IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STARTING, STOPPING, & RESTARTING TRAMWAY AND Other Vehicles, AND IN APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH.
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Percy Holt, of Park Row, Leeds, in the County
of York, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR STARTING, STOPPING, & RESTARTING TRAMWAY AND Other Vehicles, AND
IN APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH.
"
Sealed the 12th December 1879, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
and dated the 13th Mov 1870
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Percy Holt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th May 1879.
HENRY PERCY HOLT, of Park Row, Leeds, in the County of York, Civil
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STARTING, STOPPING, & RESTARTING
TRAMWAY AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND IN APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
This Invention is applicable either to cars moved by horses or other motive
power.
The first part of my Invention refers to starting by means of the motive power
alone, and consists in the use of a lever arranged vertically at each end of the car to
replace the present attachment usually employed to carry the trace, cross bar, or
pole.
I prefer generally to arrange the fulcrum of this said lever below the floor of the
platforin, pivotted onto suitable brackets secured to the saine above the fulcrum,
and at a suitable distance to obtain the required leverage, usually about halfway
between the fulcrum and the lever end to which the horse gear or motive power is
attached. I arrange a quadrant having its circumference struck from the fulcrum
of the lever as its centre, a chain is secured round this quadrant and led off to a
quadrant and ratchet fast on the trailing axle of the car.
I prefer to use a quadrant with a lubricating box, and having the pawl actuated
by a crank which is worked and locked by a rod running through friction discs
contained in a fixed box, as described in a Patent granted to me and dated August
29th, 1878, No. 3411.
The lever and quadrant are provided with springs which retain the same in a
vertical position, or at right angles to the platform when it has no tractive strain
on it, but which allow the lever to form a greater angle with the platform
according to the amount of the tractive force applied to the lever end, until the
lever forms nearly a straight line with the traces.

page_text: `By this means 1 usually arrange at first starting that the horse has to travel a
twice the speed of the car, but the car is gradually brought up to the same speed
as the horse without shock.
The strength of the springs are adjusted to suit circumstances.
The horse gears are attached to a fork pivoted at the long end of lever by means
of a pin in the usual manner.
When a pole is required I provide a vertical bar for it to ride on, some what
similar to that in use, but having a tail rod and swing link so arranged as to form
a parallel motion; as the lever is drawn forwards, the pole end is thus held in its
proper position.
The second part of this Invention refers to stopping vehicles, and utilizing a
portion of the power thus set free in restarting the same.
In order to accomplish this I use two pulleys or drums keyed fast on one of the
axles of the vehicle in such positions that the face of a disc, of about the same or
less diameter than the drums, can be brought to bear against the periphery of both
of them by means of the brake gear, which may be similar to that now employed,
This disc is mounted to run loosely on a shaft arranged in the same horizontal
plane, and at right angles to the axles of the vehicle. This shaft passes through a
universal bearing fixed just behind the disc to the car frame, and the other end is
free to slide horizontally under the control of suitable gear, so that its anglearity
with the axle of vehicle may be somewhat varied, which will cause the disc to bear
on the edge of one or the other of the before nained pulleys.
The disc has a groove formed on its edge of sufficient width to receive several
coils of a chain or rope, which has one end fixed to it, and the other to the rigid
end of an air tight canvas bag or "sack," and having its sides expansive or elastic,
and stiffened to prevent collapsing
The other end of bag is secured to the frame of vehicle.
When ready for working, these sacks have the ends close together, and on these
being forcably drawn apart, the atmospheric pressure causes them to close again on
the force being discontinued.
The modus operandi is as follows:-The car being in motion and is required to
be stopped, the gear is actuated to move the end of the horizontal shaft into such a
position as to cause the face of dise to be brought in contact with the periphery of
the first drum or pulley on the axle, and the chain wound round the disc edge must
be so arranged that on the disc and drum being brought hard together by means of
the brake gear, the bag is extended longitudinally against the atmospheric pressure,
and the vehicle is brought to rest.
In order to restart the vehicle, the end of the before named shaft is traversed
horizontally so as to cause the face of the disc to impinge on the second drum or
pulley on the axle, the power stored in the sack by the resistance of the atmosphere
is then given out to rotate the axle and wheels of the vehicle in the same direction
in which it was running before stopping. On the vehicle being restarted, the disc
is thrown clear of the drums by means of the brake gear in the usual manner as
with brake blocks.
