IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING AND INTERLOCKING POINTS AND SIGNALS ON RAILWAYS.
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Clunes, Walter Holland, and Samuel
Telford Dutton, all of the Vulcan Iron Works, in the City of
Worcester, Engineers, for the Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING AND INTERLOCKING POINTS AND
SIGNALS ON RAILWAYS.'
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Sealed the 7th November 1873, and dated the 7th June 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Clunes, Walter
Holland, and Samuel Telford Dutton at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 7th June 1873.
We, THOMAS CLUNES, WALTER HOLLAND, and SAMUEL TELFORD
DUTTON, all of the Vulcan Iron Works, in the City of Worcester,
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING AND INTERLOCKING POINTS
AND SIGNALS ON RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
In the method of constructing and arranging the parts of the said
machinery or apparatus for actuating and interlocking points and signals
on railways described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted on

page_text: the 30th day of July 1866, No. 1963, to John McKenzie and two of the
present applicants, the locking gear of the apparatus is placed behind
the levers to be locked, and works upon the same axis as the cams on
which the levers act to actuate the said locking gear.
In constructing and arranging the said machinery or apparatus
according to our Invention, we place the axis of the locks in front of the
levers to be interlocked, the said locks working upon an independent axis.
By this arrangement we obtain a much closer and firmer lock upon the
levers in their normal position when those levers which lock them are
moved quite over, that is, to the extent of their range of motion. By
fixing the locks upon one axis and the actuating cams on another, as
described, greater room is obtained for the action of the locks than in
the former arrangement. In consequence of the changed position of the
locks, their forms as well as those of the cams differ from the forms of
the former locks and cams, but their action is in principle essentially
the same, the differences in form being such as the changed positions of
the axis on which they turn render necessary.
We maintain in balance the locks that are not self-acting by means of
counterbalance weights, and thereby reduce the weight of the locks and
gear upon the hand levers; the power required to work the apparatus is
also thereby lessened, and the friction of the working parts greatly
reduced.
In order to facilitate the removal and replacement of the lever, cams,
and locks, we connect the said parts with their axes by means of a joint
formed as follows:-The end of the lever, cam, or lock has a semicircular
depression made in it. This depression fits in a neck turned in the
axis, and is held thereto by semicircular clips fixed to the lever, lock, or
cam.
Where great compactness is required we arrange the cams and locks
on the same axis, but instead of placing the axis in the former manner
we place it in front of the levers. The compactness of this arrangement
permits of the whole of the locking apparatus being enclosed in a case
which can be fixed on the ground or on platforms, rendering the expense
of the ordinary foundations and framing unnecessary.
The whole apparatus is above ground, and the working parts being
enclosed in the case described they are protected from injury by the
weather, or otherwise, and easily got at for repair or adjustment.

page_text: In order to effect the locking and unlocking of the levers in one frame
situated at a distance from another frame, or in order to control the
levers working siding points situated at a distance from the signal cabin
or platform (as the case may be) we adopt the following arrangement:-
We make the lever quadrant double, or in two parts, one fixed and the
other moveable; the moveable one turns upon a fulcrum at one end.
When the moveable part is in its lowest position and parallel with the
fixed part, the two parts then act as one quadrant. When however the
moveable part is raised, a stud fixed in the hand lever or on one side of
the moveable end of the catch or pawl is retained in a notch in the
moveable quadrant or part, and the said hand lever is thereby secured
or locked. The raising of the moveable part of the quadrant is effected
by a rod or wire connection from the signal cabin or platform or other
desirable place. By reversing the motion of the said rod or wire the
moveable part of the quadrant is brought down level with the fixed part,
and the hand or point lever is unlocked and may be used for working
the points. When however the point lever has been moved over it will
be out of the power of the signalman, primarily controlling such lever,
to make any movement, whereby danger may be produced, as the man
working or using the point lever may secure the moveable part of the
quadrant by means of a pin or bolt which may be put in by hand or by
an independent lever which could be made to effect this as well as to
indicate to the signalman in the cabin or at the station that the siding
points were being used.
25 SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Clunes, Walter Holland, and Samuel
Telford Dutton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th
December 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
30 CLUNES, WALTER HOLLAND, and SAMUEL TELFORD DUTTON, all of the
Vulcan Iron Works, in the City of Worcester, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-

