IMPROVED MEANS OF COX- MUNICATING BETWEEN PASSENGERS, GUARD, AND ENGINE DRIVER UPON RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Simons at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd
January 1869.
I, EDWARD SIMONS, of Sheffield, in the County of York, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF COX-
MUNICATING BETWEEN PASSENGERS, GUARD, AND ENGINE DRIVER UPON RAILWAY
TRAINS," to be as follows:-
This Invention is intended to afford a simple and ready means of
communication from passengers to the guard or engine driver of a
railway train, and also between the guard and engine driver in-
dependently of the passengers. Inside or outside the roof of each
carriage, extending in a longitudinal direction from end to end thereof,
is fixed a tube of metal, gutta percha, or other suitable material. Inside
cach compartment is a small branch tube provided with a mouth piece,
and at each end of the carriage a piece of vulcanized india-rubber or
other flexible and elastic tubing is connected to the longitudinal tube
above mentioned, forming a continuation thereof, and provided with a
screwed socket or other simple and rapid means of making a flexible
and air-tight joint between the tubes when the carriages are connect.d
together. On each side (before and behind) of each brauch tube the main

page_text: tube is provided with a valve or stop opening by means of a spring
but capable of being compressed and closed by means of a button or
other simple contrivance, so that by closing one of these valves or stops
and leaving the other open the passenger can communicate by means
1 of the mouth piece and tube in either direction backwards to the
guards or forwards to the engine driver. The engine and guard's van aro
'provided with short tubes in connection with the carriage tubes by
means of elastic tubes in the same manner, the ends being provided
'with trumpet mouths and moveable whistles. The mouth piece of cach
branch tube in the carriage is furnished with a valve or stop which
, closes by a spring, and may be opened when the passengers wish to
communicate by pressing a small button or other projection. The
branch tube and mouth piece in the carriage are concealed or protected
by a box, the door of which must be opened before any passenger can
use the signal. Each compartment is provided with a tube having
therein an expanding fan signal which is projected outside of the
carriage by means of a spring when released, and which is kept inside
the tube when not in use by means of a catch attached to the door or
fastening of the box which contains the branch tube and. mouth piece,.
so that as soon as any passenger opens the door to give a signal the fan
signal connected with that compartment is thrown out and exposed to
view, clearly indicating the compartment whence the signal was given.
This signal when thrown out is held by a catch, which can only be
released by means of a key carried by the guard alone, so that any
person tampering with the signal without occasion is immediately
detected. It will, of course, be evident that a semaphore or any other
similar known kind of self-acting signal might be used in this manner
as a detector if preferred. When a passenger wishes to communicate
with the guard he opens the door of the box, and taking hold of the
mouth piece (and at the same time pressing the button marked
"guard") blows into it, and sounds the whistle in the guard's van. The
guard withdraws the whistle and the passengers can then converse with
him as through an ordinary speaking tube. If the passenger presses
the button marked "engine driver" he can then in like manner
communicate with the latter. When the passenger' presses neither
button then the opening to the mouth piece is closed, and the guard
and engine driver can communicate with each other through the main
tube independently of the passengers, and thus a facility is afforded of
communicating from the passengers with the guard or engine driver,
.

page_text: and also between the guard and engine driver themselves, at the same
time that should any passenger attempt to use or interfere with the
signal without occasion he would be immediately detected and a heavy
penalty inflicted.