IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Holly, of Regent Street North, Blackwall, in
the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
RAILWAY BRAKES."
Sealed the 12th February 1867, and dated the 16th August 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Holly at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th August
1866.
I, JOHN HOLLY, of Regent Street North, Blackwall, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to brakes intended to be applied to the rolling stock
of railways for retarding the speed or stopping the same, and consists of
certain novel and improved mechanical arrangements and combinations for
that
purpose, of which the following will serve as an example, that is to say,
to the iron to which the brake blocks are connected at each end of the under
carriage a cross bar is fixed, and to the centre of this bar a chain is fixed for
bringing the brake blocks into contact with the peripheries of the running
wheels, as presently described. I also propose to attach a counterbalance
weight to the aforesaid bar for removing the brake blocks from the
peripheries of the running wheels. About midway between each pair of
running wheels I place a two-throw vibrating crank shaft to each of the
cranks, whereof a rod is connected by one end, and the other end of the said

page_text: rods is connected to a cross rod, upon each end of which a small friction
wheel is fixed, so as to come either opposite to the tires of the running wheels
or to the axle of such said wheels, as may be found most desirable. To the
centre of this cross rod one end. of a chain is fixed to the cross bar carrying
the brake blocks, so that when the friction wheels come into contact with the
running wheels or the axle, as the case may be, the said chain will be wound
round the cross rod, and thus bring the brakes into forced contact with the
wheels or axle upon the continuous chain being pulled. tight by the guard or
engine driver, and upon releasing the said chain the aforesaid counterbalance
weights will bring the brake blocks out of contact with the wheels or axles.
To the aforesaid crank shaft I affix a short lever carrying a counterbalance
weight, to which a grooved roller or sheave is connected, underneath which a
chain passes the length of each carriage, the said chains extend throughout
the entire length of a train of carriages, and are connected either to the guard's
van or the engine or tender, or both, so as to give the engine driver or
stoker the control of the brakes as well as the guard for the better safety of
the passengers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Holly in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
February 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HOLLY, of Regent Street North, Blackwall, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Holly, Her special licence that I, the said John Holly, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Holly, 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 RAILWAY BRAKES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Holly, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of

page_text: 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 John Holly, 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 :-
The object of the improvements is to give greater efficiency to brake power
applied to the rolling stock of railways for the purpose of stopping or retarding
carriages or trains of them.
But that the Invention may be fully understood I will, by the aid of the
accompanying Drawings, proceed to describe means pursued by me in
carrying the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 a plan view of parts
of the body or under framing and the bearing wheels of a railway carringe
with my improvements applied to it. -
a, a, in each of the views shows the main framing; 6 are the bearing
wheels, and b' their axles; c, c, c, c, are brake blocks applied so that each of
them may act upon one of the bearing wheels, and by its frictional contact
thereon, as is well understood, tend to stop or retard its motion and that of
the carriage to which the brakes are applied. These brake blocks care
affixed to irons c¹ which are suspended in the usual way from hinge joints c³,
but in addition the blocks c of each pair of wheels are connected together by
a cross bar d, so that a strain applied to one of these bars in a direction
towards the axle of the wheels upon which the brake blocks with which it is
connected are applied will produce frictional contact of those blocks with that
pair of wheels. There is also applied to each of such pair of brake blocks a
weight e, the tendency of which is to draw the brake blocks from contact with
the bearing wheels. Each bar d has applied to it one end of a chain f, shown
by the blue lines, and the other end of each chain f is connected to an axte g,
so that when 'that axle g is caused to rotate the tendency is to wind up one end
of the chain connected to it, and thereby draw that pair of brake blocks into
contact with a pair of the bearing wheels. The rotation of the axles g is
effected by each of them having applied thereon a pair of rollers or friction
wheels h, one at or near each end thereof, so that they may be capable of

page_text: bearing against and of thereby receiving motion from the surface of the
bearing wheels. In place of the rollers or friction wheels h pressing upon the
peripheries of the respective bearing wheels b, b, they may bear upon and
receive motion from the axles 6' of those wheels. In order that the pairs of
rollers or friction wheels h may be caused simultaneously to bear upon the
peripheries of the respective bearing wheels, or be drawn therefrom, the
axles g thereof are connected to the forked ends of rods i, the other ends of
which are connected by pin joints to arms j, j, affixed to and extending in
opposite directions from an axis j¹, which is supported at its end so as to be
capable of turning on bearings carried by the main framing. This axis bas
also affixed to it other arms carrying a weight, which acts with a tendency
at all times to draw the pulleys or friction wheels away from the peripheries
of the bearing wheels. The axes g are supported so as to be capable of sliding
to and from the surface of the wheels b, b, in slots formed for the purpose in
bearing plates affixed to the main framing. The red line indicates a
portion of a chain extending under the carriage from end to end of it, and
which may have hooks. or other connections at its ends to connect it with
similar chains of adjoining carriages throughout the train, and to a windlass
or other means of producing tension thereon on the engine or in the guard's
van or compartment, or otherwise, so as to give the guard, engine driver, or
others in charge of the train power to draw on this chain l. The chain
passes under a pulley m applied to the weight and over bearing pulleys m, n,
carried by the framing of the carriage near that part, so that in effecting
tension upon the chain the weight will be lifted to draw the wheels h into
contact with the bearing wheels b, b, and by the axis of those wheels / to
wind up the ends of the chain fixed to them, and so draw the brake blocks
into frictional contact with the bearing wheels.
This arrangement of brake apparatus may be applied to all the carriages of
a train, and the action upon one end of a chain I may bring all the brakes
simultaneously into operation to stop or retard the progress of the train. In
place of a chain a series of rods or a cord or band may be employed. By
arranging the pressure of the friction wheels h to act on the opposite sides
or surfaces of the wheels to those on which the brake blocks are applied
undue action on the supports for the axles of the bearing wheels is prevented.
If desired any pair of brake blocks may for the time be put out of
operation by disconnecting the connection f thereof without interfering with
the operation of others.
Having thus described my improvements, and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into operation, I would have it understood that I do not

page_text: confine myself to the precise arrangements of parts as shown and described, as
such may be varied without departing from the peculiar character of the
Invention; but what I do claim is, the so arranging and combining parts in
connection with railway brakes that friction pulleys or wheels may be brought
into operation upon the bearing wheels of railway rolling stock, and by chains
or such like connections applied to the axles of such pulleys or wheels draw
the brake blocks into frictional, contact with such bearing wheels, in manner
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Holly, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.