Improvements in Means and Appliances for Fog Signalling on Railways.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 9in June, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 9th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 23rd Apr., 1898
Date of Application, 9in June, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 9th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 23rd Apr., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means and Appliances for Fog Signalling on
Railways.
We, ROBERT ADAMS, of 67, Newington Causeway, London, S.E., Engineer, and
STANHOPE ALBANY SAY, of 40, The Avenue, Acre Lane, Brixton, London, S.E.,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to certain appliances for fog-signalling on railways, for
which Letters Patent No. 20,450, dated 19th December 1889, and No. 10,667, dated
29th May 1895, have been granted to us, and the object of our present invention
is to effect further improvements in such apparatus.
According to our invention we arrange, in connection with the rod 25 shown
in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of No. 1066795, whereby the operations of placing the arms 19
in line for signalling and withdrawing the same therefrom is or are effected;-an
appliance whereby a passing train is caused to reset the signal ready for signalling
to a following train, so as to arrest or block such following train, in case the
signalman should happen to neglect from any cause, to reset the apparatus.
For this purpose we fit a double-armed lever in a suitable position for being
operated by the wheel of a passing train, one arm of the lever being fitted with
tread" for the flange of the wheel, and the other end being placed under a
slotted link connected with the before mentioned rod 25. The link has a projection
or shoulder in the slot which comes into contact with a crank pin or trigger
attached to a shaft having a crank arm connected with the semaphore.
a
This pin or trigger retains the link and rod 25 in position until the link is
raised by the double-armed lever, operated by a passing train, a weighted lever
in connection with the rod 25 drives the rod 25 into such a position as to cause
the resetting of the fog-signalling apparatus.
A locking bar in the usual position by the side of the rail is utilised in sus-
taining the weight attached to the lever. By this arrangement the weight is
sustained ready for operating the rod 25 by the flanges of the wheels of the rolling
stock holding down the locking bar, and the resetting of the apparatus cannot
be effected until the last wheel of the train has left the locking bar. The weight
being then at liberty to fall by the yielding of the locking bar, the operation of
resetting takes place immediately.
As the versed sine of the angle described by the oscillation of a simple lever
would be too short to effectually retain the weighted lever by its contact with
the underside of the locking bar, we use a compound lever for this purpose, geared
together by segmentally arranged teeth, arranged so that the upper end of the
lever in contact with the locking bar has a large angle of oscillation and therefore
an increased versed sine, whereby the locking of the weighted lever is rendered
positive and effective.
The arm 19 No. 1066795 may be constructed of spring steel when necessary,
and instead of employing weighted levers, we may use springs or other contriv-

page_text: ances for operating the levers, and, instead of levers geared together by seg-
mentally arranged teeth we may use mechanical equivalents consisting of
eccentrics, cams, or other devices.
Date 01 I 1907
GEORGE DOWNING & SONS,
8, Quality Court, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means and Appliances for Fog-signalling on
Railways.
We, ROBERT ADAMS, of 67, Newington Causeway, London, S.E., Engineer, and
STANHOPE ALBANY SAY, of 40, The Avenue, Acre Lane, Brixton, London, S.E.,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to certain appliances for fog-signalling on railways, for
which Letters Patent No. 20,450, dated 19th December 1889, and No. 10,667, dated
29th May 1895, have been granted to us, and the object of our present invention
is to effect further improvements in such apparatus.
According to our invention we arrange in connection with the rod 25 shown
in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of No. 1066795, whereby the operations of placing the arms 19
in line for signalling and withdrawing the same is or are effected, an
appliance whereby a passing train is caused to reset the signal ready for signalling
to a following train, so as to arrest or block such following train, in case the
signalman should happen to neglect, from any cause, to reset the apparatus.
And in order that our said invention may be particularly described and ascer-
tained reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings, in which similar
figures of reference indicate corresponding parts.
