APPARATUS OR MEANS OF INDICATING THE NAME OF THE STATION OR THE NAMES OF THE STATIONS TO WHICH A RAILWAY TRAIN IS PROCEEDING, AND THE NAME OF THE STATION AT WHICH THE TRAIN SUCCESSIVELY STOPS
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Lock at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
February 1872.
I, JOHN HENRY LOCK, of Kensington, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "APPARATUS OR
MEANS OF INDICATING THE NAME OF THE STATION OR THE NAMES OF THE STATIONS
TO WHICH A RAILWAY TRAIN IS PROCEEDING, AND THE NAME OF THE STATION AT
WHICH THE TRAIN SUCCESSIVELY STOPS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the arrangement and application
of apparatus to railway carriages for the purpose of indicating to the
passengers the name of the station or the names of the stations to which
the train is proceeding, and the name of the particular station at which
the train successively stops whilst it is stopping there.
And in order that the nature of my Invention may be clearly under-
stood I will proceed to describe the means I propose to employ in
carrying the same into practice.
For this purpose each carriage of a train has a rod or shaft extending
from end to end. This rod or shaft is mounted so as to revolve in
bearings, being connected with the rod or shaft of the carriage next to
it, at either or both ends, by means of a self-adjusting coupling, which

page_text: will transmit rotary motion from one shaft to another from one end of
the train of carriages to the other, independently of the relative positions
the carriages may assume in passing around curves, or from vibration,
or otherwise.
The rods or shafts of each carriage when coupled together, as pre-
viously described, are made continuous throughout the train, rotary
motion being imparted thereto from time to time by suitable gearing
driven by a winch handle, wheel, or otherwise under the control of the
guard or other person appointed to work the apparatus.
Drums or rollers are mounted upon axes, and such rollers carry
travelling endless bands, upon which the names of the successive
stations are indicated in bold characters. The axes of the rollers are
actuated by bevil or other suitable gearing connecting them with the
driving rod or shaft previously described, so that the name of each
successive station as it is approached or arrived at by the train may be
brought prominently into view within each compartment of the carriages
of the train.
The apparatus may also be so arranged as to strike a gong or give
some other suitable signal to the passengers where a change is to take
place in the indicator. For this purpose a gong similar to a table gong
may be connected with each indicator, and the movement of the apparatus
for changing the names of the stations may be arranged so as to actuate
a hammer or other contrivance for striking the gong.
If desired the apparatus may be rendered self-acting, the apparatus
previously described being set in motion by means of an incline or
inclines placed near each station in a position to act upon a lever,
sliding rod, or other suitable mechanism connected with the carriages
of the train, so as to give motion by a ratchet or otherwise to the longi-
tudinal axis, and thus bring the names of the successive stations into
view as required; or the longitudinal shaft may be actuated by weight;
or spring power so as to act in like manner to the stop wheel and
striking motions in clockwork.