IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS FOR RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Fairholme, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREAKS FOR RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK." A communication from abroad by
Jacob Heberlein, of Munich, in the German Empire.
Sealed the 14th February 1879, and dated the 24th August 1878
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Fairholme at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th August 1878.
CHARLES FAIRHOLME, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in, the County
of Middlesex, "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS FOR RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK." [A
communication from abroad by Jacob Heberlein, of Munich, in the. German
Empire.]
This Invention relates to means of rapidly applying from the engine, guard's van,
or other part of a railway train, or by a handle at the side of a carriage or van
within reach of an attendant on the ground, breaks of the kind described in the
Specification to Letters Patent granted to the said J. Heberlein on April 11th, 1872,
No. 1071, the said breaks being worked by a chain wound up by the rotation of a
friction drum driven by a drum fixed on one of the running axles whenever the
friction drum is pressed into contact with the axle drum.
The friction drum employed in the said break apparatus is mounted on a lever
pressed by a weight or spring, and this lever, when the breaks are not in action, is
held up in opposition to the weight or spring keeping the friction drum out of
contact with the axle drum.
According to this Invention the said lever is held up by a chain passed round
and over guide pullies, and. extending each way along the carriage under the
framing, so that it can be coupled up to similar rods and chains on adjoining
carriages, or it can be fastened at either end of its own carriage. A bight of the
chain is led upwards and over a pulley in a guard's van or other compartment, the
said pulley having on its spindle a ratchet wheel held by a pawl. The releasing of

page_text: this pawl at once releases the chain, allowing the levers of the friction drums of this
and of the other carriages with which the chain is connected to descend, bringing
the several friction drums into contact with their respective axle drums, and 60
causing the brakes to be applied on all the connected carriages.
The pawl may be released by a cord communicating from the engine or other
part of the train, and this cord passed over suitable guide pullies serves to release
simultaneously a number of such pawls along the train, thereby causing all the
breaks to be applied together.
Part of the chain extending along under the carriage framing is passed under two
guide pullies and over a third pulley between them, the latter being mounted
on the arm or crank of a rocking shaft, which extends across the carriage, and has
a handle at each end in a position conveniently accessible to an attendant on the
ground. The attendant can by moving either handle raise the middle pulley, so as
to take up a bight of the chain and so raise the friction drum out of contact with
the axle drum, taking off the breaks; or he can lower the middle pulley, letting
out the bight of the chain, and so lowering the friction drum for applying the
breaks.
A similar arrangement is applied to goods' waggons; but in this case, in order to
avoid the expense of an axle drum, the friction drum brought in contact with a
flange of one of the running wheels, or removed from contact by the movement of
either of the handles of the rocking shaft, an arm or crank of which works the lever
which carries the friction drum.
By means of the handles above described an attendant on the ground, without
having to mount a waggon, van, or carriage, can from either side of it operate the
breaks as may be required for shunting, separating, or making up trains in a station
yard.
The breaks of a train are also, according to this Invention, arranged so that they
can be put on by the slacking of a chain or rope extending along the train, and
taken off by tightening the same, the said chain or rope being passed round pullies
mounted on rods connected to the levers of the several friction drums. Each of
these rods has on it a tappet or collar, which, when the friction drum lever is suffi-
ciently raised to put the drum out of action, comes against a weight.or spring, the
resistance of which apprises the operator that he has sufficiently tightened the com-
municating cord or chain by winding it on a ratchet, reel, or barrel.
When the train is in motion the weight or spring above mentioned by its oscilla-
tions allows for the give and take of the buffers and draw bars without allowing
the communicating rope or chain to become sufficiently slack for putting on the
⚫breaks.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Fairholme in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
February 1879.
CHARLES FAIRHOLME, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County
of Middlesex. ** IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS FOR RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK." Å
communication from abroad by Jacob Heberlein, of Munich, in the German
Empire.
This Invention relates to means of rapidly applying from the engine, guard's van,
or other part of a railway train, or by a handle at the side of a carriage or van
within reach of an attendant on the ground, breaks of the kind described in the
Specification to Letters Patent granted to the said J. Heberlein on April 11th, 1872,
No. 1071, the said breaks being worked by a chain wound up by the rotation of a
friction drum driven by a drum fixed on one of the running axles whenever the
friction drum is pressed into contact with the axle drum.
The friction drum employed in the said break apparatus is mounted on a lever
pressed by a weight or spring, and this lever, when the breaks are not in action, is
held up in opposition to the weight or spring, keeping the friction drum out of
contact with the axle drum.
According to this Invention the said lever is held up by a chain or cord passed
round and over guide pulleys, and extending each way along the carriage under the
framing, so that it can be coupled up to similar rods and chains or cords on
adjoining carriages, or it can be fastened at either end of its own carriage. A bight
of the chain is led upwards and over a pulley in a guard's van or other compartment,
the said pulley having on its spindle a ratchet wheel held by a pawl. The releasing of
this pawl at once releases the chain, allowing the levers of the friction drums of this
and of the other carriages with which the chain is connected to descend, bringing
the several friction drums into contact with their respective axle drums, and so
causing the breaks to be applied on all the connected carriages.
