CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNALLING ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Moore, of Moore, near Warrington, in the
County of Chester, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Moore at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
Şeptember 1865.
I, ALFRED MOORE, of Moore, near Warrington, in the County of Chester,
5 Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SIGNALLING ON RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
My Invention is designed to effect the raising of the arms of the semaphore
signals, or for actuating lights used on railways by the passing of the train
over any given portion of the rails by self-acting mechanism, and, without the
intervention of an attendant or signalman.
The improvements consist in an arrangement and combination of apparatus
to actuate or raise the signals which are to remain visible as a warning to the
engine driver of the next train until the first train has passed, over..any
regulated distance, after which time the signal is released by the self-acting
mechanism, indicating that the following train may proceed over the distance
safely..
The apparatus consists of two small cylinders or bellows, which may be
situated either a few yards or miles apart, and are connected together by a

page_text: tube; one of these bellows is filled with air or liquid, so that on its com-
pression it will pass through the tube and inflate or raise the other bellows.
At the portion of rail where the signal is to be actuated a lever is so fitted by
the side of the rail that the wheel of the engine in passing over it will cause
it to become depressed; this pressure acts upon the short end of a lever, and
raises the long end until it is caught and retained by a catch, the movement
of which lever raises the signal arm, and at the same time lifts a weight from
a smaller lever beneath it, which is arranged to depress one of the bellows;
in this position the danger signal is raised, and the train passes forward. The
bellows now being liberated from the pressure commence filling (from the
other bellows) with air or water, and in rising lift the long end of the small
lever until it comes in contact with the catch retaining the signal lever, which
is thereby disengaged, and allows the signal to fall, and at the same time the
weight falls again upon the short lever and depresses the belows, discharging
the water or air into the other bellows. During the time of the inflation of
the bellows the train has had time to pass over the allotted distance, and the
lowered signal indicates that part of the line clear.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Moore in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th
March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
MOORE, of Moore, near Warrington, in the County of Chester, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letter's
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Moore, Her special license that I, the said Alfred Moore, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred
Moore, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 'during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
TN SIGNALLING ON RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Alfred Moore, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in

page_text: writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what.
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-.
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Moore, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-:
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
The Invention is designed to effect the raising of the arms of the semaphore
signals, or for actuating signal lights used on railways by the passing of the.
train over any given portion of the rails by self-acting mechanism, and without.
the intervention of an attendant or signalman.
The improvements consist in an arrangement and combination of apparatus
to actuate or raise the signals which are to remain visible as a warning to the.
engine driver of the next train until the previous train has passed over any:
regulated distance, and so acted upon the releasing apparatus or station, after.
which time the warning or engaging signal is released by the self-acting,
mechanism, indicating that the following train may proceed over that distance.
safely.
The apparatus consists of two small cylinders or bellows, which may be
situated either a few yards or miles apart, at each end of a certain section of
railway, and are connected together by a tube or pipe; one of these cylinders
or bellows and the connecting tube is filled with air or liquid, so that on being.
subject to pressure the air or liquid will move through the tube and inflate or
raise the other bellows, or raise a piston in a cylinder which is only partially,
filled or inflated. At the point on the line of rail where the signal is to be
actuated a lever called the wheel lever (see Fig. 7) is so fitted by the side of
the rail that the wheels of the engine or carriage, or other depressing mecha-
nism, in passing.over it will cause it to become depressed; this pressure acts
upon the short end of another lever called the train lever with which it is.
connected, and raises the long end, which is weighted, until it is caught and
retained by a catch, the movement of which lever lifts a weight from a
smaller lever called the signal lever, which is arranged to depress one of the
bellows or the piston of one of the cylinders; in this position the danger.
signal is raised, and the train passes forward. The bellows or piston now.
being liberated from a part of the pressure commences filling (from the other
bellows or cylinder) with air or liquid, and in rising lifts the long end of the
signal lever until a stud on a rod dependent therefrom comes in contact with