For the sake of simplicity I usually only apply the disc to one axle of the
vehicle, and apply the ordinary brakes to the second axle, but it is necessary to put
on the pressure first to and take it last off the disc.
The traversing of the disc shaft may be performed by means of a hand or foot
lever, or may be pulled over by the horse at starting against a resisting spring,
which returns same into position for drawing out sack when the power is
taken off.
In some cases the connecting chain to sack may be arranged to wind round the
disc, drum, or groove in either direction, so as to always start with the same drum
ou axle in gear, no matter in which direction the car may be running.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Percy Holt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
December 1879.
HENRY PERCY HOLT, of Park Row, Leeds, in the County of York, Civil
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR STARTING, STOPPING, AND RE-
STARTING TRAMWAY AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND IN APPLIANCES CONNECTED
"THEREWITH,"
This Invention is applicable either to cars moved by horses or other motive
power, either animal or mechanical.
The first part of my Invention refers to starting by means of the motive power
alone, and consists in the use of a lever arranged vertically at each end of the
car to replace the present attachment usually employed to carry the trace, cross
bar, or pole.
For horse cars I prefer to arrange the fulcrum of this said lever below the
floor of the platform, pivotted onto suitable brackets secured to the same above
the fulcrum, and at a suitable distance to obtain the required leverage, usually
about halfway between the fulcrum and the lever end to which the horse gear
is attached. I arrange a quadrant having its circumference struck from the
fulcrum of the lever as its centre; a chain is secured round this quadrant and
led off to a quadrant and racket fast on the trailing axle of the car. By arranging
the draw lever as above, the horse when exerting a light pull has the traces nearly
level, but when the pull becomes heavier, the lever is drawn farther out and the
point of attachment lowered, and thus the horse has more weight thrown on his
feet, and is better able to pull.
I prefer to use a quadrant with a lubricating box, and having the pawl actuated
by a crank which is worked and locked by a rod running through friction dies
contained in a fixed box, as described in a Patent granted to me and dated August
29th, 1878, No. 3411.
The lever and quadrant are provided with springs which retain the same in a
vertical position, or at right angles to the platform when it has no tractive strain
on it, but which allow the lever to form a greater angle with the platform,
according to the amount of the tractive force applied to the lever end, until the
lever forms nearly a straight line with the traces.
By this means I usually arrange at first starting that the horse has to travel at
twice the speed of the car, but the car is gradually bought up to the same speed as
the horse without shock.
The strength of the springs are adjusted to suit circumstances.
The horse gears are attached to a fork pivotted at the long end of lever by
means of a pin in the usual manner.
When a pole is required I provide a vertical bar for it to ride on somewhat similar
to that in use but having a tail rod and swing link so arranged as to form a
parallel motion, as the lever is drawn forwards the pole end is thus held in its
proper position, the difference in the length of the links being arranged to effect
this.
In some cases I dispense with the rachet and pawl, and use only the starting
lever and resisting spring.
The second part of this Invention refers to stopping vehicles and utilizing a
portion of the power thus set free in restarting the same.
In order to accomplish this I use two pulleys or drums keyed fast on one of the
axles of the vehicles in such positions that the face of a disc of about the same or
less diameter than the drums can be brought to bear against the periphery of both
of them by means of the break gear which may be similar to that now employed.
This disc is mounted to run loosely on a shaft arranged in the same horizontal
plane and at right angles to the axles of the vehicle.
This shaft passes

page_text: through a universal bearing fixed just behind the disc to the car frame, and the
other end is free to slide horizontally under the control of suitable gear so that its
anglearity with the axle of vehicle may be somewhat varied, which will cause the
disc to bear on the edge of one or the other of the before named pulleys.
The disc has a groove formed on its edge of sufficient width to receive several
coils of a chain or rope which has one end secured to it, and the other to the rigid
end of an air tight canvas bag or "sack," and having its sides expansive or elastic,
and stiffened to prevent collapsing.
The other end of the bag is secured to the frame of vehicle.
