IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN PASSENGERS AND DRIVERS OF RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles George Shone and
Richard Walker at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 15th February 1875.
We, CHARLES GEORGE SHONE and RICHARD WALKER, both of
Southall, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING
BETWEEN PASSENGERS AND DRIVERS OF RAILWAY TRAINS," to be as follows:-
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This Invention has for its object the production of simple and
comparatively inexpensive apparatus for signalling or communicating
between passengers and drivers of railway trains, and consists in fixing
to the frame or lower part of each carriage two pipes (by preference
iron gas tubing) near to each other, and connecting them together by
a cross piece of pipe having a cock or valve inserted therein. To the
cock or valve a wheel or lever is fastened, and to the wheel or lever a
cord or cords are attached, the ends of the said cords terminating in each
compartment of a carriage and accessible to the passengers. At both
ends of each carriage the pipes or tubes are made to project, and are
each provided with a cock, having fixed thereto a lever common to both,

page_text: so that upon raising or lowering the lever both cocks may be opened or
closed. The connectors for coupling the pipes between any two carriages
are made of flexible tubing furnished with sockets at the ends which
slide on to the spigot ends of the cocks, and are retained there by means
of the lever of the cock, which takes into a recess provided for the
purpose, a close joint being formed by india-rubber or other washers
placed between the sockets and flanged spigots.
Attached to the engine is a small air pump and chamber furnished
with a safety valve and pressure guage, and to this chamber is connected
the end of one of the pipes before mentioned, the other pipe being
connected to a whistle on the engine.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When a train is being made
up connectors are placed between each carriage and attached thereto
as before explained, the action of attaching being made to open each cock.
When all the connectors are properly fixed and the tubes placed
in communication with the air chamber the engine will on starting
commence to fill the air chamber with compressed air, and will continue
to do so so long as it is in motion, producing no perceptible effect
beyond that indicated by the pressure guage; but on any occurrence
taking place necessitating a communication from the passenger to the
driver the former will pull the cord, which acting through bell cranks
or other similar contrivance will open the cock connecting the two
pipes together, when the air circuit will be completed, and the whistle
on the engine sounded, the sound being continued until the train is
stopped. Should a carriage by accident break away the loss of pressure
would be immediately indicated on the pressure guage, and attract the
attention of the driver.
In the case of slip carriages, a cord is attached to the lever of the cocks
of the carriage in advance, and on being pulled by the guard will shut
the cocks and release the connector from the adjoining carriage, when
the train will proceed without opening the air circuit or causing the
pressure guage to fall.