CERTAIN IMPROVE. MENTS IN COMMUNICATING INTELLIGENCE BY ELECTRICITY, AND IN THE INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS USED THEREIN
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
REID, of University Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS. Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-third day. öf
November, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, .give and grant unto
me,: the said William: Reid, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Reid, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Reid, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England; Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands
of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and. Man, and also in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of " CERTAIN IMPROVE.
MENTS IN COMMUNICATING INTELLIGENCE BY ELECTRICITY, AND IN THE INSTRUMENTS
AND APPARATUS USED THEREIN;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso, that I; the said William Reid, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner-theisame is to

page_text: be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Reid, hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described in and by the
present Specification thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed that is to say:-
My Invention has, firstly, for its object the better insulation and protection
of the wires employed in communicating intelligence by electricity. Instead
of employing, as usual, wires covered with zinc or cotton and supporting them
on poles at a considerable height above the ground, I lay them in a plain or
uncovered state in well protected channels made for them under the ground
or flush with the surface of the ground, and there insulate them completely
by means of earthenware supports or carriers, and covering them in with
marine glue, or gutta percha, or asphalt, or Stockholm tar, or some other
resinous substance.
Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the annexed Drawings represent a portion of a triple
line of wires laid down on this improved plan; A is one of a continuous
line of wooden sleepers, which are joined end to end by half checking, as
shewn in Figure 3 (side view), and laid in a trench made in the ground.
To prevent water or damp entering at the joinings, I insert at those
joinings washers of gutta percha or vulcanized caoutchouc. B, B, B, are
three deep parallel grooves cut out on the upper surface of the sleeper;
C, C, C, are annular supports or carriers made of earthenware or gutta
percha, which are fitted into the grooves at distances of from six to twelve or
more feet apart, and are of a diameter equal to the depth of these grooves;
D, D, D, are the wires which are passed through the carriers C, and upheld
by them so as to be kept quite free from contact with the sides of the grooves.
The wires having been so laid, the vacant spaces in the grooves are filled up
with marine glue, or gutta percha, or asphalt, or Stockholm tar, or any other
resinous substance, which is poured in in a warm and fluent state. The wires
becomethusentirely surrounded by, orembeddedin water-proofaudnon-electric
conducting materials, and thereby permanently protected from all disturbing
influences: E is an iron cover or shield which is laid over the whole and
made fast to the wood by screws a, a, while the marine glue, or gutta percha,
or other resinous substance is in a fluid state. The wires, may of course-bę.

page_text: of any number more or less than three, the number and proportions of the
other parts being varied accordingly. Instead also of the sleepers being of
wood they may be made of stone, or concrete, or earthenware, and in that
case the earthenware annular carriers C may be dispensed with. The vacant
spaces in the grooves may be also left unfilled up, and the access of water
excluded by laying washers of gutta percha, or vulcanized caoutchouc, or
felted cloth, between the edges of the shield and the slcepers, as shewn at zi
in Figures 2 and 3.
.
.A modification of the preceding plan is represented in Figures 4, 5, and 6.
A, Figure 4, is a wooden sleeper as before; B is a square groove in the upper
surface of the sleeper, in which are laid the three (or any other number of
wires, D, D, D, which are first covered with cotton in the usual way, and
then enclosed in lead tubes. Each wire being thus insulated by the cotton
wound round it from the tube in which it is enclosed, and the thr:e wires
being kept by their respective tubes separate from one another, the vacant
spaces in the groove may be either filled up, as in the preceding case, with
marine glue, or gutta percha,or asphalte, or Stockholm tar,or other analogous.
material, or left unfilled, as the lead tubing in which the wires are enclosed
will insulate them sufficiently from one another and from the wood of the.
sleeper. E is an iron shield to be made fast by screws, as before, to the
wooden sleepers. When the groove B is not filled up with marine glue or
other resinous substance, I interpose between the shield and the top of the
groove a washer of sheet gutta percha, or vulcanized caoutchouc, or felted
cloth, in order to make the groove water-tight at the edges. Or, instead of the
arrangement which has been just described, the three (or any other number
of) covered wires may be placed in tubes of iron or stone, or concrete laid
under ground or flush with the surface, as represented in Figure 7.
Where it is necessary from local peculiarities still to adhere, in parts of an
electro-telegraphic line, to the mode of carrying the wires or poles at a height
more or less above the ground, as, for instance, in passing through tunnels or
crossing bridges, I adopt earthenware insulators of one or other of the im-
proved forms, represented in Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
19 and 20.
The insulator shewn in Figure 8 consists of an earthenware tube F, with a
flange G at one end and a loose collar or nut H at the other, which last is
screw-threaded on the inside, and turus on a male screw formed on the H end
of the tube. The loose collar H being first taken off the tube, is passed
horizontally through a hole in the top. of one of the ordinary upright posts,

