Improvements in Fog Signalling on Railways, and Apparatus for that Purpose.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 24th June, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 11th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 12th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fog Signalling on Railways, and Apparatus for that
Purpose.
I, EDWARD TYER of Ashwin Street Dalston, London, Electrical Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
--
My invention has for its object to dispense with the labour of fog signalling on
railways, and to avoid the danger and inconvenience attending the usual systems of
fog signalling.
"
For this purpose I provide on the locomotive or tender or in the front guard's van
any suitable source of electricity such as a primary battery or a charged secondary
battery, and from it conductors to a pair of glow lamps, the one capable of showing a
red light as a danger" signal and the other capable of shewing a green light
indicating "safety." I place these lamps in such a position that the engine driver has
them directly in view, and there may be a corresponding pair in view of the front
guard.
.
From the under framing of the guard's van or tendor hang three lever arms. One
of these, when raised, operates a switch which closes the circuit from the battery to
the red lamp, another of the arms in like manner switches on the green lamp, and each
of these two arms when it has been raised is retained in the raised position by a catch.
The third lever arm when it is raised, releases each of these catches, allowing the arm
which had been raised to drop and so to open the circuit, extinguishing the lamp. On
the permanent way at some distance beyond the distant signal I mount a pair of
triggers which are connected to the distant signal or its pulls in such a manner that
when the signal is at "danger" one of these triggers is raised the other being lowered,
and when the signal is at "safety" the second trigger is raised, the former being
lowered. These triggers are in such a position that they present themselves respectively
in the paths of the two switch lever arms above mentioned. I also fix near the distant
signal a sloping piece in the path of the third or releasing lever arm. The operation
of the apparatus is as follows:-
"
When the distant signal is at "safety a train in approaching it on passing the
triggers, has that one of its lever arms raised which operates the switch for the green
light, and thus the driver or guard is informed, or both are informed, that the train is
passing the distant signal and that it is at "safety." In like manner when the distant
signal is at "danger "the red light gives the indication.
The light, whether green or red, is maintained until the train passes the fixed
sloping piece which by raising the third lever arm releases the one of the other two
which had been raised, and the circuit which it closed being thus opened, the light is
extinguished.
A pair of triggers and a sloping piece as above described may also be arranged in
connection with the home signal, to indicate in like manner whether it stands at
"safety" or at "danger."
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fog Signalling on Railways, and Apparatus for that
Purpose.
"
I, EDWARD TYER of Ashwin Street, Dalston, London, Electrical Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention has for its object to dispense with the labour of fog signalling on
railways, and to avoid the danger and inconvenience attending the usual systems of
fog signalling.
**
One
For this purpose, I provide on the locomotive or tender or in the front guard's van
any suitable source of electricity such as, a primary battery or a charged secondary
battery, and from it conductors to a pair of glow lamps, the one capable of shewing a
red light as a danger" signal and the other capable of shewing a green light
indicating "safety." "I place these lamps in such a position that the engine driver has
them directly in view, and there may be a corresponding pair in view of the front guard.
From the underframing of the guard's van or tender hang three lever arms.
of these when raised operates a switch which closes the circuit from the battery to the
red lamp, another of the arms in like manner switches on the green lamp, and each of
these two arms when it has been raised is retained in the raised position by a catch.
The third lever arm, when it is raised, releases each of these catches, allowing the arm
which had been raised to drop and so to open the circuit, extinguishing the lamp.
On the permanent way at some distance beyond the distant signal I mount a pair of
triggers which are connected to the distant signal or its pulls in such a manner that
when the signal is at "danger" one of these triggers is raised the other being lowered,
and when the signal is at safety "the second trigger is raised, the former being
lowered. These triggers are in such a position that they present themselves respectively
in the paths of the two switch lever arms above mentioned. I also fix near the distant
signal a sloping piece in the path of the third or releasing lever arm. The operation
of the apparatus is as follows."
แ
When the distant signal is at "safety" a train in approaching it has that one of its
lever arms raised which operates the switch for the green light, and thus the driver or
guard is informed, or both are informed, that the train is passing the distant signal
and that it is at "safety." In like manner when the distant signal is at "danger"
the red light gives the indication.
The light, whether green or red, is maintained until the train passes the fixed
sloping piece which by raising the third lever arm releases the one of the other two
which had been raised, and the circuit which it closed being thus opened, the light is
extinguished.
A pair of triggers and a sloping piece as above described may also be arranged in
connection with the home signal, to indicate in like manner whether it stands at
safety" or at "
danger."
54
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a side elevation partly in section, Fig. 2 is
an end view and Fig. 3 is a plan of apparatus according to my invention. On
brackets B projecting down from the underframe A of the locomotive, tender or
guard's van are mounted three bent levers, two side levers C¹ and C and a middle
one (3 each carrying a roller D. The horizontal arms of these three levers rest on a
bar E carried by brackets B₁ from the underframe A. The upright arms, F¹ of C
and F of C bear against ratchet shaped teeth on the undersides of arms G¹ and G
respectively, which are pivotted at g to the brackets B. The upright arm F3 of the
middle lever C³ terminates in a crosshead G³ under the arms G₁and G². On part of
the railway line, near a signal, are mounted two trigger arms H' and H2 in the paths
of the rollers D of the levers C and C2 respectively, and under these triggers is a
rocking shaft K having arms and 2, the one under H¹ and the other under H
The rocking shaft K has an arm L connected by a chain or rods to the neighbouring

page_text: semaphore signal by which it is moved in the one direction in opposition to a spring /
which moves it back when the pull is released.
At another part of the line is fixed a sloping piece M in the path of the roller D of
the middle lever C3. Each of the arms F1 and F2 when it is moved past the ratchet
catch G and G2 makes an electrical contact with a spring N' N2, the one closing the
circuit for the red light, the other closing the circuit for the green light.
The apparatus operates as follows. When the semaphore signal is at "safety," the
rocking shaft K being in the position shewn in Fig. 1 holds up the trigger H'. As a
train moves over this part of the line, the roller D of the lever G2 in running over H2
is raised and the arm F is thus moved over the catch G2 making contact for the green
light, and, being held by G, maintaining the contact as the train continues its
progress. When the train reaches the place where M is fixed, the roller D of the
middle lever C3 is raised, raising F3 and G3 and thus raising G₁ and G2 so as to
release the arm F2 from the catch on G². The lover C³ then drops, breaking the
contact with N2 and oxtinguishing the green light. When the semaphore signal is at
danger," the trigger H' is raised and a like action takes place with the lever C¹ F1
making the contact N₁ for the red light, and maintaining it till the contact is broken
by the passage of the train over M.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described method of fog signalling on railways, by connecting to the
usual semaphore signals of the line triggers so arranged that on a train passing them,
according as the signal is at "safety" or at "danger," one or other of two levers on
the train is moved making a contact whereby one or other of two coloured electrical
lights on the train is displayed to the driver or guard or to both, thus apprising them
of the neighbourhood and condition of the signal.
b
2. For fog signalling in the manner above referred to, apparatus substantially as
herein described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 10th day of March 1890.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.