IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN RAILWAY PASSENGERS AND THE GUARD AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Broughton, of the Grand Stand, in the
County of Derby, Mechanician, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN RAILWAY PASSENGERS AND THE
GUARD AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY TRAINS."
Sealed the 17th September 1872, and dated the 24th April 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Broughton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th April 1872.
I, WILLIAM BROUGHTON, of the Grand Stand, in the County of Derby,
Mechanician, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN RAILWAY PASSENGERS AND
THE GUARD AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY TRAINS," to be as follows:―
My Invention consists of a small arm or signal about ten inches long
and three inches in width, but I do not confine myself to the use of this
length or width, which is worked by a spring joint. It is fixed on the
side of the carriage, and when in an upright position it is held there by

page_text: a catch which is used from the inside of the carriage by means of a bell
pull on the side thereof, or by means of one from the top of the carriage,
and may be employed with the same ease and facility as an ordinary
bell. As soon as the bell is pulled the arm will fly out, and by the use
of a short line from the end having an open link hanging on the com-
municating line and working over a pulley it will give communication
between the guard and driver in charge of the train, while the arm or
signal standing out shows from whence the signal was given. The arm
or signal will remain out from the side of the carriage until it is replaced
by the railway servants on the platform.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Broughton in the Great Seal. Patent
Office on the 23rd October 1872..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BROUGHTON, of the Grand Stand, in the County of Derby, Mechanician,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Broughton, Her special license
that I, the said William Broughton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Broughton, 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 "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN RAILWAY PASSENGERS AND THE Guard
AND DRIVER OF RAILWAY TRAINS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Broughton, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Broughton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :—
This Invention has for its object improved apparatus for communi-
cating between railway passengers and the guard and driver of railway
trains.
The apparatus consists of a box or case which in a convenient position
is let into the side of a railway carriage. The box or case contains a
small signal arm capable of turning about a joint at its lower end, and
in connection with this joint is a coiled spring which tends to move the
arm out of the box or case and cause it to project from the side of the
carriage. The signal arm is however held up by a catch from which it
is only freed when it is desired to attract the attention of the guard of
the train. The catch is connected by wires with pulls similar to bell
pulls, conveniently placed within the carriage. The signal arm has a
striker upon it, and when it falls out from its box or case it strikes the
pin of a pin cartridge placed in a barrel fixed on the outside of the box
or case and directed downwards, and by this means the cartridge is fired
and an audible signal given.
When the signal arm is within the box or case a projection upon it
supports a screen, behind which at night a lamp is placed. The screen
falls with the signal arm and so exposes the lamp and gives a visible
signal.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood, and
ceadily carried into effent I will proceed to describe the
VE
Figure 1 is a side view and Figure 2 a front view of the apparatus as
it appears when the signal arm is concealed within the box or case;
Figure 3 is a side view of the apparatus as it appears after the arm has
been liberated to give a signal.
a, a, is the box or case which is let into the side of the carriage so that
its front board a' rests against the side; bis the signal arm, it is mounted
on a spring joint at b'; c is a catch, which entering a recess in the side

page_text: of the signal arm holds it up until a signal is given; c¹ is a wire leading
from the catch to the pulls, by acting on which the catch is raised and
the signal arm liberated; d is a barrel like the breech of a gun barrel, it
receives a pin cartridge which is then enclosed at the rear by a metal
cover or movable breech block d³; 6ª is the striker, which when the
signal arm 6 falls fires the cartridge; e is a lamp screen, hinged at e¹;
and 6ª is a projection on the signal arm to support the screen e.
•
When the signal arm falls the screen e assumes the position in which
it is seen in Figure 3, and allows the light of the lamp f to be seen by
the guard and engine driver. g is the key hole of a spring lock which
when a signal is given locks the signal arm so that it can only be re-
placed by the guard or person provided with the key.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would, have it understood that I claim,
the improved apparatus for communicating between railway passengers:
and the guard and driver of railway trains, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Broughton have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.