IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY. SIGNALS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Anderson, of Dublin, in 'the Kingdom of
Ireland, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
WORKING RAILWAY. SIGNALS."
Sealed the 17th March 1865, and dated the 6th October 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Anderson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,. on the
6th October 1864.
I, WILLIAM ANDERSON, of Dublin, in the Kingdom of Ireland, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of distant signal lever
apparatus, whereby a proper compensation for the expansion and contraction
in the chains or wires used for working the distant signals will be provided,
while the certainty of the signal answering properly to the movements of the
lever will be secured. The chain or wire from the distant signal I lap around
a drum or wheel mounted loosely on a short horizontal shaft, and to the
pendent end of the chain I attach a tension weight, which causes the chain to
bind upon the drum or wheel. To this shaft I key a radius arm, from which
a crutch projects to act as a stop to its backward movement and retain it in
its normal position. Jointed to the upper end of this radius arm is a weighted
hand lever, the lower end of which forms a click, and serves to act upon a
ring of ratchet teeth formed on a flange of the drum or wheel. To prevent

page_text: the weighted lever falling backwards out of reach of the signalman, and yet
to allow of its having a motion independent of the radius arm to which it is
pivotted; a-pin on the lever takes into a short segment slot in the arm, and acts
as a stop to-the-falling over of the lever away from its work. In order to change
the distant signal the attendant pulls-the lever forward and engages the
catch with the ratchet teeth; he then draws down the lever-and- thereby
rotates the drum or wheel, continuing the action (through a large arc, if
required) until the signal is changed. The weight of the lever being thus
thrown over will tend to keep the chain taut and the signal in position, but
the lever apparatus will still be free to yield to any undue tension put on the
chain. By raising the lever the chain will be free to run back and permit
the signal to recover its normal-position. This apparatus I propose to employ
in connection with the selecting apparatus, for which I obtained Provisional
Protection, dated July 27th, 1864, (No. 1873,) which apparatus presents a
mechanical difficulty to the signalman or switchman when attempting, in error,
to set a wrong signal or wrong switches. The above-described signal lever
apparatus I adapt to the selecting apparatus (described in my Provisional
Specification) by keying,a: pendent' lever to, the axle of the drum or wheel,
or continuing the radius arm so as to form a pendent lever; to this lever I
affix the rod, which works through a hole in the selecting bar, when that
selecting bar has been properly set to allow of the rod passing through it, as
described in my said Provisional Specification.
'
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Anderson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th April 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ANDERSON, of Dublin; in the Kingdom of Ireland, Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS, Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing, date; the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One-
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her.reign,
did, for- Herself, Her, heirs and successors,, give and grant unto me, the said
William Anderson, Her special license. that I, the said William Anderson,.
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; they said.
William, Anderson, 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,

page_text: exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPA-
RATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Anderson, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, 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 William Anderson, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement, of distant signal lever
apparatus, whereby a proper compensation for the expansion and contraction
in the chains or wires used in working the distant signals will be provided,
while the certainty of the signal answering properly to the movements of the
signal lever will be secured.
!
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1, Sheet I., shews the improved
apparatus in side elevation, 'and Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the
same.
I will first describe the Invention as applicable to ordinary signal apparatus,
and I will then shew the manner of combining it with my improved patent
selecting apparatus.
A is a drum or wheel mounted loosely on a short horizontal shaft B;
around this drum I lap a chain or wire C leading from the distant'signal, and
to the pendent end of the chain I attach a tension weight C', which causes
the chain to bind upon the drum or wheel. To the shaft B'I key a radius
arm D, from which a crutch D' projects to act as a stop to its backward
movement and prevent it from falling over or past its normal position. Cou-
nected to the upper end of this radius arm by a fulcrum pin is a weighted
hand lever E, the lower end of which forms a click, and serves to act upon a
ring of ratchet teeth formed on a flange of the drum or wheel A. To prevent
the weiglited lever falling backwards out of reach of the signalman, and yet
to allow of its having a motion independant of the radius arm to which it is
pivotted the lever E is furnished with a pin which takes into a short
Segment slot in the radius arm D, and acts as a stop to the falling over of
the lever away from its work. In order to change the distant signal, the
attendant grasping the handle of the lever pulls it forward and engages the

page_text: catch with the ratchet teeth, as shown at Fig. 1; he then draws down the
lever and thereby rotates the drum or wheel, continuing the action (through a
large are, if required) until the signal is changed. The weight of the lever D
-being thus thrown over will tend to keep the chain C taut and the signal in
-the-required position, but-the lever apparatus will still be free to yield to any
undue tension put on the chain owing to variations of temperature or other
cause. By raising the lever the chain will be free-to-run back and permit
the signal to recover its normal position. Any slackness of chain, that may
occur by tension or other cause will be taken up by the loose drum owing to
the continuous drag of the weight C, whether the strain of the weighted lever
E be upon the chain or removed therefrom.
When using this apparatus in connection with my improved selecting appa-
ratus, for which-I-obtained Letters Patent, bearing date July Twenty-seventh,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, (No. 1873,) and which presents
a mechanical difficulty to the signalman or switchman when attempting, in
error, to, set a wrong signal or wrong switches, I key on to the axle B an arm
B', to which I joint a pendent rod B², this rod I connect with a bell-crank
lever, which works a horizontal rod that is intended to play through what I
term a selecting bar, but which will be arrested if the signalman attempts in
error to work the signal to which that rod corresponds; or in lieu of this
arrangement may continue the radius arm D so as to form a pendent lever,
and affix the rod which works through the selecting bar (when that selecting
bar has been properly set) to the pendent lever.
In Sheet II. of the Drawings I have shewn my improved apparatus for
working railway signals as applied to my patent selecting apparatus above
referred to, and described in the Specification of the Patent of Twenty-seventh
day of July, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, Fig. 1 being a side
elevation of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 a plan view of the same. The reference
letters in these Figures correspond with the description given in the said
Specification, which may be referred to by all who may desire a detailed
explanation of the selecting apparatus.
The bar which, according to its setting, arrests or allows the action of the
signalman, is shewn at c, c, and it is pierced with holes so arranged as to
admit only of the operation of the signal levers and point levers in a given
determinate order. In Fig. 2 it will be seen that there are three chain
drums or wheels e, e, e, set side by side, and fitted to operate the like
number of distant signals by reason of the horizontal rods, which are cou-
nected with their respective sigual or point levers, being required to pass
through the bar before the signal or point levers can be brought into action.

page_text: The signal lever rods, which thus serve to prevent the premature lowering of
a signal, are shewn at e, e, e; they are each jointed to a bell-crank lever e',
which is connected by a pendent rod e with an arm e³ keyed on the axle of
the drum e. The weighted chains on the drums are led under guide pullies
to their respective distant signals, where they are to be connected as usual to
weighted crank levers, through which the required motion for operating the
distant signals and keeping them at "danger" is communicated.
From the above explanation it will be understood that by the use of my
improved apparatus for lowering the distant signals, the hand lever instead
of receiving a fixed or regulated amount of motion from the hand of the
signalman may be moved sufficiently to ensure the complete, in contradis-
tinction to the partial, fall of the signal, which partial fall by confusing the
engine driver, whom the signal is intended to instruct, has not unfrequently.
occasioned fatal accidents.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improved Apparatus
for Working Railway Signals," and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that, under the above in part recited
Letters Patent, I claim the improved signal lever apparatus above described,
whereby I am enabled to provide a proper compensation for the expansion.
and contraction of the chains or wires used in working distant signals.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Anderson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
W. ANDERSON. (L.B.)