Improved Apparatus for Fog Signalling upon Railways.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 7th July, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Oct., 1897-Accepted, 6th Nov., 1897
Improved Apparatus for Fog Signalling upon Railways.
We JOHN SHARPLES, of 141 Bolton Road, Pendlebury, Signalman, and RALPIT
SHARPLES, of 4 Kingston Street, Salford, Engineer, both in the County of Lan-
caster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to dispense with the usual dangerous system
of placing the detonating signals on the line by hand in case of fog, and the
invention is designed to enable such explosive signals to be more positively and
readily used when required by mechanical means, thus ensuring more certainty
in action and less danger to the fog signalman.
The invention consists mainly of a horizontal sliding rod or bar upon which
a number or series of detonating signals are placed at suitable distances apart,
and this bar is placed in a suitable covered box or trough near and parallel with
the rail, the detonators being brought in rotation beneath, and exploded by a
hammer or lever pivotted at right angles to the bar and so placed and formed
as to be acted upon (to crush the detonators) by the wheels of a passing engine
or train.
This sliding bar or rod rests upon suitable antifriction rollers or the like placed
in the bottom of the box or trough and is only about half the width of such box
or trough in which it can therefore not only move from end to end but from
side to side as hereafter described.
This sliding bar is made or provided with a number of ratchet teeth on its
underside forming a rack along one edge thereof. One of these teeth engages
with a fixed catch or projection on the inner side of the box or trough and holds
the bar in the proper position beneath the hammer.
The bar can be disengaged from this catch by a cranked lever or three cranked
levers the central and longer one of which acts against the teeth; the outer and
shorter levers acting against the flat edge of the bar itself to keep it straight;
the other ends of these levers are connected together and to the signal lever.
The sliding bar has a constant tendency to move endwise owing to the action
of a weight connected to a suitable wire cord passed over a pulley, and it is
also held to the inner side of the box or trough by another wire cord and weight;
or springs may be used instead of weights.
In its normal position when fitted in foggy weather, the sliding bar or rod
is held by these weights or springs in the position above described with one of
the detonators beneath the hammer, but when the line is clear the signal man
moves his lever which actuates the cranked levers above named.
The central lever pushes outwards the bar releasing it from the fixed catch
and allowing it to be drawn along until its next tooth meets the central lever
and is thereby stopped,

page_text: When the line is blocked the signal lever allows the bar to return to its normal
position the next tooth of the rack engaging with the fixed catch.
As each detonator is exploded or withdrawn unexploded on the sliding bar,
another takes its place under the hammer (by the pull of the weight) ready to
be acted upon, and thus any number of signals can be carried on the sliding
bar according to the length of the bar and wire and fall of the weight.
We do not limit ourselves to the exact means above described for moving and
stopping the sliding bar.
We JOHN SHARPLES, of 141 Bolton Road, Pendlebury, Signalman, and RALPHI
SHARPLES, of 4 Kingston Street, Salford, Engineer, both in the County of Lan-
caster, 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:-
The object of this invention is to dispense with the usual dangerous system
of placing the detonating signals on the line by hand in case of fog, and the
invention is designed to enable such explosive signals to be more positively and
readily used when required by mechanical means, thus ensuring more certainty
in action and less danger to the fog signalman.
The invention consists mainly of a horizontal sliding rod or bar upon which
a number or series of detonating signals are placed at suitable distances apart,
and this bar is placed in a suitable covered box or trough near and parallel with
the rail, the detonators being brought in rotation beneath and exploded by a
hammer or lever pivotted at right angles to the bar and so placed and formed
as to be acted upon (to crush the detonators) by the wheels of a passing engine
or train.
This sliding bar or rod rests upon suitable antifriction rollers or the like placed
in the bottom of the box or trough and is only about half the width of such box
or trough in which it can therefore not only move from end to end but from
side to side as hereafter described.
This sliding bar is made or provided with a number of ratchet teeth forming
a rack along one edge thereof. One of these teeth engages with a fixed catch
or. projection on the inner side of the box or trough and holds the bar in the
proper position beneath the hammer.
The bar can be disengaged from this catch by a cranked lever or three cranked
levers the central one of which acts against the teeth, the outer levers acting
against the flat edge of the bar itself to keep it straight; the other ends of these
levers are connected together and to the signal lever.
In some cases I may use a series of sliding bars fitted together end to end in
the form of a chain the box or trough in which they move being so formed
(as hereafter described) as to allow of the sideways motion of these bars, lengths
or links which are acted on by the lever or levers above named.
The sliding bar has a constant tendency to move endwise owing to the action
of a weight connected to a suitable wire cord passed over a pulley, and it is