page_text: the catch retaining the train lever, which is thus caught up by the stud, and
as the air or liquid continues to flow into the cylinder both levers rise until
the signal is fully raised; the train continues its course, and on passing over
the wheel lever at the other end of the section of line the action of that
apparatus is similar, (except that the train lever remains supported by the
small catch during the rising of the signal lever and semaphore arm, thus the
second signal is raised, and the first is lowered by the flow of air or liquid
back again into the cylinder of the second, thus indicating that the section of
line passed over by the train is clear.
In order that the Invention may be better 'understood and explained in
detail, I have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings made upon a scale of
about one-twelfth of an inch to the foot, similar letters of reference being
marked upon corresponding parts on all the Figures.
Fig. 1 represents a sectional view of the engaging signalling apparatus in
the position it would appear when at rest before being acted upon by a passing
train, the' semaphore in this instance being lowered; Fig. 2 represents the
same apparatus for engaging or raising the signals as they would appear
during the time the train was passing over, and immediately it 'has left the
same, Fig. 5 shewing the relative position of the disengaging apparatus ;
Fig. 3 represents the position of the signal as it appears during the time the
train. remains on the section of the line embraced by the engaging and
releasing signals; Fig. 4 represents the releasing apparatus with its sema-
phore, the signal lever being ready, and the train lever of the apparatus
raised and nearly ready to exert their pressure upon the piston when the
engaging signal is released from the weight of its train lever; Fig. 5
répresents the same apparatus on the point of being released, which takes
place immediately the train has passed over the engaging apparatus; Fig. 6
represents the same apparatus at rest, the semaphore being set to signify
all right," the apparatus being ready for the coming train to act upon it so
áis to release the engaging apparatus and signal. In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6,
the italic letters represent the apparatus of the engaging signal, and the
capital letters the apparatus of the releasing signal."
A, d, are the semaphores, which are supplied with counterbalance weights
B, 6; the fulcra of 'these semaphores are connected by a short lever or crank
and connecting rod with the signal levers 'C, c. These levers are again con-
nected by other rods to the pistons D, d, which are arranged so as to act by
The levers C, c, are also
the pressure of liquid or air in the cylinders E, e.
connected at the extremity of each to rods F; f, which are suspended there-
from, the lower end of which is supplied with weights G, g; these rods are

page_text: also supplied with projections or studs H, h, and I, i; the studs H, h, when
falling or rising act upon the bell-crank levers K, k, in conjunction with the
train levers in the manner and for the purpose herein-after described;
M, m, are the fulcra of the levers L, 1, and N, n, is the short end of a bent
lever attached to the side of the rail, and called the wheel lever, and this'
bent end is connected to the short end of the train lever; these wheel
levers N, n, (see Fig. 7) when at rest are in such a position with the rails of
the railway that the wheels of a passing engine or train will act upon them,
so as to depress and lower them. 'The action of the apparatus will now be
readily understood on reference to the foregoing lettered description. A train
when passing over the wheel lever n depresses it, which raises the long end'
of the train lever 1; this lever before being raised rested upon the stud i, the
weight of which lever and the weight g prevent (through the rod and lever c)"
any movement of the piston d in the cylinder e; this cylinder is connected to
and communicates with the releasing cylinder E by means of the pipes o, the
relative position of the two pistons D, d, before the engaging signal has been'
acted upon are shewn at Figs. 1 and 4, the latter of which is ready by the
elevation of its semaphores and train lever L to force the liquid or air from
the cylinder E as soon as the train has passed over and raised the train
lever l, as described. The weighted lower arm of the bell-crank lever k being
no longer held in position by such lever falls into the position seen in
Fig. 2, and forms a support, upon which the lever is allowed to rest during
the time the cylinder e is filling with air or liquid, which is now taking place,
in consequence of its piston d being released from the weight of the lever 1,
the air or liquid being forced into such cylinder through the pipe o from the.
cylinder E by reason of the weight of the apparatus resting upon and forcing
down the piston D of the releasing signal, thereby raising the piston d and
semaphore a. When the lever is in the position shewn in Fig. 2, the weight
suspended from lever C exceeds the weight suspended from c, and in falling
the finger attached to the stud H throws back the supporting end of the
bell-crank k, releasing the lever L, when their combined weights acting upon
the pistons D, d, are sufficient to raise the combined weights on the levers c, l.
The lowering and raising of the semaphores A, a, is readily and easily effected,
in consequence of being counterbalanced by the weights B, b, the only power
required when the engine has raised either of the train levers. L or l, is
merely the displacement of the liquid or air from one cylinder to another
through the pipe o. The signal a remains engaged, as seen in Fig. 3, so long
as the train, remains on the section of line einbraced by the engaging and
releasing signals, but so soon as the train has passed over and depressed the

page_text: wheel lever N of the releasing signal, the train lever L becomes raised and
supported in the elevated position by the bell-crank K; the combined counter-
balance of weights and leverage from the engaging station then raises the
piston signal lever and semaphore, and by the reflux of the liquid or air the
engaging signal is lowered. This raising and lowering of the signals being
alternately effected by the displacement of the liquid or air through the
medium of the weights, and the train levers L, Z, being caused to act as
herein-before described.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that I claim,-
First, the application and use of air or liquid for alternately raising and.
lowering signals, as herein-before described.
And, secondly, the arrangement, combination, and construction of mecha-
nism for effecting the aforesaid purposes, as herein-before described, set forth,
and fully illustrated in the Drawings attached.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Moore, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
:
Witnessed by
JOHN L. DAVIES,
Patent Office,
Manchester.
ALFRED MOORE. (L.S.)