IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GIVING DANGER AND OTHER SIGNALS, AND FOR DELIVERING MAIL BAGS AND PARCELS TO AND FROM RAILWAY ENGINES AND TRAINS IN MOTION
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Lawrence M'Cready at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st December 1870.
I, THOMAS LAWRENCE M'CREADY, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, now of No. 39, Lombard Street, in the City
of London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GIVING DANGER AND OTHER SIGNALS, AND
FOR DELIVERING MAIL BAGS AND PARCELS TO AND FROM RAILWAY ENGINES AND
TRAINS IN MOTION," to be as follows:-
―
The said Invention relates to novel and simple apparatus whereby I
can indicate the existence of danger, or give other intimations to or from
the engine driver or other person upon a train at whatever speed it may
be travelling, and can also deliver mail or postal bags and parcels to or
from a train in rapid motion. A portion of the said apparatus is fixed
on the line, and another portion is carried by the engine or train, and
the distinguishing peculiarity of the said Invention is the automatic
transfer of a ring or hoop or other suitably formed piece to or from

page_text: the engine or train as the same passes the fixed or line portion of the
apparatus.
The manner in which I carry the said Invention into practice will be
readily understood from the following description :-I erect a signal
bridge which extends across the entire railway. From this bridge over
the centre or other convenient part of each line of rails is suspended an
iron rod, on whose lower end is an arm or finger. The latter extends
or points in the direction in which the trains run on the line over which
the said arm is suspended. Upon the locomotive engine or tender I fix
a vertical rod whose upper end also has an arm or finger that points in
the direction in which the train travels. I prefer to attach this rod to
the screen which locomotive engines now generally carry at the rear of
the fire-box. The said rod should be of such a length and so arranged
on the engine that its arm or finger will pass under the finger of the rod
suspended from the bridge. At the bottom of this rod is placed a gong
or bell, which may also be attached to the screen. The aforesaid signal
rings or hoops or other shaped pieces are made of iron or other suitable
material, and are preferably constructed in two parts, each part forming
a half circle. The two parts are hinged or jointed together on one side,
and provided with a fastening on the other side, so that the ring may be
opened and closed. These rings may be from about twelve to eighteen
inches in diameter, and they may be painted or otherwise marked to
distinguish one from the other; for instance, one ring may be red,
another white, and another red and white, each colour or combination
of colours or other distinguishing peculiarity having a different signifi-
cation. When a signal is to be given to an approaching engine or train,
one of these rings is placed upon the finger of the suspended rod. As
the engine passes under this rod, the finger of the rod upon the said
engine catches in the suspended ring, and takes it from the finger on
which it hangs; the said ring thus caught on the vertical rod of the
engine falls down upon the same, and strikes the gong or bell. The
driver's attention is thus attracted to the ring, whose colour or other
peculiarity indicate the precise nature of the warning desired to be
conveyed, and enables him to act without any uncertainty or hesitation
in obedience to the signal given. The ring can then at once be opened
and removed from the rod, leaving the apparatus free for the reception
of another ring. Although a ring or hoop is more convenient than
any other shaped piece, still it is obvious that I may use triangular,
semicircular, square, or other shaped pieces instead of these rings.

page_text: For effecting the delivery of mail bags and parcels to or from the
trains, the bags or parcels are attached to the rings or hoops, which are
hung upon the arms or fingers and taken therefrom as the postal van
or tender passes the point of delivery as above described. No nets or
other like contrivances will be required for the reception of the mail
bags, as they are caught and retained upon the rod until taken therefrom
by the attendant. As the bag or parcel is taken by one arm from the
other its proper delivery is effected without a possibility of failure,
which is not the case where the bag is dropped from a point of suspension
to a receptacle below, as in the apparatus heretofore usually employed
for this purpose.