Improvements in Apparatus for Repeating Railway Signal Lamps.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 7th May, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 7th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Repeating Railway Signal Lamps.
We, BASIL MOTT of 20 Union Road, Clapham, London, S.W., Civil Engineer,
and PETER VALENTINE MCMAHON of 195, Clapham Road, London, S.W.,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Cur invention relates to an improved method of indicating or recording the
position of the signal, the record being given in the signal cabin.
Our invention is more especially applicable to cases where the signal lamps are
lit by electricity.
In carrying out our invention we provide a switch arranged in a convenient
position on the signal lever in the cabin and we also provide another switch on or
attached to the balance lever operating on the signal post.
In cases where there is a supply of electricity at the signals we arrange to work
our apparatus by means of one line wire only taking the current alternately from
the switch attached to the lever in the signal cabin and from the switch attached
to the balance lever on the signal post.
In cases where there is not a supply of electricity at the signals we find that a
two-wire system is most suitable.
We provide in the signal cabin two lamps one red and one green, and one or
more lamps are required in the signal.
The connections from the red and green lamps are taken to the switch that
is operated by the signal lever, and these lamps are alternately connected in
series with the signal lamps, through the switch attached to the signal lever in
the cabin and the balance lever on the signal post.
In cases where we find it convenient to use two line wires the connections
are modified both in the signal cabin and at the signal. We arrange in the
signal cabin two lamps as before, one red and one green and these lamps are
connected alternately in series with the signal lamps through the switch attached
to the balance lever on the signal to the return. There is no switch attached
to the signal lever, but there is a switch attached to the balance lever on the
signal.
The action of our apparatus is as follows:-
"
The signal lever in the cabin having been pulled to the "all right" or "line
clear" position, if the lamps at the signal posts are alight a green light will be
visible in the signal cabin, on the other hand, if the signal lever is in the "danger
position and the balance lever at the signal post is in the "danger" position, that
is, showing the red light on the signal post, a red light will be visible in the
signal cabin.
It is obvious that if for any reason the lamps on the signal post are extinguished
no light will be visible in the signal cabin. We therefore get a distinct indication,
first, that the lamps on the signal post are alight, and secondly, we get a distinct
indication as to the position of the signal.
Dated this 7th day of May 1894.
JOHN P. O'DONNELL,
70 & 71, Palace Chambers, Westminster, London, S.W.,
Agent for the said Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Repeating Railway Signal Lamps.
We, BASIL MOTT of 20, Union Road, Clapham, London, S.W., Civil Engineer,
and PETER VALENTINE MCMAHON of 195, Clapham Road, London, S. W., Civil
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 :-
Our invention relates to an improved method of indicating or recording the
position of a signal and the condition of the signal lamp, whether in or out, the
record being given in the signal cabin.
Our invention is more especially applicable to cases where the signal lamps
are lit by electricity.
In carrying out our invention we provide a switch arranged in a convenient
position on the signal lever in the cabin and we also provide another switch on
or attached to the balance lever operating on the signal post.
We also provide in the signal cabin an indicator having a number of lamps
equal to the number of indications required, that is to say, if the signal is a
two position signal there will be two lamps provided in the indicator, or if a
three position signal there will be three.
For the purposes of description we will assume that the operated signal is a
two position signal, "danger" and "clear." There will, therefore, be two lights in
the indicator in the signal cabin, one red and one green.
In order that our invention may be better understood and more readily carried
into effect we will describe the drawing hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is a diagram of the connections with the lever in the signal cabin in
elevation and the signal with the lamps in elevation. This diagram is the one-wire
system suitable where electricity is used as the motive power of the railway or a
supply is easily obtainable for lighting the signal lamps.
Figure 2 is a diagram of our invention where a supply of electricity is not easily
obtainable at the signal post.
The same letters refer to the same or similar parts in the different figures.
