An Improved Electrical Fog Signal for Railways.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Sept., 1890
Complete Specification Left. 9th July. 1891-Accepted. 15th Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Electrical Fog Signal for Railways.
I, WILLIAM ANDREWS, 116 Hunger Hill Road, Nottingham Electrical Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
A circular instrument on front dial of which, is a minature semaphore signal.
This instrument may be placed on the engine and in the signal box. The arm of
minature signal is made of steel, is movable up or down by electric currents, is
fitted with regulating lock nuts, affixed at the right hand end, which nuts act as
regulators and balance for the arm of signal, and will hold the arm at rest either at
"danger" position or "line clear" position as the case may be both in signal box
and on engine. Also when electrical current is "on" the dials of instruments will
be illuminated.
When the signal arm on the line is at caution the circuit is broken. As soon as the
lever in the signal box moves the signal on the line to "danger" contact is made
which allows the current to pass to the dial on the engine (when the brush is in
contact with the insulated rail) in a certain direction, thus causing the miniature
signal arm on the engine to rise and correspond in position to the main signal on
the line. The operation of the signal lever to line clear makes contact in such a
manner as to reverse the direction of the current and pulls down the arm of the
miniature signal to a corresponding position to that of the signal on the line.
A gong is made to ring when the signal is indicated.
Dated this Eighth day of September 1890
E. EATON,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Electrical Fog Signal for Railways.
I, WILLIAM ANDREWS, of 116, Hungerhill Road, Nottingham, in the County of
Nottingham, 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 relates to electrical signalling apparatus for indicating upon the
engine of a train in motion the position of the semaphore arm of a signal on the
line, such apparatus consisting of miniature semaphore signals on the engines of
trains, which signals, through an insulated conductor or rail on the line, are brought
into electrical communication with the levers in the signal boxes.
The invention has mainly for object to so construct the miniature semaphore
signal that its arm, when in a position of rest, or normal position, that is to say,
when not indicating either the "on" or the "off" position of the signals, shall
assume an intermediate position between the said two positions, thus plainly mani-
festing to the driver of the engine any rupture or interruption of the electrical
connections.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a miniature semaphore signalling instrument
constructed according to my invention.
Figure 2 is a rear elevation with the case of the instrument in section, and
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the instrument.
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the connection of an instrument on
a locomotive with a lever in a signal box.

page_text: Figure 5 is a section on the line AB of Figure 4.
Similar letters in all the figures indicate similar parts.
a and a¹ are the miniature semaphore signals which as shown in Figure 4 are
placed on the locomotive and in the signal box respectively,
e, Figures 1, 2 and 3, is the arm of the miniature signal mounted upon a spindle d
in a circular case, having a glazed front ƒ'; g is the needle or armature on the
spindle d between the insulated wire coils h, h. The arm is fitted with regulating
muts which serve as weights to balance the arm in an intermediate position between
the stops and k.
m, Figure 4, is the ordinary railway track and a indicates a semaphore signal on
the line; o is the insulated rail extending along the line for the required distance.
is the signal lever for working the signal which lever is provided with a
rody having two stops and which press against the insulated ends of springs t
and when the lever is pulled to the "off" and "on" positions respectively.
The spring is designed to make contact either with the contact screw or with
the contact spring r, and the spring u is designed to make contact either with the
contact screw or the contact spring in when moved by the stops of the rod y: 2 is
the battery in the signal box; ya Switch for interrupting the circuit when the
signals on the locomotive are not required, such as in fine weather.
The action is as follows:-
"
Suppose the signal lever to be in the " ¸or "danger" position as shown in
Figure 4, when the stops will have moved the spring u out of contact with its screw bª
and into contact with the spring ; the path of the electric current will be from
the battery, through the wire, binding serewe, spring, screw and wire d' to
earth; then through the rails m. locomotive & to the instrument a thereon, the
arin of which it will move to the "danger" position: the current then passes
through the wire, bell, (which will consequently be rung,) wire g², brush 4ª,
bar or rail wire 7, signal box instrument a', wire j, switch y, wire ¹, binding
screw, wire m³, binding screw »'; spring w, spring u, binding screw o¹and wire pl
to the battery .r.
If, however, the lever he moved so as to place the signal a in the "off" position,
the spring will be moved out of contact with its screw ' and into contact with the
springe and the spring u will be moved out of contact with the spring w and into
contact with its screw. The circuit would then be from through p², o̟¹, u, b²,
q, b, d, to earth, then through m, b, a, e', ƒ³, g', h², 7', a², j', y, k², P, r, 1, and z
to, and the arme of the instruments on the locomotive and in the signal box will
he therefore moved into a position corresponding with that of the line signal n.
So long as the electrical connections remain intact the arme of the miniature
semaphore will indicate either the "on or the "off" position, but should the circuit
he broken from any cause whatever this fact would be indicated by the arm c
assuming the intermediate position shown in Figure 1.
!
I
To prevent the stops and from too forcibly striking the springs and u
connect the lever p to the bar y by means of a curved and slotted lever having
its fulcrum at ; in the slot works a pin on the lever p, thc slot being shaped
as shown, so that, when the lever is moved over, the pin riding in one vertical
portion of the slot will move the curved lever about one half of the distance
which it is required to traverse; its movement during the passage of the pin through
the approximately horizontal part of the slot is practically nothing and the remaining
half of its travel is effected by the pin riding in the other vertical portion of the
slot.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1
claim is :-
--
(1.) A miniature semaphore signal for electrically signalling upon trains and in

page_text: being broken the arm will assume an intermediate position between the stops,
substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
(2.) In an electric railway signalling apparatus the combination with a miniature
semaphore signal constructed as described in Claim 1 of the arrangement of switch
for reversing the electric current substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.
(3.) The combination in an electric railway signalling apparatus with a miniature
semaphore signal constructed as described in Claim 1, of a curved, slotted lever
such as connecting the signal lever with the rod which operates the switch for
reversing the electric current substantially as and for the purpose set forth and as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
(4.) The improved electrical signalling apparatus for railways hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
All
T. 1001
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.