IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING BETWEEN PASSENGERS, GUARDS, AND ENGINE DRIVERS UPON RAILWAYS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Hamilton Colles, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR SIGNALLING BETWEEN PASSENGERS, GUARDS, AND ENGINE DRIVERS UPON
RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 5th November 1867, and dated the 14th May 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Hamilton Colles
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th May 1867.
I, ALEXANDER HAMILTON COLLES, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING BETWEEN PASSENGERS, GUARDS, AND ENGINE
DRIVERS UPON RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
. My Invention relates to apparatus for effecting communication between
guard and driver, or between the passengers and -either the guard or driver or
both, and is to be employed as a means of signalling danger or calling attention
for assistance in a railway carriage compartment.
The improvements consist in the application of two cords running along the
top of each carriage equidistant on both sides of the longitudinal centre of
the carriage; these cords are firmly secured to one end of the carriage, their

page_text: opposite ends being caused to coil round the axle of weighted pulleys, one on
each carriage, situated midway between the two cords, over these pulleys a
through cord passes, being coupled up in lengths so as to form a continuous
length and connection between the guard's van and engine, a certain amount
of slack being allowed for the varying distances of the carriages; this cord is
caused to press upon such weighted pulleys by means of a bar or other
equivalent, one end of which being attached to an alarum in the guard's van,
and the other end to the handle of a steam whistle on the engine. The
separate lengths of cords with which each carriage is provided, and which
are connected to the axle of the weighted pulley before described, are
connected with pendant strings or chains running over small guide pulleys
and protruding through the roof of the carriage, two in each compartment,
each one terminating in a button and tassel, the button being constructed so
as to press against and be attached to an ornamental piece of paper arranged
to cover it, so that when the tassel is pulled for giving an alarm the
paper is torn or destroyed, thereby indicating the compartment in which
the alarm was given. To each of these pendant corts a catch is secured,
which is in connection with a spring and bell-crank lever, the said lever
being provided with a signal or semaphore, which when the pendant cord is
pulled becomes released, so as to project and signal the carriage from whence
the alarm was communicated. If a passenger desires to raise an alarm
the tassel secured to the length of rope coiled round the axle of the pulley
over which the continuous rope passes is pulled down in the carriage, which
immediately transmits motion through the medium of the axle and large
pulley to the rope, communicating an alarm on the engine or in the guard's
van, and simultaneously the catch holding the spring semaphore is released
and the signal remains extended to indicate the position of the required
assistance. Another method of attracting the attention of guard or driver
is by dispensing with the intermediate continuous long rope and applying a
detonating apparatus to the bell crank, which is actuated by the tassels and
springs, and is in connection with the semaphore signal, so that upon pulling
the tassels the detonating apparatus is brought into action and attention is
attracted by the sound. Where short trains are employed for the conveyance
of passengers I employ a continuous connecting rope running over the
carriage, which is shielded by a tube or metallle covering connecting the
engine with the guard's van, .both ends of which terminate in an alarm, as
before described; to this rope through the roof of each compartment of the
ĉarriage a cap or tube is. connected which contains a pair of scissor-like
nippers, between which the through rope runs, the said nippers being attached

page_text: to pendant tassels, which when pulled causes the nippers to tighten upon the
cord so as to take up the slack of the continuous cord, and at the same time
sound an alarm on the engine or in the guard's van.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Hamilton Colles in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th November 1867. .
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
HAMILTON COLLES, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alexander Hamilton Colles, Her special license that I, the said
Alexander Hamilton Colles, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Alexander Hamilton Colles, my executors, ad-
ministrators, 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 APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING BETWEEN
PASSENGERS, GUARDS, AND ENGINE DRIVERS UPON RAILWAYS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Hamilton Colles, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Hamilton Colles, 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, and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
My Invention relates to apparatus for effecting communication between
guard and driver, or between the passengers and either the guard or driver,
or both, and is to be employed as a means of signalling danger or calling
attention for assistance in a railway carriage compartment.

