An Improved Compensating Device for Railway Signal and other Wires or similar connections.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 2nd June 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Compensating Device for Railway Signal and other
Wires or similar connections.
I WILLIAM SAUNDERS of 34, Park Grove Battersea Park Road London
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to an improved compensating device for railway signal
and other wires or similar connections and has for its object to keep the said
wires or connections taut and in proper working order however much they may
expand or contract by the influence of the weather.
For this purpose I provide three or more rollers or drums mounted so as to
revolve in suitable bearings. To each end of the wire or connection I attach a
weight and coil the said wire or other connection once around each of the said
rollers or drums the latter being placed in a line with one another. The weights
depend from each of the end rollers, the intermediate roller or rollers partaking
of the motion of the wire as it expands or contracts in either direction even should
the end roller at the time being be fixed.
In applying my invention to railway signals I may attach one end of the wire
to the ordinary signal-box lever instead of passing it over the roller at that end,
the other end roller actuating an arm or lever for operating the signal-arm or
semaphore; or I may retain the three or more rollers and connect the signal-box
lever to one end roller by means of a rod or wire, the weights depending from
the end rollers counterbalancing one another and thus reducing the power necessary
to actuate the signal, the weight depending from the roller connected to the said
lever being preferably lighter than the weight depending from the other end roller.
This latter arrangement is more applicable to signals at long distances from the
signal-box whilst the former is applicable to signals at short distances therefrom.
The intermediate roller acts as a guide or support to the wire and may be made
smaller or larger than the other rollers to assist in operating the wire by the
signal-lever, and in long distances there may be several of the said guide or inter-
mediate rollers.
And in order more clearly to understand my said invention I will describe the
same with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Fig. 1. is a side elevation partly in section of my improved device and Fig. 2 is a
plan. ab are the two end rollers and c is the intermediate roller.
The wire or other connection d is coiled once around each of the said rollers
and has weights e e¹ attached to each of its ends. As the wire d expands or con-
tracts the said rollers partake of the motion thereof in either direction being free
to revolve in bearings the weights e, e' always keeping the wire taut.
In applying my invention to railway signalling the roller band weight e¹ may
be dispensed with that end of the wire being attached to the signal-box lever.
The roller a is provided with a projection a' shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,
which comes into contact with and actuates a bell-crank lever a' at each revolution
of the roller a, which lever a² operates the semaphore or sigual arm. The diameter
of the roller a is so proportioned to the length of the signal-wire d as to allow the
greatest amount of contraction to which the said wire may be subjected without
actuating the lever a², the wheel a requiring to be turned a complete revolution
before it can do so.
My said invention may be readily applied with a small amount of outlay to the
present or ordinary system of railway signalling and will by its use greatly reduce
the risk of accidents or imperfect working of such signals.

page_text: Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
€
:-
1. The improved compensating device consisting of the combination of the
rollers b and c and the weights e, e¹ attached to the ends of the wire or other
connection d substantially as described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
2. The improved compensating device substantially as described and shown and
for the purpose set forth.
Dated thin 99th dan af
F. G. CASSELL,
Of Cassell & Co.,
22, Glasshouse Street, Regent Street, London, W.,
Agent for the Applicant.
F. G. CASSELL,
Of Cassell & Co.,
22, Glasshouse Street, Regent Street, London, W.,
Agent for the Applicant.