page_text: sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Clunes, Walter Holland,
and Samuel Telford Dutton, Her special license that we, the said Thomas
Clunes, Walter Holland, and Samuel Telford Dutton, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas
Clunes, Walter Holland, and Samuel Telford Dutton, our 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WORKING AND INTERLOCKING POINTS AND SIGNALS
ON RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Thomas Clunes, Walter Holland, and Samuel Telford Dutton, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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
Patént.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Walter Holland, on behalf of the
said Thomas Clunes, Samuel Telford Dutton, and myself, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
In the method of constructing and arranging the parts of the said
machinery or apparatus for actuating and interlocking points and
signals on railways, described in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted on the 30th day of July 1866, No. 1963, to John McKenzie and
two of the present applicants, the locking gear of the apparatus is
placed behind the levers to be locked and works upon the same axis as
the cams on which the levers act to actuate the said locking gear.
In constructing and arranging the said machinery or apparatus
according to our Invention we place the axis of the locks in front of the
levers to be interlocked, the said locks working upon an independent
uxis. By this arrangement we obtain a much closer and firmer lock

page_text: upon the levers in their normal position, when those levers which lock
them are moved quite over, that is, to the extent of their range of
motion. By fixing the locks upon one axis and the actuating cams on
another, as described, greater room is obtained for the action of the locks
than in the former arrangement. In consequence of the changed
position of the locks their forms as well as those of the cams differ
from the forms of the former locks and cams but their action is in
principle essentially the same, the differences in form being such as the
changed positions of the axes on which they turn render necessary.
We maintain in balance the locks that are not self-acting by means
of counterbalance weights and thereby reduce the weight of the locks
and gear upon the hand levers. The power required to work the
apparatus is also thereby lessened and the friction of the working parts
greatly reduced.
In order to facilitate the removal and replacement of the levers,'
cams, and locks we connect the said parts with their axes by means of
a joint formed as follows:-The end of the lever, cam, or lock has a
semi-circular depression made in it. This depression fits in a neck or
groove turned in the axis, and is held thereto by semicircular clips
fixed to the lever, lock, or càm.
When great compactness is requred we arrange the cams and locks
on the same axis, but instead of placing the axis in the former manner
we place it in front of the levers. The compactness of this arrangement
permits of the whole of the locking apparatus being enclosed in a case
which can be fixed on the ground or on platforms, rendering the expense
of the ordinary foundations and framing unnecessary.
The whole apparatus is above ground and the working parts being
enclosed in the case described they are protected from injury by the
weather or otherwise and easily got at for repair or adjustment.
In order to effect the locking and unlocking of the levers in one frame
situated at a distance from another frame, or in order to control the
levers working siding points situated at a distance from the signal cabin
or platform (as the case may be) we adopt the following arrangement.
We make the lever quadrant double, or in two parts, one fixed and the
other moveable. The moveable one turns upon a fulcrum at one end.
When the moveable part is in its lowest position and level with the
fixed part, the two parts then act as one quadrant. When however the

