IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF AND IN SIGNALLING ON RAILWAYS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hunter, of Greenwich, in the County of
Kent, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PERMANENT
WAY OF AND IN SIGNALLING ON RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 9th April 1868, and dated the 21st October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hunter at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
21st October 1867.
I, JOHN HUNTER, of Greenwich, in the County of Kent, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PERMANENT WAY OF AND IN SIGNALLING ON RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
The improvements in the permanent way of railways have reference to
means for securing the rails in the chairs, sleepers, or other bearings.
In place of the ordinary wooden wedges or keys used in securing the rails
in their chairs, and which from various causes soon cease to be efficient, I
employ plates, bars, or pauls, as indicated by the plan and edge view of parts,
Figures 1 and 2; the lower or outer surface b₁ of each of these pauls b is
curved to turn as a knuckle joint in a correspondingly curved surface formed
in the chair a, whilst the upper or inner surface b³ is formed to lie against the
side of the rail between the flanges and against the flange for the time upper-
most, thereby taking the bearing and holding the rail with increased force in
proportion to the weight put on it. Each plate or paul bhas also a lug b³
formed in it adapted to pass into a corresponding recess formed for it in the
[Price 8d.]

page_text: chair or other bearing to prevent the bar or paul slipping out until the rail is
raised out of its place.
The sleepers or chairs may be increased in width to act at the joints of
rails either directly on the rails, as shown by Figures 3 and 4, or on fish
plates c placed between the pawls and the rails, as shown by Figures 5 and 6,
and in place of lugs pins or bolts d or other fastenings may be used. By
these means considerable elasticity may be obtained to the rails with facility
for readily and safely using either head or edge of double-headed or edged
rails.
Another improvement relates to rendering the ordinary fish plates secure.
For this purpose I employ to each connecting screw a cup and washer formed
to admit of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable elastic material as a
ring or washer being inserted between the cup and washer, so that when the
washer is pressed down to give more or less elasticity to the parts.
At tunnels and other places where it may be desirable to obtain an indica-
tion of a train having passed a certain distance in advance I apply or fix a
lever by means of a chair or bracket in position to be acted upon by a wheel
or other part of a passing engine or carriage to compress that lever which is
attached by means of a wire rope or otherwise to another lever fixed at the
desired distance. These levers act through connecting rods, cranks, or
quadrants for setting signals to indicate danger at both ends until the engine
or carriage has acted upon the second lever, when the signals will be set at
both ends to indicate that all is clear.
For signalling on railways as a medium of communication between the
guard and engine driver I apply a small air vessel with compressed air, and
attached thereto a whistle or other suitable sounding instrument, so that by
opening a cock it will cause a sound to be produced similar to the ordinary
steam whistle, but which may be varied therefrom, provision being made at
the principal or other stations to fill the air vessel with the necessary
compressed air, or a small air pump may be used by the guard or others for
the purpose.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Hunter in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN 3
HUNTER, of Greenwich, in the County of Kent, Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Hunter, Her special licence that I, the said John Hunter,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Hunter, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PERMANENT WAY OF AND IN SIGNALLING ON RAILWAYS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Hunter, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Hunter, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
The improvements in the permanent way of railways have reference,―
First. To means for securing the rails in their chairs, sleepers, or other
bearings.
Secondly. The improvements relate to means for giving increased security
to "fish" plates.
Thirdly. The improvements relate to signalling on railways.
But that the Invention may be fully understood I will, by the aid of the
accompanying Drawings, proceed to describe means pursued by me in carrying
the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
In carrying out the first part of the Invention in place of employing the
ordinary wooden wedges or keys used in securing the rails in their chairs,
and which from various causes soon cease to be efficient, I employ plates,
bars, or pauls of a peculiar form and adapted by acting together to nip the
rail securely between them.

page_text: Figure 1 shows by plan view a portion of a rail supported in a bearing
with the parts arranged according to the first part of my Invention; Figure 2
shows a longitudinal section, Figure 3 a transverse section, and Figure 4
an end view of the same; Figures 5, 6, and 7 show a plan view, a longi-
tudinal side view, and a transverse section of the bearing separately; Figures 8
and 9 show an end view and a side view of one of the pauls separately. In
each of the views of the Drawings annexed the same letters are used to
indicate corresponding parts wherever they occur.
Where the sleepers
a, a, indicates a portion of the rail and b the chair or bearing; c, c, are plates,
bars, or pauls which at their surfaces c¹ are curved to move in corresponding
curved parts b¹ formed for them in the bearings b, where the parts act together
as a knuckle joint. The upper surfaces e* of the bars or pauls c rest against
the sides of the rail a between the flanges and so as to lie against the under side
of that flange which for the time is uppermost of them, so as to assist the rail
in bearing the pressure applied to it, and also to hold the rail with increased
force in proportion to the weight put on it. Each plate c is formed with a
lug c to pass into a corresponding recess be formed for it in the chair or other
bearing between the projections or ribs b', in order to prevent the bar or
paul from slipping endwise in the chair or other bearing.
or chairs are employed to support the joints of rails the length of the bars or
pauls c and of the parts in which they rest in the chairs or other bearings
may be increased in length or bearing surface to give additional support to
such parts as desired, and the bars or pauls in place of bearing direct on the
rails may act on "fish" plates d, d, as shown by a plan view Figure 10,
longitudinal and transverse sections Figures 11 and 12 and by an end view
Figure 13. In place of lugs, pins or bolts e or other fastenings may be used;
Figure 14 shows by a plan view, Figures 15 and 16 by longitudinal and
transverse sectional views, and Figure 17 by an end view a slight modification
of this part of the improvements. In this case the plates or pauls c descend
lower into the bearing b, and they have each a recess c³ formed in them to
embrace a projection or rib b in the bearing b. In other respects the action
of the parts is similar to that already described, and the corresponding parts
are all marked with the same letters of reference.
Figures 18, 19, and 20 show separate views of the chair or sleeper b, and
Figures 21 and 22 show separate views of one of the bars or pauls c according
to this modification. By these improvements considerable elasticity may be
obtained to the rails with facility for readily and safely using either head or
edge of double headed or edged rails.
I will now describe the second part of the Invention. Figures 23, 24, and

page_text: 25 show an arrangement according to this part of the Invention for giving
increased security to the ordinary "fish" plates by employing to each con-
necting screw a cup and washer formed to admit of vulcanized india-rubber
or other suitable elastic material as a ring or washer being inserted between
the cup and washer so that when the washer is pressed down to give more
or less elasticity to the parts, a shows a rail, d the "fishes," and screw bolts
for holding them together with a cup g formed to receive within its rim g' the
disc of india-rubber h or other suitable elastic material as a packing between
that cup and a metal washer i which is forced on to it by the nut f¹.
I will now describe the improvements in signalling on railways under the
third head of the Invention, the object of which is that at tunnels and other
places where it may be desirable to obtain an indication of a train having
passed a certain distance in advance, I apply or fix a lever by means of a
chair or bracket in position to be acted upon by a wheel or other part of a
passing engine or carriage to depress that lever, and by a wire rope or
otherwise to act upon another lever fixed at the desired distance to indicate
danger at both ends until the engine or carriage has acted on the second
lever, when the signal or signals will be set to indicate that all is clear.
”
Figure 26 shows by a side view, and Figure 27 by a plan view, an arrange-
ment of parts according to this part of the Invention. indicates an axis to
which is affixed one arm or lever 1, and 1 another axis with another arm or
lever l', each of which by preference carries trucks or bowls in position to be
acted upon by a wheel or other part of a passing engine or carriage and
thereby be depressed. Upon the axis is affixed the pulley wheel 2, to
which is applied one end of the band k³, the other end of which is connected
to the segment m affixed on the axis m', which is supported so as to turn in
bearings m, and at its upper end has affixed to it the signal m' to indicate
"danger when in one position as is usual, and that all is "clear" when in
another position. When a train passes in the direction of the arrow a wheel
or other part thereof will act to depress the lever arm and set the signal m
to indicate "danger," in which position the parts will remain until the train
having passed through the tunnel or to other desired distance it comes in
contact with and depresses the lever arm upon the axis 1, to which is affixed
the drum or pulley 12, and which by a cord or band acts on the segment m
to turn the axis m' again so that the signal m' thereof may again indicate
"all clear." A corresponding signal may if desired be placed at both ends
of the apparatus in order to show clearly the position for the time of the
indications, and to satisfy the driver of a train of the correct action of the
apparatus.
The improvements also relate to means of signalling on railways as a

page_text: medium of communication between the guard and engine driver. For this
purpose I apply a small air vessel with compressed air, and attach thereto a
whistle or other suitable sounding instrument, so that by opening a cock it
will cause a sound to be produced similar to the ordinary steam whistle, but
which may be varied therefrom, provision being made at the principal or
other stations to fill the air vessel with the necessary compressed air, or a small
air pump may be used by the guard or others for this purpose.
Having thus described my improvements, and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details shown and described, as the same may
be varied without departing from the peculiar character of the separate parts
of the Invention.
In witness whereof I, the said John Hunter, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
JOHN HUNTER. (L.S.)