IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF A RAILWAY TRAIN IN MOTION
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Leetch at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th January
1870.
I, JAMES LEETCH, of Broadley Terrace, Blandford Square, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE
DIFFERENT PARTS OF A RAILWAY TRAIN IN MOTION," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to furnish a certain and convenient
means for effecting communications between the passengers and guard,
and between the guard and driver of a railway train, and I accomplish
this object in the following manner :-
I provide each carriage with a flexible rope, preferably of brass or
other wire, and pass the same over pulleys under the carriages. These
ropes are connected together between the carriage by safety hooks of
peculiar construction, and form a continuous line or rope from end to
end of the train, one end being under the control of the guard, and the
other end connected with a whistle or other signal upon the engine.
Hitherto the chief obstacle to the use of a rope as a medium of com-
:

page_text: munication between the different parts of a train has been the difficulty
of properly compensating for variations in length caused by the play
of the buffers; this obstacle I overcome by the use of a novel and simple
arrangement of springs or elastic supports which keep the rope or cord
always properly taut throughout the entire length of the train whether
the carriages are drawn apart to the full extent allowed by the coupling
chains or approach each other as close as the buffers will permit. These
elastic supports are preferably formed of india-rubber, and are attached
at one end to the carriages, the other end having an eye or loop through
which the rope is passed. Each end of each carriage is provided with
one of these elastic supports or connecting lines which contract or
expand freely according to the relative position of the carriages as they
pass over curves or gradients. The safety hooks 'which I prefer to use
for connecting the ropes between the carriages are made somewhat
similar in form to other hooks used for like purposes, but the arrange-
ment of the spring which closes my hook is peculiar. The said hooks
are formed with a socket to fit the end of the rope, and the spring is
a strip of steel which is inserted and secured by a screw or otherwise in
the said socket with its free end projecting out therefrom and covering
the point of the hook, the said spring forming both guard and spring,
whereas in ordinary safety hooks, the guard is hinged to the hook, and
actuated by a separate spring.
My improved hooks allow the ends of the ropes to be readily connected
and disconnected in making up the train or removing carriages therefrom
while at the same time they prevent any possibility of the accidental
disconnection of the ropes.
In order to form the means of communication between the passengers
and the guard and driver, I provide each compartment of the carriage.
with a wire or cord which is connected with the rope or line under the
carriage. This wire or cord is passed over pulleys and through a tube,
or is otherwise encased, and provided with a handle or pull arranged
above the heads of the passengers or in some other position where the
said handle can be conveniently operated. The end of the rope in the
guard's van is connected to a bell or to a weight suspended on a catch,
or is provided with other means for attracting the attention of the guard.
Each compartment is also provided with my improved self-acting indicator
which acts in combination with the handle and wire above described,
and shews from what carriage or compartment the signal has been given.
:

page_text: This indicator consists of a rod or bar which is fitted to slide in and
project from a frame or tube which is arranged at the side or top of the
carriage. To this rod or bar is attached a cord or line which is con-
nected to the handle in such a manner that when the same is pulled the
rod will be thrown outward beyond the side of the carriage. The said
rod or bar is provided with a spring which acts in a similar manner to
the spring of an umbrella and prevents the drawing back of the rod by
the passengers within the compartment or carriage, so that the guard
can ascertain at what part of the train his attention is required, and
can either stop the train and proceed thereto at once, or can keep
watch upon such part of the train till the same arrives at the next
station.