IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING OR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS, DRIVERS, AND GUARDS OF RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Stewart, of Islington, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING
OR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS, DRIVERS, AND GUARDS OF
RAILWAY TRAINS.”
Sealed the 9th December 1875, and dated the 22nd September 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Stewart at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd September 1875.
•
I, CHARLES STEWART, of Islington, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR SIGNALLING OR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS, DRIVERS, AND
GUARDS OF RAILWAY TRAINS," to be as follows:-
-
My Invention has for its object to provide a mean's of instantaneously
-signalling or communicating between the passengers and the driver and
guard of a railway train, and it consists in an apparatus whereby the
whistle on the engine may be sounded and a flag displayed from the
side of the carriage from whence the alarm proceeds.

page_text: According to my Invention a roller, around which the signal flag is
wrapped, is mounted in an horizontal frame fitted to slide outwards
through an aperture in the side of the carriage near the roof, said frame
being enclosed in a suitable casing, and connected to springs attached to
the framework of the carriage. The springs are distended by drawing
the frame inwards, in which position it is retained by means of a catch,
to which is connected a cord and handle that hangs within the carriage.
A line or rope is passed through an eye in the outer end of the frame,
and connected at one end to the whistle on the engine, which will be
sounded when the rope is tightened. On pulling the handle in the
carriage the frame will be released from the catch, and caused by the
contraction of the springs to project the whole length of the roller from
the side of the carriage.
Immediately the roller has passed through tho aperture the flag will
unroll itself therefrom, and indicate the exact compartment where the
apparatus has been operated, at the same time an alarm is given by
the sounding of the steam whistle, which is effected by the pull on the
rope produced by the movement of the frame to which it is connected,
as before mentioned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Stewart in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd February 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
STEWART, of Islington, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles Stewart, Her special
licence that I, the said Charles Stewart, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Stewart, my executors,
administrators, 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

page_text: vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING OR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS,
DRIVERS, AND GUARDS OF RAILWAY TRAINS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Charles Stewart, 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 Charles Stewart, 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
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say :—
My Invention has for its object to provide a means of instantaneously
signalling or conveying an alarm from the passengers to the guard and
driver of a railway train, and it consists in an apparatus whereby a gong
or bell in the guard's van, and the whistle or some other device on the
engine may be sounded, and a flag displayed from the side of the carriage
whence the alarm proceeds.
According to my Invention a roller, round which the signal flag is
wrapped, is mounted on a horizontal axis or rod fitted to slide outwards
through an aperture in the side of the carriage near the roof, said rod
being connected to springs so arranged as to be distended when the rod
is pushed inwards, in which position it is retained by means of a catch.
To this catch is connected a cord, which passes through all the com-
partments of the carriage just beneath the roof, or in any other
convenient position. A line carried through eyes on the outside of the
carriages passes along the entire length of the train, and terminates at
one end in the guard's van, where it is attached to an apparatus for
striking a gong or bell. The other end of the line is attached to the
handle of the steam whistle on the engine, or to some other device for
attracting the attention of the driver. This line is also passed over
one or more friction rollers fixed at the extremities of the several

page_text: signalling or flag rods above mentioned, there being one of such in
each carriage.
On releasing the catch which retains any of these rods by pulling the
cord within the carriage the whole length of the flag roller will be
caused by the contraction of the springs to project from the side of the
carriage, and the flag will unroll itself by its own gravity, and indicato
the carriage whence the alarm proceeds. At the same time the atten-
tion of the guard and engine driver is respectively attracted by the
sounding of the gong or bell in the guard's van, and by the action of the
whistle or other device for calling attention on the engine, both of which
alarms are effected by the pull on the rope produced by the outward
movement of the flag rod, which carries with it the line before mentioned
as passing along the outside of the train.
In order to prevent the fracture of the line or rope which passes along
the outside of the carriages by reason of the curvature of the train when
passing round curves the end of such line in the guard's van is attached
to a spring, which is extended by such curvature, and by contraction
returns to its normal position on the train becoming again straight.
This spring is also connected to the bell or gong in the guard's van
aforesaid.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a part cross section of a railway carriage shewing the
apparatus of my Invention applied thereto; Figure 2 is a part plan of
the same; Figure 3 is a part transverse section; and Figure 4, a part
horizontal section of the guard's van, shewing the connections at the one i
extremity of the communication cord.
a is an iron rod carrying at the outer end a roller b, which rotates
freely on rod a; c is a flag weighted at the bottom to cause it to unwind
freely, and to keep it when unwound in a practically vertical position;
it is made of red material, so that the lights in the carriages will illumi- |
nate it, and so render it visible by night. This flag is attached to and
wound on the roller b. d is a cross head at the inner end of rod a, to
which are attached two or more india-rubber or other springs e, which
are connected at their other ends to the box or casing ƒ, through which
rod a passes. This box (which is shown on an enlarged scale in
Figure 5) is fixed against the end or partition of the carriage, and
serves as a guide for the cross head d. i is a sheath or casing fixed in

page_text: "
the box fto receive the flag-roller when the rod a is pushed inwards;
k is a catch on the cross head d, with with engages a latch /_pivoted_at_
A, and having attached a cord m, which is carried over suitable pulleys
along and inside of the roof of the several compartments of the carriage.
n is the cord or line running along the train from the guard's van to the
engine; this line is supported by eyes placed on the outside of the
carriages just beneath the eaves of the roofs, and passes over the ends of
the rods a, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, in which o, o, are two pulleys
mounted on a cross head p at the end of rod a, and r is a pulley fixed to
the side of the carriage. At the outer end of rod a is placed a knob j to
facilitate the pushing of such rod into its place again after the signal
has been operated. When the catch is released from latch 7, as above
mentioned, the rod a is projected outwards from the side of the carriage,
as shown in dotted lines. The rod a carries with it the cord n, as
shown, and by the arrangement of pulleys, shown in Figure 2, the cord
is drawn up from both the front and rear ends of the train, so that the
linen will be shortened sufficiently to ensure the sounding of the bell or
gong in the guard's van, and the whistle or other device on the engine,
without the rod a being projected so far as to come against the bridges
or other structures at the side of the railway.
I may however find it sufficient to have a single eye or pulley at the
extremity of rod a for the line n to pass through, and so dispense with
pulleys o, o, and r.
..
g is a sleeve or boss fitted on roda to preserve the central position
of the rod when passing through the sheath i; y is a block of india-
rubber attached to the rod a, as shown in Figure 5, and tending to deaden
the shock of the cross head d when coming into contact with the
stop &.
In Figure 3 8 is a rod or bar sliding in a box t containing a spring u,
which is attached to rod s, serving to withdraw the same into box t,.and
take-up any slack in cord n, which is attached to the other end of rod 8.
is a weight or hammer dependant from a cord attached to rod s in
such a position as to strike the bell won the rods being drawn out by
the pull of cord n when the signal arm a is projected from the side
3 of the carriage, as above described, the rod a being colored red also
serves as a visible signal to draw the attention of the guard to the fact
that an alarm has been given. The connection of the cord n with the

page_text: engine whistle or other device for attracting the attention of the driver
will be readily understood without illustration.
After an alarm has been given the flag can be readily wound up again
on its roller, and the rod a pushed home, and the apparatus reset by the
guard or other person.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
apparatus consisting of a rod or frame actuated by springs and retained
by a catch, and carrying a roller turning freely, on which a flag is wound,
the whole applied to railway carriages, and operating a line in con-
nection with the engine whistle or some other device for calling the
driver's attention, and a gong or bell in the guard's van, substantially as
shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Stewart, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.