When ready for working these sacks have the ends closed together, and on these
being forcibly drawn apart the atmospheric pressure causes them to close again on
the force being discontinued.
The modus operandi is as follows:-The car being in motion and is required to
be stopped, the gear is actuated to move the end of the horizontal shaft into such a
position as to cause the face of disc to be brought in contact with the periphery of
the first drum or pulley on the axle, and the chain wound round the disc edge must
be so arranged that on the disc and drum being brought hard together by means of
the break gear the bag is extended longitudinally against the atmospheric pressure,
and the vehicle is brought to rest.
In order to restart the vehicle the end of the before named shaft is traversed
horizontally so as to cause the face of the disc to impinge on the second drum or
pulley on the axle. The power stored in the sack by the resistance of the atmosphere
is then given out to rotate the axle and wheels of the vehicle in the same direction
in which it was running before stopping.
On the vehicle being restarted the disc is thrown clear of the drums by means of
the break gear in the usual manner as with break blocks.
For the sake of simplicity I usually only apply the disc to one axle of the vehicle
and apply the ordinary breaks to the second axle, but it is necessary to put on the
pressure first to and take it last off the disc.
The traversing of the disc shaft may be performed by means of a hand or
foot lever, or may be pulled over by the horse at starting against a resisting.
spring which returns same into position for drawing out sack when the power is
taken off.
In some cases the connecting chain to sack may be arranged to wind round the
disc, drum, or groove in always direction so as to always start with the same
drum on axle in gear, no matter in which direction the car may be running.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The first part of this Invention is represented by the Drawings on Sheets 1, 2,
and 3, those on Sheet No. 1 shewing the general arrangement of the apparatus on a
tram car frame, those on Sheet 2 representing the arrangement adapted to the use
of a pole for two or more horses to a large scale, and on Sheet No. 3 shewing details
of ratchet, quadrant, or box with all necessary fittings, as secured to me by Letters
Patent dated Aug. 29, 1878, No. 3411, and also shewing an alternative arrangement
of spring and lever for facilitating the starting of a vehicle to that shewn on Sheet
No. 1, and the figures and letters refer to the same parts on all the Sheets where a
repetition is used, as follows:-Sheet No. 1, Figs. 1, 2, and 3; and Sheet No. 2,
Figs. 1 and 2, a represents the vertical multiplying lever; a', the fulcrum of a; a²,
the quadrant casting for attachment and support of straining chain and rod; a¹, the
jaws for coupling horse gears or cross bars; as, the vertical bar for supporting pole
when this is required; as, as, swing links forming parallel motion with a; b, b, the
brackets supporting fulcrum of a; b', lever bracket for supporting and forming
fulcrum for parallel links a³, a, c, c, c, straining chains and rod for coupling lever and
quadrant a, a, to quadrant and ratchet d on trailing axle of car; d, quadrant and
ratchet with necessary fittings as used in Patent dated 29 August 1878, No. 3411,
and details of which are fully shewn on Sheet 3; d', returning spring of ratchet

page_text: quadrant d, also serving to return lever a to a vertical position; e, special returning
spring for vertical lever, quadrant, pole, and attachment, &c.; f, the car frame.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, Sheet 1, one end of car frame is arranged for use without a
pole, and the other with a pole.
Sheet 3, Figs. 1 and 2, represent the several details and fittings of the ratchet
quadrant d which is used for the purpose of obtaining a purchase or hold on the
axle of the car for turning round the road wheels and thus starting the vehicle,
and may be described as follows:-
a is a hole with keyway through the boss of the ratchet wheel b and into which
hole the axle of the rear wheels fits and is keyed fast. A pawl c is carried in a
circumferential direction round the bearings provided on the boss of the ratchet
wheel b by the box or quadrant casting d, and the said pawl is provided with a
spindle bearing e, and driven fast on to the square part of the same; the spindle e
bas forged on to one end a crank e¹ which is used for the purpose of throwing in
and out of gear the pawl with the ratchet where by means of the friction connecting
rod which in its turn is actuated by the spring friction discs f¹, f1, which are con-
tained in the box f². The ratchet quadrant casting d is provided with a chain
groove and pin g. In the purpose of coupling and leading off the straining chain
shewn in the general arrangenient on Sheet 1, Figs. 1 and 2, the double hook his
provided for the attachment to the quadrant casting d of the spring d', shewn in
the general arrangement before mentioned on Sheet 1, Figs. 1 and 2.
