Improvements in Railway Signalling Apparatus.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Sept., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 6th Apr., 1892-Accepted, 21st May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Signalling Apparatus.
I, ARNOLD HALL of Altear and Hill House Station, Cheshire Lines Railway,
in the County of Lancaster, Signalman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :—
One of the chief causes of collisions is pointsmen forgetting that they have
shunted a train on to the main line, and signalling the line as clear.
Now my invention is designed to prevent accidents of this sort.
Above a line of levers in the lever frame I place a box or board, and in or on
this box or board I pivot certain tappets over the "cross over road " lever, and the
siding levers. These tappets have a second arm which holds down a lever carrying
a broad weight like a board at its end, preferably having written on it in large
letters "obstruction" or its equivalent. This board hangs in front of the levers
operating lines having connection with the road on to which the engine or train
has been shunted. Now in ordinary circumstances in shunting the train and
bringing the lever back there is nothing to indicate that the train is still upon the
line. In this case however there is the board with the word obstruction. Further-
more until the lever or levers carrying the board or boards with obstruction is
set again it is impossible to move any of the levers behind it, and the signalman's
attention is accordingly drawn to the fact that there is a train on the line, and he
has to remove the obstruction before he can use the levers.
It is not absolutely necessary to place the box with the obstructions above the
levers, it can be in any convenient part and the obstruction can be of any
convenient nature so long as it will lock those levers operating the block road.
Dated this 28th day of September 1891.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Signalling Apparatus.
I, ARNOLD HALL of Altcar and Hill House Station, Cheshire Lines Railway
in the County of Lancaster, Signalman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The most frequent cause of collision at the present time is the forgetting by the
pointsman that he has shunted the train on to the main line, and his consequently
signalling the line as clear.
This cause of collision all the present systems of lock-signalling are powerless to
avert, and indeed it has hitherto been thought impossible to satisfactorily deal with
it. If, however, the lock-signalling could be so arranged that, after a point lever
has been brought back into position, none of the lines connected with the line on.
to which the train has been shunted can be signalled as clear until the pointsman
performs a special act for making them clear, the vast number of accidents that
now take place would be in a great measure avoided.
My invention is designed to prevent accidents of this sort, and to this end
comprises certain devices for use in conjunction with the levers working the points
and signals ordinarily in use on railways.

page_text: The invention may be understood from the following description, reference
being had to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a front elevation;
Figure 2 a plan;
Figure 3 a detail view of one of the tappets and handles; and
Figure 4 a general view of the apparatus in perspective.
In these figures
Levers 1 and 2 are the home and distant signals of the down line, 3 the siding
points for the down line, 4 and 6 "dummies" not in use at the present time,
5 cross over points, 7 siding points for the up line, and 8 and 9 home and distant
signals of the up line. Above the line of levers in the lever frame, I place a box A
or even a board, and, in this box A or on the board, I pivot certain tappets B
and C over the cross over road lever 5, and the siding levers 3 and 7. The said
tappets are pivotted in the box above, and hang below the top of the handles of the
point levers 3, 5 and 7, so that, if any of the latter are pulled over, they move these
tappets. The nose b of each of the tappets (Figure 3) catches on and holds down
the ends of horizontal pivotted levers D, carrying at their opposite ends broad
weights like boards, preferably having written on them in large letters
"obstruction" or its equivalent. This board hangs in front of those levers
operating lines having connection with the road on which the engine or train has
been shunted. Now, in ordinary circumstances, in shunting the train and bringing
the lever back, there is nothing to indicate that the train is still upon the line. In
this case, however, there is the board with the word "obstruction." Furthermore,
until the lever or levers carrying the board or boards with "obstruction
again, it is impossible to move any of the levers behind it, and the signalman's
attention is accordingly drawn to the fact that there is a train on the line, and he
has to remove the obstruction before he can use the levers.
"
are set
If lever 3 is pulled over, it only liberates the board in front of the down line
signal levers. In the same way, lever 7 is shown on Figure 4, as just having
liberated the board marked "obstruction" in front of the up home and distant
signals. If, however, the cross-over line points' handle 5 be moved, the tappet C
liberates the levers for both boards, so that the signals of both up and down lines
are blocked. When the lever 7 is brought back to the tappets into its proper
place, the board marked "obstruction" still hangs, and neither of the levers of the
obstructed line can be brought to "safety" until the little handle F, connected
with the lever carrying the obstruction-board, is pushed down as to push the
obstruction-board out of sight and out of the way of the signal levers, and again
hook the light end of the lever D under the nose of the tappet B. When this is
done, the signal levers 8 and 9 can be pulled into position. The simple mechanism
herewith illustrated can be applied to the most complicated signal-boxes, as separate
horizontal levers and boards can be used in connection with each point lever, the
board connected with that point falling down in front of the signals of the lines
affected by that point. Each handle F is marked with the number of the point of
its corresponding point lever; thus the handle F, which controls the levers and 9
only, will be marked by the figure 7, as it controls the signals of the lines which
are worked by the lever 7.
It is not absolutely necessary to place the box with the obstructions above the
levers, it can be in any convenient part, and the obstruction can be of any
convenient nature so long as it will lock those levers operating the block road.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In railway signalling apparatus, the arrangement of tappet gear substantially
as described, whereby the using of the cross over road points, or certain other
point levers, automatically lock the signal levers of the line. on to which the train

page_text: has been shunted, and none of them can be signalled as clear, until the pointsman
performs a special act for making them clear.
.
2. A lock signalling apparatus for railways, in which the pulling over of the
cross over road point lever, or other point levers communicating with the main
5 line, automatically liberates a signal board (displaying the word "obstruction" or
its equivalent) in front of the levers of the line on to which the train has been
shunted, whereby such levers are locked at "danger" until released by pushing
the signal board out of sight and out of the path of the signal levers.
3. The general combined arrangement or construction of parts substantially as
(described and shown on the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 5th day of April 1899
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, and London, Patent Agents.