Improvements in the Arrangements for Working Railway Signals Electrically.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 9th July, 1889-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Arrangements for Working Railway
Signals Electrically.
I ILLIUS AUGUSTUS TIMMIS of No. 2 Great George Street Westminster London S.W.
Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The objects of my Invention are to cheapen the cost and simplify the working of
Railway signals and to ensure greater safety in the working of Railway traffic.
With these objects in view I place a double magnet on a signal post which is
worked as follows:-A Battery is placed in the signal cabin or in any convenient
position and one or more circuits are formed from this Battery to the double magnet.
This may be done in several ways. There are two ways I prefer.
a. I fix two circuits from the Battery one to each of the magnets and a lever and
suitable contacts.
"
When the lever is actuated to its full position of "caution one of the magnets is
magnetised & its armature is attracted to its bobbin and by means of rods the
signal arm and spectacles are lowered or moved to a position signifying "caution."
Then if the lever is moved to its full position of "alright" the other circuit is
brought into action and the other magnet is worked and the signal arm and spectacles
are moved to the position of "alright." By these means one signal is made to take
three positions and each position is taken with certainty and accuracy which has not
been done hitherto.
b. Instead of using two circuits I may find it convenient and economical to use
only one circuit especially in the case of distant signals and in this case I make the
two magnets constituting the double magnet of different powers so that the current
necessary to work the first magnet not sufficient to work the second.
In the case when the lever is moved to its full position of "caution" the smaller
current is sent from a part of the Battery or from all the Battery through a resistance
to the first magnet to move the signal arm and spectacles to "caution" position and
then if the lever is moved to its full position of "alright" a stronger current is sent,
either from a larger Battery or the resistance previously mentioned is cut out of the
circuit to the second part of the double magnet and the signal arm and spectacles are
moved to the "alright" position.
Chains
1 may use two levers instead of one or plungers or other suitable means.
or wires or other suitable means may be used instead of rods to work the signal arms
and semaphores may be used instead of signal arms and other contrivances may be
substituted for spectacles.
"
When the lever is moved to what I call its full positions of "caution or "alright"
the contact pieces it engages with send the full current from the Battery to the
magnet, this I call the "lowering" current but when the armature of the magnet
has been drawn into contact with its bobbin a very small amount of current is
necessary to maintain that contact. I prefer to use electrical repeaters to record the
position of the signal arm and as soon as the signalman sees (either by his repeater
or otherwise) that the signal arm is lowered (either to "caution or "alright") he
moves the lever so that it makes contact with another set of contact pieces so arranged
that the current is very considerably reduced-this reduced current I call the
'holding" current. This arrangement is effected either by switching in a resistance
or switching out part of the "lowering" current or by switching out the "lowering"
Battery and switching in a smaller one.
66
The "holding" current keeps the signal arm at the "
"
alright" position till the

page_text: electric circuit is broken either by the signalman or automatically by the action of
a passing train.
I prefer to use a lamp repeater so that the condition of the signal lamp is recorded
in the signal cabin whether "in"
or out."
"
I prefer when convenient to use Lamps electrically lighted and whether they are
lit electrically or otherwise if the Lamp goes out a bell is rung in the cabin or some
other signal is given.
Dated this 17th day of November 1888
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Arrangements for Working Railway
Signals Electrically.
I ILLIUS AUGUSTUS TIMMIS of No. 2 Great George Street Westminster London
S.W. Civil 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 :-
The objects of my Invention are to cheapen the cost and simplify the working of
Railway signals and to ensure greater safety in the working of Railway traffic.
With these objects in view I place a double magnet or solenoid on a signal post
which is worked as follows. A battery is placed in the signal cabin or in any
convenient position and one or more circuits are formed from this battery to the
double magnet. This may be done in several ways. There are two ways I prefer.
one
a. I fix two circuits from the battery one to each of the magnets and a lever and
suitable contacts. When the lever is actuated to its full position of "caution"
of the magnets is magnetised its armature is attracted to its bobbin and by means of
a chain or rope or other contrivance over the disc & of rod the signal arm and
spectacles are lowered or moved to a position signifying
" caution." Then if the
lever is moved to its full position of "alright" the other circuit is brought into action
and the other magnet is worked and the signal arm and spectacles are moved to the
position of "alright." By these means one signal is made to take three positions
and each position is taken with certainty and accuracy which has not been done
hitherto.
b. Instead of using two circuits I may find it convenient and economical to use
only one circuit especially in the case of distant signals and in this case I make the
two magnets constituting the double magnet of different strengths or powers so that
the current necessary to work the first magnet is not sufficient to work the second.
In this case when the lever is moved to its full position of "caution" the smaller
current is sent from a part of the battery or from all the battery through a resistance
to the first magnet to move the signal arm and spectacles to the "caution" position
and then if the lever is moved to its full position of "alright" a stronger current is
sent, either from a larger battery or the resistance previously mentioned is cut out of
the circuit to the second part of the double magnet and the signal arm and spectacles
are moved to the "alright" position.
I may use two levers instead of one or plungers or other suitable means chains
or wires or other suitable means may be used instead of rods to work the signal arms
and semaphores may be used instead of signal arms and other contrivances may be
substituted for spectacles in which case a counterweight is used to balance the weight
of the armatures.
"
When the lever is moved to what I call its full positions of "caution or "alright"
the contact pieces it engages with send the full current from the battery to the
magnet, this I call the "lowering" current but when the armature of the magnet
has been drawn into contact with its bobbin a very small amount of current is

