IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF RAILWAY TRAINS, AND PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING THE DOORS OF CARRIAGES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Wyatt, of Slapton, in the County of
Devon, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SIGNALLING
BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF RAILWAY TRAINS, AND
PARTLY
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Wyatt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd December 1873.
I, JOHN WYATT, of Slapton, in the County of Devon, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
SIGNALLING BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF RAILWAY TRAINS, AND PARTLY
APPLICABLE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING THE DOORS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES," to be
as follows:-
==
My Invention relates to improved communicating apparatus, whereby
a signal or alarm may be given by a passenger in a railway train to the
guard or driver, or from the guard to the driver, part of the said
apparatus being also applicable for opening or closing the doors of
railway carriages.

page_text: if the signal proceeded from a passenger, to enable the engine driver to
distinguish the guard's signal from that of a passenger.
The automatic coupling is also applicable in apparatus for opening
and closing the doors of railway carriages from the guard's van. This
apparatus would consist of shafts on each carriage, from which the doors
are opened by means of racks and pinions, the shafts being connected at
their ends by the automatic or prong couplings in order to transmit the
rotation of the shafts throughout the train.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Wyatt in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd June 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WYATT, of Slapton, in the County of Devon, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Wyatt, Her special'
licence that I, the said John Wyatt, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Wyatt, 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 "IMPROVED Apparatus
FOR SIGNALLING BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF RAILWAY TRAINS, AND PARTLY
APPLICABLE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING THE DOORS OF RAILWAY CARRIAGES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Wyatt, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, 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. _

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Wyatt, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) -
My Invention relates to improved communicating apparatus for
railway trains, whereby a signal or alarm may be conveyed from a
passenger to the guard and driver, or from the guard to the driver.
Part of the said apparatus is also applicable for enabling the guard to
open or close the whole of the doors of the train of carriages simul-
taneously and without leaving the van.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood, I have
illustrated the apparatus in the accompanying Drawings as applied to a
railway carriage, of which Figure 1 shows in outline a longitudinal
section, and Figure 2 a plan; whilst Figure 3 and 5 show details.
•
The communicating apparatus consists of a series of rods a along the
roof of each carriage mounted in bearings b, and coupled at the
extremities to that of each of the adjacent carriages by a particular
form of coupling c, which I term an automatic fork coupling, so as to
form a continuous line of shafting throughout the train. At either
extremity is a gong with suitable mechanism (as shown detached in
Figure 3) operated by the rotation of the shafting, to call the attention
of the engine driver and guard. The shafting a along each carriage is
made in several lengths, connected together by universal joints d, in
order to permit of its deviation from the straight line, which is rendered
necessary to avoid the lamps (usually placed in the centre of the
roof), and on account of the irregularity in the height of the several
carriages, the couplings c being of necessity placed in the centre line of
the carriages, in order that they may be coupled indiscriminately in
making up the train. These couplings each consist of a fork c composed
of four prongs (more or less) projecting from a cross piece attached to
the extremity of a rod e. This rod or stem e.projects beyond the end of
the carriage, and is fitted to slide in a tube or socket f containing a
spring g, and mounted in bearings h and h¹ on the roof of the carriage.
The tube is connected to the shafting a by a universal joint d, as
shown. The stem e and the part off as far as bearing h in which the

page_text: stem e slides is made of square or other suitable form, so that the two
parts shall turn together, and the bearing his supported on a vertical
flexible stem i fixed at its lower end in a shifting clamp bolted against
the end of the carriage, and in the centre thereof. The object of
carrying bearing on this flexible support is to admit of the unavoidable
oscillation of the carriages without straining the couplings or shafting.
For this purpose, the bearing h¹ may be pivoted on the carriage roof, and
springs may be placed on opposite sides of the stem i, in such manner
that they will always tend to return tube f to the central position.
Bearings h, h, are also made adjustable vertically, to suit the varying
height of the carriages.
When the carriages are coupled together their couplings interlock
with one another, and are maintained in connection by the springs 9,
which are partly compressed in their tubes f. Thus arranged, upon
rotary motion being imparted to the shaft upon any one of the carriages,
it will be transmitted along the train in both directions, and sound the
gong on the engine as well as that in the guard's van.
Figure 3 shows a detached view of the gong or bell as fitted in
guard's van. k, bell; k¹, k¹, hammers, one at either side, and whose
stems are bent, as shown, and knuckle jointed at /² to a tail piece /³,
which is acted on by studs carried on a disc keyed on the extremity of
the line of shafting a, one or other of the hammers being actuated
according to the direction in which the shafting is rotated; is the
hammer spring; and 2 are studs, against which the hammer stems
abut.
Any other suitable arrangement of bell mechanism may however be
adopted..
To enable any passenger to rotate the shafting a and sound the alarm
a hand lever mis pendant in each compartment. This hand lever is
hung on the shafting a, and is provided with a pawl m¹ which engages
with a toothed wheel n keyed on shaft a, and causes the same to rotate
as the hand lever is. oscillated to and fro. The pawl m¹ is so made that
by turning it over the motion of the shafting will be reversed. o is a
signal, which is caused by the working to and fro of the hand lever m to
project from the side or roof of the carriage to indicate the compartment
whence the alarm proceeded. The signal is attached to a rack rod

