IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING SIGNALS OR COM- MUNICATIONS BETWEEN DISTANT PLACES, PARTS OF WHICH ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO LAMPS AND BURNERS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
STEVENS, of the Darlington Works, Southwark Bridge Road, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Tenth day of March
(one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven), in the tenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
James Stevens, my exors, adññors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James Stevens, my exors, adiñors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Stevens, my exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, and in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING SIGNALS OR COM-
MUNICATIONS BETWEEN DISTANT PLACES, PARTS OF WHICH ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
LAMPS AND BURNERS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that I, the said James Stevens, should cause a particular description' of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's' High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and

page_text: immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso I, the said
James Stevens, hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described in and by the
present Specification thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
The improvements constituting my said Invention have relation, firstly, to
signals or communications on railways, and consist in combining in one
apparatus the instrumentality of arms (such as those employed in the ordinary
semaphore), and that of variously colored lamps, and combining them in such
manner that both may be worked simultaneously (or nearly so), and by one
attendant, and may serve as well by night as by day, and serve also for two
lines of rails at the same time, say an up and a down line, and farther, in so
connecting in some cases the said apparatus with the switches employed to turn
carriages and trains of carriages from one line of rails to another, that the
person working the signals can also work simultaneously the switches.
An apparatus embracing so much of the said improvements as are adapted
-to the case of a station signal on a single railway of two lines is represented in
Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings annexed.
Figure 1 is a front elevation, that is to say, a view of the apparatus on a
line parallel to the railway to which it is attached, and Figure 2 is a side
elevation of it. B is the signal post, which is sunk in the ground; C is a
gallery, to which access is obtained by the ladder D; E is a lamp of four faces
(three only of which however are made use of), which is attached to and turns
-freely on a spindle a, which is upheld at top and bottom by two brackets b¹, b²,
projecting from the signal post (on the other side of the post there is, a
lamp of precisely the same description, and fixed in the same way). F, F, are
two semaphore arms, and c a recess, in the upper part of the signal post, into
which they fall when out of sight. These arms turn on separate axes, so that
they may work independently of one another, each axis having its inner
bearing in a crutch g screwed to the top of the recess, and its outer bearing
in one of the sides of the recess. H is a rod passed down through the gallery,
by which the lamp seen in the Drawing, Figure 1, and the arm to the left of
it are moved simultaneously (there being a similar rod to work the lamp on
the other side of the post and the arm to its left). At top, this rod is
attached to a crank lever K fixed on the end of the axis of one of the sema-
phore arms, and lower down to a second crank lever L fixed on the end of a

page_text: horizontal spindle, which is supported from the bracket 6, and carries at its
outer extremity a bevil wheel M, which works into another bevil wheel N on
the lamp spindle a. At bottom, the rod H is connected to the short arm of a
hand lever P, which is centred on a bearing attached to the signal post, and
the like is the case with the companion rod on the other side of the post, so
that one attendant may, without shifting his position, work both rods at the
same time; supposing therefore either of the rods (H) to be pulled down, its
first effect is to raise the arm attached to it (through the medium of the
lever K), and its next and immediately succeeding effect is to turn round the
lamp to the left of it (through the medium of the lever L and bevil wheels M
and N). The three faces of the lamp which are made use of are colored.
white, green, and red, and are exhibited successively in that order as the
rod H is drawn down. The semaphore arms assume also by the action or
inaction of the rod H three positions, corresponding with the three colors,
namely, a vertical position (in which they are entirely concealed within the
recess c), an oblique position, and a position at right angles to the post.
When the arms are out of sight, and the white face of the lamp is exhibited
to a coming carriage or train, that is to be regarded as a signal that the way
is clear. When the arms are shewn in an oblique position, and the green
face is exhibited, that is a signal to halt or slacken speed; and when the arms
are outright, or in a position at right angles to the post, and the red face is
exhibited, that is a signal to stop, because of some apprehended danger.
When it is desired to leave for a time the signals fixed in either of the two
last positions, this is done by passing a pin T, which hangs by a chain from the
post, through a hole in the guide p, under the lever P, and into a correspond-
ing hole in the post. It is of course to be understood that the conductor of
each coming carriage or train shall pay regard only to the signal arms which
point to his left, as is now the established and universal practice. When the
lever P is thrown free, both arms and lamps return to their original positions.
Where a station happens to be approached by a curve, or there is a bridge
or other object close at hand to obstruct the view, then instead of employing one
signal post for both lines of rails, it may be proper to employ two posts placed
at a greater or less distance apart, one for each line; and in that case they
may be worked in the manner before described, or in either of the modes next
herein-after directed to be adopted where two posts are made use of.
An apparatus constructed on the same principle as the preceding, but
adapted to the case of a junction where one railway runs into another, each
of two lines of rails, and adapted to the working also of the switches at the
points of junction, is represented in Figures 3 and 4, the former (Figure 3).