page_text: .
and then-made fast in its place by pulling on the loose collar H and screwing,
it up, tight..
:
Figure 9 shews an insulator which differ from the preceding in not being.
made.fast by screwing; G is a fixed flange on one end of the tube as before;
I, a plain loose collar which is slipped over the opposite end of the tube.after
it has passed. through the. post, and K a split metal ring, which being.
expanded by hand and dropped into the groove b;behind the collar I, prevents.
its return, and thereby makes the tube fast:
Another mode ofifixing a loose collar,similar to that employed in Figure.9,
is shewn in Figure 10. The tube is formed with a slot in it at the loose.
collar end,and when the collar has been slipped over the tube, it is made fast
by inserting a pin f into the slot.
:
Figure 11 represents another form of insulator suitable for inserting in pairs.
opposite the one to the other into upright posts, as represented in Figure.12
(a, front view); and Figure 13. (side view). It consists of a head piece and: 1
shaft, which last is screw-threaded and screwed into the post. The orifice d
through which the wire is passed, is made to taper inwards to a diameter just
sufficient to allow the wire to pass, so that any water or moisture, which may
collect in the orifice, flows necessarily down its under inclined side (e), and is.
so carried off. A passage is bored out of the wooden post between each-pair-2
of these insulators of size sufficient to exclude any chance of the wire coming.
in.contact with the wood.
i
Figure 14.is.a front view,and Figure 15 a side view of an insulator suitable.
for sustaining the.wires when carried along the sides of walls,as in tunnels and
bridges; K.is a round post made of earthenware with projecting side-rests.2
k, k, k; in which the wires are laid; L, L, are staples which are attached-by
eyes to the post at top.and at foot, and driven into the wall; M' is a roof piece.
which projects in a slanting direction considerably beyond the side rests k,k,k,
and serves.to protect them from wet.
.
Figures 16 and 17 are front and side views of-an-insulator, which differs- 3
only, from the preceding one-in being flat instead of round.
for
Figure 18.represents an insulator suitable for occasional or temporary-use,1
being so constructed that it can be applied to the wires after they have been.
passed through the wooden posts,and offering therefore a convenient substitute
any. of the insulators previously described when they-happen to get-broken- 3
by.accident. It consists of a disc with two conical holes-bored in it from the
opposite sides, and.meeting in the centre; it is slipped on to the wires by the
opening m, and then inserted in the hole in the post.

page_text: Figure: 19; represents an insulator for permanent use of the same form as
Figure 20, but without the opening m. Instead of employing earthenware
insulators of the improved forms before described, I sometimes employ insu-
lators made of gutta percha, which may be firmly fastened in the holes, of the
posts by mere adhesion of surfaces without the aid of either-screws or collars
or nuts. Figure 20 represents an-insulator of this description; it, consists of
aring or small cylinder of solid gutta percha with, two conical holes o; 0,
bored in it from the opposite sides, and meeting in the centre. Before inserting
it in the hole in the post (which. is should fit pretty exactly), it is slightly.
warmed and dipped in a warm solution of gutta percha, which causes it to
take a.firmand lasting.hold of the wood. These gutta percha insulators.may
be fixed still more securely by making them on, the exterior of, a square
hexagonal or some other polygonal form,and making the holes in the posts of
a corresponding shape, but I prefer.the.circular form as being attended with
the least expence, and as-furnishing. as much security as is needful. ...
Gutta percha. may also be substituted for earthenware in, the case of the
insulators, represented in. Figures. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. but in Figures
14 and 15, 16 and 17, instead of employing projecting side rests, for, the,wires,
Imake.notches.or.recesses.for their reception, in the body.of the insulator; as
shewn in Figure:18*.
•
Secondly,my Invention consists of certain improvements.in.the.instruments
or.apparatus.used for communicating.by. electricity between the guard and the
engine driver of a railway train, or, between the guard and any of the carriages
in the train. I assume that.a.suitable electric.telegraph apparatus is placed
within. the reach.of the guard, and that the bells.or.other, alarums, to, be acted.
on by the electric currents.are.placed in the situations, most, proper for them;
as to which things I do not claim to have invented anything new....
The improvements. under this, head of my. Invention have exclusively for
their object, first, to. furnish a readier means than now exist. of establishing
the circuit of communication between the guard and the driving engine and
intermediate carriages, and of detaching from, or adding to that circuitany,
carriage or number of carriages, as.circumstances may require. And, second,
to ensure the sounding of the bells. or other alarums employed, with greater
certainty than the means now,ordinarily, used afford. The first of these objects
I effect by means of the following arrangement: Each carriage of a railway
carrying establishment has two tubes,permanently affixed to the top of it, side
by side, and these, tubes contain each, an electric conducting rod which, is
sustained, and insulated within it by means of earthenware or gutta percha
insulators of the form.represented in Figures, 19, and 20,and before described.

page_text: These conducting rods project slightly beyond the containing tubes at both
ends. Between the back end of each rod and the front end of that next
behind it, there is placed a short metal tube, into which the two ends are
inserted and retained by means of springs attached to them, but not so fast but
that they may be withdrawn from the tube, one or both of them, by the appli-
cation of a very slight force. The tube turns at the centre ona universal joint,
so as to adapt itself readily to any deviation of the railway train from a straight
line. It has also two chains pendent from it, by which it may be connected
either to the carriage in front or to that behind (but not to both at the same
time); so that, supposing the ends of both rods to be withdrawn from it, it may
be kept from falling to the ground and remain at hand ready for use. A plan
of one of these rods detached from its carriage is given in Figure 21. n, n, n,
are the springs (of which one only is fully seen in the Drawing, which are
attached to it by screws sl, s¹¹, the latter of which is passed through a slot in
the spring to allow of the spring having the necessary play. A longitudinal
section of one of the connecting tubes is also given separately in Figure 22.
9 is the universal joint, and r, r, the fastening chaius. Figures 23 and 24
shew the whole of the parts in their places, and as connected together in a
series of railway carriages. Supposing any one of the carriages to be with-
drawn, then immediately on those in the rear closing up, the front end of the
rod of the head most of the rear carriages enters the end of the tube which was
previously occupied by the front end of the rod of the withdrawn carriage,and
thus re-establishes a continuous line of metallic communication from one end
of the line to the other; and so,also, on an additional carriage, or any number
of carriages, being interpolated into a train, the line of metallic communication
is broken and renewed for the purpose by a mere shifting or transposition of
the connecting rods.
The second object exemplified under this branch of my Invention is
effected by the substitution, with modifications, of an ordinary galvanometer
for the electro-magnet and armature now employed to sound the bell or
other alarum. Figure 25 exhibits a tront view of an apparatus in which
are combined the galvanometer, modified as aforesaid, with the ordinary
clock work and bell. Figure 25* is a top plan of the galvanometer, and
Figure 26 is a section of it through the centre. The galvanometer is
made of the usual oblong form, but in two separate pieces P¹, P. The
under piece Pis first affixed by two brackets t, t, to the front plate of
the clockwork apparatus. A horizontal axis is then placed in a groove
which runs across the centre of the piece, and is supported at the two
ends by brackets w, w, as shewn in Figure 26. On this axis there is poised,

page_text: in a vertical position, a permanent steel magnet:V; which is represented in the
Figure as being bent into an S form, but may be of a semicircular; ór straight,
or any other form which admits of the magnet being easily. poised Jonbits
centre. The upper piece P' is then placed upon the other, and made fast! to
it by means of the steady pius x, x, and nuts y, y, this upper piece having also a
groove'across the centre of it, corresponding with that in the under piece, so
as not to interfere with the axis of the magnet. By.building up the galvano-
meter in this way the axis and magnet can be adjusted with great facility, and
nicety, and when any readjustment of them is required, this also is very
readily effected by undoing the nuts y, y, and taking off the top piece P².
Upon an electric current being transmitted through the connecting rods and
tubes of the carriages to the galvanometer, the magnet V becomes instantly
deflected in a direction at right angles with the current of electricity, and
strikes against a lever W, which puts in motion (by means well understood)
the clockwork which strikes the bell or other alarum. I prefer that the
galvanometer should be of an oblong frame, as represented in the Drawings;
but it may also be made of a circular, or oval, or any other curvilneal form.
The plan of making the galvanometer in two pieces may be also applied with
advantage to the coustruction of the coils used for signalizing purposes in the
ordinary electro-magnetic telegraphs.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention in the several
parts thereof, and also in what inanner the same is to be performed, I declare
that the improvements which I claim, as protected by the Letters Patent
herein-before recited, are as follows:-
First, I claim the modes of laying, insulating, supporting, and protecting
electro-telegraphic wires, severally represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3; Figures
4, 5, and 6, and Figure 7, each in the peculiar arrangement, adaptation, and
combination of parts of which the same consists. But I disclaim the use of
grooved wooden sleepers, except as forming parts of such combination, being
aware that it has been before proposed to lay the wires in channels formed in
rails of wood.
Second, I claim the employment, for the purpose of communicating in-
telligence by electricity, of earthenware insulators of the different forms repre-
sented in Figures 8 to 19, both inclusive.
Third, I claim the employment of gutta percha as a material for the sup-
ports or carriers to electro-telegraphic wires, as before exemplified and de-
scribed, but disclaim the use thereof for the mere coating or covering of
the said electro-telegraphic wires,

page_text: Fourth,Iclaim the peculiar.mode or modes of establishing, disconnecting,and
re-establishing electro-telegraphic communication in railway trains, described
under the second general head of this Specification..
Fifth, I claim the employment, for the purpose of sounding bells and other
'alarums employed in electro-telegraphic communications, of the ordinary
galvanometer, modified as aforesaid, and combined with the clockwork.and
bell, or other alarum usually employed.
And, sixth, I claim the construction of the coils used for signalizing pur-
poses in electro-magnetic. telegraphs in two parts, as before described.
'In witness whereof, I, the said William Reid, have hereunto set my
"hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.