Improvements in Continuous Footboards and Safety Appliances for Railway and other Carriages, Applicable also to Footboards as at present in Use.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Mar., 1887
Complete Left, 23rd Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 1st Mar., 1888
Improvements in Continuous Footboards and Safety Appliances for
Railway and other Carriages, Applicable also to Footboards as
at present in Use.
I ELISHA BASSETT of 56 Church Street, Kensington in the County of Middlesex
Engraver, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in continuous footboards and safety
appliance therefor also applicable to continuous footboards as at present in use the
object being to provide a continuous footboard on all railway carriages trucks and
other similar vehicles and also to provide a safety appliance between each carriage or
truck in order to prevent any person being precipitated on to or between the buffers
of the carriage or vehicle.
I will describe my invention as applied to carriages at present in use :-
I provide iron plates which are bolted to end of present footboards one whereof is
made with two slots and end turned down the other has a board hinged thereto of
same thickness as the step and fitted with two half inch circle irons to run in said
slots thereby allowing the step to rise and fall with the concussion of the train.
The safety appliance for preventing falling over on to the buffers consists of a guard
piece of any desired shape and of any convenient height fixed in any suitable manner
to the back of the "connecting foot board." The top of this guard piece which
extends up say about two or three feet from the footboard would serve as a hand rail
for railway officials and others passing along the train and will also in such cases
should a jerk or shock be given at the time prevent them being thrown over on to the
buffers and also give them a hold to prevent them falling on to the line.
Datad 1st day of March 1887
HUGHES & Co.,
131, Fleet Street, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Continuous Foot-boards and Safety Appliances for
Railway and other Carriages, Applicable also to Footboards as
at present in Use.
I, ELISHA BASSETT of 56 Church Street, Kensington, in the County of Middlesex,
Engraver, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My invention relates to the construction of continuous railway footboards, and is
intended to obviate risks on entering or alighting from railway carriages within a
station.
The object of my invention is to prevent the danger which at present attends
passengers by persons slipping down between the platforms and foot-boards of railway
carriages, and carriages constructed with my invention, I claim as a perfect safe guard
against such accidents as aforesaid.
At the ends of each of the foot-boards of each railway carriage I prefer to fix a wood
extension, the length of the space taken up by the buffers and couplings which divides
the carriages from one another, which said wood extension is hinged to the fore part
of the footboard, with metal plates bolted to the ends of the present footboards, one of
these said metal plates with nosed end attached beneath the plate, the other metal plate
on the end of the foot-board of the adjoining carriage is provided with slot holes at
the rear end of the foot-board, so that when the carriages are being attached to one
another the metal plates of the front of each carriage foot-board strikes up the nosed
end on the plate of the rear of the next carriage, which plate with the slots is held up
together by a spring, but the pins of the nosing slips into the slots aforesaid, with
sufficient play to allow for turning curves or ascillation.
The metal plates bolted at the ends of the present foot-boards, have one end with a
fixed wood extension, with a feathered under-edge, and the other end attached to the
foot-board having an incline, to this said incline is fixed a wood extension any length
or size, as may be desirable, hinged or otherwise hung or fixed to the end of the foot-
board and over the sloping iron plate, which is acted on by the springs underneath,
regulated by a screw and bolt in the centre, by which the aforesaid foot-board will
become self adapting according to the varying widths between the carriages and allow
perfect freedom in turning curves on the permanent way.
My invention consists also of an additional hinged flap hung on the outside edge of
the foot-board and the whole length of the carriage and part of the extension with
falling hinges this said flap or board is of equal strength, and of the required necessary
width, as all the present foot-boards used by any railway company on their carriages,

page_text: this additional foot-board or hinged flap has provided underneath ball casters and will
remain suspended while a train is outside a station platform, but when the train enters
a station, the end of the additional foot-board is caught by a stand-point lever, or
levers fixed to the platform, which said lever rises up the additional foot-board
automatically which runs on the ball casters or any other running gear may be
substituted, along the edge of the platform, and fills up the gap or opening which now
exist with the present ordinary system and forms a solid and safe footing on the level
while the train is within the station, but falling again into its former suspended
position after the train passes the slope of the platform at its outward end.