The pawl may be released by a cord communicating from the engine or other
part of the train, and this cord passed over suitable guide pulleys serves to release.
simultaneously a number of such pawls along the train, thereby causing all the
breaks to be applied together.
Part of the chain or cord extending along under the carriage framing is passed
under two guide pulleys and over a third pulley. between them, the latter being
mounted on the arm or crank of a rocking shaft, which extends across the carriage,
and has a handle at each end in a position conveniently accessible to an attendant
on the ground. The attendant.can by moving either handle raise the middle pulley,
so as to take up a bight of the chain and so raise the friction drum out of contact
with the axle drum, taking off the breaks; or he can lower the middle pulley,
letting out the bight of the chain, and so lowering the friction drum for applying
the breaks.
A similar arrangement is applied to goods' waggons; but in this case, in order to
avoid the expense of an axle drum, the friction drum is brought in contact with a
flange of one of the running wheels, or removed from contact by the movement of
either of the handles of the rocking shaft, an arm or crank of which works the lever
which carries the friction drum.
By means of the handles above described an attendant on the ground, without
having to mount a waggon, van, or carriage, can from either side of it operate the
breaks as may be required for shunting, separating, or making up trains in a station
yard.
The breaks of a train are also, according to this Invention, arranged so that they
can be put on by the slacking of a chain or rope extending along the train, and
taken off by tightening the same, the said chain or rope being passed round pullies
mounted on rods connected to the levers of the several friction drums. Each of

page_text: resistance of which apprises the operator that he has sufficiently tightened the com-
municating cord or chain by winding it on a ratchet, reel, or barrel.
When the train is in motion the weight or spring above mentioned by its oscilla-
tions allows for the give and take of the buffers and draw bars without allowing
the communicating rope or chain to become sufficiently slack for putting on the
breaks.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., represents a side view, and Fig. 2, Sheet II., an end view of part
of a railway carriage with break apparatus arranged according to this Invention.
A is the drum on one of the running axles, with which when it is required to put
on the breaks the friction drum B is brought in contact, so as to wind up the chain
C. connected to the break levers. The friction drum B when the breaks are off is
kept out of contact with A, as shewn in Fig. 1, by the raising of the bent lever B, on
which B is mounted, in opposition to a spring E. The raising of D is effected by
tightening a cord F, passing round and over suitable pullies. When the cord
Fis, slacked out, the lever D drops by its own weight, assisted by the spring E,
bringing the friction drum B in contact with A, and so causing the breaks to be
applied.
The cord F may either be secured, as will presently be described, at each end of
the carriage, as shewn in Fig. 1, in which case, the putting on or taking off the
breaks of that carriage is effected by the movement of the vertical rod G, or the
cord F may be extended either or both ways, as shewn by the dotted lines F¹, and
coupled to similar cords or carriages before and behind, in which case the breaks of the
carriage, shewn in Fig. 1, can be put on or taken off by the slackening and tightening
.of either of the cords coupled to F, also the slackening or tightening of the cord F
by slackening or tightening the cords coupled to it can put on or take off the breaks
of the adjoining carriages.
A coupling hook suitable for connecting the cords is shewn in front and side view
.at Fig. 8, Sheet IV.
When either end of the cord F is not coupled to a like cord in another carriage
it is secured by the arrangement shewn in Fig. 2, Sheet II., that is to say, it is
passed up over the guide roller fand hooked to the end of a lever H, which is
mounted on the end of the carriage. The other end of that lever, which works in a
guide staple h, has formed on it a handle or treadle h¹ and a catch ², so that when
depressed by acting on the handle or treadle h¹ it is held down by a turn-buckle.³
being turned to engage with the catch h³.
If it should happen that the breaks are off and that the carriage is passing an
attendant on the ground who desires to put on the breaks, he has only to move the
turn-buckle h³ as the carriage passes, and the lever H being thus released will allow
the cord to give, causing the breaks to be applied. If, on the other hand, the
.carriage is at rest, having the breaks on, and an attendant on the ground desires to
take them off for the purpose of moving the carriage, he has only to pull or push
down the lever H and engage the turn-buckle with it, thus taking off and holding
off the breaks.
According to a modified arrangement for giving facility of taking off or putting
on the breaks by an attendant on the ground, the ends of the cord F' may be hooked
to stationary hooks at the ends of the carriage, the cord itself being in that case
about its middle passed under two guide pullies I, I, and over a third I¹, which latter
pulley is mounted on a crank arm projecting from a spindle J that extends across
the carriage, and has a handle j at each end. The attendant on the ground at either
side of the carriage, when he desires to take off the breaks, turns the handle jinto
an upright position, thereby causing the pulley I¹ to take up a bight of the cord, and
so tighten it up as to raise the lever D. When, on the other hand, the handle j being

page_text: up, he desires to put on the breaks, he has merely to turn the handle down, thereby
slacking out the bight of the cord, and so causing the breaks to be applied.
