Improvements in or connected with Railway Signalling Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SP
ATION.
Improvements in or connected with Railway Signalling Apparatus.
I, WILLIAM BEWICK QUELCH, of Croft, near Darlington, in the County of
York, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to railway signalling apparatus of the kind wherein a
signal is adapted to be operated upon a locomotive by means of an inclined plane
or abutment arranged in the permanent way and designed to act upon an arm or
lever upon a locomotive when passing over it, as, for instance, the apparatus
described in the specification of my former Patent No. 20861 of 1894.
In using such signalling apparatus it is found that, as the wheels of the
locomotive and the rails gradually wear, the lever upon the locomotive comes
much lower down relatively with the inclined plane or abutment than
is necessary for operating the signal whereby a greater amount of movement
than is necessary is imparted to the said lever or the like, with the result that
breakage of some part of the apparatus is liable to occur.
The object of my invention is to provide means whereby this excessive amount
of movement is provided for and to this end I employ, in conjunction with the
lever, at the upper or weight end thereof, a kind of cam-plate or motion plate
having a slot or surface of the required shape for transmitting the motion of the
said lever, the ends of the said slot or surface being extended in the direction of a
circle having as its centre the centre of oscillation of the said lever, whereby, when
the lever has been moved to the required extent for producing the desired motion
to sound the alarm the continued movement of the lever will be possible without
transmitting any further motion to the connected parts. This upper or weight
end of the lever may be fixed to the shaft or fulcrum in any suitable position and
it may be desirable to make it of an equal weight with the power end which is
operated by the abutment on the line as is the case in my former Patent No. 20861
of 1894.
Instead of arranging my invention in connection with the lever as part of the
lever which is directly operated by the inclined plane or abutment upon the
permanent way, I may arrange it in connection with a cam-plate or motion plate
which operates with the connecting medium between the lever and the signal
upon the locomotive the slot or surface being extended to provide for the excessive
movement.
I also find it is desirable that the springs regulating the movement of the levers
or the like on the locomotive should so act that when not moved by the abutment
on the line the said levers will always be perfectly upright or in the position
assigned them and for this purpose I make use of a double cylindrical box or case
(which may serve as the pivot for the lever) one part of which cylindrical box is
fixed to the lever, the other part being fixed to the support. The spring is located

page_text: within this double cylinder and acts between suitable studs or the like for
regulating the motion of the lever.
Dated the 14th day of November 1896.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or connected with Railway Signalling Apparatus.
I, WILLIAM BEWICK QUELCH, of Croft, near Darlington, in the County of
York, Civil Engineer, 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:-
My invention relates to railway signalling apparatus of the kind wherein a
signal is adapted to be operated upon a locomotive by means of an inclined plane
or abutment arranged in the permanent way and designed to act upon an arm or
lever upon a locomotive when passing over it, as, for instance, the apparatus
described in the specification of my former Patent No. 20861 of 1894.
In using such signalling apparatus it is found that, as the wheels of the
locomotive and the rails gradually wear, the lever upon the locomotive comes
much lower down relatively with the inclined plane or abutment than
is necessary for operating the signal whereby a greater amount of movement
than is necessary is imparted to the said lever or the like, with the result that
breakage of some part of the apparatus is liable to occur.
The object of my invention is to provide means whereby this excessive amount
of movement is provided for and to this end I employ, in conjunction with the
lever, at the upper or weight end thereof, a kind of cam-plate or motion plate
having a slot or surface of the required shape for transmitting the motion of the
said lever, one or both ends of the said slot or surface being extended in the direction
of a circle having as its centre the centre of oscillation of the said lever, whereby,
when the lever has been moved to the required extent for producing the desired
motion to sound the alarm the continued movement of the lever will be possible
without transmitting any further motion to the connected parts. This upper or
weight end of the lever may be fixed to the shaft or fulcrum in any suitable
position and it may be desirable to make it of an equal weight with the power end
which is operated by the abutment on the line as is the case in my former
Patent No. 20861 of 1894.
Instead of arranging my invention in connection with the lever as part of the
lever which is directly operated by the inclined plane or abutment upon the
permanent way, I may arrange it in connection with a cam-plate or motion plate
which operates with the connecting medium between the lever and the signal
upon the locomotive the slot or surface being extended to provide for the excessive
movement.
I also find it is desirable that the springs regulating the movement of the levers
or the like on the locomotive should so act that when not moved by the abutment
on the line the said levers will always be perfectly upright or in the position
assigned them and for this purpose I make use of a double cylindrical spring box
or case (which may serve as the pivot for the lever) one part of which cylindrical box
is fixed to the lever, the other part being fixed to the support. The spring is located
within this double cylinder and acts between suitable studs or the like for
regulating the motion of the lever.

