A New or Improved System or Mode and Means of Indicating the Stations Passed and Distance Traversed by Railway Trains, and Appliances therefor.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 27th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 2nd Nov., 1889.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved System or Mode and Means of Indicating the
Stations Passed and Distance Traversed by Railway Trains, and
Appliances therefor.
1, JOHN FINDLAY, of Market Street, Brechin, Forfarshire, Gamedealer, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention to be as follows:-
This Invention has reference to and comprises a new or improved system, or mode
and means, of automatically indicating the stations passed by a train on a railway
line, and thus render unnecessary the present system of calling out the names of
railway stations on the arrival of the various trains while also indicating to the rail.
way traveller by a mere glance at a small dial plate and reference card his whereabouts
on the line he may happen to be travelling on, and the distance or mileage the train
has already traversed, and how far it has yet to go before it reaches the particular
station he is travelling to.
According to my invention a small circular index dial plate or card is placed in a
convenient part of each compartment of the train of railway carriages. This dial
plate or card has printed or marked on a circle round it the numbers, instead of the
names, of the stations on the line in consecutive order, as from 1 to 10 or 1 to 20 ;
and may have an outer circle of numbers giving the tens of the numbers on the inner
circle, on a line where there are a great many stations. A pointer or pointers would
be mounted on an arbor in front and at the centre of the dial or card, and be actuated
by escapement mechanism as will hereinafter be described, this pointer or pointers is
or are caused to point to the figure representing any particular station the train has
just left. Alongside the index dial would be placed a table or reference card with a
column of numbers corresponding to the numbers on the dial, and opposite each
number would be printed the name of the station which the number referred to.
Corresponding columns would also be made on this card to indicate the distance or
mileage from the stations the train has passed, and the distance from the stations it
has yet to proceed to, as well as the time it is due at each particular station, and indi-
cating whether it is to stop or not stop at any particular station, or whether the
traveller has to change carriages or trains. Thus when a traveller desires to know
where he is on the line, he has simply to consult the dial for the number indicated by
the index or pointer and referring to the table for the corresponding number he finds
the name of the station just passed, also the number of miles he has passed over, the
number of miles he has yet to travel before reaching his destination, or station he
intends stopping at, and what stations he has to pass on the way, and whether he has
to change," and also see if the train is "up to time."
One arrangement of mechanism susceptible of modification for carrying the im-
provements into practice would consist all as follows:-In mounting a ratchet or
motive escapement wheel on the arbor to which the main pointer of the indicating dial
is connected. This wheel has ratchet teeth formed on it corresponding to the number
of stations on the circle of the dial round which the main pointer travels, as say ten
or twenty, and is actuated by a spring ratchet pawl as will hereinafter be described, to
turn one tooth and move the pointer past a number on the dial after the train has
passed each station. An inner ratchet or toothed wheel is also mounted on a hollow
arbor on the inner arbor of the first index pointer and to which another index pointer
is connected, for indicating the numbers after the main or unit-indicating pointer has
passed over every ten or twenty stations. This inner ratchet wheel would preferably
be formed with smaller teeth and a spring pawl or pawls would be mounted on the
side of the outer ratchet wheel, which would come in contact with a projection on the

page_text: frame carrying the mechanism and be depressed into the teeth of the inner wheel so
as to move it forward one tooth each time the main or unit pointer has passed ten or
twenty numbers or stations, and its ratchet wheel has moved forward ten or twenty
teeth. Or this could be effected by an alternative arrangeinent by forming the inner
wheel with longer teeth than the outer wheel, and forming each tenth or twelfth tooth
of the latter the same size as that of the inner wheel, and making the spring pawl
which actuates the main ratchet wheel broader, so that as each tenth or twelfth tooth
of the main ratchet moved forward, the spring pawl would fall into the teeth of both
ratchet wheels and move them both forward one tooth. The arbors of the ratchet
wheels, and fittings would be carried in an open metallic plate frame, and the dial or
card held by washers in the centre round the pointers, and by clips at the sides of the
