IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING BRAKES, APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY OR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING BRAKES, APPLICABLE TO
RAILWAY OR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES."-A communication from
abroad by Léon Isidore Molinos, of No. 45, Rue St. Sebastien, Paris,
Engineer..
Sealed the 14th February 1862, and dated the 4th September 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 4th September 1861.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING BRAKES,
APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY OR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention of improvements in self-acting brakes, applicable to railway
or locomotive engines and carriages, consists of a novel contrivance or arrange-
ment of mechanism whereby the progress of the engine or carriage may be
arrested on inclined planes by means of a nipping apparatus, which is made to
seize and embrace the rails. The nipping apparatus or pincers is fixed at the
lower end of a vertical shaft, which communicates by means of a connecting

page_text: rod or lever with the traction rod of the carriage. When the carriage is
hooked on to the traction rod or chains, the nipping apparatus or pincers will
not press upon or bite the rails, but immediately that the traction rod or chains
become broken, the traction springs will act upon the connecting rod or lever
of tho brake. The wheels will at the same time be acted on by skids, which
will be made to press on their peripheries by means of a weight suspended from
a lever conveniently arranged for the purpose.
As a modification of the above, the traction spring instead of acting on the
nipping apparatus direct, causes the forked end of the actuating lever to be
brought in contact with a screw on the axle-tree. This screw will act on the
lever, and by drawing it forward will bring the nipping apparatus against
the rails.
Another arrangement consists of a pair of jaws, which are made to embrace-
the rails, and are worked by means of a shaft provided with left and right-
handed screws, which pass through their bosses. On this screwed shaft is
mounted a flanged wheel, and the whole of this apparatus is suspended from
one end of a lever, which is capable of being raised and lowered, and is acted
on by the traction spring. When this latter is acted upon by the draught on
the carriage, the brake apparatus will be lifted up, but should the traction rod
or chain break, the spring will allow the brake apparatus to descend, and the
flanged wheel to run on the rail; this will cause the right and left-handed
screws to rotate, and thereby bring the jaws against the rails, and cause them
to bite strongly thereon, and consequently arrost the train.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on s
the 3rd March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lano, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters S
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special. license that. I, the
said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, admi-
I

page_text: nistrators, 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 SELF-ACTING BRAKES, APPLICABLE TO
RAILWAY OR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND CARRIAGES," being a communication from
Leon Isidore Molinos, of Paris, Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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..
I
'NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,.
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention of improvements in self-acting brakes, applicable to railway
or locomotive engines and carriages, consists of a novel contrivance or arrange-
ment of mechanism whereby the progress of the engine or carriage to which it
may be applied may be arrested on inclined planes by means of a nipping
apparatus, which is made to seize and embrace the rails. The nipping apparatus
or pincers is fixed at the lower end of a vertical shaft, which communicates.
by means of a connecting rod or lever with the traction roil of the carriage.
When the carriage is hooked on to the traction rod or chains, the nipping
apparatus or pincers will not press upon or bite the fails, but immediately that
the traction rod or chains become broken, the traction springs will act upon
the connecting rod or lever of the brake. The wheels will at the same time
be acted on by skids, which will be made to press on their peripheries by
means of a weight suspended from a lever conveniently arranged for the
purpose.
As a modification of the above, the traction spring, instead. of acting on the
nipping apparatus direct, causes the forked end of the actuating lever to be
brought in contact with a screw on the axle-tree. This screw will act on the
lever, and by drawing it forward will bring the nipping apparatus against
the rails..
Another arrangement. consists of pairs of jaws, which are made to embrace
the rails, and are worked by means of a shaft. provided with left and right-
banded screws, which pass through their bosses. On this screwed shaft is