page_text: being a front elevation of the apparatus, and the latter (Figure 4) a plan on
the line y, z, shewing certain parts which are here concealed from view
beneath the platform. In this case the platform (A) is supported on standards
sunk in the ground, but to such a depth only as to leave a hollow space below
it to allow of room for the concealed machinery just referred to. Two signal
posts, No. 1 and No. 2, are employed, one for each line, and each carrying, on
opposite faces, two arms and lamps, one set for each line of rails. Each arm
has, however, in this case but two positions, one straight out which is a signal
"to stop," and the other half down, which is a signal "to advance with caution,"
and in like manner each lamp has two lights, a red and a green (two of the
faces of the lamp being left blank), the red corresponding with the "stop" poși-
tion of the arm, and the green with the "advance with caution" position.
The rods (H, H.) which work the four sets of arms and lamps terminate each
at bottom in a lever P of two arms of unequal length, which is centred on a
pin projecting from the post. From the end of the long arm a chain Qis
carried down through the platform, then over a pulley R, and thence across to
the opposite side of the hollow space beneath the platform, where it is passed
up again through the platform and carried over a pulley V, mounted in a rec-
tangular iron frame ✗, screwed to the top of the platform, from which pulley
it hangs suspended with a stirrup U attached to the end of it. A front view
of the frame X is given separately in Figure 5; U, U, U, U, are the four
stirrups of the four chains Q', which command the signal rods H, H; they are
all on a line and within an easy reach of an attendant standing in front of
them, who has but to press down with his foot the stirrup of the chain which
he wishes to act upon. Immediately behind the frame X, and also within
easy reach of the attendant are two handles W, W, which command the
switches at the junction points of the two railways, as shewn in the Plan,
Figure 4. When the attendant signalises that the way is clear to a carriage
or train to pass from one railway to another, which he does by pressing down
the stirrup which commands the left arm and corresponding lamp (that is to
say, the left arm and lamp as regards the driver), and thereby at once lower-
ing the arm half way, and bringing the green face of the lamp in front of the
coming carriage or train, he at the same time, or immediately before, or
immediately after stretches his arm over the frame X, and pulls towards him
the handle which commands the junction switches. On removing his foot
from the stirrup (letting free at the same time the switch handle), the signal
arm and lamp are immediately restored to their original positions by a counter-
poise Y, which is suspended from a chain Q2 attached to the short arm of the
lever P, and passed down through the platform. The arm remains always

page_text: extended straight out until it is lowered by the attendant, and when in that
position the red light is of necessity invariably exhibited, so that until the
attendant has, by lowering the arm half way down, and thereby bringing the
green light in front, intimated that he has adjusted the switches and that the
way is clear, an unmistakeable warning is given to the coming carriage or
train that there is danger in advancing.
In situations where it may be desirable that the signal arms and lamps
should be acted upon from a greater distance than can be conveniently reached
by chains, I propose to employ a metal tube or a series of tubes which shall
communicate at the end where the signal man is stationed, with a bag or case
made of vulcanized caoutchouc, gutta percha, or some other like air and water
proof material, and at the other or that end adjoining the arm and lamp, levers
H, with a like bag or case, and that each bag or case shall be enclosed in a
box with a lid attached to the box all round by some air-tight, elastic, or
flexible joining which will allow of its rising and filling as acted upon from
beneath. These bags and intermediate tube or tubes are to be filled with air,
in a state of considerable compression; to the lid of the box at the signal post
end there is attached a joint rod, which on the rising of the lid pulls down the
arm and lamp levers H. It follows that when the bag or case at the end
where the signal man is stationed is compressed by means of a screw plate,
shifting weights, or otherwise, a rising motion will be instantly communicated
to the lid of the box at the other end, which, through the medium of the joint
rod aforesaid, will impart a descending motion to the signal rods H. On
removing the pressure from the bag or case, the enclosed air will, of course, be
immediately restored to a state of equilibrium, and the arms and lamps return
to their original position.
The reflectors of the lamps are made of a parabolic section and protected
in front by the colored glasses which are made of a convex form and fixed herme-
tically close in their places. With oil I use the ordinary argand burner, but
when gas is employed, I use in preference to any of the ordinary gas burners one
of the improved description represented in the Drawings Figure 6 and Figure 6*.
B is the nozzle, and E a cylindrical ring which encircles it. The nozzle is
made circular with a conical top, and the holes in it are pierced obliquely so as to
cause the ignited streams of gas to impinge against the sides of the cylindrical
ring. C is a rod which passes upwards from the throat of the gas supply
pipe through the nozzle, and to the considerable height above it shewn in the
Drawing, where it terminates in a circular spreader D. By thus causing the
streams of gas to diverge at bottom towards the sides of the cylindrical ring,
and carrying the spreader so much higher than usual above the nozzle, I

