IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY SIGNALS
Year: 1871

page_text: 0
LETTERS PATENT to James Quin and Robert Eastham, both of
Leyland, near Preston, in the County of Lancaster, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY SIGNALS."
Scaled the 21st March 1871, and dated the 9th January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Quin and Robert
Eastham at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,, with their
Petition, on the 9th January 1871.
We, JAMES QUIN and ROBERT EASTHAM, both of Leyland, near
Preston, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY SIGNALS," to be as
follows:-
i
Our Invention relates, firstly, to an improved means of placing fog
signals upon the metals of a railway.
And, secondly, to a means of indicating at the entrance to a tunnel
or at any other required point on a railway the time that has elapsed
since the last engine or train passed that point.

page_text: The first I propose to effect by means of levers worked by wires from
the signal box, so that on the pulling over of a handle the signalman can
place three signals at a time in both directions and on both lines if
required (say) at 500, 750, and 1000 yards respectively, and remove
them again if not exploded.
And the second I propose to effect by causing the engine or train in
passing a given point to force air or fluid into a receptacle, so as to
raise an indicator or signal. The receptacle is provided with an escape
aperture of such a size that it takes a certain definite time (say five
minutes) for the air or fluid to escape and the indicator to fall, the
position of the latter against a dial or scale clearly shewing the number
of minutes since the last train passed.
The levers for the fog signals are mounted so as to work horizontally
on a vertical pin, three levers being employed at each point where they
are to be applied and each carrying a fog signal at its outer end, the
three levers being arranged at right angles to each other and working
together. They are enclosed in a case when not in use, but when
required the signalman by pulling over the lever in the signal box can
place either one of them with its fog signal on the line, or withdraw
them all three into the casing. The same wire which works the fog.
signal levers also works a small indicator in the signal box which shows
precisely the position of the said levers at the distant points. This
arrangement will require recharging when three signals have been
exploded, but by using a slide working beneath a box containing a
larger number of fog signals and taking out only one at a time it may
easily be arranged to work a much larger number of signals without
recharging.
The time indicator may be worked in a variety of ways, for example,
I place a lever by the side of the rail in such a position that cach wlicel
of the engine or train in passing depresses it and causes it to compress
an elastic bag or bellows which forces air into a cylinder or receptacle
and raise a piston in connection with any readily visible indicator or
signal. When the engine or train has passed the piston (and with it
the indicator or signal) descends slowly forcing the air out through the
escape aperture. When the piston and indicator are at the highest
position it shows that another engine or train has only just passed on
in advance, and when they are at their lowest point it shows that the

page_text: last train or engine has passed five minutes since or more, the inter-
mediate positions of course indicating in a proportionate manner the
intervening time.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Quin and Robert Eastham in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 8th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, JAMES
QUIN and ROBERT EASTHAM, both of Leyland, near Preston, in the
County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said James Quin and Robert Eastham, Her
special license that we, the said James Quin and Robert Eastham,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as wc, the said
James Quin and Robert Eastham, 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 RAILWAY SIGNALS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said James Quin and Robert
Eastham, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or one of our, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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.

page_text: particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
Our Invention relates firstly to an improved means of placing fog
signal upon the metals of a railway.
And, secondly, to a means of indicating at the entrance to a tunnel
or at any other required point on a railway, the time that has elapsed
since the last engine or train passed that point.
The first I propose to effect by means of levers worked by wires
from the signal box, so that on the pulling over of a handle the signal-
man can place three signals at a time in both directions and on both
lines if required, (say) at five hundred, seven hundred and fifty, and
one thousand yards respectively, and remove them again if not
exploded.
And the second I propose to effect by causing the engine or train in
passing a given point to force air or fluid into a receptacle so as to raise
an indicator or signal. The receptacle is provided with an escape aperture
of such a size that it takes a certain definite time (say five minutes)
for the air or fluid to escape and the indicator to fall, the position of the
latter against a dial or scale clearly showing the number of minutes
since the last train passed.
The levers for the fog signals are mounted so as to work horizontally
on a vertical pin, three levers being employed at each point where they
are to be applied and each carrying a fog signal at its outer end, the
three levers being arranged at right angles to each other and working
together. They are enclosed in a case when not in use, but when
required the signalman by pulling over the lever in the signal box can
place either one of them with its fog signal on the line, or withdraw
them all three into the casing. The same wire which works the fog
signal levers also works a small indicator in the signal box which shows
precisely the position of the said levers at the distant points. This
arrangement will require recharging when three signals have been
exploded, but by using a slide working beneath a box containing a
larger number of fog signals and taking out only one at a time, it may
easily be arranged to work a much larger number of signals without
recharging.
The time indicator may be worked in a variety of ways; for example,
I place a lever by the side of the rail in such a position that each wheel

