IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISH OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR ACTUATING RAILWAY POINTS AND SIGNALS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis William Webb, of Crewe, in the County
of Chester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MECHANISH OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR ACTUATING RAILWAY POINTS AND
SIGNALS."
Scaled the 2nd April 1875, and dated the 6th February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis William Webb
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 6th February 1875.
I, FRANCIS WILLIAM WEBB, of Crewe, in the County of Chester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR ACTUATING RAILWAY POINTS
AND SIGNALS," to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference mainly to improvements in those com-
binations and arrangements of mechanism for actuating railway points
and signals described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me,
dated the Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-four, and numbered Four hundred and forty-

page_text: two, and consists in an improved construc
mechanism which will effect the required locking, unlocking, and "back
locking," and at the same time prevent the signal or point lever handles
from being wilfully tampered with or used out of their proper order.
Fig. 1 is a side view of a point lever of the construction described in
the Specification of my aforesaid Patent.
"
or
The improvement is effected by forming the top of the hooked bar (d)
with a cam slot &, in which a stud or boss in one arm of a lever (x) of
the first order is inserted. This lever has its fulcrum on a pin secured
in the centre piece (c) of the lever handle (c¹), and consequently the
lever (x) moves with the lever handle (c¹) when it is " pulled over
pushed back. One end of the lever (x) is connected with the weight
catch c³ by means of the rod c³, and when the weight c³ is lifted out of
the front notch in the quadrant & the bar d is also lifted, but it has
owing to the lever x a smaller amount of movement than the weight c³.
When the lever handle c' is pulled over the lever x at the same time is
carried forward, the pin or boss in the sides of the lever x passes into
the cam slot d formed in the head of the bar d, but this pin or boss
does not impart any vertical movement to the bar d while the lever
handle c' is moving; but when the weight c² is lowered in entering the
back notch of the quadrant be one end of the lever x descends, a space
being formed in the cam slot to allow of this, and the other end of the
lever rises and lifts the bar d still higher, so that in actuating the
lever handle c¹ the bar d makes two ascents one way and two descents
the other way instead of an upward and then a downward movement,
as described in the Specification of my said Patent.
Although this apparatus is described above as applied to a quadrant
with notches of two different depths, it can be applied to any quadrant
whether of equal or unequal depth of notches, as shown in Fig. 2, in
which modification the connecting rod c³ is attached directly to the end
of the lever x, which end works in the cam slot d² so that that end of
the lever and bar d receives the same extent of movement as the
weight, and the descent of the weight (c²) when the lever handle e
has been pulled over will act to cause the other end of the lever x to
lift the bar d still higher, as before explained, in reference to Fig. 1.
In conjunction with this apparatus the ordinary locking stop is
employed, as described in the Specification of my said Patent, but

page_text: instead of two stops when any of the lever handles c¹ require to be
"back locked" I employ a single stop as used for single locking.
Another modification of my Invention, in which two ascents are
imparted to the bar d when the lever handle c¹ is pulled one way, and
two descents when it is pushed back, is illustrated by Fig. 3. In this
modification the catch is arranged double, so that in descending
it enters at one extreme of the movement of the lever handle c¹ into a
notch in the upper side of the quadrant 62 (as shown in full line), and at
the other extreme of the movement of the lever handle the catch weight
is made to ascend and enter a notch in the under side of the quadrant 6º,
as shown in dotted line. When the lever handle c' is pulled over, the
under side of the catch weight c² comes against a bowl carried on one arm
of a weight lever 6³, having its fulcrum b' on a pin fixed in the quadrant
frame, and this weight lever ³ presses the catch weight upwards, so
that when it comes opposite the catch in the under side of the quadrant
the weighted lever 63 lifts the catch into the notch, as shown in dotted
line. The catch weight is released from the notch by moving the
handle for actuating the catch weight in the opposite direction to that
of the movement for lifting it.
My Invention further consists in applying mechanism to the locking
apparatus, arranged as described in the Specification of my said Patent,
to act as a safety check or lock to prevent the possibility of such
apparatus being wilfully tampered with or deranged in the case of the
lever handles which have to be "back locked."
One modification for this purpose is illustrated by Fig. 4. At the back
of the arrangement of locking gear described in the Specification of my
said Patent one or more rocking shafts z are placed which are actuated
by the point or signal levers, and upon these shafts fingers or checks zi
are placed to engage in notches in the bars d connected with any of the
lever handles c¹ which are to be locked in their normal position. Thus
while the point levers are in their normal position the safety fingers or
checks are in gear with the notched bars d of any of the locked lever
handles, and this prevents the weight c³ of the locked levers from being
lifted out of the notches in the quadrants, and thus the locked lever
handles from being moved. When however the lever handle is pulled
over, the safety check òr finger is withdrawn from its notch in the bar d
by a rod connected with the centro part cº and an arm on the