page_text: To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive having one form of my invention
applied thereto:
Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1 shewing another form of my invention:
Figures 3 to 11 are views of details drawn to a larger scale than Figures 1 and 2
and hereinafter described.
Similar reference letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
a is the inclined plane or abutment which may have a double or single incline.
as shewn respectively in Figures 1 and 2 arranged in the permanent way and 6 is
the lever mounted on the shaft c in the frame or support A at the front of the
locomotive and designed when the locomotive moves over the said inclined plane
to be acted upon by the latter to operate the whistle d (or other alarm) through the
medium of the rod e (having the spring e) bell crank f and rod g, all of which
parts are similar to those described in my former specification herein before
referred to.
h, Figure 1, at the front of the locomotive is the cam or motion plate arranged
at the upper end of the lever b and i is the surface thereon with which a roller i
at one end of a bell-crank į engages, the said surface being of a suitable shape
such as that shewn so that when the lever b is moved in the direction of the arrow
by contact with the inclined plane a the said surface will move the bell crank j
and parts e, f and g to operate the whistle d (or other alarm), or a whistle d¹ may
be arranged at the front of the locomotive as indicated in dotted lines and operated
directly from the cam platej being in such case the crank handle to the whistle.
In this arrangement the rode and bell crank for a lever are adapted
to enable the engine man to pull back the crank and shut off the whistle.
k is the extension of the surface i, the said extension being concentric with the
axis of the shaft e so that should the lever & be moved farther than is required to
operate the whistle d, the extension will engage with the roller of the bell-
crank j whereby no further movement will be imparted to the said bell-crank.
Instead of the lever b and cam plate h being arranged at the front of the
locomotive they may be arranged at the rear or on the tender also as shewn in
Figures 1 and 2 the cam plate being connected directly to the rod y by the lever /
as in Figure 1 or in case of a separate whistle as at 2 in Figure 2, the crank handle
of the same, the whistle being shut off by a rod or lever in combination there-
with. The cam h may be formed in one with the lever as shewn at the front of
the locomotive in Figure I or it may be separate therefrom and arranged farther
back along the shaft c as indicated at the rear of the locomotive in the same
figure.
Figure 2 illustrates the arrangement of the cam plate in connection with the
mechanism between the lever b and the whistle d. In this case the lever bis
double or treble ended and connected by a chain to one end of the rod e as in my
said former specification, the cam plate being applied to the other end of the said
rod and formed with an inclined slot i (or surface) with which engages the lever f
connected to the rod g. The extension k is in this arrangement straight or in the
line of movement of the rod e, and the cam plate is returned by the spring el.
By the use of a single surface on the cam plate it will be seen that a positive
movement in one direction only is imparted to the mechanism for actuating the
signal on the locomotive, a spring for instance the spring el being used to maintain
the roller in contact with the said surface and consequently return the parts after
operation. When, however, a slot is employed the spring is not required, nor is
a spring required when the cam directly turns the whistle handle and means are
employed for shutting off the whistle as described in connection with the
whistles d', d.
Figure 11 is a sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale of the lower end of the
lever b shewing the roller & thereon the said roller being advantageously provided

page_text: with a ring of india rubber or other elastic material to lessen the shock when
striking the abutment a, or it may be solid of suitable materials.
Figures 3 to 7 illustrate the arrangement of the spring and double cylindrical
spring box or case which I use in connection with the lever b, Figure 3 being a
front elevation, Figure 4 a horizontal section and Figure 5 a vertical section.
Figures 6 and 7 are a front view and a rear view of the two parts of the said box
or case.
9
m, n are the two parts of the cylindrical spring box or case the part m being
attached to the frame or support A while the part n which forms the boss of the
lever b is fitted to the shaft c and fits and turns upon the part m. o is the spring
within the said box one end p of which is in engagement with the part m while
the other end' g bears with pressure against a stud r on the front of the said part m.
is a stud upon the inside of the part n of the box which stud when the lever b is
in its normal or vertical position, is in contact with the end g of the spring o as
indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3. By this arrangement it will be seen that
when the lever b is moved by contact with the abutment a the stud s will bear
against the end g of the spring o and move it away from the stud r and when the
lever escapes from contact with the abutment a the spring o returns the lever to
its normal position, the movement of the spring being limited by the stud r.
another stud upon the part n of the box or case the range of movement of which
and consequently that of the lever b is limited in either direction by the stud
and another stud u upon the part m. The part n of the spring box is kept in
position on the part m by a nut v on the shaft c.
The arrangement just described is adapted for use when the frame A is inside
the wheels of the locomotive; when, however, the frame is outside the wheels, the
part m of the spring box is placed inside the frame. In this arrangement which
is illustrated in Figures 8, 9 and 10, Figure 8 being a front elevation, Figure 9
a horizontal section and Figure 10 a vertical section, the stud is formed upon
a disc w keyed to the shaft c and the studs for limiting the movement of the lever b
are formed in one upon a plate z as indicated at y.
By the arrangements hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 3
to 10 it will be seen that the lever b is adapted to work in one direction only, that
is to say, when the locomotive is running forward. It can, however, in addition
be adapted to work in the reverse direction by forming the cam plate with surfaces
(or slots), corresponding with the surfaces i and both in the reverse direction
as indicated in Figure 1 at the front of the locomotive and by placing another
spring box and studs in connection with the shaft e but with the spring o and
studs to act in a contrary direction to that already described or in other words the
same apparatus in a reversed position or on the other end of the rock shaft c.
When the lever b is designed to operate the whistle d or d when running in
either direction, I find it is in some cases advantageous to form it with two lower
arms carrying two rollers 61 as shewn at the front of the locomotive in
Figures 1 and 2.
In some cases I may dispense with the cylindrical box or case m, n the studs for
limiting the movement of the lever band spring o being attached directly to the
frame A or to the lever b.
It will be understood that in practice the apparatus can be applied in any con-
venient position on the locomotive or tender or with an air whistle or with a gong
on the train.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In railway signalling apparatus in which an arm or lever upon the locomotive
and in connection with an alarm signal or the like is adapted to strike an inclined
plane or abutment in the permanent way, the combination with the said arm of
a cam or motion plate having a cam shaped or inclined slot or surface which is

page_text: extended concentrically or straight, substantially as and for the purpose, described.
2. In railway signalling apparatus in which an arm or lever upon the locomotive
and in connection with an alarm signal or the like is adapted to strike an inclined
plane or abutment in the permanent way, the combination with the said arm of
a stud or studs connected therewith, a spring or springs and a stud or studs for
limiting the movement of the spring or springs in one direction substantially as
and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
3. The improved railway signalling apparatus herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated 16th day of August 1897
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.