IMPROVE- MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Wotherspoon, of Glengarnock Iron Works, in
the County of Ayr, North Britain, Smith, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES."
Sealed the 6th April 1858, and dated the 29th January 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Wotherspoon
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th January 1858.
I, JAMES WOTHERSPOON, of Glengarnock Iron Works, in the County of
Ayr, North Britain, Smith, do hereby. declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY BRAKES," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of frictional
brakes or retarding apparatus for general railway purposes, and it consists in
the application of a spring or elastic medium for the purpose of heightening
or improving the working effect of the brake blocks. The spring, which may
be a metal helix or coil, is interposed between the actuating power and the
actual brake blocks, and it may be variously arranged to secure the required
end; for example, in a hand lever brake such as is used on ordinary railway
waggons, the coiled spring is placed so as to convey the pressure of the
actuating lever direct to the frictional blocks, the effect being that the brake
blocks are always kept in actual braking contact with the wheels when once
put down into action by setting the lever handle in the notches or retainers

page_text: thereof, whilst the elastic medium enables the brakesman to temper his
retarding pressure with the greatest delicacy, as the pressure passes through
the spring to reach the brake blocks.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Wotherspoon in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th July 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WOTHERSPOON, of Glengarnock Iron Works, in the County of Ayr, North
Britain, Smith, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Wotherspoon, Her special license that I, the said James
Wotherspoon, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said James Wotherspoon, my executors, administrators, or 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 James Wotherspoon, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, 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 James Wotherspoon, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-.
My said Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of frictional
brakes or retarding apparatus for general railway purposes, and it consists in
the application of a spring or elastic medium for the purpose of heightening or
improving the working effect of the brake blocks. The spring, which may be
a metal helix or coil, is interposed between the actuating power and the actual

page_text: brake blocks, and it may be variously arranged to secure the required end.
For example, in a hand lever brake, such as is used on ordinary railway waggons,
the coiled spring is placed so as to convey the pressure of the actuating lever
direct to the frictional blocks, the effect being, that the brake blocks are
always kept in actual braking contact with the wheels, when once put down,
into action by setting the lever handle in the notches or retainers thereof,
whilst the elastic medium enables the. brakesman to temper his retarding
pressure with the greatest delicacy, as the pressure passes through the spring
to reach the brake blocks.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly, understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the illustrative Figure on the explanatory Sheet of
Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing certain
modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried out in
practice. The Figure shown on my illustrative Drawing is an elevation or side
view of one arrangement or modification of my improved brake for controlling
or stopping the motion of railway carriages. In the Drawing, the brake is
shown as applied to a railway waggon of the ordinary construction, and
according to this modification the brake block A consists of a rectangular piece
of wood, to the ends or lateral faces of which are fastened, by means of nails,
two blocks of soft wood B. The end faces of these blocks are curved or
hollowed out to correspond to the periphery of the wheels C, with which they
come into contact when the brakes are brought into action, and by their severe
frictional pressure, thereon speedily stop the motion of the waggon. The brake
block A has secured to its front or outer face a strap D, which is a rectangular
plate of iron that is attached to the block by means of bolts and nuts, which
also serve to fasten it to the vertical lever E. The brake block A has a hole
made through it in the centre, and corresponding holes are made in the strap D
and the lever E. This orifice in the block A admits of its being fitted upon
a stud which is fast to a horse-shoe shaped carrier that is bolted to the framing
of the, waggon. The brake block A and the lever E are free to turn upon the
sustaining stud, the block being retained thereon by a cotter, which is passed
through the stud, on which it is centred. The lever E above the block A
is made with a laterally projecting part F, which forms a socket to receive
the end of a spindle G, the lower end, of which is retained in the socket by a
cotter. Around the spindle G, is a helical spring H, the lower part of which
rests upon the socket in the projecting part F of the lever E; on the upper
part of the spindle is a loose washer which rests upon the spring H..
The upper extremity of the spindle G is made of a forked or duplex form, so
as to be readily connected by means of a pin or bolt to the hand lever I. The

