Improvements in Signalling Apparatus for Railways.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, -19th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 16th. Mar., 1805
J
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Signalling Apparatus for Railways.
I, ARTHUR GREGORY of 67, Appian Road, Old Ford, London, E. Gentleman,
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:
This invention relates to improvements in signalling apparatus for railways
whereby the employment of men for placing detonators upon the line is obviated
thus producing a saving in the cost of labour and preventing the risks attending
the present system of working.
According to this invention I provide two contact rollers each carried by a lever
pivoted one on either side of the engine. These levers are connected by means of
rods and arms to two horizontal shafts supported by the framing of the cab or
shelter, one end of each of the shafts being carried by a loose sleeve provided with
an arm to which is connected a vertically sliding rod. The sleeve is formed with
two slots through which project two studs carried by the said shafts so that as
either of the latter is operated it turns the sleeve and consequently its arm to raise.
or lower the vertical rod. This rod carries a hinged catch which upon descending
bears against a projection forming part of a pivoted hammer thus causing the latter
to strike a gong fixed to the front plate of the cab. Above the two shafts I fix a
semicircular box in which is pivoted a frame fitted with a colored disc of any
suitable material operated by one or other of two arms each connected to the
aforesaid shafts. The front of the box has openings through which the color of
the said disc can be seen and thus give a visual signal, and one half of the box is
covered by a pivoted flap so as to shut off the signal from the side not in use
according to which direction the engine is travelling.
I operate the contact rollers by means of a curved frame or treadle capable of
being raised or lowered as required. This treadle may be made portable so as to be
gripped to the line within any suitable distance of the signal post and is operated
by the man at the signal post through the medium of a chain or wire, or it may be
operated direct from the signal box.
In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention
Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of my improved audible and visual
sigualling apparatus, Fig. 2 an elevation at right angles thereto and Fig. 3 a plan
partly in section.
Fig. 4 is an elevation and Fig. 5 a cross section of the semi-circular box and its
pivoted frame.
Fig. 6 is a side view and Fig. 7 an end view of the treadle or frame for operating
the contact rollers.
Figs. 8 and 9 are diagrams illustrating the positions of the treadles and signal
post.
Figs. 10 & 11 are a side view and a plan of a modification of the roller lever
mechanism, and Fig. 12 is another modification thereof.
a is the front plate of the engine cab and bare brackets secured thereto for
supporting the horizontal shafts c c¹. The adjoining ends of these shafts are
carried by the loose sleeve d which is formed with two slots d' d' through which
pass two studs c³ ³ connected respectively to the shafts c c¹. e is the arm connected
Price 8d.]

page_text: to the middle of the sleeve d and pivoted at its free end to the vertical rod fcapable
of sliding in brackets f', g being the hinged catch carried by the rod f. is the
projection forming part of the pivoted hammer or clapper 92, and g³ is the gong
fixed to the plate a. hhare the two arms fixed respectively to the shafts c c.
These arms actuate the pivoted frame k by means of the rods ³ ³ connected to the
ends of the pivoted arm . is the box containing the pivoted frame k and are
openings formed in the front plate thereof. m is the flap covering one half of the
box and hinged to a spindle m¹. n is one of the roller levers pivoted on each side
of the engine and carrying the contact roller n'. Each of the levers n is connected
by the rods n and cranks n³ to one or other of the shafts cc for operating the
mechanism.
The curved frame or treadle (Figs. 6 & 7) for operating the contact rollers n¹
constructed of two parts o o¹ pivoted at o² o³ to the base and abutting together at
the point of when in their raised positions.
2°
The part o is connected to a chain or wire of by means of which the two parts
are raised or lowered. The treadle, which may be made to carry about, is temporarily
attached to the rail by the gripping arm 06, and the part o' is formed with a link o'
for keeping the two parts engaged with one another. o is a hook formed on the
part o and engaging with a projection on the part o' to keep the parts in their
locked raised position.
This apparatus may be used irrespective of the ordinary signal post and arm as
for instance when the latter is being repaired or erected.
The operation is as follows:-
Supposing a train to be travelling in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 9) the
treadle p (Fig. 8) is fixed to the line a suitable distance in front of the signal post s
and if the signal is at danger the treadle is raised by the man at the signal post
pulling the connection of so that as the roller n' comes into contact therewith it is
raised thereby turning the shaft c and with it the sleeve d by means of the stud c
which passes through the slot 2, thus lowering the arm e and pulling down the
rod so as to bring the catch g in contact with the projection g' and operating the
spring clapper g³ to sound the gong 9³. The arm is likewise brought down thus
pulling the frame over to the left, where the colored signal becomes visible
through the opening . When the signal is put to its "safety" position the treadle
is lowered as shown in dotted lines (Fig. 6) by slackening the connection o³ and
the train proceeds until the roller n' on the right hand side of the engine comes
into contact with another frame q fixed to the right hand rail which causes the gong
to be again sounded and the shaft c and arm & to be operated so as to bring the
frame over to the right hand side of the box where it is hidden by the flap m.
Should the engine be required to travel in the opposite direction without being
turned round the visual signal will have to be reversed. In order to effect this the
flap m is turned on its spindle.m¹ so as to cover the off side of the box the said
flap being kept in its closed position by projections 12 from which it is disengaged
by raising it as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4.
Figs. 10 & 11 show a modification of the roller lever, in which an additional
small roller t is carried by a frame t¹ pivoted to the axis of the roller n¹ and
connected to the lever n by a spring t², a stop 13 keeping it in its normal position.
The roller t acts as a pilot roller when the engine is travelling backwards and
tends to gradually raise the roller n' on the contact frames or treadles and thus
preventing sudden shocks.
Fig. 12 is another modification of the contact roller mechanism, n being the
actuating lever and n¹ the contact roller. This roller is carried by a lever n pivoted
at u to a bracket v fixed to the engine. A quadrant w is also pivoted to the
bracket vand is provided with two projections w u² for the purpose of changing
the direction of the roller n' by means of the rod a, one of the projections pushing
the lever utover as far as the stop u² and coming into contact with the projections.y
of the lever n.
د

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
1. In signalling apparatus for railways the combination of the signal operating
levers rollers n', rods n², cranks n³, shafts c c¹, sleeve d, arm e, vertical rod f,
catch 9, and gong g substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
ny
2. In combination with the above claimed apparatus the arms hh', rods h² h³,
pivoted frame k, arm k¹, box 1 and hinged flap m substantially as described and for
the purposes specified.
3. In signalling apparatus for railways the signal operating treadle or frame
shown in and described with reference to Figs. 6 & 7 of the drawings.
4. The modifications of the contact roller n' and its lever n as shown in and
described with reference respectively to Figs. 10 and 11 and Fig. 12 of the
drawings.
5. The improved railway signalling apparatus substantially as shown in and
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 8th day of December 1894.
F. G. CASSELL,
Of Cassell & Co.,
22, Glasshouse Street, Regent Street, London, W.,
Agent for the Applicant.