IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPHING OR COMMUNICATING SIGNALS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Simons, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Tallow Chandler, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPHING OR COMMUNICATING SIGNALS."
Sealed the 5th August 1853, and dated the 6th April 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Simons at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th April 1853.
I, EDWARD SIMONS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Tallow Chandler, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEGRAPHING OR COMMUNICATING SIGNALS " to be
as follows:-
Fig. 1. represents a side elevation of one of my improvements, and
Figure 2, a front view of a portion of the same; this part of my
Invention being specially adapted for communicating between the
guard and driver of a railway train. a, is a dial, containing four or
other number of lenses a, of different colours, or bearing such marks as
may be agreed upon; as signals. b, is an axis passing through the dial a,
and carrying a handle c, and pointer d, on one side, and on the other
the arm e; the said arm has at one end a lamp f. hanging upon the

page_text: at m.
9,
centre and at its other end the counterpoise 7, and clapper i; the
said clapper being connected by a spring to the said arm. A rod k,
connects the apparatus described with an exactly similar apparatus,
Fig. 1A, at the other end of the train; in which apparatus, Fig. 1 A,
the several parts are reversed, as represented. A bell l, is fixed on
the top of each of the dials, which bell may be thrown back, as shown
The rod k, is furnished with joints, whereby its parts may
readily be connected and disconnected on the making up or sepa-
ration of a train, and is made capable of elongating and shortening
and of curving in a horizontal or vertical plane, which may be done in
a variety of ways without interfering with the precision with which a
rotatory motion, impressed on one end of the said rod, is transmitted to
the other. When the carriages are of different heights, vertical sup-
ports are placed on the lower ones to support the rod in a horizontal
position. Attention is called by working the handle c, so as to ring
the bell, which is then turned back out of the way; and on presenting
the lamp f, to any of the lenses or signals a, the lamp at the other end
is presented to the corresponding lens. By day, the fingers d, point out
the signals.
Another part of my Invention consists in the use of the two fixed
dials n, n, Fig. 3, having letters or figures, or both, at o.
9, y, are
two wheels, connected by a line or wire s, coiled round each. Weights t,
attached to wires coiled in the contrary direction round the said wheels,
preserve the tension of the line or wire s. A handle p, turns round
the wheel ; and the pointers 1, of the said wheels are fixed so as to
point at the same letters or figures. By turning either of the handles
P, P, the pointer belonging thereto may be brought to any letter or
figure; and the pointer at the other dial is brought to the same letter
or figure. A bell may be attached to each of the dials, to ring on the
first motion of the said dials, and call attention. Instead of the
weights t, t; for preserving the tension of the lines, coiled springs may
be placed in the interior of the wheels q, q, for that purpose.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Simons, in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 4th October 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
EDWARD SIMONS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Tallow
Chandler, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Simons, Her special licence
that I, the said Edward Simons, my executors, administrators, and,
assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Simons, 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 TELEGRAPHING OR COMMUNICATING SIGNALS," upon the condition,
(amongst others) that I, the said Edward Simons, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Edward Simons, 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying drawing, and to the figures and letters marked thereon (that is
to say):
Figure 1, represents, in side elevation, a railway train, to which one
of my improved methods of signalling is adapted; Figure 2, represents,
in elevation, the signalling apparatus detached; and Figure 3, repre-