page_text: mounted a flanged wheel, and the whole of this apparatus is suspended from
one end of a lever, which is capable of being raised and lowered, and is acted
on by the traction spring. When this latter is acted upon by the, drauglit on
the carriage, the brake apparatus will be lifted up, but should the traction rod
or chain break, the spring will allow the brake apparatus to descend, and the
flanged wheel to run on the rail, this will cause tho right and left-handed
screws to rotate, and thereby bring the jaws against the rails, and cause them
to bite strongly thereon, and consequently arrest the train.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 'I represents in longitudinal section a
railway carriage (i.e., the carriage proper,) provided with a self-acting brake
constructed according to the first-mentioned arrangement; and Fig. 2 is a
plan or bird's-eye view of the same.
The nipping apparatus D is fixed at the lower end of the vertical shaft C,
which communicates by means of a lover B jointed at 6 with the traction
rod A. When the carriage is hooked on to the traction rod or chain A, tho
nipping apparatus. D will not act upon or bito the rails, but immediately the
traction rod or chain A. becomes broken, the traction spring E will act upon
the lever B, and cause the rails to be pressed upon with a force proportioned
to the force or initial tension of the traction springs E, and in proportion to
the length of the lever B relatively to the dimensions of the nipping apparatus.
Tho wheels are at the same time acted upon by skids, which are caused to
press upon their peripheries by means of a weight P attached to the brake
lever K. This weight P is retained in a fixed position by means of a catch k,
which is released by the action of the traction spring E' when tho traction rod
or chain A¹ breaks.
J
Figs. 3 and 4 represent in longitudinal section and plan one half of a railway
carriage provided with. another arrangement of, self-acting brake. In this
instanco the traction spring, instend of acting upon tho nipping apparatus,
merely causes the forked extremity of the lever B to take into a scrow thread
upon the axle of the running, wheels. This is. effected by means of a small
vertical shaft A, on the upper extremity of which there is a slotted arm, in which
a stud-upon the traction rod works. Tho:shaft. A is also connected with and
acts upon the lever, B. When, the traction rod or, chain breaks, the traction
spring will be released from tension, and 'will, consequently, draw forward: the
traction rod. The forked end of the lever B, will take into the screw on the
axle of the running wheels, and which has rotary motion imparted to it by the
wheels as the carriage proceeds. The forked end of the lever B will by this
means be made to traverse the screw b, b, and act upon the shaft A¹, which
will actuate the nipping apparatus: by means of the connecting rods.C, C;

page_text: which
are jointed at c², c. By this means the nipping apparatus will be
brought into action with much greater power than by the first arrangement.
These two arrangements (but more especially the latter one) will furnish
means sufficiently powerful to stop the heaviest trains, and upon the steepest
gradients; but they possess two defects, the first being a certain amount of
inconvenience or difficulty in passing over the crossings of railways, and the
second, the vertical oscillation of the framing. caused by the play of the
suspension springs. The first objection may, however, be remedied by various
arrangements, and the second by placing the point of suspension between the
framing and the carriage body..
Another arrangement, and which has the effect of obviating all difficulty, is
represented in side elevation at Fig. 5, in plan view at Fig. 6, and in transverso
section at Fig. 7. In this latter Figure the left half is in section, taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 5, and the other, half represents a section taken in the line
3, 4, of Fig. 5. The nipping apparatus is formed of two jaws jointed at B,
through which passes a horizontal shaft C.; this shaft is tapped with screws at
two places, and upon these screws work female screws bearing the nippers
with a certain amount of play. Upon the shaft C being made to rotate, the
jaws A, A, of the nipping apparatus will approach to or recede from each other
by moving backwards or forwards upon the joint B. The shaft C carries two
wheels R, R, having bevilled grooves, and it is suspended at two points by
means of chains to small cranks fixed upon a moveable shaft D. The stud E
bears upon the traction rod, and maintains the whole system of jaws and
grooved wheels in an elevated position until required to act upon the rails.
Upon the traction rod or chain breaking, the traction spring will be released,
and the stud E being no longer supported, the shaft C with its appendages will
fall, and allow the apparatus to drop upon the rails, which will be embraced
by the conical grooves in the wheels R. The vertical movement of the whole
apparatus is ensured by its being made to work in guide grooves-attached to
the framing. The forward movement of the carriage itself causes the grooved
wheels R when in contact with the rails to rotate, and by communicating
rotary motion to the screwed shaft C, the jaws A, A, will be forced against
the web of the rail, and made to act as a brake on the carriage.
Having now described this Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent; and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not mean or intend to
confine myself rigidly to the arrangements of apparatus herein shewn and
described, as they may doubtless be varied without departing from the nature
and object of the Invention; but I desire to claim under the above in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent, the arrangements of self-acting brake for railway or locomotive
engines and carriages, abovo shewn and described, or any mere modification
thereof. I claim particularly causing brakes or retarding apparatus to act
upon the rails, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.s.)