frame. The actuating pawl would consist of a double blade spring having the lower
end of its moving limb mounted on a centre pin, and its upper actuating end would
be connected to a pulling wire, rod, or chain which, would be passed down through
a hollow tube to the under part of the carriages, the pawl being kept in contact with
the teeth of the ratchet wheel by a spiral or other pushing spring kept in tension
round the wire between the pawl and the hollow tube, so as to turn the ratchet wheel
one tooth on its reaction. A second spring pallet is mounted at the side of the
frame, and also acts in the teeth and pushes the ratchet wheel. slightly forward and
stops it, allowing the motive spring pawl to enter the next tooth and turn it fully
round one tooth. The lower end of the pulling wire at the bottom of the tube from
the compartments of each carriage, would be connected to the horizontal arm of a
vertical bell-crank lever mounted on a stud or bracket in the under frame of each
railway carriage. The vertical arın of this bell crank would be formed with a curved
end or antifriction roller, and after the train of carriages has left a station this arm
would come in contact with a lever or bow spring mounted in the permanent way
between the line of rails, which would raise this arin of the bellcrank and lower the
horizontal arm to draw down the wires or rods connected to the spring pawls of
the escapement movements, and move the unit ratchet wheel in each compartment
one tooth forward in this way after passing each station. The spring lever would be
mounted at the centre, or at one side, between the line of rails, preferably near the
distant signal box of each station to actuate the recording dial of each compartment
after the train leaves the station. By an alternative arrangement, the bellcrank lever
and its fittings need only be fitted on one carriage of the train, and the escapement
mechanism in each compartment be actuated by make and break contacts and arma-
tures with small electro-magnets, which would operate the spring pawl to turn one
tooth of the main ratchet wheel after passing each station on the line, the lever being
made to complete the circuit through the wires on the train as it passed the spring
lever at each station; and an electric battery, or batteries would be carried in the
guard's van or other part of the train, while the wires would be connected between the
carriages.
Instead of having the actuating spring contact. levers below. the carriages, they
may be fitted on bridges or other projections above or at the sides of the carriages to
actuate the bell-cranks and operate the escapment pawls..
Dated thie-28th day of November 1888

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved System or Mode and Means of Indicating the
Stations Passed and Distance Traversed by Railway Trains, and
Appliances therefor.
I, JOHN FINDLAY, of Market Street, Brechin, Forfarshire, Gamedealer, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same
to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to, the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention has reference to and comprises a new or improved system, or mode
and means, of automatically indicating within each carriage the stations. passed or to
be passed by a train on a railway line, and thus render unnecessary the present system
of calling out the names of railway stations on the arrival of the various trains, while
also indicating to the railway traveller by a mere glance at a small dial plate and
reference card his whereabouts on the line he may happen to be travelling on, and the
distance or mileage the train has already traversed, and how far it has yet to go before
it reaches the particular station he is travelling to.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing or carrying the
same into effect or practice may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended an
explanatory Drawing in which Figure 1 represents a front elevation to illustrate one
arrangement of my new or improved appliances for indicating the stations passed and
distance traversed by railway trains, and showing the circular index dial plate or
card A with indicating pointers A', A. Figure 2 is an elevation looking at the
opposite side of the appliance to Figure 1, with the back plate of the case removed to
show the ratchet wheels a, b, and their spring pawls and actuating mechanism.
Referring to these Drawings:-According to my invention a small circular index
dial plate or card A is placed preferably within a case Z with a glass front in a con-
venient part of each compartment of the train of railway carriages. This dial plate or
card A has printed or marked on a circle round it the numbers, instead of the names,
of the stations on the line in consecutive order, as from 1 to 10, shown on the inner
circle and repeated twice in the revolution, and has an outer circle of numbers giving
the tens of the numbers on the inner circle, on a line where there are a great many
stations, the outer circle shown in Figure 1 thus indicating from 10 to 400 stations.
