AN IMPROVED RAILWAY TRAIN SIGNAL COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE GUARD AND ENGINE DRIVER
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Smedley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd September 1853.
I, THOMAS SMEDLEY, of Holywell, in the County of Flint, Gentle-
man, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED RAILWAY TRAIN SIGNAL COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE GUARD
AND ENGINE DRIVER" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of a peculiar arrangement of sliding rods or
shafts, which, being placed below the flooring of railway carriages and
vehicles, have the property of elongating when struck at one end, and
of retracting by the action of the motion of the carriage or train,
whereby the guard can strike any suitable alarm fixed near the engine
driver, such signal being repeated each time the guard presses or strikes.
forward the sliding signal rod by the aid of a lever or other like means..
And for the better understanding of my said Invention I will now
proceed to describe the details thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed and the letters marked thereon, like parts
being indicated by the same letters throughout..
Fig. 1, is a side view of my improved signalling apparatus. Fig. 2,
is a plan or top view of the same. Fig. 3, is a longitudinal section of

page_text: D, E, F, G. Fig. 4, is a view of the main bar or shaft and its latch
fall. The main shaft A, B, C, C', is rounded from A, to C, and square
from C, to C' at the end A, it ends in a pointed flat notched drop or
latch, always tending to fall downwards, being kept from turning round
by the square end C, C, when in its place in the hanger H. The
end A, of the main shaft slides into the compound socket D, E, F, G.
The tube or socket G, has a square collar outside, where it enters the
hanger I, and upon the opposite end of G, slides the end D, of the
socket D, E, F; this socket has a collar turned on it at E, and within
at this part the tube is of diminished diameter. F, is a disc or small
buffer, which being pressed or struck will recede according to the length
of the neck or collar E, working in a circular aperture in the hanger J,
and will be pushed back by a spiral spring e, e, werking on the barrel
of G, between D, and I, and at the same time A, B, C, is pushed
forward, and C, C', then presses against the corresponding end F, of any
adjoining carriage or other vehicle provided with the same arrange-
ment of signal, and so on throughout the entire train. But when the
guard releases F, a mechanical arrangement to be hereafter described
causes the bar C, C', to return, and the line of signal is again broken
until further required. The return of the square end C, C', and con-
sequently also of the rounded shaft A, B, C, may be variously effected.
One mode I adopt is to place a barrel f, on the carriage axle, with a
slight sliding motion actuated by a spring, and having clutches at one
end, the axle also having corresponding clutches, and to this winding
barrel is attached a chain or cord g, one end of which is attached to the
shaft at or near C, which by its means is drawn inwards. h, is a small
bracket with a vertical shaft carrying four levers, two of which i, j, are
acted upon by the backward and forward motion of the shaft A, B, C,
catching two pins above and below C, C'. k, is another small bracket
with a vertical shaft carrying two levers, one 1, terminating in a groove
in the winding barrel; the other m, having a connecting rod n, jointed
to one end, and carried thence to the lever o; a spring p, is connected
by a tension rod to the lever g.
It will be observed that the end a, of the main shaft A, B, C,
freely enters the tube a', and on entering the larger tube b, that the

page_text: fall catch a, will lay hold of the tube a', at one end by the notch, but
should F, be pressed forward, then the lesser tube c, would receive the
spear end of a, and wedge it upwards, release the notched end, and
bring into action a long spiral spring d, d, on A, B, C, which would
protrude the square end C, C¹. Thus alternately by this means a
continuous rod or a series of disjointed rods or shafts would be the
result from end to end of a railway train.
I do not restrict myself to any material size, form, or situation for
these railway train signals, which may be considerably modified, but
what I do claim as my Invention is, namely,―
A railway train signal protruded at one end when struck or pressed
at the opposite end, and which is self-acting in breaking the com-
munication so established between one vehicle and another vehicle
throughout a railway train, as described.