IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING ALARM SIGNALS AND APPLYING BRAKE POWER IN RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1867

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Marc Antoine François Mennons, of the Firm of
Mennons and Telescheff, Home and Foreign Patent Agents, of 8,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, and 55, Rue de
la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in the Empire of France, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING ALARM SIGNALS AND
APPLYING BRAKE POWER IN RAILWAY TRAINS."-A communication from
Jean Baptiste Jolly, residing at No. 26, Boulevard du Prince Eugène,
Paris. in France:
Sealed the 24th March 1868, and dated the 14th October 1867.
FROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Marc Antoine François
Mennons at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th October 1867.
I, MARC ANTOINE FRAÇNOIS MENNONS, of the Firm of Mennons and
Telescheff, Home and Foreign Patent Agents, of 8, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, and 53, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in
the Empire of France, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING ALARM SIGNALS AND
APPLYING BRAKE POWER IN RAILWAY TRAINS," a communication, to be as
follows:→
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements in apparatus by means
of which railway passengers are enabled on an emergency to call the
attention of the guard of the train to the carriage or compartment occupied
[Price 8d.]

page_text: by them; and secondly, to an extension of the same apparatus by aid of
which the guards are enabled to communicate with each other or with the
driver and (when necessary) to act simultaneously on all the brakes of the
train for the purpose of checking the motion of the latter with the least
possible loss of time. The improved apparatus is in both cases based on
the application of the vacuum as a means of actuating a bell or other suit-
able arrangement constituting an alarm signal, or of transmitting motion
to the brakes when required to stop the train.
Alarm Apparatus.-In the roof of each compartment of the train is set
a small pneumatic cylinder in which works a piston provided with a handle
within reach of the passengers. By this piston a partial vacuum is formed
in a tube of small diameter running through the whole length of the train,
and communicating on each side with a valve connected by a lever with the
alarm; in the motion of the piston a small tablet or other signal is dis-
engaged to indicate to the guard the compartment to which he is called.
In the same manner, and in connection with the same tube, a pneumatic
pump is mounted within reach of the guards to enable them to communi-
cate with each other or with the driver in case of need.
Brake Apparatus.-The arrangement for operating the brakes comprises
a pneumatic pump placed in each brake compartment or van for the purpose
of liberating a system of excentrics which derive their motion from one of
the axles of the carriage, and a toothed sector which in rising compels the
brakes to exert a progressively increasing pressure on the wheels so long
as the vacuum is maintained.
Pl. 1., Fig. 1, of the accompanying Drawings represents the alarm
apparatus applied to a carriage at the end of the train; Fig. 2 is a vertical
section of one of the pneumatics pumps; Fig. 3 represents a mode of con-
necting the vacuum tubes.
Pl. II., Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, represent modifications in the details of the tube
connections; Figs. 8, 9, 10, represent modifications in the details of the
pneumatic pump; Figs. 11, 12, 13, represent in sections and plan, with a
portion of these modifications, the arrangement of the brake apparatus.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, a is the vacuum tube running along the frame of the
carriage, provided with a branch tube a¹ for each compartment of the latter,
and communicating with the pneumatic pump c seen apart in Fig. 2. When
the carriage comprises a brake compartment as in Fig. 1, the tube a com-
municates with a larger pump provided with a hand lever l within reach of
the guard. At a short distance below the latter pump is mounted a socket d
which encloses a small valve e opening inwards to allow the return of the