page_text: by a pawl o¹ on the hand lever m.
As any lever may be worked without affecting the others, only one
signal will be exhibited. The signal consists of a disc and a lamp for
day and night use respectively, and until projected by the working of.
the hand lever m the signal is withdrawn into a recess in the side of the
carriage.
To enable the shafting to be rotated by the guard to give the alarm to
the engine driver, I prefer to provide a winch handle arrangement,
which I have also illustrated in Figure 1. By this means the bell may
be sounded more rapidly than if the signal proceeded from a passenger,
in order to distinguish the one from the other. p is the winch handle
fixed on a spindle mounted in bearings against the partition of the
carriage carrying a face wheel q, which is made adjustable so as to be
geared when required to give an alarm with a spur wheel r keyed on
the shafting a. This arrangement may also be used in lieu of the
pendant hand lever m before described, for operating the shafting a and
giving the alarm from each passenger compartment. q¹ are pins at back
of wheel q, which serve to move catch q² back at top to unlatch a signal
disc q³ hinged to top of carriage, and raised by a spring when released;
q' is a flat steel spring serving to keep catch q³ at one place, except
when wheel q is turned, whereupon pins q¹ press against and move the
tail of catch q2 (which is pivoted at its centre), and cause it to to move
back and release the signal; s is a half circle fixed to the partition, from
which it springs outward at the upper part the distance required for
wheel to shift in order to disconnect it from wheel r. When the wheel q
is out of gear wheel r is free to rotate when the shafting is operated
from any other compartment, so that each compartment is independant
of the rest, and the guard and driver may communicate without affecting
the gear in the passenger compartments.
Figure 4 shows another arrangement of apparatus for operating the
shafting a, which may be used in lieu of the hand levers m, or the
winch handle arrangement last described. In this case the shafting a is
operated when required from the rotating wheel axle of the carriage.
t is a vertical shaft mounted in bearings in the carriage frame. At the
lower end of this shaft is a worm wheel t, which is made to gear when
required with a worm u on the wheel axle u¹... t is another worm at

page_text: upper end of shaft t, which is also made to gear when required with a
worm wheel on shafting a. The shaft is capable of being slid
vertically in order to disconnect it from the wheel axle u', and from the
shafting a. 3 is a handle at top of shaft t, by which to lift it out of
gear. The shaft t is is sustained in this its normal position by a bolt x
passing through a hole in said shaft. This pin is connected to a lever x¹
mounted on roof of carriage, and attached to a signal arm w pivoted on
the carriage roof, and provided with a handle w¹, which passing down
through a slit, in the roof alone is visible in the carriage. To give the
alarm, it is merely necessary to pull down handle w', which causes
signal arm to stand up on the carriage roof, and at same time withdraws
pin x, releasing shaft t, which immediately drops into gear with worm u
and wheel v, and so transmits motion from axle u¹ to shafting a, and so
sounds the bell in the guard's van and on the engine. y is an upright
fixed on carriage roof, provided with a notch or a tooth y¹, with which a
catch z jointed a 2¹ to a collar z² loose on shaft a engages. The catch z
is forked at the extremity and embraces upright y; the object of this
catch z being to prevent shaft t rising when the motion of axle u¹ is
reversed.
Figure 5 shows a modified arrangement, in which shafts a and t are
connected by bevel gearing instead of by the worm and wheel above
described. 1 is a bevel wheel keyed on shaft a, and 2 is a second bevel
wheel placed loose on shaft t, these two wheels being always in gear.
When this shaft t is released by drawing out bolt x, as before described,
the shaft drops until a cross pin 3 in the top of the shaft comes down
upon wheel 2, and finds its way into a corresponding groove or recess
therein, and causes the whole of the parts to rotate together.
The automatic fork coupling e before described is also applicable in
apparatus for opening and closing the doors of railway carriages from the
guard's van. This apparatus, which is shown in plan in Figure 6, would
consist of a line of shafting 5 along each side of every carriage, mounted
in bearings and provided with universal joints, if necessary, on account
of the variation in height of carriages. From this shafting the doors 6
are opened by means of racks and pinions, or by a worm 7 and toothed
sector 8 carrying an arm 9, connected with door 6 by a link 10, the
shafting being. connected between the carriages by the fork coupling
constructed as before described (or modified as shown in Fig. 7), in
order to transmit the rotation of the shafts thoughout the train.

page_text: In Figure 7 one half of the coupling has instead of prongs a T shaped
extremity, which engages with the prongs of the other half of the
coupling.
The shafting is rotated by the guard by means of a suitable winch
handle, or by causing a vertical shaft to gear by worm and wheel with
wheel axle, and also with the shafting on the roof of carriage, as
described in reference to the signalling apparatus.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. The employment in apparatus for signalling between the different
parts of railway trains, and for opening and closing the doors of railway
carriages, of the spring forked couplings constructed, arranged, and
applied substantially as herein shown and described for the purpose
specified.
2ndly. The employment of a line of shafting provided with universal
joints, and connected between the carriages by the automatic forked
couplings, for causing a bell or other audible signal to be sounded by the
rotation of the shaft, all substantially as set forth.
3rdly. The several arrangements of mechanism for imparting rotary
motion to the shafting, constructed and operated substantially as herein
shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Wyatt, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
JOHN WYATT. (L.S.)