IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FASTENING AND UN- FASTENING THE DOORS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER PURPOSES." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Edward Laverack, of Stratford, in the
County of Essex, Engineer, Boiler and Tank Manufacturer, for the
Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FASTENING AND UN-
FASTENING THE DOORS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Edward Laverack
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 28th June 1873.
I, GEORGE EDWARD LAVERACK, of Stratford, in the County of Essex,
Engineer, Boiler and Tank Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FASTENING
AND UNFASTENING THE DOORS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
:―
This Invention has first for its object improved arrangements of appa-
ratus for enabling the guard of a railway train on nearing a station to secure
simultaneously all the carriage doors, so that they cannot be opened by

page_text: the passengers until the moment when he considers it safe to permit
them to do so. For this purpose, according to my improvements,
apparatus is fitted to a railway carriage consisting of a sliding bar on
one side of the carriage, and a similar bar on the other side of the car-
riage, above the tops of all the doors, close under the caves. The bars are
carried in bearings, being made deeper at the parts where they are sup-
ported in the bearings, so that when moved along horizontally the wider
or deeper parts of the bar are moved over the top corners of the doors,
which are thus secured, and cannot be opened until the locking parts are
slid back into their bearings. One end of each bar is free, the other
ends being connected to cranks fitted respectively on the outer ends of
light horizontal shafts carried in bearings on the end of the carriage.
The opposite ends of the said shafts near the centre of the carriage carry
other cranks, which are coupled to a vertical forked rod. This rod
passes down the end of the carriage, and is connected at its lower end
to an arm or lever vibrating on a centre or axis fixed to the frame of the
carriage. The arm carries a pulley at its lower end, and the centre or
axis carrics a second pulley; other pulleys being fixed at convenient
distances beneath the frame of the carriage.
.
The securing of the doors is effected by the guard tightening a chain,
cord, wire, or other connection, one end of which passes to his box, the
other end being fixed to the frame of the last carriage of the train. The
tightening of the chain or its equivalent causes the arm or lever to rise,
and with it the rod coupled to the sliding locking bars, through the
shafts and cranks on the same. The tightening of the chain or its
equivalent is effected by means of a hand wheel or other suitable
appliance connected to a small drum on which the chain or its equivalent
is wound.
The amount by which the stops or locking parts of the sliding bars
move over the doors is determined by pins (fixed on the arm or lever
before mentioned) sliding in slots formed in parts fixed to the carriage.
The withdrawal of the stops from the doors takes place on the slackening
of the chain or other connection by the reaction of a spring aided by
the weight of the arms or levers, or it may be done without employing
springs by suitably regulating the weight of the arms or levers.
. To prevent the snapping of the chain or other connection by the
reaction of the buffers the hand wheel in the guard's van may be coupled
to the drum by means of a friction coupling.

page_text: For disconnecting the chain or its equivalent when the carriages are
uncoupled, a coupling may be arranged beneath the carriage or else-
where..
In order to allow of a door being closed when the stops are
spring or other catch may be fixed to the corners of the doors.
" on," a
I will now describe another arrangement of apparatus for carrying.
my improvements into practice, in which the door stops or bolts receive
rotary motion instead of a sliding motion as previously described.
A rod or bar is arranged along the side of the carriage above the tops.
of the doors, being supported on suitable bearings, and carries at those
parts which are above the doors rotating stops fixed to the bar.
Motion is communicated to the bar from the guard's box by means of
a lever carrying a crank, which is coupled by a rod or link to another
crank fixed on the end of the rod or bar which carries the stops. By
moving the lever the door stops can be turned round with the bar into
position for securing the doors of all the carriages.
.
At the end of the carriages the rods are coupled by the end of one rod
being made forked, and the end of the other rod suitably formed to slide
freely into the fork in a longitudinal direction, so as to allow of the move-...
ment of the carriages when pulling up or in motion, but so fitted laterally
as to insure the rotary motion communicated to the first rod being
transmitted to the rods of the other carriages.
Apparatus such or similar to that previously described may also be
employed in accordance with my improvements for other similar purposes.
wherever it is required to simultaneously secure and set free any numbers
of doors in prisons, asylums, or other places, or for signal or other similar
purposes where a series of simultaneous mechanical actions are required
to take place
0
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Edward Laverack in the Great Seal Patent.
Office on the 27th December 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
EDWARD LAVERACK, of Stratford, in the County of Essex, Engineer,,
Boiler and Tank Manufacturer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George Edward Laverack, Her special license
that I, the said George Edward Laverack, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Edward Laverack, 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 APPARATUS FOR FASTENING AND UNFASTENING THE DOORS OF RAILWAY
CARRIAGES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Edward Laverack, 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 George Edward Laverack, 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 bas first for its object improved arrangements of appa-
ratus for enabling the guard of a railway train, on nearing a station,
to secure simultaneously all the carriage doors, so that they cannot be
opened by the passengers until the moment when he considers it safe
to permit them to do so.
And in order that my Invention may be clearly understood, and readily
carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the same, reference being
made to the Drawings hereunto annexed and to the figures and letters.
marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2, a plan; and Figures 3 and 4,
end views of a railway carriage, having apparatus applied thereto, and
can with the first nont of me improvements"