Fig. 1 is an elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 a transverse sectional elevation
on the line a b of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is an elevation and Fig. 5 a plan illustrating another part of our inven-
tion.
Fig. 4 is a separate elevation of the mechanism in connection with the locking
bar.
66
Fig. 6 is an elevation and Fig. 7 a plan, in continuation of Figs. 4 and 5,
showing the distance lever and its connections.
8 is a double armed lever pivoted at 9.
10 is a tread" having a stem loosely
fitted in a fixed tube or socket 11 close to the rail for receiving downward pressure
and motion from a passing wheel. The stem of the tread rests upon one arm of
the lever 8, a slot being provided in the socket 11 for the entrance of the lever
arm. The other end of the lever arm is placed under the slotted link 12. This
link is attached to the rod 25, the functions of which rod are similar to that of
the rod numbered 25 in 10,66795. The link 12 has a projection or shoulder 13
in the slot which comes into contact with a crank pin or trigger 14 attached to
a shaft 15, having a crank arm 16 connected with the semaphore 17. The pin
or trigger 14, by its contact with the shoulder 13, retains the link 12 and rod 25
in position until the link is raised by the lever 8, operated by a passing train,
a weighted lever 18, in connection with the rod 25 then drives the rod 25 into such
a position as to cause the resetting of the fog-signalling apparatus.

page_text: A locking bar 21 in the usual position by the side of the rail, is utilised in
sustaining the weight 20 attached to the lever 18. By this arrangement the
weight is sustained ready for operating the rod 25 by the flanges of the wheels
of the rolling stock holding down the locking bar, and the resetting of the
apparatus cannot be effected until the last wheel of the train has left the locking
bar 21. The weight 20 being then at liberty to fall by the yielding of the locking
bar, the operation of resetting the levers 19 then takes place immediately.
As the versed sine of the angle described by the oscillation of a simple lever
would be too short to effectually retain the weighted lever 18 by its contact with
the underside of the locking bar 21 we use a compound lever for this purpose,
geared together by segmentally arranged teeth, as shown by dotted and solid
lines in Fig. 4 and separately in Fig. 4, so arranged that the upper end of the
lever in contact with the locking bar has a large angle of oscillation and therefore
an increased versed sine, whereby the locking of the weighted lever is rendered
positive and effective.
In connection with the distance lever referred to in our said Specification
No. 10,66795, we find it advantageous to compensate for change of temperature
and consequent alteration in the lengths of the rods, by dividing the same and
fitting the rods to a double armed lever 22, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.
The levers 19 may be constructed of spring steel when necessary and instead
of employing weighted levers, we may use springs or other contrivances for
operating the levers, & instead of levers geared together by segmentally arranged
teeth we may use mechanical equivalents consisting of eccentrics, cams or other
devices.
Means may be added for causing a communication to be made by electricity
or otherwise to the signal box when the cammers fall and an explosion takes
place.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1. The improved means and appliances for fog signalling on railways, sub-
stantially as described, or any mere modification thereof.
2. In means and appliances for fog-signalling on railways as aforesaid the
combination therewith of a tread 10, for the purpose of operating mechanism
for resetting the levers 19 substantially as herein before described and illustrated
by the drawings.
3. In means and appliances as aforesaid, the combination therewith of a double-
armed lever 8, operated upon at one end by the stem of the tread 10, the other
end of the lever operating so as to lift the slotted link 12 attached to the rod 25
for resetting the levers 19, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
by the drawings.
4. In means and appliances as aforesaid, the combination therewith of the
slotted link 12 attached to the rod 25 for retaining the crank 14, crank shaft 15
and its connections, and afterwards releasing the same and the rod 25, substantially
as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings.
5. In means and appliances as aforesaid, the combination therewith of the
locking bar 21 and the compound lever 18 together operating the rod 25 and
levers 19, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings.
Dated 9th March 1898.
GEORGE DOWNING & SONS,
8, Quality Court, London, W.C., Agents.