ALARM SIGNALS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Ashcroft, of Richmond House, Dalston, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "ALARM
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Ashcroft at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
August 1857.
I, PETER ASHCROFT, of Richmond House, Dalston, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "ALARM SIGNALS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS,"
to be as follows:-
In attaching a gong or other instrument of sound made of suitable material
to the ordinary distance or auxiliary signal post, or to any other convenient
place capable of transmitting sound to the drivers, guards, and passengers of
railway trains, which gong or other instrument being struck by a hammer or
hammers, worked by the wheels of the engines and carriages passing over a
treadle or mover fixed by the side of the rail, and connected with the said
hammer or hammers by rods or cranks or other like machinery, gives notice
to the said drivers, guards, and passengers of their approach to danger, calls
the attention of the drivers and guards to the signal post in advance, and
gives notice to the switch and pointsmen, station masters, and all other
persons of the approach of the engine or train. The treadle or mover may
be connected by wires with any station or other like place, and set or unset as
occasion requires.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Peter Ashcroft in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th February 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
ASHCROFT, of Richmond House, Dalston, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Peter Ashcroft, Her special licence that I, the said Peter Ashcroft,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter
Ashcroft, 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, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "ALARM SIGNALS FOR THE PRE-
VENTION OF ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Peter Ashcroft, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should parti-
cularly 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 Peter Ashcroft, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement or Specification thereof, that is to say :-
My said Invention consists of a mode or modes of communicating signals
on railways for the prevention of accidents and danger, the apparatus for
effecting which may be by a station master, signal man, switch or pointsman,
or other person, brought into gear so as to be ready for action, and not only
give notice to such station master, signal man, switch or pointsman, or other
person of the approach of a train, but also give notice to the drivers, guards,
and other persons in such train of the approach to danger, and call the
attention of drivers or guards to the signal post in advance of the train.
For this purpose I attach a gong or other instrument of sound made of
suitable material to the ordinary distance or auxiliary signal post, or to any

page_text: other convenient place capable of transmitting sound to the drivers, guards,
and other persons in a railway train, and also to a station master, signal* man,
switch or pointsman, or other person having charge of a station or part of a
railway, to whom notice of the approach of a train is to be given.
This gong or other instrument being struck by a hammer or hammers,
worked by the wheels of the engines and carriages passing over or against a
treadle, lever, or mover, fixed by the side of the rail, and connected with the
said hammer or hammers by rods or cranks or other like machinery, by
its sound gives notice to the drivers, guards, and passengers in a train of
their approach to danger, calls the attention of the drivers and guards to the
signal post in advance of the train, and also gives notice to station masters,
signal men, switch or pointsmen, and all other persons of the approach of the
engine or train.
The means of throwing the apparatus into and out of gear may be obtained
by connecting the treadle or other mover, by. means of wires, rods, or chains,
with a lever or other adequate mechanical instrument at a station or other
like, place, so that the station master, signal man, or other person having the
control of such station or place may be enabled at pleasure to throw the
signalling apparatus into or out of gear as may be necessary.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn several modes or variations in
the mode of carrying my improved method of signalling into effect. In each
of these Drawings similar parts are marked with similar letters of reference.
Sheet No. 1, Figure 1, represents an ordinary semaphore signal post, to
which a gong a, a, is attached, and is made of bell metal or other vibrating.
or sounding material, and supported by a bow stud; at b, b, is a hard wood
mallet or metal hammer, which strikes the inside of the gong, and is sup-
ported by a lever 1, and regulated by a spring and screw 62, and which is
acted upon by the connecting rod c, c, which. rod has a spiral spring at c 1, or
may have a series of india-rubber washers, as c 2. This rod is acted upon by
the bell crank d, upon which there is a tail weight d', for the purpose of
balancing the various rods and levers connected therewith; there is also a
sliding joint at d 2 to regulate the throw. The bell crank d is acted upon by
the connecting rods e and el, upon which are formed springs to ease the
shock when acted upon very severely. These springs may also be made of
india-rubber at c 2, or in any other form. The rods e and e 1 are acted upon
by the bell crank f, one part of which forms a treadle at f1, and which is
made wedge-shaped, as f 2, for the purpose of the wheel g to mount easily,
and to depress with as light a shock as possible, and which wheel, flange, or
tire gives motion to the whole of the machinery, as described, and striking the

