IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES USED ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Palmer, of Woodford Green, in
the County of Essex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CARRIAGES USED ON RAILWAYS
"
Sealed the 13th April 1853, and dated the 5th February 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Palmer at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 5th February 1853.
I, EDWARD PALMER, of Woodford Green, in the County of Essex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN CARRIAGES USED ON RAILWAYS" to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the obtaining greater security to
passengers when travelling on railways, and consists of constructing
a carriage to run at the hinder part of a train, which carriage may
any
time be caused to act as a drag to retard and stop the train;
and also in case of the locomotive of another train overtaking and
running into this hinder carriage it will aid in stopping such loco-
motive and its train of carriages, without doing material injury to
either. This hinder or drag carriage runs ordinarily on four or

page_text: it may be more wheels, and the peculiarity is, that the two side
framings of this drag carriage are (on their under surfaces) made
with grooves to fit tightly on the sides of the rails, and to embrace
the upper surfaces thereof, so that when the body of the carriage is low-
ered it bears by its two side two side framings on the two rails, and
slides thereon, and offers great friction to the progress of the train.
The drag carriage may be lowered by any convenient means. It is,
however, preferred to have a. windlass or barrel with chains to give
motion to a sliding frame, to which are applied inclines, which rest
on or are supported by the axles of the carriage. Ordinarily there
are horizontal parts of the sliding frame; which are supported by
the axles. When, however, the sliding frame is moved, it brings the
inclines over the axles, and the carriage is. lowered on to and rests
on the rails more or less, according as it is desired to offer more
or less resistance. The sliding frame (carrying the inclines) pro-
trudes considerably beyond the back of the carriage, and is that
part which would be struck by an overtaking locomotive, and
would be driven forward, and by being driven forward would be
the cause of the drag carriage being lowered to the rails.
The sledging parts of the sides of the drag carriage are caused
to extend considerably beyond the back of the carriage, so that an
overtaking locomotive, in addition to driving forward' the sliding
frame, would run on to such projecting parts, and thus not only be
retarded itself, but by adding weight to the parts sliding on the
rails would retard the forward train; and. in order to render the
Íocomotive carriage more fit for the above-mentioned purpose, and
also to protect it from injury in the event of its getting off the rails,
I cause additional wide wheels to be applied, with flanches; which
wheels being of less diameter than the running wheels are off the
rails when the running wheels are on the rails; but immediately the
running wheels get off the rails the wider supplemental. wheels
rest on the rails and support the carriage, and by their flanges tend
to prevent the carriage getting further off the rails; and the forward
supplemental wide wheels (in case of a locomotive: overtaking
another train). being above the rails more readily run: on to the

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said Edward Palmer in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 5th August 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
EDWARD PALMER, of Woodford Green, in the County of Essex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in
the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Palmer, Her
special licence that I, the said Edward Palmer, my exccutors
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward
Palmer, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES USED ON RAILWAYS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward Palmer, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should parti-
cularly 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 Edward Palmer, 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 thereof (that is to say);

page_text: This Invention has for its object the obtaining greater security to
passengers when travelling on railways, and consists of constructing
a carriage to run at the hinder part of a train, which carriage may
at any time be caused to act as a drag to retard and stop the train;
and also in case of the locomotive of another train overtaking and
running into its hinder carriage it will aid in stopping such loco-
motive and its train of carriages; without doing material injury to
either. This hinder or drag carriage runs ordinarily on four or
it may be more wheels, and the peculiarity is, that the two side
framings of this drag carriage are (on their under surfaces) made
with grooves to fit tightly on the sides of the rails, and to embrace
the upper surfaces thereof, so that when the body of the carriage
is lowered it bears by its two side framings on the two rails, and
slides thereon, and offers great friction to the progress of the
train. The drag carriage may be lowered by any convenient
means. It is, however, preferred to have a windlass or barrel with
chains to give motion to a sliding frame, to which are applied
inclines, which rest on or are supported by the axles of the carriage.
Ordinarily there are horizontal parts of the sliding frame, which
are supported by the axles. When, however, the sliding frame is
moved, it brings the inclines over the axles, and the carriage is low-
ered on to and rests on the rails more or less, according as it is
desired to offer more or less resistance. The sliding frame (carrying
the inclines) protrudes considerably beyond the back of the carriage,
and is that part which would be struck by an overtaking locomotive,
and would be driven forward; and by being driven forward would
be the cause of the drag. carriage being lowered to the rails. The
sledging parts of the sides of the drag carriage are caused to
extend considerably beyond the back of the carriage, so that an
overtaking locomotive, in addition to driving forward the sliding
frame, would run on to such projecting parts, and thus not only
be retarded itself, but by adding weight to the parts sliding on the
rails would retard the forward train; and in order to render the
locomotive carriage more fit for the above-mentioned purpose, and
also to protect it from injury in the event of its getting off the

