projecting downwards; and at each end of this framing j, j, guide rods
may be made to pass through holes or sockets made in the lower framing.
For the purpose of keeping the carriage body in its proper position, a long
thick rib or strap p of india rubber is laid along the top of the horizontal
teeth o, o, of the rack in the lower box, and both ends of this rib or strap
of india rubber are firmly secured. It will now be seen that when the
teeth.k, k, of the framing j, j, are brought down on to the india-rubber rib
or strap p, they will force this latter down between the teeth o, o, and these
teeth being arranged at proper and suitable distances, and so as to pass up
and down between each other, the india rubber will prevent the teeth k, k,
from descending too far, and by its elasticity form a spring for suspending
the body of the carriage. In the place of using teeth, as above described,
either the upper or lower box may be constructed with bars or pins, for
the purpose of resting upon or supporting the india rubber. The strength
or rigidity of the spring will depend upon the closeness of the teeth o, o,
to each other, and the thickness of the rib or strap of india rubber; and the
tension of the india-rubber strap is to be regulated by the screw s, so that
when the carriage is fully laden, there will be sufficient space left for the
action of the spring.
Figs. 2, 8, & 9, represent other modes of constructing carriage springs of
india rubber, in which pieces of india rubber are arranged in layers e, e, with
or without metal plates between them. a, a, is part of the carriage framing,
as shewn in Fig. 7; and q, q, is a plate or block of wood or iron to which the
axle box r is attached. This plate q is connected to the framing a, a, at
Fig. 2, by metallic sliding rods l, l, which pass through holes made in the

page_text: framing, and allow the plate q to move up and down as the layers of india
rubber yield to the weight of the carriage. In the place of metallic sliding
rods, above described, the layers of india rubber may be fastened together by
passing cords or pieces of india rubber through them, as seen in Fig. 8. And
it is to be observed, that india-rubber springs for supporting carriage bodies
in this manner may be formed entirely of one piece, and either square, round,
or of any other convenient shape, as shewn in Fig. 9.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe, that ordinary india rubber is liable to be affected
by changes of temperature, and to become hard or rigid by exposure to cold,
and therefore I prefer to use india rubber or caoutchouc prepared in the
manner described in the Specification of a Patent granted to Thomas Han-
cock, on the Twenty-first day of November, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-three, as caoutchouc thus prepared is not liable to be acted upon by any
ordinary temperature to which it may be exposed. And I hereby declare that
I claim as of my Invention, secured to me by the said Letters Patent granted
to me, as herein-before mentioned,―
Firstly, the application of cushions, with or without springs, to the ends of
railway carriages, as herein-before described; and,
Secondly, the india-rubber buffer springs and india-rubber springs for
supporting railway carriage bodies, as herein-before shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Coles Fuller, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.