page_text: on.
arm e,
sents a portion of the same; this part of my Invention being
especially adapted for communicating betwen the guard and driver of
a railway train. a, is a dial, containing four or other number of lenses b
of different colours, or bearing such marks or signals as may be agreed
c, is an axis passing through the dial a, and carrying a handle d,
on one side, and on the other the arm e. The said arm e, has at one end
a lamp f, hung upon a joint above its centre of gravity, so that it may
always preserve its vertical position; and at the other end the said
carries the counterpoise g, and clapper h, the said clapper h,
being connected by a spring i, to the said arm. The apparatus de-
scribed is placed at one end of the train, and is connected with an
exactly similar apparatus, excepting that the parts are reversed at the
other end of the train, the connection being effected by the rod K,
(see Figure 2.) I prefer passing the said rod under the carriages, and
connecting it with the dials a, a, by means of the vertical shafts 1, 1,
and bevil gear m, m; but the said rod may be carried along the tops of
the carriages, where preferred. A bell, is fixed on the top of each
of the dials, which bell, being hung upon a joint, may be thrown back,
as shown at o. The rod, is furnished with joints (as herein-after
described), whereby its parts may readily be connected and disconnected
on the making up or separation of a train; and by the said joints the
said rod is made capable of elongating and shortening, and of curving
in a horizontal or vertical plane, without interfering with the precision
with which a rotary motion impressed on one end of the said rod is
transmitted to the other. The construction of the rod k, is illustrated in
Figures 2, and 3. It consists of horizontal shafts p, q, one of which
said shafts is fixed in proper bearings under each of the carriages; one
end of each shaft carries the double joint r, which permits of the motion
of the loose ends, of the said rod in any direction about the said joint.
The said loose ends, is made of a triangular or square figure; the
other end of each shaft is made hollow, as shown at t, the said hollow
being made of a triangular or square figure, so that when the loose
end s, of one shaft is introduced into the hollow in the end of another
shaft, a rotatory motion impressed on one shall be transmitted to the other.
By this method of constructing the rod k, the train may lengthen and

page_text: shorten and curve without interfering with the transmission of a
rotatory motion from one end to the other. On breaking up a train,
the separation of the carriages withdraws the loose end of one shaft
from the hollow of another, and the said loose end falls and hangs ver-
tically from its joint. On making up a train, the said loose end
requires to be raised into a horizontal position, and presented to the
hollow of the shaft of the next carriage, when, on bringing the said
carriages together, the two shafts will engage, as represented in Figure 3.
The method of using my improved signalling apparatus is as follows:-
Attention is first called by turning the handle d, whereby the clapper h
is made to strike the bell n; the attendant (driver or otherwise), having
had his attention attracted to the apparatus, turns back the bell n, into the
position represented at o, Figure 2, so that the said bell may not inter-
fere with the further working of the apparatus; the handle d, is then
turned so as to present the lamp f, to any of the lenses or signals b,
when the lamp at the other end of the train will be presented to the
corresponding lens or signal, and communicate the desired intelligence.
The fingers w, also point to the coloured lenses or other signals to which
the lampf, is presented; and the said fingers indicate, during the day
time, the signals to which it is wished to direct attention, Although I
have described the method of carrying my Invention into effect which
I have found to answer well in practice, yet I sometimes modify the
details of the same. The method of joining and disjoining the parts of
which the rod K, is made may be varied, as well as the method of
making the joints in the same, whereby the flexure of the said rod is
permitted; and although I prefer the code of signals I have described,
that is to say, coloured lenses lighted up by a lamp, and pointed at by a
finger, yet any other code of signals may be adopted; the essence of
my Invention consisting in transmitting intelligence from one end of a
railway train to another by means of the rotation, or partial rotation, of
a rod; the said rod being so constructed that it can lengthen and
shorten and curve in any direction, without interfering with its power
of transmitting a rotatory motion from one end to the other.
Another part of my Invention consists of an apparatus for signalling
from one end of a tunnel to another, or between any two fixed points on