page_text: in
This valve is con-
air to the tube a after the production of the vacuum.
nected with a leverf which operates the alarm bell arrangement R. Each
cylinder c contains a piston p fitted with air valves and with a handle P
within reach of the passengers; the spiral spring (Fig. 2) surrounding the
piston rod carries back the latter when released, and thus creates throughout
the tube a a vacuum sufficiently complete for the operation of the valve e
If so desired the reverse arrangement
and consequently of the alarm R.
may be employed, that is to say, the vacuum may be produced by the traction
of the piston. In order to indicate the compartment to which attention is
called, the piston p is connected by a chain or cord with the bar m, Fig. 2,
by which a tablet or other signal, as in E, is raised above the roof of the
carriage. The communication between the different guards of the train is
effected in the same manner as between the passengers and the guards;
this case the vacuum being rendered more complete by the superior power
of the pump, the valve e returns more slowly to its normal position, and by
thus prolonging the action of the bell indicates the nature of the call. The
operation of the alarm may be easily controlled by means of a cord r
provided with a counterpoise and secured to the barrel to indicate by its
descent the running down of the mechanism. The connections of the vacuum
tubes a may be formed as shewn in Fig. 3; each of those tubes is inserted by
each extremity in a pipe of larger diameter A, surrounded by a spiral spring s
secured by one end to the tube a and by the other to the washer A¹ at the
enlarged portion of the pipe A to which is applied the elastic tubing h.
latter is terminated by a metallic socket I fitted with spring claws i which
catch on the washer j of the corresponding socket j¹. A caoutchouc washer
is set in a groove of the washer j, so as to form an air-tight joint, the her-
meticity of which is increased by the production of the vacuum in the tube a;
on uncoupling the carriages the claws i give way and the flexible tubing hi
is brought against the framework by the spiral s, thus avoiding exposure to
injury. The connections above described although very perfect are somewhat
heavy and may if desired be modified as follows:-To a caoutchouc tube
set in each extremity of the vacuum pipe is attached a light chain carrying
a small metallic T-piece which serves either to complete or intercept the
communication from one pipe to another. The upper branch of this T-piece is
hollow throughout to give passage to the air, while the vertical branch is
solid and is used as a stopper to close the tube at the end of the train H, h.
(Figs. 11, 12, Pl. II.) represent the horizontal and vertical vacuum pipes
provided at their junctions with a box A having a tubulure A¹ and enclosing
an aluminium ball valve a as more clearly shewn in Fig. 7. The hermeticity
The

page_text: of the joint is insured by a caoutchouc collar g which surrounds the tubulure
A and the lower part of the pipe h; M, M¹, Fig. 4, are caoutchouc tubes
fitted to the vacuum pipes. The collar D set on the tube M' is connected
by a chain
to the T-piece hollowed out from t to t¹ and solid in its
branch t2, the ends of each branch being slightly tapered to facilitate its
insertion in the tube.
Fig. 5 represents another mode of connection which consists in bringing
together the conical extrimities of the tubes E, E¹, each provided with a
gorge x, a, in which lodge the fore ends of the springs R; each tube is
held in a collar e, e¹, arranged as shewn in Fig. 6. The ends y, y', of the
tubes E, E,are fitted with a caoutchouc ring c, c¹,so that when the springs R
enter the gorges x, a³, the rings come in contact and insure complete
hermeticity. The air pumps may be modified as shewn in Figs. 8, 9, in
which p is the piston provided with a packing formed of a moveable
caoutchouc ring o; r is the spiral spring; B, the handle fitted to the end of
the piston rod b. At the top of the pump is set a small valves which gives
passage to the air on the return of the piston, and which is protected by a
metallic cap pierced in s¹; the handle B may be lodged in a cavity formed
in the roof of the carriage, as seen in Fig. 9, or may be replaced by a stud
or other pull piece. Fig. 10 represents a modification of the piston packing
which may be substituted to the arrangement above described when the
pump is likely to be exposed to a high temperature. This packing is
formed of a leathern cylinder f folded over in the ordinary manner and
surrounding a ring or collar o¹. The pump P¹, Fig. 11, placed at the guard's
seat is of similar construction to that shewn in Fig. 8. N, Fig. 11, repre-
sents a modification of the apparatus in which the vacuum is produced, the
alarm being operated by the motion of a piston connected with the rod n.
The pneumatic arrangement is applied to the working of the brakes in
the following manner :-On one of the axles of the carriage provided with
brakes, are set two excentrics, the bars I, I', of which are connected with the
short arm of a lever O oscillating on the pivot o; the long arm of this lever
is connected with the piston rod of a pump Q communicating with the pipe H
by the passage q. The ends of each of the bars I, I', form a pawl which
gears in the toothed sector s mounted on the axle u; on this axle are fixed
the levers v to which are suspended the bars V connected by the ties with
the brakes z. During the motion of the train the ends of the bars I, I¹,
are kept clear of the sector as in Fig. 11, but when required to act the
vacuum formed in the pipe H displaces the piston of the pump Q, thus
setting in motion the lever O which throws the pawl head of the bars I, I',

