CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHIC COMMU NICATIONS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francois Victor Guyard, Engineer Captain, of the
Town of Gravelines, in the French Empire, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
m
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francois Victor Guyard
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition on the
12th January 1855.
I. FRANCOIS VICTOR GUYARD, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHIC COMMU
NICATIONS" to be as follows:-
I place two wires, one above the other, along the line of railway, and near.
to the rails. These wires are carried by suitable supports, and are insulated
from the earth and from each other. Each wire is divided into lengths of a mile.
or two miles, or more or less, and the divisions in each wire are opposite to the.
middle of the adjoining length of the other wire. All the lengths or sections
of wire are insulated from each other. On the tender or engine, or one of the
carriages in each train, is a projecting arm, carrying two metallic brushes, which
I prefer to make of a cylindrical form, and free to revolve. By this or other
suitable means, a connection is made between the wires and one pole of a
.galvanic battery or other source of electricity on the train, the other pole of
which battery is connected with one of the axles, and through it with the earth.
The wire from the battery includes an alarum apparatus, such as is ordinarily
used in electric telegraphic apparatus. Although one pole of the battery is
in connection with the earth, the other pole is only in connection with the
[Price 8d.].

page_text: insulated wires on the line, and therefore no current is produced, and the
alarum is not rung. If, however, another train similarly provided comes so
close to the first train as to be in contact with the same section of one of the
line wires, a current will then pass from one battery through the line wire and
through the other battery into the earth and back to the first battery. The
alarums on both trains will thus be rung, and warning given of their proximity
to each other. If the batteries should happen to be arranged so that their
similar poles are in connection with the line wire, they might neutralize each
other's action, and produce no effect. This may be avoided by means of an
apparatus which is constantly reversing the connections, so that the batteries
may at all events he momentarily, or at intervals. acting together, upon which
the alarums will be instantly rung. Attention being thus called, a telegraphic
communication may be established and kept up between the two trains as
long as their distance apart does not exceed one-half of the length of a section
of wire.
I
The same apparatus is applicable to giving other signals; thus, in case
of any obstruction on the line, it is only necessary to connect the wires to
the earth, either directly or through a portable alarum apparatus, and the
consequence is, that any approaching train will be warned by the ringing
of its alarum, and will also give warning of its approach by ringing the
portable alarum when the same is applied. The gates used at level crossings
over the line may be arranged so as to put the wires in connection with the
earth through an alarum apparatus whenever the gates are opened to allow
of the traffic across the line. A similar arrangement is applicable to a swing.
bridge, and in other cases. The wires are carried down into the earth at those
places, and at stations or other places were they would be in the way they
are insulated by a coating of gutta percha or other means where carried under
ground. In lieu of employing separate detached lengths of wire, as above
mentioned, the wires may be continuous, and may then be employed at the
same time for transmitting the ordinary telegraphic communications; two
conducting wires for each line of way are thus suspended on double supports
or gibbets between the two lines. The electric current is always introduced
from the same pole of the battery (as, for example, from the positive pole,)
into each conducting wire, and a train may be placed in communication with
two conductors by a third conductor, which unites them. At level crossings
the communication is also made between the two conductors.
Instead of employing the aforesaid apparatus for alternately reversing the
connections, an apparatus is employed which alternately makes and breaks
the connections. A tell-tale or marker, acting by the electric current itself,

page_text: is applied as an indicator or register for detecting negligence on the part, of
the persons employed. Rumford's apparatus, or any other known. apparatus.
may be employed for obtaining a constant current of electricity for working
the apparatus above described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,, filed
by the said Francois Victor Guyard in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd July 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, FRANCOIS
VICTOR GUYARD, Engineer Captain, of the Town of Gravelines, in the French
Empire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Francois Victor Guyard, Her special licence that I, the said Francois
Victor Guyard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Francois Victor Guyard, 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
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Francois Victor Guyard, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Francois Victor Guyard, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
The object of the Invention is to establish a self-acting and permanent tele-
graphic communication during the progress of the trains on railways, so as to
avoid the meeting or overtaking of one train by another on the same line, and

