IMPROVE. MENTS IN RAILWAY FOG SIGNAL APPARATUS."
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Oliver Cullis, of 9, Cranbrook Street, New Town,
Deptford, in the County of Kent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN RAILWAY FOG SIGNAL APPARATUS."
MENTS IN RAILWAY FOG SIGNAL APPARATUS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Oliver Cullis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd April 1874.
I, OLIVER CULLIS, of 0, Cranbrook Street, New Town, Deptford, in
5 the County of Kent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY FOG SIGNAL APPARATUS," to be as follows :-
The object of this! Invention is to provide a simple and efficient
apparatus by which fog signals may in foggy weather be automatically
placed on to and taken off from the rails of railways. by the working of
the ordinary visible signal apparatus. For this purpose I connect to

page_text: the ordinary wires used for working the signals another wire which I
carry forward for any desired distance beyond the signal, and at the
spot at which it is desired to place a fog signal on to the rail I attachi
the wire to a slide which carries a clip in which the stem of a fog signal
may be held.
When the signal is at danger the wire which is carried forward to
the slide before mentioned is slack and the slide is pressed forward by
a spring or springs, by preference coiled springs, so as to bring the fog
sigual carried by it at its end over one of the rails; but when the
signal is lowered the slide is drawn back by the wire and the fog signal
removed from the rail.
The slide and the springs before mentioned are both carried by a box
or casing, which can readily be fixed by screws or otherwise in foggy
weather to any of the sleepers, or may be removed therefrom at such
times as the apparatus is not required to be in usc. In this case the
be detached from the ordinary signal wire and its end hooked
up to be out of the way.
wire may
In place of one fog signal laying apparatus, such as is above
described, the apparatus may be used in pairs, so as to place two signals
on to the line at some distance from one another. When a train has
passed over and exploded a fog signal carried by one or other of these
slides a fresh signal is substituted for it by the fog signalman.
By employing apparatus such as is above described to place fog
signals on to and take them off from the rails, these signals will only
be exploded when the ordinary signals are at danger, whereas at the
present time when the fog signals are placed on and taken off by hand
they are frequently left remaining on the line after the ordinary visiblò
signals have been lowered to all right, by which not only are a great
number of fog signals exploded uselessly, but the drivers of the trains
are confused by reason of the fog signals not being in accordance with
the ordinary signals.
31

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Lotters Patent,.
filed by the said Oliver Cullis in the Great Seal Patent. Office on
the 2nd October 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OLIVER:
3 CULLIS, of 9, Cranbrook Street, New Town, Deptford, in the County:
of Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of
"our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
O seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant, unto me, the said Oliver Cullis, Her special license that
I, the said Oliver Cullis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Oliver Cullis, my executors, administrators,
E and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
6 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 RAILWAY FOG SIGNAL.
APPARATUS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Oliver
5 Cullis, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
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 Oliver Cullis, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to bo
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to provide a simple and efficient
apparatus by which fog signals may in foggy weather be automatically.
placed on to and taken off from the rails of railways by the working of
the ordinary visible signal apparatus. For this purpose I connect to
the ordinary wires used for working the signals another wire which I
carry forward for any desired 'distance beyond the signal; and at the
spot at which it is desired to place a fog signal on to the rail I attach

page_text: the wire to a slide, which carries a clip in which the stem of a fog signal
may be held.
When the signal is at "danger" the wire which is carried forward to
the slide before mentioned is slack and the slide is pressed forward by
a spring or springs, by preference coiled springs, so as to bring the fog 5
signal carried by it at its end over one of the rails; but when the;
signal is lowered the slide is drawn back by the wire and the fog signal,
removed from the rail.
4
The slide and the springs before mentioned are both carried by a box.
or casing, which can readily be fixed by screws or otherwise in foggy 1
weather to any of the sleepers, or may be removed therefrom at such
times as the apparatus is not required to be in use.
wire may be detached from the ordinary signal wire and its end hooked.
up to be out of the way.
In this case the
In place of one fog signal laying apparatus, such as is above de- 1
scribed, I prefer to use the apparatus in pairs, so as to place two signals
on to the line at some distance from one another. When a train has
passed over and exploded a fog signal carried by one or other of these
slides a fresh signal is substituted for it by the fog signalman.
By employing apparatus such as is above described to place fog 2
signals on to and take them off from the rails, these signals will only
be exploded when the ordinary signals are at "danger," whereas at the
present time when the fog signals are placed on and taken off by hand
they are frequently left remaining on the line after the ordinary visible
signals have been lowered to "all right," by which not only are a great 2
number of fog signals exploded usclessly, but the drivers of the trains
are confused by reason of the fog signals not being in accordance with
the ordinary signals..
In the Drawing hereunto annexed I have shewn various views of
apparatus arranged in the manner above described.
Figure 1 shews a perspective view of the apparatus applied to a double
line of railway.
Figures 2 and 3 shew two constructions of casing and clip slide for
carrying the fog signals.
In these Figures a is the casing and 6 the slide carrying at its forward
end the clip c for holding a fog signal; these signals being formed with

page_text: a metal arm or projection standing out from them to be placed into
the clip..
The
In the construction shewn at Figures 2 two spiral springs däre
employed for pressing forward the slide b, whilst in the construction
shewn at Figures 3 one spiral spring only is used for this purpose. The
lids of the boxes have on their under side ribs e between which the spring's
lic, and these serve to keep the springs straight when compressed.
bottom of each box or casing is formed to project beyond the front and
back of the box, and holes are formed through these projecting portions
through which screws or nails may be passed to secure. the box to one
of the sleepers; or other means may be adopted to allow of the boxes
being readily fixed to the sleepers and of being removed therefrom
whenever the apparatus is not required to be put into use. The back
end of each slide projects, as shewn, through the back of the box and
is formed so that a wire may be connected to it.
-
Whenever fog signals are required to be used the boxes are secured
to the sleepers at the points where the signals are to be laid on to the
rails, as illustrated at Figure 1, and wires are led away from the ends of
the slides and are connected to the ordinary wires used for working the
signals, or to the weighted levers of the ordinary signals. Fog signals
are placed into the clips at the forward ends of the slides by the fog
signalman, and whenever one or other of the signals is exploded a fresh
signal is put into its place by the man. At Figure 1 one of the ordinary
visible signals is shewn to be at danger and the fog signals of the fog
signal apparatus working therewith are shewn to be protruded so as to
lic upon the line of rails. The other ordinary visible signal is shewn
to be lowered and the corresponding fog signals drawn back, so as to be
clear of the rails.
In cases where the amount of movement given by the ordinary signal
wire is insufficient to give the requisite amount of movement to the fog
signal slides an intermediate lever may be used to increase the amount
of motion given to the slide.
I would remark that in place of the slides which carry the clips for
holding the fog signals being thrown forward by means of a spring or
springs, weighted levers might be used for this purpose; in place also
of the clips being mounted upon slides they might be carried by crank
arms similarly acted upon by springs or weighted levers.

page_text: :
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner:
of performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim,
1. The combined arrangement of apparatus, substantially as hercin-
before described, by which fog signals may be automatically placed on
to and taken off from the rails of railways by the working of the ordinary
visible signal apparatus.
2. The construction of fog signal apparatus, substantially as herein-
before described and shewn at Figures 2 and 3 of the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Oliver Cullis, have hercunto set
my hand and scal, this Second day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-four.