IMPROVEMENTS IN COMMUNICATING BETWEEN PAS- SENGERS AND THE GUARD AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY TRAINS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Hill Herriott, of Skegby, in the County
of Nottingham, Stonemason, Charles Plumbe, of Mansfield, in the
said County of Nottingham, Postmaster, and William Alvey Plumbe,
of Sutton in Ashfield, in the said County of Nottingham, Publisher,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMMUNICATING BETWEEN PAS-
SENGERS AND THE GUARD AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY TRAINS, AND IN THE
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 22nd February 1870, and dated the 28th August 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Hill Herriott,
Charles Plumbe, and William Alvey Plumbe at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 28th August
1869.
5 We, ROBERT HILL HERRIOTT, of Skegby, in the County of Notting-
ham, Stonemason, CHARLES PLUMBE, of Mansfield, in the said County
of Nottingham, Postmaster, and WILLIAM ALVEY PLUMBE, of Sutton
in Ashfield, in the said County of Nottingham, Publisher, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COM-

page_text: MUNICATING BETWEEN PASSENGERS AND THE GUARD AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY
TRAINS, AND IN THE MACHINELY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as
follows:-
Upon an axle of each carriage is a cam, which at each revolution of
the axle operates a cranked rocking lever on an axle in bearings secured
to one end of the carriage on the outside thereof. To the opposite end
of the lever to that moved by the cam a wire or rod is attached, which
is also attached to a hammer which strikes a bell. Both hammer and
bell are on a bracket or standard on the top of the carriage outside; on
the under side of the carriage roof are brackets or bearings, in which a
rod slides or partly revolves when actuated by a passenger pulling a
handle, of which there is one or more in each compartment of the
carriages. To the rocking lever is applied a spring or equivalent that
presses or pulls the lower end of the lever on to the cam, such spring is
at the bottom (outside) or the end of the carriage, so that the hamner
might be constantly striking when the carriages are being moved, but
to prevent this a wedge clip lever or equivalent holds the lower end
of the lever clear of a cam, except when a handle is pulled, this pull
releasing the lever, so that it can be worked by the spring, and at the
same time a signal board, plate, or flag is projected from the carriage by
a spring or equivalent, and can only be returned or displaced by the
guard or attendant. The apparatus may be on the bottom of the
carriages, except the rod and handles. Instead of a bell a ringing plate,
coiled wire, or equivalent to sound an alarm may be used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 25
filed by the said Robert Hill Herriott, Charles Plumbe, and William
Alvey Plumbe, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th February
1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
HILL HERRIOTT, of Skegby, in the County of Nottinghan, Stonemason, 30
CHARLES PLUMBE, of Mansfield, in the said County of Nottingham,
Postmaster, and WILLIAM ALVEY PLUMBE, of Sutton in Ashfield, in the
said County of Nottingham, Publisher, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth, day of August, in the 35

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Robert Hill Herriott, Charles Plumbe,
and William Alvey Plumbe, Her spécial licénce that we, the said
Robert Hill Herriott, Charles Plumbe, and William Alvey Plumbe, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Robert Hill Herriott, Charles Plumbe, and William Alvey Plumbe, 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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN COMMUNICATING BETWEEN PASSENGERS AND THE GUARD AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY
TRAINS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Robert Hill Herriott,
Charles Plumbe, and William Alvey Plumbe, our executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 Robert Hill Herriott, Charles
Plumbe, and William Alvey Plumbe, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Upon one of the axles of each carriage composing a train we place
a cam, which cam at cach revolution of the axle operates a cranked
rocking lever. This lever moves on an axle, which is carried in bearings
secured to one end of the carriage on the outside thereof; the upper end,
that is to say, the opposite end of the lever to that which is moved by the
cam has a wire or rod attached to it, which wire or rod is also attached
to a hammer, and this hammer strikes a bell. Both the hammer and
bell are held by the arms of a bracket or standard on the top of the
carriage outside, and on the under side of the roof of the carriage inside
thereof are secured brackets or bearings in which a rod slides or partly

page_text: revolves, such sliding or revolving movement being communicated to it
by a passenger pulling a handle; there are one or more such handles in
each compartment of the carriages. To the rocking lever we apply a
spring or equivalent, which acts in such manner as that it either presses
the lower end of the lever on to the cam or pulls it on to it. Such spring
or equivalent is at the bottom on the carriage on the outside thereof or
at the end of the carriage, so that the hammer might be constantly
striking the bell at all times when the carriages are being moved either
one way or the other. But to prevent such constantly ringing of the
bell we interpose a wedge or clip lever or the equivalent thereof, which
holds the lower end of the rocking lever clear of the cam, except at
such times as when one of these handles is pulled, such pulling of one
of them releasing the lever, so that it can be operated upon by the
spring, and at the same time as one of these handles is pulled a signal
board, plate, or flag is projected from the side or other convenient part of
the carriage or compartment by means of a spring or its equivalent
attached to such board, plate, or flag to denote the position of the
passenger in the train; and this board, plate, or flag can only be returned
to place or displaced by the guard or other attendant. The apparatus
may be placed on the bottom of the carriages or compartments, with the
exception of the rod and handles which are placed inside the carriages
or compartments forming the train. Also instead of using a bell a
ringing plate or coiled wire or equivalent thereof to sound an alarm
may sometimes be used.
Having thus set forth the nature of our said Invention, we now
proceed to explain more particularly with reference to the accompanying
Drawings, the mode of carrying it into practical effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a railway carriage with four
compartments, which may be used for first and second class passengers
or otherwise. At the left of the Figure part of one side of the carriage
is shewn broken away, so that the handle, spring, and rocking rod in the
interior of each compartment of the carriage may be seen; a portion of
the framing of the carriage and one wheel are also shewn broken away,
so that the rocking lever and the cam which operates it may be seen in
their relative positions. In this view the signal board is shown pro-
jecting from the side of the carriage in the second compartment from

