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the train be quickly stopped. Such an arranorement occurred 

 to me several years ago, but I saw the objection thereto, that 

 the moving backwards a train provided with such breaks 

 would be very inconvenient, unless some provision be made 

 for disconnecting the breaks from the action of the buffers. 

 The late Mr. Stephenson, at a meeting of civil engineers, 

 at Birmingham, proposed a similar arrangement, but which 

 has not been brought into use ; I believe on account of the 

 objection I have just alluded to, no provision being made for 

 throwing the breaks out of gear simultaneously; it being 

 necessary, according to his plan, that the breaks on each 

 carriage should be thrown out of gear separately. 



I have, however, proposed the application of torsion-rods, 

 so as simultaneously to withdraw bolts or connecting pieces, 

 and disconnect the breaks from the action of the buffers when 

 it is required to do so. 



If only a few carriages be supplied with such self-acting 

 breaks the torsion-rods could very easily be applied ; but if 

 many breaks be used, and it is also required to use the 

 torsion-rods for the purpose of giving signals, the requisite 

 arrangement is not quite so simple. But I have devised an 

 arrangement by which the torsion-rods may be used both for 

 the purpose of communicating signals, and also putting the 

 self-acting breaks in or out of action. The manner in which 

 I propose to arrange such torsion-rods may be understood by 

 reference to Fi^s. 8, 9, and 10, in which like letters are used. 



Fii/. 8 is a sketch of the buffers on one side of a railway 

 carriage, for the purpose of showing a method of concen- 

 trating the action of the four buffers of a railway carriage 

 on one piece, A. 



In Fi^s, 9 and 10, A represents the last-mentioned piece 

 acting upon the lever B E, which moves on a joint at C, 

 upon two strong upright pieces fixed on the shaft D, and 

 which communicates motion to the breaks. On the end of 



