IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SIGNALS FOR USE ON RAILWAYS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ernest Alfred Sullivan, of Mawbey Road, in the County
of Kent, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SIGNALS
FOR USE ON RAILWAYS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ernest Alfred Sullivan at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd June 1880.
ERNEST ALFRED SULLIVAN, of Mawbey Road, in the County of Kent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SIGNALS FOR USE ON RAILWAYS."
The object of my Invention is to produce an audible signal to be used on
railways, more especially in foggy weather, or at such times as the ordinary
semaphore signals cannot be readily seen. My Invention may preferably be used
as an auxiliary signal, and may be placed at any desirable distance from and in
advance of the ordinary semaphoro signal, and may be controlled by a line, or
wire, or by electricity.
I prefer to use a gong fixed upon a suitable framework, which may when
desired carry a lamp and disc. Alongside one rail of the track I place a length of
iron, by preference, stout angle iron, of such a length that the second wheel on
that side of an engine or other vehicle may rest upon it before the first one leaves
it, so that onco pushed down it may remain down while the train passes and
produce only one sound; if the angle iron be made short more than one sound may
be produced, but I prefer to have one only for general purposes. This length of
iron or side rail is so arranged that one end at least of it shall be capable of rising
and falling, the other end being pivotted, if preferred, and the end which will first
be reached by the wheel should be bent down so as to be out of the way and take
the wheel easily.
I employ suitable brackets for attaching the side rail to; a good form I find to be
a bent plate passing under the rail and up its further side, and projecting hori-
zontally to form a base for a spring or pivot bracket. Above this is another short
bent plate resting against the rail upon the near side, so that bolts may be passed
horizontally through both plates and the web of the rail, and vertically through
both plates and the bracket or spring.

page_text: At the movable end of the side rail is a spring jointed to it and to the bracket,
as already explained; the object of this is to keep the rail raised ready for the
wheel to force it down. There may be one only of these springs, the other end of
the side rail being pivotted, or the pivot may be dispensed with, and as many
springs employed as convenient. A suitable lever is preferably swivel-jointed to
the end of the side rail and pivotted upon a bracket near it, its other end forming
the bead to strike the gong. If the rocking centre of this lever be placed very
near the rail, a very small descent of the side rail will be sufficient to raise the
head or hammer far enough to strike the gong forcibly.
Now it is evident that when placed, as above described, an engine coming along
will depress the side rail and sound the gong and warn the driver, and if this
signal be placed at proper distance in advance of the ordinary signal post the
driver will have time to stop his train before reaching it, even though he be
unable to see it, as in fogs, etcetera; and I propose using this Invention in foggy
weather as a substitute for the present plan of placing detonating signals upon the
rail. On the other hand, if the side rail be held down no sound will be produced
when the engine passes, and the driver will know that the line is clear; this I
accomplish as follows:-
A wire is continued from the ordinary distance or other signal, and passing over
suitable pulleys upon the framework or otherwise, will upon being pulled raise the
hammer head and thereby depress the other end of the hammer lever and so keep
the side rail clear of the wheel as it passes; 'by slackening this wire the rail spring
at once raises it again.
For working the disc I use a branch from this wire, so that when pulled it lowers
the disc and red lens and shows line clear, but when slackened a balance weight
attached to the disc brings it up to "danger" as the side rail riscs.
As a substitute for the wire the side rail may be held down by means of an
electro magnet; if contact be broken the rail rises and gives the danger signal as
before. The wires for the electro magnet are of course in connection with the
signal box.
It will be seen that I gain a very direct action between the wheel of the
locomotive and the gong, the only wires used being to take the signal off, so that
should they break or become stretched the signal would sound and attention be
thus drawn to it.
I propose to use this Invention specially as a fog signal, when it should be
placed in advance of the ordinary signal, and for this purpose the lamp and disc
would not be required. I only propose to add them when for any special purpose
they may be needed. As this is a simple and handy apparatus, it may when
found convenient be made self contained and portable, to be attached in time of
fog, accident, or the like wherever required; in this case the releasing wire would
be either temporarily attached to the regular signal wire or arranged for a man
standing, so that he could hear or see the regular signal move and regulate the
portable apparatus accordingly. In case, for instance, of accident, it might even
be advisable to dispense with the releasing apparatus entirely and let a signal be
given to every passing train,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Ernest Alfred Sullivan in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd December 1880.
