Improvements in and Apparatus for Railway Signalling.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left. 14th Apr., 1890-Accepted. 17th May. 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Apparatus for Railway Signalling.
I, JOHN WHITEHEAD of 233 Bury Road, Tottington near Bury in the County of
Lancaster, Insurance Agent do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to be as
follows
As a substitute for fog-signalling and for general signalling purposes I employ an
inclined plate rail or its equivalent hinged to the sleeper of the permanent way at one
extremity and the other connected to an arın branching from a rod capable of
oscillating in suitable bearings. A constant tendency is given to this rod to turn in
one direction by a weight affixed to one arm of a bell crank lever-the other arm of
which is connected by a wire to the same rod or lover which operates the ordinary
semaphore and lamp signals.
The inclined plate may be situated between the lines of rail or at either side
thereof.
I thus provide a gradually sloping projection in the permanent way which may
be raised from the signal box and thus be used for conveying the desired signal
to the driver or other official upon the engine or other part of the train to which the
signal is to be conveyed.
This signal may be either a sonorous indication or a visible one or a combination of
the two.
In carrying out my invention I employ a rod by preference depending from the
engine and having a wheel at its lowest extremity designed to roll over the aforesaid
projection and which rod in doing so is caused to rise and thus by suitable mechanism
1 arrange either that the raising of the said rod shall set an electric bell ringing and
which shall continue to sound until it is stopped-thus-giving a sonorous indication
or to raise and set in motion an arm or its equivalent to give a visible indication
of passing over the projection. Instead of an electric bell a mechanical bell a
pneumatic bell or a communication with a steam whistle or its equivalent or
combination of one or more of these signals may be substituted to give the sonorous
indication.
a
In this manner I am enabled to dispense with placing fog signals upon a line
of rails and to provide an additional safeguard to the semaphore signal or coloured
lights now.used.
At sidings and other parts where shunting takes place the sloping projection may be
arranged when raised to incline in both directions and thus will act which ever way
the train is running.
Instead of the sloping projection being on the permanent way it may be on the
bottom of the engine and the wheel be mounted on a rod on the permanent way
capable of being raised from the signal box.
nw1 011
1000
JOHN G. WILSON.
Patent Office, 55, Market Street, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Apparatus for Railway Signalling.
1 JOHN WHITEHEAD of 233 Bury Road Tottington, near Bury in the County of
Lancaster, Insurance Agent, 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 :-
As a substitute for detonating fog signals for general signalling purposes or as an

page_text: auxiliary to the ordinary railway signalling apparatus I provide a gradually sloping
projection in the permanent way which may be raised from the signal box and so be
used for conveying the desired signal to the driver or other official whilst actually
upon the engine or other part of the train to which the signal is to be conveyed.
On the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 represents a side view and Fig. 2 a plan view
of a length of railway line having my improved signalling apparatus applied showing the
parts, in position for acting upon the passing train (the semaphore signal being at
danger). Fig. 3 represents a side view of the same apparatus shewn in its normal or
inactive position.
Fig. 4 is a side view and Fig. 5 an end view of a locomotive having the other part
of my invention applied Fig. 6 is a front view Fig. 7 a side view and Fig. 8 a plan
view (all on an enlarged scale) of detailed parts of Figs. 4 and 5.
In carrying out my invention I employ an inclined rail a or its equivalent hinged
to the sleeper of the permanent way at one extremity and having a slot al at the
other connected to an arm c branching from a rod d capable of oscillating in suitable
bearings e e. A constant tendency is given to this rod to turn in the direction of the
arrow (see Fig. 2) by a weight faffixed at the extremity of an arm f¹ whilst another
arin on the same rod is connected to the wire or rod g which operates the ordinary
semaphore and lamp signals. The inclined rail a may be situated between the lines
of rails as illustrated or at either side thereof.
I thus provide a gradually sloping projection in the permanent way which may be
raised from the signal box to the position indicated in Fig. 1.-and where it becomes
locked by the extremity of the arm c having passed over the centre of oscillation
of the rod d-and so be used for conveying the desired signal to the driver or other
official upon the engine or other part of the train to which the signal is to he
conveyed.
