An Improvement in Draw Bars for Railway Vehicles.
Year: 1886

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Draw Bars for Railway Vehicles.
We, WILLIAM DAVISON Works Manager and HENRY BOLTON Foreman Wagon
Maker, both of Darlington in the County of Durham do hereby declare the nature of
this Invention to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to draw bars extending from the ends or head stocks of railway
vehicles for coupling them together by means of links, shackles or equivalent con-
nections our object being to construct the head or end of the draw bar which projects
beyond the headstock of the wagon frame so that coupling chains of the ordinary
construction may be securely attached to the draw bar and when required as readily
detached therefrom. In draw bars of the ordinary construction a hole is provided in
that part of the draw bar head which unites the hook to the shank so that the coupling
chain can be attached thereto by means of the usual double headed pin passing through
the said hole and carrying a shackle, or a link of the chain may be passed through by
being cut and afterwards welded together.
In these or other equivalent arrangements the operation of connecting a coupling
chain to a draw bar or detaching it therefrom involves so much labour and loss of time
that the failure of a coupling chain necessitates the withdrawal of the vehicle or wagon
from the rest of the train before the coupling chain can be repaired or replaced. I am
aware that it has been proposed to enable the coupling chain to be readily connected
to or detached from a draw bar and to effect this the hole usually made through the
draw bar is slotted through to the upper edge thereof and by making the slot of less
width than the diameter of the hole a link of the coupling chain can be admitted to
the hole by being flattened sufficiently in some part to pass through the slot and when
drawn into position will be securely connected by the narrowness of the slot. This
arrangement involves the employment of chains with specially constructed links to
connect them to the draw bars and slotting the hole through to the edge of the draw
bar also tends to weaken the bar and should the bar bend sufficiently to open out the
slot as wide as the hole it leads into, the draw bar becomes unable to retain its grip on
the coupling chain.

page_text: In constructing a draw bar according to our invention we dispense with the hole
usually made through that part uniting the hook to the shank as already described and
substitute for it a hook or recess formed on the upper edge of the same part of the
draw bar by a finger or projection extending in the direction of the draw bar shank
and sufficiently near to the frame or headstock of the wagon or vehicle to enclose the
link or shackle pin of a coupling chain when the draw bar screwed up or fixed in its
proper position when the draw bar is unscrewed and partially withdrawn from its
proper position the coupling chain can be slipped out of the recess or hook and
detached from the draw bar. The draw bar is constructed in all other respects
in the usual way and can be employed in combination with the coupling chains in
ordinary use.
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.

page_text: We, WILLIAM DAVISON, of Westbrook House, Works Proprietor, and HENRY
BOLTON, of Henry Street, Foreman Wagon Maker, both places being in Darlington
in the County of Durham, 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 :-
Our Invention relates to draw-bars or draw-crooks which extend from the end beams
or headstocks of railway vehicles for coupling them together by means of links or
shackles or equivalent connections, a coupling chain being securely suspended from the
shoulder of the draw-bar of one wagon so as to be readily hooked onto the crook of
the draw-bar of the next wagon.
In draw-bars of the ordinary construction the coupling chain is suspended or con-
nected thereto by means of a hole formed in that part of the draw-bar which unites
the crook to the shank or what may be termed the shoulder, the end link or the double
headed pin of a shackle being passed through the hole in the shoulder. In these and
other similar arrangements the operation of connecting a coupling chain to the draw-
har, or of detaching it therefrom involves a process which can only be carried out in a
work shop, or is otherwise attended with so much loss of time that the failure of a
coupling chain necessitates the withdrawal of the vehicle or wagon from the rest of the
train in order that the defective coupling chain may be repaired or replaced. We are
aware that it has been proposed to overcome this difficulty and to enable the coupling
chain and draw-bar to be readily connected together or released from each other, but
to effect this the coupling chain has to be specially constructed, that is, the thickness or
diameter of the material forming the end link or shackle is flattened or reduced in some
part, so that by forming a slot extending from the hole provided in the usual position
in the draw-bar shoulder, as before described, to the upper edge of the shoulder, the
end link or shackle may be received into or withdrawn from the hole by passing the
flattened or thin part through the slot, the narrowness of which locks in the thicker
part of the link or shackle when the chain is drawn into position. This form of draw-
bar is weak in the shoulder owing to the reduction of sectional area due to the slot,
with the result that the bar is liable to bend and open out the slot which in time
becomes too wide to lock in the coupling chain which cannot in consequence be
depended upon to retain its connection with the draw-bar.
The object of our invention is to supersede the above described forms of draw-bars
and to substitute therefor a draw-bar of simple construction and great strength, which
whilst being capable of securely locking in the coupling chain also readily allows it to
be hooked on or be detached from the said draw-bar.
And in order that our invention may be fully understood we shall now proceed
particularly to describe the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing, in which
a draw-bar constructed according to our invention is illustrated in side elevation and

page_text: passing through the headstock of the wagon which is shown in section to clearly expose
the draw-bar. In place of a hole through the shoulder a of the draw-bar we provide
a, the
a projection or finger & forming the recess c on the upper side of the shoulder
shank d and crook e are of the usual or any suitable form so that the draw-bar can
be securely fixed in position in the framework of the wagon or railway vehicle and can
retain its grip on the coupling chain of the opposite wagon or vehicle; when the
chain is hooked into the recess e the draw-bar is drawn up tight into the wagon
headstock which may be done by screwing a nut at the end of the shank d, when the
projection or finger closes up to the headstock and locks in the chain the chain can
of course be as readily removed by again unscrewing the nut at the end of the shank
and partially with drawing the draw-bar so that the end link can be lifted out.
i
It is of course obvious that a recess for locking in the coupling chain could be
formed by providing a projection or finger extending from any position of the draw-
bar shoulder towards the shank so as to lock in the coupling chain, in the manner
described, but we regard these as less convenient modifications of our invention and
prefer the particular form already described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be carried into effect, what we claim is:-
A draw-bar for railway vehicles in which a recess is formed for locking in a coupling
chain in substitution of the usual hole or a combination of a hole and slot substantially
in the manner and for the purpose as hereinbefore described.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Agent for the Applicants.