IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Andrew Langley, of Chapel-en-le-Frith, in
the County of Derby,. Civil Engineer,. for the. Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF RAILWAY BRAKES."
Sealed: the 8th October 1867, and dated the 13th April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Andrew Langley
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th April 1867.
I, ALFRED ANDREW LANGLEY, of Chapel-en-le-Frith, in the County of Derby,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF RAILWAY BRAKES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the arrangement of
railway brakes. At the present time much power is lost whenever a railway
train is stopped by means of its brakes, and on short lines with many stations
this becomes a serious evil. Now my Invention consists in so arranging
railway brakes as to utilize this power, and to apply it when it is most
required to aid the train in starting again from rest. The arrangement as I
prefer it is as follows:-On one of the axles of the train is a pulley around
which a strong driving belt passes, and it also encircles a drum containing a
strong coiled spring, one end of which is attached to the interior of the drum
and the other to an axis, on which the drum is able to turn. When the speed
of the train has to be checked the driving strap is tightened on to its pulley
and it commences to give motion to the drum and so to wind up the spring
within it. An ordinary brake is made to act upon the drum so as to regulate
its action and to hold it at rest when required. When after the train has
stopped it is desired to utilize the power thus accumulated a toothed wheel on

page_text: the drum is brought into gear with another toothed wheel on the axle of the
carriage or vehicle, and the spring drum is allowed to turn in the reverse
direction from which it was previously restrained, and so the tension of the
spring is brought to act to turn the axle of the carriage or vehicle and
assist to propel the train. The arrangement of the spring drum may be
applied to more axles of the train than one, or the wheels on which the drum
is made to operate may be coupled with others to make it more effective..
Or in place of this method I cause an axle or axles of the train at the time.
when it is desired to check the speed to give motion to air pumps which force
air into a reservoir where it is contained under pressure, and when it is desired
to utilize the power so stored I cause the air under pressure to drive an
air engine, and so to give motion to the axle or axles of the carriage or vehicle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Andrew Langley, in the Great Seal Patent Office, on
the 12th October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
ANDREW LANGLEY, of Chapel-en-le-Fritb, in the County of Derby, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Andrew Langley, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Andrew Langley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such as. I,
the said Alfred Andrew Langley, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT OF RAILWAY BRAKES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Andrew Langley, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Andrew Langley, 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:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the arrangement of
railway brakes. At the present time much power is lost whenever a railway
train is stopped by means of its brakes, and on short lines with many stations
this becomes a serious evil. Now my Invention consists in so arranging
railway brakes as to utilize this power, and to apply it when it is most required
to aid the train in starting again from rest. The arrangements as I prefer
them are as follows:-On the brake carriage there is mounted a drum containing
a strong coiled spring, one end of which is attached to the interior of the drum,
and the other to an axis on which the drum is able to turn. When the
speed of the train has to be checked the drum is brought into gear with a
pulley, which is driven from the supporting wheels of the brake carriage, the
pulley then commences to give motion to the drum and so winds up the spring
within it. An ordinary brake is made to act upon the drum so as to regulate its
action and to hold it at rest when required. When it is desired to utilize the
power thus accumulated, the drum is brought into gear with the wheels of the
carriage or vehicle, and the spring drum is allowed to turn in the reverse
direction, and so the tension of the spring is brought to act to turn the wheels
of the carriage or vehicle, and assist to propel the train. The arrangement
of the spring drum may be applied to more axles of the train than one, or the
wheels on which the drum is made to operate may be coupled with others to
make it more effective. Or in place of this method I cause an axle or axles
of the train at the time when it is desired to check the speed to give motion to
air pumps which force air into a reservoir where it is contained under
pressure, and when it is desired to utilize the power so stored I cause the air
under pressure to drive an air engine, and so to give motion to the axle or
axles of the carriage or vehicle.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
according to my Invention in such manner that the force taken up in retarding
the progress of a train may be stored in a spring and afterwards applied when
required in, aid of the locomotive engine or other propelling power; Figure 2