The pointers A, A, form the indices for the inner and outer circles of figures
respectively, and are mounted on a central and a hollow outer arbor A³, A³, respec-
tively, passing out through the centre of the dial or card A, and actuated by ratchet
wheels and escapement mechanism, the pointer A', or pointers A¹, A", being caused
to point to the figure representing any particular station the train has just left, all as
will hereinafter be described. Alongside the index dial A is placed a table or
reference card with a column of numbers corresponding to the number on the dial,
and opposite each number is printed the name of the station which the number referred
to, corresponding columns are also made on this card to indicate the distance or
mileage from the stations the train has passed from starting, and from each station it
has passed, and the distance from the stations it has yet to proceed to, as well as the
time it is due at each particular station it is to stop at, and indicating whether it is to
stop or not stop at any particular station, or whether the traveller has to change
carriages or trains, all as seen by the following table which is given as one illustration.
of how it may be worked on a line of railway from Aberdeen to Perth.

page_text: Thus when a traveller desires to know where he is on the line, he has simply to
consult the dial A, for the number indicated by the. index or pointer A¹ or
pointers A, A, and referring to the table for the corresponding number he finds the
name of the station just passed, also the number of miles he has passed over, the
number of miles he has yet to travel before reaching his destination, or station he
intends stopping at, the distance between the stations and what stations he has to pass
on the way, and whether he has to "change" and also to see whether the train is
" up to time."
One arrangement of mechanism as shown in these Drawings, but susceptible of
considerable modification for carrying the improvements into practice consists all as
follows In mounting a ratchet or motive escapment wheel a on the central arbor A²
to which the inner circle unit pointer A¹ of the indicating dial A is secured. This

page_text: wheel a has ratchet teeth formed on it corresponding to the number of stations on the
inner circle of the dial A, round which the unit pointer A¹ travels, as say twenty, as
shown in Figure 2, and is actuated by a spring ratchet escapement pawl a', a¹¹, a², as
will hereinafter be described, to turn one tooth and move the pointer A' to a number
on the dial A, after the train has passed each station successively. An inner ratchet
or toothed wheel 6 is also mounted on the hollow arbor A³, of the long index
pointer A, for indicating the tens of the numbers after the main or unit-indicating
pointer A' has passed over every ten stations. This inner ratchet wheel b is preferably
formed with smaller teeth, in this case forty; and spring acting and stop
pawls b, 61, 62, are mounted and fulcrumed on one of the plates B of the frame
carrying the mechanism to turn one tooth of this wheel beach time the ratchet
wheel a, has made a half revolution and moved forward ten teeth, and the main or
unit pointer A¹ has passed over ten numbers or stations. This is effected under one
arrangement by forming two pin teeth 63 on the inner surface of the unit ratchet
wheel a, one opposite each tenth tooth, which would move the acting lover 6 to
actuate the pawl 61 to draw or push forward the ratchet wheel b, one tooth, after each
ten teeth of the ratchet wheel a have moved forward, in the direction indicated by
the arrow, a stop 64 being fitted at the top of the spring pawls to regulate their move-
ments in pulling round the ratchet wheel b by the reaction of these spring pawls;
and the spring detent 63 prevents the ratchet teeth slipping while the pawl b¹ is
moving each forward. Or by an alternative arrangement these pawls 61, 6, might
be mounted on the side of the outer ratchet wheel a, which would come in contact
with a projection on the frame carrying the mechanism, and be depressed into the
teeth of the inner wheel b so as to move it forward one tooth each time the main or
unit pointer A has passed ten numbers or stations, and its ratchet wheel a has moved
forward ten teeth. Or this could be effected under another arrangement by forming
the inner wheel b with longer teeth than the outer wheel a, and forming each tenth or
twelfth tooth of the latter a the same size as that of the inner wheel b, and making
the spring pawl which actuates the main ratchet wheel a broader, so that at each tenth
or twelfth tooth the main ratchet moved forward, the spring pawl would fall into the
teeth of both ratchet wheels a, b, and move them both forward one tooth; but other
equivalent ratchet and escapeinent mechanism might be used. The arbors A², A³, of
the ratchet wheels a, b, and fittings are carried in the open metallic plate frame B,
and the dial or card A is held by screws A4, to the plate B round the pointers A¹, A".
