IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES TO ENABLE PASSENGERS TO PASS FROM ONE COMPARTMENT TO ANOTHER, AND TO GIVE SIGNALS ON TRAINS IN MOTION
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas English Stephens, of Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Law Clerk, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES TO ENABLE PASSENGERS TO PASS
FROM ONE COMPARTMENT TO ANOTHER, AND TO GIVE SIGNALS ON TRAINS IN
MOTION."
Sealed the 6th February 1866, and dated the 11th. August 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas English Stephens
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th August 1865.
I, THOMAS ENGLISH STEPHENS, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Law Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES TO ENABLE PASSENGERS TO. PASS.
FROM ONE COMPARTMENT TO ANOTHER, AND TO GIVE SIGNALS ON TRAINS IN MOTION,"
to be as follows:-
In new railway carriages constructed according to the improvements which
constitute the first part of my Invention, and in railway carriages already.
running, to which my said improvements may be applied, I make the whole
or part of the transverse partitions which divide the said carriages into
compartments capable of being moved. In practice it is convenient to make
only a portion or panel of each partition so as it can be moved, say, made to

page_text: slide in grooves or in the manner of a window sash, and of such a size that a
passenger deeming it expedient, or finding it necessary to pass from the com-
partment in which he or she may be into a next compartment, may be enabled
to do so with ease. When one of these panels is moved a given distance, it
may be downwards, and partly through the bottom of the carriage, spring or
other catches secure it, and it can only be returned or closed by the guard or
other official in possession of a suitable key. At the time the said panel is
being moved it comes into contact with and gives motion to a lever to operate
the following self-acting means of signalling on trains, which constitute the
second part of my Invention.
The lever just mentioned is suspended on a pin carried by a bracket
attached to the bottom of the carriages, and when motion is given to it, say,
at one end by the herein-before mentioned sliding panel, the other end is
made to approach the axle of the wheels and to bring into contact therewith a
friction pulley or roller carried on a shaft or stud on the end of the lever and
guided by framework attached to the bottom of the carriage. The said
friction roller or pulley the instant it bears on the axle rotates at great speed.
On the said shaft or stud there is a pulley or wheel to carry a belt, cord, or
chain, or there is a crank or eccentric and a connecting rod to convey or
transmit the rotatory motion to the end of the carriage or elsewhere as may be
considered most advisable where the said motion is employed to give visual or
sound signals, or both of the following, or any other kind. There are two
signals which I prefer, the one appealing directly to the sense of sight and the
other to the senses of sight and hearing, and such signals may be used either
together or separately. The first consists of flags or arms which are connected
to rods partaking of the motion taken from the rotating axle, and are waved
or moved by such rods so as to attract attention. The second consists of
discharging rockets at stated intervals, also by the motion taken from the
rotating axle. A tube or box, preferably metallic, containing rockets is placed
at the end or side of the carriage; into and through the said tube or box a rod
is carried, and this rod being worked by a crank or eccentric has a reciprocating
motion communicated thereto. The rockets are provided with friction and
time fuses so that when they are raised by the reciprocating motion of the rod
to a certain position the friction ignites the fuse, and the rocket is allowed to
pass upwards into the air, where the noise of explosion will attract attention
either by day or night, and the light given out will be a certain signal at
night.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas English Stephens in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 10th February 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS:
ENGLISH STEPHENS, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Law Clerk, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas English Stephens, Her special license that I, the said Thomas
English Stephens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas English Stephens, 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 vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES TO ENABLE PASSENGERS
TO PASS FROM ONE COMPARTMENT TO ANOTHER, AND TO GIVE SIGNALS ON TRAINS IN
MOTION," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
English Stephens, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their bands 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 Thomas English Stephens, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
In new railway carriages constructed according to the improvements which
constitute the first part of my Invention, and in railway carriages already
running, to which my said improvements may be applied, I make the whole
or part of the transverse partitions which divide the said carriages into com-
partments capable of being moved. In practice it is convenient to make only
a portion or pannel of each partition so as it can be moved, say, made to slide
in grooves or in the manner of a window sash, and of such a size that a
passenger deeming it expedient or finding it necessary to pass from the

page_text: compartment in which he or she may be into a next compartment may be
enabled to do so with ease. When one of these pannels is moved a given
distance, it may be downwards and partly through the bottom of the carriage,
spring or other catches secure it, and it can only be returned or closed by the
guard or other official in possession of a suitable key. At the time the said
pannel is being moved it comes into contact with and gives motion to a lever to
operate the following self-acting means of signalling on trains, which constitute
the second part of my Invention.
The lever just mentioned is suspended on a pin carried by a bracket
attached to the bottom of the carriage, and when motion is given to it, say, at
one end by the herein-before mentioned sliding pannel, the other end is made
to approach the axle of the wheels and to bring into contact therewith a friction
pulley or roller carried on a shaft or stud on the end of the lever and guided
by framework attached to the bottom of the carriage. The said friction roller
or pulley the instant it bears on the axle rotates at great speed. On the said
shaft or stud there is a pulley or wheel to carry a belt, cord, or chain, or their
is a crank or excentric and a connecting rod to convey or transmit the rotatory
motion to the end of the carriage or elsewhere as may be considered most
advisable where the said motion is employed to give visual or sound signals, or
both of the following, or any other kind. There are two signals which I
prefer, the one appealing directly to the sense of sight and the other to the
senses of sight and hearing, and such signals may be used either together or
separately. The first consists of flags or arms, and the second of rockets, both
being caused to act by motion taken from the pannel.
That my improvements may be readily seen and understood I have attached
hereto two Sheets of illustrative Drawings.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section of an end portion of a second-class
railway carriage fixed according to my Invention, the passage or way in the
partition being open, and the signalling apparatus in. operation.
Fig. 2, another end portion in longitudinal section, the passage or way
being closed, and the signalling apparatus. out of but ready for use; and
Fig. 3 an end elevation of a railway carriage, parts of the signalling apparatus
in operation being shewn; the same letters of reference indicate like parts in
all these views.
'
a denotes the wheels; b, the axles; c, the frame and body of carriage; d;
the seats, and e, the partitions. In e paunelf of any desired size is fitted in
grooves or otherwise, so that it can be made to slide downwards to the position
shewn in Fig. 1 for the purpose herein-after mentioned; 9, handles or rods
attached to f; and h, a joint or hinge, so that the part f¹ can be folded over

