IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EFPECTING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF A RAILWAY TRAIN IN MOTION
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Leetch at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th July
1869.
I, JAMES LEETCH, of Broadley Terrace, Blandford Square, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EFPECTING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE
DIFFERENT PARTS OF A RAILWAY TRAIN IN MOTION," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to furnish a certain and convenient
means for effecting communications between the passengers and guard,
and between the guard and driver of a railway train, and I accomplish
this object in the following manner :-I provide each carriage with a
flexible rope, perferably of brass or other wire, and pass the same over
pulleys under the carriages. These ropes are connected together
between the carriages by safety hooks of peculiar construction, and form
a continuous line or rope from end to end of the train, one end being
under the control of the guard, and the other end connected with a
whistle or other signal upon the engine. Hitherto the chief obstacle to
the use of a rope as a medium of communication between the different
parts of a train has been the difficulty of properly compensating for

page_text: variations in length caused by the play of the buffers; this obstacle
I overcome by the use of a novel and simple arrangement of springs or
elastic supports which keep the rope or cord always properly taut
throughout the entire length of the train, whether the carriages are
drawn apart to the full extent allowed by the coupling chains or
approach each other as close as the buffers will permit. These elastic
supports are preferably formed of india-rubber or other elastic material,
and are attached at one end to the carriages, the other end having an eye
or loop through which the rope is passed. Each end of each carriage is
provided with one of these elastic supports or connecting lines which
contract or expand freely according to the relative position of the
carriages as they pass over curves or gradients. The safety hooks which
I prefer to use for connecting the ropes between the carriages are made
somewhat similar in form to other hooks used for like purposes, but the
arrangement of the spring which closes my hook is peculiar. The said
hooks are formed with a socket to fit the end of the rope, and the spring
is a strip of steel which is inserted and secured by a screw or otherwise
in the said socket with its free end projecting out therefrom and covering
the front of the hook, the said spring forming both guard and spring,
whereas in ordinary safety hooks the guard is hinged to the hook and
actuated by a separate spring.
My improved hooks allow the ends of the ropes to be readily connected
and disconnected in making up the train or removing carriages there-
from, while at the same time they prevent any possibility of the
accidental disconnection of the ropes.
passengers
In order to form the means of communication between the
and the guard and driver, I provide each compartment of the carriage
with a wire or cord which is connected with the rope or line under the
carriage. This wire or cord is passed over pulleys, and through a tube, or
is otherwise encased, and provided with a handle or pull arranged above
the heads of the passengers, or in some other position where the said
handle can be conveniently operated. The end of the rope in the
guard's van is connected to a bell or to a weight suspended on a
catch or is provided with other means for attracting the attention of
the guard. Each compartment is also provided with my improved self-
acting indicator, which acts in combination with the handle and wire
above described and shows from what carriage or compartment the
signal has been given. This indicator consists of a rod or bar which is

page_text: fitted to slide in and project from a frame or tube which is arranged at
the side or top of the carriage. To this rod or bar is attached a cord or
line which is connected to the handle in such a manner that when the
same is pulled the rod will be thrown outward beyond the side of the
carriage. The said rod or bar is provided with a spring which acts in a
similar manner to the spring of an umbrella and prevents the drawing
back of the rod by the passengers within the compartment or carriage
so that the guard can ascertain at what part of the train his attention
is required, and can either stop the train and proceed thereto at once or
can keep watch upon such part of the train till the same arrives at the
next station.