New and Improved Appliance for Coupling Railway Trucks (Waggons) Carriages and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Mar., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 9th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 18th Nov., 1899
New and Improved Appliance for Coupling Railway Trucks
(Waggons) Carriages and the like.
We, FRANK WATERS, Manager for Coal Merchants (Wm. Goodyear & Co.), Wood-
side Park Station, North Finchley, London, N., and JOHN HENRY WOLSELEY BOURNE
(late Major Cape Mounted Riflemen), Eleanor Villa, Nether Street, North
Finchley, London, N., 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 :-
--

page_text: and uncoupling railway trucks, waggons, carriages and the like and to obviate the
necessity for the attendant to get between the same in order to effect such operation
thereby minimising the risk to life and limb.
And in order that our said invention may be better understood and readily
carried into effect we will now with the aid of the accompanying drawings whereon
similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts procced moro particularly
to describe and ascertain the same.
Figure 1 is a plan of our improved coupling appliance (hereafter referred to as
the appliance")showing the position it assumes when the trucks are in motion,
while the dotted lines in such figure illustrate the operation of the appliance in
the act of coupling..
Figure 2 is a view in side elevation wherein the dotted lines A indicate the
operation of the appliance in the act of coupling and the dotted lines B the position
of the appliance when set for "ily shunting."
"
Figure 3 is a side elevation shewing the position assumed by the appliance
when the trucks are "bumped" for coupling, or when they come together on the
train being pulled up.
Figure 4 is an end elevation shewing the position of the appliance when not in
use, while Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 shew detail views of our invention which are
hereafter more particularly referred to,
In carrying out our invention in lieu of the ordinary chain couplings we fit
each end of a railway truck, waggon, or carriage with a link a and shackle 6 of
the improved construction shewn in the accompanying drawings, and which is as
follows:
The link a consists of two lateral bars or plates the rear ends whereof are
connected to the draw hook c,-(a detail view of which is shown at Figure 6)—by
a pin d, fitted with washers e, which prevent the link binding or pinching when
any torsional strain is put thereon. The fore cuds of such link are connected
to the shackle b, by a pin f, whereon a distance piece g, is mounted loose. This
distance piece serves to keep such fore ends in position. The shackle b works
freely up and down on the shackle pin fand is furnished with stops b¹, 6ª, (see
Figure 6), which stops control its travel. The stop b¹ serves to prevent the
shackle falling back over the link, while the stops, maintain the shackle in the
horizontal position when set ready for coupling up, by preventing its dropping
below the link. The ends of the shackle pin f are swaged, or otherwise secured in
or to the shackle to prevent such pin dropping out. The link and shackle are raised
or lowered as required by means of a crauked rod h, carried in brackets i and fitted
with lateral hand levers k, each of which is furnished with a catch ¹, as shewn at
Figure 7. The levers & work up and down in quadrant guides 7, furnished with
catches m, m', (see Figure 8), that serve to keep such levers together with the
cranked rod, link, and shackle, in the desired position. The crank or bend in the
rodh forms a cradle wherein the link a rests and is supported, as shewn in
Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. A guard or check plate, (see Figures 1, 2, 3,
& 4), is fitted above the draw hook to prevent the shackle b being jerked off such
hook, and also to prevent the link being knocked back too far by the impact of
the trucks.
In order to prevent the shackle hanging down too low when not in use, and thus
ensure a sufficient clearance it may be fitted with a chain o, (see Figures 2, 3 & 4),
or its equivalent, attached in any convenient manner and position to the truck,
thus allowing the shackle to be suspended at any convenient height.
k
When applying our invention to railway carriages the link is made somewhat
shorter in order to ensure the carriages, when coupled up, riding on the buffers,
thereby dispensing with the ordinary screw block.
The operation of our invention is as follows:-
-
When it is desired to couple the trucks, the link a and shackle bare brought to
the horizontal position (as shewn at Figures 1 and 2), by means of the cranked
rod h, which is operated by depressing one of the lateral hand levers k until the

page_text: catch engages with the upper stop m on the quadrant guide 7, as indicated by
the dotted lines A in Figure 2. The trucks are then "bumped" when the
shackle automatically engages with the draw hook c by rising up the inclined
surface of such hook, while the lever is simultaneously set free from the stop m
by the force of the impact, thus allowing both the lever and cranked rod / to
automatically resume their normal upright position as indicated at Figure 3.
In order to set the appliance for "Ay shunting" one of the levers is depressed
until the catch ¹ thereon engages with the lower stop m¹ on the quadrant guide 1,
the position of the appliance in this operation being indicated by dotted lines B
Figure 2. To bring the link and shackle back to the horizontal position, the
lever is released from the stop m¹ and raised sufficiently to allow the catch
thereon to engage with the upper stop m as above mentioned, while to uncouple
such trucks it is only necessary to depress one of the lateral hand levers / when
the shackle b is at once released from the draw hook c.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:
-
As a new and improved appliance for coupling railway trucks, (waggons) car-
riages and the like, a link and shackle constructed and fitted substantially in the
manner herein before described and operated laterally by means of a cranked rod
and levers working in quadrant guides furnished with suitable stops all sub-
stantially as herein before described and shewn.
Daley way of August LOUD.
ELT & Co.,
Registered Patent Agents,
43, Southampton Buildings, Holborn, London, Agents for Applicants.