page_text: The apparatus consists of a sliding bar a on one side of the carriage,
and a similar bar a¹ on the other side of the carriage, above the tops of
all the doors, close under the eaves. The bars a, a, are carried in
bearings b, b', being made deeper at the parts where they are supported
in the bearings, so that when moved along horizontally the wider or
deeper parts c of the bars are moved over the top corners of the doors,
which are thus secured, and cannot be opened until the locking parts c
are slid back into their bearings 6, 61. One end of each bar a, a', is free,
the other ends being connected to cranks d, d', fitted respectively on the
outer ends of light horizontal shafts e, e¹, carried in bearings f,f¹, on
the end of the carriage. The opposite ends of the said shafts c, c¹, near
the centre of the carriage carry other cranks g, g¹, which are coupled to
the vertical forked rod h. This rod h passes down the end of the carriage,
and is connected at its lower end to an arm or lever j, vibrating on the
centre or axis k, fixed to the frame of the carriage. The arm j carries a.
pulley at its lower end, and the centre or axis k carries a second pulley;
other pulleys m being fixed at convenient distances beneath the frame of
the carriage..
The securing of the doors is effected by the guard tightening a chain,
cord, wire, or other connection n, one end of which passes to his box, the
other end being fixed to the frame of the last carriage of the train. The
tightening of the chain n or its equivalent causes the arm or lever j to
rise, and with it the rod h, coupled to the sliding locking bars a, a¹,
through the shafts e, e', and cranks on the same. The tightening of
the chain n or its equivalent is effected by means of a hand wheel o or
other suitable appliance connected to a small drum p, on which the
chain nor its equivalent is wound.
The amount by which the stops c or locking parts on the sliding
bars a, a¹, move over the doors is determined by pins fixed on the arm or
lever j, sliding in slots formed in brackets or parts q fixed to the carriage.
The withdrawal of the stops from the doors takes place on the slackening.
of the chain n or other connection by the reaction of the spring.", aided
by the weight of the arms or levers j; or it may be done without
employing springs by suitably regulating the weight of the arms or
levers j.
To prevent the snapping of the chain n or other connection by the
reaction of the buffers, the hand wheel o in the guard's van may be
coupled to the drum p. by means of a friction coupling.

page_text: For disconnecting the chain n or its equivalent, when the carriages
are uncoupled, a coupling may be arranged beneath the carriage at s, or
clsewhere.
$6 on," a
In order to allow of a door being closed when the stops are
spring or other catch may be fixed to the corners of the doors, as shown
at Figure 7.
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of the Drawings show another arrange-,
ment of apparatus for carrying my improvements into practice, in which
the door stops or bolts receive rotary motion instead of a sliding motion
as previously described. The same letters indicate corresponding parts
in all the Figures.
a is a rod or bar arranged along the side of the carriage above the tops
of the doors, being supported on suitable bearings b, and the rod or bar a
carries (at those parts which are above the doors) rotating stops c, which
are fixed to the bar a.
Motion is communicated to the bar a from the guard's box by means
of a lever d carrying a crank e, which is coupled by a rod or link f to
another crank g fixed on the end of the rod or bar a, which carries the
stops c. By moving the lever d through the are h, h, shewn by dotted
lines in Figure 10, the door stops will be turned round with the bar a
into the position as shown by the enlarged view of stop in Figure 11,
where the dotted lines i show position of parts when "off," and the full
lines ; the position when "on" for securing the doors k of all the
carriages.
At the end of the carriages the rods are coupled by the end of one rod
being made forked, as shown at 1, and the end m of the other rod suitably
formed to slide freely into the fork in a longitudinal direction, so as to
allow of the movement of the carriages when pulling up or in motion,
but so fitted laterally as to insure the rotary motion communicated to.
the first rod a being transmitted to the rods of the other carriages. A
cross section of the coupling is shown at Figure 12, taken through the
line A, B, of Figures 8 and 9.
Apparatus such as or similar to that previously described may also be
readily arranged and employed in accordance with my improvements for
other similar purposes wherever it is required to simultaneously secure
and set free any number of doors, such as in prisons, asylums,, or other

page_text: places. Or this improved apparatus may be suitably arranged by a
competent mechanic, and employed for signalling or other similar
purposes, where a series of simultaneous mechanical actions of like
character are required to take place. For example, an index connected
with the apparatus may be mounted in a conspicuous position within
cach compartment of the railway carriages of a train to indicate the
name of each successive station at which the train stops, the name of
cach station being exhibited simultaneously in each compartment of the
train of carriages by the guard actuating a lever, crank, or hand, wheel
(attached to his box or van) as the train approaches each successive
station, by which the passengers insidė may know the name of the
station they have arrived at.
I would remark that it has before been proposed to secure all the
doors of a train of railway carriages simultaneously, and also to set up or
exhibit a series of signals in or upon a train of carriages simultaneously.
I therefore make no claim to the broad principle for effecting these
objects, except so far as my improved arrangements of apparatus are
applicable thereto.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
of performing or carrying the same into practice, I would have it under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawings so long as the
novel features thereof are retained, but what I claim is,-
First. The improved arrangement and combination of apparatus for
simultaneously fastening and unfastening the doors of railway carriages,
substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described
and represented in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Secondly. I claim the improved arrangement and combination of
apparatus for simultaneously fastening and unfastening the doors of
railway carriages, substantially in the manner and for the purposes
hercin-before described and represented in reference to Figures 8, 9, 10,
11, and 12 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
I also claim the application of apparatus arranged and combined sub-
stantially in the manner herein-before described for simultaneously
securing and releasing the doors of prisons, asylums, or other places, or

page_text: for signalling or other purposes where a series of simultaneous mechanical
actions of like character are required to take place.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Edward Laverack, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-three.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
W.C.
G. E. LAVERACK. (L.S.)