IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS AND THE GUARD AND ENGINE DRIVER OF A RAILWAY TRAIN
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Davidson, of Leek, in the County of Stafford,
Silk Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS AND THE GUARD AND ENGINE
DRIVER OF A RAILWAY TRAIN."
Sealed the 9th May 1862, and dated the 12th November 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Davidson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
November 1861.
I, JOHN DAVIDSON, of Leek, in the County of Stafford, Silk Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS AND THE GUARD AND
ENGINE DRIVER OF A RAILWAY TRAIN," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to enable a passenger to communicate in-
stantly and simultaneously with the guard and with the engine driver, and to
enable the guard to communicate with the engine driver, and vice versa.
In performing my Invention each compartment of the railway carriage is
provided with a handle attached to a cord passing over a pulley fixed to a
shaft extending the length of the carriage, these shafts are coupled to connect
all the carriages of the train by a system of levers acting as a universal joint,

page_text: but any other suitable coupling may be used. The shaft at the guard's van
is connected to a bell or other alarum, and the shaft at the tender or loco-
motive is connected to the steam whistle or other alarum. By this arrange-
ment when a passenger pulls the handle, the attention of the guard and engine
driver is instantly arrested, and as the action on the handle pushes out a slide
or flag, the guard can ascertain from what compartment the signal has been
given. By turning the shaft partly round, the guard can at any time call the
attention of the engine driver, and if requisite, the engine driver can in like
manner communicate with the guard.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Davidson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DAVIDSON, of Leek, in the County of Stafford, Silk Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of November in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Davidson, Her special license that I, the said John Davidson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Davidson, 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
APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS AND THE GUARD AND
ENGINE DRIVER OF A RAILWAY TRAIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said John Davidson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Davidson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: .
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
The object of my Invention is to enable a passenger to communicate in-
stantly and simultaneously with the guard and with the engine driver, and to
enable the guard to communicate with the engine driver, and "vice versa."
In performing my Invention each compartment of the railway carriages is
provided with a handle attached to a cord passing over a pulley fixed to a
shaft extending the length of the carriage; these shafts are coupled to connect
all the carriages of the train by a system of levers acting as a universal joint,
but any other suitable coupling may be used; the shaft at the guard's van
is connected to a bell or other alarum, and the shaft at the tender or loco-
motive is connected to the steam whistle or other alarum. By this arrange-
ment, when a passenger pulls the handle, the attention of the guard and engine
driver is instantly arrested, and as the action on the handle pushes out a slide
or flag, the guard can ascertain from what compartment the signal has been
given. By turning the shaft partly round, the guard can at any time call the
attention of the engine driver, and if requisite the engine driver can in like
manner communicate with the guard.
And in order. that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily.
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation of a tender, a passenger carriage, and a guard's
van, forming part of a railway train to which my improvements are applied;
Figure 2 is a plan of the same; Figure 3 is an elevation of the tender,
Figure 4 is a section through the passenger carriage; and Figure 5 is an
elevation of the guard's van.
a, b, and c, are shafts supported in. bearings fixed to the tender, the pas--
senger carriages, and the guard's van; these shafts are connected by the system
of levers d, d, or in any other convenient manner to allow for the expanding.
and contracting of the buffers e, e; the sockets d' are connected to the shafts
a, b, and c, by swivels, as shewn in the Drawing, or in the manner shewn
detached in Figure 6. At the end of the shaft a is fixed the handle a¹, near to
which is the bevel pinion a² gearing into the wheel f fixed to the shaft f'; to
the other end of this shaft is fixed the finger f2, over which the catch f³ passes;
this catch takes into a notch in the disc g, to which is attached the pallet g¹
taking into the escapement wheel 9, at the back of which is a pulley with a
cord round it; to this cord is suspended the weight h, and the counter-
weight h. To the shaft f is also fixed the hinged catch f4, which acts on
'

page_text: the lever 2, and this lever is. Connected to the hammer Tor Striking on the
alarum bell 22.
To the shaft bare fixed the grooved pulleys 6', each compartment of the
carriage being provided with two. of these pulleys, around each of which the
cord 6 passes; these cords are carried around the pulleys 6s, to which the
pinions are fixed; the pinions 6 gear into the racks which are cast or fixed
to the slides or signals 6; the cords 62, after passing over the pulleys 6³,
descend into the compartment of the carriage, and each cord has a handle
attached to it. The object of the two sets of signals in each compartment of
the carriage is to provide for the carriage being turned round, or end for end.
To the end of the shaft c is fixed the handle cand the finger c², which acts
upon the alarum bell contained in the guard's van, the parts of which are
exactly similar to the alarum above described in reference to the tender.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When a passenger pulls down any one
of the cords 62, the pinion 6 forces out the corresponding slide 5, and at the
same time the shafts a, b, and c, are turned partly round, thereby causing the
fingers and c² to lift the catches f³ out of the notches in the discs g, and
liberating the clockwork by which the hammers for striking the alarum bells i?
are set in motion, the attention of the guard and engine driver is by this means
instantly arrested, and the guard is. guided by the signal to the compartment of
the carriage from whence the signal is projecting. In order to prevent the
signal being withdrawn before the guard has time to come to the carriage, each
slide or signal is furnished with a drop catch, by which it is retained when
out until the guard unlocks the drop latch, and pushes the signal back into
its place; the object of this is to be able to detect the person who may attempt
to cause a false alarm. If the guard wishes to draw the attention of the engine
driver he turns the shafts c, b, and a, partly round by the handle c¹, thus
causing the cross shaft f¹ to turn round sufficiently to bring the hinged
catch against the lever, the lower end of which is the hammer for the
alarum bell, which can be made to strike as often as required. In like
manner if the engine driver wishes to communicate with the guard he moves
the handle a to strike the bell in the van c.
It will be apparent that the clockwork for striking the alarums may be
varied, and that the apparatus may be in communication with the steam whistle
on the locomotive, the peculiar construction of the alarums being immaterial;
and instead of the sliding signals f³, flags may be caused to project on pulling
down the cords 62; the number of the connecting levers d may also be in-
creased or diminished. Figure 6 represents a convenient mode of coupling the

page_text: levers d to the ends of the shaft a, b, and c, for expediting the coupling and
uncoupling of the carriages; the blocks d' are fixed to the ends of the shafts,
and the blocks d are jointed to the end levers d. When the block d² is in
spring is pushed back to
the block d, it is held by the spring d³, and this
liberate the block d² when the carriages are to be uncoupled.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and shewn a convenient
arrangement of apparatus for carrying the same into operation, I declare that
I claim,-
First, the improved apparatus described and shewn in the Drawing for
communicating between the passengers and the guard and engine driver of a
railway train!
Secondly, the improved coupling for shafts marked d, d', d³, and d³, when
employed in apparatus for communicating signals in railway trains.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Davidson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
JOHN DAVIDSON.
L.S.)