page_text: shaft, as shown, the bar d of the locked lever handle being thus left
free to be pulled over.
Another modification for effecting the object above described is illus-
trated by Fig. 5, where a pin or projection c* from the centre piece c³ is
made to act upon a cam slot in an arm y¹ upon a vertical shaft y
arranged in bearings, as shown, and give oscillatory motion to it, an
arm-y on this shaft y actuating a sliding bar y³, having notches, which
when the bar slides endways engages or disengages with pins in the
bars d, thus locking and unlocking them as desired.
Another modification for actuating the catch c* and giving two ascents
or two descents to the bar d, as explained in reference to Figs. 1, 2,
and 3 is illustrated by Fig. 6. In this arrangement the bar d is actuated
by means of a crank pin (c³), excentric, or cam slot connected with the
handle which is in its highest position for one notch of the quadrant,
and in its lowest position for the other notch. The catch c³ is also
actuated by a crank pin (c) or cam, or cam slot, so that the catch is
down in the notches in both extremes of the handle c*, the catch c² being
lifted from the notch in the middle position of the arc in which the
handle c moves. d* represents the rod passing to the bar d; c³, the
rod to the catch c*.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Francis William Webb in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th July 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
WILLIAM WEBB, of Crewe, in the County of Chester, Engineer, send 2
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc- g
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Francis William Webb, Her
special license that I, the said Francis William Webb, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Francis

page_text: William Webb, 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, exerciso, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "Improvements iN MECHANISM OR Arrangements fOR ACTUATING
RAILWAY POINTS AND SIGNALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Francis William Webb, my executors or administrators, 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 Francis William Webb, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and the accompanying Drawings (that is to.
say) :—
My Invention has reference mainly to improvements in those com-
binations and arrangements of mechanism for actuating railway points
and signals described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me,
dated the Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-four, and numbered Four hundred and forty-
two, and consists in an improved construction and combination of the
mechanism which will effect the required locking, unlocking, and "back
locking," and at the same time prevent the signal or point lever handles
from being wilfully tampered with or used out of their proper order.
Fig. 1 is a side view of a point lever of the construction described in
the Specification of my aforesaid Patent.
The improvement is effected by forming the top of the hooked bar (d)
with a cam slot &, in which a stud or boss in one arm of a lever (a) of
the first order is inserted. This lever has its fulcrum on a pin secured
in the centre piece (c) of the lever handle (c¹), and consequently, the
lever (x) moves with the lever handle (c¹) when it is "pulled over" or
pushed back. One end of the lever a is connected with the weight
catch c² by means of the rod c, and when the weight is lifted out of
.

page_text: the front notch in the quadrant 62 the bar d is also lifted by the pin or
boss on the side of the lever; but the bar d has owing to the lever x
a smaller amount of movement than the weight c². When the lever
handle c¹ is pulled over, the lever x at the same time is carried forward,
the pin or boss 2 in the side of the lever x at its back end passes into
the cam slot & formed in the head of the bar d, but this pin or boss does
not impart any vertical movement to the bar d while the lever handle c
is moving; but when the weight c is lowered in entering the back
notch of the quadrant 62 one end (¹) of the lever descends, a space
being formed in the cam slot to allow of this, and the other end (x²) of
the lever rises and lifts the bar d still higher, so that in actuating the
lever handle c¹, that is, pulling it over or putting it back, the bar d makes
.two ascents one way and two descents the other way instead of an
upward and then a downward movement each way, as described in the
Specification of my said Patent.
Although this apparatus is described above as applied to a quadrant
with notches of two different depths it can be applied to any quadrant,
whether of equal or unequal depth of notches, as shewn in Fig. 2, in
which modification the connecting rod ce is attached directly to the
end (¹) of the lever x, which end (¹) works in the cam slot d³, so that
that end of the lever and bar d receives the same extent of movement as
the weight c³, and the descent of the weight (c²) when the lever
handle c' has been pulled over will act to cause the other end (x²) of the
lever x to lift the bar & still higher, as before explained in reference to
Fig. 1.
In conjunction with this apparatus the ordinary locking stop is
employed, as described in the Specification of my said Patent, but
instead of two stops when any of the lever handles c¹ require to be
"back locked" I employ a single locking stop broad enough to keep the
bar dupon which it is to act locked during the time the changes arc
being made in the lever handles, such broad stop being so placed in the
sliding horizontal bar as to leave the bar d unlocked when the changes
in lever handles have been fully and properly completed; also acting in
its last-named position as a back lock to the lever, giving movement to
the horizontal slide bar.
Another modification of my Invention in which two ascents are
imparted to the bar d when the lever handle c¹ is moved one way, and