In Figure 1, a is the operating lever in the signal cabin, a is a downright
connection; attached to the downright connection is a clip a², b is the upper contact
spring and c the lower contact spring adjacent to the operating lever; d is a source
of electricity, e is a contact piece adjacent to the contact spring c, f is a contact
adjacent to the contact spring b, g is a wire from the contact to the source d, his
the wire from the contact to earth h. c is a wire from the lower lever contact c
to the "danger" indication in the repeater i in the signal cabin. is a wire
from the contact piece to the "all right" or "clear" indication in the
repeater i. j and are the "danger" and "clear" indications in the repeater in
the signal cabin. I is a two way switch provided that if the electric lamp gets
damaged or fails the switch may be moved to bring the other electric signal lamp
(through the wire marked o) into operation to serve the purpose of repeating the
signal. The wire m continues from the two way switch through the lamp on the
signal post down the post to two similar contacts on the post to those described at
the lever. p is the clip preferably fixed on the upright rod to the signal arm.
and are contact springs operated according to the position of the arm, switching
in the red or green light in the indicator at the cabin according to the movement
of the balance lever. s is a contact connected by wire s to the source of
electricity 2, t is a contact piece connected to wire t¹ and to earth t².
Figure 2 illustrates our invention when there is not a supply of electricity at the
signal. In this figure contacts are not provided at the operating lever.

page_text: A separate indication is given in the repeater in the signal cabin of green
nd red which corresponds to the movement of the balance lever on the signal
ost, that is, to the "clear" and "danger" positions; there are two lamps at
he signal which alternately give a common light behind the spectacle for both
the "danger
" and "clear" positions, the different signals appearing through the
glasses of a red and green spectacle.
In the diagram, Fig. 1, the current is flowing through the lamp indicating the
"danger" position of the signal, that is to say, starting at the source of electricity d,
with the lever a in the normal position, the current is flowing along the wire g,
through contact spring c, wire c', light indicator in cabin, wire m, through the
lamp at the signal, along wire m to lower contact spring, through wire and from
earth t² to source d, thus completing the circuit. When the lever is moved over
deflecting the arm to the " safety or "clear" attitude the clip a' on the down-
right rod a is moved from the lower contact spring e to the upper contact spring b
forcing that contact into connection with the contact fand a similar action takes
place at the signal post the clip p leaving the lower contact spring and forcing
The current is now
the upper contact spring 7 into connection with contact s.
flowing from the source s, through wires, contact piece s, contact spring, wire m,
"all right or "clear indicator k at cabin, wire b', contact spring b, wire hand
earth, thence to the negative pole of the sources completing the circuit.
"
"
"
In Figure 2, the balance lever moving to deflect the signal to the "safety
attitude releases the lower contact spring from the contact and forces the upper
contact spring on to the other contact switching out one circuit and completing
the other, indicating at the repeater at the cabin the green or
"clear" signal.
When the signal is in the normal position and the lower contact spring is
pressing against the contact, completing the circuit for that position, the red or
upper indicator in the cabin indicates the "danger position.
"
A further advantage with our invention (whether applied as in Figures 1 or 2)
would be that should the signal "hang up," ie., the arm fail to go to the extreme
position of either "danger" or "clear" both contacts at the post would be
broken and consequently no visual signal exhibited through the lamp on the
post or in the repeater in the cabin, thus promptly calling attention to the failure
of the arm to move to the proper position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:
1. In railway signalling, arranging that while the operating lever is in its
normal position it completes a circuit through an indicator in the signal cabin
and the signal lamp at the post indicating in the cabin a "danger" signal, and
on the movement of the operating lever to the worked position another circuit
is completed so that the indicator in the cabin indicates an "all right" or
"clear
signal, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying
drawing.
2. In railway signalling, arranging that while the balance lever or connection on
the signal post is in its normal position it completes an electric circuit through an
indicator in the signal cabin indicating there a "danger" signal, and on the
movement of the balance lever or connection on the signal post to the worked
position another circuit is completed so that the indicator in the cabin indicates
an "all right" or "clear" signal, substantially as described with reference to the
accompanying drawing.
3. In railway signalling, arranging that while the operating lever in the signal
cabin and the balance lever or connections at the signal post are in their normal
position an electric circuit completed through an indicator in the signal cabin
and the lamp at the signal post indicating in the cabin a danger" signal, and on
the movement of the operating lever in the cabin and the balance lever or
connections at the post to the worked position, another circuit is completed so
"

page_text: that the indicator in the cabin indicates an
"
"all right' or "clear" signal,
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
"
4. In railway signalling, arranging that, should the signal fail to go to the
extreme position of either "danger or clear," both contacts at the post would
be broken and both the signal light and the light in the repeater in the cabin
become extinguished, substantially as described.
Dated this 7th day of February 1895.
JOHN P. O'DONNELL,
70 & 71, Palace Chambers, Westminster, S.W.,
Agent for the said Applicants.