page_text: gong twice, which operation is repeated by every wheel that passes over the
treadle. The bell crank and treadle are made to fall out of gear when not
required by the sliding joint h, and which is acted upon by a common wedge,
as i, or it may be acted upon by a camb or circular wedge j. The wedge i
or cambis acted upon, by a long wire k, k, which runs into the station or
other like place, and may be placed inside the principal office and under the
command of the station master, signal man, or other person having the control
of such station or place, and may be acted upon by a lever or quadrant of the
ordinary construction. The balance weights w1 or w 2 will draw back the
slack. of the wire and throw the apparatus out of gear when required to be out
of use.
w3 is an adjusting nut with right and left hand thread to allow for
expansion, &c.
Figure 2 represents another arrangement of apparatus for applying a gorg
signal to the purposes of my Invention. a, a, is a plate of metal bolted upon
a pillar b, and is acted upon by the hammers c and d, and which are attached
to a framework of iron e, e, which works upon a sliding centre f, to which is
attached a tail weight f1, which weight throws the frame out of gear when
required by sliding back the frame end of e² from the side of the rail; the
wire g is guided by pulleys g¹ to the station or other like place, and is acted
upon the same as in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is another modification or arrangement of apparatus for carrying
my Invention into effect. a, a, is the gong; b, b, the hammer; b', the lever;
c, the connecting rod; c', the spring to cause the hammer to rebound and
strike the lower edge of gong a, a, and to raise the treadle f, which causes
the hammer b, b, to strike the top of the gong a, a, every time a wheel passes
over; d is a crank lever with an adjusting joint d; e is a connecting rod to
connect the crank lever d and d² to the treadle f and lever f'; i is the wedge.
to raise and lower the treadle f in and out of gear; k, the wire to the station
or other like place; w³, the balance weight to draw the wedge i back when
the wire is slackened; g, carriage wheel; h', a bracket fixed to the signal s
post to carry the spring c¹. The action in this will be the same as Figure 1
and Figure 2.
In Sheet No. 2, Figure 4 represents another modification or arrangement
of apparatus for the purposes of my Invention. The gong a, a, is attached to
a distant signal post and put in action with the same wire k as the signal 3
arm; is a camb to move the arm of the signal; when the signalman or
other person at the station or other like place moves his lever the weight w
turns the camb a portion of its circumference, which raises the arm from
caution to danger by the lever x and rod y. When the gong is required to

page_text: be put in gear, the signal man or other person at the station or other like
place moves the lever again and the camb comes into action, the camb i¹
moving at the same time, but the remaining portion of the circumference
being struck from the centre does not move the arm, but keeps it at danger;
the cambraises the sliding bush z, which presses against the spring c¹,
raises the rod c until the collar & fastened on it rests against the india-rubber
washer c³ on the fixing h', which nearly allows the hammer b to rest on the
lower edge of gong; the camb by raising the rod c causes the treadle f¹ to
rise above the top of the rail, which is placed one hundred yards from the
post, or any convenient distance, and is connected to the crank lever d with
hollow rods k', wire, chain, or anything convenient attached to one end of the
crank lever d, the rod c being attached to the other end of the crank lever d.
Each wheel of the engine, tender, and train depresses the treadle f, and
pulling the rods by the lever d³ causes the hammer to strike the top edge of
the gong, and the spring c¹ causes the hammer 6 to rebound and strike the
lower edge of the gong, at the same time raising the treadle f, which is
depressed by every wheel on the side of the train. The fixings h¹ and india
rubber washers care for the collar c² to strike against, and the hammer bar
being made of steel, the weight of the hammer b causes the lever b¹ to spring
a little, and so as to strike the gong and leave it instantly, and produce a
clear ringing sound. By this arrangement the gong commences ringing one
hundred yards before the engine and driver reach it, and continues to ring
until they come up to or pass it.
Figure 5 is another elevation of Figure 4.
Figure 6 represents another modification of apparatus for carrying my
Invention into effect. In this apparatus the gong a, a, is placed vertically,
and the hammer b, b, is fixed to the lever b', which works upon the fulcrum
y; the end of the lever b¹ is connected to the treadle with rods k¹ in similar
manner as in Figures 4 and 5, and is worked from the station in the same
manner; the camb presses the end of spring c¹, and pushes the hammer to
one side of the gong a, a, and raises the treadle f', which being depressed by
each wheel causes the hammer b, b, to strike the opposite side of the gong a, a,
and the spring c¹ causes it to rebound and strike the other side, and continues
ringing until the train has passed over same, as described in Figures 4 and 5.
The springs c and fixing h¹ answer the same purpose as the india-rubber
washers in Figures 4 and 5.
Figure 7 is another elevation of Figure 6.
Figures 8 and 9 show another modification of the treadle, Sheet No. 3.
Figures 10 and 11 are further modifications or arrangements of anuaratus.

page_text: for the purposes of my Invention. a, a, is the gong; a¹ is a stud to carry the
gong; b, the hammer; 6, the lever, which is acted upon by the connecting
rod c, which is attached to one end of the crank lever d, and the rod k is
attached to the other end and to the lever d;, when the wire or chain k is
slackened at the station or other. like place the spring c¹ raises the treadle f',
and lets the hammer fall from the gong; as each wheel passes over, the treadle
is depressed and causes the hammer to strike the outside of the gong. The
lever d² is fixed on a shaft d³, which is carried by two fixings on the post, the
lever d' is fixed on the other end of the shaft d³, the rod k³ connects the levers
d² and d together, and the gong is acted upon in a similar manner, as before
described.
Figure 12 is a plan of the treadle f¹.
Figure, 13 shows another, modification of my Invention, f¹ and fare
treadles, and d² and d' are levers keyed in the same shafts as treadles f¹ and
f, and are connected by the rod ; when the wheel g depresses f, f¹ is
raised by the rod k³, and when the wheel g depresses the treadle f', f² is
raised by the rod k³, thus causing the gong to be acted upon, or two wires,
may be used, as, with lever and ki.
Having particularly ascertained and described the nature of my Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to
be clearly understood, that I do not intend to claim, any of the mechanical,
elements or parts herein-before described or shewn in my Drawings separate
or apart from the arrangements, combinations, or application thereof to form
apparatus for the purposes aforesaid as being any part of my said Invention;
and that what I do claim as my said Invention is, the construction of appa-
ratus for effecting railway alarm signals, so that such apparatus may be.
thrown into and out of gear and employed for giving signals or notice to
engine drivers, guards, station masters, signal men, and others, in manner
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Ashcroft, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twentieth day of February, in the year of, our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
IIENRY WANSEY,
3, Moorgate Street.
PETER ASHCROFT. (L.S.)