page_text: moveable part is raised a stud fixed in the hand lever or on one side
of the moveable end of the catch or pawl is retained in a notch in the
moveable quadrant or part, and the said hand lever is thereby secured
or locked.
The raising of the moveable part of the quadrant is effected
by a rod or wire connection from the signal cabin or platform or other 5
desirable place. By reversing the motion of the said rod or wire the
moveable part of the quadrant is brought down level with the fixed part
and the hand or point lever is unlocked and may be used for working
the points. When however the point lever has been moved over it will
be out of the power of the signalman primarily controlling such lever
to make any movement whereby danger may be produced, as the man
working or using the point lever may secure the moveable part of the
quadrant by means of a pin or bolt which may be put in by hand or
by an independent lever which could be made to effect this as well
as to indicate to the signalman in the cabin or at the station that the 1
siding points were being used.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying
Drawings the manner in which our Invention may be carried into
effect.
Figures 1, 2, and 3 represent vertical sections of our improved ma-
chinery or apparatus for working and interlocking the points and signals
on railways, in which the independent axis of the locks is situated in
front of the levers to be interlocked; Figure 4 is a front elevation of the
same; and Figure 5 is a sectional plan of the same. The section,
Figure 1, is taken on the line A, B, of Figure 5; the section Figure 2 is
taken on the line C, D, of Figure 5; and the section Figure 3 is taken
on the line E, F, of Figure 5. The same letters of reference indicate the
same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
a is the point lever, and 9 and h are the signal levers, the said
levers a, g, h, turning on the axis a; b is the cam of the point lever for
actuating the locks e, f, of the signal levers g, h, e being the lock for the
second lever g, and f the lock for the third lever h. By an examination
of Figures 2, 3, and 5 it will be seen that a shoulder on the lock e may
be made to bear against the stud k on the lever g, and a shoulder on the
lock f bears against a stud / on the lever h to lock or fix the said levers.
The cam 6 turns on the axis j behind the axis a of the point and signal
levers a, g, h, and the said cam 6 is connected to the rocking shaft d by

page_text: a link, the motion of the said rocking shaft d being transmitted to the
locks e, f, through the connecting rods e, f'. The locks e, f, turn upon
the shaft or axis i, fixed in front of the shaft aº, upon which the
levers a, g, h, turn. The locks e, f, which are not self-acting, are main-
tained in balance by means of the counterbalance weights es, ƒ³. Tho
cam 6 is actuated by the point lever a through the stud c on the said
lever working in the slot represented in the said cam 6. When the point
lever a is pulled over to the position indicated at a², Figure 1, the
locks e, f, take the respective positions indicated in dotted lines in
Figures 2 and 3. In Figure 2 the signal lever is represented with the
lock e in such a position that the stud k on the said lever g is free to
pass under the curved surface of the said lock e. When the lever is
pulled over to the position 92 the stud k on the said lever will occupy the
position ³, and will prevent the lock e being moved downwards. When
the point lever a is moved from the position a, Figure 1, to the posi-
tion a³, Figure 1, the lock e takes the position indicated in dotted lines
at e, Figure 2, its shoulder being brought down in front of the stud k,
and thereby locking the lever g.
g
In Figure 3 the signal lever his represented locked by the engagement
of the shoulder of the lock f with the front of the stud 1 on the said
lever h. When however the point lever a is pulled over to the position a³,
Figure 1, the lock f takes the position indicated in dotted lines at ƒ³,
Figure 3, and the said stud is released, and the lever h may be pulled
over to the position indicated in dotted lines at h², that is to say, by the
lowering of the lock fits curved surface is brought below the stud 1,
thereby permitting the said stud to work over the said curved surface of
the lock, and take the position when the lever h is pulled over. When
the lever his in the position h³, its stud in the position will prevent the
lock being raised.
We will now briefly recapitulate the actions of the parts of the locking
apparatus. The parts being in the respective positions represented in
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, the point lever a is in its back position, with its
stud c engaged with the cam 6, the signal lever g is free to take a
forward position (see Figure 2), and the signal lever h is locked by the
engagement of the lock f with the stud 7 of the said lever h (see Figure 3).
When the point lever a is moved over to the position a², Figure 1, it acts
through the stud c upon the cam b, which takes the position indicated in
dotted lines, and the said cam gives motion through the rocking shaft d