page_text: into contact with the sector; in the revolution of the axle the sector is
carried upwards, as indicated by the ced lines Fig. 12, thus compelling the
brakes to act on the wheels with a progressively increasing pressure.
On
the re-admission of air to the vacuum pipe, the lever, the sector and the
brake blocks return to their original positions as represented in Figure 12.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Mare Antoine François Mennons in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARC
ANTOINE FRANÇOIS MENNONS, of the Firm of Mennons and Telescheff, Home
and Foreign Patent Agents, of 8, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, and 53, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in the Empire of
France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, Her special licence that I, the said
Marc Antoine François Mennons, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, my 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 APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING
ALARM SIGNALS AND APPLYING BRAKE POWER IN RAILWAY TRAINS," a communi-
cation from Jean Baptiste Jolly, a person resident at No. 26, Boulevard du
Prince Eugène, Paris, in France, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, do
hereby declare the nature of this said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements in apparatus by means of
which railway passengers are enabled on an emergency to call the attention
of the guard of the train to the compartment occupied by them; and,
secondly, to an extension of the same apparatus by aid of which the guards
are enabled to communicate with each other or with the driver, and (when
necessary) to act simultaneously on all the brakes of the train for the
purpose of checking the motion of the latter with the least possible loss of
time. The improved apparatus is in both cases based on the application
of the vacuum as a means of actuating a bell or other suitable arrangement
constituting an alarm signal or of transmitting motion to the brakes when
required to stop the train.
Alarm Apparatus.-In the roof of each compartment of the train is set a
small pneumatic cylinder in which works a piston provided with a handle
within reach of the passengers. By this piston a partial vacuum is formed
in a tube of small diameter running through the whole length of the train
and communicating on each side with a valve connected by a lever with
the alarm. In the motion of the piston a small tablet or other signal is
disengaged to indicate to the guard 'the compartment to which he is called.
In the same manner and in connection with the same tube a pneumatic
pump is mounted within reach of the guards to enable them to communicate
with each other or with the driver in case of need.
Brake Apparatus.-The arrangement for operating the brakes comprises
a pneumatic pump placed in each brake compartment or van for the purpose
of liberating a system of excentrics which derive their motion from one of
the axles of the carriage, and a toothed sector which in rising compels the
brakes to exert a progressively increasing pressure on the wheels so long
as the vacuum is maintained.
Pl. I., Figure 1, of the accompanying Drawings represents the alarm
apparatus applied to a carriage at the end of the train; Fig. 2 is a vertical
section of one of the pneumatic pumps; Fig. 3, represents a mode of
connecting the vacuum tubes.
Pl. II., Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, represent modifications in the details of the tube
connections; Figs. 8, 9, 10, represent modifications in the details of the
pneumatic pump; Figs. 11, 12, 13, represent in sections and plan, with a
portion of these modifications, the arrangement of the brake apparatus.
Figs. 1, 2, 3.
a is the vacuum tube running along the frame of the

page_text: carriage, provided with a branch tube a' for each compartment of the latter,
and communicating with the pneumatic pump c seen apart in Fig. 2. When
the carriage comprises a brake compartment, as in Fig. 1, the tube a com-
municates with a larger pump provided with a hand lever within reach of
the guard. At a short distance below the latter pump is mounted a socket d,
which encloses a small valve e, opening inwards to allow the return of the air
to the tube a after the production of the vacuum; this valve is connected with
a lever f, which operates the alarm bell arrangement R. Each cylinder c
contains a piston p fitted with air valves and with a handle P within reach of
the passengers. The spiral spring r (Fig. 2) surrounding the piston rod
carries back the latter when released, and thus creates throughout the tube a
a vacuum sufficiently complete for the operation of the valve e and conse-
quently of the alarm R. If so desired the reverse arrangement may be
employed, that is to say, the vacuum may be produced by the traction of the
piston. In order to indicate the compartment to which attention is called the
piston pis connected by a chain or cord within the bar m (Fig. 2), by which
a tablet or other signal, as in E, is raised above the roof of the carriage. The
cominunication between the different guards of the train is effected in the
same manner as between the passengers and the guards. In this case the
vacuum being rendered more complete by the superior power of the pump
the valve e returus more slowly to its normal position, and by thus prolonging
the action of the bell indicates the nature of the call. The operation of the
alarm may be easily controlled by means of a cord a provided with a counter-
poise and secured to the barrel to indicate by its descent the running down of
the mechanism. The connection of the vacuum tubes may be formed as
shewn in Fig. 8. Each of those tubes is inserted by each extremity in a pipe
of larger diameter A surrounded by a spiral spring s secured by one end to
the tube a and by the other to the washer A' at the enlarged portion of the
pipe A, to which is applied the elastic tubing h. The latter is terminated by
a metallic socket 1, fitted with spring claws i which catch on the washer j of
the corresponding socket j¹. A caoutchouc washer is set in a groove of the
washerj so as to form an air-tight joint, the hermeticity of which is increased
by the production of the vacuum in the tube a. On uncoupling the carriages
the claws i give way and the flexible tubing his brought against the frame-
work by the spiral s, thus avoiding exposure to injury. The connections
above described, although very perfect, are somewhat heavy, and may, if
desired, be modified as follows:-To a caoutchouc tube set in each extremity
of the vacuum pipe is attached a light chain carrying a small metallic T-piece
which serves either to complete or intercept the communication from one

