Iм- PROVEMENTS IN EFFECTING COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE GUARD AND ENGINE DRIVER, OR BETWEEN THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A RAILWAY TRAIN
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Caleb Hardy at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th October 1855.
I, CALEB HARDY, of Carstairs, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engine Driver, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN EFFECTING COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE GUARD AND ENGINE
DRIVER, OR BETWEEN THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A RAILWAY TRAIN," to be as follows,
that is to say:-
This Invention relates to apparatus for communicating orders or messages
between the different parts of a railway train, with the view of avoiding the
many accidents attributable to the want of such a means of communication.
This apparatus consists simply of a system of tubing fitted to the carriages,
and provided with suitable mouth-pieces, to be used in the same manner as the
speaking tubes in common use in offices and other buildings. There are
various ways of arranging the system of tubing; but according to one modi-
fication it is proposed to attach a tube of gutta percha or other suitable
material along the under side of the framing of each carriage, the tube
projecting a sufficient distance from each end of the carriage for it to be
coupled to the tube of an adjacent carriage. Short pieces of india-rubber or
other flexible tubing may be inserted in the projecting portions of the tube, to
enable it to be bent to suit the varying length between the carriages, and any
convenient coupling joint may be used, such as the ordinary screw joint used
by gas fitters. The tubing may be fitted with any of the various kinds of

page_text: valvular mechanism in use in offices and other buildings in the like apparatus.
The tender is provided with a tube arranged to communicate with the tubing
of the carriages, and the front end of this tube is brought up near the station
of the engine driver, so as the more easily to attract his attention; & when
not in use the mouth of this end of the tube may be stopped by a small whistle,
which will be sounded by the guard by blowing through the tubing when he
is about to make a communication. The guard's mouth-piece may also be
stopped in the same way. Branch tubes may be fitted at any convenient points
along the main tubes, these branches communicating with the interiors of the
carriages, so that passengers can communicate with the guard or engine driver.
These branches must be fitted with stop-cocks or valves to shut them off from
the main tube when not in use, and similar stop-cocks or valves must be fitted
upon the main tube at the various branches. Thus, when a passenger wishes
to communicate with a guard behind him in the train, he shuts off the stop-
cock in the main tube on the front side of the branch & opens the stop-cock
of the branch. If, however, the message is to be sent forward, the main tube
stop-cock in the rear of the branch must be shut, whilst that in front must be
open. When the train of carriages is very long there are usually two or more
guard vans, in which case, if it is necessary to send a message from one end of
the train to the other, it may be done in two or more lengths, the hindmost
guard communicating with the one next him, and the latter sending the
message forward.