page_text: to prevent accidents from the negligence of the attendants in closing the gates
at level crossings, and generally to prevent accidents, by affording a means
of communication with trains in motion. The locomotive engines carries an
apparatus which at a certain distance signals to the driver of the approach
of danger, and also communicates a signal to the attendants at level crossings
to close the gates before the train reaches them.
On each line of railway is suspended a metallic wire, which serves as the
electric conductor; these wires are placed in communication with the appa-
ratus carried by each train by means of a connecting apparatus or communi-
cator, herein-after described. The trains are furnished with electric alarums
or bells, and with voltaic piles, or other sources of electricity, which supply the
current in the line wires through the intervention of the communicator. In
this way, the conductors or line wires being insulated, each train during its
progress carries with it an incomplete circuit, and in its normal state the
telegraphic system remains inactive.
I shall now proceed to show how, in the presence of a danger, the telegraph
is put in action, either spontaneously, as in the cases which may be forescen
(such as the approach of another train, or the opening of gates or swing
bridges,) or by hand, in cases which cannot be foreseen, (such as the breaking
of rails, slips of earth, cattle straying on the line, and many others.)
The voltaic pile or battery ought to have a constant intensity, which may be
obtained by the care of a practised operator, or better still by substituting for
the current of the battery the induced current of a Ruhmkorff's apparatus,
or a magneto-electrical machine, or other apparatus for producing induced
currents. In such apparatus the intensity of the current may be regulated by
varying the velocity of the motion of the machine, or by adjusting the position
of the coils or the magnet by means of a screw, or by varying the number of
coils in action, or otherwise, and they must be so arranged as to direct the
current in one constant direction, as is well understood. When the voltaic
battery is employed, it may consist of a series of small constant batteries with
sulphate of copper and comparatively small zinc surfaces.
The intensity of the current may be verified at each station by passing it
through coils of wire offering the same resistance as the length of line wire
through which it is to act, or, in a simpler manner, by means of a galvanometer.
The current thus obtained must be capable of putting in action the electric
alarum by means of an electro-magnet or otherwise, or of inflaming a charge
of gunpowder, or of producing a signal by any of the other known means.
I will now proceed to describe the mode of applying the apparatus to the
prevention of accidents, and to the regulating of the working of the railway.

page_text: Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 is a plan, of a portion of a double
line of railway with trains running in different directions.. I will suppose that
there are two trains upon the same line of rails, and that they are approaching
too near to one another, either by running in contrary directions, or by one
overtaking the other. Each of the trains carries with it an incomplete
telegraphic circuit, so that as soon as the two trains approach each other
within the distance to which the voltaic battery is capable of acting, the two
circuits complete one another, and put in action the alarums or other instru-
ments on both trains. To obtain this result, however, it is necessary that the
two currents should proceed from contrary poles of the batteries, so that by
uniting they may form one single current, and not two opposing currents,
which would destroy each other. This is effected by means of a distributor, or
apparatus for reversing the poles placed on each train. This distributor is
moved by clock-work at intervals of about five seconds, more or less, so that if
the two currents should happen to be in the same direction, one or the other
will be quickly reversed, and the action of the apparatus will not be delayed
longer than five seconds.
The gates of a level crossing may be arranged so that, when open, they may
act, with regard to the train, in the same manner as another train would act.
For this purpose, it suffices to make a communication between the line wire
and the earth when the gate is open. Figure 3 is a side view, and Figure 4 is
a plan, showing one of the gates and the arrangements of the wires. The gate
is hung upon its hinges in such a manner that it will only rest in two positions,
that is to say, either closed, as in Figure 3, or thrown completely back, as in
Figure 4. The wire g, which is connected to the line wire, is carried down
under the rails and up the gate post, and along the top of the gate to the
catch i. When the gate is opened, the catch i is hooked into an eye or loop i,
which is connected by a wire to the earth. The line wire is thus placed in
connection with the earth, and consequently a current of electricity passes
through it from the battery on an approaching train, and the alarum on the
train is sounded. The wire at the crossing place is connected to an alaruni
apparatus fixed at that place, and this alarum is also rung by the action of the
electric current. The attendant at the gates thus receives warning to close*
them, at the same time that the engine driver is warned of their being open.
When the gates are closed, the engine driver is informed of the fact by the
interruption of the current, and by the alarum ceasing to ring. . A. similar
arrangement is applicable to a swing bridge.
In the case of an accident happening on the line, the approaching trains
may be signalled to stop by merely connecting the line wire with the earth. . In

page_text: a similar manner a train may be signalled to stop after it, has passed the point
from which the signal is sent.
By the addition of certain parts or instruments, the apparatus is made to
serve as a check or tell-tale by registering its own operations. For this purpose,
a clock-work apparatus is mounted on the train, and carries a sheet of paper
or a dial, on which a mark is made whenever the electric current passes. This
may be effected by a pencil moved by an electro-magnet, or otherwise. The
time at which any signal was given is thus registered. A second pencil or
marker is actuated by a. branch current from the battery, and is put in action
by the contact of a metallic spring on the carriage, with a series of metallic
pins or studs placed at each mile or other determinate distance along the line.
The moment of passing each of these studs is thus registered, and it can at
once be ascertained whether the engine driver has been attempting, by a.
dangerous excess of speed at one part of the line, to recover time lost on other
parts of the line.
'
The mode of suspending the wires is shown in Figures 5, 9, 10, and 11. A
series of posts or double gallows A are placed between the two lines of rails.
Each post A carries two pieces of metal v, v¹, to which are jointed the vertical
rods or wires x, which are rivetted to a collar or short tube z, which embraces
and supports the line wire B. The ends of this collar from the lines 1; 2,
and 3, 4, are bevilled or filed to a conical form, so as to offer as little resist-
ance as possible to the cominunicators, herein-after described. The wires B
may be also employed for the ordinary electric telegraph, or they may be
employed exclusively for the purposes herein-before mentioned.
In lieu of regulating the distance to which the signals are transmitted by
adjusting the intensity of the electric current, as herein-before described, the
distance may be regulated in the following manner:-Instead of employing a
single wire for each line of rails, two parallel wires are employed. These
wires are divided into lengths of a mile or two miles, more or less, and they
are placed so that the break in one line of wire is opposite to the centre of a.
length of the other wire, as shewn in Figure 12. Each length of wire is
insulated from all the other lengths. The communicators, herein-after
described, are put in connection with both wires, which are thus capable of
conveying a signal to or from the train for a distance varying from one-half
to the whole of a length of wire, according to the position of the train.
The distributor for reversing the direction of the current is, shewn in
Figure 6. It consists of an excentric 1,,, driven by clock-work, and giving
motion to two arms or levers m, m³, which are pressed against it by springs
n, n¹
One of the levers m is in, communication with the,,rail and the earth

