Improvements in Means for Operating Station, Street, or Stopping Place Indicators on Vehicles Running on Rails.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 14th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Operating Station, Street, or Stopping
Place Indicators on Vehicles Running on Rails.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON ROBERTSON, of 22 Steele's Road, Haverstock Hill,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
The invention has for its object improvements in means for operating station,
street or stopping-place indicators on vehicles running on rails, and relates to
means whereby a positive motion of a definite amount is obtained in the prime
mover, which motion, by suitable intervening gearing and connections, is transmitted
to the indicator, which latter may be of any suitable construction.
For this purpose I form in one, or it may be in both rails, at or near each
stopping station, a rise of, say, from one inch to one inch and a half with a gradual
incline from the centre of such rise in both directions down to the normal level of
the rails.
The rise and inclines should be of such length as to come well within the
wheel base or a pair of wheels of the vehicle, so that the arm or lever working in
connection with such rise shall infallibly receive the full amount of motion due to
such rise.
I mount an arm or lever on an axis carried by a frame supported by the axles or
axle trees of the vehicle, and I fit such arm or lever with springs or other means
which shall keep its acting end normally in its lowest position so that it shall be
carried at a very short distance only above the normal surface of the rail. The
said prime moving arm or lever is connected in any suitable manner with the
indicator.
I would remark that my invention is not suitable for application to vehicles
running on rails at a high speed, but that it is designed for application to vehicles
running at only a moderate speed, such, for instance, as tram-cars.
In cases where the rails are on common roads, the paving of such roads is
graduated from its normal level all round the rise, so as to lead gradually up to
and away from the summit of such rise in every direction.
D: 15th of Amil 1002
GEO. W. ROBERTSON,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
I VI V עגע UMI
Improvements in Means for Operating Station, Street, or Stopping
Place Indicators on Vehicles Running on Rails.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON ROBERTSON, formerly of 22 Steele's Road,
Haverstock Hill, in the County of Middlesex, but now of 6 Plymton Road,
Kilburn, in said county, Engineer, 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 has for its object improvements in means for operating station,
street or stopping place indicators on vehicles running on rails, and relates to

page_text: means whereby a positive motion of a definite amount is obtained in the prime
mover, such motion, by suitable intervening gearing and connections, being
transmitted to the indicator, which may be of any suitable construction.
My said invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a side view of parts of a tramway car fitted with a station indicator
prime mover and showing the upper surface of a rail on which the car runs, and
Fig. 2 is a cross section of Fig. 1.
In carrying my invention into effect I form in one, but preferably in both,
rails a a, at or near each station, street or stopping place, a rise a¹ of, say, from one
inch to one inch and a half, with a gradual incline from the centre of such rise in
both directions down to the normal level of the rails. The rise and inclines a¹
should be of such length as to come well within the wheel base or within two
wheels bb of one or both sides of the vehicle, so that the arm or lever c working
in connection with such rise a' shall infallibly receive the full amount of motion due
to such rise.
I mount the arm or lever c on an axis of motion c¹ carried by a frame or cross
bar d fixed at each end to the axle boxes e, or a supporting frame or cross bar for
said lever c may be carried direct by the axles or axle trees of the vehicle. In
the arrangement shown I employ another frame or cross bar f provided with a
guide slot within which the arm or lever c works so as to guide the latter some-
what near to its lower end, and I fit such arm c with springs ², or with other
means, which shall keep its acting end normally in its lowest position so that it
shall be carried only at a very short distance above the normal surface of the rail.
The said prime moving arm or lever c is connected in any suitable manner with
the indicator; in the arrangement shown it has a short arm c³, which gives motion
to a vertical rod g by which the indicator apparatus is operated. It will be readily
understood that in the arrangement above described the vertical rod g would, on
account of the various loads on the vehicle, have its operative or upper end varying
in position in relation to the indicator mechanism, but in order to give always the
necessary motion to the indicator, neither more nor less, a lost motion apparatus
may be interposed between the arm or lever c and the indicating apparatus, in
which case the lever c would receive more than the required motion to operate the
indicator but, through the lost motion apparatus, would only give the exact amount
of motion required. Two arrangements of such a lost motion apparatus are.
shown and described in my Specification No. 1 of the year 1893.
If desired, instead of causing the arm or lever e to act directly on a vertical
rod 9, it may be caused to operate a horizontal bar or shaft extending to one or
both ends of the car or to other positions and then, by suitable mechanism, operate
the indicator or indicators.
In the drawing I have shown an arm or lever c at each side of the car, but, if
desired, only one side of the car may be provided with a lever c. The arm or
lever cinay be caused to give a partial rotary motion to a shaft, in which case said
shaft might be formed telescopic and have its upper end always retained in the
same relative position with the indicator, which latter would then be driven by
suitable gearing.
I would remark that my invention is not suitable for application to vehicles
running on rails at a high speed, but that it is designed for application to vehicles
running at only a moderate speed, such, for instance, as tram-cars.
In cases where the rails a a are on common roads, the paving of such roads is
graduated from its normal level all round the rise a¹, so as to lead gradually up to
and away from the summit of such rise in every direction, as indicated by the
broken line in Fig. 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In means for operating station, street, or stopping place indicators on vehicles

page_text: running on rails, a rise on said rails to give motion to a prime motion lever, such
rise being gradually inclined in both directions from the centre thereof and being
of such a length as to come well within the wheel base of the vehicle or between
two wheels on one or both sides thereof, substantially as herein shown and
described.
2. In means for operating station, street, or stopping place indicators on vehicles
running on rails, the combination of a graduated rise on one or both of said rails
of.length to come well within the wheel base of the vehicle or between two wheels
on one or both sides thereof, and a prime motion lever operated by such rise and
carried by supports retaining a given relative position with the wheel axles,
substantially as herein shown and described.
1001
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GEO. W. ROBERTSON,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.