Improvements in and relating to Poles for Use in Coupling and Uncoupling Railway Wagons.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 6th June, 1900-Accepted, 7th July, 1900
Improvements in and relating to Poles for Use in Coupling and
Uncoupling Railway Wagons.
I, WILLIAM JOHN MCKENNA, of Stanley House, 33, St. Andrews Drive, Pollock-
shields, in the County of the City of Glasgow, Portioner, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention to be as follows:-
-:
This invention has reference to improvements in and relating to portable poles
for use in coupling and uncoupling railway wagons, and consists in adapting the
pole to and fitting it with an electric lamp or light, and providing means for
maintaining, and switching on and off the electric current.
The pole would be formed hollow and be fitted with a screwed on. cover at one
end for inserting and removing material to form a battery or accumulator. An
incandescent lamp would be fitted at the other end of pole and have electrical
connections to battery, while similar connections would be fitted at handle end
of pole for switching on or off the current as required. A series of bars would
project out from pole to protect the lamp, and be formed or fitted at their outer
end with a hook suitable for engaging with and operating the chains or links
used for coupling and uncoupling the wagons. Instead of a series of bars only
one projection need be used with the coupling hook formed at its outer end, and
in this case the globe of lamp would be protected by wire gauze or netfing.
By these improvements the shunter in the night time has only to switch on
the light when the wagons are to be coupled or uncoupled.
Dated the 6th September 1899.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Poles for Use in Coupling and
Uncoupling Railway Wagons.
I, WILLIAM JOHN MCKENNA, of Stanley House, 33, St. Andrews Drive, Pollock-
shields, in the County of the City of Glasgow, Portioner, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement in
writing, reference being made to the accompanying sheet of illustrative draw-
ings:
This invention has reference to improvements in and relating to portable poles
for use in coupling and uncoupling railway wagons, and consists in adapting the
pole to and fitting it with an electric lamp or light, and providing means for
maintaining and switching on and off the electric current.
And in order that my said invention and the manner of carrying same into

page_text: practice may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a sheet of
explanatory drawings in which the same reference letters are used to indicate
corresponding parts in all the figures where shown.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a pole for use in coupling and uncoupling
railway wagons, as constructed in accordance with my improvements.
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the upper part of the pole as slightly
modified to show coloured lights, and Figure 3 is a sectional plan view as taken
on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. Figures 4 and 5 are a sectional elevation and plan
view respectively of the upper part of the pole as further modified from that
shown in Figures 2 and 3.
Referring to these drawings:
As shown in Figure 1 the pole A would be formed hollow of metal, bamboo, wood
or other suitable material, and be fitted with a screwed on cover A over a metal
ferrule A2 at one end for inserting and removing material to form. a battery or
accumulator. The accumulator would preferably consist of a series of short
electric charged batteries a superimposed over each other and having metallic
contacts at a¹, the lower one resting on a spring a2. An incandescent lamp B
would be fitted into a socket holder B at the other end of pole A and have electric
connections by the wires bb, to battery, while similar connections would be
fitted at handle end of pole for switching on or off the current as required, and
which may consist of a spring lever C having a projecting end C" which would be
pressed through aperture in pole A to come in electric contact with battery when
the light is to be switched on and be kept in contact by the finger so long as the
light is desired to be maintained. As shown in Figure 2 a series of bars D
would project out from pole to protect the lamp, and be formed or fitted at their
outer end with a hook 12 suitable for engaging with and operating the chains
or links used for coupling and uncoupling the wagons. Or as shown in Figures 1
and 4 instead of a series of bars the projection would be made in one piece with
the coupling hook Da formed at its outer end, and in this case a series of aper-
tures would be formed in the projecting piece for the light to shine through.
In the arrangement shown in Figures 2 and 3, celluloid, glass, mica, or the
like with red and green or other colours would be mounted in metal frames dd,
which would work between top and bottom guides and slide or turn round to show
danger or other signals through the apertures ]) or between the bars D. In
the arrangement shown in Figures 4 and 5 the coloured glass or transparent
material would be fixed opposite apertures D₁ at upper part of pole A, and the
part carrying the hook D2 would be formed with corresponding apertures and
be turned round to show the signal light desired, or close the apertures when
not required as in the day time, the distance of travel being regulated by a
pin 72 in the outer part D working in a slot formed in the pole head A.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
First. A pole for use in coupling and uncoupling railway wagons, having in
combination with it an electric lamp or light, and means for maintaining and
switching off and on the electric current, substantially as herein set forth.
Second. Poles for use in coupling and uncoupling railway vehicles having their
coupling hook end parts adapted to show light, substantially as herein described
in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 5th Tune 1000