Im- PROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE GUARD AND ENGINE DRIVER OF A RAILWAY TRAIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Grindley Rowe, of No. 5, Queen's Square,
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE GUARD AND ENGINE DRIVER
OF A RAILWAY TRAIN."
Sealed the 10th June 1864, and dated the 22nd December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Grindley Rowe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd December 1868.
I, JOSEPH GRINDLEY ROWE, of No. 5, Queen's Square, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE GUARD AND ENGINE DRIVER
OF A RAILWAY TRAIN," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to enable the guard of a railway train to
communicate at any time by signal with the engine driver whilst the train is
in motion; and a peculiar and important feature of my Invention is, that the
whole of the signal apparatus is self-contained, and attached to the guard's

page_text: van, so that there is no necessity of connecting wires, cords, or tubes passing
from carriage to carriage along the train, the fracture of or neglect to connect
which would render the signal unavailable, but the apparatus is at all times in
a condition to give the required signal, even though the guard's van should
become detached from the remainder of the train whilst in motion.
The Invention consists principally in utilizing the rotary motion and power
of the running wheels of the guard's van to compress air, and to force it
through a whistle, trumpet, or other pneumatic signal apparatus capable of
producing a sufficiently loud or shrill sound to be heard by the engine driver.
It will be evident that the particular kind of whistle or other pneumatic
signal employed may be varied, and also that the mechanical appliances to be
used for causing the rotary motion and power of the running wheels of the
guard's van to compress air and force it through such whistle or other signal
will admit of considerable variation, but for the sake of example I will describe
the following, which I consider one of the simplest methods of putting my
Invention into practice. I key or otherwise fix a pulley on the axle of the
running wheels of the guard's van, and above the same I place a similar
pulley in a sliding frame. This second pulley is provided with a crank pin,
which by means of a connecting rod gives reciprocating motion to a piston
moving in a cylinder, one end of which is open, and the other communicates
with a whistle. A strap or band passes round the two pulleys, and is capable
of being either tightened or slackened upon the same by raising or lowering
the sliding frame, which latter has a lever connected to it for that purpose.
There is a strong spring attached to the lever, or to the sliding frame, which
keeps the latter in its lowest position (and consequently the strap or band
slack upon the pulleys) at all times, unless the lever is pressed down by the
guard when the frame is raised, the strap tightened, and the signal apparatus
set in motion; this spring also serves to prevent the liability of the strap
becoming broken by the too sudden setting-in motion of the signal apparatus.
If a prolonged sigual be required, a pin or a ratchet and catch may be
employed to hold the lever down, and the whistle will continue to sound until
tho lever is released by the guard, when the spring will cause the sliding
frame to descend, and thus slacken the strap, and put the apparatus out
of action.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Grindley Rowe in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
GRINDLEY ROWE, of No. 5, Queen's Square, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the 27th year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Grindley Rowe, Her special license that I, the said Joseph
Grindley Rowe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Joseph Grindley Rowe, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVED
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE GUARD AND ENGINE DRIVER OF A. RAILWAY
TRAIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Grindley
Rowe, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should par-
ticularly 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 Joseph Grindley Rowe, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, and ou reference being had to the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to enable the guard of a railway train to
communicate at any time by signal with the engine driver whilst the train is
in motion; and a peculiar and important feature of the Invention is that the
whole of the signal apparatus is self-contained, and attached to the guard's van,
and is intended to dispense with the present troublesome and uncertain method
of connecting wires, cords, or tubes, passing from carriage to carriage along
the train, the fracture of or neglect to connect which, or the introduction into
-the train of any vehicle not provided with the requisite appliances, renders surb

page_text: a signal unavailable; but the apparatus which I propose to employ is at all
times in a condition to act and give the required signal even though the
guard's van should become detached from the remainder of the train whilst in
motion.
The Invention consists principally in an arrangement of mechanism for
utilizing the rotary motion and power of the running wheels of the guard's
van, to compress air and force it directly through a whistle, trumpet, or other
pneumatic signal apparatus capable of producing a sufficiently loud or shrill
sound to be heard by the engine driver.
It will be evident that the particular kind of whistle or other pneumatic
signal employed may be varied, and also that the mechanical appliances to be
used for causing the rotary motion and power of the running wheels of the
guard's van to compress air and force it through such whistle or other signal
will admit of some modification to suit the particular break van to which it
may be applied, but for the sake of example I will describe that which I have
adopted, and consider one of the simplest methods of putting my Invention
into practice.
I key or otherwise fix upon one axle of the running wheels of the guard's
van a pulley, and above the same (inside the van) I place another pulley,
keyed on a short shaft, which is mounted in suitable bearings, and an endless
strap or belt passes round the two pulleys. At the reverse end of the short
shaft is keyed a disc or face-plate, which carries a pin, and by means of a
connecting rod gives reciprocating motion to a piston furnished with a suitable
valve, and moving in a cylinder, one end of which is open, and the other end
communicates direct with a whistle, which may have a reflector attached at
pleasure. I may here remark that in some instances the face plate and shaft
may be dispensed with, and the crank pin fixed in the face of the upper pulley.
The strap or belt which passes round the two pulleys is quite slack, and as it
hangs clear of the lower or driving pulley, it only gives motion to the upper
pulley when it is tightened, as hereafter described, that is to say, when the
signal is required to be given. Beneath the van a rod is mounted, so as to be
capable of sliding horizontally, and this rod is provided with a small friction
pulley or roller, so arranged that when the rod slides in one direction it
tightens the strap round both pulleys, and puts the signal into action, and
when moved in the opposite direction it allows the strap to hang quite slack
and clear of the driving pulley. To this sliding rod a spiral or other spring
(or a weighted bell-crank lever) is connected, so that when the spring is
compressed (or the weighted bell-crank lever is raised) the signal is put out of
action, and remains so until the guard releases the spring (or the weighted