page_text: two descents when it is moved the other way is illustrated by Fig. 3.
In this modification the catch c² is arranged double, so that in descending
it enters at one extreme of the movement of the lever handle c¹ into a
notch in the upper side of the quadrant 62 (as shown in full line), and at
the other extreme of the movement of the lever handle the catch weight
is made to ascend and enter a notch in the under side of the quadrant 6ª,
as shown in dotted line. When the lever handle c¹ is pulled over the
under side of the catch weight c³ comes against a bowl (6*) carried on
one arm of a weight lever bs having its fulcrum ' on a pin fixed in the
quadrant frame, and this weight lever 3 presses the catch weight
upwards, so that when it comes opposite the notch in the under side
of the quadrant the weighted lever s lifts the catch c³ into the notch,
as shown in dotted line. The catch weight c is released from the notch
by moving the handle for actuating the catch weight in the opposite
direction to that of the movement for lifting it.
My Invention further consists in applying mechanism to the locking
apparatus, arranged as described in the Specification of my said Patent,
to act as a safety check or lock to prevent the possibility of such
apparatus being wilfully tampered with or deranged in the case of the
lever handles which have to be "back locked:"
· One modification for this purpose is illustrated by Fig. 4. At the
back of the arrangement of locking gear described in the Specification
of my said Patent (No. 412, A.D. 1874), one or more rocking shafts z
are placed which are actuated by the point or signal levers, and upon
these shafts fingers or checks ¹ are placed to engage in notches in the
bars d (as shown), connected with any of the lever handles c¹ which are
to be locked in their normal position. Thus while the point levers are in
their normal position the safety fingers or checks are in gear with notches
in the back of the notched bars d of any of their locked lever handles,
and this prevents the weights c² of the locked levers from being lifted
out of the notches in the quadrants, and thus the locked lever handles,
from being moved. When however the lever handle is pulled over the
safety check or finger is withdrawn from its notch in
rod z³ connected with the centre part cº and an arm on
shown, the bar d of the locked lever handle being thus left free to be
pulled over.
the bar & by a
the shaft z, as
Another modification for effecting the obiect above described is illne.

page_text: trated by Fig. 5, where a pin or projection c* from the centre piece c' is
made to act upon a cam slot in an arm y¹ upon a vertical shaft y arranged
in bearings, as shewn, and give oscillatory motion to it, an arm y² on
this shaft y actuating a sliding bar ys having notches, which when tho
bar slides endways engages or disengages with pins in the bars d, thus
locking and unlocking them as desired.
Another modification for actuating the catch of and giving two ascents
or two descents to the bar d or other locking mechanism, as explained
in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 is illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7. In this
arrangement, as illustrated by Fig. 6, the bar d is actuated by means of
a crank pin c³, excentric, or cam slot connected with the handle c',
which is in its highest position for one notch of the quadrant, and in its
lowest position for the other notch. The catch c* is also actuated by a
crank pin (c), or cam, or cam slot, so that the catch is down in the
notches in both extremes of the handle c', the catch c² being lifted from
the notch in the middle position of the arc in which the handle c' moves.
d* represents the rod passing to the bar d; c³, the rod to the catch c².
Fig. 7 illustrates another arrangement for carrying out the object last
mentioned. In this case the bandle ct which may be looped, as shown,
or of Tor any other convenient form is arranged to make a semi- or
partial rotation to actuate the catch weight c by an excentric c³ and
rod 3, and the notched bar d or its equivalent by the crank c', or cam
or cam slot and the connecting rod d*. The lengthway of the loop of
the handle c when the catch weight is in the notch at the two extremes
of the quadrant 6' is by preference at a right angle to the lengthway of
the lever, the handle being turned into the position in which it is shown
in dotted line in Fig. 7, in relation to the lever c¹ when the latter is to
be moved. A pin may be made to project at a right angle from the side
of the rod d*, shown in Figs. 7 and 6, so as to pass above a ledge formed
in the side of the quadrant or over the top of the quadrant; when the
lever is pulled over, this pin and ledge will prevent the handle c*, Fig. 7,
or lever c', Fig. 6, from being turned back, and consequently the handle
or lever c* will have to be placed in its proper position, before the catch
will enter its notch in the quadrant and before the hand levers c¹ which
are intended to be at liberty will be properly unlocked.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and
the mode of carrying the same into effect, and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the in part recited Letters Patent,-

page_text: Firstly. The combinations and arrangements of mechanism, sub-
stantially as herein-before described and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5.
Secondly. The combinations and arrangements of mechanism for
actuating the catch and locking mechanism of point and signal levers by
which the catch for the quadrant receives an up-and-down movement at
each extreme of the quadrant, and the rod actuating the locking
mechanism receives two ascending movements, while the lever (c') is
being moved one way, and two descending movements while it is moving
in the opposite direction, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis William Webb, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-third day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-