Improvements in Regulating or Lighting and Extinguishing Lights in Railway Stations, Tunnels, and the like.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Aug, 1886.
Complete Left, 12th May, 1887
Complete Accepted, 12th Aug., 1887.
Improvements in Regulating or Lighting and Extinguishing Lights
in Railway Stations, Tunnels, and the like.
I JOHN ST. CLAIR, of the Ewart, Newton Stewart, in the county of Wigtown,
North Britain, Head Master of the Ewart High School do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows :-
The invention consists in the use of the train itself as the motive power to
automatically light up for its own reception, any station, tunnel, or other place where
lights are required and to automatically turn down or extinguish such lights on its
emerging from such places.
For this purpose the engine itself, by means of its own weight or momentum
is made to operate suitable apparatus which lights up the place into which it is
entering and when it has reached a suitable distance beyond that place by a similar
arrangement it lowers or altogether extinguishes the lighting of the place.
This can be effected in various ways, for example, the weight of the engine
inflecting the rail or the stroke of the flange bears down the short arm of a lever,
so pivotted as to preserve its relative position to the rail unchanged, notwithstanding
any settlement of the same, while the longer arm of the lever at the side of the
railway operates by a crank, a wire or wire rope which runs along the ground
on pulleys and on reaching the larger of two gas pipes, which supply the station
or tunnel, opens it by a lever and cock, or by a screw down gas valve, or otherwise,
the smaller pipe which supplies the permanent low light being entirely unaffected
thereby.
The same gas cock or valve is similarly connected in the opposite direction with
a similar lever placed below the rail at a suitable distance beyond the station or
tunnel which lever on being moved by the engine as aforesaid pulls the gas cock
or valve shut and by the same motion pulls the first lever into position to be again
acted on by the next train. In the same way the first lever acts on the second lever
by their mutual and opposite connection with the gas apparatus the same arrangement
of parts moving by the same motion both the gas apparatus and the corresponding
lever at the other end.

page_text: The same motion both ways may be made to turn down or light up oil or other
lamps as also to connect and disconnec: by switches or otherwise the electrical
current when used for the electric lighting of stations or tunnels.
The motion thus produced may be softened by elastic pads on the lever where the
rail crosses or the flange touches as well as by springs at suitable parts of the
apparatus.
For the sake of still greater simplicity and economy each line of rails may be
made to light up and lower the lighting only of its own side of each tunnel and
station. And it may be arranged that the middle rail of stations used by those trains
which do not stop or approach the platform shall not be furnished with such regulating
apparatus. It will be obvious that such lights as must be permanent in the offices
and elsewhere must be entirely disconnected from the apparatus herein described.
Besides this form which has been described as the simplest and cheapest, a system
of rods and cranks or cog wheels may be employed to push instead of pulling the
whole regulating apparatus.
Similarly the same power may be employed to drive a piston into a pipe of water
or compressed air which thrusts out another piston at the other end of that pipe which
piston moves the cock or other means of lighting, or switch for the passage of
the electrical current, and being at the same time placed end to end with the piston
of a second pipe of water or compressed air, thereby moves another piston at the other
end of that second pipe and places it in position to be acted on by the engine of the
departing train.
To avoid angles in the pipes the rods or wire ropes may be usefully combined with
the hydraulic or pneumatic pipes.
When the impact of the flange of the engine-wheel is preferred the short arm
of the lever must be bent upwards so as to receive that impact.
The stroke of the guard or of the fire box may be employed acting on a lever
placed obliquely in the direction of the movement of the train. But as any stroke
received from any such part of the engine or the train must vary in force from the
speed of the train, it becomes less suitable than the pressure of the engine on the rail
or the impact of the flange.
Dated the 12th day of August 1886.
G. F. REDFERN,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Regulating or Lighting and Extinguishing Lights
in Railway Stations, Tunnels, and the like.
I, JOHN ST. CLAIR, of the Ewart, Newton Stewart, in the county of Wigtown, North
Britain, Head Master of the Ewart High School, 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 invention consists in the use of the train itself as the motive power to
automatically light up any station, tunnel, or other place where lights are required
for the reception of the train and to automatically turn down or extinguish such
lights on the train emerging from such places.
For this purpose the engine itself by means of its own weight or momentum
is made to operate suitable apparatus which lights up the place into which it is
entering and when it has reached a suitable distance beyond that place by a similar
arrangement it lowers or altogether extinguishes the lighting of the place and in
order to enable the invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe, by
reference to the accompanying drawing, several suitable arrangements for carrying
it into practice.
Figure 1 represents a central longitudinal section of part of a permanent way
illustrating by way of example an arrangement for regulating, or for lighting
and extinguishing lights in railway stations, tunnels, and the like according to
my invention where gas is employed as the lighting medium; figure 2 is a plan
of figure 1 and figure 3 is a section on line A B of figure 1.
In this arrangement the stroke of the flange of one of the wheels of the engine
by coming upon a spring bar a³, bears down the shorter arm a, of a lever a, b, (or
levers) pivotted on a bent bar c, supported by the sleepers d, so that the lever
preserves its relative position to the rail e, unchanged notwithstanding any settlement
of the same. The longer arm b, of the lever at the side of the railway operates,
by means of two bell cranks f, and g, connected by a short rod h, a wire or wire rope i,
which runs along (or under) the ground on pulleys (not shewn) and on reaching the
larger of two gas pipes j, and k, which supply the station or tunnel opens it by a
lever 1, and cock m, as shewn, or by a screw-down gas valve or otherwise, the
smaller pipe k, which supplies a permanent low light so placed as to light the
main burners, being entirely unaffected thereby.
The same gas cock 1, (or valve) is similarly connected in the opposite direction
with a similar lever a¹, 6¹, placed below the rail e, at a suitable distance beyond the
station or tunnel which lever a', 6', on being moved by the engine as aforesaid pulla

