IMPROVE- MENTS IN RAILWAY POINT AND SIGNAL APPARATUS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Saxby and John Stinson Farmer, both of Canterbury
· Road, Kilburn, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY POINT AND SIGNAL APPARATUS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Saxby and John
Stinson Farmer at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
16th February 1881.
JOHN SAXBY and JOHN STINSON FARMER, both of Canterbury Road, Kilburn,
in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY POINT AND SIGNAL
APPARATUS."
In many cases, particularly at the junction of a single line of railway with a
branch, loop, or siding, it is necessary or advantageous to provide, in addition to
the levers and rods which shift the points, means of locking them in the positions
to which they may be shifted, of indicating these positions, and also of shewing
whether they are locked or not, such-indications serving as signals to engine drivers,
informing them whether they can proceed with safety, or whether they should
stop. Our Invention relates to combined apparatus of a comparatively simple and
inexpensive character, by which the objects above stated are attained. In order
to explain the nature of the apparatus we will assume a simple case of junction,
such as that of a single railway line with a branch, through which junction trains
have to pass in both directions, the points operating as facing points for trains in
the one direction and as trailing points for trains in the opposite direction. In
such a case we provide the points with a facing point lock and bar of ordinary
construction, worked by a locking lever arranged beside the point lever, and if
necessary interlocked with it. We provide also a point indicator post, having four
semaphore arms, two on each side, each arm when it is lowered serving to indicate
a particular position of the points, that is to say, whether they are set for the
main line or the branch, and their particular condition, that is to say, whether
they are locked or not. Thus assuming the two upper semaphore arms to apply to
the main line, and the two lower arms to apply to the branch, when either of the
two upper arms is lowered it will indicate that the points are set for the main line,

page_text: .
the arm on one side of the post shewing that they are so set, but not. locked, and
the arm on the other side of the post shewing that they are not only so set, but
that they are also locked; and in like manner one of the lower arms being
depressed will shew that the points are set for the branch, and the other being
depressed will shew that the points are not only set for the branch, but also locked.
Thus a driver approaching the points as facing points will be informed whether
they are properly set and locked as they should be for the passage of his train, and
a driver approaching the points as trailing points will be informed whether they
are properly set, or if not properly set, whether they are locked or unlocked. In
order that the semaphore arms may give the desired indications they are connected
both with the point lever and' with the locking lever in such a manner that both
levers conspire to move the semaphore arms, or to prevent them from moving, as
the case may be. Thus when the point lever is moved to shift the points it
engages the locking lever with the proper semaphore rod, or removes a stop from
the proper semaphore arm, so that when the locking lever is moved to lock the
points it causes or permits the movement of the semaphore arm that indicates the
position and condition, whether locked or unlocked, of the points. In some cases,
where it is required to hold the signals all at danger independently of the points, a
third lever may be used to put up to danger, and hold up at danger such of the
semaphore arms as would consistently with the position and condition of the points
be otherwise lowered.
In the case of a single line with a junction loop or siding arranged for trains to
pass only in one direction along each line the apparatus may be simplified by
employing only two semaphore arms worked as above described.
Where two or more branches from a main line are governed by points near to
one another, the apparatus above described may be repeated for each set of the
points, or it may be simplified by treating as single sets of points such combinations
of two or more of the sets as govern each road, the semaphore arms in that case
indicating the position and condition of all the points necessary for each line of
traffic. Thus, for example, when there are two adjacent branches from the main
line each commanded by a set of points, six semaphore arms will suffice to indicate
whether the points are properly set, and whether they are locked or unlocked for
each of the three roads; and so in like manner for a greater number of adjacent
branches there would be required for each road a pair of semaphore arms worked
as above described by the combined action of the point levers and the locking
lovers.
We have mentioned only semaphore arms as the indicators employed; it is to be
.understood however that for night indications coloured lights are employed; for
example, a red light to correspond with the elevated position of a semaphore arm,
and a green light with its lowered position, the variations of light being produced
in the usual way by coloured spectacle glasses arranged to be moved with or similarly
to the semaphore arms.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Saxby and John Stinson Farmer in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 5th July 1881.
JOHN SAXBY and, JOHN STINSON FARMER, both of Canterbury Road, Kilburn,
in the County of Middlesex.. " IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY POINT AND SIGNAL
APPARATUS."
In many cases, particularly at the junction of a single line of railway with a
branch, loop, or siding, it is necessary or advantageous to provide, in addition to
the levers and rods which shift the points, means of locking them in the positions to
which they may be shifted, of indicating these positions, and also of shewing
whether they are locked or not, such indications serving as signals to engine
drivers, informing them whether they can proceed with safety or whether they
should stop. Our Invention relates to combined apparatus of a comparatively
simple and inexpensive character, by which the objects above stated are attained.
