IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR THE SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE OF OR ARRANGEMENTS PASSENGERS." RAILWAY
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Chrimes, of Clare Villas, Merton, in the
County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS
FOR THE SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE OF
OR
ARRANGEMENTS
PASSENGERS."
RAILWAY
Scaled the 6th September 1870, and dated the 2nd April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Chrimes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd April 1870.
I, JOSEPH CHRIMES, of Clare Villas, Merton, in the County of Surrey,
< IMPROVEMENTS
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IN THE MEANS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE OF RAILWAY
PASSENGERS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to prevent the opening or flying open
of any door in a railway carriage when a train is in motion, or at any
objectionable time, thereby to prevent any passenger entering or leaving
or falling from a train at such times as aforesaid, yet to enable children

page_text: as well as all other passengers to leave a train more readily with safety
than at present, and to have all the doors simultaneously free to be
opened on either or both sides of a train the moment there be any
intimation of an accident being imminent, or the same baving occurred
to a train, therefore, to prevent all those numerous and often serious and
fatal consequences attributable to the causes aforesaid.
I propose to give the power by which a guard from his van would
be able either to fasten or unfasten instantly, and at any moment, all or
any number as required of carriage doors on either or both sides of a
train simultaneously; this safety fastening (to supersede the locks in
carriage doors) is separate from and in addition to the handle fastenings
in the same, and where my Invention is adopted I propose to
give the power by which passengers would be able to leave any
carriage without interfering with any of the wholly or partially
closed windows in a train. For this purpose I have holes (for bolts)
through the roof of each carriage, and each hole made over and a
short distance into the jamb or top of each carriage door (for a socket
for each bolt). I have the mouth of each hole fitted so as to prevent
water entering the same when the bolts are in or out of their sockets.
I have bolts with an upper and a lower eye in the head of each and
near together, and each bolt to fit and work easily in each hole and
socket aforesaid. I have supports with an upper and a lower cyc a
short distance apart for leverage, the upper eyes for raising, and the lower
eyes for drawing down the bolts when raised out of their sockets
according as acted upon from the guard's van. I fix one or more of the
supports aforesaid, between each bolt aforesaid, on the roofs of the
carriages. I have on the right and left side of one end and in or near
the roof of the guard's van an aperture with two pulleys in each or
otherwise. I have for use in the van four loose hooks with an eye in
each or otherwise. I have two loose weights with a ring upright in each
and with a handle in or near the top of each ring in the same or
otherwise. I have four reels or otherwise of metallic wire rope with a
length of the same on each reel for the length of a train and sufficient
for lengthening when additional carriages are likely to be added to a
train during a journey. I fix two of the reels on the right and two on
the left within the van, and in any position suitable for winding or not as
required. I take the end of the metallic wire rope from each of two

page_text: reels for the right, and the end from each of the other two reels for the
left side of a train and pass the four ends separatly through the eyes of
the four loose hooks aforesaid in the van, separately, over the four pulleys
in the two apertures aforesaid, and thus the four ends are out of
the van.
I pass one end through each of the lower and another end through
cach of the upper eyes of the supports and bolt heads on one side of the
roof of each carriage to the opposite end of a train, and there fasten the
ends of the metallic wire rope; I now pass the other two ends of the
same for the other side of a train precisely the same as for the side above
described. I suspend cach hook now on the rope in the van a suitablo
height from the bottom of the van by fastening the rope between each
recl and hook by a runing noose or otherwise on to a holdfast in or
near the top or roof of the van, and thus cach hook so suspended will
rise or fall about six for every twelve inches that jerks of a train or
varying distance between carriage may require. I use any other
suitable flexible material as a substitute for the metallic wire
ropc aforc.
said, and I use a pulley or roller or hook as a substitute for any cyc in
any support or bolt head aforesaid, I use a bolt head separate from and
to screw on to or otherwise and as a substitute for any bolt with a head
aforesaid. To enable passengers to leave a train without interfering with
the windows in the same I affix a lever handle on to each of the present
handle shanks or spindles on the inner side of each carriage door to work
in conjunction therewith, I use any other suitable handle as a substitute
for any lever handle aforesaid, I operate as follows:-All the carriage
doors on either or both sides of a train being shut and bolted, and thus
secured by reason of either or both of the two loose weights aforesaid
being placed on and thus suspended on either or both of the two hooks
in connection with the lower eyes of the supports and bolts, I remove
either or both of the weights on to either or both of the hooks in con-
nection with the upper eyes of the supports and bolts, and all the bolts
on either or both sides of a train are simultaneously raised out of their
sockets; and all the doors on either or both sides of a train, as the case
may be, are free to be opened by their inner or outer handles.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Chrimes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL 00ME, I, JOSEPH
СHRIMES, of Clare Villas, Merton, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victorin, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Joseph Chrimes, Her special licence, that
I, the said Joseph Ohrimes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Joseph Chrimes, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OR
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE OF RAILWAY PASSENGERS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Chrimes,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Chrimes. do hereby declare
the nature of my said 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 my improvement is to prevent the opening of any
door in a railway carriage when a train is in motion, or at any other
objectional time, for the purpose of preventing passengers from entering,
leaving, or falling from a train at such times, yet the doors are
constructed so that children as well as other passengers may open them
and leave a train with more safety than at present.

