Improvements in Railway Signalling Apparatus.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Aug., 1889
Complete Specification Loft 11th Apr 1800 Accepted 31st May 1800
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Signalling Apparatus.
I JEAN BAPTISTE MONTEGUT, of Saint Agnant, (Charente Inférieure), in the
Republic of France, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
:-
This invention is applicable to double railway lines and has for its object to prevent
collisions between two trains after one of them has left the line.
To this end I fix near the side of the rail to the sleeper, by means of a suitable
bracket, a casing, consisting of a lower and raised portion. The lower portion thereof
contains a spiral spring placed on a wire, one end of which passes through the
respective casing end and the other end being formed with a head, to which is attached
an arm carrying a petard, which is enclosed by the raised portion of the aforesaid
casing, at a level with the rail.
•
This casing and petard are employed at suitable distances apart from each other
along the line and its wire by means of a chain connected to a communication wire,
running from one station to another, and maintained at a tension, so as to retain.
under normal conditions, the petard off the rail, in its casing and the spiral spring in
compression.
When a train leaves the line the driver or guard cuts the said communication wire
which releases the chain connected thereto and the said spiral spring.
The latter then forces the petard out of its casing onto the rail so as to explod
on the engine, of the approaching train, passing over it, thus informing its driver,
of the accident.
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Signalling Apparatus.
JEAN BAPTISTE MONTEGUT, à Saint Agnant les Marais Charente-Inférieure, France,
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 an improved railway signalling apparatus, and it has for
its object, through alarming signals, to prevent a collision between a wrecked train
and any other train running either way on the same line; and is, this my invention,
especially adapted for double tracked railways with a heavy traffic, where it is of
importance at any time and on any place to give a safe and speedy warning-signal,
as well to the train coming from behind as in front, on their respective tracks, so
as to prevent a disaster.
The mode of carrying out my invention in practice is by placing these signalling
apparatusses at convenient distances, say at every one hundred yards on both sides
of a double tracked railway line; and then, between the stations, combine these
apparatusses by means of a stretched wire running alongside the track, and is each
apparatus within this distance connected to the wire by a chain. By adjusting the
position of this wire, it will by means of the chain keep all apparatusses within its
reach at rest.
If now a train becomes wrecked? all what is to be done is to cut the wire, which
commands the apparatusses in the backward direction, whereby the alarming part of
these apparatusses will be released and a detonator placed on the rail to be exploded
077

page_text: by the wheels of the following train, and by this detonation the engineer will
understand that there is something wrong (on the line).
Should the wrecked train also cover the other track, then the train coming on this
track will be warned by cutting the wire belonging to this track, which operation
will produce a result similar to that produced by the cutting of the first wire;
namely the releasing of all apparatusses commanded from that wire ahead of the
wrecked train.
In case of a breakage of the coupling between the wagons of a train running on
one line, where thus the remainder of the train will be left behind, then the way of
noticing the engineer is to have a double signalling apparatus arranged for every
one third of a mile, that is from one of the ordinary apparatusses, at that point on
either track, to run a connecting bar under the rails, to an apparatus placed at the
inner rail of the other track, so that these two apparatusses will work in conjunction
and by cutting the wire belonging to the first track, then besides putting all the
apparatusses belonging to this track into action ahead of the train, the double apparatus
will also work and notice the engineer about the trouble.
Should a train wrongly be switched from the main line on to a branch line, and
the switchman know that a fast train is coming in the opposite direction, all what
should be done is to cut the wire commanding the apparatusses along the branch
line, thereby putting immediately these into action, so as to warn the coming fast
train.
The accompanying drawings are illustrating my signalling apparatus.
Fig. 1 is a side view of the signalling apparatus as applied to a railroad track and
when at rest ;
Fig. 2, the same when in action.
a is the foot of the apparatus which, by bolts bb is secured to the sleeper c of a
railroad track; the upper part d of the apparatus is hollow, in order to receive the
moving parts, and on top of this hollow part is placed a closed box e, in which the
cracker (fig. 2) is enclosed, when at rest, so as to keep it from being molested;
and in order to allow the cracker to move out of the box e, the front piece y of the
latter is made to turn on hinges.
The cracker is fastened to a plate (fig. 2)
hollow part d, and in order to allow the plate
sliding on the upper surface of the
with the cracker to slide to the top
of the rail then this upper surface must be in level with the top of the rail.
The inner end of the plate his rigidly fastened to the inner upward bent end of a
rod which is placed centrally in the hollow part d; and when the rod with the
plate is moved towards the rail by a spring, then the position of the plate h with
the cracker is so adjusted that the cracker will stop just on top of the rail as
shewn fig. 2, so as to be exploded by the wheels of the locomotive.
To the other end of the rod jis fixed a chain k which moves on rollers and is
connected to the above named wire, which runs along the track and connects the
signalling apparatusses as mentioned before in the specification.
Among the various cases in which the aforesaid signalling apparatus will be of use
for the warning of trains, when the line in some way is obstructed, and when there
is no time to loose by sending a man, either back to warn a following train, or
ahead to warn a coming train on the other track, the following will be the most
instructive
1° When a passenger train runs off the rails, the following train is warned by
simply cutting the wire, which will instantaneously put all apparatusses backward
into action;
2° When a goods train runs off the rails or is divided through the breaking of a
coupling, the following train will be warned as mentioned under 1°; and to notify
the engineer, the wire belonging to the other track is cut, which will put the double
signalling apparatus ahead into action ;
30-When a fast train runs on the same time as a belated goods train, the fast
train is warned by stopping the goods train and cut the wire, which will put all
apparatuses backward into action;

page_text: 4° When some natural obstacle (falling trees, pieces of rocks, etc.) obstructs the
line, and a coming train is brought to a stoppage, then again in order to prevent
further collision, the wire is to be cut to warn the following train;
5° When a pointsman has a crossing engaged at the time of the coming of
another train, all the wires should be cut in order to warn trains in every direction;
6° When a pointsman causes a train to take a wrong direction, then the
apparatusses ahead should be put into action to stop this train, and to warn the
train coming in the opposite direction;
7° When a wrecked train covers both tracks, the wires on both sides of the line
should be cut in order to warn as well the following as the meeting train;
8° When the passage of a bridge, from the influence of flood or the like, becomes
unsafe, the bridge man should cut the wires in both directions, to warn trains coming
either way.
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 :-
In signalling apparatus for double track railways;
First: The construction of an alarming apparatus, where the detonation of the
same is produced directly from the pressure of the wheels of the locomotive, all
substantially as described and for the purpose specified ;
Second: The mode of arranging these signalling apparatusses on both sides of a
double tracked railway, substantially as set forth and for the purpose specified ;
Third: The mode of combining these signalling apparatusses by means of a
wire running along the track, substantially as set forth, and for the purpose
specified;
Fourth The combination of a double signalling apparatus at certain distances
along the line substantially as described, and set forth for the purpose specified.
Dated this 19th day of May 1890.
Dated this I Lay
P.p. J. B. MONTEGUT.
Eugène Ménard,
17, Cromwell Place, South Kensington, London, S.W.