IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNAL POSTS FOR RAILWAYS AND APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fuller Boake, of the City of Dublin,
Lampist to the Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland,
and John Reily, of the City of Dublin, Mechanic, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNAL POSTS FOR RAILWAYS AND APPARATUS
CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Sealed the 8th September 1853, and dated the 11th April 1853
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fuller Boake
and John Reily' at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 11th April 1858.
We, JOHN FULLER BOAKE, of the City of Dublin, Lampist to the
Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland, and JNO. REILY, of
the City of Dublin, Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNAL POSTS FOR RAILWAYS AND APPA-
RATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH" to be as follows:
Our Invention consists, in the first place, in constructing signal posts
of iron lattice work instead o wood, and in such a manner as to

page_text: dispence with the need of the ordinary iron ladder and gallery belong-
ing thereto. These posts may be made of various heights and degrees
of strength; and either triangular or square, the corners being of angle
iron. The structure may be bolted either to cast iron sunk in the
ground, to natural rocks, or to masonry.
Our Invention consists, in the second place, in raising and lowering the
lamp used in signal posts by means of a line of any suitable material,
passing over pulleys at the upper and lower part of the post, and worked by
a winch handle from the ground. The lamp is made to pass up and down
between guides within the posts, and stopped at its proper height by means
of two spring bolts, which, on arriving at the required height, are
projected into cavities made to receive them. There is an indian-rubber
cushion placed near the ground to receive the lamp.
And our Invention consists, in the third place, in moving or working
the vanes, and signal colours of the lantern, by means of two quadrants,
one at the upper part, and the other at the lower part of the signal post
and wires, instead of the ordinary cranks and rods. By this arrangement
the vanes and signal colors may be worked from the ground by means of
a handle in such a manner as to produce the required motion in either
direction by the traction of the wires communicating between the
quadrants.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Fuller Boake and John Reily, in the Great
Seal Patent Office, on the 10th October 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
JOHN FULLER BOAKE, of the City of Dublin, Lampist to the Great
Southern and Western Railway of Ireland, and JOHN REILY, of the
City of Dublin, Mechanic, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of April, in the year of a

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said John Fuller Boake and John Reily, Her special
licence that we, the said John Fuller Boake and John Reily, our exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John
Fuller Boake and John Reily, our 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNAL POSTS FOR RAILWAYS,
AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said John Fuller Boake and John Reily, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us, 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 within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Fuller Boake and John
Reily, do hereby declare the nature of our 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 drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):
Our Invention of "improvements in signal posts for railways, and
in apparatus connected therewith," is intended, in the first place, to
increase the strength and durability of the signal post, and to render
the upper part accessible without the use of a ladder; in the second
place, to provide the means of raising and lowering the lamp, so as to
obviate the necessity of carrying it, when lighted, to the upper part of
the post; and, in the third place, to provide the means of working the
vanes and signal colours of the lantern in such a manner as to lessen
the friction and liability to derangement, and thereby increase the

page_text: facility and certainty of action, of the apparatus by which they are
worked.
And our Invention consists, in the first place; in constructing the
signal post of iron lattice work, instead of its being composed of wood.
Posts of this construction may be made of various dimensions and
degrees of strength, and fixed in their position by different means.
We prefer, however, that they should be screwed to iron bolts secured
to large stones sunk to the level of the earth-work on which the post is
erected, these bolts passing through strong metal sockets fixed at the
lower parts of angle-irons, which form the corners of the structure.
The form of the post in the cross section may be either triangular or
square.
Our Invention consists, in the second place, in the use of a line passed
over pulleys, and round a barrel or windlass, for raising and lowering
the lamp. The pulleys are mounted at the upper part of the post, and
the barrel or windlass at the lower part of the same; and the lamp is
raised from a convenient place near the ground by winding the line on
the barrel, the other end of the line being attached to the upper part
of the lamp. The lamp is lowered, when required, by withdrawing a
catch, by which it was held in its place at the upper part of the post,
and disengaging it so as to admit of its descending by its own gravity,
being guided in its descent by projections on its sides, sliding down
grooves in upright angle-irons within the structure.
And our Invention consists, thirdly, in the substitution for the
ordinary rods employed to work the signals of two quadrants, one at
the upper and the other at the lower part of the post, with wires,
chains, or lines, communicating from one to the other, so that any
movement of the lower quadrant is transmitted to the upper, and the
signal vanes, and spectacles or coloured glasses, thereby worked as
required; the effect being produced by the traction of the wires through
the agency of a handle attached to the lower quadrant.
In order, however, that our Invention may be fully understood, we
will proceed to describe the accompanying drawings, in which are
represented the several parts above referred to. Fig 1, is a front