page_text: of the engine or train in passing depresses it and causes it to compress
an elastic bag or bellows which forces air into a cylinder or receptacle,
and raise a piston in connection with any readily visible indicator or
signal. When the engine or train has passed the piston (and with it
the indicator or signal) descends slowly forcing the air out through the
escape aperture. When the piston and indicator are at the highest
position it shows that another engine or train has only just passed on in
advance, and when they are at their lowest point it shows that the last
train or engine has passed five minutes since or more, the intermediate
positions of course indicating in a proportionate manner the intervening
time.
66
Im-
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention for
provements in Railway Signals," we will now proceed to describe
more in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect; and in order that the same
may be clearly understood I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of
Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof :—
-
In the annexed Drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view, and Fig. 2 an elevation
of our improved self-acting arrangement for placing and removing fog
signals. a, a, is the rail; and b, b, the box or case enclosing the triple
lever c, c¹, c², working horizontally on a fixed pin d, each arm carrying
a fog signal e, e, e. The lever is caused to revolve by means of a
chain f, f, passing round a drum or pulley 9, 9, and connected at one
end by a wire h, h, to the lever in the signal box, and at the other to
a weight i, i, for returning it to its original position. The wire h, h,
may also work a small indicator in the signal box to show the signalman
precisely the position of the said levers and fog signals at the distant
points, but this arrangement being simple and obvious is not shewn ou
the Drawings.
Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of one of the fog signals, and Fig. 4
the forked end of one of the levers c². After the signal has been
exploded it is removed by the end of the lever passing the extractor k, k,
enlarged views of which are shown at Figs. 5 and 6. The levers c, c¹, c²,
are charged with fog signals by means of a slide 1, 1, actuated by a
lever m, m, and working beneath a box n, n, containing a pile of signals.

page_text: This box may be placed beneath the slide, if desired, and the signals lifted
up by means of counterweights or springs. This lever m, m, is worked
by a second wire o, o, and when any one of the arms of the lever is in
a position for charging this wire is pulled by a lever in the signal box,
and will cause the slide to push the lowest fog signal into the fork of
the arm, as shown at the right hand of Fig. 1. The lever m, m, is
also provided with a chain and weight for returning the slide to its
original position; p, p, in Fig. 2, is a lever for the use of the driver,
to communicate in case of need with the bell in the signal box. It
is reached through the door q, q, of which the driver has the key.
Fig. 7 shows the method of working the lever for placing the
signals. r, r, is the lever working in a slot in the quadrant s, s, it
is drawn in the position corresponding to that shown in Fig. 1. The
first dotted position 1 places the first signal on the line as shown
dotted at Fig. 1. The position 2 places the second signal on the line
the first exploded signal being at the same time removed by the ex-
tractor. The position 3 places the third signal on the line and extracts
the second, and the position 4 extracts the third signal. The signalman
then allows the weight to pull back the lever to the central position 2,
which brings the first arm of the lever into charging position and pulls
over the charging lever », (which having only one movement to and
fro it is not considered necessary to show enlarged on the Drawings)
placing a fog signal on the first arm, and so on till the lever m, m, is in
its original position when the three arms will be recharged and in the
position shown at Fig. 1.
Fig. 8. represents a plan view of the whole arrangement on a smaller
scale, showing the signal box t, t, and the continuous connection for
placing the signals at five hundred, seven hundred and fifty, and one
thousand yards simultaneously.
Figs. 9 and 10 are longitudinal section and front elevation of our
improved time indicator. a, a, is a lever placed beside the rail and
caused to vibrate by the passing of each wheel of the engine or train.
Each movement of this lever causes it to compress an clastic diaphragm
b, b, which acts as a pump and forces air or other fluid into a cylinder c, c,
raising therein a piston connected to a semaphore or index d, d, working
against an index board e, e. The passage of the wheels of an engine
and tender will give a sufficient number of strokes to raise the index

page_text: up to the top when the piston will have risen above the surplus escape
opening, and thus allow any surplus air or fluid forced up by the
remaining wheels of the train to escape freely, and thus though a single
engine and tender will fully raise the index, a train of any length will
do no more, as the surplus will escape harmlessly. As soon as the
engine or train has passed the piston (and with it the index) will
commence to descend, closing the escape opening f and forcing the air
or fluid out through another opening near the bottom. This opening
is made much smaller, and of such a diameter that it takes the contents
of the cylinder (say) five minutes to escape, and thus the required
indication of time is obtained.
Fig. 11 shows a similar arrangement wherein a column of mercury
is used for raising the index.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention,
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, we wish it to be understood that
we claim as our Invention the particular arrangement of mechanism
above described and shown on the Drawings for placing fog signals on
the metals, and for indicating the time that has elapsed since the last
engine or train has passed a given point, or any mere modification or
imitation thereof, constructed and operating in substantially the same
or a similar manner.
In witness whereof, I,, the said James Quin, on behalf of myself,
and the said Robert Eastham, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand cight hundred and seventy-one.