IMPROVE- MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adam Burdess, of Spon Street, Coventry, in the
County of Warwick, Watch Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES."
Sealed the 12th March 1861, and dated the 14th September 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adam Burdess at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
September 1860.
I, ADAM BURDESS, of Spon Street, Coventry, in the County of Warwick,
Watch Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES," to be as follows:-
My improvements relate to railway brakes which take effect by the momen-
tum of the carriages of a train and a resisting force applied either by the
engine or it may be concussion or otherwise. It consists in applying a lever
or other piece to receive motion from the buffer rods when they are driven in ;
this lever may be itself the lever part of the brake surface, or the motion may
be communicated thereto by rods or levers, but in either case the fulcrum or
point of resistance of such lever is subject to the action of a spring or resilient
force which yields on any violent force being applied through the buffer rods,
but at same time continues to press up the brake to the wheel with sufficient
force. The spring so acting as the resisting force of the brake may be disposed
between the two brakes of two adjoining wheels, so that one offers the force of

page_text: resistance for the other. This is readily effected by mounting the fulcra of
the pendent brake levers on two rods in line with each other or nearly so with
the spring between them. The brake surfaces and lever instead of being so
arranged may be arranged in the ordinary manner with an equal armed lever
mounted between the brakes and connected with each by a rod. On the axis
of this equal armed lever I mount a lever or arm to receive the impulse from
the buffer rod, but the axis or fulcrum of the double or equal armed lever I
mount on a slide or box, which is subject to the action of a spring as the resis-
ting power on which the action of the brakes depend; the spring so applied
is such as to give way to any violent or excessive pressure, but at same time
offering sufficient resistance to keep the brakes up to the wheels with the force
desired; and it is this interposition of a spring or resilient force between the
action of the buffer rod and the brake surface which constitutes the feature
of my Invention. This spring or resilient abutment may be otherwise arranged.
Thus the whole of the brakes are to a certain extent within the control of the
engine driver as if he desires to stop a train suddenly he reverses his engine
and applies his brake which offers an opposing force to the momentum of
the train and drives in the buffer rods to a certain extent, and therefore applies
the brakes of the carriages of the train. I so arrange the stops or catch pieces
on the buffer rods that take effect on the brake apparatus that they can each
be thrown out of gear so as to enable the backing of the train when it is
desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adam Burdess, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th March 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ADAM
BURDESS, of Spon Street, Coventry, in the County of Warwick, Watch Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Adam Burdess, Her special licence that I, the said Adam
Burdess, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Adam Burdess, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter

page_text: 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 RAILWAY BRAKES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Adam Burdess, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Adam Burdess, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed,
& to the letters and Figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My improvements relate to railway brakes which take effect by the momen-
tum of the carriages of a train and a resisting force applied either by the
engine, or it may be by concussion, or otherwise. It consists of the arrange-
ment of parts, herein-after described, receiving motion from the buffer rods
and transmitting it through a lever (or levers), the fulcrum or point of resist-
ance of such lever being subject to the action of a spring or resilient force,
which yields on any violent force being applied through the buffer rod, but at
same time continues to press up the brake to the wheel with the requisite
force. The spring so acting as the resisting force of the brake may be disposed
between the two brakes of two adjoining wheels, so that one offers force of
resistance for the other. This is readily effected by mounting the fulcra of the
pendant brake levers on two rods in line with each other, or nearly so, with
the spring between them. The break surfaces and levers instead of being so
arranged, may be arranged in the ordinary manner, with an equal armed lever
mounted between the brakes and connected with each by a rod. In connec-
tion with this equal armed lever I mount a lever to receive the impulse from
the buffer rod, the axis or fulcrum of which lever I mount on a slide or box,
which is subject to the action of a spring as the resisting power on which the
action of the brakes depend. The spring so applied is such as to give way to
any violent or excessive pressure, but at same time offers sufficient resistance
to keep the brakes up to the wheels with the force desired. When the whole
of the brakes are thus arranged they are to a certain extent within the control
of the engine driver, as, if he desires to stop a train suddenly, he reverses bis
engine and applies his brake, which offers an opposing force to the momen-

page_text: train. I arrange stops or catch pieces on the buffer rods that take effect on
the brake apparatus, so that they can each be thrown out of gear, so as to
enable the backing of a train when it is desired.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a side view of the framework & wheels of a railway
carriage or van having a system of brakes arranged according to my Inven-
tion; Fig. 2 is a plan, and Fig. 3, a longitudinal section of the same.
a, a, is the framing, and b, b, & c, c, the buffer rods and springs fitted thereto;
d, d, are the brake surfaces, which are blocks of wood as usual, bearing, when
in action, against the peripheries of the wheels; these brakes d, d, are mounted
on the ends of levers e, e, whose fulcra are supported on the ends of piston
rods f,f, entering a metal cylinder g, fixed to the framing a, such cylinder con-
taining a strong spring h. The piston rods f,f, are fixed in pistons i, i, which
slide freely in the cylinder 9 & bear against each end of spring h, which being
in a state of compression, exerts great force on the pistons & tends to separate
and thrust them towards the levers e, e; stops k, k, are provided in the cylin-
ders to limit the motion of the pistons in the outward direction, which stops
also form sufficient bearing surfaces for the piston rods f.f. The cylinders are
fixed in position by plates 7 bolted to the cross bars of the framework, which
plates have openings cut of same size as the internal diameter of the cylinder,
which permits of the pistons & spring being removed, if necessary, for repairs
or otherwise, without detaching the cylinder; m, m, are covers which are
placed against the plates and bolted through them and the flanges of the
cylinders. The free ends of the levers e, e, before mentioned, are acted on by
the buffer rods b, b, when they are driven in suitable catches n, n, being
mounted therein for that purpose; these catches consist of plates n, n, mounted
on pivots o, o, fixed in the buffer rods b, b, which plates can be moved on their
pivots, so as to move clear of the levers e, e, or to take effect thereon; this will
be best seen by reference to the plan Fig. 2. When the train is in motion
these catches are always in position to take effect on the levers e by the buffer
rods being driven in, and are only thrown out of gear if it is desired to back the
train, as will be herein-after described.
The brake block d is, as before mentioned, connected with lever e by a pin
p passing through lever e, and metal stem 9 of d, which, having different holes,
permits of the block being advanced towards the wheel accordingly as its sur-
face is worn away, & without altering the position of the lever. The stem q is

page_text: fixed in an iron plate secured to the back of the block d, which extends
upward beyond it and has an inclined slot r, which receives a stationary pin s
fixed to an arm on the framing a; this slot and pin form a guide for d, causing
it by the motion of lever e to move, so that its friction surface shall assume a
position more or less parallel with the periphery of the wheel when it recedes,
thereby ensuring sufficient clearance with very little motion, also permitting of
its taking a perfectly equal bearing on the wheel when the brake acts. Sup-
posing the several carriages of a train to be fitted with brakes, as herein-before
described, which brakes will be in a position of inaction, as seen in Figs. 2 &
3, until the locomotive engine is reversed or otherwise retarded, the obstruc-
tive force thus offered to the train acts immediately on the several buffer rods,
so as to compress or force them inwards by reason of the momentum of the
carriages; this compression or inward motion of the buffer rods takes effect
through the catches n & levers e on the brake blocks, these are instantly
applied to the whole of the wheels, which are thereby subjected to greater or less
friction, according to the retarding force applied, and which will entirely lock
many of the wheels of a train of carriages, than which it is impossible to apply/
a greater retarding power through the wheels. In this application of the brake
blocks d, on the first action of the buffer rod the lever e moves on its fulcrum
formed by the piston rod f; but so soon as the little slack that exists is taken
up, the further motion of lever e forces the piston rod f back, which is resisted
the spring h; therefore, according to the strength of this spring and the
force of compression exerted on the buffer rods, so will be the force exerted on
the brake blocks d to press them against the peripheries of the wheels. It will
be seen that the one piston i forms the abutment for the other, the spring h
being compressed between them; this may or may not be the case, as the
pistons or other abutments may have separate springs, which may also be of a
different kind from those represented. The position of the brake levers e, e,
represented in Fig. 1, shows the extreme motion of the buffer rods, and such
as would only take place from some concussion or other powerful retarding
force.
As it is sometimes necessary to propel a train in a backward direction, the
catches or cleets n are arranged to be thrown out of gear when required; for
this purpose I apply to each a transverse rod s¹, passing through the frame a
of the carriage, as seen, having a hand hold s", whereby it can be moved trans-*
versely accross the carriage; this has the effect of throwing the cleet n into or
out of position to gear with the lever e, which is effected by a slotted projec-
tion t, formed on s', which receives a pin fixed in the catch or cleet n. This
slot and pin permits the cleet freedom of motion with the buffer rod at same

page_text: time, always retaining it in readiness to be moved by the handle. This change
of position of the cleets n the guard or stoker effects when the train has
stopped or is stopping, previous to backing the engine, which they can readily
perform by walking along on the ground or platform at side. In order that
the hand motion given to one bar s' of a carriage may be transmitted to all the
rest, I connect these bars by a system of levers, as seen in plan, Fig. 2. u, u',
are cross levers mounted on a fixed fulcrum at v; the pins at the ends of these
levers take into cross slots in the bars s¹, and as will be readily understood,
any motion given to bar s¹ is transmitted directly by (say) lever u to the other
bar s' at the opposite end of the lever; and in order to give simultaneously the
same movement to lever u³, I connect these levers by a lever a mounted on a
fixed fulcrum at y, and connecting it at each end by connecting rods z, 2¹, to
the levers u, u¹. By this means, by the simple movement of any one of the
handles of a carriage, the whole number of bars s¹ will be moved, and the
whole four cleets thrown into or out of gear, as may be desired. In order to
regulate the exact position of the bars s¹, stops 1, 1, are fixed in the frame-
work 6 to limit their motion; and in order that the full motion shall be com-
pleted in the bars held in the position of their extreme movement, I apply a
spring 2 with an angular projection, which bears with sufficient force on and
has to rise over an angular projection on the bar s¹, over whose apex it passes
when midway of its extreme positions.
gear,
Instead of employing the cross levers u, u¹, as before explained, the pair of
bars s¹, s¹, at each end of the carriage may be in one piece, & the cleets n arranged
to be thrown out of gear by a motion in the same direction, which is readily
effected by placing the lever e on the one side inside of the buffer rod, and the
other outside, and as represented in Fig. 4; this is readily effected by crank-
ing the lever e a little more in the one case than the other. In the former
arrangement the handles s¹¹ would be driven out to throw cleets n out of,
while in the arrangement Fig. 4, the one handle would be thrown in and the
opposite one out, according to the positions of the free ends of levers e, e, as
will be readily understood. If it is desired to connect the transverse bar s¹ at
one end of the carriage to the other at the opposite end of the carriage, such
may be effected simply by connecting them by lever 3, the one half of which is
seen in Fig. 4. The bars s³, s¹, and levers e, e, being arranged so that the
traverse of the one bar s¹ is in the opposite direction to that of the other.
Fig. 5 represents a modification of brake apparatus according to my Inven-
tion as applied to a break lever acting on the two break blocks & simultane-
ously, and in manner similar to ordinary brakes. d, d, are the brake blocks
connected by rods d', d¹, to a double-armed lever d², mounted on a fixed ful-

page_text: crum; e is a lever acted on by the buffer rod as before, & e¹ its fulcrum,
mounted on the piston rod f, having a piston acting on a spring contained in
the cylinder, as before described, or the spring abutment of the lever may be
otherwise arranged, provided it permits the fulcrum of lever e to recede accord-
ing to the amount of force or extreme motion given to lever e, as described. It
will be observed that the spring h, in addition to forming the abutment for
the fulcrum of brake levers e, also acts on the buffer rods with effect, similar
to the buffer springs.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I would remark that I am aware the motion of buffer rods of rail-
way carriages has before been used or proposed to be used as the power for
applying brakes to the wheels of carriages, that therefore I do not claim the
exclusive use of such action; but what I claim as my Invention to be pro-
tected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the arrangement
of parts herein-before described, for the purpose of transmitting the motion of
the buffer rods of railway carriages to the brake blocks, & particularly the
shifting catches or cleets, and the means of throwing them into and out of
as also the springs or resilient abutments applied to the brake levers.
gear,
In witness whereof, I, the said Adam Burdess have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred & sixty-one.
ADAM BURDESS. (L.S.)