page_text: The means employed for bolting and unbolting the doors are placed
under the control of the guard in his. van, and made so that any
number, or all the doors in a train, on one or both sides of it, may
be instantly and simultaneously, bolted or unbolted preparatory for
passengers to cuter or leave a train when required, either in case of
accidents or when a train arrives at or leaves a station.
The fastening apparatus is composed of a bolt of metal or any other
suitable material for cach door on both sides of the carriage or carriages,
and passed through suitable openings down through the roof of the
carriage direct over and a short distance into the top edge of the doors;
on either sides of these bolts standards or supports are placed made of
metal or any other suitable material and secured to the roof of the
carriage about three inches, more or less, from the bolt. The bolts over
cach door, as well as standards placed on either side of them as before
mentioned, are provided with two eye holes for the passage of wire
cords, or cords made of any other suitable material;; if desired, the eye
holes may be provided with friction pullies or rolls for the cords to pass
over and around. The cords are passed through the eye holes in the
bolts and standards and extend the whole length of a train over the
top and both sides of the carriages, with one of their ends fastened to
the hind part of the back carriage when the guard van is in front, and
the front end when the guard van is at the hindermost end of the train.
While the other ends of the cords are taken into the guard's van and
placed entirely under his control for bolting and unbolting the doors,.
one cord is placed above the other in the bolts and standards. The
upper cord is for drawing up the bolts, or unbolting the doors, and tho
lower one is for bolting the doors, and holding the bolts in their place.
The top eye holes in the standards on both sides of the bolt are
sufficient above the ends of the bolts when the bolts are down to give.
leverage power, so that when the upper cord is pulled by the guard in
the van, or by attaching a weight to it, all the bolts in a train are
instantly and simultaneously lifted, thereby unbolting all the doors.at
once; and when it is necessary to bolt the doors the upper or unbolting.
cord is slacked by removing the weight, and the lower or bolting cord
is pulled by the guard in the van, or by attaching a weight to it,
thereby simultaneously drawing all the bolts down and bolting, the
doors. The eye holes in the standards for receiving the bolting cord aro
made lower than the eye holes in the bolts when the holts are down og