The handle j is held in its usual upright position by a spring engaging in a
notch.
The rod G, by means of which a guard or official in the carriage itself or in another
part of the train can work the breaks, is operated in various ways, according to the
manner in which the train is made up or the system preferred for particular traffic.
According to the method shewn in Fig. 1, it is attached to a piece of cord or chain g,
wound on a barrel K by turning a handle k. The barrel has on its axis a ratchet
wheel engaged by a pawl lever L.
When it is desired to put on the breaks it is only necessary to raise the lever,
thereby permitting the cord G to descend and slack out the bight of the cord F.
For taking off the breaks, the barrel K is turned by hand so as to raise G.
The pawl lever L may be connected to a communicating cord extending either
or both ways along the train, on pulling which at any part of the train all the
breaks will be put on.
In some cases it is desired that not only shall all the breaks be put on, but that
they also shall all be taken off by the pull of a communicating cord. In that case
the rod G, as shewn in Fig. 3, Sheet I., is attached to a pulley, round which the com-
municating cord M is passed; this cord being led likewise round the pullies of the
other rods G of the train, and made fast at one end, is at the other end attached to
a barrel which may be conveniently mounted on the locomotive, so that the engine
driver by winding up the cord M on the barrel can take off all the breaks, and by
slacking out the cord can put them all on. A convenient windlass reel for this
purpose is shewn in section at Fig. 9, Sheet IV. It consists of a barrel A mounted
loose on the spindle B between two collars. The spindle has cut on it a rapid screw
thread b working in a nut E, which is coned to fit a coned seating in the end of the
barrel A, into which it is pressed by a spring C. On turning the spindle in the one
direction by means of the winch handle D, the coned surfaces of E and A have
sufficient frictional hold to drive the barrel A, and so wind up the communicating
cord, taking off the breaks. On turning the handle B backwards, the action of the
screw thread b at once has the effect of slacking back the cone E, so leaving the
barrel A free to revolve and slacken out the cord, thereby at once putting on
the breaks. When this arrangement is adopted it is convenient to provide on the
rods G collars n, which, when these rods are raised sufficiently for taking off the
breaks, bear up a moveable weight N. The strain of these additional weights.
coming on the cord M apprises the operator that he has wound the cord so far as to
take off the breaks; he can then wind a little farther, so as to raise all the
weights N a little from their seats, and these, when the train is in motion, can
then play a little up and down to allow for the give and take of the buffers and
draw springs.
In some cases it is desired that the rods G, whilst they can all be raised by a
communicating rod M, may be raised independently by a guard or official at
each. An arrangement for this purpose is shown at Fig. 4, Sheet I. In this
case the rod G is enclosed in a weighted tube N, having a handle and hook n
by which the tube can be raised and hooked on to a ring O, as indicated by the
dotted lines. A catch P pivotted on the upper part of the rod G has a hooked end
which enters a slot cut through N and G. When this catch is in, as shewn, the rods
G and tube N move as one piece, but if the catch P be pulled out, as indicated by
the dotted lines, G becomes disengaged from N, and they can be moved indepen-
dently, the one by hand and the other by the communicating cord. Any guard. by
releasing the hook P in his van can slacken the communicating cord, and so cause
the whole break power of the train to be at once applied.
Another arrangement for working the breaks of goods' trucks is shewn on
Sheet III., in which Fig. 5 is a side view, Fig. 6 a transverse section, and Fig. 7 a
plan of part of the truck and break gear. The friction drum Q is in this case
worked by the flange of the wheel, with which it is brought in contact by lowering

page_text: the lever R, on which is mounted; this lever is connected by a link to a crank
on a spindle S, which extends across the truck; and has a hand lever T at each end
of it. When the hand lever Tis raised to the position shewn in Figs. 5 and 6, in
which it is held by a spring pin t entering a hollow in its back, the friction drum Q
is kept out of contact with the wheel; flange, and the break is off; but on releasing
the lever T and letting it drop, the drum Q comes in contact with the flange, and
being caused to revolve by friction it winds up the chain U, so applying the
break.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my foreign.correspondent, I
claim in respect of break apparatus of the kind above referred to,-
First. Applying the breaks of one, two, or more carriages by the slackening of' a
cord, so as to permit the friction drum to come in contact with the axle drum, as
herein described with reference to Fig. 1, Sheet I., of the accompanying Drawings.
Second. Putting on and taking off several breaks of a train by paying out and
winding up a communicating rod, so as to lower and raise the levers on which the
several friction drums are mounted, 'substantially as herein described with reference
to the accompanying Drawings.
Third. The construction of break apparatus for goods' trucks, as herein described
with reference to Figs. 5, 6, and 7, on Sheet III. of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Fairholme, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
"
ADLES MAIDII