The lower end of the actuating pawl a¹, is mounted or fulcrumed at a³ on a centre
pin, and is connected near its upper actuating end to a pulling rod and spring e, c¹,
or it might be a wire or chain, which may be passed down through a hollow case or
tube Z leading to the under frame Z2 of the carriages, the pawl a being kept in
contact with the teeth of the ratchet wheel a by a spiral or other pulling or pushing
spring a kept in tension by the detent lever a² fulcrumed at one end on the same
stud a³ as the actuating pawl a', and having its other end acting on the teeth of the
ratchet wheel a, so as to prevent these slipping more than one tooth at a time while
the pawl a', is passing over same, stop pins being used at a' for preventing the ratchet
pawl a of this escapement being moved too far in either direction. The lower part c²,
of the pulling rod or wire c, c', at the compartments of each carriage is connected by
a swivel joint at c to the horizontal arm or end C of a lever C, C, mounted on a stud
at C on a vertical bracket (11, bolted to the under frame Ź³, of each railway
carriage. The lower arm or end of this lever C, C, is formed with a curved end'
or antifriction roller at C, and after the train of carriages has left each station this
arm C¹, C, would come in contact with a curved or double inclined spring bar D or
other equivalent mounted in the permanent way near the line of rails R, which would
raise this arm (" of the lever C, C, against the power of the spring C³, and lower the
horizontal arm or end C to draw down the rods or wires c, c¹, c², connected to the
spring pawl a' of the escapement movement to the extent of one tooth as shown
dotted-in in Figures 1 and 2, and move the unit ratchet wheel a in each compartment
one tooth forward by the reaction of the spring and detent a¹¹, a² of this escape-
ment in this way after passing each station. The spring C³ acting on the lover C¹

page_text: would carry the weight of the lever C and rod c, c¹, c², to allow of this reaction
of the pawl and spring a¹, a", to turn the ratchet mechanism all as hereinbefore
described. The curved or angled spring bar or lever D, would be mounted at the
centre, or at one side, on the sleepers S, between the line of rails R, preferably near
the distant signal box of each station, to actuate the spring pawl a¹ and pointer A
on the recording dial A of each compartment after the train leaves the station, and
when the lever mechanism C, C, is mounted at one side of the carriage two
bars D would be required mounted at opposite sides of the rails R to suit the carriage
when turned or reversed. When the bar D is made of a spring yielding form as
shown, one of its ends would be formed. with a slot to slide on its securing screw
at D'. By an alternative arrangement, the lever C, (1, and its fittings need only
be fitted at one carriage of the train, and have the escapement mechanism, in each
compartment of the other carriages actuated by make and break contacts and arma-
tures with small electro-magnets, which would operate the spring pawl a', of the
escapement a¹, a¹¹, a², to turn one tooth of the main or unit ratchet wheel a of the
dial mechanism after passing each station on the line as herein before described,
the lever C, C, being made to complete the circuit through the wires on the train as
it passed the spring bar D at each station; and an electric battery or batteries would
be carried into the guard's van or other part of the train, while the wires would be
connected between the carriages.
Instead of having the actuating spring bars D below the carriages, they may be
fitted on bridges or other projections above or at the sides of the carriages to actuate
the levers C, C, which would be inverted to correspond and operate the escapement
pawls, all otherwise substantially as hereinbefore described.
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. The system, or mode and means of automatically indicating the stations
passed, and distance traversed by railway trains, substantially as herein described, in
reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The arrangement and combination of appliances for automatically indicating
the stations passed, and distance traversed by railway trains, consisting of a reference
table or card, and an index dial plate or card placed in the carriage compartments
with pointer or pointers actuated by wheel gearing and escapement mechanism
operated from inclined bars or spring levers on the permanent way, substantially as
and in the manner herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying
Drawings.
Third. In a system for indicating the stations passed and distance traversed by
railway trains, the use of a station indicating reference table, in combination with an
index dial or card, in the compartments or carriages of the train, substantially as
herein set forth.
Fourth. In a system for indicating the stations passed and distance traversed by
railway trains, the use of the herein described or equivalent ratchet and pawl or
escapement and gearing mechanism, and index pointer or pointers automatically
operated through levers and rods, by the movement of the trains passing stations,
substantially as and in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth, in reference
to and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Deted the 26th Santember 1880