page_text: doors bolted, so that the bolting cords under all circumstances will have
leverage power at all times to draw down and hold the bolts to their
place in the doors at all times. The two cords are independant of each
other excepting in their action on the bolts, as before described. Each of
the cords are made extra long, which extra length is taken up by reels,
rolls, or suspended to hooks in the guard's van; play is given to the
whole or a portion of the extra length of cords between the reels, rollers,
or hooks, and where they pass out of the guard's van for connecting to
the door bolts and standards, and are provided with means for attaching
weights, or their equivalents, for holding up or down the door bolts in the
whole length of a train, as the case may require, under all circum-
stanoes; and also for obtaining a given and constant strain or tension
on the cords, and consequently on the door bolts, when a train is in
motion, and particularly when it is passing over curved portions of the
road, or when the carriages abut each other in stopping at stations, or
from any other cause by which the distance apart of the carriages in
a train is made to vary while in motion.
In order to give a fuller understanding and description of the aforesaid
Invention, and the manner of constructing and working the same,
reference is made to the accompanying Drawings forming part of this
Specification, and to the figures and letters of reference made thereon.
Similar letters are made to refer to corresponding parts of the
Drawings.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of two carriages showing the
improvement applied; one of the carriages is provided with a guard
van partly shown in section to exhibit the manner of working thc
bolting cord by the guard; Figure 2 is a top view of one of the carriages
provided with a guard van shown in section; Figures 3 and 4 arc
intended to represent full size views of a bolt and standard showing onc
of the plans of constructing and attaching to the top of a carriage, and
method of working the bolt by the action of the cords; Figure 5 is a
side elevation of a portion of a carriage drawn to a scale with the
improvements applied, and showing part of the guard van in section;
the principal object of this view is to show the relative size and appear-
ance of the bolting apparatus when attached to a carriage for use;
Figure 6 represents an end view of a portion of the carriage shown in
Figure 5 with a covering over the bolting apparatus to protect it from
the weather, and being tampered with by unauthorized persons,

page_text: The carriage in Figure 1 is provided with a guard van or box W,
may be the front or back carriage, or placed in the middle or
any other part of a train for working the Invention; this makes no
difference, as it can be worked as well from one part of a train as
another.
A is the cord for lifting the bolt d which is passed from the guard van
through the top eye holes in the standards c, c, and bolts d, and fastened
to the back end of the last carriage at h (this is when the guard van is
in front). All the doors D in the Drawings are represented bolted. The
weight E is represented suspended to the slack portion of the bolting
cord B passing through the lower eyes in the standards c, c, and bolts d,
as fully shown in Figure 1. When the bolts d are to be lifted or doors
unbolted the weight E is shifted by the guard from the bolting cord B
in the van to the unbolting cord A, thereby liberating the bolting cord,
and simultaneously drawing all the bolts up and unbolting all the
doors D of any number of carriages in a train for the exit or entry of
passengers. When it is required to rebolt the doors the weight E is
shifted by the guard back to the bolting cord B from the unbolting
cord A, which liberates the unbolting cord, and draws down and holds
all the bolts in their places in the doors. R, R, are two double reels
in the guard van, on which are wound the ends of the bolting and un-
bolting cords A and B on both sides of the train; these reels are
provided with pawls and ratchet wheels to prevent the cords from
unwinding from the reels; this is done for regulating the proper length
of the slack of each cord to which the weight E is alternately attached
for bolting and unbolting the doors D, as herein-before described; or, if
desired, the reels R may be dispensed with. This may be done in
working short trains, and in place thereof the end of the cords may be
attached to hooks affixed in the top or sides of the guard van, as repre-
sented in Figures 1 and 5, with sufficient slack of cord between the hook
aud where it passes out of the van to the bolts and standards for
suspending the weight E, and for giving the cords sufficient play to
accommodate themselves to any varying distances of the carriages apart
caused by a train passing over curved portions of a road or from other
causes, as herein-before stated.
The manner of connecting the cords with the guard van is fully
represented in Figures 1 and 2, which is sufficiently plain to be under-
stood by the Drawing without further description.

