An Improved Safety Device for Incline Cars.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Aug., 1890 - Accepted, 20th Sept.. 1890
An Improved Safety Device for Incline Cars.
I, WILLIAM PEACH, of Allegheny City, County of Allegheny and State of
Pennsylvania, a Doctor of Medicine, 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 an improved safety attachment for incline-cars, and
consists in the peculiar construction and combination of parts, as will be fully
described hereinafter.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvement, showing the same attached to an
incline-car.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under side of a car provided with my safety
device.
To put my invention into practice with an incline-car a, I attach to the frame
of the floor a sliding draw-head b, consisting of a link c, for the purpose of attaching
the power-rope d thereunto, and the said draw-head provided with two rearwardly-
extending bars e, connected together by a cross-bar Passing through this cross-
head is a rod h, one end of which is rigidly attached to the frame of the car a and
the other to a cross-head g, loosely attached to the rear extensions e of tho
draw-head b. About this rigid bar is a spiral spring, which bears against the
two cross-bars f, g, in a manner that will keep the draw-head b back against the bar g
if there is no strain on the same. Hinged in suitable bearings o beneath the car a
is a bent bar j, extending in the direction of the length of the said car and provided
at its two extremities with downwardly-projecting hooks m, and also with a connecting-
bar k. This connecting-bar k, when the draw-head is moved forward, rests in an
inclined guide, formed beneath the same, and the booked ends m of the barj prevented
from engaging with the cross-ties of the track. A suitable projection or stop n,
formed on the under side of the draw-head b, will prevent the same from moving
forward but a limited distance, and engaging with the guide or bearing a releases
the strain from the bar h.
Should the rope which moves the car up or down the incline break and the weight
or strain on the draw-head be removed, the same will move back by the action of
the spring, thereby releasing the bark from its guide and permitting the hooks m
to drop between the cross-ties of the track (see dotted lines at Fig. 1 of the
drawings), and instantly stopping the car.
After an accident such as described the rope d is replaced or attached to the
draw-head and the hooks m elevated out of the space between the ties and the cross-
bar k, when the draw-head has been moved forward by the weight of the car, secured
in its catch 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The herein-described safety attachment for incline-cars, consisting of the draw-
head b, capable of moving a limited distance in the direction of its length and
actuated by a suitable spring i, and bar j, hinged to the frame of the car and provided
with downwardly-projecting hooks m, adapted to engage with the cross-ties of the
track, and a catch 7, arranged beneath the draw-head bin a manner that when the

page_text: strain is removed from the said draw-head the hooked bars will drop and engage with
the ties of the track, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 18th day of August 1890.
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.