page_text: "
"
necessary to maintain that contact. I prefer to use electrical repenters to record the
position of the signal arm and as soon as the signalman sees (either by his repeater
or otherwise) that the signal arm is lowered (either to "caution or alright") he
moves the lever so that it makes contact with another set of contact pieces so arranged
that the current is very considerably reduced-this reduced current I call the
"holding" current. This arrangement is effected either by switching in a resistance
or switching out part of the "lowering" current or by switching out the "lowering
battery and switching in a smaller one. The "holding" current keeps the signal
arm at the "alright position until the electric circuit is broken either by the
signalman or automatically by the action of a passing train.
"
"
"
I prefer to use a lamp repeater so that the condition of the signal lamp is recorded
in the signal cabin whether "in" or "out." For ordinary lamps I use an expansion
"
bar over the flame to either inake or break an electric circuit.
I prefer when convenient to use lamps electrically lighted and whether they are
lit electrically or otherwise if the lamp goes out a bell is rung in the cabin or some
other signal is given. If an electric lamp is used and it goes out the circuit is broken
and a disc which was held by a small magnet to position "in" falls back and shows
out" when not in use the signalman in breaking the circuit from the battery turns
a button or other contrivance and a disc shows "Lamp not in use."
"
The accompanying sheet of drawings will enable the foregoing description to be
more readily understood.
Fig. 1 shows a signal post p arm spectacles s and, in dotted lines, the double
magnets m and m' the armature a' of the bottom magnet is actuated by the movement
of the top armature a part way towards its bobbin also chain or rope
and rod r.
The two armatures a & a¹ are connected by a common rod d³.
"
The battery has a circuit c from it through contact pieces to the top magnet and
when the lever is moved over to dotted line 1 these contact pieces are joined and
the armature of the top magnet m is drawn to the bobbin & actuates the disc d by
means of chain k and the arm is moved to an angle of 45° or caution." When the
signalman sees by his repeater or otherwise that the arm is so moved he releases the
lever 7 which goes automatically to position dotted line 2. The current then has to
go through contact pieces (which are made by the lever ) through the resistance el
(shown on drawing by a lamp) to the top magnet and the lowering current is thus
reduced.
"
When the signalman wishes to move the arm to a vertical position or alright"
he moves the lever to dotted line position 3 and the circuit c¹ carries the current
from part of the battery to contact pieces and on to the bottom magnet m'. This
draws the bottom armature a' down & also rod d-& chain k-which moves the
disc d & actuates the arm. The top armature a moves rod d' armature a¹ & chain k.
as far as it goes & then the rod a can slide through it.
The current is then reduced
as described above by the lever going to position, dotted line 4, and the current
going through contact pieces * resistance e and so on to bottom magnet.
The back contact pieces p¹, p³, p³, p* represent the respective parts of circuits
which go to conflicting signals (there may be any number of them) and which
circuits are not complete unless the lever is in its back position as shown by the
dotted line 5.
Fig. 3 is a plan of fig. 1.
Fig. 2 has similar letters to fig. 1 for the several parts but the magnets are actuated
in a different way. The top magnet m is wound so that it acts with a lower potential
current than the bottom magnet & consequently is worked by a smaller battery.
The lever arm and its contact pieces are the same as those belonging to lever /
and the same movements take place in working the signal arm but the top magnet
is worked by a current from part of the battery through circuit c while the bottom
magnet is worked by the whole battery as shown in circuits c¹ & c. The current in
both cases is reduced from the lowering to the holding current by resistances (shown
in drawing by lamps e¹, e³).

page_text: 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
I claim is :-
The use of two solenoids or electro magnets or a double magnet for the purpose
of actuating a signal arm (with or without spectacles) to three positions accurately
substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
Dated this 9th day of Inl 1880
I. A. TIMMIS.