IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAIN INTERCOMMUNICATION, PARTS OP WHICH INVENTION ARE APPLICABLE TO ELECTRO-MAGNETIC AND ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS.
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Manley Martin, of Pinner, in the County
of Middlesex, and Samuel Alfred Varley, of 66, Roman Road,
Holloway, in the said County of Middlesex, Telegraph Engineers, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAIN INTERCOMMUNICATION, PARTS
OP WHICH INVENTION ARE APPLICABLE TO ELECTRO-MAGNETIC AND ELECTRIC
TELEGRAPH APPARATUS.'
"
Sealed the 26th January 1869, and dated the 28th July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Manley Martin
and Samuel Alfred Varley at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 28th July 1868.
SAMUEL MANLEY MARTIN, of Pinner, in the County of Middlesex,
and SAMUEL ALFRED VARLEY, of 66, Roman Road, Holloway, in the
said County of Middlesex, Telegraph Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAIN INTERCOM-
MUNICATION, PARTS OF WHICH INVENTION ARE APPLICABLE TO ELECTRO-MAGNETIC
AND ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH APPARATUS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements on former Inventions for
electrical train intercommunication, and in the construction of apparatus

page_text: Our Invention consists,-
Firstly. In the construction of flexible conductors for the electrical
connections joining vehicle to vehicle.
Secondly. In making the act of coupling the carriages together when
marshalling a train, also to join up the electrical connections.
Thirdly. In the construction of electric bells.
Fourthly. In the construction of galvanic batteries.
We wrap spirally round a soft core of hemp or other suitable material
one or more wires; this we call our conductor strand. We then arrange
any suitable number of these strands side by side and bind them together
by hemp or any other suitable material; this forms our conductor. We
connect the conductor at one end to a metal plate attached to the
wooden face of the buffers, the other end of the conductor is connected
to an insulated wire running from end to end of each vehicle.
We construct our electric bells with electro-magnets, the soft iron
cores of which fit into a block of cast iron forming one solid piece
with the frame to which the other working portions are attached. To
the pole of one of the soft iron cores a soft iron horn is attached,
which forms an extension of the pole; between this horn and the pole
of another small electro-magnet a magnet, by preference a permanent
one, works, which for distinction we call the "stopping lever." The
small electro-magnet is usually rendered magnetic by induction from
a permanent magnet. A striking lever carrying a hammer is attached
to the armature, which is attracted by the electro-magnets when rendered
active. There is a projection or stopping piece attached to the striking
lever which catches on the top of the "stopping lever" and prevents
the hammer striking the bell if set in motion by oscillation. When
the circuit is closed the electric current reverses the magnetism in the
small electro-magnet, repelling the "stopping lever" which is attracted
towards the soft iron born and getting out of the way of the stopping
piece attached to the striking lever. A pin projecting from the hammer
comes in contact with a lever resting on an insulated metal stop, which
we call the contact maker, and opens the electric circuit just previously
to the hammer striking the bell. The electro-magnets now cease to

page_text: be active, and the hammer which is actuated either by a spring or a
balance weight returns to its normal position. The contact maker now
falls on to the insulated metal stop and the circuit is again closed. A
special feature of these bells is that the whole of the working parts
are fitted on a cast-iron frame which forms part of the electro-magnets.
We construct our batteries of copper chambers, which are placed in
cells. These chambers are supplied with sulphate of copper, and rest
upon the bottom of the cells forming the battery box. To prevent the
too rapid diffusion of sulphate of copper we close the copper cells, with
the exception of one or more orifices for the insertion of sulphate of
copper crystals, and we place in these orifices tubes made of insulating
material through which the diffusion takes place when the battery is
in work. The zinc plates or positive elements are attached to the lid
of the battery, and are connected by flexible conductors to the negative
elements. This arrangement enables the batteries to be readily recharged.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Manley Martin and Samuel Alfred Varley
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
MANLEY MARTIN, of Pinner, in the County of Middlesex, and SAMUEL
ALFRED VARLEY, of 66, Roman Road, Holloway, in the said County of
Middlesex, Telegraph Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Samuel Manley Martin and Samuel Alfred
Varley, Her special licence that we, the said Samuel Manley Martin
and Samuel Alfred Varley, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Samuel Manley Martin and Samuel Alfred
Varley, our 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