page_text: pipe to another. The upper branch of this T-piece is hollow throughout to
give passage to the air, while the vertical branch is solid and used as a
stopper to close the tube at the end of the train; H, h, (Figs. 11, 12, Pl. II.),
represent the horizontal and vertical vacuum pipes provided at their junctions
with a box A having a tubulure A', and enclosing an aluminium ball valve a,
as more clearly shewn in Fig. 7. The hermeticity of the joint is insured by a
caoutchouc collar 9, which surrounds the tubulure A' and the lower part of
the pipe h; M, M¹, Fig. 14, are caoutchouc tubes fitted to the vacuum pipes.
The collar D set on the tube M¹ is connected by a chain d to the T-piece
hollowed out from t to t¹, and solid in its branch t, the ends of each branch
being slightly tapered to facilitate its insertion in the tube.
Fig. 5 represents another mode of connection, which consists in bringing
together the conical extremities of the tubes E, E', each provided with
a gorge x, x, in which lodge the fore ends of the springs R¹. Each tube
is held in a collar e, el, arranged as shewn in Figure 6.
The ends y, y¹,
of the tubes E, E', are fitted with a caoutchouc ring c, c¹, so that when the
springs R¹ enter the gorges x, a¹, the rings come in contact and ensure
complete hermeticity. The air pump may be modified, as shewn in Figs. 8, 9,
in which p is the piston provided with a packing formed of a moveable
caoutchouc ring o; r is the spiral spring; B, the handle fitted to the end
of the piston rod b. At the top of the pump is set a small valve which
gives passage to the air on the return of the piston, and which is protected
by a metallic cap pierced in s¹. The handle B may be lodged in a cavity
formed in the roof of the carriage, as seen in Figure , or may be replaced
by a stud or other pull piece.
S₁
Fig. 10 represents a modification of the piston packing which may be
substituted to the arrangement above described when the pump is likely to
be exposed to a high temperature. This packing is formed of a leathern
cylinder folded over in the ordinary manner and surrounding a ring or
collar o. The pump P¹, Fig. 11, placed at the guard's seat, is of similar
construction to that shewn in Figure 8. N, Fig. 11, represents a modi-
fication of the apparatus in which the vacuum is produced, the alarm being
operated by the motion of a piston connected with the rod n.
The pneumatic arrangement is applied to the working of the brakes in the
following manner:-On one of the axles of the carriage provided with brakes
are set two excentrics, the bars I, 1', of which are connected with the short
arm of a lever () oscillating on the pivot o; the long arm of this lever is
connected with the piston rod of a pump Q communicating with the pipe H
by the passage q. The ends of each of the bars I, 1', form a pawl which gears

page_text: in the toothed sector s mounted on the axle . On this axle are fixed the
levers v, to which are suspended the bars V, connected by the ties with the
brakes Z. During the motion of the train the ends of the bars I, I', are
kept clear of the sector, as in Fig. 11, but when required to act the vacuum
formed in the pipe H displaces the piston of the pump Q, thus setting in
motion the lever O, which throws the pawl head of the bars I, I, into contact
with the sector. In the revolution of the axle the sector is carried upwards,
as indicated by the red lines, Fig. 12, thus compelling the brakes to act on
the wheels with a progressively increasing pressure. On the readmission
of air to the vacuum pipe the lever, the sector, and the brake blocks return
to their original position, as represented in Figure 12.
Having now described the nature of the said improvements, and the
imanner of carrying them into effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details of construction and arrangement above
laid down, as these may be modified according to circumstances without de-
viating from the principles or main features of the Invention; but what I claim
is, the application of the vacuum to railway alarm and brake-working apparatus
as a means of actuating a bell or other signal, or of transmitting motion to the
brakes when required for the stoppage of the train, the whole substantially as
herein described and shewn in the Figures of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Mare Antoine François Menuons, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventh-day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
M. F. MENNONS. (L.S.)