page_text: and an opening or way large enough to allow a person to pass through: left
without bringing the lower end of rack i- attached to f into contact with the
ground. The pannelf may be kept up so as to close the partitions by hooks or
by any other convenient means; when the panels in the 'several partitions of
a carriage are all connected together by rods or connections from the several
racks, and only one signalling arrangement by motion from the axle is attached,
and this I consider the best. The pannels might all be coupled and held up by
the same means, so that by applying pressure to any handle or rod g the whole
would move, and there would be a clear passage from end to end of the
carriage. When the pannel or pannels is or are pushed down it is desirable
that it or they should be retained in that position until the guard or other person
in charge allows it or them to be returned; j shews a spring, the end of which
is formed with a stud or pin to take into a recessed space in rack i which it
secures; the guard or other person in charge, however, by the ordinary door
or other key can by turning round or moving a pipe or rod brought within
convenient reach bring the push lever k against and disengage it and so
leave the pannel free to be raised to the closed position shewn in Fig. 2:
The teeth of the rack i gear with wheel 1, which is carried by a bracket
attached to the carriage. When the rack is made to descend the motion
causes the wheel 7 and the pinion m on the same axis to rotate and to raise
the toothed sector n attached to lever o, hung on a pin or stud p, resting in
a bracket suspended from the carriage; the other end of lever o is thereby
depressed and the friction pulley r brought into contact with the axle and
made to rotate as shewn in Fig. 1. When the panel f and rack i are
lifted up or made to ascend the reverse action takes place. Over the said
friction roller r, which should be covered or its periphery with leather, india-
rubber, or other like material, to cause it to partake the more readily of the
motion of the axle, the endless belt, cord, band, or chain is carried, the other
bearing for it being the pulleys, shewn fastened at the end of the carriage:
The axle of s is carried by brackets t; at its outer end there is a crank u, to
which is attached a connecting rod v for operating the visual and sound signals
in the tube w and box a. It will be obvious that the motion from the axle to
the tubes wand box might be conveyed by gearing and motion conductors
of various kinds or constructions. When the connecting rod v is at rest the
5 crank u is turned to the bottom of the stroke as shewn in Fig. 2, and the
ends of the flag staffs a' are hooked or connected over the projecting pieces b¹
of box x, and the flags c¹ kept out of sight. So soon, however, as- the
connecting rod v is set in motion the cross piece d' attached thereto or formed

page_text: thereon remove the ends of a¹ from 6, and the helical springs e¹ force the
flags outwards to the position shewn (part of the tube being removed) in
Fig. 3. Motion taken from the connecting rod might be employed to movė
or wave the flags to and fro. The said connecting rod v at its upper end is
jointed to a crank f' on the shaft g' resting in the box x. This box is shewn
in section by Figs. 1 and 2, the former having the lid open, and the latter
closed and in elevation, the front of the box being removed in Fig. 3; it
should be perfectly weather-tight as it has to contain rockets and preserve
them in condition ready for use when required. On the shaft g¹ there is
secured the excentric beart-shaped tappet h³, the use of which is to open the
lid a¹ of the box & immediately motion is given, no matter in which direction,
and that before the percussion tappet 7, also secured on g³, comes round and
moves a hammer j¹ to strike the nipple of and cap on the rocket container k¹, or
before such tappet comes round, so as by, friction to ignite a time fuse attached
to rocket. The opening of the lid a¹ to allow the rocket to escape is of great
importance as the time which will elapse from the pressure of h¹ until ¹
comes into position to do its work is very short. To accelerate the opening,
when such lid has reached a certain point, I have attached a spring / which
acts in a well-known manner. Instead of having only one rocket in the
container there may be a series of these containers fitted in the manner of
the chambers or barrels of a revolver pistol, each chamber or barrel having
percussion caps, or any other convenient arrangement such as would discharge
rockets at desired intervals might be adopted. The length or character of the
time fuse in the case of rockets would determine at what distance from the
carriage they would explode.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and particularly
ascertained the same by practicable details, I would have it understood that I
do not confine myself to the exact arrangements of parts shewn, as many
modifications may be made without departing from the leading features of my
said Invention; what I claim is,―
Firstly, constructing railway carriages with the moveable sliding or
opening panel f, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.
Secondly, causing the motion of the panelf to bring apparatus into contact
with and to partake of the motion of the axle, substantially in the manner and
for the purpose of signalling on trains in motion.
Thirdly, employing the motion obtained from the axle to give signals,
either visible, or audible, or both, for the purpose of signalling on trains in
motion.

page_text: And, fourthly, the application of such motion to disengage the flags or arms
and discharge the rocket or rockets, substantially as herein described and shewn
on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas English Stephens, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
THOMAS ENGLISH STEPHENS. (LS.)
In the presence of
JOHN T. KING,
Patent Agent,
Liverpool.