page_text: the lever 1, (or valve) so as to shut the gas cock m, and by the same motion pulls the
lever a, b, into position to be again acted on by the next train. In the same way
the lever a, b, acts on the lever a', 6', by their mutual and opposite connection with
the gas apparatus the same arrangement of parts moving by the same motion both
the gas apparatus and the corresponding lever of the other end.
Instead of the lever being operated by the flange of the engine-wheel it may
be arranged so as to be depressed by the weight of the engine inflecting the rail e,
the under side of which bears on the ends a, and a¹, of the levers a, b, and a, b, for
this purpose as illustrated in the sectional view at figure 4.
The same motion both ways may be made to turn down or light up oil or
other lamps.
Figure 5 represents an elevation of an oil lamp having the wires i, i, adapted
to operate its raising and lowering device for this purpose. A hollow cylinder n,
is provided on the usual raising and lowering spindle o, the wires i, i, or bands at the
ends of the same being attached to and wound around the cylinder n, which is
provided with suitable means whereby it can be fixed to the spindle o, when the latter
is to be operated by the wires and disconnected therefrom when required to set the
wick of the lamp; p, is a projection on the cylinder n, the said projection coming
against stops q, q, on the lamp body for the purpose of limiting the extent to which
the wick shall be raised and lowered, the wires i, i, being formed at r, r, into spiral
springs which will allow the wires to yield to the check produced by the stops 9, 9.
It will be obvious that the wires i, i, can with equal advantage be attached to and
operate switches or the like so as to connect and disconnect the electrical current
when used for the electric lighting of stations or tunnels.
A suitable arrangement for this purpose is shewn in vertical section at figure 6
and consists of a vessels, containing mercury and adapted to be tilted from side
to side or (as shewn in the drawing) to be raised and lowered in a box t, by means
of wires u, u, and bell cranks v, v, connected to the wires i, i, coming from the
levers a, b, and a', 6'; when the vessels, is raised by the engine operating one of the
said levers the downwardly projecting ends of the wires w, w, leading to the electrical
apparatus will be immersed in the mercury and close the circuit; when the vessels,
is lowered by the engine operating the other lever the mercury will be withdrawn
from the wires w, w, and the circuit will be broken.
My invention can obviously be used in connection with any known method. by
which gas or other lamps are lighted by electricity.
The motion produced in the manner hereinbefore described may be softened by
elastic pads on the lever or by elastic washers round a broad headed bolt passing
vertically through it at the point where the rail crosses or the flange touches, as well
as by springs at suitable parts of the apparatus. For the sake of still greater
simplicity and economy each line of rails may be made to light up and lower the
lighting only of its own side of each tunnel and station; and it may be arranged that
the middle lines of rails of stations used by those trains which do not stop or approach
the platform shall not be furnished with such regulating apparatus. It will be
obvious that such lights as must be permanent in the offices and elsewhere must
be entirely disconnected from the apparatus herein described.
Besides this form which has been described as the simplest and cheapest, a system
of rods and cranks may be employed to push instead of pulling the whole regulating
apparatus.
Similarly the same power may be employed to drive a piston into a pipe of water
or compressed air which thrusts out another piston at the other end of that pipe which
piston moves the cock or other means of lighting, or switch for the passage of
the electrical current, and being at the same time placed end to end with the piston
of a second pipe of water or compressed air, thereby moves another piston at the
other end of that second pipe and places it in position to be acted on by the engine
of the departing train.
To avoid angles in the pipes the rods or wire ropes may be usefully combined with
the hydraulic or pneumatic pipes.

page_text: The stroke of the guard or of the fire box may also be employed acting on a lever
placed obliquely in the direction of the movement of the train. But as any stroke
received from any such part of the engine or the train must vary in force from the
speed of the train it becomes less suitable than the pressure of the engine on the rail
or the impact of the flange.
It is obvious that notices to guards and drivers, names of stations, and general
advertisements on railways may be lighted up by the same means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :—
1. The described method of regulating or of lighting and extinguishing gas, oil,
and electric lights in railway stations, tunnels, and the like, by utilizing the train
itself as the motive power substantially as set forth.
2. The combination of parts forming the improved mechanism for lighting up
the gas in railway stations, tunnels, and like places on the train entering the station
or tunnel and for lowering or extinguishing the lights on the train leaving the said
place substantially as set forth and illustrated in figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, of the
accompanying drawing.
3. The modification of the arrangement claimed in claim 2 as applied to oil lamps.
as described and illustrated in figure 5 of the accompanying drawing.
4. The modification of the arrangement claimed in claim 2, as
applied to the
electric lighting of stations, tunnels, and like places on the line substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in figure 6 of the accompanying drawing.
.
LOOT
LOTT TO Løn mar o DOT
G. F. REDFERN,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agent for the Applicant.