ERNEST ALFRED SULLIVAN, of Mawbey Road, in the County of Kent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SIGNALS FOR USE ON RAILWAYS."
The object of my Invention is to produce an audible signal to be used on
railways, more especially in foggy weather, or at such times as the ordinary
semaphore signals cannot be readily seen. My Invention may preferably be used
as an auxiliary signal, and may be placed at any desirable distance from and in
advance of the ordinary semaphore signal, and may be controlled by a line, or
wire, or by electricity.
I prefer to use a gong fixed upon a suitable framework, which may when
desired carry a lamp and disc. Alongside one rail of the track I place a longth of
iron, by preference, stout angle iron, of such a length that the second wheel on
that side of an engine or other vehicle may rest upon it before the first one leaves
it, so that once pushed down it may remain down while the train passes and
produce only one sound; if the angle iron be made short, more than one sound
may be produced, but I prefer to have one only for general purposes. This length
of iron or side rail is so arranged that one end at least of it shall be capable of
rising and falling, the other end being pivotted, if preferred, and the end which
will first be reached by the wheel should be bent down so as to be out of the way
and take the wheel easily.
I employ suitable brackets for attaching the side rail by; a good form I find to
be a bent plate passing under the rail and up its further side, and projecting
horizontally to form a base for a spring or pivot bracket. Above this is another
short bent plate resting against the rail upon the near side, so that bolts may be
passed horizontally through both plates and tho web of the rail, and vertically
through both plates and the bracket or spring.
At the moveable end of the side rail is a spring jointed to it and to the bracket
as already explained; the object of this is to keep the rail raised ready for the
wheel to force it down. There may be one only of these springs, or as many as
convenient. A suitable lever is preferably swivel-jointed to the side rail and
pivotted upon a bracket near it, its other end forming the head to strike the gong.
If the rocking centre of this lever be placed very near the rail, a very small
descent of the side rail will be sufficient to raise the head or hammer far enough to
strike the gong forcibly.
Now it is evident that when placed, as above described, an engine coming along
will depress the side rail and sound the gong and warn the driver, and if this
signal be placed at a proper distance in advance of the ordinary signal post tho
driver will have time to stop his train before reaching it, even though he be unable
to see it, as in fogs, etcetera; and I propose using this Invention in foggy weather
as a substitute for the present plan of placing detonating signals upon the rail.
On the other hand, if the side rail be held down no sound will be produced when
the engine passes, and the driver will know that the line is clear; this I accomplish
as follows:-
A wire is continued from the ordinary distant or other signal, and passing over
suitable pulleys upon the framework or otherwise, will upon being pulled raise the
hammer head and thereby depress the other end of the hammer lever and so keep
the side rail clear of the wheel as it passes; by slackening this wire the rail spring
at once raises it again.
For working the disc I use a branch from this wire, so that when pulled it lowers
the disc and red lens and shows line clear, but when slackened a balance weight
attached to the disc brings it up to "danger" as the side rail rises.

page_text: As a substitute for the wire the side rail may be held down by means of an
electro magnet; if contact be broken the rail rises and gives the danger signal as
before. The wires for the electro magnet are of course in connection with the
signal box, as is also the lover in the case of the line wire previously described.
It will be seen that I gain a very direct action between the wheel of the
locomotive and the gong, the only wires used being to take the signal off, so that
should they break or become stretched the signal would sound and attention bo
thus drawn to it. The slack of the line wires may be taken up in the ordinary
manner. As this is a simple and handy apparatus, it may when found convenient
be made self contained and portable, to be attached in time of fog, accident, or the
like, wherever required; in this case the releasing wire would be either temporarily
attached to the regular signal wire or arranged for a man standing, so that he
could hear or see the regular signal move and regulate the portablo apparatus.
accordingly. In case, for instance, of accident it might even be advisable to
dispense with the releasing apparatus entirely and lot a signal be given to evory
passing train.
Reference being now had to the accompanying Drawings in which like letters
represent like parts; Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the complete apparatus; Fig. 2,
an end elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a plan of the arrangement for controlling by
electricity; Fig. 4, a view showing the end of a rail and the lever and head for
striking the gong; and Fig. 5 shows a portion of the side rail and bracket for
actuating the striking lever.
A is the ordinary rail, and B the side rail, which I prefer to place on the outside
of the track and having its leading end bent down, as shown by the dotted lines;
B' are the springs for holding up the side rail B; and B, the spring brackets; C is
the bracket or framework for carrying the gong D and supplementary bracket E,
carrying on top the lamp F and disc G; C is a stop for the striking lever H; His
the striking lover with a head H' pivotted at H³, and with its shorter end working
in the bracket B³ attached to the side rail B; I is the wire or cord for raising the
striking lever H and thereby depressing the side rail B, or not, according to the
nature of the joint at B³; this cord passes over a pulley I¹ and joins the line wire
at I, and the handle or hand lover J would generally be placed in the signal box;
K is the cord for actuating the disc L; this joins the line wire also at I", passes
over pulley, and is fastened to the disc G at k². The disc G is hinged at G¹
and has a balance lever and weight Q². I prefer generally to form the bottom of
the bracket E so as to fit into the socket Ċ at top of main bracket C; by this
plan the lamp, bracket, and appurtenances can be readily detached when not
required; and to make the removal easier the cord K may be merely looked at Iª
if desired; the action is as follows:-
A passing wheel necessarily depresses the side rail B, and thereby forces down
the short end of striking lever H, and raises the head H', and sounds the gong D.
If the side rail is long enough the first wheel will not get clear until another is
upon it, and then the gong will only be sounded once for each train or single
engine passing; but if the side rail be made short enough it will give a separate
blow for every wheel on that side of the engine or train. I prefer the former plan
for general purposes. The side rail remains raised so long as the signal is at
danger, but when the line is clear the signalman puts over the lever J, thereby pulling
the cord I and raising the striking lever H, so that if a train passes no signal is
given. As shown in the Drawing, the cord I being tightened would by raising
the long end of the lever H and depressing the short end draw down the sido rail B;
but if the power required to do this and overcome the strength of the springs B'
be too great, a different form of joint may be employed; this would be similar to
that shown at B³, but the bottom would be open and the sides prolonged, forming
long jaws with a space between, within which the short end of the lever would
work. This plan however would not be satisfactory if the shorter side rail were
employed and many blows delivered in rapid succession.
The disc G is actuated only by the wire from the signal box, its normal position

page_text: being at danger the balance weight keeping the disc which carries a red lens
raised in front of the lamp; when the line is clear the same action of the lever in
the signal box which lifts the striking lever out of the way also draws down the
disc and shows a white light.
Fig. 3 shows an arrangement for drawing down the side rail B by electricity;
this consists simply of an electro magnet M placed with its poles below and in
close proximity to the side rail. When the current from the ordinary apparatus
in the signal box is passed through the wires N and S the rail is drawn down,
and upon the current being discontinued it rises again as in the former case.
Having now described my Invention and the method of performing the same, I
wish it to be understood that I am aware that many attempts have been made to
produce both audible and automatic signals for use on railways, and that I do not
broadly claim the principle of an automatic, audible, or visible signal, nor of the
two combined, but that what I do claim and desire to protect under the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The production of audible signals upon railways by the intervention of
a single pivotted lever between the movable rail and the gong or other source of
Bound, substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown.
Second. The combination upon one base of the gong operated upon as described,
and the signal lamp or disc, both capable of being simultaneously controlled by the
same line from the signal box or station, substantially as and for the purposes set
forth and shown.
Third. The double or jointed bracket or support for the gong and signal lamp
and disc, by the use of which the lamp and attachments can be removed or added
at will without disturbing the other mechanism, substantially as set forth and
shown.
Fourth. As an audible and visible signal apparatus the combination of the
side rail and pivotted striking lever with the double bracket and its gong, and
lamp and attachments, all constructed and operating substantially as and for tho
purposes set forth and shown.
Fifth. As an automatically operating but electrically controllable audible signal
apparatus, the combination of the side rail, single pivotted striking lever, gong, and
supporting bracket, and electro magnet, all constructed and operating substantially
as and for the purposes set forth and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ernest Alfred Sullivan, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
ERNEST ALTRED SULLIVAN. (L.B.)
Witness,
ALFRED J. BOULT,
Of the Firm of Wm. P. Thompson & Co.,
Patent Agents,
323, High Holborn, London,
& 6, Lord St., Liverpool.