page_text: is a tranverse section taken at the line 1, 1, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan of
the apparatus, the roof of the carriage being removed.
a, a, is the frame of the carriage supported on the wheels b, b, which are
coupled together, and also with a crank axis c by means of the coupling
bars d, d, on either side of the carriage. On the axis c there is a friction
gear wheel e, it is able to slide a short distance on the axis with a groove and
feather as is herein-after explained; f, f, are rocking frames mounted on
studs ff, on the frame a, they carry an axis.g which is held from turning by
a ratchet and pawl at one end, as is more clearly seen in Figure 4; g¹ is a boss
fast upon the axis g, and having attached to it the inner ends of the coiled
springs h, h, these springs at their outer extremities are secured within the
periphery of the drum i, which is free to rotate upon the axis h¹; as the springs
are of large size I prefer to build them up of segments of sheet steel in the
manner clearly shown by the Figures 5; on the exterior of the drum i a
friction gear
surface is formed to correspond with the friction gear wheel c
so that it may be driven by it when required. The frames f, f, at their lower
ends carry an axle having on it a gear wheel which is always in driving
contact with the friction gear surface of the drum i; this wheel k may by
rocking the frames f on their fulcrums f¹ be brought into gear with the
friction gear wheel e, the friction surface being at the same time removed
out of contact with the wheel e. The rocking motion is given to the frames f
by means of a screw suspended by brackets from the roof of the carriage
having a nut upon it which by a connecting rod m is linked with a spring
cross bar connecting the upper ends of the frames f. The screw has a
crank handle at its end by which it can be turned, and also a ratchet lever
handle by which stress can be put upon the spring cross bar f³ sufficient to
keep the driving surfaces firmly pressed together. The drum i also has a
smooth surface upon it which is encircled by a brake strap n, one end of
this strap is made fast to an axis o carried by the frames f, and the other to an
arm o projecting from this axis; o² is a lever on the outer end of the axis o,
it is linked with a nut which traverses upon the screw p carried in bearings
on one of the frames f. The screw is capable of being turned by the crank
handle p', and by so doing the friction of the brake strap n on the surface of
the drum i can be regulated. The action of the apparatus is then as follows:-
When it is desired to check the progress of the train, and at the same time to
store power in the springs h, the gear surfaces of the wheel e and the drum i
are brought in contact, and the drum thus receives motion in the direction to
wind up the springs. The resistance which the springs offer to the rotation
of the drum may be increased to any desired extent by the adjustment of the

page_text: brake strap n. When the springs are fully wound up, or when the train has
been stopped, the brake strap is tightened up so as to hold the drum
securely, and by moving the frames f by means of the screw the drum is
taken out of gear with the wheel e, and so it remains until it is desired to expend
the power stored in the springs in propelling the train, then by the further
movement of the frames f, the wheel k is made to gear with the wheel e and
the break strap being slackened the springs give motion to the wheels k and e
and thus to the crank axis c, and so through the coupling bars d the wheels
receive movement in a direction suitable to propel the carriage and train
forward. In order that the wheel e may gear correctly both with the friction
surface of the drum and with the friction gear wheel kit has to be moved
sideways upon its axis for the space of half a tooth, it receives this movement
by means of cam surfaces or slides q moving with the frames f, and moving
the wheel to the one side or the other as may be required. This arrangement
is clearly shown in plan and side view at Figures 6.
Figure 7 is a side view, partly in section, of a brake carriage constructed
with an air reservoir and air pumps and engine.
Figure 8 is a plan partly in section and with the air vessel removed, and
Figure 9 is an end view of the working parts with some of the frame removed.
a, a, is the frame of the carriage mounted on carrying wheels b, b, b', ', which
are coupled by the coupling bars c; d, d, are connecting rods jointed at one
end to the beads of the piston rods e, and at the other to crank pins on the
sides of the wheels b. The pistons on the rods e work in cylinders f, which
are fitted with slide valves and passages in the same way as in a steam engine.
The passages are in addition provided with stop cocks g, g, and at the ends of
the cylinders are inlet valves h, h, and exit valves i, i, the latter of which
communicate with passages i, i, leading to the reservoir for compressed air k;
this reservoir is fitted with safety valves and also with a pressure gauge; 1, 1,
are regulating valves, by means of which the air can be allowed to pass from
the reservoir to the cylinders f; m, m, are reversing sweeps connected with
eccentrics on the axle of the wheels b, and actuating the slide valves in the
usual manner; n, n, are throttle valves in the passages leading to the inlet
valves h, and capable of being set by the levers n', which receive their motion
on each side of the carriage from a screw and nut, on the latter of which is a
small hand wheel; 0, 0, are hand levers by which the stop cocks g can be
opened and closed; p, p, are hand levers by which the inlet valves h can be
held off their seats when desired; 7, 9, are the exhaust passages from the
cylinders.
The action of the apparatus is then as follows:-When it is desired to

page_text: check the speed of a train the stop cocks g, 9, are closed, and so are also the
regulating valves 1, 1, whilst the throttle valves n, n, are opened more or less
according to the amount of the resistance it is desired to exercise; the cylinders
then draw in air through the valves h and discharge it past the valves i into
the reservoir k, where it is stored in a compressed state, and the act of com-
pressing it gives the resistance which is required. When the power thus stored
is to be applid to aid the engine in propelling the train the stop-cocks g, g,
are opened, and the air is allowed to pass from the reservoir to the cylinder
by opening the regulator 1. When the brake apparatus is not required either
to retard or assist in propelling the train the valves h are held off their seats
by means of the hand levers p.
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 exact details described; but what I claim is, the arranging railway
brakes in such manner that the force taken up in retarding the progress of
the train may be stored and afterwards applied at any time when it may be
required in aid of the locomotive engine or other propelling power.
I also claim for this purpose the arranging railway brakes with a spring
drum capable of being geared with the carrying wheels in opposite ways, and
of being disconnected from the wheels and locked or held stationary as
described.
I also claim the arranging a railway brake with an air reservoir, and an air
pump and air engine taking motion from the carrying wheels and again com-
municating motion to them in aid of the locomotive engines or other propelling
power at any time when it may be required.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Andrew Langley, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
CHARLES BOWRING,
Merchant,
Derby.
ALFRED ANDREW LANGLEY. (L.S.)