page_text: rails, I cause additional wide wheels to be applied, with flanches,
which wheels being of less diameter than the running wheels are
off the rails when the running wheels are on the rails, but immedi-
ately the running wheels get off the rails the wider supplemental
wheels rest on the rails and support the carriage, and by their
flanges tend to prevent the carriage getting further off the rails;
and the forward supplemental wide wheels (in case of a locomotive
overtaking another train) being above the rails more readily run
on to the projecting ends of the drag carriage of the forward
train, and they come into action thereon as above explained.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully under-
stood, and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the
means pursued by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1, shows a side elevation of what I call a drag carriage, and
which is to run at the hinder part of a train. Figure 2, is a back eleva-
tion thereof. Figure 3, shews the section of a rail, and the sledging
part of one side of the carriage, which fits on and partly embraces the
head or upper part of one of the rails of a railway. a, a, are the wheels
of the carriage; b, b, the ordinary buffers below the framing, to which
these buffers are applied. There is a strong framing b¹, b¹, to the
lower parts of which the drags or sledges c, c, are fixed, which act
on the rails when they are lowered down on to them. These
sledges c, c, are supported by means of wedges d, d, on the bars
d', d. The wedges d, when the sledges c, are off the rails, rest on
the axles a' of the wheels a; and the wedges d, come under the
springs a²; and so long as the parts, remain in this condition the
edges d will be off the rails; but as soon as the wedges d, d, are
moved away from between the springs and the axle tree boxes the
drags or sledges will descend on to the rails, and act by friction on
them by the whole weight of the carriage. f, f, are guides for the
axle-tree boxes. The bars d¹, d¹; are connected at their hinder
ends by the plank d², against which- a locomotive would come in
the event of its overtaking- and running into the carriage by

page_text: accident, and the effect of such an accident would be to lower the
sledges d, by driving forward the bars d', and the locomotive would,
in its continued progress, run on to such sledges, and by so doing
add to the resistance offered by the sledges, and reduce the shock
on the sledging carriage and the other carriages forward of it. And
these sledges d, d, are also to be used ordinarily when necessary
as a means of retarding and stopping a train. For this purpose
a wheel
is used, which by sliding on the axis i, it can be made
fast to that axis by receiving the enlarged end ¹ into the recess in
the back of the nave, when it can cause the barrel 2 fixed on
that axis to turn, by which it will wind on one of the chains d³, and
at the same time will wind off the other chain d. Hence as these
two chains are fastened to the bar and plank which connect the
bars d together, as shown, hence when the wheel is turned in one
direction it tends to move the wedges d, so as to raise the carriage;
and on the other hand, when the wheel is turned in the other
direction, it lowers the carriage and the sledges c, c, down on to the
rails., is another barrel, on which there are two chains, which are
intended to be connected to ordinary breaks (not shown) to act on
the wheels, and such barrel is moved by sliding the wheel g, on the
axis i, so as to receive the head or end of the hollow axis k' of the
barrel h.
Figure 4, shows so much of a side view of a locomotive engine
or carriage as will, aided by the other Figures, enable me to describe
the nature of the second part of my Invention; Figure 5, is a plan,
and Figure 6, an end view of the same; and these improvements
consists of a mode of applying a series of rollers on axes at a
small distance from the rails, so that whilst the wheels of the loco-
motive are on the rails the rollers will be off the rails, and these
rollers are of such a length that they will remain on the rails
and support the locomotive engine, though it may have assumed a
considerable angle across the rails; and these rollers have each a
flanch to prevent the locomotive going further over the rails of
a railway than, is permitted by the rollers, as will readily be
understood by examining the Figures of the Drawing now under

page_text: description. a, a, are the rollers, and b, b, their axles, which have
their bearings at c, c.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I
do not confine myself to the details as herein shown and described,
nor do I claim the mechanical parts separately; but what I claim is,―
First, the mode herein described of combining the parts consti-
tuting the drag carriage.
And, secondly, I claim the mode herein described of applying addi-
tional flanched wheels or rollers to come into action in case of the
ordinary wheels of a locomotive engine getting off the rails of a
railway.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Palmer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three..
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
EDWD PALMER. (L.S.)