IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Brierley, Frederick Wade Brierley, and Walter
Wright Brierley, all of Slough, in the County of Bucks, Railway Signal
Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WORKING
RAILWAY SIGNALS."
Sealed the 13th October 1877, and dated the 16th April 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Brierley, Frederick
Wade Brierley, and Walter Wright Brierley at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents on the 16th April 1877.
JOHN BRIERLEY, FREDERICK WADE BRIERLEY, and WALTER WRIGHT BRIERLEY,
" IMPROVED
all of Slough, in the County of Bucks, Railway Signal Engineers.
APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS."
Our Invention of improved apparatus for working railway signals relates more
particularly to the mechanism for working the distance signals, and has for its
object to so construct and arrange the parts that the mechanism shall not become
deranged, or rendered liable to give false signals by the expansion or contrac-
tion, by reason of changes of temperature, of the long wires, which are used
for connecting the distance signals with the hand lever in the signalman's
cabin. To this end the long wire which extends from the signal post to the signal-
man's box or cabin, instead of being connected direct to the levers which work the
mechanism, is connected to a chain which passes over a chain wheel, and is provided
at its other end with a pendant weight which will always keep the chain and wire
taut, as the chain wheel is free to turn in its bearings when it is disengaged from
the lever by which it is commanded.
The hand lever in the signal box is connected by a connecting rod to a weighted
lever which is mounted on the same axle as the chain wheel, and this weighted
lever carries a small tumbling lever provided with a conical pointed pin, which
takes into any one of a series of holes made on the side of the chain wheel. A
looped piece or guide is attached by screw bolts or otherwise to some stationary
part of the frame, and is so arranged that when the weighted lever is raised or
lowered by the signal man pulling over or putting back the hand lever in the signal
box the small tumbling lever will come against, or be disenged from the fixed

page_text: looped piece or guide, and will be forced back or forward, thereby removing the
conical pin from or inserting it into one of the holes in the chain wheel, and thus
releasing or attaching the latter which will then be free to move in its bearings
(if disengaged from the tumbling lever) so as to cause the pendant weight auto-
matically to take up or give out any slack in the signal wire which may be caused
by expansion or contraction from heat or cold. If on the contrary the pin of the
tumbling lever be forced into one of the holes round the edge of the chain wheel
the motion of the hand lever will cause the chain wheel to revolve, thereby pulling
the wire and lowering the signal to the "all-right" position. By returning the band
lever to its normal position (the pin of the tumbling lever remaining still in one of 1
the holes in the side of the chain wheel), the chain wheel will be pulled round by
the force exerted by the signalinan. The consequence will be that the distance
signal will be pulled up to "danger" until the chain wheel is engaged again.
It will be evident from this arrangement of parts, that should the long signalling
wire, or the chain connected therewith, become ruptured by any accident the 1
distance signal, which is itself counterweighted, will immediately fly up to "danger'
and will remain there until the accident is repaired.
"
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Brierley, Frederick Wade Brierley, and Walter Wright Brierley
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th October 1877.
JOHN BRIERLEY, FREDERICK WADE BRIERLEY, and WALTER WRIGHT BRIERLEY,
all of Slough, in the County of Bucks, Railway Signal Engineers. "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR WORKING RAILWAY SIGNALS."
Our Invention of "Improved Apparatus for Working Railway Signals" relates
more particularly to the mechanism for working the distance signals, and has for
its object to so construct and arrange the parts that the mechanism shall not
become deranged or rendered liable to give false signals by the expansion or con-
traction by reason of changes of temperature of the long wires, which are used for
connecting the distance signals with the hand lever in the signalman's cabin. To
this end the long wire which extends from the signal post to the signalman's box
or cabin, instead of being connected direct to the levers which work the mechanism,
is connected to a chain which passes over a chain wheel, and is provided at its other
end with a pendant weight which will always keep the chain and wire taut, as
the chain wheel is free to turn in its bearings when it is disengaged from the lever
by which it is commanded.
The hand lever in the signal box is connected by a connecting rod to a weighted
lever which is mounted on the same axle as the chain wheel, and this weighted
lever carries a small tumbling lever provided with a conical pointed pin, which
takes into any one of a series of holes made on the side of the chain wheel. A
looped piece or guide is attached by screw bolts or otherwise to some stationary
part of the frame, and is so arranged that when the weighted lever is raised or
lowered by the signalman pulling over or putting back the hand lever in the signal
box the small tumbling lever will come against or be disengaged from the fixed
looped piece or guide, and will be forced back or forward, thereby removing the
conical pin from or inserting it into one of the holes in the chain wheel, and thus
releasing or attaching the latter which will then be free to move in its bearings
if disengaged from the tumbling lever, so as to cause the pendent weight auto-
matically to take up or give out any slack in the wire which may be caused by
expansion or contraction from heat or cold. If on the contrary the pin of the
tumbling lever be forced into one of the holes round the edge of the chain wheel
the motion of the hand lever will cause the chain wheel to revolve, thereby pulling
the wire and lowering the signal to the "all-right" position. By returning the