page_text: the line of railway. For this purpose I use two dials v, tv, Figure 4,
fixed at the points. between which intelligence is to be communicated;
the said dials are furnished with letters or figures, or both. A drum a,
indicated by the dotted lines, is situated behind each of the dials v, w,
and is capable of a rotary motion on the axis y, on which axis the said
drum is fixed. The said axis y, is provided with 'a handle z, pointer 1,
and clapper 2. A coiled spring is situated within each drum, one end
of the said spring being attached to the said drum, and the other end
to the fixed dial v, or w. The springs in the two drums are coiled in oppo-
site directions, so that they pull against each other, and keep the line 4,
which connects them, and the ends of which are coiled in opposite
directions round them, in a state of tension. By the handle, of one
dial being turned, the clapper of the other dial strikes its bell, thereby
calling attention; the bell may then be turned back, as herein-before
described with respect to Figure 2; after which the finger may be
turned to any of the letters or signals on the dial, while the finger of
the other dial will be brought to the same letters or signals. I sometimes
modify the last-described part of my Invention in the manner illus-
trated in Figure 5, by which modification it is adapted for use on a
railway train. The said modification consists of two dials 5, 6; the
dial 6, being situated in the guard's van, and the dial 5, on the engine..
A drum containing a spring is attached to the axis 7; and two toothed
wheels 8, and a clapper 9, are fixed on the said axis; two springs of
wood 10, or other suitable sonorous substance, engage in the teeth of
the wheels 8; and a bell 11, is placed within the range of the clapper 9.
A cord 12, coiled round the drum 13, is connected with the drum 14, in
the guard's van, which said drum is provided with a spring coiled in
the opposite direction to that of the spring in the drum 13. The spring
in the drum 13, is stronger than that in the drum 14; so that on the
lengthening and shortening of the train, the cord 12, is drawn off the
drum 14. The winch 15, is capable, by a sliding motion, of engaging
and disengaging in the drum at the back of the plate 6; and when it is
not wanted to communicate with the driver, the said winch is disen-
gaged from the said drum 14, so that the cord 12, may wind and
unwind on the drum 14, by the lengthening and shortening of the train

page_text: without turning the winch 15. When the guard wishes to communi-
cate with the driver, he first pushes the axis of the winch 15, whereby
he makes it engage in the drum, 14, and by then turning the winch 15,
backwards and forwards, he rings the bell 11, and produces a sound
similar to that of a rattle, by the springs 10, striking the teeth of the
wheels 8. Instead of springs in the drúms in Figures 4, and 5, weights,
hung to cords coiled round them, may be employed; but I prefer
springs.
I sometimes use a modification of the last-described apparatus as
follows: I attach the toothed wheels 8, to a shaft on the top of the
guard's van, and fix the springs 10, above them, as represented in
Figure 5; on the said shaft, a fast and loose pulley are situated, and a
band driven by a pulley on the axle of one pair of the wheels of the
said van passes over the said shaft carrying the fast and loose pulleys
and toothed wheels, and the guard can at pleasure throw the said band
either on the fast pulley or the loose pulley. Ordinarily the said band
passes over the loose pulley, but when the guard wishes to signal the
driver, he throws the said band on the said fixed pulley, and the said
toothed wheels are carried round and struck against the springs. By
this means a loud noise is produced, which may be. heard by the
driver. A reflector may be used to direct the sound more effectually
to the driver.
I sometimes also modify the apparatus, Figure 4, as follows:-I place
a drum, without a dial, at each end of each of the carriages constituting
a railway train, and connect the said drums by a cord; the said drums
being provided with springs coiled in opposite directions, whereby the
cord joining the said drums is preserved in a state of tension. Each of
the drums is provided with another cord, coiled in a direction opposite
to that of the cord joining them; and these last-named cords are fur-
nished with hooks; so that, on making up a train, the cord on the end
drum of a carriage is hooked to that of the fore drum of the next.
In this way a continuous cord, capable of ready separation and junc-
tion of its parts, is provided along the whole train; the said cord being
preserved in a state of tension by the springs, and capable of lengthen-
ing and shortening. Any suitable signalling apparatus may be attached
to the ends of the cord, and worked by pulling the said cord.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be under-
stood that I do not limit myself to the precise methods of carrying my
Invention into effect herein described, and represented in the accom-
panying drawing, as the same may be varied without departed from
the nature of my said Invention; but I claim,
Firstly, communicating signals from one end of a railway train to
another, by means of a rotatory motion given to a rod or axis extending
from one end of the train to the other; the said rod or axis being so
constructed as to be capable of flexure, and elongation, and contraction,
without the said flexure, elongation, or contraction interfering with its
power of transmitting rotatory motion, as herein described, and repre-
sented in Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the accompanying drawing: Also, the
arrangement of signals described, whether used in connection with the
said rod or axis, otherwise.
Secondly, the method of signalling or communicating intelligence
herein described, and represented in Figures 4, and 5, of the accom-
panying drawing, and the modifications described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwards Simons, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
EDWARD SIMONS. (L.S.)
Witness, GEORGE SHAW.