page_text: and rods e, f, to the locks e, f, and the said locks are made to take the
respective positions indicated in dotted lines at e² and f, Figures 2 and 3.
By this change of position of the locks e, f, the first signal lever g is
locked by the engagement of the shoulder of the lock e with the stud k
and the second signal lever is released by the lowering of the shoulder
of the lock f, and its removal from the front of the stud on the said
lever h. By reversing the position of the lever a, that is, moving it from
the position a³ to the position a, the locks e, f, again take the positions
represented in continuous lines in Figures 2 and 3, and the lever ? is
again unlocked, and the lever / locked. The joints by which the levers,
cams, and locks are connected with their respective axes are constructed
as follows:-In the knee of each lever a semi-circular depression at a³ is
made, which fits into a groove a' in the axis a³. By means of semi-
circular clips as, fixed to the lever the said lever is held in its place on
the shaft a. The joints of the cam blocks e, f, and parts connected
therewith are constructed in a similar way. By this means the removal
of the parts from and their replacement on their respective axes are
facilitated.
7 Figure 9 represents a transverse section; Figure 10, a side elevation;
Figure 11, a front clevation; Figure 12, a sectional plan; and Figure 13,
a plan of our Invention, arranged for fixing at sidings or station plat-
forms, where great compactness is required, the locking gear being
placed in front of the levers. This apparatus may be conveniently
covered in or enclosed by a box, whereby the parts are protected from
injury and the weather. In this arrangement the cams and locks are
placed on the same axis, the said axis being placed in front of the levers.
a is the point lever; 6 is the cam; and c the cam stud for working the
locks e, g; i is the shaft on which the cams and locks work, the said
shaft being placed in front of the levers; d is the rocking shaft, to which
the cam 6 is connected by the connecting rods or links b', and the
locks e, g, are worked from the said rocking shaft & through the con-
necting rods or links e³, g³, respectively; f, h, are the signal levers locked
by the locks e, g, respectively. As the action of the parts of this gear is
substantially the same as that of the arrangement first described we do
not think a further description necessary.
Figures 6 and 7 represent a side and end elevation respectively of our
improved locking lever quadrant for working siding points not connected
up to or worked from the signal cabin. m is the lever fitted with the

page_text: ordinary spring catch and rod; n is the fixed part of the quadrant ;
and
o is the moveable or locking part of the quadrant, the said moveable
part working on the centre o¹. The said moveable part o is connected
to the lever p by the rod q, the said lever p being connected by wires r, 1²,
to the lever in the signal cabin or platform. In Figure 6 the moveable
part o of the quadrant is represented raised, so as to lock the lever m in
the position shown, that is, the upper edge of the moveable part o is
situated above the upper edge of the fixed part n of the quadrant, the
raised part of the quadrant o forming a stop to the lever m, and prevent-
ing it being moved over. When the lower wire is pulled in the
direction indicated by the arrow the moveable part o of the quadrant will
be brought down to the same level as the fixed part n, when the lever m
may be used for working the points in the usual way. To keep the
moveable part o in position, after it has been lowered upon the fixed
part n, a pin bolt s¹ may be passed across it so as to prevent for the time
being the signalman from raising the quadrant o while the lever is being
used.
Figure 8 is an elevation of a similar moveable locking quadrant
applied to lock or govern the lovers in a locking apparatus frame, which
may either be worked from a distance or by other levers in the same
frame. The parts in Figure 8 are marked with the same letters of
reference as corresponding parts in Figures 6 and 7.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention,―
Firstly. The improvements in machinery or apparatus for working and
interlocking points and signals on railways, herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawings,
that is to say, placing the axis of the locks in front of the levers to be
interlocked, the said locks and the cams by which they are actuated
turning upon independent axes, the said locks and cams and the parts
connected therewith being constructed, arranged, and worked substantially
as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The improvements in machinery or apparatus for working
and interlocking points and signals on railways, hercin-before described

page_text: and illustrated in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say, arranging the cams and locks of the locking
apparatus on the same axes, the said axes being placed in front of the
levers, substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated.
Thirdly. The method herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings of constructing the joints by which the levers,
cams, and locks of machinery or apparatus for working and interlocking
points and signals on railways are connected with their respective axes.
Lastly. The construction and arrangement of the parts of the lever
quadrants employed in working points and signals on railways, herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 6, 7, and 8 of the accompany-
ing Drawings, that is to say, making the lever quadrant double or in two
parts, one part being fixed, and the other part moveable, the raising of
the moveable part from the fixed part locking the lever, and the
lowering of the moveable part releasing the lever, the parts being
constructed, arranged, and worked substantially as described and
illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Holland, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
H. W. LITTLE,
Cashier to
WALTER HOLLAND. (L.S.)
Messrs. McKenzie, Clunes, & Holland,
Vulcan Iron Works,
Worcester.