Improvements in and relating to Railway Signalling.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Sept., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 30th June, 1899-Accepted, 2nd Sept.,
1899
Improvements in and relating to Railway Signalling.
I, HENRY WILLIAMS, of the Railway Appliances Works, Cathcart, Renfrew-
shire, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows: --
This invention has reference to improvements in and relating to railway sig-
nalling, and has essentially for its object to minimise the number of levers
required in the signal cabins for operating and interlocking the home or distant
signals.
According to my improvements I secure a box or housing frame below or in
the lower part of the signal cabin, and in spaced guides through this box four
sliding bars are fitted to work. Two of these bars are connected to the hand levers
working the main line home signal and the lever working the main line to
branch signal respectively, while the other two bars are connected at their one
ends to the wire connecting main line distant signal, and the wire connecting
the branch distant signal respectively, while their opposite ends are coupled
together by a connecting chain passing round a guide pulley, said pulley being
carried in a forked frame connected up to the cabin lever which works the distant
signals, both distant signals being operated by this one lever. In this box or
housing frame I fit a plate to slide at right angles to that of the movement of
the sliding bars and to this sliding plate I secure two locking plates each formed
with a series of serrated teeth or projections on opposite faces to engage into
corresponding spaces or recesses in either of the sliding bars for the home or the
distant signals.
In working this arrangement, say the hand lever for working the main lino
to branch signal is operated, the pulling up of the sliding bar connected to this
lever will with its plain surface passing the serrated teeth of the locking plates
press the latter into locking contact with the serrations in the sliding bar of
the lever working the main line home signal, and the same motion will slide the
carrying plate along and press the other serrated plate into interlocking contact
with the main line distant signal, so that when the leyer working the distant
signals is operated, the branch line distant signal only can be moved In like
manner when the lever working main line home signal is operated the bars of the
lever working main line to branch home signal, and the branch distant signal
are interlocked by the respective serrated plates..
In working three distant signals with one hand lever, one chain would connect
these by passing up over suspended guide pulleys and then under a guide pulley
over the intermediate sliding bar, the suspended pulleys being connected by a
loop chain or rod coupled to the single operating lever, and in like manner any
desired number of distant signals can be operated by the one lever.
By this arrangement the signals can be operated and interlocked for trains
running or shunting in the same or in opposite directions, such as siding and
back-over signals.

page_text: The improved devices can be located and worked horizontally as well as
vertically.
In applying this method for compensating work to keep the signal wires in per-
fect adjustment with the usual lever operating apparatus, the sliding bars and
the interlocking plates would be formed with a greater number. of. serrations than
for interlocking the signals, and the sliding bars be coupled together by a chain
passing over a guide pulley at their one end while the signal wires connected to
their other ends would be coupled to counterbalance lever weights so as to pull
up and keep in adjustment the slack of wire from signals.
Dated the 29th day of September 1898.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.
Improvements in and relating to Railway Signalling.
I, HENRY WILLIAMS, of the Railway Appliances Works, Cathcart, Renfrew-
shire, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement in writing, that is to say:-
This invention has reference to improvements in and relating to railway sig-
nalling, and has essentially for its object to minimise the number of levers
required in the signal cabins for operating and interlocking signals.
And in order that my said invention and the manner of carrying same into
practice may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a sheet of
explanatory drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of housing frame
with the cover removed to show the sliding bars and locking fittings in accord-
ance with my improvements.
Figure 1 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 1. Figure 2
is a corresponding end section taken on the line 2-2, and Figure 3 a section
taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a front elevation corresponding
to and in substitution for the sliding devices shown on the right hand side of
Figure 1. While Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing an arrangement
for working three signals with one hand lever.
Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of these drawings:-
-
According to my improvements I secure a box or housing frame A below or
in the lower part of the signal cabin, and in spaced guides through this box,
three, four or more sliding bars are fitted to work four a a and a al being shown
in Figure 1. One of the bars a is connected to the hand levers working the
main line home signal and the other bar a' is connected to the lever working the
main line to branch signal and points; while the other two bars a a are connected
at their one ends to the wire b connecting main line distant signal, and the wire b
connecting the branch distant signal respectively, while their opposite ends are
coupled together by a connecting chain c passing round a guide pulley c¹, said
pulley being carried in a forked frame connected up to the cabin lever which
works the distant signal, both distant signals being operated by this one
lever. In this box or housing trame AI fit a plate d to slide at right
angles to that of the movement of the sliding bars a a¹ and to this sliding
plate I secure two locking plates cach formed with a series of serrated
teeth or projections on opposite faces to engage into corresponding spaces or
recesses in either of the sliding bars a or al for the home or the distant signals.
In working this arrangement, say the hand lever for working the main line to

page_text: branch signal is operated, the pulling up of the sliding bar a connected to this
lever will with its plain surface passing the serrated teeth of the locking plates d
press the latter into locking contact with the serrations in the other sliding bar a
of the lever working the main line home signal, and the same motion will slide
the carrying plate along and press the other serrated plate d into interlocking
contact with the bar a of the main line distant signal, so that when the lever
working the distant signals is operated, the branch line distant signal only will
be moved. In like manner when the lever working main line home signal is
operated the bars a of the lever working main line to branch home signal, and
the branch distant signal are interlocked by the respective serrated plates d.
In working three distant signals with one hand lever as shown in Figure 5, the
chain c would be connected at its ends to the outside sliding bars a and pass up
over suspended guide pulleys c¹ and then under a guide pulley which is attached
to the intermediate sliding bar a, the suspended pulleys being connected by a
loop chain or rod coupled to the single operating lever; and in like manner any
desired number of distant signals can be operated by the one lever. In this case
the locking would be effected by the serrated plates 1, 3, the plates being
connecting to one sliding plate d, and the serrated plates to a similar sliding
bar.
By this arrangement the signals can be operated and interlocked for trains
running or shunting in the same directions such as siding and back-over signals.
In some cases, such as used in back over sidings, the right hand half of
Figure 1, that is the bars a¹, a', are dispensed with, and the device shown in
Figure 4 substituted therefor. In this arrangement the bar a¹ is provided with
a slot a² for moving the plate d by operating on the pin secured to same.
plate d is welded or secured to the plate d on the left hand side of Figure 1, and
so operates the plate . In other respects the arrangement is the same as that
described in reference to Figure 1.
The
The improved devices can be located and worked horizontally as well as
vertically.
In applying this method for compensating work to keep the signal wires in
perfect adjustment with the usual lever operating apparatus, as shown in Figure 6
the sliding bar a¹ is used as in Figure 4, and the bar a connected to the signal
wire has no teeth while the bar a connected to the weight e and the interlocking
plate would be formed with a greater number of serrations than for interlocking
the signals, and the sliding bars a are coupled together by a chain passing over a
guide pulley at their one end while their other ends are connected to the distant
signal wire b and to a counterbalance weight e respectively.
The locking is effected by the serrated plate & which is attached to the sliding
plate d, the latter being operated by the pin .
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
First. In railway signalling, the arrangement in combination of sliding bars and
plates with their connections for minimising the number of levers required for
operating and interlocking signals, substantially as herein described in reference
to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
2. A signal wire compensator having sliding bars and plates and connections,
substantially as herein described in reference to Figure 6 of the accompanying
drawings.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.