METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING GAS LIGHTS IN RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JOHN IMRAY of No 28 Southampton Buildings Chancery Lane in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING GAS LIGHTS IN
RAILWAY TRAINS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
"
Railway trains are frequently lighted by gas compressed in reservoirs, one on
each carriage, from which the gas passes through a regulator to the burners in the
several compartments, each carriage thus carrying its own store of gas.
"
It is often desirable to lower such gas lights, almost to extinction, when there is
sufficient external light, and again to have them give full light in dark places such
as tunnels.
-
This invention relates to means whereby a guard or official on the train can
lower or raise simultaneously all the lights throughout the train, which is effected
in the following manner. In the guard's van or in a place convenient for the
official, there is a small air compressing pump that can be worked by hand, the
discharge of this pump communicating by a pipe, coupled throughout the train,
with a valve box fixed on each carriage, which is constructed as shewn in section
by Fig. 1 and in plan with its cover removed by Fig. 2 of the accompanying
drawings. The gas, entering the valve box by the passage G, has to flow through
an elongated aperture g then past a valve b through the passage B on its way to
the burners. The valve 6 is attached to a flexible diaphragm D and is kept open
by a spring S. The space above the diaphragm D communicates by the passage A
with the discharge of the air pump. When the guard or official desires to lower
the gas, he works his pump until there is in the pipe communicating with A such
air pressure as causes the diaphragm D and valve b to descend in opposition to the
spring S, partially or wholly closing the gas passage. In order, however, to
prevent the lights from being altogether extinguished, a small by-pass P is formed
in the valve box so that, even when the valve b is fully closed, a small quantity of
gas passes to the burners maintaining a little flame, so that on the valve b being

page_text: again opened by the ascent of the diaghragm D, when it is relieved from air
pressure, the burner flames at once become fully lighted. The amount of gas
flowing by the by-pass P can be regulated by an adjustable screw valve V.
Usually it is necessary to provide for only two conditions of the lights, either full
combustion or reduction almost to extinction. In cases, however, where it is
desired to vary the lights between those limits, the stroke of the valve b and the
length of the spring S may be increased and the valve may have a longer conical
part. Then, according to the air pressure produced by the pump as indicated by
a gauge, the valve 6 can be more or less closed so as to. regulate the lights as
desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The herein described method of regulating gas lights throughout a railway
train, by air pressure transmitted by a communicating pipe to act on the diaphragm
of a regulating valve on each carriage.
2. The construction of gas regulating valve substantially as herein described and
shewn in the drawings.