Holly's Railroad Car Brake

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This engraving is a plan view of a new Brake for Railroad Cars, invented by Birdsill Holly, of Seneca Falls, N. T., and for which a patent was granted on the 10th of last February. The nature of this invention consists in applying side clutch wheels to running wheels of the car, to arrest their motion by friction, and giving one a contrary motion to the other, thuB to counteract and nullify the forward motioil of the running wheels. The figure shows a truck-frame, A A A' A' on the cross-braces is secured a fulcrum plate L, for the fulcrum pin, K, of the lever, M which lever is operated by the brakesmai with a vertical shaft, 0, which winds up the chain, N, and pushes in a swinging clutcl frame, H, by the bottom of the lever, at K acting on the projection, J, which is at the bottom of the frame, H. This plan view of the truck does not shovi how the frame, H, is hung on centres, anc how the wheels, E E, are made to clutch bj buttons, I I, of frame H, pressing on theii hubs, but we will try and explain how this, is done:—D D are the axle boxes of the running wheels, C C. These two wheels are made with conical wooden projections, G G (section of one wheel), secured to the inside flanges of the wheels. The wheels, E E are secured on the axles of wheels, C C, bu1 are allowed to slide on the same. The said wheels are made with conical openings to receive the conical projections, G G, on the running wheels; and these wheels, E E, operate exactly like a common clutch to gear two pinions, F F, so that there is a continuous gear of the two wheels, E E, and pinions, F F. The wheels are now represented to be geared together, the front one in section shown to be clutched with C. It will be evident thai when these wheels are out of gear, by winding the chain on the spindle, 0, the lever will act as represented, by pushing in the swingini frame, H, and pressing up the hubs of wheels E E, by the buttons, I I, to make them slide in on their axles, and the openings clutch the conical projections, G G, which will thus gear the front and back running wheels, C C, and act to mike the one revolve in a contrary direction to the other; this action nullifies the motion ot the car wheels, and arrests the progress of the car. By relieving the lever, M, which is done by slacking up the chain, N, the swinging frame, H, will swing back and hang perpendicular ; the first motion ol the running wheels, C C then pushes the wheels, E E, sideways, and makes them slide a small distance along their axle, and thus they are self-ungeared, and the running wheels Utt fre to move forward again. This brake is certainly a peculiar one, and is constructed upon a principle entirely different from any other we have examined. The sliding wheels or rubbers, E E, act both as side friction brakes and as clutch wheels, to set a train ot gear in operation, and make the motion of one running wheel nullify the motion of the other. More information may be obtained by letter addressed to Silsby, Race & Holly, Seneca Falls, N. Y.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 8 Issue 10This article was published with the title “Holly's Railroad Car Brake” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 8 No. 10 (), p. 76
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican11201852-76d

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