IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR COUPLING AND WORKING CONTINUOUS RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Temple, of the Borough and County of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Timber Merchant and Brick Manufacturer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR COUPLING
AND WORKING CONTINUOUS RAILWAY BRAKES."
Scaled the 20th April 1875, and dated the 3rd February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Temple at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd February 1875.
'
I, THOMAS TEMPLE, of the Borough and County of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, Timber Merchant and Brick Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR
COUPLING AND WORKING CONTINUOUS RAILWAY BRAKES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to obviate the loss of time and labour
occupied in connecting those parts that join together the brake power of
each carriage to the fore or rear end of a railway train, and to transmit
that power to every carriage wheel simultaneously.

page_text: The method of carrying out the first part of this Invention is to have
a longitudinal shaft running the whole length of each successive carriage
and revolving, when the brake power is applied, in bearings suspended from
the carriage or truck. To the extremities of each section of this shaft is
fixed vertically and on the same axis a circular plate of metal having |
projections and recesses on the face thereof to allow similar plates (that
are fixed to the ends of the sections of the shaft belonging to the
carriages abutting) to fit therein when the carriages are brought close
together. It is therefore evident that when the shaft of one carriage is
made to revolve the motion is communicated to every carriage throughout
the train by means of the continuity of the shaft. To keep the faces of the
connecting plates up to their work hollow barrels each containing a spring
are placed in suitable positions along the line of shaft, thus allowing the
shaft to shorten or lengthen as circumstances require, and do not
interfere with the rotation of the intermediate portion.
The second part of this Invention relates to the working of the brakes
from the above mentioned shaft. Each set of brakes are connected
together by a rod, bar, or other suitable contrivance. On the axle of a
friction wheel is mounted a vertical drum, around which a chain passes,
the two ends being fastened to distant points on the bar, so that when
the drum revolves one portion of the chain is gathered up while the
other portion is let out; this moves the bar forward or backward, putting
on or taking off the brakes to which the bar is connected.
The friction wheel above mentioned is actuated by a similar wheel
placed over the centre line of the longitudinal shaft. On to this shaftis
keyed a bevelled cogged wheel working a similar wheel fixed to the
under side of the last-mentioned friction wheel, to which it gives motion
when the brake power is applied.
Friction wheels are employed in order that in the event of any set of
brakes becoming fixed they shall not interfere with the revolution of the
shaft in performing a similar duty to every brake in the train.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Temple in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
TEMPLE, of the Borough and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Timber
Merchant and Brick Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Temple, Her special
licence that I, the said Thomas Temple, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Temple, 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 MEANS FOR COUPLING AND WORKING CONTINUOUS RAILWAY BRAKES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Temple,
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 Thomas Temple, 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 in writing, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):-
The object of this Invention is to obviate the loss of time and labour
occupied in connecting those parts that join together the brake power of
each carriage to the fore or rear end of a railway train, and to transmit
that power to the brake blocks on each side of every carriage wheel.

page_text: -
The method of carrying out the first part of my Invention is to have a
longitudinal shaft running the whole length of each carriage, and
revolving when the brake power is applied by the stoker or guard in
bearings suspended from a frame fixed by suitable means to the axle
boxes of the wheels of the carriage. The extremities of this shaft are
fitted with circular plates or castings of metal placed vertically and on
the same axis, and having projections on their external faces that fit
into corresponding recesses of a similar plate or casting fitted to the
shaft of the carriage abutting. To keep the faces of each abutting plate
in close contact with each other I divide the shaft into two portions, and
place between them a hollow barrel containing a spring that allows the
shaft to adapt itself to the ever altering distance or space that exists
between the carriages. The interior of this barrel is square in cross
section, and the ends of the two portions of the shaft working therein
are square also; thus rotary motion is conveyed from one portion of the
shaft to the other, and is transmitted from carriage to carriage by means
of the continuity of the shaft produced by the self-coupling plates. This
may be better understood by referring to the accompanying Drawing,
where I have shewn in,-
Figure 1 a longitudinal elevation, partly in section, of a six-wheeled
'railway carriage, with a tender or brake van attached, and having my
Invention adapted thereto; Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the same, with
one-half of the carriage frame removed in order to show more clearly
the saddle pieces resting on the carriage springs and together bolted down
to the axle boxes.
Figure 3, an end elevation of one of the carriages, shewing the end of
the longitudinal shaft fitted with the self-coupling plate, into which
couples a similar plate of the adjoining carriage, van, or other vehicle.
Figure 4 is a transverse section on lines A, B, C, in Figure 2, and shews
the means I adopt to render the whole of my apparatus independent of
and free from the oscillation and variable height of the body of the
railway carriage. Thus the line of shaft is at a uniform height from the
top of the rails throughout the length of carriages, and vibration reduced
to a minimum.
Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the hollow barrel containing the spring
that keeps the self-coupling plates up to their work; Figure 6 is a cross
section of the same, shewing the construction of the barrel, and in what
manner the friction wheel is fastened thereon.