page_text: obtain not only a much broader but a much longer flame than usual, and at
the same time ensure a more perfect combustion of the gas. The burner,
whether of the argand form, or of the above improved form, may be made of
brass and iron as usual, but I prefer making it in manner following:-I
first cast a core or matrix of the required form in some metal or material
easily fused or melted, as zinc, or lead, or wax; I then with the aid of an
electric battery deposit upon it a covering of copper (the mode of doing which
is well known), or other hard metal; I afterwards melt out the core which
leaves the burner complete, requiring only a little finishing to be ready for
use. I thus obtain a burner which from its extreme thinness offers much less
obstruction to the currents of gas and air than those made in the ordinary
way, and which also from the greater purity of the metal of which it is com-
posed is less liable to oxidation and will last longer.
The improvements, last herein described, may be applied not only to signal
lamps and burners, but to lamps and burners of every other description.
Secondly, my improvements have relation to signals or communications on
board of ships at sea; I propose that one signal post similar to that first herein-
before described, and which may either have semaphore arms alone or lamps
alone, or both arms and lamps attached to it, shall be fixed at the stern of the
vessel in the view of the helmsman, and that another of the like description
shall be fixed at the bow, and that the arms or lamps, or arms and lamps
attached to these posts, shall be worked by a look-out man at the bow, or by
a hand stationed amidships, or in any other suitable part of the vessel, and by
means either of hand pulls, wires and rods, or flexible bags and pipes, as before
described. The different meanings to be attached to different positions of the
arms, or arms and lights, being previously determined and well known to all on
board, the helmsman would look to the signal post nearest him for his orders,
and be able to steer the vessel as circumstances might require without any of
that bawling out which now interferes so much with the management of a
vessel, and is not unfrequently in stormy weather especially a source of serious
mistakes.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements in appa-
ratus for conveying signals and communications between distant places, which
I claim as constituting my said Invention, are as follows:-
First, I claim the combining in one apparatus or system of mechanical
arrangements the instrumentality of semaphore arms, and that of variously
colored lamps, and the combining them in such manner that both may be
worked simultaneously (or nearly so), and by one attendant, and may serve as

page_text: well by night as by day, and serve also for two lines of rails at one and the
same time, all as before exemplified and described.
Second, I claim the combination of the apparatus or system last herein-
before claimed with the switches at the junction points of railways, in such
manner that the same attendant that works the signals may without moving
from his post work also the switches, as before exemplified and described.
Third, I claim the employment of flexible or elastic bags or cases connected
by metallic or other pipes, and filled with air and distended or collapsed by
means of pressure, as before described, for the purpose of conveying signals and
communications between distant places.
Fourth, I claim the employment in signal lamps of burners of the construc-
tion aforesaid, in so far as regards the combination of means whereby the
flame is caused to spread out both at top and bottom, as before described.
Fifth, I claim the employment in signal lamps of burners formed by the
method of electric deposition, as before described.
Sixth, I claim the employment of the system of signals described under the
first and second heads of this Specification in whole or in part on board of
ships, as before described.
And, seventh, I claim the application of burners of the description aforesaid,
and of the method of forming burners by electric deposition, before described,
to lamps and burners generally.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Stevens, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
Que thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
5
JAMES (L.B.) STEVENS.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid James Stevens came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifica-
tion aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
O above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.