ENABLING THE GUARDS OF RAILWAY TRAINS TO PASS FROM ONE PART OF A RAILWAY TRAIN TO ANOTHER
Year: 1865

page_text: I, HENRY DEFRIES, of the Firm of Jonas Defries and Sons, of Hounds-
ditch, in the City of London, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "ENABLING THE GUARDS OF RAILWAY TRAINS TO PASS FROM
ONE PART OF A RAILWAY TRAIN TO ANOTHER," to be as follows:-
It is obviously of great importance that in certain cases immediate com-
munication should be attainable by the guard of a railway train to each of
the carriages composing such train and to their several compartments. The
cases alluded to are attempt to murder, insult to females, attack by insane or
drunken persons, and danger seen and known by the passengers, but unseen
and unknown by the guard till warned thereof. I pre-suppose that means of
communication by signal from passenger to guard, and from guard to driver
have been already attached to a train. I propose to give the guard a right
of way from one end of a train to the other. By the American plan of
carriages such means is already given, but all privicy is thus taken from the
passengers, and the entrance of obnoxious persons into carriages permitted.
I propose to make a sliding door in front and rear of every carriage, with a
bridge to be let down by the guard when he requires to pass; this bridge
will fall immediately over the buffers on one side of the vehicle. The door
may be 20 to 22 inches wide, and the bridge less in width, the latter being
protected by a guard rail on each side, which asusmes its place as the flat or
step of the bridge falls into position. On receiving intimation of danger or
requirement to some part of the train, from Coleman Defries' or any other

page_text: signal in use, the guard opens the slide in his own van, drops the bridge to
position on the carriage before him (allowance being made in the step and
other fittings for the lateral and traction jerks), then standing on the bridge
and holding on by a handle properly placed on the edge of the back of the
carriage he is about to enter, he unlocks the slide door, which, in the act of
opening, gives sufficient indication by bell, gong, or otherwise to the passengers,
to prevent their being alarmed, he passes through the compartments (which
are also furnished with slides) to the next carriage in a similar manner, and
so on till he reaches that (and the compartment) to which his attention
has been called. If he be unable to dispose of the cause of alarm without
stopping the train he signals the driver by opening a small box (to be
placed in each carriage or compartment), of which he alone possesses the
proper key (which may be the same by which he opens the slide doors), and
pulling a spring or lever placed in the box and attached to and causing action
on the communication between guard and driver. I do not coufine myself
to slide doors, as ordinary doors may be used if preferred. Should, however,
the directors of railway company's refuse to lose the space in the first-class
carriages necessary for the passage of the guard (in second and third class
carriages, no loss of space would be sustained, as the intimation by bell or
gong that the guard was about to enter would cause room to be made for him)
a passage with sliding or other doors can be placed on the outside of the
carriages and the bridges let down into position as aforesaid; but I prefer the
means first described, particularly as the construction of carriages is generally
too wide in proportion to that of the permanent way, and would render it
unsafe to place protective guards on the outside of the carriages. It is also
usually unsafe to place my bridge apparatus on the top of the carriages,
because the lowness of the bridges spanning the railways render it impossible
for a man safely to keep an upright position on the roof of a carriage. Where
such, however, is not the case the guard might pass outside or through the
top of his van, throw the bridges and handrails over the spaces between the
tops of the carriages seriatum as he passes from one to the other, and on bis
arrival where his presence may be required he would pass down the side of
the carriage by means of a light but firm handrails and steps, open the door
and see to the matter in question.