page_text: We construct our electric bells with electro-magnets, the soft iron cores.
of which fit into a block of cast iron forming one solid piece with the
frame to which the other working portions are attached. To the pole of
one of the soft iron cores a soft iron horn is attached, which forms an
extension of the pole; between this horn and the pole of another small
electro-magnet a magnet (by preference a permanent one) works, which
for distinction we call the "stopping lever." The small electro-magnet
is usually rendered magnetic by induction from a permanent magnet.
A striking lever carrying a hammer is attached to the armature which is
attracted by the electro-magnet when rendered active. There is a pro-
jection or stopping piece attached to the striking lever which catches on
the top of the stopping lever and prevents the hammer striking the
bell if set in motion by oscillation. When the circuit is closed the
electric current reverses the magnetism in the small electro-magnet,
repelling the "stopping lever" which is attracted towards the soft iron
horn and gets out of the way of the stopping piece attached to the
striking lever. A pin projecting from the hammer comes in contact
with a lever resting on an insulated metal stop, which we call the contact
maker, and opens the electric circuit just previously to the hammer
striking the bell. The electro-magnets now cease to be active, and the
hammer which is actuated either by a spring or a balance weight returns
to its normal position. The contact maker now falls on to the insulated
metal stop and the circuit is again closed. A special feature of these
bells is that the whole of the working parts are fitted on a cast-iron
frame which forms part of the electro-magnets.
We construct our batteries of copper chambers which are placed in
cells. These chambers are supplied with sulphate of copper and rest
upon the bottom of the cells forming the battery box. To prevent the
too rapid diffusion of sulphate of copper we close the copper cells, with
the exception of one or more orifices for the insertion of sulphate of
copper crystals, and we place in these orifices tubes made of insulating
material, through which the diffusion takes place when the battery is in
work. The zinc plates or positive elements may be attached to the lid
of the battery and connected by flexible conductors to the negative
elements to enable the batteries to be readily recharged, or they may be
connected by metal straps to the negative clements in the usual way.
And in order that our Invention may be more fully understood and

page_text: readily carried into enеct, we will proceed, aided by the accompanyin
Drawings, more fully to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows our method of constructing the flexible conductors;
the outer covering is represented removed at one end to show the cores
and conducting wires. A, A, A, A, A, A, A, are seven or it may be
other number of hempen cores with two conducting wires a, a, a, a, a, a, a,
wrapped spirally round each core; B is the outer covering of hemp,
which protects the cores and conducting wires and also insulates them
sufficiently.
Figure 2 shows our method of completing the electrical continuity by
the act of coupling up the vehicles when marshalling a train. C, C,
represents a pair of buffers pressing against one another when the train
is coupled up; D, D, are the buffer rods working in boxes E, E, attached
to the framework of the vehicles as usual; F, F, are the flexible con-
ductors which pass through the buffer plates and are attached to metal
plates F, F, fastened to the wooden faces of the buffers.
In some cases &
Figure 3 is a front view of our electric bells or alarums. G, G, G, G,
is a cast-iron frame to which all the working parts of the bell are
attached; G is a cast-iron block projecting from the frame and forming
part of it. Two holes are bored through this block, indicated by the
dotted lines H, H, into which the soft iron cores of the chief electro-
magnet I, I, indicated by dotted lines fit. h, h, are two screws screwing
through the block and clamping the soft iron cores.
hole is drilled through the block and the soft iron cores, and a pin driven
through to prevent them from shifting. J is the soft iron horn projecting
from one of the poles of the chief electro-magnet; M is the stopping
lever working between the horn J and the pole of the smaller electro-
magnet N; O is the armature attached at one end to a flat spring which
is fixed to a projecting piece L forming part of the cast-iron frame
G, G, G, G. The striking lever with the hammer K attached is fixed to
the other end of the armature O. P is the stopping piece attached to
the stopping lever; Q, Q, are two adjusting screws by means of which
the armature can be adjusted nearer or farther from the poles of the
electro-magnet and its motion also limited; these adjusting screws work
through a projection forming part of the cast-iron frame G, G, G, G.
When the apparatus is at rest the armature is held against the adjusting
screws Q, Q, by the flat spring to which it is attached, as shown in the