page_text: also held to the inner side of the box or trough by another wire cord and weight;
or springs may be used instead of weights.
In its normal position when fitted in foggy weather, the sliding bar or rod
is held by these weights or springs in the position above described with one of
the detonators beneath the hammer, but when the line is clear the signal man
inoves his lever which actuates the cranked levers above named. The same motion
of the cranked levers may be obtained as hereafter described automatically by
the passing of the engine or train over the rails of the permanent way.
The central lever then pushes outwards the bar releasing it from the fixed catch
and allowing it to be drawn along until its next tooth meets the central lever
and is thereby stopped.
When the line is blocked the signal lever allows the bar to return to its normal
position the next tooth of the rack engaging with the fixed notch, or in the case
of the automatic action of the cranked levers the passage of the last part of the
engine or train into the blocked section will have the same effect.
As each detonator is exploded or withdrawn unexploded on the sliding bar,
another takes its place under the hammer (by the pull of the weight) ready to
be acted upon, and thus any number of signals can be carried on the sliding
bar according to the length of the bar and wire and fall of the weight.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood we have annexed hereto
three sheets of drawings illustrating the following description of the manner
in which we propose to carry our invention into practical effect.
On Sheet 1 Fig. 1 is an elevation shewing a section through a trough or box a
containing a series of bars upon which a number of detonating fog signals c
are fixed.
Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof with the cover plate removed shewing also the
rails of the permanent way and the hammer or lever e which explodes the
detonators e one by one as hereafter described.
On Sheet 2 Fig. 3 is a general plan of the whole apparatus drawn to a smaller
scale, and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 shew detached parts hereafter more particularly
referred to.
On Sheet 3, Figs. 7 and 8 are transverse sections taken respectively through
about the lines A-B and C-D on Fig. 1.
Figs. 9 and 10 are plans of a detail or part hereafter described.
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are all drawn to a larger scale.
The box a is made wider at the central part as seen at Figs. 1 and 3 to allow
of the sideways motion of those lengths or bars which are displaced by the
cranked levers before named; these cranked levers are marked f f¹, f2 and are
each shewn provided with an arm or rod g g¹, g², respectively.
The ends of the rods gg2 preferably carry bowls as shewn, the end of the
other or central rod g is rather longer in advance of the bowls; the cranked
levers f f f are all connected by the rod or bar h or otherwise with a wire
cord or the like leading to the signal lever in the cabin (not shewn on the
drawings). A weight seen dotted at Fig. 2 is connected to the other end of
the bar to withdraw the cranked levers f, ff and rods g g¹ g² when the
weighted signal lever ** pulls back the cord in the direction of the arrows!,
and place a fresh detonator beneath the hammer.
The rods pass in succession beneath slides or blocks b₁ connected by wire
cords 63 or the like to weights 63 and fingers or bowls & carried by the blocks b
bear against the rods b (see also Fig. 8).
These rods are preferably made of three superposed parts fixed together the
central part being formed with ratchet teeth on one edge (see Fig. 9). The
detonators care preferably numbered as seen on Fig. 9 and thus the work of
the signal man may be checked by the state of the detonators (exploded or un-
exploded) on the bar or bars b.
The said bars bare supported by and move upon the runners or rollers a³ fitteḍ
in the box or trough. a.

page_text: The wire cord 65 from the bars 6 passes over a pulley or pulleys 66 67 (seen
also at Fig. 4) and is fitted with a weight 67 which has a tendency to pull the
bar b in the direction of the arrow 2 (Fig. 3).
The bars can be returned to their first position by winding the cord 69 upon
the drum 10 (see Figs. 1 and 2) when all the detonators have passed the hammer
or lever e.
The hammer for exploding the detonators consists of a long lever e mounted
on a pivot e supported by a bracket el which is preferably provided with a shank e³
and spring e3 so that should any hard incompressible article be placed maliciously
or accidentally on the bar instead of a detonator the hammer or lever e will
not be broken as the bracket e¹ can rise under sufficient pressure the hammer e
may be kept raised by a weight et (Fig. 7) or it may be prolonged in the other
direction and kept raised by cord pulley and weight as seen dotted at e (Figs. 3
and 7) until depressed by the wheel of an engine truck or carriage passing over
the part e which explodes the detonator.
In some cases in addition to the wire 1 leading to the signalman's cabin the
rod or its equivalent may be connected by a wire cord h² or the like to a
lever i see Figs. 3 and 6 the other end of which is situated immediately beneath
a long rail which is supported by levers held in place by cords 12 and
weights (see Figs. 3 and 5) and the rail is longer than the longest carriage
used on the line so that when once depressed by the train it can not rise again
until the said train has passed completely into the section which it will thus
block automatically, as the rising of the rail will allow a fresh detonator c to
move beneath the hammer e by allowing the bar h to be moved back by the
weight to withdraw the rod g. This arrangement is especially useful at the
distant signal.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
When the line is clear the signal being down holds the bar h in such a position
that the bar or one of the bars is pushed outwards clear from the catch a¹,
and pulled in the direction of the arrow 2 until caught and retained by the rod g
in the position shown on Fig. 10, but when the line is blocked the movement
of the signal to danger (or the passage of the train beyond the rail on the
blocked section as above described) withdraws the rod g (see Fig. 10) and allows
the bar or bars to be pulled further forward and catch against the stop a¹ thus
placing a detonating signal beneath the hammer e; should the line become
clear again before the passage of a train over the end of the hammer e, the bar b
will be again pushed away from the catch a¹ (see Fig. 10) and the detonator will
not be exploded unless a train passes in spite of the signal but at the next move-
ment (by a passing train or by the signal man) of the bar h, the bar b will
present a fresh detonator e beneath the hammer, the rod g being withdrawn again.
The rod or bar h may be connected to an independent cord which is led to
the signal cabin and is attached to a convenient ring, handle, or lever within
easy reach of the signal man who can thus put a detonator on the line indepen-
dently of the semaphore signal say in case the engine driver passes the semaphore
without seeing it and the whole train has not passed the detonating signal
apparatus.
We do not limit ourselves to the exact means above described for moving and
stopping the sliding bar.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The improved apparatus for signalling upon railways constructed and
operating substanially as hereinbefore set forth.
2. The combination of the hammer or its equivalent depressed by one of the

page_text: wheels of an engine or carriage or truck and the bar (or series of bars) carrying
a series of detonators and actuated substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
Dated this 1st day of October 1897.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4 St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicants.