Improvements in Apparatus for Working Railway Signals and Switches.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1896-Accepted, 27th June, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION..
Improvements in Apparatus for Working Railway Signals and
Switches.
We, HURST NELSON AND COMPANY, LIMITED, of 27 St. Vincent Place, in the
County of Glasgow, North Britain, Engineers and Contractors, and GEORGE
THOMAS WHEATLEY, of Orbiston Street, Motherwell, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Works Manager, 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, that is to say :-
This invention has for its object the construction and combination of apparatus
in an improved manner to enable the main operative levers for directly acting on
the mechanism of railway signals and switches to be controlled and actuated from
a distance. For example, when the cabin in which the main levers are arranged
has to be in a confined situation because of local limitations and peculiarities and
where the view of the line is limited, it is of advantage to provide what may be
termed an originating cabin in a position giving a complete view of the line, and
otherwise more convenient. The improved apparatus is designed for connecting
such an originating cabin with a main-lever cabin, and comprises means for bringing
about the movements of the main levers from the originating cabin, and for auto-
matically showing at the originating cabin the movements actually imparted to the
main levers.
Electricity is employed in carrying out the invention, either to both transmit
controlling actions and to effect the movements of the main levers, or to transmit
controlling actions to hydraulic apparatus which acts on the main levers, the
hydraulic apparatus being such as is described in our Patent Specification No. 7676
of 1896.
Examples of our improved apparatus are shown upon two accompanying sheets of
explanatory drawings, and are hereinafter described.
Figures, 1, and 2, on Sheet, 1, of the drawings are vertical sections of one
example; and Figures, 3, and 4, on Sheet, 2, are vertical sections of a second
example, Figures, 1, and 3, showing only as much of the originating cabin as is
necessary for explanation, and Figures, 2, and 4, representing the main-lever
cabin.
In these drawings the same reference letters and numerals are used to mark the
same or like parts wherever they are repeated.
To avoid a plurality of lines the electrical conducting wires are not shown in the
drawings, but their arrangement will present no difficulty to persons acquainted
with electrical apparatus.
In the example shown in Figures, 1, and 2, a series of hand levers, V, are arranged
in a long row, the end one and next one being seen in Figure, 1, the end one in a
turned-over position and the next one and the others in the normal position; it
must however be understood that these levers may be varied as regards their normal
and turned-over positions to suit any arrangement in use or intended to be adopted
the purpose of the drawings being merely to show one example of the application
of our improved apparatus. Each hand lever, V, engages with one or other of two
electric contact pieces, V 7, V 8, to cause a negative or positive current to pass by
a wire (not shown) from the originating cabin to the main-lever cabin where the
5 wire is connected-to the coils of an electro magnet, M. When excited by a positive
current in consequence of the hand lever, V, being turned over (to the right hand

page_text: in Figure, 1) the magnet, M, lifts an armature, M 1, which is jointed as a lever to
a horizontally guided bar, M 3, having at its end a gab engaging with a stud on the
side of the main lever, L, or L 1. When the armature lever, M 1, is thus raised
by the magnet its inner end gets into the way of an arm, M 4, on a shaft, M 5, kept
continually rotating by a sufficiently powerful electro-motor or other prime mover.
This shaft, M5, extends along behind the row or rank of main levers, and has on
it an arm (M 4) for acting in connection with each lever. Whenever the bar, M 3,
has been moved over (to the right hand in Figure, 2) in the manner described, a
step, M 6, drops in behind its inner end and retains it, this stop being made as an
armature to an electro magnet, M 7, which normally holds up the stop, but which
is made to drop it by the action of the same electric current that causes the other
electro-magnet, M, to lift the armature lever, M 1. Or the bar, M 3, may on
reaching the end of its movement cause a break of contact in connection with the
magnet, M 7, so as to make that magnet let the armature stop, M 6, drop. The
downwardly projecting part of the stop, M 6, is between guide rollers which facili-
tate its movements. When a hand lever, V, is, in the originating cabin, moved
back after having been turned over, it encounters a stop, V 7, thereby breaking
contact with the communicating wire, whereupon the electro-magnet, M, drops the
armature lever, M 1, and the other electro-magnet, M 7, raises the stop, M 6, and a
weight, M 8, draws back the bar, M 3, and the lever, L. Concussive action of the
weight, M 8, may be prevented by arranging it to descend into a dashpot. What
is herein before stated with reference to the hand levers, V, in the originating cabin
may be repeated with reference to the main levers, L1, L-that is to say these
main levers may be arranged in any suitable manner as regards their normal and
turned-over positions, in either the first or second examples.
On the movement of a main lever, L, being accomplished a return indication is
automatically transmitted to the originating cabin, by means of a lateral projection
at the back end of the armature lever, M 1, this projection acting between the
upwardly projecting ends of a slider, N, but only acting on the slider just before
reaching the end of the stroke in either direction. The slider, N, when thus moved
makes contact with a spring contact piece, N 1 or N 2, and causes a positive or
negative electric current to pass through a wire extending from the main-lever
cabin to the originating cabin. In the originating cabin a lever, Z 1, is arranged
to be acted on in one direction by an electro-magnet, Z 2, to which the conducting
wire is connected, and in the other by a weight, Z 3; and the lever, Z1, is also
arranged to strike one or other of two differently sounding bells, Y 1, Y 2, according
to the direction in which it is moved.
The return indicating apparatus in connection with each hand lever, V, may be
arranged to act on a stop which prevents the hand lever from being moved quite
over and to withdraw the stop on the movement of the corresponding main lever (L)
being completed; and on the stop being withdrawn the completion of the move-
ment of the hand lever may break contact and thereby save current.
In the second example, shown in Figures, 3, and 4, many of the parts are the
same as in the first example herein before described, but the continuously rotating
shaft, M 5, does not act directly on the main levers, L, L 1, but on valve apparatus,
requiring for that purpose to be driven by a motor of comparatively small power.
The main levers, L, L 1, are moved by means of hydraulic cylinders, C, D, con-
structed and arranged as described in our earlier Patent Specification hereinbefore
referred to and acting through a ram bar, B, and link, A, but the valves and valve
boxes, V1, instead of being in the originating cabin are in the main-lever cabin in
connection with the electrical apparatus comprising the electro-magnets, M, M 7,
and other parts. The valve spindle for each main lever is fixed or connected to
the horizontally guided bar, M 3, of the electrical apparatus, and the valve controls
the passage of water to and from the hydraulic cylinder, D, by means of three
pipes, X1, X2, X 3, like the corresponding valve described in our earlier specifi
cation herein before referred to. The automatic return indication is effected in the
same manner as in the first example herein before. described, excepting that instead

page_text: of the contact slider, N, being moved by the electrically moved bar, M3, it is
moved by a projection, B 2, on the ram bar, B, of the hydraulic cylinders, so that
the indication is only transmitted on this bar becoming moved to its full extent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The combination of apparatus for working railway signals and switches, in which
the main levers are moved by means of a continuously rotating shaft acting on bars
connected to the levers and having parts which are put into and out of position to
be acted on by the shaft by electro-magnets made active and inactive by electric
currents transmitted from a distance, the parts being arranged and operating
substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The modification of the apparatus in which hydraulic cylinders are arranged to
act directly on the main levers, the valves of such cylinders being worked by electro-
magnets made active and inactive by electric currents transmittted from a distance
substantially as herein before described.
3. The combination of parts forming the automatic electric return indicating
apparatus substantially as herein before described.
Dated this Twenty-second day of May 1896.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicants' Agent.