page_text: clevation, and Fig. 2, a side elevation of the signal post; and Fig. 3, is
a detached view, on an enlarged scale, of the lamp. A, A, are the angle-
irons, which form the corners or standards of the structure, the diagonal
bars or lattice work being fixed thereto. These angle-irons are fixed
into the sockets A*, which are inserted in large stones sunk in the
earth. B, is the lamp, which may be either fitted for oil, candles, or
gas. C, the horizontal bar on which the lamp rests when lowered.
D, the winch-handle, by which the barrel E, is worked for raising the
lamp.
This barrel has a ratchet formed at one end, into which works
a pall, which is fixed on to the framework of the post. F', is the line,
one end of which is attached to the barrel, and the other to the lamp
after passing over pulleys G, G. H, HI, are projections or slides, one on
each side of the lamp (see Fig. 3), which fit into grooves in the upright
angle-irons a, a, for the purpose of guiding the lamp in its descent.
I, is a spring catch, which, passing through a hole in the upright angle-
iron or standard at the upper part of the post, enters a notch h, formed
in one of the side projections or slides H, on the lamp, and retains the
latter in its position at the upper part of the post. This spring catch
may be withdrawn by means of the line K, in connection with the
crank L, and acted upon from below by the lever handle M. The
quadrants for working the signal vanes and spectacles or coloured
glasses, are shewn at N and N*. The lower quadrant N, works loosely
on its spindle, and is acted upon by the handle O, which is fixed to it.
The upper quadrant N*, is fixed to its spindle, on which are also fixed
the signal vanes P, P, and spectacles or coloured glasses Q, Q; and the
working connection between the quadrants P, and P*, is formed by the
wires or lines R, fixed to each side of the quadrants, and extending
from one to the other. S, is a small iron platform or standing place,
accessible by means of the lattice work of the post.
The working of the apparatus for raising and lowering the lamp is
as follows:-The lamp, being trimmed and lighted, is placed upon the
horizontal bar C, and the end of the line F, connected to it at the top.
The winch handle of the barrel E, is then turned; and the winding of
the line F, on the barrel causes the lamp to ascend, until it arrives at

page_text: its required place at the upper part of the post, when the projection
or slide H, (see Fig. 3,) coming in contact with the spring catch I,
presses it outwards until the notch h, comes opposite the spring catch.
The latter then passes (through a hole in the angle-iron) into the notch
h, and retains the lamp in its place, the pall also dropping into the
ratchet teeth on the barrel E, and retaining it. By this means the
necessity for carrying the lighted lamp up the post by hand is obviated.
The lamp is lowered by depressing the end of the lever handle M,
and thereby withdrawing the spring catch I, from the notch h, in the
projection or slide H, (through the connection formed by the line K,
and crank L,) and raising the pall out of the ratchet on the barrel E,
when the lamp is free to descend; sliding down the guides before
referred to, until it arrives at the bar C: an india-rubber or other suit-
able cushion may be placed thercon to receive it. The rate of descent
of the lamp may be regulated by means of the winch handle D.
The working of the apparatus for giving the required movements to
the signal vanes and spectacles or colored glasses is as follows:-The
lever handle O, is moved so as to bring the signals to any of the three
positions indicating safety, caution, or danger, in the usual manner. The
effect, however, of the movement of the handle O, is the transmission of
the same movement through the quadrant N, and wires R, to the
quadrant N*, which is fixed to the spindle to which the signal vanes
and spectacles or colored glasses are connected. In this manner the
required movement and display of the signals is effected by means of
the drawing of the wires, which are tightly strained from one quadrant
to the other, so as to be capable of acting by the power being applied to
either side of the quadrant.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we would have it understood that
we do not mean or intend to confine ourselves to the precise forms of
all the parts shewn and described. But what we claim as of our Inven-
tion is,―
First, the construction of the signal post of iron lattice work, as
described:

page_text: Secondly, the means described of raising and lowering the lamp:
And, thirdly, the means described of working the signals by the
traction of wires.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Fuller Boake and John
Reily, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Eighth day
of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three.
Signed, sealed, and delivered
in the presence of
THOMAS TRAINOR,
J. F. BOAKE. (L.S.)
JOHN REILY. (L.S.)
Eccles Lane, Dublin.