page_text: the left end, and in the other three compartments the signal board is
shewn lying close to and parallel with the side of the carriage.
Figure 2 is an end view of the same carriage, shown partly in section
through the second compartment. In this view the rods which hold the
signal boards close to the side of the carriage until released are shown
released, and the signal boards are represented as thrown out from the
side of the carriage.
Figure 3 shows in plan the top of two compartments of a carriage, the
signal boards being seen closed in end compartment and thrown out in
the second compartment. In this Figure are also seen the bell and
rocking lever which operate the bell hammer.
We now proceed more particularly to describe the arrangement and
operation of the several parts above referred to, which are arranged
according to our Invention.
has its other
Upon one of the axles A of each carriage of the train we place a
cam B, which cam at each revolution of the axle operates a cranked
rocking lever C. This lever moves on an axle D, which is carried in
bearings secured to one end of the carriage on the outside thereof; the
upper end, that is to say, the opposite end of the lever to that which
is moved by the cam has a rod E attached to it, which rod
end passed through a slot in the lower end of a lever F. The end of
this rod is provided with a collar, button, or nut, or equivalent, which is
secured on it and prevents the rod from being withdrawn from the slot
at the outward throw of the lever C. The upper end of the lever F
terminates in or forms part of a hammer or striker, which is of such
shape and weight that it will always lie clear of a bell G, or instead of
using a bell a gong, wire, or plate may be used, when the upper end of
the lever C is moved inwards by the operation of the cam B at its lower
end, or when the upper end is held inwards by means herein-after
referred to; the hammer and bell before mentioned are supported by
brackets secured to the roof of the carriage on the outside thercof. We
apply to the rocking lever C at its lower end a spring H, which we place
at the bottom of the carriage on the outside thereof, so that it will pull
the lower end of the lever on to the cam; now, by this arrangement the
hammer unless prevented might be constantly striking the bell whenever
the carriage is being moved either one way or the other, and this of
course would not be desirable; therefore to prevent such constantly
ringing of the bell we interpose a wedge or clip lever I to hold the lower

page_text: end of the rocking lever C clear of the cam. This clip lever I is secured
on one end of a rod K, which end projects through the end of the
carriage. This rod partly revolves in bearings or brackets secured on
the under side of the roof of the carriage inside thereof in each com-
partment, the partial revolution of the rod being effected in the manner
following: The rod K is of the same length as the body of the carriage,
and projects through one end of the carriage. This rod is provided in
each compartment with a lever L, which is secured on it. The outer
end of this lever lies upon the under side of a spring, which is secured at
one end to the roof of the carriage, and its other end terminates in a
handle and pin M, so that upon this handle being pulled down the clip
lever I is lowered into the position shown by the dotted lines seen at
Figure 2, which movement releases the upper end of the rocking lever C,
and allows the cam to operate upon its lower end, which is pulled by
the spring before mentioned. The pin M, which forms the termination of
the spring, is secured in each compartment and passes through a stud or
socket in the roof, and projects somewhat above the roof outside.and
forms a catch to receive the perforated ends of two rods N, which rods
are each provided with a handle O, which has a flat projection upon one
of its sides. This flat part lies against a stop bracket P secured to the
top side of the roof of each compartment of the carriage, when the rod
is released by the pulling down of the handle before mentioned: The
outer end of cach rod is secured to a short projecting bracket secured to
the top edge of a signal board Q. This board is colored red on the side
or surface next the carriage when the board is closed, so that when any
two such boards are released by the pulling of one of the handles, one of
such boards will shew a side or surface colored red to the guard or other
attendant at the rear of the train, and the board on the other side of the
carriage will exhibit a side or surface coloured red to the engine driver
or other attendant at the fore part of the train. Each of the rods N at
their outer end where they are secured to the bracket on the top of the
signal board will pass over a short rod or link, which is hinged or other-
wise attached to a lever secured to or forming part of the signal board
bracket. The link is secured to a spring R attached to the roof of the
compartment outside. This spring may be provided with a covering to
protect it from the weather, and it is of sufficient strength to project the
signal board outwards from the side of the carriage to denote the position
of the passenger in the train who may have pulled the handle, and this
operation by the means above described will, at the same time as the

page_text: boards are projected, set the rocking lever free, and the bell will be
continuously sounded until the train is stopped, or the guard or other
attendant resets the rocking lever. The signal boards cannot be pushed
backward or displaced except by the guard or other attendant, which
operation he effects by taking hold of the handles O, and replacing the
perforated ends of the rods N over the pin M. A portion of the above-
described machinery or apparatus may be placed on the under side of
the carriage framing instead of on the roof.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, we declare that we claim, arranging
and combining machinery or apparatus, substantially in the manner
herein-before described, for the purpose of communicating between
passengers and the guard and driver of railway trains.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Hill Herriott, Charles
Plumbe, and William Alvey Plumbe, have hereunto set our
hands and scals, this Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
ROBERT HILL HERRIOTT.
(L.S.)
CHARLES PLUMBE.
(L.S.)
WILLIAM ALVEY PLUMBE.
(L.S.)
Witness,
GEO. JON. ROBINSON,
Patcut Office,
Nottingham.