page_text: The cords A and B at the ends, of two adjoining carriages may be
fastened together by any suitable structure of hooks at N, Figure 1.
Any suitable method of constructing the bolts d and standards c, c,
may be employed. In Figure 1 the standards are represented as screwed
into the roof H of the carriage, and the bolts & are made to pass down
through suitable openings in the roof between the standards, and into
the top edge of the door D. The eyes in these standards and bolts,
Figures 1 and 2, for attaching the cords are simply holes made
sufficiently large and smooth for the free passage and working of the
cords through them.
Another mode of constructing the standards is shown in Figures 3
and 4, where the standards c, c, are cast or otherwise affixed to a plate
S, and the plate is screwed to the roof II of the carriage by screws or
otherwise in a proper position over the top edge of the door D. These
standards are furnished with friction pullies or rolls as represented,
over and under which the cords A and B work; the bolt d is likewise
furnished with friction rolls, and is made to pass down through an
opening in a boss cast to the under part of the plate S, which extends
entirely through the roof II of the carriage. The top edge of the door D
is provided with a plate X and furnished with a suitable sized hole for
receiving the lower end of the door bolt f. If desired the outside of
the bolt which passes into the top edge of the door may be bevilled off
as represented by the dotted line in Figure 4, so that if by accident or
otherwise the bolt should be drawn down while a door is opened the
opened door could be closed by the top edge of the door forcing the
bolt up, which would lift or spring the bolting cord up sufficient for
that purpose. This structure of bolts and standards is applied to the
carriage represented by Figure 5, and is considered about the right size
and form for actual use, and may be made of cast metal or brass. If
desired the bolt for fastening cach door in a train could be made to
extend down through the jamb or edge of the door frames, and pass
into catches affixed to the edges of the doors opposite or nearly opposite
the handle, and thereby bolt or unbolt the doors by the action of the
cords working the bolts in the manner herein-before described. Or the
bolting and unbolting cord, standards, and weights could be made to
move or work bars or rods of metal placed under or on the edge of the
roof and against the sides of the carriages on both their sides, and
extending the whole length of a carriage over the top edge of the doors

page_text: and made to work or move in or on staples, guides, or rolls, with bolts
or projections attached to the bars in any suitable manner for sliding
These bars
over the top or side edges of the doors for bolting the same.
would be moved or worked by the action of the bolting and unbolting
cords in the manner herein-before stated through the medium of bell
cranks or any other equivalent piece or pieces of mechanism attached
to the bars at any convenient part of them, or the bolting improve-
ment may be arranged to the under part of the carriages for bolting
the doors at the lower edges, by passing and working the bolts up
through the bottom of the carriage. However neither of these methods
of applying the improvement possess the advantage and economy of
applying the bolts to the top edge of the doors in the manner first
herein-before described.
It would be a great advantage for the convenience of passengers in
leaving a train if the handles of the doors could be affixed to their inside
with safety, which would avoid the necessity of lowering the window
of the door in all conditions of weather and reaching out to unfasten
the door, but with the present system of fastening the doors and leaving
them unlocked while a train is in motion this cannot be done without
increasing great danger to the passengers, and particularly to children,
who would be constantly tampering with the handles and likely
against the doors, thereby causing them unexpectedly to open while
the train is in motion, which would be attended with serious couse-
quence by loss of life; however, such would not be the case when inside
handles are used in connection with this improvement, for while a
train is motion the doors are always bolted and under the control of
the guard, which precludes the possibility of an accident by tampering
with the handle and the door opening while the train is in motion.
The windows of the doors with the handles affixed to their inside could
always then be kept closed if desired, and thereby save the cushions
and other furniture of the carriages from being injured by the rain and
dust blowing in. M is a shield placed over the cords and bolting appa-
ratus on the top of the carriages for protecting them from the weather,
and forming a gutter for carrying the water off of the carriage and from
the bolts and other parts of the apparatus; these shields may be made
of wood or metal constructed to work on hinges, and made to open to
or from the edge of the carriage as desired. If considered necessary
openings may be left in the side of the shield opposite the bolts and

page_text: standards in order to reach them without moving the whole of the
shield.
Having now described the nature and object of my Invention, and the
manner of constructing and working the same, what I claim is, the
manner of instantly and simultaneously at any required time bolt or
unbolt the doors of railway carriages on one or both sides of a train
by the separate or connected use of the cords A and B, standards c, c,
and weights E for lifting, moving, or working the bolts das represented in
or by the accompanying Drawings as herein-before specified, or in any
other equivalent manner, for bolting and unbolting the doors of railway
carriages as herein-before stated.
In witness whercof, I, the said Joseph Chrimes, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.