We will describe the apparatus which we employ for this purpose, referring to
the accompanying Drawings.
Fig. 1 is a plan shewing the junction of a set of main line rails A, A, with a
branch B, B, the points C, C, being worked by the point lever P, connected to them
by rods and bell crank levers in the usual way; D is the bolt for locking the
points in either attitude connected with the locking bar E, these being worked by
the locking lever F. All these parts are arranged and operate in the usual way,
the two levers P and F being as usual interlocked with one another. From the
connections of these levers to the points and lock respectively we form additional
connections by rods P1, P2, and F₁, F, to the apparatus, which we are about to
describe for working the point indicators. These indicators for daylight use are
as shewn on Fig. 2, which is an elevation of [the indicator post with the semaphore
arms A', A2, for the main line, and B', B2, for the branch, all four semaphores being
arranged on a post G placed as near as convenient to the points. For night use, the
two lights A and B serve respectively for the main and the branch, each of these lights
being visible both ways, and being provided with coloured spectacle glasses, which
accompany the semaphore arms in their movements. Each of the semaphore arms
is counter weighted, so that if the connections to one of them should give way it will
be automatically raised to the "danger." attitude, and each arm has a rod extending
down the post to the apparatus at the bottom of the post by which it is connected
to the rods from the levers P and F. We will describe one set of this connecting
apparatus of which it is to be understood that there is a set for each of the four
semaphore rods extending down the post. The rod P is connected to one arm p¹
of a three armed lever: Another arm p² of that lever is connected by a rod ġ to
one of two jaws r which are pivotted on the rod a extending down the post from
the arm A. The rod F' is also connected to one arm fl of a three armed lever,
another arm of which is connected by a rod q¹ to the other of the two jaws
which is also pivotted on the rod a. The two jaws 7 and 71, as shewn to an
enlarged scale in two attitudes at Figs. 3 and 4, and in side view at Fig. 5, are
made with a butt joint, so that each can be turned away from the other by the
downward pull of one of the rods q, q', but when the butts come in contact the
upward push of one of the rods or q will cause the two jaws to move as a single
lever round the pin by which they are jointed to the other of the two rods, thus
raising the rod and thereby lowering the arm A¹. The arms and p³, are
likewise connected to a pair of jaws which work a rod like a connected to the
semaphore arm B¹. In a similar manner the rods P² and F" by means of levers,
rods, and jaws on the other side of the post G work the semaphore arms A² and B³,

page_text: the operation of the whole apparatus being as follows:-As shewn in Fig. 1, the
points are set right for the main line, but not being locked in that position they
are free to be shifted; in this condition the arm A2 is lowered, shewing that the
points are set for the main line but not locked. If now they should be locked by
moving the lever F in the direction of the arrow, then this lever besides working
the locking bolt D and bar E will, by means of the rod F¹, the arms f', f2, and
the rod q', move the jaw which is butting against r, and thus lifting the rod a
will lower the arm A¹ shewing that the points are set and locked for the main
line. At the same time however the movement of the lever F by means of the
rod F, and its connections will have raised the semaphore arm A². On again
unlocking the points and shifting them by means of the lever P so as to set them
for the branch, the movement of that lever will, by its action through the rod P¹,
the arms p1 and p2, and the rod q, remove the butt of the jaw r from contact with
that of and through the arm p³ will cause one of the pair of jaws behind and r
to butt against its fellow. At the same time by a similar series of actions on the
other side of the post resulting from the movement of P2 the arm A² is raised
and B2 is lowered, shewing that the points are set for the branch but not locked.
On now moving the lever F as before to lock the points for the branch, its
movement conveyed by the rods F', F, causes the raising of B2 and the lowering
of B¹, indicating that the points are set and locked for the branch. In cases where
there is more than one branch from a main line commanded by points near one
another, a greater number of semaphore arms may be mounted on the post, one
for each road to shew that the points are set for that road, and a second for each
road to shew that the points are not only set but also locked for that road. If, for
example, there were two neighbouring branches from the main line requiring two
point levers and two locking levers there might be six semaphore arms, one for the
unlocked and one for the locked condition of each road. In that case on each side
of the post G there might be arranged three sets of the jaws r, r¹, worked
respectively as described by rods connecting them to the two point and the two
locking levers, and each set working one of the semaphore arms.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, wo claim in respect of railway point and signal apparatus at a
junction,―
!
'
First. Working point indicators by the concurrent action of the point levers
and the point locking levers, so as to shew how the points are set and whether
they are locked or unlocked, substantially as herein described.
Second. The combination of the semaphore arins and signal lanterns and the
rods for working them with the levers for working and locking the points at a
railway junction, so that the arms and lanterns operate as indicators shewing how
the points are set and whether they are locked or unlocked, substantially as
described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stinson Farmer, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
JOHN STINSON TA
FARMER
(L.D.)