For the purpose of preventing the rattling of the pawl c on the ratchet wheel b
in the ordinary running of a car, a loop and spring coupled to the straining rod c¹
(Sheet 1, Figs. 1 and 2) by means of a collar and set screw, is provided as shewn
and worked on Sheet 1, Figs. 1 and 2, as c¹. The action of this part of the Inven-
tion is, that on the straining rod c¹ (Sheet 1) being forcibly drawn out by the
vertical lever a and parts connected, the quadrant casting is moved by it and also
are all the parts in connection, and thus the dies f₁, f', resisting the passage of the
friction rod f, through them the pawl c (Sheet 3) is rocked by the crank which
passes through the eye of the said rod, and is thus thrown into gear with the ratchet
wheel for the purpose of turning the same by the continuation of the motion of the
vertical lever and straining rod, thus turning round the wheels of the car and
putting the same into motion. A reverse action is obtained by returning the vertical
lever into the upright position, and the continued motion of the wheels in the
running of the car "runs" the pawl out of gear of the ratchet wheel, and it is held
in the thus disengaged position by the friction rod and spring dies before mentioned.
Figs. 3 and 4 represent an alternative method of starting a vehicle by more
gradually overcoming the inertia of the same than practicable without the inter-
vention of this apparatus, and which is referred to in the foregoing Specification, and
in which the same letters refer to the vertical lever before mentioned, and all its
necessary fittings for carrying a pole; but in place of the attachment of the quadrant
casting a² a casting is provided for the attachment of a powerful spring e', the
opposite end of which is fixed to the car frame by a screwed rod e² with nuts and
eye, and a suitable bracket e³ for receiving the same.
Sheet No. 4, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, represent respectively a longitudinal section, and a
cross section, and a plan of a tram car frame fitted with the apparatus which forms
the second part of this Invention, and the letters marked thereon refer as follows:-
a represents a car axle on which the road wheels b, b, are keyed fast, as also are two
toothed mitre or bevil wheels having shallow pointed teeth c, c; two necks d, d, are
formed in the car axle to receive the bearings of a bridge casting e, e, through which
is a hole e' for the reception of a shaft e², on which is keyed a mitre or bevil wheel e³.
On the shaft e² is keyed a segment of a chain wheel e', and at the small end of the
said shaft is placed a swivel and loop e for the purpose of the attachment of chains
f and springs f. The chain of passes over guide pulleys g, g, g, g, g, and to vertical
spindles h, h, which are similar to ordinary brake spindles used in tram cars, each
spindle being provided with a lever handle for the purpose of winding the chains on
and off the said spindle; a vacuum sack or bellows is shewn by i to which is attached

page_text: a chain i for coupling to segment et. Also a balance lever j is shewn connecting the
two bearings of the casting e, e, and a link j¹ for connecting to horizontal lever j
which is further connected to a foot lever 3 by. link j; k, k, l, k, represent the car
frame.
Having now particularly ascertained and described the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and illustrated the manner in which I prefer to carry same into practice, what
I claim as secured to me by these Letters Patent is,-
Firstly. The arrangement of vertical draw lever in combination with an adjust-
able resisting spring, whereby the height of point of attachment of the horse
is varied according to the pull exerted, substantially as described and illustrated for
the purpose named.
Secondly. The combined arrangement of the above draw lever either with or
without the ratchet pawl and box quadrant on an axle of the car, together
with the accessories thereto, substantially as described and illustrated for the
purpose named.
Thirdly. The arrangement of parallel motion for use with a pole combined with
the above draw lever, substantially as described and illustrated for the purpose
named.
Fourthly. The arrangement of vacuum sack combined with toothed wheels and
longitudinal shaft and chain segment with working gear, substantially as described
and illustrated for the purpose named.
Fifthly. The combined arrangement of rachet wheel on axle, chain quadrant,
lubricating box, pawl worked by crank and friction rod, and dies in box fixed on
car frame, substantially as described and illustrated for the purpose named.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Percy Holt, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eleventh day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
HENRY PERCY HOLT. (L.S.)