page_text: through the wheels and axles, or otherwise; the other lever m¹ is in connec-
tion with the communicator through the tell-tale or registering apparatus S
and the alarum T, and also with a telegraphic instrument, if one is employed.
The levers m, m¹, slide over two transverse pieces p, p, each of which is formed
of two pieces of metal, separated by a narrow partition of ivory or other insu-
lating substance. The pieces 1 and 3 communicate with the positive pole of
the voltaic battery I (or other source of electricity), while the pieces 2 com-
municate with the negative pole. By the motion of the excentric 1 the current
is thus continually being reversed.
The communicator is shewn in Figure 5, and on a larger scale in Figure 7.
a and b are two rollers of copper or other good conductor of electricity, which
are mounted upon a frame fixed on the locomotive engine. The line wire B
lies between these rollers, which are pressed against it by springs d, d. The
lower bearings of the rollers turn upon pins or joints. to allow of the rollers
being pressed against the wire. The wire hangs in curves from post to post,
and the length of the rollers a, b, is sufficient to allow of the constantly varying
height of the different portions of the wire. It is by means of these rollers
that the communication is made between the battery and the wire.
Figure 8 shows another form of communicator, consisting of two metallic
rollers c and e, placed so as to form an angle, in which rests the line wire B.
These rollers are mounted on levers f, 1, which turn upon fixed centres, and are
supported by rods o, o', attached to pistons q, q', which rest upon springs p. pl.
The rollers are placed so as to support the wire B at its highest points, and
they yield to the weight of the wire, so as to follow its curvature at the inter-
mediate parts. Instead of plain rollers, rollers covered with brushes of metallic
wire may be employed to make contact with the line wire.
The tell-tale, or registering apparatus, consists of a sheet of paper wound
upon a cylinder, and unrolling itself by a clock-work motion; this sheet is
crossed by lines of different colours or thicknesses, to indicate the hours and
their divisions. A pencil or marker is placed vertically over this sheet, and is
brought down upon it by means of an electro-magnet included in the circuit
every time that the apparatus is put in action; the moment of the communica-
tion of any signal is thus registered.
The register or marker of the speed of the train is made in a similar manner,
and may mark on the same sheet of paper. The electro-magnet which works
this marker is, however, included in a branch circuit leading from the battery,
so that it acts independently of the first-mentioned marker.
This branch
circuit is completed at regular intervals of a mile or other determinate distance
by means of a spring, which touches a fixed metallic pin or stud in connection

page_text: with the earth or rail at each of such intervals; the moment of passing each
stud is thus registered. By means of these markers or registers, the time of
receiving a signal and the position of the train at that time or at any other
time are registered on the paper.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim
generally the effecting of electro-telegraphic communications with trains on
railways by making contact with a fixed line wire; but what I claim is,―
Firstly, the constructing apparatus for effecting electro-telegraphic com-
munications with trains on railways in such manner that the distance from
the train to which such communications extends is regulated by adjusting the
intensity of the current of electricity, as herein-before described.
Secondly, the constructing apparatus for effecting electro-telegraphic com-
munications with trains on railways with one or more line wires, either divided
into lengths or continuous, in combination with communicators, consisting of
two rollers acted upon by springs and forming contact with the line wire, in
manner herein-before described.
Thirdly, the constructing apparatus for effecting clectro-telegraphic com-
munications with trains on railways, in manner herein-before described,
with a distributor, for continually reversing the direction of the current of
electricity, as herein-before described.
Fourthly, the constructing such apparatus as aforesaid, in combination with
the registering apparatus, hercin-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francois Victor Guyard. have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of June, in the wear of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
FRANCOIS VICTOR GUYARD. (L.S.)
Witness,
CH. ARMENGAUD, Ing Civil,
Rue Filles du Calvaire, No. 6,
a Paris.