IMPROVEMENTS IN FOG SIGNALS FOR RAILWAYS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOG SIGNALS FOR
RAILWAYS." A communication from abroad by Eugene François
Désiré Ruggieri, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 21st March 1873.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOG SIGNALS FOR
RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
:-
This Invention of improvements in fog signals for railways has for its
object to produce these articles in a cheaper and better manner than
heretofore, and in fact to so make them that they will be certain to act

page_text: when required, and cannot be accidentally pushed off the rail by the
running wheels of the locomotive without being exploded, as sometimes
happens with fog signals of the ordinary construction.
The improved signal consists of a box and cover made of thin metal.
The box is shallow, and is intended to contain a plug or cake of
fulminating composition, consisting of one part of chlorate of potash
and one part of antimony. The cover is made of a convex form, so that
while it allows of the fulminate cake being made sufficiently thick for
the intended purpose, this cake will be held in the centre of the shallow
box, the edges of which will be so low as to cause the surface of the
cover to be almost tangential to the periphery of the wheel, thereby
rendering it almost impossible for the running wheel to push the signal
on one side, or off the rail without exploding it. Instead of securing
the cover on the box by bevilling the one part on to the other, as is now
the case, the two parts are held together by pasting a strip of waste
paper round the box two or three times.
The parts are further secured and the article is rendered impermeable
to moisture by dipping it in varnish or other analogous preparation.
In order to secure the signal on the rail a transverse strip of copper,
brass, or other very flexible metal or alloy is soldered on to the bottom
of the box. This copper or other metal strip is bent under the head of
the rail, and will hold the signal firmly thereon, but if it be not used or
exploded it may be removed therefrom, and used again on a future
occasion.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters 25
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said William
Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the 30
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, 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 FOG SIGNALS FOR RAILWAYS," being a communication
from Eugene Francois Desiré Ruggiere, of Paris, in the Republic of
France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, 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 on or before the Four-
teenth day of October One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked theron (that is to
say):
This Invention of improvements in fog signals for railways has for its
object to produce these articles in a cheaper and better manner than
heretofore, and to so make them that they will be certain to act when
required, and cannot be accidentally pushed off the rail by the running
wheels of the locomotive without being exploded as sometimes happens
with fog signals of the ordinary construction.
The improved fog signal is shewn in the accompanying Drawing in
elevation at Fig. 1, and as applied to one of the rails of a railway.
Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section.
Fig. 3 is a plan view, and Fig. 4 a view of the under side of the fog

page_text: The box a, a, is shallow, and is intended to contain a plug or cake of
fulminating composition 6, Fig. 2, consisting of one part of chlorate of
potash, and two parts of antimony, but I prefer to employ a composition of
one part of chlorate of potash, one part of sulphur, one part of antimony,
and 0.1 part of granulated saltpetre. This circular plug or cake, which
is of less diameter than the box, is enveloped in a wrapper of soft paper,
and glued to the bottom of the box. The annular space is then filled
up with gunpowder, as shewn at f, Fig. 2, for the purpose of increasing
the sound of the explosion. The fog signal thus composed and arranged
is rendered more secure against the dangers incident to the manufacture
and transport of explosive compounds. The cover a¹ of the box is made
of a convex form, so as to allow of the fulminate cake 6 being made
sufficiently thick for the intended purpose; this cake will be held in the
centre of the shallow box, the edges of which will be so low as to cause
the surface of the cover to be almost tangential to the periphery of the
wheel, which is indicated by the curved dotted line c, c, in Fig. 1. By
constructing the box or case in this form it will be almost impossible for
the running wheel to push the signal on one side or off the rail without
exploding it. Instead of securing the cover on the box by bevilling the
one part on to the other, as is now the case, the two parts are held
together by pasting a strip of soft or bibulous paper round the circum-
ference of the box two or three times, as shewn at d, Figures 1 and 4, or
I may paste a strip of paper transversely around the box.
The parts are further secured and the box or case containing the
explosive compound is rendered impermeable to moisture by dipping it
in varnish or other analogous preparation.
In order to secure the signal on the rail e, a transverse strip of copper,
brass, or other flexible metal or alloy g, g, is soldered on to the bottom
of the box. This copper or other metal strip is bent under the head of
the rail, and will hold the signal firmly thereon, but if it be not used or
exploded it may be removed therefrom and used again on a future
occasion.
Having now described the Invention of "Improvements in Fog Signals
for Railways," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and
having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim
as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, con-
structing fog signals, as herein set forth, whereby the explosion is

page_text: increased, greater security in manufacture and transport is obtained, and
the fog signal cases are held securely on the rails and prevented from
being pushed off therefrom by an advancing wheel without being
exploded.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.