I prefer to fill the spaces occupied by buffers and couplings in with either a metal
shield, of any size or shape, to enclose the division or space between each carriage,
which I fix to the foot board extension, or by preference, metal finger like, lattice,
interlace, forked, or any other shaped guards rivetted to a plate, which said plate is
screwed to the outside edge of the ends of each of the carriages, these said guards
when the carriages are coupled together, fit easily into each other, to form a screen to
prevent persons falling between the carriages, the aforesaid guards being of such a
construction that they do not come in contact with each other when the train is
running on any ordinary or severe curve which may be experienced on any railway
line.
And in order that my invention may be thoroughly understood, I now proceed to
describe the accompanying drawings thereof, reference being had to letters and
figures marked thereon. Figure 1, represents the continuation of the foot boards
marked A, of each carriage curved in the manner herein described to permit the train
running on any severe curved railway.
Figure 2 is the position of the metal extension marked B, hinged at F, to the foot
board A, of the front of one of the carriages and the nosing marked C, this being the
nosed end which slides up the sloping end of the rear end of the carriage foot-board
of the front carriage, kept up by the spring T, when coupling the carriages together,
this aforesaid end of the foot board A, has fixed a nosing piece D, with slot holes G, G,
on figure 4, beneath the nosing C is attached one or more buttons or pins O, to fit in
the slots G, G, as on figure 4. Figure 3 is the side view of Figure 2. Figure 4, is
the nosing D, with slot holes G; G. Figure 15 is a side view of a similar con-
trivance of figure 2. Figure 6 is a side view of figure 4. Figure 7, shows the
underside of the nosing C, with the positions of buttons or pins 0, 0, to fit in the
slots G, G of the nosing D. Figure 8, represents a portion of the footboard A, with
the additional board R, hinged E, in the position when sliding or running on the
platform in the station. Figure 9 denotes the position of the additional foot board R,
when the train has passed the slope of the outward end of the platform. Figure 94,
is a section of figure 8, showing the position of the ball caster Q, with the revolving
steel or any other metal ball P, on the additional foot board R. Figure 10, represents
the space between the carriages I, I, with the guards N of various shapes fitting one
into the other, attached to a plate M, and fixed to the each end of each carriage.
Figure 11 describes the positions of the guards at the ends of the carriages and the
additional foot board R, in the suspended position.. Figure 12 represents a wirework,
rope, iron or of any other material or shape L, or can be made part solid and part
openwork. Figure 13, describes the plain iron guard L, fixed to the continuous foot-
board. Fig. 16, hinged metal extension. Figure 14 is the stand point lever S, fixed
to the platform to raise the additional foot board R. Like letters refer to like parts
in each of the figures. A, the foot board. B, the wood or metal extension. C, the
metal nosing on one of the foot board extensions A. D, the metal nosing for the rear
end of the carriage. E, the continuous, or any other length hinges, or series of
hinges either single, double or any other action. F, hinge. G, slot holes in nosing D.
I, ends of carriages. L, iron, rope, or wire guards. M, the plates to which the
finger guards are rivetted. N, the finger guards. O, the buttons or pins. P, the
steel or metal ball in the flanged socket Q. Q, the flanged socket to hold the ball P.
R, the additional foot board. S, the stand point lever.
T, the spring. Y, the
inclined iron plate.

page_text: Having now fully described the nature and object of my invention and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I claim as new and novel the following:-
First. I claim the combination of the wood extension B, with the nosing D fitted
with the buttons or pins 0, 0, hinged at F, to the footboard A, and to run up on the
slope of the rear end of the footboard of the next carriage with the nosing D, with
slots G, G, to fill up the space between each carriage to form the continuous footboard,
to fix it to any present existing foot boards of any railway train, substantially herein
described and according to the accompanying drawings.
Secondly. In combination with the extension B, the additional footboard R, hinged
to the foot board A, with any description of hinge E, with the running ball P, in the
flanged socket Q, to permit the foot board R, to run along the platform after it is raised
in that position by means of the standpoint lever S, to fill up the gap between the
foot boards and the platform substantially herein described and according to the
accompanying drawings.
Thirdly. The combination of metal or rope guards N and L, fixed to the ends of
the carriages or on the foot board extensions arranged so as to interlace each other,
to form a lattice work, to fill up the space now existing between each carriage, to
prevent accidents through persons falling between the carriages, substantially herein
described and according to the accompanying drawings.
T
ດາ. 11
1007
J. P. BAYLY,
Agent for the Applicant.