page_text: bell-crank lever), when the action of the spring (or weighted lever) tightens
the strap on the two pulleys, and thereby puts the signal in action, in which
condition it will remain till the driving strap is again slackened by the guard.
This method of driving the apparatus by means of an endless strap or belt,
which (being capable of being tightened and slackened so as to throw it in or
out of gear as occasion may require) is also in effect elastic, constitutes a
peculiar and important feature of novelty in my Invention, as it is self-acting,
and keeps the strap always up to its work when in gear, and at the same time
allows or compensates for the oscillation and spring of the body of the
carriage.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improved
Means of Communication between the Guard and Engine Driver of a Railway
Train," I will now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; and in
order that the same may be distinctly understood, I have annexed hereunto a
Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation
thereof, that is to say:-
In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 represents a partial transverse section of
a guard's van now in use, showing (in front elevation) the above described
modification of my Invention as applied thereto; and Figure 2 is a partial
longitudinal section of the van, showing a side elevation (partly in section) of
my signal apparatus.
a, a, is the ordinary axle, on which a pair of the ordinary running wheels b, b,
are keyed. On this axle I key a pulley c, c, and 'above this, inside the van,
I place a second pulley d, d, keyed upon a short shaft, a disc or face plate e, e,
being keyed on the reverse end of the latter. This face plate carries a crank
pin ff, which gives a reciprocating motion to a piston j,j, in the cylinder 9, g,
by means of the connecting rod h, h, the piston j,j, being furnished with a
suitable valve opening upwards, as seen at Figure 2. The lower end of the
cylinder g, g, is open, and the upper end thereof communicates direct with the
whistle i, i, by means of the pipe k, k, passing through the roof of the van.
It will be seen that the face plate e, e, is provided with several holes (or a slot
may be substituted) so that by removing the crank pin f, f, the stroke of the
piston can be lengthened or shortened to suit the speed of the train this
arrangement, and the lower end of the cylinder being open also allows of the
ready removal of the piston for cleaning or repairs. The strap 1, 1, which
connects the two pulleys c, c, and d, d, when the signal is out of use hangs
slack, as shown at Figure 2, but when the signal is required it is tightened by

page_text: the following means:—m, m, is a sliding rod, connected by a link n, n, to the
hand lever o, o, and carrying a friction pulley or roller p. When the signal
is not required, the hand lever o, o, is held in the position shown in Figure 2.
by means of a catch p*, p*, working on the toothed segment q, q, which is
fixed inside the guard's van, but when it is necessary to give a signal to the
engine-driver, this catch p*, p*, is released, and the spiral spring r, r, forces
the sliding rod m, m, in the direction of the arrow, and by means of the
friction roller p tightens the strap 1, 1, on the drum pulley d, d, as shown by
the dotted lines, and sets the signal apparatus in action. The signal will
continue to sound until the lever o, o, is again drawn back, and secured by
means of the catch or otherwise.
If it should be thought desirable to enable the guard to sound this signal at
any time when the van is not in motion, this may be easily provided for (when
fixing the apparatus) by raising the axle of the upper pulley further above the
surface of the floor of the van, and having a handle capable of being attached
to and disconnected from the face of the said pulley.
I may here remark that if the rotary power was utilized by any rigid
connection with the axle of the van (such as an excentric or crank) the
apparatus fixed therein could not be worked whilst the train was not in
motion.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
* Improved Means of Communication between the Guard and Engine Driver
of a Railway Train," together with the manner in which the same is to be or
may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark, in con-
clusion, that since filing the Provisional Specification accompanying my
Petition for Letters Patent I have discovered that attempts have been
previously made to utilize the rotary motion of the axle of the running wheels
to compress air and force it through a whistle or other pneumatic signal, but
I am informed that such attempts have failed in consequence chiefly of no
arrangement being made to compensate for the oscillation or play of the
springs of the van, and therefore to the general application of such rotary
power for this purpose I lay no claim; but what I consider to be novel and
claim as my Invention, is,-
Firstly, the general combination and arrangement of apparatus as shown
in the Drawing, and herein-before described, or any mere modification or
imitation thereof, when applied for a similar purpose.
Secondly, the employment for such purposes of a strap passing round two
pulleys, and tightened or slackened as occasion may require by means of a
spring or a weighted lover.

page_text: And, thirdly, the peculiar construction of the air pump cylinder for the
purpose herein mentioned with one end open; and of the piston with a suitable
valve as above described and shown in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Grindley Rowe, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JOSEPH GRINDLEY ROWE. (L.S.)
Witness
BRISTOW HUNT,
Sol. and Patent Agent,
.1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn.