Improved Fog Signalling Apparatus for Railways.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 27th July, 1894-Accepted, 1st Sept., 1894
PROVISIONAL DE MUITUATION,
Improved Fog Signalling Apparatus for Railways.
We ABRAHAM TAYLOR of 101 Jane Lane Swinton, Signalman, and ROBERT
BUTTERWORTH of 258 Bolton Road Pendlebury Confectioner, both in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of this invention is to dispense with the use of detonating fog signals
for signalling on railways in foggy weather and with the services of the men
at present employed for placing them on the rails.
According to our invention we mount on one of the rails where the detonators
are usually placed, a short lever curved upwards to come flush with the upper
surface of the rail which is cut away to allow the curve of the said lever to assume
this position, part of the flange of the rail by preference serves as a stop to
prevent the said lever from rising too high.
The said lever is fixed on a shaft carried in suitable bearings to a convenient
distance from the rails where we fix on the shaft a pair of catch or ratchet wheels
having one tooth only; each catch or ratchet bears against a finger or projection
upon a striker pivotted loosely on the said shaft between the two catch or ratchet
wheels. Each time that the curved lever near the rails is depressed by the wheels
of a passing train, the shaft is rocked and the catch or ratchet wheels project the
Or one ratchet may
striker sharply against a gong or bell mounted near the same.
be used working in a fork in the striker.
The latter is weighted so that as soon as the wheel leaves the above named
curved lever, the latter is raised again by the weighted striker ready to be
actuated by the next wheel.
Thus every wheel on one side of a passing train will strike the bell or gong and
the driver and guard will be informed that the signal is at "danger."
We connect the striker above named by a cord or otherwise to the weighted
lever of the signal so that when it is down at "line clear" the striker is pulled over
against the gong or bell and the curved lever can fall of its own weight out of the
way of the wheels of the trains.
If it is found undesirable to cause the bell or gong to be sounded by every wheel,
we may connect the striker also to a check lever actuated by a rail longer than the
distance apart of any two wheels.
This rail is mounted on short levers close to and level with the line and it is
curved down at both ends so that it will be depressed and held down during
the passage of the whole train over it.
It is fixed at a suitable distance from the curved lever above named and it is
connected to a lever on a shaft at right angles to the line of rails and having the
check lever above named at its other end, and the depression of this lever will act
in the same way as the weighted lever of the signal to allow the curved lever which
sounds the gong or bell to fall out of action.
The gong or bell will therefore cease to sound as soon as the train arrives
at this rail.
Dated this 26th der of October 1802

page_text: Improved Fog Signalling Apparatus for Railways.
We ABRAHAM TAYLOR of 101 Jane Lane Swinton, Signalman, and ROBERT
BUTTERWORTH late of 258 Bolton Road Pendlebury, now of 24 Bridge Street
Swinton, Confectioner, both in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this invention is to dispense with the use of detonating fog signals
for signalling on railways in foggy weather, and with the services of the men at
present employed for placing thein on the rails.
Our invention will be readily understood from the following description on
reference to the two sheets of drawings hereunto annexed.
On Sheet 1 Fig. 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 a side elevation, and Fig. 3 a plan
view of our improved fog signalling apparatus,
Fig. 4 shews in detached side and front elevations one of the striking ratchet
or catch wheels hereafter referred to.
Figs. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate our means of preventing the signal from sounding for
an unnecessary length of time.
On Sheet 2 Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 illustrate a modified form of our improved fog
signalling apparatus.
According to our invention we mount on one of the rails a where the detonators
are usually placed, a short lever 6 curved upwards to come flush with the
upper surface of the rail a which is cut away, or otherwise notched or flattened for
say about one inch in length and about three eighths to one half of an inch
in depth, to allow the curve of the said lever to assume this position; part of the
flange of the rail by preference thus serves as a stop to prevent the said lever b
from rising too high, and to prevent the flange of the wheel from passing between
the rail a and the lever b.
The said lever bis fixed on a shaft 6 carried in suitable bearings 62 to a
convenient distance from the rails, where we fix on the shaft a pair of catch
or ratchet wheels c c', having one tooth only (see detached views Fig. 4); each
catch or ratchet bears against a finger or projection upon a striker d pivotted
loosely on the said shaft 6 between the two catch or ratchet wheels c. Each time
that the curved lever b near the rails is depressed by the wheels of a passing train,
the shaft bis rocked and the catch or ratchet wheels c c¹ project the striker d
sharply against a gong or bell e mounted near the same. Or one ratchet may be
used working in a fork in the striker, as will be readily understood without
illustration.
The striker d is weighted at d¹ so that as soon as the wheel of the engine or
train leaves the above named curved lever h, the latter is raised again by the
weighted striker d ready to be actuated by the next wheel.
In some cases the lever b may be raised by a spring b³ (as shewn on Sheet 2) and
the weight d' on the striker d may be dispensed with. In this case we prefer to
mount the striker d and wheels e c¹ on a separate shaft and to actuate this shaft
by levers b, and a link f.
Thus every wheel on one side of a passing train will strike the bell or gong and
the driver and guard will be informed that the signal is at "danger."
"
We connect the striker d (see Sheet 1) or the lever (see Sheet 2) by a wire
cord or chaing, or otherwise, to the weighted lever of the signal, so that when it is
down at "line clear" the striker is pulled over against the gong or bell e and
the curved lever can fall of its own weight out of the way of the wheels of
the trains, (see dotted lines Fig. 2) or it is pulled down by the lever 6 in the
modification shewn on Sheet 2.

page_text: If it is found undesirable to cause the bell or gong to be sounded by every wheel,
we may connect the striker d, or the lever b', also to a check lever h actuated by a
rail longer than the distance apart of any two wheels, see Figs. 5, 6 and 7.
This rail is mounted on short levers k k k close to and level with the line a and
it is curved down at both ends so that it will be depressed and held down during
the passage of the whole train over it.
It is fixed at a suitable distance from the curved lever above named and it is
connected to a lever k' on a shaft at right angles to the line of rails and having
the check lever h above named at its other end, and the depression of this lever
will act in the same way as the weighted lever of the signal to bring the striker d,
which sounds the gong or bell e, out of action.
The gong or bell e will therefore cease to sound as soon as the train arrives
at this rail i.
We prefer to mount the bearings 6 and the gong upon the same sleeper,
as shown, so that the whole mechanism is on one rigid base, and will shift
all together if the sleeper is moved or displaced accidentally or otherwise.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The combination of a curved lever, for sounding a bell or other alarm, with
the rail which is notched or cut away at one side to allow the lever to come flush
with the top thereof substantially as and for the purposes herein before described
and as illustrated by the annexed drawings.
2. The combination of the curved lever, cams or ratchet, striker, and bell or
gong, applied and operating substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
by the annexed drawings.
3. The combination of the curved lever, cams or ratchet, striker, and bell
or gong, with the check lever and rail for stopping the sounding of the said bell or
gong substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the annexed
drawings.
Dated this 26th day of July 1894.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicants.