IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COMPLETE SPECIFIC
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fisher, of Carrington, near Nottingham, Lace
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said John Fisher at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration, on
the 9th November 1861, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN FISHER,
of Carrington, near Nottingham, Lace Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS POR INDICATING OR REGULATING THE PASSING OF RAILWAY TRAINS," and
have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
declaration that I am the first and true Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said John Fisher, do hereby declare that the
following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully describes and
ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, in and by the following statement and accompanying
Drawing.

page_text: This Invention relates to that class of signal which is intended to appeal
to the sense of hearing, and it may be employed alone, or in combination
with the ordinary arrangements of semaphore day, and lamp night signals,
and such like contrivances; but I propose, for the purpose of this Specifica-
tion, to describe the present Invention, as used or employed independently of
any other signalling apparatus, with which, however, as I have already stated,
it may be combined or connected by any of the ordinary and well known
means.
The apparatus according to my present Invention is intended to be set up
or erected in any convenient position by the side of a line of railway, and it
is intended to be set in action by the passing of the locomotive engine, with
or without its train, and is intended to be "set" thereby and to be left in such
a condition or state as will ensure a notification or warning being com-
municated to, and made evidently audible to the engine driver and to other
persons in charge of the train to which the engine is attached, that an engine
or a train had previously passed the signal at some ascertainable interval of
time, if such previous passage is within the prescribed and pre-arranged
minimum period allowed for one train to succeed another, and such apparatus
may be caused to record the limited number of minutes of time which have
elapsed since the passing of the previous engine or 'train, and the "setting
of the apparatus thereby. That part of the apparatus according to my present
Invention, which is fixed or erected alongside the line whilst being operated on,
or acted upon by the passing of an engine and the rolling of its wheels over,
and pressing down a curved lever arm or treadle piece is the means of acting
upon or calling into play a whistle or audible signal fitted upon the next
engine which may pass along the line. Thus, the previous engine is made to
"set" the apparatus ready to act upon that portion of the apparatus according
to my present Invention which has to be applied to, or fitted upon the engine
in any convenient position.
"
The apparatus having been "set" in the manner described, the period o
its remaining in a condition capable of acting to a greater or lesser exten
upon the whistle or audible signal fitted on the engine, or of its ceasing to
remain in a condition for acting thereon, is subject to regulation as to time
and may be adjusted to any required extent within the maximum capacity o
the apparatus for tinie regulation. Thus, if the minimum time within which
two trains may pass over the same line, or a given point or place thereon, b
say, an interval of five minutes; when that time has passed, the apparatus i
again in a condition to be re-" set," and that part or portion of the fixed appa
ratus which is intended to act upon the whistle or audible signal fitted on the

page_text: engine, has returned to a state of rest, and is not capable of acting upon the
signal fitted upon the engine, and therefore, an alarm is not sounded, and the
necessity for stopping the engine or train is avoided, as the pre-arranged
minimum period must have elapsed since the passing of the previous train.
For the purpose of recording any intermediate period between the beginning
of the unsetting and the final unsetting of the apparatus, the latter as
indicative of the line being clear (and which additional apparatus may also be
employed for keeping the whistle or audible signal in action until released by
hand), a sliding rod having a pawl or catch pendant therefrom is made to fall
in, or take into one of the notches in a rack having the number of notches,
or the distances so regulated as to indicate by the travel of the rod and its
pawl, the number of minutes or parts of minutes which have elapsed since
the previous "setting" of the apparatus, or corresponding with the remaining
portion of the unused time limit, within which the unsetting of the apparatus
is pre-arranged to take place, so as to indicate the line being clear; thus, if
five minutes is the whole interval, if the previous train has passed two-and-a-
half minutes only, that part of the apparatus which is erected by the side of
the line, and by the amount of its projection acting upon the engine signal or
whistle would be, say only balf as high; and when an interval of one minute
only has elapsed, the projecting piece referred to would only have fallen one-
fifth of the entire distance, and where four minutes has elapsed, then it would
have fallen, say four-fifths of the distance. This being so the whistle connected
with this apparatus would only be open to a corresponding extent, and by
means of the recording apparatus, whether of the pawl and rack description
before referred to, or consisting of a pointer and dial or any other equivalent,
a corresponding degree of motion will be recorded thereon.
By means of the apparatus constructed according to my present Invention,
the necessity for signalmen or persons to work the signals may be avoided, my
said apparatus being self-acting and self-recording, and made to operate by the
passage of each train independently of manual interference or control.
The general construction of the apparatus is as follows:-1 place a cylinder
of suitable dimensions in any convenient position along side the line of railway;
this cylinder has fitted into it a piston or bucket, having by preference a
metallic packing; the piston or bucket has an opening sufficiently large to
allow of its rapid motion in one direction when the cylinder is filled with
liquid, and which opening being fitted with a covering valve, is instantly closed
when the piston or bucket is in a state of rest or on the return stroke, and a
spring may be introduced to increase the rapidity of this action; there should
be a very small hole or passage. through the piston or bucket, by which the

page_text: liquid contents of the cylinder is permitted slowly to escape from below the
piston or bucket to the upper side thereof within some defined or regulated
time. The rod of the piston or the bucket rod works through a stuffing box
in the cylinder cover, and is connected to one end of a beam or lever, the
other end of which is connected with and operated by the depression of a
curved lever arm or treadle, over which the wheels of the engine pass, and so
depress it, bringing the piston or bucket to the top of the cylinder, from
whence, by gravitation and the gradual escape of the fluid from under the
piston or bucket, or through a passage therein, it is caused to fall gradually
and return to the bottom of the cylinder, or the action may be the reverse of
this if the other parts are correspondingly arranged, and the counterweight or
a reacting spring suitably disposed. The curved lever arm is placed parallel
with and inside of the rail, so that the flanch of the engine wheels in passing
depress it; this curved arm is keyed on a shaft working in bearings at right
angles to the line of rails; on the same shaft but in the opposite direction is
another curved arm; this may either be half way between the rails or close to
one side, as may be most convenient. The use of this second curved arm is
that upon its projection upwards or elevation by the depression of the other
curved arm by reason of the wheels passing over it, it is caused to come in
contact with and move a pendant arm or lever suspended in a bearing, and
which in turn is made to act upon a whistle or other audible signal, which
being set in action may be 'caused to continue the action until released or
stopped.
The addition of an adjustable balance weight upon a lever overcomes the
friction of the parts of the stationary apparatus fixed by the side of the rails,
and insures the proper action of the piston or bucket. Instead of a small
opening or passage being made in the piston or bucket, a junction pipe of
suitably small bore may be introduced between the upper and lower end of the
cylinder, and a cock or valve for regulating the passage way may be introduced
for the purpose of regulating or modifying the time required for the passage of
the fluid from one side of the piston or bucket to the other, and by which the
condition of the signal or means of acting upon the whistle or alarum instru-
ment is governed in the position it has to assume. The pendant lever fitted
upon the engine may be applied in the longitudinal central line thereof, so as
to be operated upon by the upward projection of the curved lever, mounted
correspondingly between the rails; or the pendant lever may be applied on
one side of the engine, within the framing or elsewhere, the curved lever arm
being correspondingly placed more or less near to one rail.
- Although I have described the piston or bucket as being rapidly raised

page_text: towards the top of the cylinder on the passage of the train, the reverse of this
action may be produced, and the piston be forced down by the passage of the
engine, and the gradual unsetting of the apparatus be effected by the piston
being returned upwards by means of a balance weight, reacting spring, or
equivalent means. In all other respects the action of the apparatus would
be the same as herein-before described.
The rod connected with the whistle or with the upper end of the pendant
and vibrating lever arm mounted on the engine may have its extremity at the
fire-box end fitted with the pawl and rack indicating arrangement before
described, either alone or in conjunction with any other means of indicating or
recording the alarm signal intended to. be conveyed, and to mark the extent or
amount thereof.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shown one of the arrangements of
my apparatus which I prefer to employ, and such as may be applied under the
ordinary conditions of train working where there is an up and a down line (or
two lines of railway).
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the smoke-box end of a locomotive engine
shewing the leading and driving wheels and that portion of the apparatus
which is applied to the engine; it also shows the cylinder, curved levers, and
the other portions of the apparatus erected by the side of the line which are
shown partly in section. Figure 2 is a side elevation of the stationary part or
portion of the apparatus by the side of a line of railway. Figure 3 is a plan
view of Figure 2. These views show transverse sleepers as being employed,
whereas longitudinal sleepers of any form, or any other description of sleeper
may be employed in lieu thereof.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the fire-box end of an engine, of which the
view Figure 1 is the fore end.
A represents the smoke-box end or portion of a locomotive engine; B, the
cylinder, forming a part of the apparatus erected by the side of the line as
herein-before described; C, the metallic packed piston or bucket, provided
with a suitable opening d and covering valve e to allow of the rapid motion of
the piston or bucket through the fluid contained in the cylinder; d, the small
hole or passage to allow of the slow escape of the liquid contents of the
cylinder B from below the piston C to the upper side thereof; f, the rod
connecting the piston with the beam or lever g, which is supported upon a
standard h, and by means of a connecting rod i receives its motion from a
lever arm k mounted upon a shaft l, which also carries a lever m, and
balance weight n, capable of being adjusted thereon. Upon the horizontal
shaft l, which is mounted in suitable bearings secured to a sleeper or plank,

page_text: as shown, a curved arm or lever o iş keyed or secured fast thereupon close
to the inner edge of the rail so as to be acted upon by the flanges of the
wheels; upon the same horizontal shaft l, is mounted in the centre of the line
as shown (or it may be applied elsewhere as herein-before stated), a curved
lever arm p, somewhat similar to the lever o, and which is intended to
operate upon and give motion to the pendant lever arm mounted upon and
carried by the engine in any convenient manner and position.
When it is desired to connect a distant signal, or a semaphore or other
signal, in close proximity, such connection may be made with the lever k, or
by an independent bell crank fitted on the outer end of the shaft l, or
wherever else may be most convenient.
be S
Those parts of my present Invention which are connected with the engine
are illustrated by Figures 1 and 4, in which q is the pendant lever, r the upper
portion of the lever q, or it may be a separate lever mounted on one side of
the engine so as to operate in a direct line upon the whistles through the
connecting rod t. The continuation of the rod t or a separate rod u, sliding
in suitable bearings or guides, has upon its extreme end a handle v and a
pawl w, which latter falls into the teeth of the fixed rack x. There is likewise
a connection by means of a bell crank or equivalent means with the dial y.
The number of notches as well as the position of the hand on the dial may
made to indicate the lapse of time since the passing of the previous train.
Figure 5 is a detached view of a cylinder and a piston or bucket, such as
.may be employed for working the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2; but I
have not thought it necessary to show the various modifications in the form of
the piston or bucket which may be made, nor the mode of connecting the top
of the cylinder with the bottom thereof as herein-before described, as the
nature of such arrangements and combinations will be self evident without the
aid of special illustrations.
Instead of the curved lever arm by the side of the rail being formed,
mounted, and worked as shewn in the accompanying Drawing, any other form
of treadle piece or contrivance for receiving the weight of the engine through
the rolling action of the wheels may be employed for acting upon the piston
or bucket, and the curved arm or projection for acting upon the whistle or
audible signal mounted upon the engine.
Instead, also, of mounting the pendulous lever from the engine framing and s
leaving it subject to the changes of distance between the engine frame and the
rail, produced by the unevenness of the road or other cause producing action
in the bearing or suspending springs of the engine, I may introduce a carriage
or other means of supporting the aforesaid pendulous lever arm from the axle

page_text: box or axle boxes of the leading wheels so that uniformity of distance between
the point of the lever and the roller thereon and the projecting curved arm or
its equivalent, may be insured, irrespective of the vertical motion of the engine
upon its bearings and springs.
By the addition of an arm or bell crank from the horizontal shaft of the
stationary portion of the apparatus erected by the side of the line, a balanced
semaphore arm may be worked in addition to the apparatus described, and
which arm, when the train has but just passed, will be elevated thereby to the
horizontal or right-angle position, and as the time to which the apparatus is set
or regulated progresses towards completion, the arm will gradually assume the
dependent position, and finally become concealed, indicating that the next
train may safely proceed.
A spiral or other form of reacting spring may be introduced, as shewn in
Figure 1 of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, as fitted on the locomotive
engine, for the purpose of returning the pendant arm or lever to its normal
position. Any spirit or oil not easily vaporized at the maximum temperature
of the greatest summer heat, and not freezable at the minimum temperature
of extreme winter, may be employed in the cylinder, but glycerine or any other
equivalent may be employed for the purpose. As the principal provision to be
made is against freezing by extreme cold, water mixed with glycerine, or oil,
or spirit in any suitable proportion, may be employed for the greater portion
of the year, and spirits of wine, or glycerine, or any of the more expensive but
non-congealable liquids may be employed on the approach of cold weather.
Having now described my said Invention of improvements in apparatus for
indicating or regulating the passing of railway trains, and having illustrated in
the accompanying Drawing one of the arrangements and modes in which I
prefer to put the same in practice, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the forms or arrangements of lever arms and apparatus for
receiving the pressure of the passing engine or train, or for acting upon the
pendant arm mounted upon the engine, as shewn in the Drawing, nor to the
mode or method, as shewn in the accompanying Drawing, of communicating
the motion produced by the passing of the engine to the piston or bucket of
the apparatus, nor to the exact form or disposition of the parts as shewn in the
several Figures in the Drawing hereunto annexed, so long as the mode or
method herein described of working and taking advantage of the action of a
piston or bucket within a cylinder containing fluid is preserved, and the
gradual unsetting of the apparatus is effected by the slow escape of the fluid
contents of the cylinder from one side of the piston or bucket to the other, as
a means of recording the lapse of time which has occurred since the passing of

page_text: an engine or train, and also of applying the action of the passing train thereto,
and to the moving of a pendant lever arm or other means of acting upon a
whistle, or other audible signal fitted upon the engine, or on the tender, or
some other convenient part of a railway train. I claim the use or employment
of a cylinder for containing fluid fitted with a piston or bucket, in manner and
for the purpose herein described, by which, through the intervention of a
curved lever arm, treadle, or pressure piece, or their mechanical equivalents,
and the necessary intermediate connections, the passing of an engine or train
is made to act upon the piston or bucket, and elevate, project, or bring into
operation a curved lever or its mechanical equivalent for operating upon a
whistle or other audible signal fitted upon the engine, tender, or other part of
the next succeeding or following train, and by the gradual unsetting of the
apparatus corresponding with the lapse of time, the time which has elapsed
since the passing of the previous train may be approximately measured and
recorded upon the engine of such succeeding train, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fisher, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of November, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
JAMES STEVENSON,
19, Salisbury Street,
Adelphi, W.C.
JOHN FISHER. (L.S.)