page_text: Figures 7 and 8 are enlargedviews of the circular plate or casting
fitted to the external ends of the longitudinal shaft.
And Figure 9, partly in section, is a modified arrangement of the
hollow barrel and spring.
In all these Figures a, a, is the longitudinal shaft, with the connecting
plates or castings b, b, fitted at the ends to couple with a similar plate 6*
fitted to the shaft of the carriages abutting. The ends of these shafts
are made to project some little distance beyond the line of buffers, so
that the connecting plates of the shaft to each carriage shall always be
in contact when the carriages are brought close together and fastened.
To allow the shaft to recede after the connecting plates have coupled
together (this act being performed by merely fastening the carriages
together in the ordinary way, thus dispensing with any extra time or
labour to connect together the brake power from carriage to carriage) I
divide the shaft into two portions and insert a strong spring s between
the two ends, as shewn in Figures 1, 5, and 6. This admits of the shaft
adapting itself to the ever varying distance or space that exists between
the carriages. To preserve throughout the length of the shaft its rotary
motion the ends 1, 2, of the shaft are made square, and work to and fro
in a hollow barrel formed (for convenience of manufacture) in two
halves d, d. The interior of this barrel is squaro in cross section, as
may be seen in Figure 6, it therefore communicates rotary motion from
one portion of the shaft to the other, at the same time allowing the shaft
to shorten or lengthen, as circumstances require. On the outside of this
barrel a friction wheel k (also formed in two halves) is keyed for a
purpose herein-after specified.
"
The shaft a and the barrel d, d*, before mentioned are suspended
beneath the axle of the carriage wheels in suitable bearings e, e, from a
frame ff, attached to the axle boxes, the shaft being suspended below
the axles permits the coupling bars of the carriage to be worked in the
usual way. In Figures 2 and 4 will be seen the saddle piece g, g, fastened
by bolts and nuts h, h, over the centre of the carriage springs at the
point where there is no elasticity. These saddle pieces are made of
angular form and the frame bars f, f, rivetted to one of the flanges, the
other flange resting on the top of the carriage-spring and bolted down
to the axle box by the bolts h, h, as shewn. I may here remark that
the aforesaid bolts are the same (when long enough) that are now used
in fastening the carriage spring down to the axle box.

page_text: The connecting plates or castings b, 6*; I would prefer to make of cast
steel, and the projections b', 6', as numerous as the strength of the
material would admit. In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shewn but six projections
6¹, and six recesses 6".
The second part of my Invention consists in working the brake blocks 5
from the aforesaid shaft, and may be thus described. Between the frame
bars f, f, several cross bars i, i, run transversely from side to side; these
not only give stability to the structure and means of support for the
bearings e, e, that suspend the shaft running underneath, but some of
them also serve as a support or bearing for a smaller or secondary shaft 1
a', on which is keyed a friction wheel * placed over and worked by the
friction wheel k on the main shaft, as before.described.
Friction wheels are here employed in order that in the event of any
carriage becoming braked before the others it shall not prevent the
revolution of the main shaft in performing similar duties to every 1
carriage in the train. To insure sufficient friction between the aforesaid
wheels, and to compensate for the wearing of the rim of the wheels by
attrition I arrange the bearings of this smaller shaft in such a manner
that by turning a set screw it shall bear down the shaft and make the
wheel * press with the required force upon the friction wheel k. This 2
arrangement may clearly be seen to an enlarged scale in Figures 10
(elevation) and 11 (plan), where is the set screw pressing down tho
gun metal block m that slides in guides and presses down the secondary
shaft a', making the friction wheels k, k*, grip with more friction. On this
shaft is also keyed two small drums o, o, Figures 1 and 2, around which 2
suitable chains are wound; the two ends of each chain are free to pass
through pulleys p, p, as shewn on plan in Figure 2, and fastened to two
lever arms 7, 7*, rising perpendicularly from the two sets of brake rods
t¹, ", and t¹¹¹, t, to which they are connected by pins (as may be seen
in Figure 4) acting as fulcrums when the brake power is applied.
3
From the foregoing it will be obvious every vehicle throughout the
train being thus fitted with my above described apparatus, that a
continuous shaft will run from fore to rear end of the train, which shaft,
when set in rotary motion at any part of its length for the purpose of
applying the brakes will turn the upper friction wheel k* of each 3
carriage in the direction shewn on the Drawing by the arrow; then the
drums o, o, will gather up the ends u, u*, of their respective chains, at