page_text: hand lever to its normal position, the pin of the tumbling lever remaining still in
one of the holes in the side of the chain wheel will be pulled round by the force
exerted by the signalman. The consequence will be that the distanco signal will
be pulled up to "danger" until such time as the chain wheel is engaged again.
It will be evident from this arrangement of the parts that should the long
signalling wire, or the chain connected therewith, become ruptured by any accident,
the distance signal (which is itself counterweighted) will immediately fly up to
'danger," and will remain there until the accident is repaired.
"
In the accompanying Drawings,-
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a partial side elevation of. the compensating apparatus; Fig. 2
is an end elevation of the same, and Fig. 3 is an end view of the disengaging pin
and tumbling lever.
Fig 4 is a partial side elevation of a modified form of the compensating apparatus
partly in section; Fig. 5 is an end view of the same, and Fig. 6 is an end view
of the disengaging lever and pin.
The action of the apparatus will be better understood by reference to Sheet II.,
in which Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the complete apparatus, Fig. 8 is an end
view of the same, and Fig. 9 is a detached view of the loose chain wheel or pulley.
a, a, is the frame of the apparatus; b is the chain wheel, which is free to revolve
loosely on the centre pin c, when the operating lever is in its normal position in
the interlocking frame; d is a counterweighted lever, also free to revolve loosely
on the centre pin c. A smaller lever e, also loosely mounted on the centre pin c,
is secured to the counter weighted lever by means of the pin f, which is allowed
a certain amount of longitudinal play in the slot f¹ formed in the end of the lever e.
The small lever e passes through a slotted quadrant g, which is firmly secured to the
framing . The upper part of the quadrant g is inclined outwards for the purpose
of withdrawing the pin h, forming part of the lever e, from contact with any one
of the series of holes i of the chain wheel b; jis the chain which passes over the
chain wheel b, and which is secured at one of its ends to the wire which leads to
the signal post and works the signal, and at its other end is attached a heavy
counterweight k for the purpose of taking up the slack in the wire should expansion
take place or, on the other hand, giving out wire should the latter become con-
tracted through cold. The counterweighted lever d is secured to the tail of the
operating lever by the connecting rod d, and the normal position of the apparatus
is that shown in the Drawing at Figures 7 and 8.
While the apparatus is in its normal position the chain is always free to revolve
and the counterweight k to rise and fall, and give out or take up the slack wire,
shall expansion or contraction take place, but immediately that the operating lever
is moved the counterweighted lever d is caused to descend, taking with it the
shorter lever e to which it is connected by the pin f. As the short lever e descends
it glides down the incline in the quadrant g, and consequently approaches nearer
to the chain wheel b, and causes its pin h to engage with one of the series of holes i
formed in the side of the chain wheel b. As the operating lever is pulled further
over the counterweighted lever is pushed down taking with it the lever e and the
chain wheel b, the chain is therefore also pulled round as its links are made to
engage with the teeth on the chain wheel. Motion is thus communicated to the
signal wire and the signal arm pulled down to the "all-right" position.
When it is desired to raise the signal arm to the position of "danger" the
operating lever is returned to its normal position in the frame, when the motion of
the chain and chain wheel will be reversed as the counterweighted lever d is raised,
and finally the chain wheel will be left free by the small lever e, gliding up the
incline in the quadrant g, and withdrawing the pin h from its engaged position in
one of the holes i of the chain wheel b, compensation will therefore be free to go on
as before.
In extreme climates, should it be necessary that compensation should go on,
when the signal arm is both raised and lowered it will only be necessary to make
another incline at the bottom of the quadrant g, as shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 8.

page_text: In Figures 1 to 3 the engaging and disengaging of the pin h in one of the holes
of the chain wheel b is effected somewhat differently. A bent tumbling lever
or finger l, of which the pin h forms part, is hinged on to the counterweighted
lever d.
The action of disengaging the pin h from one of the holes i is effected by means
of the loop m, which is securely bolted to the side of the frame of the apparatus.
This loop m catches the point of the tumbling lever or finger l, and forces it back
into the position shown in Fig. 3, and consequently withdraws the pin h from the
hole i of the chain wheel. When the counterweighted lever d is pushed down by
the operating lever the tumbling lever or finger 7 is withdrawn from the loop m,
and its extreme point bears against the inside of the framework a of the apparatus,
and causes the pin h to engage in one of the holes of the chain wheel. The motion
of the operating lever being continued the action of the compensating apparatus
will be precisely similar to that above described with reference to Figures 7
and 8.
.
Figures 3, 4, 5, and G show another modification of the apparatus, the only
difference from that shewn in Figures 1 to 3, is that instead of having a looped
picce m bolted to the side of the framing a of the apparatus a small hole n is made
in the side of the framing a itself, with a small projection or guiding piece on the
inner side of framing for the purpose of guiding the point of the finger piece
safely into the disengaging hole n.
Having now described our Invention of "Improved Apparatus for Working
Railway Signals," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, we claim as the Invention secured to us by Letters Patent, as aforesaid,―
The combination of a floating wire and chain with a chain wheel having
engaging holes or teeth on one of its sides, as and for the purposes herein set
forth.
We also claim the combination of the engaging levere or 7 and pins h, or their
equivalents, with a floating wire and chain wheel, as and for the purpose herein
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Wade Brierley, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
TARTE TIT DOTRDI BY