page_text: Drawing. Should the armature be set in motion by the vibration of
the train when moving the stopping piece P attached to the striking lever
catches on the top of the stopping lever M, arresting the hammer before
it reaches the bell and thus preventing a false signal. R is a metal cock
having a pillar projecting from it, on the end of which the contact
maker S works. T is an adjusting screw which limits the motion of the
contact maker and works through the metal arm T'. The cock R and
arm T are attached to but insulated from the cast-iron frame by plates
of insulating material U, U. V is the contact piece on which the
contact maker S rests, and consists of a screw working through the metal
arm W attached to but generally insulated from the iron frame G, G, G, G.
X, X', are two metal lugs by means of which the bell is hung on metal
pegs or terminals to complete the electrical continuity.
Figure 4 is a side view of a portion of the alarum, and shows the
action more clearly of the contact maker; the same letters refer to it as
in Figure 3. Y is the end of a permanent magnet, to which the soft
iron core of the smaller electrc-magnet N is attached, and which induces
magnetic polarity in the soft iron core. We prefer to so connect up the
apparatus that when the electric circuit is closed through the alarum the
electric current passes from one pole of the galvanic battery through
the lug X to the contact piece V through it to the contact maker S,
through the convolutions of insulated wire of the smaller electro-
magnet N to the convolutions of insulated wire of the chief electro-
magnet I, I, to the lug X', and through it to the other pole of the
galvanic battery. When the circuit is closed by any one wishing to
give a signal the induced magnetism in the smaller electro-magnet N
becomes neutralized, and the direction of its polarity reversed; the
electro-magnet I, I, is also rendered active, attracting down the
armature O, which carries the hammer K. The stopping lever M is
now repelled by the smaller electro-magnet N, and attracted against
the soft iron horn J, and gets out of the way of the stopping piece P, as
indicated by dotted lines. The hammer now descends and strikes the bell,
but a little before it reaches the bell k¹ a pin projecting from the hammer
strikes the contact maker S, and removes it from the contact piece V.
The circuit is now divided, the electro-magnets cease to be active, and
the hammer after striking the bell, which it does by the momentum it
has acquired, rebounds. The contact maker S now returns to its normal
position and closes the circuit, rendering the magnets active again, and

page_text: attracting down the armature, striking the bell, and dividing the circuit
as before described. In this way the bell continues to ring until the
battery is disconnected. To ensure more perfect contact between the
contact maker S and contact piece V a spiral spring is generally placed
over the pillar on which the contact maker S works, and soldered to the
cock R and also to the contact maker S. This spring presses the
contact maker S on to the contact piece V. Or instead of the foregoing
arrangement we sometimes use the magnetic make-and-break described
in a former Invention, for which Letters Patent were granted to us,
bearing date 29th day of January 1868, No. 315. When we employ the
magnetic make-and-break we prefer to make the contact maker S a
permanent magnet, and the adjusting screw T and the contact piece V of
soft iron, rendered magnetic by induction from permanent magnets, and
an arm indicated by the dotted lines S¹ is attached to the contact maker.
When the apparatus is at rest the pin projecting from the hammer K
presses against the lever Y, forcing the contact maker S on to the
contact piece V. Independently of this the contact maker is retained in
its position by magnetic attraction. When the alarum is rendered active
and the armature attracted the contact maker is knocked away from the
contact piece, thus dividing the circuit, and is attracted and held by
magnetic attraction against the adjusting screw T until the hammer
returns, when it is forced away into its former position, and the circuit
closed as before, rendering the electro-magnets again active. Z, Z, Z, Z,
is a wooden box in which the alarum is usually placed, the front portion
of the box being removed in order to show the working parts of the
apparatus.
Figure 5 shows one of the copper chambers which form the negative
elements of our batteries, and Figure 6 shows one of the copper chambers
with the zinc plate above as they are placed in the cells. b, b, is the
copper chamber which forms the negative element, and contains crystals
of sulphate of copper; c, c, are two tubes made of glass or any suitable
insulating material; d is an orifice through which the crystals of copper
are inserted, after which it is closed, either by a cork or a stopper, which
can be removed when it becomes necessary to recharge the chambers;
e is a copper strap, which is connected with the positive element of the
next cell, either by a flexible conductor, or in the usual way by means of
a piece of sheet copper; z is the zinc plate which forms the positive
element, and hangs over the copper chamber forming the negative

page_text: element; ff, is a piece of felt, indicated by the dotted lines, which
is placed between the negative and positive elements, and also helps to
prevent the too rapid diffusion of the solution of sulphate of copper.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, we would have it under-
stood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein
shown and described; but what we do claim is,―
First. The method of constructing flexible conductors for making
electrical connection between vehicle and vehicle of railway trains,
substantially as described in reference to Figure 1.
Second. We claim the mode of completing the electrical continuity
by the act of coupling up the vehicles composing a train, substantially
as described in reference to Figure 2.
Third. We claim the method of preventing the vibration of a train
in motion giving a false signal, and the general construction of electric
bells or alarums, substantially as described in reference to Figures 3
and 4.
Fourth. We claim the method of constructing galvanic batteries so
as to prevent the too rapid diffusion of sulphate of copper solution,
substantially as described in reference to Figures 5 and 6.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Alfred Varley, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
SAMUEL ALFRED VARLEY. (L.S.)
Witness,
B. J. B. MILLS,
Patent Agent,
35, Southampton Buildings.