page_text: spring His enclosed by means of a cylindrical casing or box J, which serves
to protect the spring, and prevent its being subjected to injurious strain
or pressure; to this end a notch or recess is cut in the bottom of the
casing, which fits over the arm or projecting part F, and prevents
the spring from being depressed beyond the depth of the notch. This cylin-
drical casing J and the socket part of the arm F are shown in section in the
illustrative Figure on the accompanying Drawing. The hand lever I is of a
ourved form, and extends upwards at the back part of the waggon; so that
the actuating handle is brought within convenient reach of the operator. The
forward extremity of this hand lever I is attached by a bolt to the upper end
of the lever E, thé point of attachment being just beyond the part where the
spindle G is connected to the lever I. The hand lever is kept close to the
side of the waggon, or nearly so, by a guide K, which is bolted to the framing,
the main portion of the guide being bent outwards to allow of the hand lever
moving freely up and down. Behind the guide K is a blade spring, which
serves to hold the hand lever I up when the brake block A is not required to
be in action. This blade spring is made with a projecting shoulder, upon
which the hand lever I rests during the time the brake is not in use: The
blade spring is fastened to the waggon by the bolt which secures the lower end
of the guide K to the framing. The upper extremity of the blade spring
passes through a slot made in the guide K, and it terminates in a handle L,
so that by pushing this handle inwards or towards the side of the waggon, the
hand lever I is released from the notch in the blade spring, and is then free
to descend. The hand lever I is fixed to any required point by means of a
vertical rack M, which is bolted to the back standard of the waggon. The
hand lever has upon its upper edge a small catch or stop, which enters the
teeth of the rack and prevents its shifting up when placed in position. When
the hand lever I is depressed and retained by the teeth of the rack M, the
brake block A is caused to turn upon its centre, and the frictional blocks B are
pressed with great force against the rims of the wheels C. This pressure, how-
ever, cannot be carried to an injurious extent on account of the elasticity of the
spring H, which imparts a corresponding yielding action to the hand lever,
and enables the operator to adjust the pressure with great nicety and rapidity
of effect. This resiliency of the brake as obtained by the interposition of the
spring H has also another important advantage, that it enables the operator to
leave the brake after adjusting the handle, and attend to other brakes or duties
connected with the safety of the train. Another mode of arranging the parts
forming this improved brake consists in fitting the spring H within a conical
cap or casing, the apex of which cap or casing is jointed to the upper end of

page_text: the lever E, which is bolted to the brake block A. The inner part of this cap
has a short spindle projecting outwards from its centre, upon which spindle is
fitted the helical spring H; the free end of the spindle is passed through a hole
made in a socket formed on a connecting link. The spindle is fitted with a
washer, and is attached to the link by a screw nut, but is at liberty to move
to and fro in the socket as the helical spring is compressed or allowed to
expand. The connecting link is made with forked or duplex ends, by which
it is jointed to the hand lever I at a short distance from its lower extremity.
The lower end of the hand lever I, instead of being connected to the lever Ẹ,
is centred upon a fixed stud which projects from the horizontal portion of the
waggon framing. The hand lever in this modification is curved upwards, in
manner similar to that shown in the accompanying Drawing, but in this
arrangement the rack M is fitted so that its teeth are at right, angles to those
shown in the Drawing, a retaining stop or catch being fitted to the hand lever,
as herein-before described. In adapting my improved brake to various kinds
of carriages, other forms of springs than the helical or spiral may be used in
place of the spring H, or elastic substances, as vulcanised or mineralised
india-rubber, may, in some cases, be used with advantage. And where railway
carriages or waggons are not required to run upon inclines, a rectangular
plate of metal having holes made therein in the direction of its length may be
used in place of the spring described in the second modification of my improve-
ments. There are two of these perforated plates of metal used in this modifi-
cation of my improvements; they are fitted parallel to each other, and bolted
at their front extremities to the vertical lever E, and are secured in like
manner at the backward part to the band lever I, the holes in the plates
admitting of their being accurately adjusted as regards length, for the raising
or lowering of the lever as required.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of brakes suitable for
checking and controlling the motion of railway carriages, as herein-before
described.

page_text: Second, the system or mode of arranging and applying brakes to railway
carriages, as herein-before described.
Third, the application and use of a spring or springs, or of any other elastic
medium to brakes for railway carriages, arranged so that a certain amount of
elasticity or resilience is imparted to the frictional brake blocks, whereby their
action is greatly improved, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of arranging and constructing brakes for
railway carriages, in which the moving parts of the brake, that is to say, the
brake block and the actuating lever, are each of them attached to a fixed stud
or centre of its own, as herein-before described in the second modification of
my improvements.
Fifth, the system or mode of working or actuating brakes for railway
carriages from two fixed centres, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Wotherspoon, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-eight.
JAMES WOTHERSPOON. (L.S.)