page_text: the same time letting out the ends u¹, u¹¹, of the same chains; this pulls
and rx over in the direction of the arrows shewn in
the lever arms
Figures 2 and 12.
In pulling over the lever arms in the manner described, longitudinal
motion, but in opposite directions, as shown by the arrows in Figures 1
and 12, is given to the brake rods, of: which there are two on each side
of the carriage, and connected by any ordinary means to their own
particular brake blocks, as shewn in Figure 1.
The brake blocks are fastened by pins, on which they turn as a hinge
to the frame bars f, f, (thus rendering them independent of the rise or
fall of the body of the carriage) and are consequently all brought in
close contact with the carriage wheel when longitudinal motion in the
direction of the said arrows, shewn in Figures 1 and 12, is given to the
brake rods by the lever arms as already described.
In the Drawing I have shewn each carriage wheel with two brake
blocks. This arrangement I prefer, but where only one brake block to
each wheel is to be used then a rigid fulcrum must be provided for the
lever arms; this can readily be supplied by hanging a bracket from the
frame bars and connecting the lever arm thereto by a pin on which it
would turn..
Rotation may be given to the main shaft a by the ordinary hand
wheel and suitable gearing. It is not shewn on the Drawing, being so
well understood, but in addition, and to be applied when the train is in
rapid motion and the brakes throughout the train are to be applied at
once, I would take the power to drive the shaft from the axle of the
tender or brake van. In this case a small friction wheel is fastened by
suitable means to the axle from which the power is to be derived, and
works a larger friction wheel that is keyed on a shifting or moveable
horizontal shaft hung from the frame f', f'. The other end of this
shaft runs in a fixed bearing, near which is keyed a bevelled cog wheel
gearing into a similar wheel keyed on to the main shaft a, to which it
gives motion when by pulling over the lever w, Figures 1 and 2, the
larger friction wheel is made to press against the small friction wheel
fastened on the axle of the carriage wheel. Thus it will be seen that
rotation is carried throughout the whole length of the shaft, from
carriage to carriage and from tender to brake van, or from brake van

page_text: to tender, according to whichever part of the train rotary motion is first
imparted to the main shaft a.
On referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that there is a duplicate of
the above arrangement on the other side of the centre line of the vehicle.
This is necessary when the tender or brake van takes a contrary direction
as is sometimes the case in a return journey; then in order that the main
shaft shall always rotate in the one direction, that is to say, in the
direction shewn by the arrows on the friction wheel %, Figures 1 and 4,
the opposite lever w* is to be pulled over when the brakes are to be
applied.
"
=
To take off the brake blocks the main shaft a is made to revolve in a
contrary direction to that shewn by the arrow on the friction wheel k in
Figures 1 and 4. This is to be done by the ordinary hand wheel and
suitable gearing. The contra rotation of the shaft causes the lever arms
to assume their normal position, and consequently free the wheel from
the brake blocks. To render this action more perfect, and to lift both
blocks freely off the wheel, they may be so hung that they shall freely
fall from the wheel when released from the action of the lever arm, see
Figure 12.
Having now described the object and nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be or may be carried into effect, I
claim, without limiting myself to these précise details, the several
improvements in the mode of coupling and working continuous brakes,
substantially in manner as herein more fully set forth and specified, but
it is to be understood that I do not claim the method or means of
working the main shaft a from the axle of the brake van or tender.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Temple, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
year of