In Figs. 9 and 10 I illustrate similar side views and in Fig. 11 a plan view of an
alternative arrangement in which the raising of the inclined rail a is effected by a
toothed segment b upon the oscillating rod d gearing into a pinion
intermediate cranked rod e see enlarged side and front views Figs. 12 and 13. This
rod e carries the arm connected to the slotted extremity of the inclined rail.
c upon an
In this manner I obtain a multiplication of the movement of the oscillating rod
so as to operate the rail by a pull of only half the extent of that required in the
apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1-3.
It now remains to describe how the signal is conveyed to the passing train.
This signal may be either a sonorous indication or a visible one or a combination of
the two.
As a sonorous signal applied to the engine as illustrated in Fig. 4 to 8 I employ
a slide i by preference sliding in slotted brackets ; depending from the under side
of the engine. This slide i has a wheel mounted at its lowest extremity designed
to come in contact with and to roll over the projection a (when raised as herein-
before described) and in doing so such slide is caused to rise vertically in its brackets.
Resting upon the top extremity of the same slide and capable of sliding up and down in
the guiding socket is a loose rod 7 whilst by the rising of the slide the rod is
lifted within the jaws of a spring clamp m kept constantly closed by means of spiral
or other suitable spring n as indicated in Fig. 8.
The loose rod so raised remains suspended in the jaws of the clamp m until it is
released by pushing down the rod (p) depending from the lever (g) and which is
conveniently effected from the engine platform by having a rod carried up from
the other arm of the same lever and connected to a releasing lever s or the rod r may
be raised in any other convenient manner.
In some cases I affix the rod to the slide i.
It will now be apparent by having an electric bell disposed on any convenient part
of the engine and say the positive wire of the battery connected to the spring clamp m
and the negative wire connected to the said socket t (which should be properly
insulated say by the intervening wooden block o from the clamp m) that the raising
of the rod into electrical contact with the hinged clamp m will complete the electric

page_text: circuit and so the bell will be set ringing and continue to sound until it is stopped
thus giving a continued sonorous indication of having passed the signal post.
Or the raising of the slide i may be used to set in motion an arm or its equivalent
to give a visible indication of passing over the raised projection. Instead of an
electric bell, a mechanical bell, a pneumatic bell or a communication with a steam
whistle or its equivalent or a combination of one or more of these signals, may be
substituted to give the sonorous indication.
Although herein before described and illustrated as applied to the engine it will be
obvious that the signal may be conveyed to the guards van or any other part of
the train. By means of this invention I am enabled to dispense with placing fog
signals upon a line of rails and provide an additional safeguard to the semaphore signal
or coloured lights now used.
At sidings and other parts where shunting takes place the sloping projection may
be arranged in two parts jointed in the centre as illustrated in the drawings so as
when raised to form an incline in both directions and which incline will thus act in
whatever way the train is moving.
Instead of the sloping projection being on the permanent way it may be arranged
on the bottom of the engine and the wheel be mounted on a rod on the permanent way
capable of being raised from the signal box.
I wish it to be distinctly understood that I am aware of an inclined rail having
previously been applied within or alongside the permanent way for operating a signal
for instance to sound a whistle upon a passing locomotive and hence I make no claim
broadly to such a combination of signalling apparatus.
Having thus 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 :-
1st. The combination and arrangement of apparatus, for signalling to a passing
train and consisting of the inclined rail provided with a slot to which the
extremity of an arm branching from an oscillating rod or shaft or from an inter-
mediate shaft in communication with the semaphore signal is so coupled that by the
releasing of the semaphore signalling lever the said rail is raised and locked in its
highest position whilst when such lever is "pulled over" the inclined rail and sema-
phore fall simultaneously substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated on the
accompanying drawing.
2nd. The combination and arrangement of mechanism carried by the engine or
other part of the train and adapted to come in contact with an inclined rail (mounted
in the permanent way) when raised and locked in position for giving a sonorous
indication of having passed the said inclined rail substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated on the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 11th day of April 1890
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Office, 55, Market Street, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.