IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Cottrill, of Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS."
Sealed the 13th April 1875, and dated the 4th February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Cottrill at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th February 1875.
I, SAMUEL COTTRILL, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the working of station and distant signals
upon railways, the apparatus being so constructed and arranged that it
can either be worked by hand or actuated automatically by the engine,.
tender, or other portion of a passing train. To the semaphore arm is

page_text: connected a tail piece (or it may be made of one piece with the arm),
the said tail piece being fixed or formed at an angle of about one
hundred and thirty-five degrees to the arm, and being upon the opposite
side of the centre or fulcrum upon which the arm works. This tail piece
works in a slot in the upper end of a vertical rod passing through guides
at top and bottom attached to the telegraph post. Near the lower end
of this rod is attached a counterbalance lever, and the lower end of the
rod is provided with a hook connected by a chain passing round a pulley
to the lower arm of a vertical lever. The lower end of this arm works
on a quadrant-shaped lever provided with a notch at one end and a
weight at the other. The upper end of the vertical lever projects above
the ground at the side of the permanent way, where it may be either
worked by hand or by a passing engine or train, the upper part of the
lever being so jointed to the lower that it will only act when pulled or
pushed in one direction, but if pulled or pushed in the other direction
it merely turns over without acting upon the lower part of the lever.
Whenever a train passes the station signal post either the signal
man or a projection on the engine or train pulls or pushes over the upper
end of the vertical lever, the lower end thereof being forced over in the
reverse direction pulls the chain and raises the semaphore arm. . The
lower end of this lever works on the quadrant-shaped lever till it reaches
the end of its stroke and then falls into the notch and becomes locked
by the weight, thus keeping the semaphore arm at the "danger"
position, and as the vertical lever cannot be moved in the reverse
direction from above the ground the original man or other person at the
station cannot put down the signal to "line clear" or "all right" position.
:
At the distant signal (which may be any convenient distance from
the station) there is a similar arrangement, so that when the engine or
train arrives at the distant signal this signal is also raised to "danger,"
and as soon as the engine or train passes this post it acts against a
similarly jointed vertical lever to which is attached a chain connected
by a long wire or rod to another chain attached to an arm projecting
from the lower side of the quadrant-shaped lever at the station signal, so
that as soon as the engine or train passes the distant signal and raises that
to "danger" it acts upon the quadrant-shaped lever at the station signal
so as to release or unlock the vertical lever from the notch in the quadrant.
shaped lever and allow the semaphore arm of the station signal to 'fall:

page_text: into the "all right" position. By having a series of these signals con-
nected in this manner a complete self-acting "block system" may be
established from one end of the line to the other.
The colored glasses for night signals are worked as usual by-links
from the semaphore arm. The lantern is attached to an endless band or
chain passing over pulleys or drums at top and bottom so that it can
be lowered for lighting and then raised to its-normal position.
When the lantern is intended to be lighted by gas I make the lower
drum in the form of a hollow cylinder, into which the gas passes through
the axle. A long flexible tube is attached to the outside of the cylinder
at or near one end, and the other end of the tube is attached to the
burner of the lantern. As the latter is lowered for lighting the flexible
tube becomes coiled on to the cylinder, and as it is raised again the tube
uncoils from the same.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said Samuel Cottrill in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
COTTRILL, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
t
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth 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-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Cottrill, Her special
license that I, the said Samuel Cottrill, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Cottrill,. 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." IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS,"
->

page_text: upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Cottrill,
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 imme-
diately after he date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Cottrill, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 accompanying Drawings:
This Invention relates to the working of station and distant signals‍
upon railways, the apparatus being so constructed and arranged that it
can either be worked by hand or actuated automatically by the engine,
tender, or other portion of a passing train.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention I will now
proceed to describe in detail the manner in which the same is to be or
may be performed or carried into practical effect; and in order that
the same may be clearly understood I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of
Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof:-
In the annexed Drawing Fig. 1 is an elevational view and Fig. 2 a
plan view illustrating the application of my Invention. a, a, represents
the line of rails, and b, b¹, the station and distant signal posts; to the
semaphore arm c, c, is connected a tail piece (or it may be made of one
piece with the arm), the said tail piece being fixed or formed at an angle
of about one hundred and fifty degrees to the arm, and being upon the
opposite side of the centre or fulcrum upon which the arm
works; this
tail piece works in a slot in the upper end of a vertical rod d, d, passing
through guides attached to the telegraph post b, b; near the lower end
of this rod is attached a counterbalance lever e, e, and the lower end of
a rod may be provided with a hook connected by a chain passing round
a pulley to the lower arm of a vertical lever f, f, or it may be connected
to the said lever by bell cranks and rods g, g; as shown in the Drawing;
the lower end of this arm (see enlarged view, Fig. 3), works on a
:

page_text: quadrant-shaped lever h, h, provided with a notch at one end and a
weight at the other. The upper end of the vertical lever projects
above the ground at the side of the permanent way, where it may be.
either worked by hand or by a passing engine or train, the upper part f×
of the lever being so jointed to the lower part ƒ that it will only act
when pulled or pushed in one direction, that is, in the direction of the
arrow, but if pulled or pushed in the other direction it merely turns over
without acting upon the lower part of the lever.
Whenever a train passes the station signal post b either the signal
man or a projection on the engine or train pulls or pushes over the
upper end of the vertical lever, the lower end ƒ thereof being forced
over in the reverse direction pulls the bell cranks and rods g, g, or the
chain and raises the semaphore arm. The lower end f of this lever
works on the quadrant-shaped lever / till it reaches the end of its stroke,
and then falls into the notchi and becomes locked by the weight k, thus
keeping the semaphore arm at the "danger" position, and as the
vertical lever f.f, cannot be moved in. the reverse direction from above
the ground the signal man or other person at the station cannot put
down the signal to "line clear" or "all right" position...
At the distant signal 6' (which may be any convenient distance from
the station) there is a similar arrangement, so that when the engine or
train arrives at the distant signal this signal is also raised to "danger,"
and as soon as the engine or train passes this post it acts against à
similarly jointed vertical lever 1, 1, to which is attached a chain connected
by a long, wire or rod m; m, to another chain attached to an arm n, n,
projecting from the lower side of the quadrant-shaped lever h; h, at the
station signal, so that as soon as the engine or train passes the distant
signal 6 and raises that to "danger" it acts upon the quadrant-shaped
lever h, h, at the station signal 6 so as to release or unlock the vertical
lever from the notch i in the quadrant-shaped lever h, h, and allow the
semaphore arm of the station signal b. to fall into the "all right"
position. By having a series of these signals connected in this manner
a complete self-acting "block system" may be established from one end
of the line-to the other...
The colored glasses for night signals are worked as usual by links from

page_text: chain passing over pulleys or drums at the top and bottom so that it can
be lowered for lighting and then raised to its normal position.
:
When the lantern is intended to be lighted by gas I make the lower.
drum in the form of a hollow cylinder, into which the gas passes through
the axle. A long flexible tube is attached to the outside of the cylinder
at or near one end, and the other end of the tube is attached to the
burner of the lantern. As the latter is lowered for lighting the flexible
tube becomes coiled on to the cylinder, and as it is raised again the tube
uncoils from the same..
At o, o, is a hand lever by means of which the station master or other
person can put the signals to " danger" at any time if necessary without
affecting the automatic arrangement, the rods g, g, being slotted at p, p,
for this purpose, and the wire o' connected to the hand lever passing.
through a slot in one of the "bell cranks," as shown at the enlarged
view, Fig. 4.1
Fig. 5 are detached view's showing an arrangement. for keeping the
wires m, m, constantly in, a state of tension. Each wire takes one turn
round a pulley q, q, and has a weight r, r, attached to the end of it."
The face of each pulley is provided with a circle of ratchet teeth, and
a corresponding ratchet plate 8, 8, is mounted loosely in the axle and
held in contact with the teeth on the pulley by means of a spring or
otherwise. These two ratchet plates are connected together by means
of two crank pins and a rod t, t, so that one cannot turn without turning
the other. Hence it will be evident that upon the wire being drawn in
the direction of the arrow the other wire will be pulled in the same
direction, but at the same time if either wire should become slack it will
be tightened up by its respective weight without affecting the other, as
the ratchet teeth can overrun each other in this direction.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention,
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I
claim as my Invention the novel and peculiar construction of apparatus
for working railway signals, as herein-before more particularly described
and illustrated by the. Drawings annexed, or any mere modification or

page_text: or à similar manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Cottrill, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of August, in the year of
.
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
SAMUEL COTTRILL. (L.s.)
Witnessed by
JOHN HUGHES,
Clerk to George Davies, C.E.,
Patent Office,
St. Ann's Sq.,
Manchester.