page_text: The improvements consist in the application of two cords running along
the top of each carriage equidistant on both sides of the longitudinal centre
of the carriage; these cords are firmly secured to one end of the carriage,
their opposite ends being caused to coil round the axle of a pulley or drum,
one on each carriage situated midway between the two cords; over these
pulleys or drum a through cord passes, being coupled up in lengths so as to
form a continuous connection between the guard's van and engine, a certain
amount of slack being allowed for the varying distances of the carriages; this
cord is caused to press upon such pulleys or drum by means of a bar or
other equivalent, one end of which being attached to an alarum in the guard's
van, and the other end to the handle of a steam whistle on the engine. The
separate lengths of cords with which each carriage is provided, and which are
connected to the axle of the pulley or drum before mentioned, are connected
with pendent strings or chains running over small guide pulleys and protruding
through the roof of the carriage, two in each compartment, each one
terminating in a button and tassel, the button being constructed so as to
press against and be attached to an ornamental piece of paper arranged to
cover it, so that when the tassel is pulled for giving an alarm the paper is
torn or destroyed, thereby indicating the compartment in which the alarm
was given. To each of these pendent cords a catch is secured, which is in
connection with a spring and bell-crank lever, the said lever being provided
'with a signal or semaphore which when the pendent cord is pulled becomes
released so as to project and signal the carriage from whence the alarm was
communicated. If a passenger desires to raise an alarm the tassel secured to
the length of rope coiled round the axle of the pulley or drum over which the
continuous rope passes is pulled down in the carriage, which immediately
'transmits motion through the medium of the axle and large pulley or drum
to the rope, communicating an alarm on the engine or in the guard's van, and
simultaneously the catch holding the spring semaphore is released and the
signal remains extended to indicate. the position of the required assistance.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail I have herennto attached a Sheet of Drawings illustrative of same.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section of the upper portion and roof of a
railway carriage to which the improved system or arrangement of com-
munication between the passengers and guard or engine driver of railway
trains is shewn applied; Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the carriage roof
shewing more particularly the line of cords or chains, and their connection
by which means communication is effected by the passenger with the guard
or driver; Fig. 3 represents a transverse section (through the line A, B,

page_text: Fig. 2,) of the drum or shaft which may be substituted for the pulley
aforesaid, coupling the cords through which communication is transmitted,
this section shewing the drum in its normal position when unemployed;
Fig. 4 represents a similar section as it would appear when in action; Fig. 5
represents a detached portion of the carriage roof shewing the tassel or
handle projecting through the same into each compartment of a carriage,
also its connection with the communicating cord and the arrangement of
apparatus by which the guard is enabled to detect the compartment from
which the communication was transmitted; and Figs. 6 and 7 represent an
elevation and plan view of an arrangement of apparatus in connection with
the communicating cords that throws out a signal or semaphore at the ends
of the carriage from which communication has been transmitted.
In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, a, a, is the body or framework of an ordinary
railway passenger carriage, along the top of which two cords or chains b, b,
are situated extending parallel and equidistant on both sides of the longitudinal
centre of the carriage; these cords are firmly secured at one end of the
carriage at the point c, c, their opposite ends being coiled round the axis d of the
drum or slotted shaft e, the slotted and enlarged portion of which is situated
about half way between the two cords b, b. Through the slot of the enlarged
portion of the shaft e a through cord f passes (as seen in the Diagrams Fig. 3)
being coupled up in lengths so as to form a continuous connection between
the guard's van and engine, one end of which is attached to an alarm in the
guard's van, and the other end to the handle of a steam whistle on the engine,
a certain amount of "slack cord" being allowed between each carriage in
order to compensate for the varying distances between the carriages. The
separate lengths of cord b, b, with which each carriage is provided, and which
are connected to the axle d of the slotted shaft or drum e, are connected with
pendent tassels or handles g which project through the roof of the carriage,
two in each compartment, each tassel or handle being provided with a
button which is constructed so as to press against and be attached to an
ornamental piece of paper k, which is arranged to cover it, so that when the.
tassel 9 is pulled for giving an alarm the paper is toru or destroyed, thereby
indicating the compartment in which the alarm was given. To one end of
the axle da pendent cord is secured, the lower end of which is in connection
with a lever m, the side of which is caused to cover the outlet of the recess n,
in which is contained a swing semaphore o and coiled spring p, which when
the cord is taken up by the slotted shaft e so as to remove the lever m the
semaphore o is released and becomes forced out from the recess n by the
spring so as to project and call attention to the carriage from whence the
g

page_text: alarm was communicated; or the said semaphore may be retained by a
catch which is released by the first turn of the drum e as at Fig. 6. If a
passenger desires to call assistance the tassel g secured to the length of rope b
coiled round the axle of the slotted shaft e through which the continuous
rope passes is pulled down in the carriage which immediately transmits
motion through the medium of the axle and slotted shaft of enlarged diameter
(as seen in Fig. 4) to the rope f communicating an alarm on the engine
or in the guard's van, and simultaneously the lever m or catch retaining
the spring and semaphore is released, and the signal remains extended to
indicate the position of the required assistance; or if desired on the tassel
being pulled a spring will be released that will coil the rope upon the slotted
shaft as though pulled by the hand which will effect an alarm in the manner
before described.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that I claim the novel combination and arrangement of apparatus
for effecting communication between passengers and guard or driver in trains
of carriages used on railways, as herein-before described, set forth, and fully
illustrated in the Drawings attached.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Hamilton Colles, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON COLLES. (L.S.)
Witnessed by
JOHN L. DAVIES,
Office for Patents,
Manchester.